With the Retirement of the Space Shuttle program and the last mission for Space Shuttle Atlantis it is quite inspiring to look at how far NASA has come and how much the International Space Station (ISS) has grown, but at the same time it is quite disappointing to realize that the ideal portrayed in many science fiction movies is still such a long way off. It is such a costly process to get things into Space, that we are eons away from anything near the scale and capabilities of a Star Ship Enterprise.
The current idea being promoted by some of the commercialization in space brings some scary thoughts to mind, since corporations here on earth are rather notorious for allowing minus safety violations to go unchecked in order to save the bottom dollar line. It seems very questionable that a company can make a profit in terms dollar, considering the rigid and costly safety requirements necessary and the general high costs of space travel. Sure there have been many achievements in recent times such as a vaccine for Salmonella, but most achievements like that are of a relatively innumerable and unquantifiable dollar value.
Nonetheless, it is encouraging to see the peaceful atmosphere of comradery that is inspired by space travel. The astronauts embraced and appeared very excited and energized when they arrived at the Space Station, despite our culture’s familiarity and understanding that while low earth orbit is nice it is far short of a return to the moon, or travel to a distance planet. Although, they promote the size as bigger than Apollo it still seems small to me, and especially when compared to the science fiction ideal, but yet it is a start and a means to venture beyond low earth orbit.
This is why this new crew exploration vehicle is very much needed, to inspire hope for the future of mankind. Albeit, ultimate hope is in the next life, but space travel is still a noble endeavor that seems to turn people towards God, through the sheer sense of awe and wonder, that gets them thinking about the vastness and greatness of space. Especially, now that we have a small realization of the incredible size and ungraspable nature of the universe, and can thus now have the proper perspective: that we can never quite reach the domain of God through this, but only hope to get an ever increasing glimpse of His Majesty and power.
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Tags: nasa, space shuttle, space station
Blue Angel #5 Sneaks Past the Crowd in Quonset Last Sunday
Both the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds do a maneuver where they sneak past the crowd. However, what I do not like about the Blue Angels sneak pass is that the announcer always tells everyone look right, while they are coming from the left. So while it does demonstrate how a jet can sneak into a target area undetected, it is not a true demonstration of it because they get a little help from the narrator. Aside from that it is easy to see the speed of these aircraft, even at only high subsonic levels makes them a very hard target for any enemy anti aircraft fire such as AAAs and SAMs. In fact a high subsonic level may be the best speed, because then they avoid the sonic boom which could more easily tip off nearby enemy, who could then radio the anti aircraft sites.
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Tags: Air Show, aircraft, blue angel, jet, sneak pass
A Black Hawk Flies Over the Poplar Point Lighthouse in Wickford
The air show got off to a slow start again on Sunday, because of the low cloud cover. So they had to wait for some of the cloud cover to burn off, before they could send the stunt planes up. Also I noticed the air show has actually been changed quite a bit more this year, then many of other years. There was not as many of technologically advanced planes showcased, but rather the more of a vintage feel with groups such as the Geico Skytypers.
Original planes included the the Horsemen flying the P-51 Mustangs and an original Grumman F8F Bearcat, which is one of the Naval planes the Blue Angels flew in the late 1940′s. The Horsemen are named in reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In fact the narrator even quoted from Bible when the horsemen went on. I believe he said something from the book of Job where it speaks of how mighty the horse is in battle, although the references to the specific Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are found in the book of Revelation.
There was still the F-16 Viper team and the Red Bull Helicopter which is an amazing advancement in aviation. However, in terms of jet aircraft, advancements seem less forth coming. We have picked a lot of the low hanging fruit and while the F-22 is a amazing aircraft it is still in limited use due to its high cost. Also it has not been battle tested in actual combat. While it has been put through its paces, it has not seen combat in Libya or the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Currently the entire F-22 Raptor fleet is grounded because pilots were having problems with the oxygen system. While it is highly likely these problems will be corrected, the development of the plane has been a long and costly road, which has made a lot of people sadly question the usefulness of an air superiority fighter in this post cold war world.
The air show was a great success over all, in fact so much so that they were announcing the traffic on 95 was backed up for miles, although it is possible there may had been other contributing factors to that. However, the air show lost a little of its momentum towards the end when Blue Angel #1 had to come down, and since #1 leads the formations the show had to be paused for about 10 minutes while #1 landed and quickly switched to Blue Angel #7 and rejoined the formation to finish the show strong.
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Tags: Air Show, black hawk, blue angel
The Air Show at Quonset Point yesterday got off to a bit of a slow start. In fact most of the morning Bob Reider, the annoucer, and Dan Mclaren, the sound producer from Mach 1 Productions, were playing Jimmy Buffett music. Thus the Parrothead start. The ceiling heights began pretty low, but after about an hour or two they had the 1000 foot minumin they needed and were able to send up the Red Bull Helicopter. The Red bull Helicopter is quite an amazing machine. It is a helicopter that thinks it is an airplane, but ironiclly doesn’t have wings. It is especially designed with more rigid rotor blades and extra strong rotor connections.
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Tags: Air Show, bob reider, helicopter, parrothead, red bull
Air National Guard Jet Truck
So tomorrow is the Rhode Island National Guard Air Show and Open House. While much of it is the same as years past, they have changed things up a little bit. One quite noticeable thing that is different is a new Air National Guard jet truck. Today many of the performers ran through a practice, but not all of them. Actually many of the aircraft hadn’t even come in yet, because some are vrf (visual flight rules) only, and can only fly when there is at least three miles visibility. The flight ceiling was at around 1000 feet for much of the day, so the F-16 Viper, which needed at least 1500 feet, and many of the others performers didn’t get to run through their demos. While it did threaten to rain briefly conditions began to improve towards the end of the day, and eventually a few planes were able to go up. Then Blue Angels were able to finish it.
The announcer, Bob Reider, also had a little fun as well today joking about creating weather systems with all the smoke from the jet truck and remarking that the thrust to weight ratio of the jet truck meant if you put it on it nose up it could fly, that is for as long as you can keep it stable, and then it would really need that parachute. He also talked of flying with the Blue Angels and said it is not quite as smooth in the jet as it looks. Although, I don’t think it is particularly shaky or anything he was remaking of the high speed turns which put a lot of pressure on the body. Just think of the Superman’s G-forces that only has just under 4 some G and the ride only lasts for about a minute or so, not the 20 or so minutes the Blue Angels fly for. These pilots even in the prop planes can hit 9 G forces and he said John Klatt’s plane, a Panzl 330 aerobatic aircraft, can take as many as +or- 20 G forces, which is actually more than many of the jets can take, in fact it’s about twice the G limits of an F-16.
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Tags: air national guard, aircraft, airplane, jet, jet truck, plane
The 2011 Rhode Island National Guard Open House and Air Show is rapidly approaching. This year the Blue Angels will be back! Additionally this year is also the Centennial of Naval Aviation, and such an important time for reflecting on how far we have come over the last century. Since its inception the airplane was quickly recognized as a formidable tool and weapon. While this has not been without its pitfalls, such as the literal and figurative disconnect that can develop between the the commanders flying overhead in the air above and the troops down on the ground. As one could imagine looking down upon you troops is not good, but yet looking down on your enemy is. So, despite the potential pitfalls, aviation has enabled deep penetration behind enemy lines and has created a world of globalization where where all people of the world are connected to one another for better or worst.
The airplane has bridged great divides and proven that first flying above the fray is now pivotal to winning and subsequently controlling the ground. Hearts and minds must still be won on the ground, but control of the sky grants us freedom of action and movement. Accordingly, the Air Show each year demonstrates this, and they do so especially well in the combined arms demonstration. Which is one of the most powerful demonstrations, which illustrates of how controlling the air can lead to successful victory on the ground. Since in the demonstration they control not only the air, but put boots on the ground as well.
Naval aviation takes it yet a step further combing a third element: the seas. The ocean has long been known as a symbol of power and strength, and the high seas as place of freedom. Bringing the airplane into it gives us the ability to move in 3 dimensional space. The only place the airplane cannot go is under the sea, but that is whole other domain. Thus, the two most expensive crafts in the Navy’s arsenal are the Aircraft carrier and the submarine. Nonetheless, the aircraft is still the most visible symbol of power in the world.
As in years past the show will open with a jump from the Black Daggers, weather permitting, and will likely be followed by a series of stunt flying and various demonstrations throughout the morning and afternoon. The Blue Angels will headline and finish the show. Usually they can still fly most aircraft even if the weather gets bad, but since they must fly such tight precision maneuvers on a visual flight plan (they need visual cues as well as their instruments to fly such tight formations) most performers would have to cut the higher altitude maneuvers that require a much higher flight ceiling.
Again the air show will be the on the 25th & 26th this weekend. Gates open at 9am and the show starts at 10am. It ends around 4 to 4:30pm
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Tags: Air Show, aircraft, airplane, aviation, blue angels, jet
Velsheda at the Newport Shipyard after the Regatta
This past week and weekend the J-Class Regatta was held in Newport, RI. The J Class yachts are absolutely incredible class of yachts from the pre-World War II era of the 1930′s. They were the largest yachts designed to compete in the America’s cup races. First adopted in 1928 and built between 1930-1937, many of the original 10 yachts were scrapped for the war effort, but a few survived, and some were rebuilt. Of the two J Classes that were in Newport for the regatta Velsheda is built from an original hull and Ranger is a complete replica rebuild. So they are quite modern yachts built on an classic design.
However, the main difference that made the race a little unfair is Ranger has an aluminum hull, while Velsheda has an original steel hull. Not surprisingly Ranger won the regatta, although Velsheda held her own; the handicap of a steel hull to an aluminum would just prove to be too great to overcome, unless Ranger had really messed up somewhere. Nonetheless, it seems most people got a kick out of just seeing the two yachts of a past era sail more than anything.
Ranger at the Newport Shipyard after the Regatta
Although, I didn’t get to see them sail I came by afterwards and could tell the event was clearly designed as more of friendly competition designed to revoke the some of Newport’s past glory when she hosted the America’s Cup, and to hopefully to encourage growth in the Newport tourism industry. Rhode Island of course goes a long way to try and maintain a nautical culture, one of the main benefits for these large yacht owners is that the state has no property tax on boats at all, so that can equate to millions of dollars in savings for some of these boat owners.
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Ferrari in front of Narragansett Town Beach
There is just something about a Ferrari and its mystique that really makes it an experience to see one on the street. Albeit, all Ferrari’s are not created equal, but seeing one is nonetheless a rear occurrence for most people who do not live on strip or in the Hollywood or other similar areas. Although, Narragansett is a very expensive place to live, especially many of the large ocean front homes, which are often owed by half year residents. In fact I once heard from a friend that Tom Brady owes a summer home in Narragansett, although I haven’t been able to verify that, and clearly if he does he doesn’t spend much time at it.
The Ferrari is one of the cars that we dream about owning from a young age, as a symbol of success. Unlike others ordinary sports cars such as Corvettes, Porsches, Mercedes, Mustangs, etc, it is a rear sight to see a Ferrari. They are in a class all there owe; one of exotic super cars, which is shared only by cars such as Lamborghini’s, Aston Martins, Mclaren, Bentley, etc. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule and there is some crossover; where more mainstream manufacturers make some exotics cars, and some exotic companies make scaled down more mainstream production cars.
The strangest feeling about seeing and hearing the Ferrari is that it was at the same time both so close and so far. So close in that I could had reached out and touched it, so far in that I could not owe one ever (barring some sort of miracle) at my current level of income. The other perception is that it’s this thing that seemed so far and yet so ordinary so there. Since the guy in fonrt of me had it and it is just a car it does basiclly the same things, he was not driving it particularly fast or anything. sure it looked a little flasher sounded a little louder, but in the end it was not all that far beyond your average car. Life is indeed full of paradoxes. For example while it may seem on surface that there are different groups, such as the haves and have nots, cultural, and racial groups. We are all at the core the same. We are indeed all human after all; we all thirst, hunger, bleed, feel, etc.
We all more or less share the common experience of being human, and we all have to at some point face our owe mortality, no matter our possessions. We are all equal in God’s eyes; equally guilty, as climate change has proven our very existence is destroying the planet, even indigenous people are guilty of inequalities and injustices. Perhaps, not towards the outside world, so much as towards one another towards their brothers and neighboring tribes, they are not exempt from corruption within their societies. So, while we can hope perhaps it will get better before it gets worst; in this postmodern age it makes no difference whether we drag it out to millions or billions of years it is agreed this world will end someday (and it will end much quicker for us each (who now live) as individuals). All people must acknowledge God and His order, that His Son is the only way. We are a society we often like to write books and movies such as Waiting for ‘Superman’, but the truth is Superman already came, not so much to fix our world today, but to fix all our tomorrows (i.e. the next life). This of course does not mean we give up on this life there is still a lot of cause to for hope in this life, but there will always be the minute slightly tugging flaws of imperfection even in something as nice as a Ferrari.
The key to what we must do in this life is summed up well in a quote from Joe Baca:
We learned in World War II that no single nation holds a monopoly on wisdom, morality or right to power, but that we must fight for the weak and promote democracy. – Joe Baca
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Tags: car, fast car, Ferrari, Narragansett, route 1, sports car, super car
Power Lines in the Tollgate area of Warwick
With our society’s insatiable need for energy power lines are popping up everywhere these days. They have become such a ubiquity, that often we do not notice them until they they want to build them in our backyards. While there are the clear downsides to power lines such as their ugly appearance and the potential they may cause cancers like leukemia. The one benefit, aside from the obvious of power, is they provide some of the last vestiges of open land in midst of urban sprawl. As I said these power lines were located around the Warwick vicinity, specifically near the village of Tollgate. The other thing this area of Warwick is well known for is Route 2 (Quaker Lane and Bald Hill Road), which is one of the most highly populated shopping areas in the state of Rhode Island. While it is not urban per se in terms of a lot of high rises and such, it is urban in the sense of endless box stores and commercial businesses. For this reason Route 2 has also been dubbed the “golden mile”. While the hill pictured above is Interestingly bald, I am not sure if it is the actual the Bald Hill of Bald Hill Road.
Perhaps someday we will become technologically adept enough to place satellites in space with solar cells that are capable of wirelessly beaming energy back to earth, and then these high voltage lines will be less needed. Fortunately, Rhode Island does have genuine open space as well; in the Southwest corridor of the state the Arcadia Management Area provides 14,000 acres of open space. According to the RI DEM it is “the largest unfragmented greenspace between Boston and New York. (A satellite view of the Pawcatuck Borderlands at night is the only strip of darkness between Washington D.C. and Boston, Massachusetts)”.
The difficultly that a photographer in Rhode Island faces is Rhode Island is also very flat land and since we are on the East Coast the majority of our coast faces East or South meaning there are good opportunities for Sunrises, but less for Sunsets, which are best seen from Newport or Jamestown, with vistas also forthcoming from various inlets and waterways. Interestingly enough one of the triggers for much of the urban sprawl in Warwick was a business which I provide security for, MetLife: which built its New England HQ right off Route 2 at the old Jesse P. Dawley farm in the mid 1970s. They maintained quite a bit of open space on their land, but it is private property. Yet, many of the companies that came after have mostly built up on smaller lots.
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Tags: power lines, warwick
Thor at the Scottish Highland Festival
The 2011 Scottish Highland Festival, at the Washington County fair grounds this past Saturday, was a lively and culturally immersive event, which features a variety of festivities. The main attraction was of course the music. Each clan had a pipe band consisting of bag pipers, of course, as well as drummers. Tents were setup for the different clans and various attractions throughout the field at the Washington County Fair Grounds in Richmond, RI. The tents contained various information about clans, many that compete internationally, as well as crafts, kilts with various tartans (plaid patterns), cooking, antique and replica weapons, etc. Each Scottish clan has its own tartan, crest, symbols, and traditions. As we have states in the United States Scots identify very much by their clans.
Throughout the history of Scotland there has often been inter-clan feuds as well as external conflict and the Highland-Lowland divide. In fact the Highlanders are very much noted as other mountain peoples of the world as being very tough and independent people. They manged to fend of the Romans and in fact never substantially came under the power and influence of Rome and Roman customs. Even to this day they have maintained many of their traditions and customs, even while the Lowlands came under much more heavy influence of the Romans later Britons and Anglo Saxons. Although, the Highland Clearances in the 18th and 19th century did strip them of a lot of their culture, it still very much alive as evidenced at festivals such as this one. The only down side of the day was the intense down pour, which began just as all the pipe bands were marching off the field.
I arrived towards the end of the day, but earlier in the day they had a lot of different sporting and ceremonial types of events, and music, of course. I caught the band Albannach (from Scotland) playing some good upbeat Scottish percussion music. While they still had a bag piper they used mostly bass drums and bodhráns (a smaller frame drum). I also saw some pipe bands and it is amazing how much sound a bag pipe can generate. While I am not so adept at detecting the nuances of music, a lot the music seemed to resonate as pretty good music. Which makes sense since there have been studies on deep drum beats that suggest that it can put you into a trance like state, which is helpful for relaxation and is also an important connection to the culture. There is just something about stepping into those sounds that draws you back into ancient Scotland. Albeit, some of the music was warlike and tribal in ways, but it was not violent, so it brings you into the peaceful Scottish country side and the kingdoms of old.
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Tags: bag pipe, festival, gaelic, highland, norse, scotland, scottish, washington county fair grounds
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