Breathtaking Sunset

If there is any redeeming factor about Melbourne (at least for me), it's the following three reasons:

• There are flight schools everywhere
• Nice 'n breezy and cool (everyday is a great day for planespotting)
• BEAUTIFUL SKY

I'm not kidding about the sky. Today I almost had an accident just driving back from work staring at the sunset. I wish I have a better camera, but these are the best I can do for now. Everyday the sky looks like snow covered ground mingled with ash from volcanic eruptions, and someone lovingly sculpts the mixture and adds pastel colored paints.

First Day As A n00b Planespotter

Last night, I decided it was time to try my hand as a plane spotter. I had marked out several spots around the Orlando International Airport (IATA:MCO) several weeks ago. Melbourne International Airport is mostly for private uses, because other than an occasional Embraer that flies in, it is a relatively boring airport. The only major airline that flies to Melbourne is Delta, and there are no real direct flights (not even within the state of Florida!) to anywhere except Atlanta, GA.

The planes, the planes!!!

I woke up around 9 am in the morning, a bit later than I wanted. However, the weather outside seemed promising. It was cloudy and cool with very little rain, so I figured the 45 minute drive won't be as hellish (since my car does not have air conditioning). Thanks to The Wams, I have a little fan mounted near the dashboard to keep me cool.

Schroeder and I arrived at MCO around 11 am (yes, Schroeder is alive and well...eat it those of you who didn't believe in him!). Toyota Celicas from the 80's are freakin' awesome, they will almost last forever. I think Schroeder is about to hit the 200k mark pretty soon. After paying over two dollars worth of toll fee, I went down Tradeport and made a left on Bear Road.

After pulling into the parking lot for a Cessna Flight School, I ate my lunch and unfortunately sat near an ant hill. I have ant bites around my waist after I finished my pasta. Man those buggers hurt.

But it is time for plane spotting! I pulled out the palmcorder and began recording some take-offs and landings. The first shot had a Continental landing while a Northwest is taking off simultaneously. It was cloudy and slightly wet, but overall I got some decent footage (though NOTHING like the ones from FlightLevel350). The position that I was filming from was closer to the landing strip than the take-off. I might eventually upload them to FL350 or YouTube once I get the cable for the palmcorder. Eventually I recorded about 4 minutes worth of planes until airport security drove by and told me that it is illegal to film planes since 9/11. That made me quite sad...I didn't realize that the restriction reached the plane spotters as well. He mentioned two areas that recording is allowed: The B-52 Memorial Park and the top floor of the airport parking lot.

Continental Airlines Boeing 737 Landing

An MD-80 series about to land

Boeing 737 touching down

Afterwards, I packed up and drove to the B-52 Memorial Park, which is just around the corner from where I was. The sign was tiny, but as soon as I pulled into the park, I knew I was in the right place.

Meeting The Deadly Legend

The B-52 Memorial Park is a hidden oasis from the bustling airport activity just a few blocks down, separated by a road and metal barricades. There it was in front of me, one of the oldest jet engine aircrafts in the U.S. Military history. 744 of them have been built since the 1950's, and currently 85 are still in service with the USAF.

You don't realize how truly big an airplane is until someone stands next to it. I walked up to the bomber and the wings were longer than any ceiling from a house. The fuselage was so narrow that two wheels had to be placed near the tip, one per wing, just so it can stay in balance.

In an attempt to show the massiveness of the bomber, I stood next to the landing gear and awkwardly attempted a picture. If the wheels were not suspended, it would still reach my chin and I am about five feet seven inches. And this is just one the landing gears. I can only imaging how much bigger the A380 is...

The bomber does not get very many visitors, as I was the only person in the park for a long period of time before two people drove up and walked around the plane. I touched the metallic body as I toured the plane's exterior, trying figure out where the entrance to the cockpit is located. The top part of the plane is eroding somewhat from disuse, but here and there exists signs of life that made the plane a part of its habitat:

There are names printed near the cockpit, possibly names of the pilots who flew this plane. There are also red slits on the side of the plane, giving it a very shark-like attribute:
Overall, this trip was decently successful for a beginner. I took some landing pictures, and physically saw a B-52 for the first time in my life. Next next Saturday, I'm going to drive to McCoy Road instead for the landing shots, since plane spotting on airport property is no longer allowed.

When I took those pictures, it started to drizzle a bit. It felt weird for a moment, as if I was in a funeral for some reason. In a few decades, if I ever live that long, I'll see the 747 and A380 in the museums, and probably feel the same way.

All the images posted on this entry came from my mother's palmcorder. :)

Passed My Defense

I was so exhausted from the last few days of packing and preparing for my project defense that today shortly after I got my "PASSED" paper, I literally passed out. Here is an image of a sleeping panda as a re-enactment of what happened between the hours of 3 pm to 8 pm today:

Dr. Baker, to my eternal surprise, did not grill me with questions. My professors were surprised that I had an audience at all. The Wams, Jimama, The Mur and Micah showed up and I was able to address to them (which was much easier for me) than just to the professors. I was glad that my committee could make it, though there was a considerable amount of awkwardness in the atmosphere (I have no idea why, The Mur seemed to think that CS people in general are just awkward people). Dr. Liu I think was more pleased with the slides than he was yesterday, since I added per his suggestion over ten slides to the presentation to explain the implementation aspect of the project. I knew that the committee would spend 20 min over whether to pass me or not, so I brought the soccer call and we played hallway soccer during the wait. I hate waiting. Especially for something like this. Pushes me on the verge of nervous breakdown. Already six or so things that had gone horribly wrong, four of them have been remedied. Things look good.

Now, back to packing.

777 on 747

I found this short clip on YouTube of Boeing testing their 777 engine at altitude by hooking it up on a 747. It's fairly amusing to see the 777 GE engine dwarfing the other three 747 engines.

Goodbye Present

The Wams and Jimama (along with Bob and Fernando) kept a secret from me for these past few weeks.

When we went out to the grassy middle of Mike Long Track this evening, The Wams mentioned something about burning a hole through her bag. I wasn't paying attention...I was slightly worried about the pesticide warning sign I saw before I stepped onto the grass. When we got to the bench, The Wams set her bag down and pulled out, to my surprise, a replica +Teamgeist Ball from the 2006 World Cup. I thought it would be marvelous for the weekly soccer match to have a new ball, until The Wams said:

"So now that you have a ball and your own portable grassy field, you have no reason to NOT play soccer when you're in Melbourne."

The Wams and Jimama split the cost of the Official FIFA World Cup 2006 Replica Ball, and on top of that, The Wams made me a whole new set of field goals to put on the grass. She made them out of strips of carpet wrapped in bright orange vinyl tape, sealed with duct tapes and topped it off with two pieces of cable ties with pink vinyl streamers. All this while having Bob guarding my activities to ensure that I do not walk in on her while she worked on the goals.

I don't know why people do this for me...I offer so little. This is one of the best presents I have ever received. Other than the pair of cleats and shin guards that I bought a couple of months ago, I never owned sports equipment until now.

Thank you guys...the ball is not going to be packed. This baby is staying by my side for every impromptu games out at the Love Building parking lot, Landis Green, Bob's office... ;)

TSP to the Apartment

(walking from the laundromat)

The Mur: Why are we going this way?

The Bing: Because the apartment is this way.

The Mur: No it isn't.

The Bing: Yes it is.

The Mur: You are being inefficient. You are taking a longer path to get home!

The Bing: ... They're both about the same distance.

The Mur: No it isn't. It takes longer to get home this way.

The Bing: This, coming from a person who asked me what I wanted for food, I replied some sushi from Publix (less than 10 min away), who drove for an hour on Pensacola Street before realizing that he wasn't in Leon County anymore, much less Tallahassee, drove back for another hour and went to Wendy's to get me a spicy chicken sandwich.

The Mur: ...

The Bing: I question your judgement on the subject of time.

The Mur (extends claws): KILL ALL BINGS!!!

(the end)