Amused by Rick

• Wedgie, now with a mega 16/15/4 brushless motor and a 3s LiPo 2400mah pack. Should scream, going to inaugurate this into the air later this afternoon.
• Yak 54, flown 3 times, crashed twice. First time Sam grabbed the transmitter from my hand and I managed a hard landing. Second time it grazed a tree trunk. Given that this plane is 100% uncovered foam, even the lightest bump causes major damage. Very fun though.
• CSD Switchblade, now fully ready to go. The engine mounts broke last time out so I used that as an excuse to give the plane a full once-over.

The Photon and 4-wing Encore are still working, the 2-wing Encore is damaged awaiting repair by a seasoned professional (not me).

• A tungsten-carbide [wedding] ring will not get scratched by the bar.
• Indoor soccer shoes offer the best of all worlds — great for running, great for lifting.
• Core strength is the foundation upon which all strength is built in the body (took me 4 years to figure this out).
• Finding a gym that has less crowds equates to more time at the bar.
• If you go to a crowded gym, you should count what your time is worth into the monthly fee.
• Doping is rampant, don’t use others as a measuring stick.
• Soccer highlights are crazy motivating on the treadmill.
• Bench press is safer in the squat rack.
• Stuart was right, the trap bar rules for dead lifting.
• I Love Lucy is  a Desilu Production.

• Flemings rules, blows LG’s away.
• Soak City is a blast, they have stuff for kids not quite 42″ tall.
• Talladega Nights was a riot. So was Little Miss Sunshine.
• Bourne Ultimatum, thumbs up.
• Beringer Founders Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, thumbs down.
• 115 degrees, no problem.
• No internet access, priceless.

I have a garage full of r/c planes but only 3 of them can actually fly.

• +1. My slope wing has a warp on the right-side wing, complicating right turns but can still fly. Damaged, but airworthy.
• -1. The Microjet is damaged as of the yesterdays flight; repairable, but I refuse to repair it — I hate this plane. I think I’m going to donate it to a boy scout troop.
• -1. The 2-wing Encore is busted, I began to repair it last year but realized I was going to botch the job. So I contacted the original kit maker and he recommended a guy in San Diego, we’re gonna hook up next week and he’s going to fix it for a small fee.
• -1. My wing warrior eZipper flies tail-heavy, and I am not willing to fix it. Another donation.
• -2. There are two MM Glidertech Wedgies in the garage that need to be fully retrofitted, but currently not airworthy.
• -1. The CSD Switchblade is airworthy, but has faulty motor mounts. If I’m going to fix those, I’m going to be tempted to fix a number of other things. So this plane is out for now.
• -1. The Zagi is stripped, and not worth rebuilding. Another donation.
• +2. The 4-wing Encore and Photon are airworthy.

So at the moment, I have 3 planes I can fly with another 5 out of commission or headed to the trash bin. My collection used to be huge and diverse, this is what I get for abondoning the hobby for 2 years.

The future.

I have 3 projects going:

• The Alula and the Weasel just arrived.
• The Yak 57 is 60% complete, awaiting new batteries from FMA Direct.
• I’m going to retrofit one of the Wedgie wings with a brushless and see where that takes me.

The next plane I buy will be a hotliner:

• Like the Nike 2
• Or an F5B Tiger

Or, a GWS Formosa.
Of course, I have the electric heli as well, but I ran out of adult diapers flying it.

For a flight from Palm Springs to Phoenix, Expedia has a 13hr option. Why bother. I couldn’t resist another search: Burbank to John Wayne = 11hr 40m. Sweet!

Sam is into 1/64 die-cast cars (Hot Wheels). We’ve been buying whatever catches his eye at Target until I stopped and realized we’ve really just been stocking up on bad taste. So our last few purchases have been carefully selected:

• 1966 Chevy Nova
• 2007 VW Golf GTI
• 2006 Audi RS6 Avant
• 1966 Lincoln Continental
• 2007 Porsche Cayman S
• 2007 Dodge Charger SRT-8

The sub-prime “crisis” is a distraction from the real issue: rising interest rates. The r/e market will tank when triple-A paper starts going down the toilet — highly likely considering how many “creatively financed” loans are out there (that translates to “adjustable rate” loans). Meanwhile, we’ll have to tolerate stupid reality TV shows leftover from the hype.

In the last 48 hours, two new r/c aircraft have been purchased: the alula and the weasel pro. The alula is pure curiosity, and I plan to go apeshit on the details building it. The weasel is pure lust having seen it in action this last weekend.

I also flew the CSD Switchblade and subsequently decided to keep it (I was going to sell it for $200, I got an offer for $165 and decided it wasn’t worth the trouble). I am done with the Microjet.

I am crazy-hooked on the theme song for Charlie and Lola.

My garage has been a complete mess for months, so little by little I’ve managed to organize things well enough to walk around. The last frontier of annoying disorganization was my workbench which has been primarily occupied by Bill’s unbuilt eRaider flying wing introduced over 2 years ago and never finished. So I finished it and rediscovered how fun it was to tinker with r/c model planes.

Since then, I’ve fixed and flown my Microjet, eZipper, and Photon; hovered my Heli-max Axe CP (and damaged the tail rotor); bought and partially built/damaged a Yak-54 3D (a replacement is already on its way); and ordered a 2007 Mapleleaf Encore from Don Peterson. Additionally, I transitioned most of my planes to my super-cool new radio, the Futaba 9C-HP, and recharged all my NiCad batteries. So I’m ready to fly.  The doctor is in.

This Saturday, there’s a Slope Soaring event at Pt. Fermin where a big group of enthusiasts are going to fly, sell/trade planes and pot luck, so I’m gonna head down with Sam and enjoy the festivities (and maybe buy a turnkey PSS plane).

I have almost attained inventory nirvana, I would stop buying planes if I could have (1) a scale warbird, (2)  a fantastically overpowered wing, (3) a “hotliner” and when I’m reasonably good at sloping, (4) a composite slope blade.  And since this is a hobby, I’ll need several versions of each.  And accessories.  And tools.

Just finished the last touches on the Wing Warrior eRaider. It’s powered by a Mega Motors brushless, two Hitec HS-85MG servos and coordinated through a Castle Creations brushless speed control and a Hitec 555 receiver. It came with a LiPo battery, but I was too scared to use it and opted for a NiCad instead.

Does this plane look familiar to any of my readers? I plan to inaugurate this plane into the air before work sometime this week.

Effective immediately, I will only eat at the following places in West Hollywood for lunch (in order of preference):

• Cafe Primo
• Mirabelle
• Ezo Sushi
• Pi
• Dialog *
• Frankie & Johnny’s
• Saddle Ranch

Under no circumstance will I dine at

• Dukes
• Raja
• Poquito Mas
• Pita Pit
• Subway
• Togos
• Cafe Cockroach (the Med place)

If faced with the possibility of going to any of these businesses I will politely but firmly decline. If you see me in one of these places through the balance of this year, please remind me of this blog post if you would be so kind.

On very, very rare occasions I will reluctantly go to

• Mel’s
• Panini
• Red Rock
• Hamburger Hamlet
• Barneys **
• IHOP **

Please make a note of this. This list excludes all driving destinations, such as the Grove or the CC mall, those will be evaluated on a case by case basis. But I can tell you right now that I won’t eat at most of the restaurants in the Farmer’s Market. Don’t get me started.
* sandwich only
** very, very, very rare occasions