The Double M News - 2003
Note to Travolta:
John Travolta tries to build a
Fun House knockoff.
Click on the photo above for details on the new SubZero refrigerator,
New Pool Table for The Fun House
Click on the photo above for details on the new pool table,
Biplane Archive Treasure
I'm still moving stuff out of storage,
and into the new condo, throwing out
tons of junk, and selling some other
stuff that's useful, but not for me
anymore... like a couple of parachutes!!
In the muddle of it all, I came across
this photo of me and my brand new
biplane, at
the big air show in Oshkosh, WI
where it was displayed by
the factory for the week, and
where I had taken official delivery,
in the summer of 1993.
The factory was very proud of this
particular one, as it was the 50th
one they built in 8 years. When they
first started the company, everyone
thought they were completely crazy
to build a biplane designed more than
50 years prior. The bets were that
they would never find even 3 buyers.
They showed them all... Now they have
built more than 100.
I particularly like the grin on my face,
which seemed to stay there for 7 more
years!
I still can't believe I did it....
There is a tradition in military aviation that when a man enters the fraternity of
pilots,
Wildfire!
The wildfires have befouled the air to such an extent that
the normally blue air and ocean are obscured with a veil of brown.
The photo above is an unretouched view from the balcony, facing the ocean.
To see this same view on a normal day,
click here.
I finally located my first Waco biplane (N50YM), which
was in a February 1994 crash when my instructor, flying alone, landed with the
parking brake on and it flipped over on the runway. He was unhurt, but the biplane was
completely destroyed. I traded the insurance payoff
and some extra cash for a brand new biplane (N250YM). The first one was rebuilt by the
factory and sold to Germany where it is now living a good life giving rides at the Hamburg airport.
A short short story in which the author learns the true answer to the
question:
Click on the photo to supersize it, and visit the webpage,
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
I've been living on the oceanfront for the last quarter of a century.
The Tourists are Gone!
At long last, the tourists are gone from Del Mar.
This is the best time of the year,
A Most Excellent Day!
Frisbee on the beach with good friends,
Did you ever wonder how far the earth travels in a year?
I got to wondering that on my birthday,
because I was really wondering how far I have traveled in my life so far...
If the distance from earth to the sun is 92,000,000 miles (normally used as the "average" distance), and the orbit were circular, then it would be easy to calculate the total orbit using the formula for finding the circumference of a circle, which is Pi * diameter = 577,760,000 miles (the diameter is twice the distance from earth to sun)....
But the orbit is elliptical, not circular, so that would throw off the number
there must be some formula for calculating ellipses, but I have no idea what it is...
And then, the answer just appeared...
And then, to find how far I have traveled life to date:
The first part of the equation is for my age, the second is for the leap days added during my lifetime.
(MyAge divided by 4)
Now you can figure out how far you have gone in your lifetime.
I'm not even tired yet. I figure I'm good for another 35 billion miles. I'll probably get dizzy before I get tired...
In an interesting comparison, Mars was recently only 35 MILLION miles from earth.
So my distance traveled life to date is about ONE THOUSAND TIMES the distance to Mars,
or 500 round trips. Of course Mars was recently closer than it has been in 59,000 years,
but it's still an interesting thought.
Has your head exploded yet with all these numbers?
Moving Day
Here's my horoscope for today,
Groups thrive where individuals would falter.
Historic Letter from the Archives
On my recent trip back to Philly, to visit with my parents on their 87th & 88th birthdays
(same week), I was helping them pack for a move when we found a letter I had written home
to them almost 40 years ago. It was my first week at IBM's basic training, where they
took raw geniuses and taught them the secrets of how computers work. Check it out!
Here's the straight text:
Dear Mom & Dad
It just occurred to me that yesterday was Father's Day.
Sorry I forgot about it, Dad, but I hope you had a good day (on the boat?).
I have learned a lot so far. I think my brain will explode soon.
Even this basic stuff is so beautiful that I might become a specialist in
the aesthetics of Data Processing.
Seriously, though, I never had electricity, magnetism, selectors and that stuff in school (ever).
But it's really beautiful. Some of the E.E.s in my class think I'm crazy but I think this is some of
the greatest learning around.
You take a few hundred little wires, put them into a little board with a few hundred
holes in it, put the board in the machine and I'll be damned if it doesn't do exactly
what you told it to. And the best part of it is I know where to put the wires,
what happens, why it happens, and why I want to do it, and it's all so beautifully logical I still have
a hard time believing that a bunch of gears tubes and switches does it. I feel like a little kid
in Fantasy land.
To date I haven't even touched a computer but I saw one thru a glass door. The way I get so excited about these
little machines I'll probably faint when I get near a computer.
Today we had our 3rd test. #4 is Wednesday. Marks so far: Test #1=75; #2=98; #3=90.
But none of these have counted so far. The first one to be counted will be Monday.
It will be very hard. The pressure is starting to get to me every once in a while, like when I look at the
50 or more manuals with thousands of different possible operations on several different machines that all
have to be committed to memory before I can make an analytical decision about anything.
When this happens I just sit back, take a deep breath and wonder
How in God's Name Did I Ever Get Here, or What Am I Doing Working for IBM, this material is Impossible.
Then I think if I got the job without really working a day in my life,
just think what I can do if I really work.
Like I said 6/3/64 (Graduation Day): "Watch Out World!"
I was thinking last night that even if I got a 99 in this course, there is no excuse for not getting 100.
I doubt if teaching methods could be better.
I've never been so impressed with any group of people in regard to sheer intelligence.
In a word, I love it. But I still won't wear a hat.
Write if you can,
Love,
F. Michael (boy wonder)
The Gesture of Maximum Leverage
Today, on this Full Moon, a cosmic condition which has so many times
accompanied some of my more significant thoughts and deeds,
I have at last realized the
Holy Grail of Human Endeavor, something which I have been pursuing for many years,
and which I felt could be my greatest legacy.
Read on...
Federal Government Decides
In a bold move by our Federal Government,
Read the letter!
Summer Solstice
Yesterday was the longest day of the year,
All the science involved can be learned at
this link.
But the best part of Summer Solstice is that summer is really here!
Airshow Archives Opened,
It was the summer of 1997. I was flying my biplane throughout Europe.
Man Parks Car Up Front, Every Time!
Click on the link above for the latest short story. It's all true, of course...
Click on the link to check out the Before and (proposed) After
Looking for Answers
My home was a very welcome place last night.
It was sooooooo good to be back in my space again,
For the last 8 days I have been in the alien environment of Philadelphia,
A saint of a woman,
married to my father for 60+ years,
So many questions when Death is at the door.
What is it, this Ultimate Adventure we call Death?
Is there just one "lifetime" here on earth, as a human,
How different would the next life be?
Can these answers be found with our best thinking?
If we could know these answers,
Can we find a way to be ready for Death at any moment,
Is there One Answer to All Questions?
Or are there many Paths to Enlightenment?
What answers have you found?
I like to walk on the beach while I think of these things.
On the Move: The Fun House is SOLD
The legendary Mikie's Fun House has been sold, and is now in the hands of of the new owners.
The fun thing about moving is finding lost treasures.
Photo Op
Olivia D. is escorted to lunch by yours truly. Her mother chaperoned the event.
Mustang Moves Into Fun House
Here's one of the last photos from the Fun House, now in escrow.
I guess I wasn't the only one to have second thoughts
Two days of rain runoff have muddied the waters of the Pacific.
All morning one wall of fog after the other rolled in and blanketed everything
Freestyle beach frisbee at low tide (~2pm) today, with Mark, in the rain.
"Frisbee player hurt!" Hardly an earthshaking headline.
That was two weeks ago. It's getting better every day!
Low and slow, over the surf, sunset, Del Mar, CA
This painting of my Waco biplane, by John Dormer, is one of my favorites.
I have been wanting to take a photo, or scan, this painting
The painting was intended to capture the moments
I'm sure it can be done more quickly,
Enjoy...
If the world's richest man,
Bill Gates uses only one monitor on his PC (true!),
Well, this is my desktop monitor setup, three 18" flat screens from
Mass, Inc.
Click here for complete details of my computer system.
After all these years, I still can't say it any
better.
Another Perfect Day
Peace.
Lunch with a good friend who has been gone for too long.
The Last Low Pass
What makes Landmark National Bank special is the people.
Call 858-509-2700 today.
The sunset image is one frame from today's
webcam looking out my front window,
In other, unfortunate news,
Stay well, friends. Play more Frisbee.
Click on the photo or headline for the featured video (3.7mb), and/or see these videos:
Check out how the off-shore winds hold the waves up longer,
There is no way you can get the full experience with these feeble videos.
It's more fun in my open-cockpit biplane
and the subtle changes in humidity and temperature,
and hear the wind singing through the wing-wires...
You'll never have those physical sensations in a B2.
Give me my open-cockpit biplane, any day.
It's surreal.
It was the summer of 1982,
We had been playing some extremely fun pong,
It was just one of those "Kodak moments".
Weather Station Returns to Service
My personal, online weather station is back on duty
New Year, New Moon
Happy New Year!
Dude, What were you thinking?
Doesn't he know that it's not a
real Fun House
if the airplanes can't fit inside? Duh! What was he thinking?
at Mikie's Fun House #4.
This model 650G has a glass door, and I can now prove beyond any shadow of doubt,
that the light DOES stay on when the door is closed!
Click on the photo or headline to see more photos of the Fun House...
at Mikie's Fun House #4.
(click to enlarge and read the sign)
he is bestowed a call sign (name) by his instructor.
Click on the name to read the story
about how
I accidentally discovered how to make multiple sunrises, sunsets, moonrises and moonsets,
all natural, and all within less than half an hour.
Click here for photos and ride info
Of What Do Frisbees Dream?
Click the headline for more.
where you can learn more and hear it in action!
During that time, I have often stood on some cliff near the beach,
and wondered how far it was to the horizon.
Many a friend I have asked, and many a friend simply shrugged their shoulders.
Now that I've moved to a new place (Mikie's Fun House #4)
on the edge of the Pacific
I got to wondering again...
Click on the heading above to learn how to figure the distance to any horizon.
The schools have opened and soaked up all the kids.
And today, the racetrack closes for the season.
the beaches are empty,
the weather is absolutely spectacular,
the weirdos are gone, and only the locals remain.
And, once again, Del Mar is a sleepy little seaside village.
gathered together to celebrate the day of my birth.
The weather was absolutely perfect, the water was warm,
and the food was awesome!
one of the questions on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire"
(for 250 thousand bucks) was "what is the speed of the earth in its orbit around the sun?"
Of course I knew the answer (67,000mph), and then it became obvious
how to solve the question above... the math is simple:
67,000mph * 24 = 1,608,000 miles in one day
(1,608,000 * 365 = 586,920,000 miles traveled in a year)
(67,000 * 24 * 365 * MyAge) + (67,000 * 24 * LeapDays) = 35,826,240,000 miles.
the day that I move into my new home,
(Mikie's Fun House #4).
In spite of this populist trend, you're in a league of your own,
a category unto yourself.
Others recognize your skills even as you share and teach.
Somehow, you keep your own house in order
while guiding everyone else through his or her personal maze.
A busy environment won't compromise your vision.
You can start new projects even as you multitask.
Promises and projections are worth their weight in gold.
When you say that you'll deliver, you really will deliver,
and it's going to be far better than expected, too.
Not to Exercise Disapproval Authority!
they have decided to Not exercise their disapproval authority
in regard to my serving as a Director of Landmark National Bank,
which, along with 14 others, I helped to start from scratch.
It's a classic.
the day when the sun is the farthest north in the year,
but it has nothing to do with how far we are from the sun.
Proof? Frisbee on the beach, in surf deep to the knee,
and truly spectacular running, flying, diving catches.
It just can not get any better!
Read "A Good Way to Die", on my
Frisbee Page.
(click to enlarge photo)
Historical Document Found
Somehow I lucked into being invited to fly an airshow at historic Duxford (England) airfield.
Best of all, it was scheduled for my birthday! What better present could I imagine?
But Reality had other plans. I was stuck on the ground in Donegal Ireland,
with high winds and rain, and cold beyond bearable.
So I missed the airshow, but I still have this great document to remember what could have been!
It would have been my first and only airshow performance!
Read the entire story...
click here! Click on the photo or headline to enlarge the photo.
floor plans for the New Fun House in Del Mar.
and to eat the foods that my body wants,
and to feel the amazing comfort of the waves.
a continent away, a city far from the sea,
subsisting as a transient, in a common hotel, living among The Populace,
all to visit Mom, who was receiving Intensive Care at the very hospital
where she volunteered for 30 years.
Pneumonia got her, again.
Complications from Parkinson's.
And in her 87th year.
raised 6 kids to be good people,
and this is her cruel Fate?
So few when he's down the road and out of sight.
What happens when we die?
Where do we go when we die?
Do we go back to where we came from? Or some other place?
Is there the possibility that we can control what happens to us after we die?
If so, what fate would we choose for ourselves?
and then there is something completely different?
If so, then where would we want to go after the next one?
(and so on, for infinity?)
Would we keep our same memories, intelligence and emotions,
or do we lose all of that too?
Would then all of us be "perfected"
and therefore all the same?
Would we be able to recognize each other when we get there?
Is this why we are here, to find these answers?
How could computers be used to find these answers?
how would our behavior, Here/Now, be optimized
to benefit us in the next lifetime(s)?
like Miyamoto Musashi, the great Samurai warrior,
who wrote of the Way of the Sword in his Book of Five Rings?
Who among us could have such an answer?
This past week was focused on moving the accumulated "stuff" of ten years in Fun House mode.
Needless to say, I couldn't have done it so well without Carol's awesome assistance.
See the Winged Woman sketch at the bottom of my Art page for one such example.
Click on photo to enlarge.
Shown is my '65 Mustang convertible, sitting in the space where my biplane once rested,
in my bedroom. Also notice the 4 poster bed, and the neat Waco Airplanes neon sign.
after coming out of the euphoria of the Segway hype.
Click on the title to read the Wired story of "Segway's Breakdown".
The photo shows the dark, brownish sea water extending to just beyond the surf,
and then the turquoise clear water, followed by darker blue deep water,
which is almost obscured by the advancing fog.
then just as quickly vanished, giving way to clear air all the way to the horizon.
It was slow going... my leg is still recovering from the last time.
Tore it up real good in a sprint and dropped like a sack of potatoes. Hurt awful.
Joey and Mark push/pulled me up the cliff path, then drove me back home.
Three days on crutches, then hobbling for several more before walking resembled normal.
Now, two weeks later, it is still tender to the touch. But it is healing.
I would like to avoid dwelling on this minor misfortune, as it is my style to Seek Positives
so it needs to be reframed that way in order for it to be fully News worthy...
However, the core of the story is that
it has been at least 20 years of play since the last injury,
and that is the News we are celebrating!
The headline should be "Twenty Years of Injury-Free Play"
Or, even better: "New Record Attempt Starts".
End of Rainy Day story.
(click to enlarge)
I knew early on that I would not be flying forever,
and I wanted something that would be portable, personal, and hopefully outlast me,
so that I could simply look in its direction and
it would bring back the thousands of memories of the
wonderful adventures I've had in this
amazing airplane.
for as long as I've had this website (many years),
and have always wanted the result to be first class,
so I hesitated to just walk up to it and take a simple photo.
But that's what I finally did!
Last night.
And it turned out just fine.
of carefree flying along the beach
just before sunset.
On this flight I discovered what has become known as
"The Mikie Mooneuver"
in which a skilled and playful aviator can create
3 Sunsets, 3 Sunrises, 3 Moonrises and 3 Moonsets
within 30 minutes.
but why would you want to?
(click to enlarge)
how long would it take you to surpass him if you had THREE monitors?
I have been using this setup for about 6 months
and have found a few ways to improve it, but
this is absolutely a much more productive way to use a PC.
The end of an era.
I haven't met the owners-to-be yet,
but I hear they are nice people
who have an appreciation for what an extraordinary home it is.
I hope they enjoy it as much as I did.
who was my Frisbee partner for many years, as well as a talented artist, of course.
This
painting has been on my wall forever,
and I have always been meaning to scan it and put in up
on this website to share with my friends.
Kate also hand made a one-off T-shirt with this
design,
which I still wear on special beach Frisbee days,
when the wind is just right, at low tide,
late in the afternoon, around sunset.
Kate is credited with the philosophical awakening
summed up in 5 words: "To Fris Is To Be".
The New Moon sets into a clear night sky.
Writing.
The day begins and ends with yoga. And gratitude.
my lovely Waco open cockpit biplane is SOLD,
and makes its last low pass at The Fun House
before heading back to the
Waco factory and out of my hands forever.
I have close to 1000 hours in that awesome machine,
and I will miss it.
The bond between a man and his biplane is very strong.
Real human beings with lots and lots
of banking experience.
People you can talk to.
The road to success is a lot easier to
travel when you have Landmark National Bank on your side.
A page with links to several bits of my writing
which were heretofore scattered all over
this website and beyond.
Includes short stories, book length, free verse, and "other".
This brings it all together, for whatever it's worth.
Your feedback is welcome.
Frisbee On The Beach
is causing extra low tides in the afternoon,
revealing lots of new fresh sand on the extra wide beach
and giving lots of room for some running freestyle Frisbee.
down to the beach where we played Frisbee in the late afternoon.
The wind was sweet, the sand was the consistency of brown sugar,
and both Mark and I were "in the zone".
Check out the Frisbee page.
Ron Bird, the vice chairman and fellow founder of our
bank,
died suddenly a couple of days ago.
He will be missed.
of the dry, warm Santa Ana winds blowing in from the desert in the east.
Santa Ana Big Waves - a (3.7mb)
Santa Ana Big Waves - b (3.7mb)
Santa Ana Big Waves - c (3.0mb)
and blow the spray back in spectacular displays.
What's missing is the thunderous sounds of these big waves finally falling over.
And these videos only show a small portion of the scene.
What you should see is the huge sweeping 180-degree vista.
down on the deck, over the beach.
because you get to feel
the wind on your face, and in your hair,
It's one of my favorites!
living on Ocean Avenue in Del Mar, CA.
I maxed out my Sears credit card
to buy
a low cost particle board ping pong table,
and put it in the driveway behind the house.
I knew it wouldn't last
any more than a year if it was going to be stored outside,
but that was all I could afford at the time.
Joey, Vince, and Ray were all worthy players, and the
summer went by quickly.
in perfectly clear weather.
We went inside for water, and when we came out,
this is exactly what we saw!.
(click on the photo to go to my new Ping Pong page)
after being serviced by the great folks at RainWise.
Click on the link above and check it out!
May you have Good Health, Peace and Prosperity.
Celebrated the new year with my favorite play:
Frisbee on the beach. What a great workout!
Also did some "Spring Cleaning" around the office
and put some brushstrokes to the website
(made this News link run lots faster
by archiving into separate files)
to help out the dialup visitors.
