Tumbly McTumbleton

davidcorns: Tall Stack / Cincinnati / Draft #2

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:06:29 -0400

Tall Stack / Cincinnati / Draft #2

over-the-rhine: Via the OTR blog (full text at...

Wed, 30 May 2012 18:02:47 -0400

Via the OTR blog (full text at link):

Conservative Cincinnati radio host Bill Cunningham of 700 WLW in Cincinnati lauds the progress and redevelopment of the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. May 29, 2012

“Something right is going on. Maybe I should spend less of my time crapping all over the city of Cincinnati and more time experiencing it” is what I thought of myself.

over-the-rhine: urbancincy: Photo: Japps Since 1879 (by...

Mon, 28 May 2012 12:04:32 -0400

over-the-rhine:

urbancincy:

Photo: Japps Since 1879 (by 5chw4r7z)

Check it out on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/japps1879

sunfoundation: Tornado tracks John Nelson of IDV Solutions put...

Sat, 26 May 2012 23:43:21 -0400

sunfoundation:

Tornado tracks

John Nelson of IDV Solutions put 56 years worth of tornadoes on a map. John plotted each tornado’s path and used brightness for its F-scale (level of intensity). He also added secondary charts for deaths and injuries and frequency by F-scale.

Logging a couple more hours.

Fri, 25 May 2012 14:34:04 -0400

Logging a couple more hours.

urbancincy: People love the new water features at the Smale...

Tue, 22 May 2012 10:42:50 -0400

urbancincy:

People love the new water features at the Smale Riverfront Park.

(Photos via marksickmiller and BennyCL.)

CEOs for Cities, Cincinnati - A New Perspective (by 7/79)

Mon, 21 May 2012 09:41:00 -0400

CEOs for Cities, Cincinnati - A New Perspective (by 7/79)

theatlantic: How and Why American Cities Are Coming Back When...

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:11:55 -0400

theatlantic:

How and Why American Cities Are Coming Back

When one thinks of the larger demographic changes that have taken place in America over the last generation — the increased number of people who remain single, the rise of cohabitation, the later age of first marriage, the smaller size of families, and at the other end, the rapidly growing number of healthy and active adults in their later years — it’s hard to escape the notion that we have managed to combine virtually all the significant elements that make a demographic inversion not only possible but likely. I want to emphasize that I’m not predicting a massive invasion of the cities by middle-aged suburbanites and their children. I’m mostly suggesting that the emerging millennial generation — the second largest generation in American history, second only to the baby boomers — will find an urbanized form of life attractive. They will move to cities as singles; as couples; as young married families with small children. Will they want to live in the city when their children reach school age? I believe many of them will, but there is certainly room for debate on this subject.

Read more. [Image: Reuters]

Great video. Go be a kid again in your city.

Thu, 17 May 2012 11:13:35 -0400

Great video. Go be a kid again in your city.

Photo

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:09:03 -0400

friendlyatheist: ihateallyourgods: robertafett: Word. These...

Sat, 12 May 2012 11:11:33 -0400

friendlyatheist:

ihateallyourgods:

robertafett:

Word.

These people look so stupid right now. Just imagine how they will look in another 40 years.

40? More like in 15 years. Tops.

iheartrandoms: The off white stripes helping close day 1 of...

Sat, 12 May 2012 11:10:59 -0400

iheartrandoms:

The off white stripes helping close day 1 of #qcmerge (Taken with Instagram at Contemporary Arts Center)

davidcorns: Cheese Coney / Cincinnati / Draft #2

Tue, 08 May 2012 12:42:41 -0400

davidcorns:

Cheese Coney / Cincinnati / Draft #2

Romeo. Echo. Bravo. Lima. Oscar. Golf. India. Foxtrot. Yankee. Oscar. Uniform. Charlie. Alpha. November. Romeo. Echo. Alpha. Delta. Tango. Hotel. India. Sierra.

Mon, 07 May 2012 22:54:18 -0400

Flying

Mon, 07 May 2012 22:47:00 -0400

I’ve wanted to fly for quite a while. I just got started a couple of weeks ago, so I figured I’d make an attempt at logging my progress. It seems like there’s quite a bit of value in keeping detailed logs about training, procedures and review so why not make it public, too?

Getting Started

Back in October, I bought a Groupon for an intro flight at Blue Ash Aviation after some prompting from my wife. It’s about a mile from our office and it seemed like I’d be able to make some time and get over to log some hours. Shortly after, our second son was born and that makes for very little free time. Then the holidays and cold, boring winter got in the way. My Groupon was nearing it’s expiration date at the end of March, so I finally made the call to book a reservation. My first flight (with an instructor) was scheduled for Tuesday, April 10th at 7:00 PM.

I showed up a little early and sat in the lounge at the airport waiting on my instructor. He arrived a little before seven, a tall, skinny guy named Ken. We talked about my interest in aviation and I told him that my brother-in-law has a Private Pilot License. I explained that I’d flown with him several times and that four or five years ago I bought the ground school package from Sporty’s, but life got in the way and I hadn’t had a chance to get back to learning. We pre-flighted the plane, a Cessna 172, but the wind was pretty heavy. We talked for a while inside the airport, and eventually wound up re-scheduling the flight for Sunday the 22nd.

First Flight

The Sunday morning flight was at 10AM, so I grabbed some breakfast and headed out the door early. We both got to the airport at about the same time. We quickly reviewed what we’d talked about, pre-flighted the plane and started taxiing out to runway 06. I’d never taxied before, so steering was pretty challenging. We followed the checklist, made a clearing turn and pulled out on to the runway. To my surprise, I flew the take-off. Probably with some assistance, but it’s tough to tell. I was too busy realizing that I was climbing off the ground.

We decided to fly down near Lunken, turn west and parallel the river from Kentucky past downtown, then follow I-75 back up to the north side of town. I practiced straight and level and a few shallow turns. Well, they were supposed to be shallow, anyway.

I was just as impressed that when we entered the pattern back at Blue Ash, that I’d be landing the plane. I’m pretty sure Ken had most of the control, but coming in to land the first time was something I’ll never forget. We did a touch and go, flew the pattern again then did a second landing. After taxiing back to the lot, I was hooked. I set up my appointment for the next one before I left.

Second Flight

My second flight was booked for that Friday afternoon (April 27th). It was sunny and warm right around 60. It was a nice day to fly. I got to the airport and sat on the couch to review the last lesson’s notes. When Ken showed up, we grabbed the plane’s log, keys and a headset and headed to the classroom to talk about the traffic pattern and get started using my syllabus from the Sporty’s Learn to Fly iPad app.

I’m trying to use my iPad for as much as I can, since I’m not too excited about hauling around a bunch of charts and books. So far, so good. Ken’s okay with me using it, too, except for certifications/endorsements in my log book. We’ll stick with paper for that one.

Before the flight, I asked Ken about his work as a CFI. Turns out he’d been an attorney and enjoyed flying so he decided to give it a go. He’s interested in working with the FAA and all the hours he’s logging will help him with that goal.

I pre-flighted the plane (N31SZ) this time, which was pretty exciting. I was sure I’d miss something and that Ken would call me out, but everything when well. We hopped in and taxied out to runway 06 again. The wind was out of the north, so that’s where we ended up again. I reviewed the pre-takeoff checklist, made a clearing turn and taxied out on to the runway. We took off and headed out to the practice area over Kings Island. We didn’t stay too long, though, since it was pretty choppy. We went back to the airport and spent some more time in the pattern. I made my first radio call on final. I made three more touch-and-go’s and headed back to the office around five.

Third Flight

Between flights I’d been watching some videos of instructors on the West Coast in the plane with students. Before I watched them, I’d been taking flying pretty seriously. Turns out I might have been a little too serious. Flying is dangerous, but general aviation is pretty safe. I’m more at risk in my car on the way to the airport. I mentioned to Ken as we added oil to the plane (N31SZ this time) that I realized I probably wasn’t as relaxed as I should have been. He thought that he wasn’t doing his job if that were the case, but I explained that it was more of a feeling that I had had. I realized that I needed to loosen up and get a feel for the plane. I wasn’t expected to know everything about flying on my second lesson, after all.

As I pre-flighted the plane, I had to check some additional settings since this one is fuel injected and about twenty years newer. I spent some time just sitting in the seat getting a better feel for where everything is located.

The oil was about a quart low, so we walked back in, grabbed a quart and added it to the engine. We strapped in and taxied out to runway 24. I did the pre-takeoff checklist, taxied out and eased the throttle to full. We took off, exited the pattern and flew east toward the practice area again. Today’s agenda had us working on slow flight and imminent stalls. We climbed up to 3,000 feet and planed off to level. I reduced the throttle in to flaps range and we started adding flaps. It felt pretty interesting to be 3,000 feet up and flying at forty knots. I kept pitching the nose back as long as I could then we started to hear the stall warning. Before we actually stalled, I learned to release the yoke pressure, get to level and add power.

Ken informed me that he was going to do a full stall for me to get a feeling of what was happening. He took the controls and did the same maneuver, only this time he went much further. I wasn’t quite ready, but the nose drops rapidly and suddenly you’re looking at much more ground than you were just a second before. He leveled off and added power and gave me the controls again. My belly took a couple minutes to catch back up after that.

We did quite a bit of slow flying. I felt the mushiness of the controls and the lack of maneuverability quite a bit. The plane is pretty difficult to fly with little airspeed. Ken gave me several headings and altitudes and I did my best to maintain both, but it turned out to be a little trickier than I thought it would. He’d tell me to quit descending or climbing and I’d have to check the altimeter or vertical speed indicator to see. I still don’t have a for either from just looking out the window yet.

Overall, this was the best lesson so far. The air was smooth, I spent a lot of time feeling flying and we made two more takeoffs and landings. I also made all the radio calls and only screwed up once turning crosswind after takeoff. I’m pretty sure I called downwind.

Learning

I’m learning a ton flying the plane, which is to be expected. I’ve watched the videos several times between each flight and everything makes much more sense after you’ve experienced it first hand. I’m more confident with coordinated turns and straight and level already. I need to work on maintaing heading and altitudes, but I’m sure that will come soon enough. So far, I’ve logged a whopping 2.6 hours. I’ve booked the next flight, but I had a pretty large gap this time. Ken will be out of town and we’ve a conference we’ve been planning is getting in the way at the end of the week. My next flight is scheduled for May 13th.

life: On the anniversary of Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea...

Fri, 04 May 2012 13:44:18 -0400

life:

On the anniversary of Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea winning the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, LIFE.com presents pictures of the writer in Cuba — and the unsettling, untold story behind the photos.

Not originally published in LIFE. An image from a contact sheet of Alfred Eisenstaedt’s pictures of Ernest Hemingway in Cuba, August 1952.

See more here.

Photo

Wed, 02 May 2012 23:52:28 -0400

Photo

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:00:12 -0400

thedailywhat: Mother Nature Win of the Day: Andrey Pavlov‘s...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:11:21 -0400

thedailywhat:

Mother Nature Win of the Day: Andrey Pavlov‘s photographs are so legit, they should be included in Barney Stinson’s office collection of motivational posters.

This one would be captioned: “Deliberation is the work of many men. Action, of one alone.” ~Charles de Gaulle

[mentalfloss]

I drive home with stains on my shirt, nacho flavored...

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:21:54 -0400

I drive home with stains on my shirt, nacho flavored cheetle in my beard, and shame.

I would try it. Once.