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Blog Archive 2012 Sep

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Sat 9/1 - I tried to ride after breakfast, about 8:30 with my 130 cm Lite Wave Stealth twin-tip board and my 15m Epic Infinity. I was able to keep the kite up in the air, but there was not enough wind to get up on the board and ride. - I hooked up my van's night-time AC system for the first time this year. AC stands for air circulation and is a three-inch muffin ceiling fan strategically aimed at body parts that need to be cooled.
- Updating this blog and spending the night at Ride Hatteras. Thanks, Charlie!

Sun 9/2 - No wind today so I hung around Ride Hatteras about three hours, socializing, surfing the web etc.
- After lunch I sunned, did a beach run and visited Earl and Gayle on the Avon Pier
- Then I did some serious testing, comparing of StraightTalk's performance with that of AT&T in fringe areas such as Planet of the Apes, Ramp 27 and ramp 34 by switching their respective SIM cards around in two different phones. Conclusions: StraightTalk is marginally better with both data and voice; My Samsung Galaxy S2 does better than my candy-bar style Motorola C-139 for voice calls with a SIM card from either provider.
- I finished off the day at the Avon Atlantic Coast Cafe, ordering spare main rotor blades, a spare flybar and two new batteries for my
heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
and trying to port my old AT&T phone number to my new StraightTalk account. No dice online.
- Had an exceptional night's sleep at Ride Hatteras.

Mon 9/3 Labor Day - Another hot and almost windless day (5-8 mph with a peak gust of 16). This morning I hung out at Canadian Hole to review and purge my Zip Line videos from Manitou Springs, Colorado. Then in the afternoon I continued checking out the kiteboarding spots south of Avon which I had started Saturday.
- I spent the rest of the evening in the new cool, quiet pilot's lounge of the Billy Mitchel Airport resolving my checking account (finally, after 24 days) and catching up on the last couple of days of this blog.

Tue 9/4 - Since there was no wind for kiteboarding today, I spent most of it down south at the Hatteras Branch Library flying my
heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
, visiting with "Bob," updating my website and two hours on the phone trying to port my AT&T phone number over to Straight Talk. No dice for the latter.

Wed 9/5 - Kiteboarding was the main event today, all at Kitty Hawk Kites (16 miles north) in Rodanthe with my 15m Epic Infinity. I had two sessions of one and two hours respectively; each one starting on my 130 cm Lite Wave Stealth twin-tip board and finishing up on my Naish Custom Fish 5’2” x 17.5” surfboard without footstraps. With the twin-tip I practiced jumps (lousy) and the full complement of kite loops. With the surfboard I did lots of foot switches with and without carves. In the process I had ample opportunities to get wet in the warm, 82.7° water. The wind continued past sunset, but I figure I should save some energy for tomorrow.

Thu 9/6 - Good kiting today with a bad ending after the three sessions! I measured the outside air temperature at 84° F early this morning.
- I kitted before breakfast and was the first person on the water at 7:40 for an hour with my 15m Epic Infinity kite (a good call) and Naish Custom Fish 5’2” x 17.5” surfboard without footstraps. I did lots of foot switch combinations with some success and some splashing around.
- The second session was before lunch at 11:40 for a little over an hour with my 12m Cabrinha Switchblade-4 and 130 cm Lite Wave Stealth twin-tip board - another good call. I did lots of jump jibes with kite down loops and tried two spins in each direction, doing the full 360° on a several. My stronger direction seems to be portside (to the left). This is the first time I have tried spins in a couple of years. The conditions were mellow enough that any crashes would be gentle in the winds that maxed out at 20 mph according to the IKitesurf anemometer at Kitty Hawk Kites.
- The third session was before supper at 4:50 for an hour, again with my old 12m Cabrinha Switchblade-4 kite which still seems to be hanging in there, starting out with my twin-tip and finishing on my surfboard. On the twin-tip all my jibes were with a jump and down loop (cool) except one where I carved to toe-side to avoid another kiteboarder. Also I practiced spins in each direction, landing one and riding off - to starboard!. My surfboard session was short but sweet. I tried my first jump switches and actually made one to starboard, even. Riding healside I would jump up off the board with both feet and attempt to land back on it riding toeside - then jump back. In this sport there always seems something else to try, even for someone at my relatively low riding level. I came in when some ugly clouds and a thunderstorm showed up in the vicinity.
- The bad ending was when I jumped off my surfboard to land my kite. The arch of my left foot got cut when it landed on a sharp clump of oyster shells. The cut is about three inches long, not too deep but bled quite a bit. There was a 3-inch pool of blood on the asphalt where I stood for a couple of minutes. Kudos to Charles and the other kiteboarders who wrapped up my gear while I doctored my foot with soap, water, hydrogen Peroxide and seven bandages across the wound. It has been slow to stop bleeding, even after elevating it for the night. I hadn't put it to numbers before, but figure, each year as a kiteboarder, there is about a 30% chance I'll cut a foot. Still not enough to kite all the time with booties, but enough to be more careful.
- Since my van has been sitting for several days and not being driven, it is necessary to let the engine idle for about 20 minutesa couple times each day/night to keep the
LiFeMnPO
Lithium/Iron/Manganese/Phosphate/Oxygen battery
charged and the refrigerator and computer running. The warm weather is certainly a factor here.
- I spent the night in Rodanthe where the remnants of of Hurricane Isaac poured down rain, giving me an opportunity to find that the water drain trough that I made near the hatch hinge at the rear of my van indeed did its job of preventing the dripping of water right where my face is at night.

Fri 9/7 to Mon 9/10 - My water drain trough is not quit as good as I thought. Although rain water does not drip in my face, it runs down the right side of the inside panel and gets the bottom of my mattress wet. Back to the drawing board?
- LEFT FOOT: Friday morning I closed the wound with six butterfly closures and bandaged it up so it can breathe while it is kept clean. It still weeped a little for the next day or so.
- What to do with oneself when it is windy (as Saturday and Sunday) and you can't kite due to your injured foot? Ignore the wind and work on the new Colorado Springs zipline section of my Trips web page. I had to purge, edit and massage the videos as well as prepare the still pictures for web resolution, hanging out at Kitty Hawk Kites, Ride Hatteras, Canadian Hole, the Hatteras Village Library, the Billy Mitchel Air Strip Pilot's Lounge (There are advantages to being a
CFI
certified flight instructor
). I slept very well, spending the night at
KHK
Kitty Hawk Kites kiteboarding center in Rodanthe, NC.
in Rodanthe.

Tue 9/11 - Most of today was spent sitting in my van resting my foot. I replaced the butterfly closures and bandage. The wound is not closed as completely as I had hoped. I am now thinking about removing the butterfly closures on Thursday rather than Wednesday, missing out on any riding for the rest of the week, as the wind forecast is not good for later in the week.
- Since I ported my number to Straight Talk yesterday AT&T does not know I exist. I cannot log onto my account online or on my telephone, can not see my final bill or make a payment. I finally had to spend a half hour on the phone with AT&T. The way it should work out is, they should charge my credit card for the prorated last eight days and then discontinue the auto payments.
- I downloaded and resolved my checking account - the first day!, drove down to Avon, joined the Koru gym for three months(with ability to freeze my membership once), had a medium full-body workout and spent the night at Ride Hatteras for.

Wed 9/12 - No kiting today: Had a Koru workout, hung out at the Avon Pier for a while where I visited with old Billy and Theresa, retired from the pier, who were going fishing and with younger Billy at the counter; hung out at Canadian Hole and then drove down to Frisco where I spent the night at Auto Banks so the van's engine will be completely cold tomorrow for the replacement of the thermostat.

Thu 9/13 - By 10am the thermostat was replaced by Glen at Autobanks. It did not fix the front heater problem, although it may have improved it. I want it to work properly so I can warm up after upcoming cool kiteboarding sessions.
- After negotiating a season day pass, I spent most of the afternoon with a northeast breeze at Frisco Woods campground where I met Mike & Nadia, beginning kiteboarders. I went out on my Naish Custom Fish 5’2” x 17.5” surfboard without footstraps and my 15m Epic Infinity and did a little riding, but there was not enough wind to stay upwind. I did manage to eek out 13.1 mph and went 1 3/4 miles, including a 500-foot walk back upwind. I tried to entice Mike for a 2.6-mile downwinder to the Isabelle Washout. It is a good thing he declined because shortly thereafter it started to rain a little and the wind switched direction and pretty much shut down. Of course my kite got down in the water at this time and a I had to wrap it up wet.
- Later I hung out with Nick and Helen who were staying in one of the Frisco Woods cabins - a really luxury compared to their usual PT-Cruiser camping. We enjoyed discussing all sorts of things. They thought my van was pretty cool.
- I topped off the evening in the Billy Mitchell Pilot's Lounge where I replaced a photo of Chris Moore in Brazil with one of my zip line photos in the picture array.

Fri 9/14 - I spent this morning in the Billy Mitchell Pilot Lounge. There, I met Dwight in person who gives tours of OBX in his Cessna 172. I got acquainted with him by phone about eight years ago when he let me have an old sectional chart of the area. He is the first person that I have seen in the pilots lounge - a nice quiet air conditioned place to work, with Internet access and Wi-Fi.
- Among other things, I researched the consumer price index for Phoenix in preparation for re-leasing
Dahlia
the house I rent out located on Dahlia Drive

- The tripod I left at Herald's arrived today by USPS so I emailed him some money for his expexences and trouble. Also I received rotor blades, a fly bar and batteries that I had ordered for my
heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
. Thus motivated I did some microsurgery, redoing the tail-rotor plug about four times tntil I got it right. This evening I flew the heli in the Ace Hardware parking lot. It is the only parking lot with no evening traffic. It was interesting flying in about a two-mph breeze after dark.

    Sat 9/15 - Did some of the things today I enjoy most:
  1. Updated my website
  2. Worked out in the gym(and took the first shower since cutting my foot while at Koru)
  3. Flew my
    heli
    little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
    in their yoga room (used the new batteries for the first time)
  4. Visited with old and new acquaints including, Joe & Jodi and Elliot at Canadian Hole
  5. Kited (at Kite Point (demoed an F1 Bandits 12 & 7 meter kites and an F1 5'10" surfboard without footstraps in an unexpected 20 mph north wind courtesy of Bruce and Terry

Mon 9/17 - I finally got the new
LVD
low-voltage disconnect controller from Rogue Engineering
for my
LiFeMnPO
Lithium/Iron/Manganese/Phosphate/Oxygen battery
installed after finding the correct bullet connector at Ace Hardware in Avon. Both Jack and Tony there were helpful and also interested in the LiFeMnPO.
- At Koru I flew my heli twice, using all four batteries each time, sunned in the little garden out back and did a medium-light workout. Light because my left wrist is giving me some pain when I tweak it with with weight on it.
- Drove up to
KHK
Kitty Hawk Kites kiteboarding center in Rodanthe, NC.
in Rodanthe for the night since the winds are more likely to be favorable there tomorrow.

Tue 9/18 - WIND and KITBOARDING today - finally! Up early this morning at
KHK
Kitty Hawk Kites kiteboarding center in Rodanthe, NC.
(about 6:20) to confirm my credit cards payments, the wind forecast, breakfast, measure the wind on the KHK Sea wall and to plan the rest of the day. Two guys drove in from the Raleigh area for kiteboarding. Since the wind was south (side-off shore) and gusty here we drove the 30 miles north to Jockey's Ridge, checking out the old Windmill Point on the way.
- At Jockey's Ridge we found lots of really gusty wind. We measured an average of about 24 with a peak gust of 37 mph. I had two sessions with my 8m Best Nemesis kite and booties.
- The first half hour of the 10:30 session was on my twintip. As a result I have just about decided, no more booties with footstraps. Maybe if the footstraps could be adjusted wider, but they can't. The last hour of this session was with my Naish Custom Fish 5’2” x 17.5” surfboard without footstraps. I actually did a jump to toeside then carved on a wave and rode off on healside! I did quite a few jibes and some jump switches and came in for lunch a little after noon.
- For the 2:00 session I was the only one out after a guy came in and recommended that I not go out due to the extreme gustiness. I went out, anyway for an hour on my surfboard, and had fun doing more jibes, jump switches and hanging on. Guess the rest couldn't take the gustiness. After the kite sessions I removed the butterfly closures from my left foot. I'll be careful and wear my flip flops to not traumatize the healing wound. Also my left wrist was not painful during or after the kiteboarding.
- Before supper I dropped off the defective
LVD
low-voltage disconnect controller from Rogue Engineering
at Staples for shipping back to Rogue, then headed back in very HEAVY RAIN to
KHK
Kitty Hawk Kites kiteboarding center in Rodanthe, NC.
in Rodanthe for the night. I phoned my cousin Herald in Colorado. Recovery from his arthroscopic hernia surgery has not been as speedy as he had hoped. Hey, he only had the surgery yesterday! Also
George
younger brother who lives in Mesa with his wife and family
phoned and informed me that the there were complications with the cataract surgery on his right eye, and he will need a follow-up surgery.

Wed 9/19 - Leisurely morning followed by a humbling ocean experience: After breakfast I took advantage of the compressed air at
KHK
Kitty Hawk Kites kiteboarding center in Rodanthe, NC.
and pumped up my 15 & 8 meter kites to let them dry on the grass. After lunch I drove down to Avon where I bought some glue and Get-Well cards and got the cards mailed
- Now the humbling part near the Avon Pier. After covering the bottom of my left foot with bandages I went out on a northeast wind with my 8m kite and Naish Custom Fish 5’2” x 17.5” on my 8m Best Nemesis. The kite size was a good choice. I got bounced around quite a bit in the surf chasing my board. I got the kite down in the water twice but got it relaunched OK. I got knocked off my board every time I would try to cross the shore break and got a small bruise on my left shoulder when one wave launched the board (without me on it, of course). Duck was watching from the Avon Pier and said my best decision was deciding to come in. Next time I will not worry about going downwind and will ride parallel to the waves and judicially (I hope) wait until the conditions are good for crossing the surf zone.
- This evening I flew my heli (four batteries worth as usual) in the large Koru yoga room - every take-off and landing but one were from/in my hand! Spending the night in Avon.

Thu 9/20 - Redeemed in the ocean; New computer idea;
Heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
lessons online:
- About 5:55 am I phoned Jody of the Moose & Jody morning show at Beach 104 FM to check in and explain why I was out here in the fall rather than the spring. He put me on the air at about 6:06 AM. It was cool, although I sounded like a stoner, having just gotten up and not realizing that he was recording the conversation. Also, this morning I came across the brilliant idea of keeping my computer plugged in all the time and just putting it to sleep between uses, stowing it vertically above the
LiFeMnPO
Lithium/Iron/Manganese/Phosphate/Oxygen battery
to the left of the office drawer and keeping my little travel mouse handy at the front of the office drawer. Instead of retrieving everything from the front seat it now takes is about ten seconds for me to be online or on the computer.
- Thanks to
Shane
my nephew, George's son
I found very helpful YouTube video lessons, Learn to Fly with Wacky Hobby, for my
heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
and have started watching them and practicing some of the exercises. I also put up a link to the lessons on the TRex 100x section my Technology web page.
- About noon on the Atlantic, I was determined to try and get out beyond the surf. I actually got out beyond the surf after five or six tries and did pretty well. That included four jump-stance switches, getting off my board and dragging back to it a couple times, one time of getting the kite down on the water and relaunching it and riding into the shore at my destination with style. The ride was pretty mellow and enjoyable.
- A shower and
heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
flying at the gym topped of the evening. Night at Ride's Tiki Bar Resort.

Fri 9/21 - Shopping for some food and a new sprayer for my high-pressure dish washer system, Heli-flying, sunning, treadmill running, working out and more
heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
flying at Koru and hanging out at Ride Hatteras adding links to the heli lessons and watching Heli Lesson #3 rounded out the no-wind day.

Sat 9/22 - Good day today on several counts. I phoned NPR's The People's Pharmacy about how people would be healthier not washing their hands (except before handling food or their face) IF they'd just keep their hands away from their faces. The hosts, Joe & Teri Graden agreed, but said that is almost impossible. I was the first caller on the show, out of thousands trying!
- Thanks to the Internet I learned how ice cream delivery trucks keep cold in spite of the fact that they never run their refrigeration units during the day: Eutectic Cold Plates!
- Word from
Cindy
my sister-in-law
that the second operation on
Georg
younger brother who lives in Mesa, AZ
's right eye was a success. Now he just has to be patient while it heals.
- I spent a bunch of time on the phone trying to find where I can find a flu show covered by my health insurance. Got a big fat zero.
- In the afternoon I drove up to
KHK
Kitty Hawk Kites kiteboarding center in Rodanthe, NC.
, put up my 15m Epic Infinity, jumped up on my Naish Custom Fish 5’2” x 17.5” surfboard without footstraps and rode for about 1 1/3 hours with booties, traveling 9.74 miles with a top speed of 18.6 mph (starboard). Warmth with Liquid Peace neoprene jacket and riding shorts: I was kinda cool after coming in.
- I flew my
heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
briefly in the KHK Life Is Good store. Sharon, the KHK retail manager showed me the toy ones they sell there and put their two demo ones on a charger so I can fly them tomorrow. I also refilled the water reservoir for my van's running water system and spent the night there in Rodanthe.

Sun 9/23 - Determination vs Good Sense: I realized the beach south of the Rodanthe Pier was too narrow to easily launch and land kites and the multiple surf brakes for about 600 feet out were entirely too much for a strapless surfboard - especially with someone at my skill level. I came to that realization after a trying to get out covering 1.13 miles for 36 minutes. I did get up and ride parallel to shore a couple of times until I was knocked off the board by the next crashing wave.
- At the pier I had a nice visit with Scott, one of the owners who recently bought the pier out of bankruptcy. They seem to be using good judgment and doing a lot of things right and will probably make it a success, both from a financial and customer service standpoint. I also visited with Michael and Ryan, two of their fine employees at the counter.

Mon 9/24 - This morning I called into a national talk show. I told Clark Howard about how I save $730 per year and simplify my life: a) I moved my cell service from AT&T to Straight Talk for better service, no time-of-day restrictions, unlimited calling, texting, messaging and data. The coverage is better. b) As icing on the cake I have the Straight Talk Auto Refill on my large-limit VISA credit card every six months. That keeps the card active and helps keep my FICO score high - all I have to do is pay one bill every six months and use my phone. Everything else happens automatically.
- I was watching traffic and planning my turnaround in the U driveway of a house for sale and did not notice a rope across the drive which rope snapped off my radio antenna before I could stop. Fortunately that is the only damage. Unfortunately I now have no radio reception and, more importantly, no windsock to tell me the wind direction.
- Down south, Scott and Lauri joined me in a 3:00pm downwinder from Frisco Woods Campground to the Isabelle Washout. I believe it was their first downwinder and it was my first one of this trip. I was on my Naish Custom Fish 5’2” x 17.5” surfboard without footstraps using my 12m Cabrinha Switchblade-4 - a good call. The wind was reducing at the last of the trip but we all did well. I started out practicing jumping up on the board to ride a bunch of times, followed by jump stance-switches as we headed downwind. I had fun going in and out of the cove slick - first time with my surfboard. Coming out the last time is when I missed one of my jump stance-switches and got wet. Warmth: I got a little cool with my neoprene jacket and riding shorts.
- I spent the evening working in the Billy Mitchel Airport Pilot Lounge, and spent the night in Frisco.

Tue 9/25 - Since there was no wind, the Billy Mitchel Airport Pilot Lounge was a good place this morning to work on my website, watch heli videos and practice
heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
maneuvers.
- This afternoon at Canadian Hole I sunned, jogged by the Pamlico Sound, arranged for a flu shot at K-Mart ($25) in Kill Devil Hills, canceled the shot with the county in Frisco ($32), arranged to take my van in for heater work at Pugh's Car Care Center up in Nags Head, hung around with Jules at Ride Hatteras and went to Koru to do some more heli practice and a short arms workout. Spent the night in Charlie's back yard.

Then I headed north. Steve's diagnosis at the Pogh Car Care Center cost me $44.77 (understandable). He said I need a new water pump to the tune of about $225. If that does not fix the heater I may need other things, up to a new heater core for around $700 to $800. He also said, but did not show me, that the lines to the rear heater were rusting out.
- Then I stopped by NAPA in Kill Devil Hills and met Jeff, who says he is a mechanic for the county and can back flush my heater core to see if that would fix the problem. We agreed for 4pm tomorrow for the job.
- spent the night at the WalMart up north.

Thu 9/27 - This morning I took my van to Outer Banks Chrysler Dodge Jeep and found Cathy and Harvey there to be very helpful. At someone's suggestion I put two quarts of white vinegar in the cooling system to clean out the possible blockage, but was advised not not leave the vinegar in too long. Later in the day Jeff phoned that he had hurt his hand at work and would not be able to work on my van this afternoon as planned. So here I sit, reluctant to drive much, until I get the radiator refilled with proper coolant. Oh, yes, the vinegar did not solve the heater problem.
- I spent about six hours at the Dare County Older Adult (gotta be politically correct, ya know) Center watching heli videos, practicing the maneuvers like stall turns, banked turns, figure eights, taking off and landing on my hand and a table and updating my website. I got a little bored hoping I do not raise eye brows by hanging around so much with my disabled van. After supper I flew my heli outside in a grassy area. With the slight breeze it was almost like learning to fly all over again.
- With proper blessings I spent the night in the parking lot of the Dare County Older Adult Center in Kill Devil Hills, NC since driving my van would not be advisable with the vinegar in the cooling system.

Fri 9/28 - First thing this morning I made arrangements with Ed to take my van to Colony Tire in Manteo, NC for a back flush and fill of my van's cooling system at 11:00. While I worked in my van's office, it only took Ray a little over an hour to accomplish the feat. It improved the operation of the heater, but the heater still does not heat well. I spent the rest of the afternoon in the Manteo Library. No
heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
flying because its tail is spinning. While at the library I got a phone call from my friend, Oto from Chapel Hill, NC. We met down south for a delicious shrimp BBQ at the Salvo Day Use Area.
- I drove on south and spent the night in Avon.

Sat 9/29 - No wind: I spent much of the day at Canadian Hole. I got a all 33 of the images properly renamed for the new
LiFeMnPO
Lithium/Iron/Manganese/Phosphate/Oxygen battery
installation photo array I am preparing for my website. Around noon I laid in the sun for 20 minutes then ran along the Pamlico Sound beach for four minutes. Very heavy rain came later.

Sun 9/30 - No wind: Sitting in the Food Lyon parking lot, I read a bunch online about the beach restrictions here on the Outer Banks that claim to be helping the species and started a chart to analyze different brands and models of kites with which to eventually replace my old 2009 12m Cabrinha Switchblade-4. Also I visited with Jeff, Gayle, Jim and Billy at the Avon Pier in association with sunning for 20 minutes and showing a pulse rate of 161 bpm after a rigorous 4-minute beach run.
- Mildred phoned from Phoenix. She says she worries about me, but refuses to turn on her computer and try to check out my blog. I guess she misses me.
- The Koru gym was my next stop for a legs workout and shower. Upstairs, their yoga room was large enough for me to really test my
heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
. It turns out that the heli is spinning out of control in both directions: some times the heli spins to the left when the tail motor does not turn at all and some time the tail spins to the right when the tail motor drastically over corrects (for the main rotor torque).
- Spent the night in Avon.

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