Louis Self
To Kiteboarding
Lou's Kiteboarding home page
To Comedy
Lou's Comedy home page
        YouTube

Arizona Lou

Blog Archive 2012 Dec

Previous <-- Archived Blogs --> Next

Merry Christmas 2012! Here is my Christmas Letter (more pictures & videos of the year on my Trips web page).

Sat 12/1 = Today I organized the stuff I need to do next week - sort of daunting. Hopefully I've broken it down enough that a lot of it will be accomplished.
- This evening I was back with the ham radio operators who get together every Saturday evening for a hamfeast. It was good to see my friends again, after over three months.

Sun 12/2 =
Heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
: About 8:30 this morning while the air was still pretty still I flew out in front of my house. Pretty cool session! Also, by phone, I helped
Mildred
little 96-year-old lady I help out through Duet
turn on her computer and find my Blog web page. She always tells me how interested she is in what I am doing. Now she can find out for herself.
- I spent most of the afternoon in Mesa visiting
George and Cindy
younger brother who lives in Mesa and his wife
. They are keying up for Stacie and Dave's state-side wedding. Then I flew my
heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
and did a light arms workout at the Mesa 24-Hour Fitness, which happened to be on my way home.
- Daily I am spending lots of time getting my fall trip ready to add to my TRIPS web page. What a job!

Mon 12/3 = Online today I researched the Blade mSRx and other micro helicopters and ordered an external battery charger and two spare batteries for my
cell phone
Samsung Galaxy SII
.

Tue 12/4 = This was a full day: One of the more challenging
heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
sessions yet, out in front of my house with a 2mph shifty breeze and an intermittently malfunctioning rudder. I hit the ground with it and split the canopy. Adding a little more scotch tape fixed the problem.

Wed 12/5 = First time flying my
heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
in the Buffalo Ridge Park this morning. It was neat - only a slight breeze. The grass, although brown, served as a heli-friendly crash pad. I did not crash the heli much though.
- On my way to GangPlank I stopped by the Chandler 24-Hour Fitness for a light workout and to fly my heli some more. It mostly spun uncontrollably due to the tail rotor motor, gyroscopes or both not functioning properly. Than inspired me to a NEW CHALLENGE: Buy myself a new helicopter when I get both my Christmas letter written and the fall trip uploaded to my TRIPS web page.
- At GangPlank I tweaked the Garmin Foretrex 201 parts my TECHNOLOGY web page.

Thu 12/6 = This morning I flew my
heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
in the Buffalo Ridge Park again - probably got it about 40 feet high (my record) before it started acting up again.

Fri 12/7 = YEA! Today I got both my Christmas letter written and the fall trip uploaded to my TRIPS web page, so went to Frank's Hobby house to buy the little fixed pitch Blade mSRx (with no flybar). It turns out they recommended the slightly larger fixed pitch Heli-Max AXE 100 FP (no flybar), which has folding main rotor blades, a more sophisticated controller, more compact (USB) charger that does not require AA batteries and, some say, is easier to fly. Back to square one on deciding which heli to buy.

Sat 12/8 = After a little more research I bought the Heli-Max AXE 100 FP, along with a second battery charger, spare rotor blades and three extra batteries (150mAh). My first time flying it was in the evening at Fitness One - a real challenge for me, and I never got it much above a low hover.
- The day was rounded out by our annual Christmas dinner at Bill Johnson's Big Apple, 19th Ave, with the ham radio operators and their spouses. We had our usual fun gift-stealing exchange. Later I went into Bill Johnson's comedy lounge, heard some good comedy and told my Circus Elephant Story, which the dozen or so people seemed to enjoy.
- When I lay down in bed I was getting some foot cramps, so I got up, added training gear to my
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 and flew it for about five minutes on the kitchen floor.

I'll be packing the Rao-o-vac cube with my heli.
- After driving down to Frank's Hobby House for a pair of new tail rotor blades, I flew my
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 in the Fitness 1 aerobics room with training gear on. Low hovering went pretty well until the tail rotor (Heli damage report) hit a wall and broke the blades. This unit is a lot more responsive (read that, difficult for me to fly) than my
old heli
little TRex 100x RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and flies similar to a real one
, and will take some getting used to.

Mon 12/10 = After appointments this afternoon, both my optometrist and urologist told me I was doing OK. I went to Fitness 1 and flew my
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 for 1.5 batteries worth in low hovers, without the training gear, until I (Heli damage report) broke the tail fin, then did a medium-weight arms workout.
- Tonight the
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 is in front of the refrigerator so the superglue on the tail fin will harden for tomorrow morning's flight.
- This evening I got my last four Christmas letters printed out. Now, that is quite an operation for me, because the Canon printer tends to dry out when I'm away on my 3-month trips. First I had to weigh and then refill the Canon printer ink tanks that were empty. Then, when most of 'em still didn't work, I had to drive across town and buy $55 worth of new ink tanks. I ended up wasting a lot of time trying to save some money and still had to buy all new ink tanks - except for the black dye color.

Merry Christmas 2012! Here is my Christmas Letter (more pictures & videos of the year on my Trips web page).

Tue 12/11 = This morning I flew my
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 in the Buffalo Ridge Park. Didn't break anything, but the main rotor pinion started slipping on the motor shaft. Fortunately the pinion did not fall off and get lost. My attempt was to fix it in place with penetrating (green) Locktite. Now wait until tomorrow for it to fully cure and see if it does the trick.
- I shampooed the fourier section of my van's carpet with hot water spray, Tide detergent and my wet vacThere was a urine smell - maybe the result of the carpet staying damp for almost three months on my trip. After drying the carpet all night with fans there was still a urine smell. I have been unable to pinpoint the smell, but suspect some cats got in my van in Las Cruces, NM.
- Other activities today included researching converting some 16mm B&W FILM of our family to digital; settling up with some credit card companies and getting things squared with Canyon State Credit Union. I need to use the account once a year to avoid $5 monthly inactivity fees.

Wed 12/12 = The
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 pinion still slipped, so I took it off the motor shaft and used the pre-assembly (blue) Loctite. It worked. I was pretty worried there for a while. Fix'n'fly seems to be the mantra for my heli. Actually it is Fly/Break/Repair/Fly but that is not as poetic.
- My van looked pretty good from the outside because the dirt matched, but from the inside, vision was a little iffy, depending upon the sun angle. I took care of the situation by washing my van outside and the windows inside. It sparkles now, including the tires!

Thu 12/13 = This morning in the Buffalo Ridge Park with, at times up to a five mph wind, I almost lost my heli. I learned that when it goes down, DO NOT take your eyes off it to look where you are putting controller down. I spent about 20 minutes following a search pattern, using pillows for markers, until I found it about 200 feet downwind. The (Heli damage report) tail skid was broken and one side of the skid was completely gone. That lead to my first hand launches with this heli, being able to hold it level for the takeoff.
- I did a light and fast arms workout at Fitness 1, went shopping with Mildred and applied preemergence spray to my yard and my neighbor's side yard since rain is forecast.

Fri 12/14 = It rained .58" last night and this morning, so the preemergence spray has been correctly watered in.
- I tied the broken landing gear onto my
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 with dental floss, went to Fitness 1, did a hand launch and crashed the heli into a wall about 20 seconds later. That was the end of the flying session because it (Heli damage report) broke the battery socket, which is part of the landing gear skids. I then did a light and fast legs workout at LA Fitness, went to Frank's Hobby House for new landing gear (which had just arrived), drove back to Fitness 1 for a pretty decent heli session and then home for the evening.

Sat 12/15 = Today's main event was Christian and Britt Canese's Christmas party at their new shop for their Love Carpet Cleaning business. Lots of recorded and live music, company, and food. I got reacquainted with some of my old kiteboarding buddies like Chris Screven and his wife, Sue, John Mark and John Mulligan who has been following me here on my website.
- On the way to the party, I had one of the best sessions yet with my
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 in the Fitness 1 aerobics room. I did not break anything, did no hard crashes, was able to keep it within eight inches of the floor most of the time and could also fly it continuously for almost one entire battery's worth before losing control to the point of having to do a precautionary panic landing.
- This morning I resolved my checking account (still off the same $44.20 as last month). My digital rain gauge showed .45" of rain today, so the preemergence spray is definitely watered in.
- I am spending the night in the garage in my van to see if my back feels better in the morning than it has the last few mornings with my new mattress.

Sun 12/16 = My back DID feel better this morning and there was little or no back pain when I got up to pee, as was the case with my new mattress the previous nights. I started salt-water gargles, as I have a scratchy throat indicating a cold is probably coming on. It didn't help that I got to bed after midnight last night.
- It was sunny but cold today here in Phoenix. The official Phoenix high was 59° F at 3:05pm, the high in my back yard was 55° F and tonight's low here is forecast to be down to 39 degrees.
- I flew all four batteries in my
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 - twice today at Fitness 1. The first four-battery session was not spectacular but I did not break anything and did finally work up to 100% for the control response ratio. I recharged the batteries in my van while I shopped at Goodwill and did a medium-heavy legs workout at LA Fitness. The second four-battery heli session I crashed into a wall and (Heli damage report) broke the tail rotor blades. Fortunately I had a spare set to install. By the time I got around to Battery D I finally reached one of my goals: to fly continuously without landing or losing control for an entire battery's worth of flying time. Thus I have been trying to master the cyclic by not touching the throttle once setting it to a hover just above ground effect, and doing nothing with the rudder.
- This afternoon I started dozing off working on my website, so I went outside and removed the sun screens from four of my south and west windows. Now my house will be brighter and a little warmer. Thank you, Sun!
- To bed, now spending the nights in my van for it's good bed.

Mon 12/17 = This morning I got up early (back felt pretty good from my van bed), had breakfast and then flew my
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 at the Buffalo Ridge Park in very slight breeze. Heli damage report: broke the right landing skid just back of the front strut, attempted repair with superglue (broke again), then with high-tech Testors Model Master cement for polystyrene and ABS plastic models, crashed in the grass and the tail rotor motor stopped working, tested & microsoldered a loose motor wire and put the heli away until tomorrow.
- Other activities included a medium-heavy arms workout at Fitness 1, buying a new fancy (for me) Royal 35x 10-sheet cross-cut paper shredder at Goodwill, resting up for my cold and listening to some of my favorite talk shows with my CCW MP3 player as I am moving around.

Tue 12/18 = Worst
heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 crash yet, flying at the Buffalo Park in 0-5mph SE winds. I was trying to fly it to the northwest of me with the sun at my back so I could easily see the heli. It got going pretty fast, flew behind me and into the sun. By the time I saw it and got control, it was too late to recover. - This afternoon I observed that my yard work was not getting done spontaneously, so I had no choice but to do it myself. I sprayed the weeds (few in the front yard; more in the back yard) with Round-Up and then trimmed the Natal Plum bushes out front - not too big of a job, considering that they had not been trimmed for four months, since August.
- This evening I researched motels, hotels and their mattresses for spending the night on one of them. Also, on my new heli, I installed a new tail rotor assembly, re-glued the broken landing skid and attempted to repair some canopy splits.
- I will spend tonight on my new mattress in my bedroom instead of in my van, to compare how my back feels tomorrow morning.

Wed 12/19 = Most hotel people are pretty ignorant when it comes to information about their beds. I tried to find that information to guide me on where to spend tonight to try out an innerspring pillow-top mattress. Not much luck. I did fly my
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 in the Fitness 1 aerobics room this afternoon. I only had a few, mostly minor, crashes. Damage report: broke off the nose of the right landing skid and re-broke the left skid in the usual place. I DID fly one entire battery without stopping or crashing. This evening I researched more hotels and mattresses, replaced a broken rivet on my carry-on suitcase handle, covered my Natal Plum shrubs against a possible freeze tonight and packed things up to go to spend the night eight miles from here at Hampton Inn & Suites Phoenix North/Happy Valley.
- No Gangplank because my computer is tied up with updating the maps for my Garmin Nuvi 885T. What a mess! I started about 1:00 this afternoon, had to call Garmin because someone forgot to move my lifetime map to the replacement receiver they sent me, and got the process started about 3:00. It took it until about 9:00 pm to download, prepare and install the maps.

- On the way home I stopped by Winco Foods for a couple of things and by Fitness 1 for a
heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 session. Damage Report: I broke out the starboard canopy mounting eyelet - I think by squeezing too hard while inserting the battery and re-broke the left landing strut, which I later glued - this time with super-glue GEL.
- This afternoon and evening I took care of some finances, telephoned George who I am taking to the doctor tomorrow via Duet and went to bed on my new mattress.

Fri 12/21 = The main event today was taking George Herzog, 61, to the doctor under the auspices of Duet. He has a number of health issues and cannot drive. After the doctor, I took him way down to the special Cigna Pharmacy for some prescriptions. George said I look younger in person than in my web photos.
- Before George I had a fast 'n light arms workout and flew my
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 at Fitness 1. After George I stopped by the AZ Mattress Outlet to check out some possible exchanges for the expensive memory foam mattress on which I am not getting a good night's sleep.
- This evening I fixed breakfast, got everything packed for tomorrow's trip and spent the night on the bed in my van for a good night's sleep.

Sat 12/22 = I've been looking froward to today. Got up at 6:28am, exercycled, shaved, dressed and headed to
Shane
My nephew, George's son who is an engineer for Medtronics
's house to fly helicopters. We had a lot of fun bantering about such as crash altitudes and special lithium battery charging circuits. We went to a big grassy park area and flew each other's helicopters, three in all. Shane does awesome figure 8's.
- On the way home I stopped by the AZ Mattress Outlets in both Tempe and on E Bell Rd and made my final selection, which Greg, the chain owner, delivered later in the afternoon. It is a Simmons Beautyrest Classic Granby Firm basic mattress with a high count of 800 individually wrapped coils, good edge support and about 10" thick. I chose a good quality, basic mattress with no soft top, figuring I could buy a soft topper cover to suit myself, being able to switch out tops, if necessary, to suit.
- This evening I tried to fly my heli at Fitness 1, but found that the main rotor pinion was slipping on the motor shaft; had a Caesar salad at Streets Of New York with the ham radio operators; did a fast & light torso workout at Moon Valley LA Fitness; came home to put LocTite on my heli motor shaft, hot glue two cracks in the landing gear, update this blog and head for bed on my new mattress. How did it feel? Some back pain when I got up to pee at 2am, so I added the 4" of firm foam that I had on hand. A little better, but still not real comfortable.

Sun 12/23 =
New heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
: I flew at the Buffalo Ridge Park about 8am. I did well with no crashes, but not so much the heli. The tail rotor lost yaw control once and the three batteries (I can't find my battery, "B") lasted less than a minute each.
- In the bed department, I researched a bunch of mattress toppers (mattress covers with extra padding or foam) and printed out information on a dozen of them. Also I cut my hairs.
- On today's trip I looked at toppers at Target, Walmart and Anna's Lennens. I ended up buying the Fieldcrest Luxury Down Alternative Mattress Topper with 2.5" loft at Target. Also on the trip I did a heavy leggs workout at LA Fitness Moon Valley, where a guy told me I had cool workout shorts (blue and white customized Lycra), and flew my heli at Fitness 1. It is the first time I was able to fly all three of my batteries continuously, without a crash or landing, until they were depleted. I timed them and here's how it turned out:
Battery Duration
A 2:49 min
B (lost)
C 2:43 min
D 2:25 min
E 0:10 sec

-Mon 12/24 - This morning a gal at Fitness 1 told me I had the best outfit of anyone there. I was wearing my Powerhouse tank top and my blue and white shorts. I don't like long, baggy shorts. After my heavy, slow arms workout there, I went to Fabric Depot to order new van-bed foam and then on down to Frank's Hobby House to buy a new battery (now my Battery "E") for my
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
. Around noon I sunned for 20 minutes and then in the afternoon went back to Fitness 1 for a heli session. I seem to have lost my touch, as I crashed the heli a bunch of times (didn't break anything), especially at the first of the three-battery session. This evening I straightend up my house a little and worked on customizing my next pair of swim trunks.

Tue 12/25 = Merry Christmas 2012! Here is my Christmas Letter (more pictures & videos of the year on my Trips web page).
- Flew my
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 first thing this morning. The heli lost tail control once and I only flew 1.5 batteries worth until I broke the heli. Damage Report: Starboard landing skid broke off and a rotor link fell off, making the heli unflyable, even with hand launches. The new battery (E) only lasted about 10 seconds.
- In the afternoon I drove over to
George and Cindy
younger brother who lives in Mesa and his wife
's for Christmas with some of his family and
Stan
Stanley, my older brother who is a machinist for Eaton Corporation in Hutchinson, KS
, who flew in from Kansas. Enjoyable visit. I broght Stan home to stay with me for a few days.

Wed 12/26 = Hung with
Stan
Stanley, my older brother who is a machinist for Eaton Corporation in Hutchinson, KS
today for lots of good visiting, catching up and tech talk. I got in a slow, heavy torso workout at LA Fitness.

Thu 12/27 = This morning Stan dropped me off at LA Fitness for a light, fast legs workout while he got lost in the process of going to Goodwill for a wedding jacket and Target for a wedding gift. Then we went to Dollar Tree for wedding gift wrap and cards.
- Today's big event was
Stacie
my brother George's youngest
and Dave's stateside wedding in Mesa, a beautiful and fun affair.
George
younger brother who lives in Mesa
officiated. Friends and relatives came from all over for the wedding, cake reception and the dinner reception that followed.

Fri 12/28 = Hung with
Stan
Stanley, my older brother who is a machinist for Eaton Corporation in Hutchinson, KS
. again today. I put all four of my credit cards into a Google Docs spreadsheet to automatically calculate my credit utilization ratio. It was interesting to see all of 'em laid out in one place. Later I started the same type of spreadsheet for Stan. We did some running around and shopping. He walked and looked around the area while I did my arms workout at Fitness 1.
- This evening Stan and I listened to a couple of interesting Dave Ramsey segments on helping people and generosity.

Sat 12/29 = This morning, I flew my RC helicopter simulation one of my longest sessions without crashing and INVERTED for the first time. It simulates a true collective pitch RC heli. Of course I had to text
Shane
My nephew, George's son who is an engineer for Medtronics
about it. He textd back that he did his first loops and rolls yesterday with his Blade Mcpx and 130x RC helicopters, thanks to the confidence he gained Saturday flying with me in a park near his house. I can't fly my
new heli
little Heli-Max AXE 100FP RC helicopter that has a tail rotor and no flybar
 until Franks Hobby House gets in the main rotor links that fell off the other day.
- I got Stan delivered to Sky Harbor then drove up to
Rose Anne
my X
's in Payson to babysit the granddaughters while
Anne
my daughter visiting from Altus, Oklahoma
and Rose Anne took in a movie. The babysitting was pretty easy as it was nap time for Brooke and quiet time for Katie. She did come out of her room and talked me out of a stalk of celery 'cause she was hungry. Hey, that beat her first request of a marshmellow!
- We had an enjoyable evening with Rose Anne, Anne and her daughters Katie and Brooke. I spent the night out in my van with the help of my little ceramic electric heater and a comforter to keep warm.

Sun 12/30 = Today was the big annual Hayes Family Gift Exchange. We spent this morning cleaning, setting up tables and chairs and preparing for the Hayes onslot. I showed off my new high-tech, tiny bathroom scale.
- Sixteen "Hayes" joined in for good food, good company and a fun gift exchange. They were all impressed with my new high-tech Master 1500iD combination lock, and also that Katie could open it (I had told here the secret sequence) and no one else could.
- After helping to put away all the chairs and tables, I headed down the hill and home to Phoenix. It is a good thing I left when I did, because I encountered a lot of rain on the way home. That would have been snow If I were still in Payson.

Mon 12/31 = Today I projected my budget through March, 2013 and heard an interview by Bob Brinker of Jonathan Fenby (the author of Tiger Head, Snake Tails," an interesting book about China. I took my van to Auto Tune to get the brakes fixed. They informed me that I needed new brakes all around, but they would not be able to do the job until Wednesday. I went to LA Fitness for a fast, light torso workout and rang in the new year by going to bed about midnight.

Merry Christmas 2012! Here is my Christmas Letter (more pictures & videos of the year on my Trips web page).

Previous <-- Archived Blogs --> Next

(back to TOP of page)