Those of you who know me well know that I wanted to be a pilot while growing up. Since my vision was too bad to realize that dream, I decided that I would build airplanes instead...this is partly why I went into the field of physics. Of course, my ambitions have changed over the past few years. Every now and then I see something that reminds me of how cool airplane pilots are and rekindles that little childhood flame in me that wants to be a pilot. Isn't this amazing?
Yes, the left wing actually does scrape the runway. He lands successfully on the second try. If this doesn't give you faith in the ability of your pilot to fly you through anything, I don't know what will!
(For those of you interested, I think this video is a good example of the proper way to land in a cross-wind. You apply enough rudder to keep the wings square to the headwind and then touch down your rear landing gear, one at a time. Then you swing the nose of the plane around and touch down the nose gear when you are straight down the runway. It looks like the airplane lifted back off the runway when the pilot was swinging the nose around after the rear gear initially touched down)
Monday, March 3, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
To The Highest Bidder
I found out today that I've been accepted to both the University of Rochester's and the University of Arizona's Optics PhD programs.
We are now accepting bribes from the highest bidder to help us decide where to go :)
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Disneyland!!
This is a stereopost:
Lisa and I went with her mom, sister, brother, and all of their families to Disneyland and California Adventure for a couple days early in January. Pictures are better than words, so here they are!
James LOVED the rocket ride
On the teacups we asked JJ to smile and he did a simultaneous fish-face and candy sign
We weren't spinning very fast. Joe and Lauren however (up in the upper left teacup) were trying for the nauseated effect!
Fish carousel!
James sure loves his Nana and Grandpa Gary. He almost always had to be holding someone's hand.
Joe and Lauren on Small World.
Linda and Mike on Small World.
JJ and Grandpa Gary on Small World.
Lisa and me on Small World.
There was so much stimulation and so much going on that JJ, without much notice, would just crash when it was time for a nap...and he would be totally and completely out!
That's me in the back with my shirt over my head on Splash Mountain. I'm so proud of myself.
JJ on Lauren's shoulders playing with his Mickey balloon.
JJ using his super-human strength to bend the prison bars!
Everyone in Toontown.
The Finding Nemo submarine ride which replaced the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride...JJ (as well as everyone else) loved it.
We thought JJ looked more like Joe's son than mine this day.
Lisa, JJ, and me in the race car. You can barely see James' little head between the two of us.
Us in the race car again.
I love the Peter Pan ride.
DUMBO! (Which is ironic since we didn't actually go on the ride)
Classic portrait in front of the castle.
Joe, Lauren, Linda, and Mike on the crazy ferris wheel in California Adventure. Oddly enough, this ride almost killed the day for me. I got more nauseated on this ride than any other...it took me hours to recover!
The little kiddie area of California Adventure was "Bug's Life" themed. This was (for some strange reason) by far my favorite of the kids rides. It was just a goofy fat caterpillar eating through different foods...he was hilarious!
We went to a drawing workshop presented by a "real Disney animator" who showed us step-by-step how to draw Goofy. James' is the one closest to the camera on the right.
Awwwww...
I may be 25 years old, but you know what? Mickey and Minnie are still awesome!
The second night got cold and rainy. Not a problem that two well-placed ponchos and a coat can't handle. JJ got all the excitement he could possibly handle!
Since it was cold and rainy, we had the park essentially to ourselves. In the course of an hour (between 11pm-12am) we went on Space Mountain 3 times, Finding Nemo (the most popular ride in the park) once, and the Buzz Lightyear ride once. A great end to a great trip.
What's a great family road trip without a picture of the 15-passenger van? This beast took us safely there and home in ultimate 5-row comfort AND style!
Hooray for Disneyland and hooray for family! It was a great trip!
Lisa and I went with her mom, sister, brother, and all of their families to Disneyland and California Adventure for a couple days early in January. Pictures are better than words, so here they are!
James LOVED the rocket ride
On the teacups we asked JJ to smile and he did a simultaneous fish-face and candy sign
We weren't spinning very fast. Joe and Lauren however (up in the upper left teacup) were trying for the nauseated effect!
Fish carousel!
James sure loves his Nana and Grandpa Gary. He almost always had to be holding someone's hand.
Joe and Lauren on Small World.
Linda and Mike on Small World.
JJ and Grandpa Gary on Small World.
Lisa and me on Small World.
There was so much stimulation and so much going on that JJ, without much notice, would just crash when it was time for a nap...and he would be totally and completely out!
That's me in the back with my shirt over my head on Splash Mountain. I'm so proud of myself.
JJ on Lauren's shoulders playing with his Mickey balloon.
JJ using his super-human strength to bend the prison bars!
Everyone in Toontown.
The Finding Nemo submarine ride which replaced the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride...JJ (as well as everyone else) loved it.
We thought JJ looked more like Joe's son than mine this day.
Lisa, JJ, and me in the race car. You can barely see James' little head between the two of us.
Us in the race car again.
I love the Peter Pan ride.
DUMBO! (Which is ironic since we didn't actually go on the ride)
Classic portrait in front of the castle.
Joe, Lauren, Linda, and Mike on the crazy ferris wheel in California Adventure. Oddly enough, this ride almost killed the day for me. I got more nauseated on this ride than any other...it took me hours to recover!
The little kiddie area of California Adventure was "Bug's Life" themed. This was (for some strange reason) by far my favorite of the kids rides. It was just a goofy fat caterpillar eating through different foods...he was hilarious!
We went to a drawing workshop presented by a "real Disney animator" who showed us step-by-step how to draw Goofy. James' is the one closest to the camera on the right.
Awwwww...
I may be 25 years old, but you know what? Mickey and Minnie are still awesome!
The second night got cold and rainy. Not a problem that two well-placed ponchos and a coat can't handle. JJ got all the excitement he could possibly handle!
Since it was cold and rainy, we had the park essentially to ourselves. In the course of an hour (between 11pm-12am) we went on Space Mountain 3 times, Finding Nemo (the most popular ride in the park) once, and the Buzz Lightyear ride once. A great end to a great trip.
What's a great family road trip without a picture of the 15-passenger van? This beast took us safely there and home in ultimate 5-row comfort AND style!
Hooray for Disneyland and hooray for family! It was a great trip!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Hooray for Vacations
So here's what's been going down since finals ended. The good news- well, finals are over. I did well in my classes (A, A-, B, B), but not well enough to obtain early admission to the PhD program. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for that one, but am also applying to a couple other institutions.
Also good news, we've spent a week in NJ with my parents and are now in Phoenix, AZ with Lisa's mom and sister and their families. We're off to a couple night stay in Disneyland tomorrow. Lisa's brother and his wife are going to join us for that trip...it's going to be fun!
The not so good- on Christmas Eve I developed a tickle in my throat. That tickle soon progressed to swelling and pain and tightness. Swallowing became very difficult and very painful. Then I developed ulcers (symmetric) on both sides of my tonsil area. Swallowing became very very difficult and very very painful. The doctor told me that I had Strep Throat and for some reason developed ulcers too (not a normal symptom) - lucky me!!!
Oh I also developed a high fever during this time period (it peaked at 103). The doctor gave me antibiotics so that I would be less communicable. I then found out the hard way that the antibiotics induce violent vomiting when taken on an empty stomach. Fortunately I only had this lesson twice before I leaned exactly how to take the little puke pill.
The second time the puke pill reprimanded me, I discovered that my stomach acids are a catalyst for weird sores on my lips...and the roof of my mouth. Sores that don't go away and spread easily.
A week after first feeling the tickling in my throat, the fever and Strep and ulcer pains are all but gone. My lips, however, are like red and white numb balloons. That's right, at least they don't hurt like normal sores on your lips...just swollen blood-and-puss colored numb orbs. Oh yea, and there's also a swollen and inflamed portion of the roof of my mouth and gum line which makes brushing pretty painful.
But at least I can swallow without pain.
I've been asked numerous times whether I'd rather be sick like this or be back doing finals week again. The answer is easy...
Sick.
Also good news, we've spent a week in NJ with my parents and are now in Phoenix, AZ with Lisa's mom and sister and their families. We're off to a couple night stay in Disneyland tomorrow. Lisa's brother and his wife are going to join us for that trip...it's going to be fun!
The not so good- on Christmas Eve I developed a tickle in my throat. That tickle soon progressed to swelling and pain and tightness. Swallowing became very difficult and very painful. Then I developed ulcers (symmetric) on both sides of my tonsil area. Swallowing became very very difficult and very very painful. The doctor told me that I had Strep Throat and for some reason developed ulcers too (not a normal symptom) - lucky me!!!
Oh I also developed a high fever during this time period (it peaked at 103). The doctor gave me antibiotics so that I would be less communicable. I then found out the hard way that the antibiotics induce violent vomiting when taken on an empty stomach. Fortunately I only had this lesson twice before I leaned exactly how to take the little puke pill.
The second time the puke pill reprimanded me, I discovered that my stomach acids are a catalyst for weird sores on my lips...and the roof of my mouth. Sores that don't go away and spread easily.
A week after first feeling the tickling in my throat, the fever and Strep and ulcer pains are all but gone. My lips, however, are like red and white numb balloons. That's right, at least they don't hurt like normal sores on your lips...just swollen blood-and-puss colored numb orbs. Oh yea, and there's also a swollen and inflamed portion of the roof of my mouth and gum line which makes brushing pretty painful.
But at least I can swallow without pain.
I've been asked numerous times whether I'd rather be sick like this or be back doing finals week again. The answer is easy...
Sick.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
How To Convert iTunes to MP3
Background
When a song is downloaded using the iTunes program, it is encoded in an Apple proprietary format with the suffix ".m4p". When the free iTunes program is used to convert these files to mp3 or any other actually usable format, an error message is displayed informing the user that "protected" files cannot be converted to mp3.
This makes it virtually impossible for the user to use the files, which have been rightfully bought and are now owned by the user, on any non-Apple device. This also restricts the user from using the files as part of a slide show, movie, or any other multimedia project which is not compiled on Apple software. This is a problem for the sensible people like me who are more concerned with system performance and usability (and thus PC owners) than bright colored lights, shiny things, creative commercials, and how 3-D and new-age my desktop looks (and thus Mac owners).
Two Methods
If you have a pile of writable cd's around that you don't care about and a bunch of time to waste, iTunes does allow the user to make music cd's with their iTunes files. Then user can then use any of the myriad of free cd ripping utilities (including Windows Media Player) to rip the music back off of the cd onto the computer in mp3 or any other format.
A better solution to this problem is to use the MyFairTunes utility. This free program creates a new music file, magically changing the encoding of your song from the protected ".m4p" format to the unprotected ".m4a" format. Once the format is changed, the user can import the ".m4a" file into iTunes and then use the built in iTunes mp3 converter without reservation.
When a song is downloaded using the iTunes program, it is encoded in an Apple proprietary format with the suffix ".m4p". When the free iTunes program is used to convert these files to mp3 or any other actually usable format, an error message is displayed informing the user that "protected" files cannot be converted to mp3.
This makes it virtually impossible for the user to use the files, which have been rightfully bought and are now owned by the user, on any non-Apple device. This also restricts the user from using the files as part of a slide show, movie, or any other multimedia project which is not compiled on Apple software. This is a problem for the sensible people like me who are more concerned with system performance and usability (and thus PC owners) than bright colored lights, shiny things, creative commercials, and how 3-D and new-age my desktop looks (and thus Mac owners).
Two Methods
If you have a pile of writable cd's around that you don't care about and a bunch of time to waste, iTunes does allow the user to make music cd's with their iTunes files. Then user can then use any of the myriad of free cd ripping utilities (including Windows Media Player) to rip the music back off of the cd onto the computer in mp3 or any other format.
A better solution to this problem is to use the MyFairTunes utility. This free program creates a new music file, magically changing the encoding of your song from the protected ".m4p" format to the unprotected ".m4a" format. Once the format is changed, the user can import the ".m4a" file into iTunes and then use the built in iTunes mp3 converter without reservation.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Tag, I'm It
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
5 things I was doing 10 years ago
1. Enjoying being a typical 15 year-old Sophomore at Lenape High School.
2. Taking flight lessons.
3. Doing my Eagle Scout project.
4. Getting rides from Matt Braydich home from school cuz I wasn't old enough to drive yet.
5. On a youth Church trip to Kirtland, OH I totally developed a crush on a girl named Rebecca Defeo.
5 things on my to-do list today
1. Pack for huge holiday trip.
2. Clean the house in preparation for leaving.
3. Continue reading the book "Five Families" about the rise of the 5 most powerful NY mafia families.
4. Finish grad school applications.
5. Enjoy not actively having any assignments due.
Snacks I enjoy
1. Snickers
2. Ice cream and brownies
3. Crumb Coffee Cake
4. Cheese poofs (Nicole totally inspired me to say this one!)
5. Chocolate chip granola bars
Things I would do if I were a billionaire
I'm going to go presidential here and change the heading to say "when" I'm a billionaire :)
1. Save Africa with Lisa (our agreement is that I can't buy anything for myself until we save Africa).
2. Call up Lisa's uncles to setup a trust fund and otherwise soundly invest it.
3. Pay off any debts anyone in the family has.
4. I don't think I would start any new charities...I think there are plenty out there. I would probably focus on one or two that have realistic and honorable goals, wise leadership, and a clear direction and contribute both financially and in influence and manpower (if I've got billions, I probably know influential people).
5. Get Lisa her yellow Jeep and me an airplane hanger for my Aston Martin and Cessna.
3 Bad habits
1. Sometimes I get too focused on my work and don't pay enough attention to Lisa.
2. I really really really enjoy sitting around and totally wasting time and doing absolutely nothing.
3. Yea it's true, I pick my ears.
5 Places I've lived
1. Born and raised in Mt. Laurel, NJ.
2. Provo, UT for undergrad.
3. Salt Lake City, UT.
4. Tampa area of Florida for my church mission.
5. Brighton (Rochester, NY) for grad school.
5 Jobs I've Had
1. Weed slave for Hans' Landscaping...man that's some tough work.
2. Rock climbing instructor at Vertical Reality.
3. Research Assistant for BYU physics dept., Dr. Durfee.
4. Waiter at Chef's Table in Orem, UT.
5. Lisa and I were both "outside sales reps" for a jewelery store.
5 Things People Probably Don't Know About Me
1. I took flying lessons.
2. I love to cook.
3. I've never naturally been very good with kids. (Lisa and I share this one!)
4. Ever since I started rock climbing, I developed a fear of heights. I have no fear whatsoever if I'm attached to a rope, but ladders and other heights kinda weird me out now.
5. I play the guitar.
I tag anyone who wants to do this. David Timme and 4 of my imaginary friends.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
5 things I was doing 10 years ago
1. Enjoying being a typical 15 year-old Sophomore at Lenape High School.
2. Taking flight lessons.
3. Doing my Eagle Scout project.
4. Getting rides from Matt Braydich home from school cuz I wasn't old enough to drive yet.
5. On a youth Church trip to Kirtland, OH I totally developed a crush on a girl named Rebecca Defeo.
5 things on my to-do list today
1. Pack for huge holiday trip.
2. Clean the house in preparation for leaving.
3. Continue reading the book "Five Families" about the rise of the 5 most powerful NY mafia families.
4. Finish grad school applications.
5. Enjoy not actively having any assignments due.
Snacks I enjoy
1. Snickers
2. Ice cream and brownies
3. Crumb Coffee Cake
4. Cheese poofs (Nicole totally inspired me to say this one!)
5. Chocolate chip granola bars
Things I would do if I were a billionaire
I'm going to go presidential here and change the heading to say "when" I'm a billionaire :)
1. Save Africa with Lisa (our agreement is that I can't buy anything for myself until we save Africa).
2. Call up Lisa's uncles to setup a trust fund and otherwise soundly invest it.
3. Pay off any debts anyone in the family has.
4. I don't think I would start any new charities...I think there are plenty out there. I would probably focus on one or two that have realistic and honorable goals, wise leadership, and a clear direction and contribute both financially and in influence and manpower (if I've got billions, I probably know influential people).
5. Get Lisa her yellow Jeep and me an airplane hanger for my Aston Martin and Cessna.
3 Bad habits
1. Sometimes I get too focused on my work and don't pay enough attention to Lisa.
2. I really really really enjoy sitting around and totally wasting time and doing absolutely nothing.
3. Yea it's true, I pick my ears.
5 Places I've lived
1. Born and raised in Mt. Laurel, NJ.
2. Provo, UT for undergrad.
3. Salt Lake City, UT.
4. Tampa area of Florida for my church mission.
5. Brighton (Rochester, NY) for grad school.
5 Jobs I've Had
1. Weed slave for Hans' Landscaping...man that's some tough work.
2. Rock climbing instructor at Vertical Reality.
3. Research Assistant for BYU physics dept., Dr. Durfee.
4. Waiter at Chef's Table in Orem, UT.
5. Lisa and I were both "outside sales reps" for a jewelery store.
5 Things People Probably Don't Know About Me
1. I took flying lessons.
2. I love to cook.
3. I've never naturally been very good with kids. (Lisa and I share this one!)
4. Ever since I started rock climbing, I developed a fear of heights. I have no fear whatsoever if I'm attached to a rope, but ladders and other heights kinda weird me out now.
5. I play the guitar.
I tag anyone who wants to do this. David Timme and 4 of my imaginary friends.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The Office, Writer's Strike, And My BFF
Lisa and I pay for "cable" (essentially it's just the networks, but we don't have to fiddle with bunny ear antennas) primarily so that we can watch ER and The Office every week. I was saddened today to see that it was another re-run...obviously a ramification of the writer's strike. I quickly went to the NBC website to see if there was any additional information about when new episodes would be airing. There wasn't...but there IS this gold mine of a section where anyone can post "comments" about recent episodes. Most of the comments are pleas for NBC to "pay the writers" so that new episodes can air. This one, I thought, was amazing:
hey guys!
i just got hooked on the office and i always set my alarm clock to 8:00 on thursdays, just do i won't miss the office, MY BRAND NEW FAVORITE SHOW!!! well, u can proabably imagine how disappointed i was when i found out there's gonna be NO MORE NEW EPISODES. me and one of my bff's jenny, always talk about the office in our spanish class and we always qoute these two sayings: "hey hey you you i dont like ur boyfriend, cuz cuz cuz cuz cuz he sucks at ping pong!" and "hey your ugly and the evidence is RIGHT THERE." hahahahahah, im cracking up just typing those. so i dont really think u read this and i dont think this will make a difference or anything but PLEASE MAKE A DEAL. I CANT LIVE ANOTHER MONTH WITHOUT A NEW EPISODE OF THE OFFICE!!!! ughhh. pleaseeee. pretty pleasee.
all love to the show/company,
Julia
JULESS ferrn
December 5 - 6:32pm PT
Wow.
hey guys!
i just got hooked on the office and i always set my alarm clock to 8:00 on thursdays, just do i won't miss the office, MY BRAND NEW FAVORITE SHOW!!! well, u can proabably imagine how disappointed i was when i found out there's gonna be NO MORE NEW EPISODES. me and one of my bff's jenny, always talk about the office in our spanish class and we always qoute these two sayings: "hey hey you you i dont like ur boyfriend, cuz cuz cuz cuz cuz he sucks at ping pong!" and "hey your ugly and the evidence is RIGHT THERE." hahahahahah, im cracking up just typing those. so i dont really think u read this and i dont think this will make a difference or anything but PLEASE MAKE A DEAL. I CANT LIVE ANOTHER MONTH WITHOUT A NEW EPISODE OF THE OFFICE!!!! ughhh. pleaseeee. pretty pleasee.
all love to the show/company,
Julia
JULESS ferrn
December 5 - 6:32pm PT
Wow.
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