We walked around the neighborhood tonight, and as we went past the large field by the elementary school, it struck me that the night was perfect for flying.
Model airplanes, that is.
I've had a cheap, plastic, forty-dollar radio control model airplane sitting in my closet for two or three years now, gathering dust. I don't recall when it last flew. It's a really stupid model: instead of using a rudder to turn, it utilizes two props with throttle controls. When one prop is turning faster than the other, the plane turns one way, and when the other prop turns faster, the plane turns the other direction - sorta like a tank control. Only trouble is, it's very finicky, so a slight adjustment to the throttles can snap the plane into a quick roll, and unless it's already thirty feet off the ground, it's gonna crash.
I haven't gotten a successful flight out of it yet. But it was cheap.
James and I were strolling through the clothing store the other day (to get him some dress shoes for an upcoming concert) and found some cheap R/C planes and helicopters in the "accessories" section. These were little planes and helicopters, the kind you can fly in your living room, for only twenty dollars. I almost bought one of 'em, but decided to be intelligent instead, and bought a trio of socks.
One of these days, I'm going to spend some serious money and get a serious R/C airplane, and get into my long-lost flying hobby again.
***
Meanwhile, my other hobby is going just swimmingly. Not. Computers, I mean. Been trying to build a case for my gaming PC (since none of the commercial cases appeal to me, and I've always wanted to be a serious case modder). But haven't had the time. So the innards of the PC are scattered all over the desk, waiting for me to find some time. The kids are a bit irritated, since it's the one they generally use for games and school stuff. But they've managed to get by, using my laptop.
There's also a set of old laptops waiting to get Linux installed, but there've been issues with 'em. One of them had Win 2K installed, but the OS locked up due to some weird hardware problem. I installed XP instead and it ran OK, but that was just a test since I didn't plan on running XP on that one. Tried to install Linux, but that locked up, too. It seems both Win 2K and Linux were experiencing difficulty with the hardware, while XP had no trouble. Go figure.
So I took the hard drive out of that one and put it in another laptop, tried to install Linux. Took me three tries. And the CD-ROM drive was acting funny. My plan is to swap the drive back into the other laptop to see what happens. Just for grins.
I have a really old laptop that won't install the latest Ubuntu Linux for some odd reason. The CD-ROM just stops spinning, late in the install. Took an old Red Hat (from 1998!) and it installed fine. Can't figure that one out.
I've got more PCs than I know what to do with, and they've all got one problem or another (which is why no one else can use them). And I'm one of those people who can't let go of anything that still works partially. Ought to be able to find a use for it somewhere. Grandma would be proud.
***
Got to get up early in the morning, as James is heading off to Chicago on a field trip for the band kids. The class is going to attend a performance of Mary Poppins (the musical stage show) as the highlight of the trip, but will also see the sights of the Navy Pier, the Planetarium, and the Field House (aka Natural History Museum).
We got an email late this afternoon that there was an opening for a chaparone, but the price is a bit steep - $180! Sorta hard to come up with on short notice.
Oh, well. Maybe next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment