The Problem with Prius

Just to be clear, I don't really have anything against the Toyota Prius.  I'm not really a fan of any cars from the orient but that's just me.

As I've driven around I've learned that there are two types of Prius drivers.   The one in front of you and the one behind you.

The guy in front of you is the quintessential environmentalist.  He is doing everything to protect the planet and minimize his carbon footprint and his impact on his grandchildren's climate.  He proudly bought his Prius to have maximum effect while he drives around filling his numerous obligations.  And if that wasn't enough he's going to drive at least five miles per hour under the speed limit no matter how many cars are lined up behind him to get maximum gas mileage.  And of course this is after he pulls out in front of you.  No, me.

The guy behind you is the guy who doesn't give a crap about the environment but cares about what almost everybody on the planet thinks about him and thinks that you should think that he cares about the environment.  Keeping up so far?  If you have seen a Prius you know it has absolutely nothing to do with style.  He's done his bit for Mother Earth and now he just needs to get where he's going...now!  He's behind you and no matter how fast you're going he wants to go ten miles per hour faster than you.  And he's going to let you know by trying to read the fine print on your license plate.

Of course this is all about me so you know that when I'm driving I get both of them at the same time.  Prius purgatory.

Torch vs. Chipmunk

We had a cat some time ago.  She was a feral cat that we tamed after spending about five years in the woods behind our house.  It took a couple of  years but she became very comfortable in our home but was still an outdoor cat.  She handled our move pretty well and still loved to be out of doors.

As an outdoor cat she of course loved to hunt and she showed how much she loved us by bringing her prize catches home to us, sometimes in a live state.  Every day there was something new.  A mouse.  A mole. A chipmunk.  We didn't realize how much we depended on her to control the wildlife population until after she died. 

It didn't take too long before we noticed that the chipmunk population was exploding.  I wouldn't mind so much if it weren't for the fact that we were constantly reminded of their presence by all the little tunnels they would create around our property.  In the lawn, next to the house, under the brick walkways.  When the bricks started sagging into the ground where their tunnels were it became time to take action.

But how?

There are lots of recommendations for treatments to put down around the house that smell like coyotes or otherwise scare them away.  But they are somewhat expensive and you have to keep it up or they will be right back.

No.  The only real way to do it is to lead them to that big chipmunk hole in the sky.  You may not get them all, and a new colony may settle in eventually.  But once a chipmunk is gone it won't bother you any more. I needed a way that was semi humane and I could monitor for effectiveness.  I don't have a gun (yet!) but I found a way that works remarkably well and is easy to set up.

The first thing you need is a lot of chipmunks that have driven you to the point of considering chipmunkacide.

Next you need a big bucket.  I use one of those buckets that Ice Melt comes in, the 50 pound variety.  I don't think the color matters but mine is black. 

You need to fill the bucket about 1/3rd with water.  (I havent tried anything other than water but it might be interesting to experiment.)  You want it deep enough so that they don't thrash around too much but not so deep that the squirrels can get in easily.

Cover the surface with a solid layer of sunflower seeds.  It doesn't seem to matter what kind.  I used regular and striped with equal effectiveness.  You want to cover the surface so that the little guys can't see the water underneath.

I place the bucket next to the porch or beside some stairs with a little ramp for easy access, like a diving board.  Then it's just time to wait and see if they find it.  I didn't have to wait long.  They plop right in and, as long as it's deep enough, don't last too long.  I had as many as three at a time floating on the surface.  After about a month I had elliminated about 20 of them.  The effectiveness will be proved or not come Spring.

How you dispose of the things is kind of up to you.  We have some woods behind our house and I just toss them along with their watery grave into the bushes.  The next day or two I can't find them so there must be something out there that likes them!

Fill 'er up with water and seeds again and you're all set!

As for the squirrels, they do manage to get access which is kind of frustrating.  They dangle on the edge of the bucket by their hind feet and pick out seeds and shell and eat them nearby.  But it doesn't seem to deminish the effectiveness of the system.  It may even attract the chipmunks to the feast!  And since the squirrels don't burrow holes around my house and live in the trees I can tolerate them a little more.

So if you are looking for a relatively cheap and effective method of controlling your chipmunk community try the bucket method.  I was fairly surprised how well it works!

Now, ask me if I feel bad!

http://www.ehow.com/video_4950634_get-rid-chipmunks.html

Utah!

I'm off to Utah for a week. It'll be fun except for the part where we install my oldest as a new freshman at BYU. Not that I'm not thrilled for her! She's worked very hard and has earned her spot and I'm sure she will have a wonderful time. It's time, but...

When I was growing up I was the oldest. So, when it came time for someone to leave the family unit, the someone was me. The experience of sending someone away is a little new to me. My youngest brother of course has no sympathy. He watched three of us leave and he said it wasn't easy!

And of course communicating is a lot different than when I was a kid. Texting, e-mail, phone calls, Facebook. But there's nothing like walking in the front door and seeing that smiling face and hearing 'Daddy!' and getting a big hug. I will get that from the other two and cherish each one (even more now!) but there will still be something missing. I can't wait till Christmas!

I'm sure I'll get used to it but I'll follow Ford's advise and keep my towel handy! And I have five years to recover before I have to do it again, only double!

But I wouldn't have it any other way. As a parent you try hard to teach them and raise them so that they can charge out on their own with all the tools they need to lay waste the challenges they'll face. But man, it's hard to watch them walk (run?) out the door!

The only thing left to say is 'Don't forget your sword!!'

Her blog

A Funny Story...

So...my friend goes out for a run the day after a long trip. The compound has a perimeter road about a kilometer long so he runs about 5 laps for something just under 3 miles. He decides to take another lap at a walking pace just to cool down. Now the road is in a square and part of the road is perfectly aligned east-west. Walking westbound in late afternoon he's walking into a warm, setting sun. There's no traffic on the road so he's walking down the middle of the road with his face raised to the sun and his eyes closed, peeking frequently to stay in the middle of the road. Very relaxing!

Wham!!

He suddenly finds himself impaled on a chain link fence! 'How the heck did that happen?', I ask him. He thought he was only half way down the long stretch of road. Well, he evidently zoned or dozed off and walked right into the fence at the end of the road! After looking around to make sure that no one had seen him walk right into a fence he continued on the rest of the walk. The only real damage was to my, er, eh, his self esteem.

Travel Note 27 June 2008

I have been remiss in not keeping up with my travels! Since the last time I posted I have been back to Taiwan to finish up the squadron at Hualein and I spent a couple of weeks at Aviano Air Base in Italy near Venice getting the US F-16 pilots there started with their Link 16 integration . I also spent a couple of weeks at King Faisal Air Base in Saudi Arabia beginning the fielding efforts there for the F-15 squadrons. In the mean time a new contract took affect at Hanscom which put us all within the same company so we all work for Jacobs Technology now. The transition has been, shall we say, less than completely smooth. I almost didn't turn down one or two opportunities and the door remains slightly more than slightly ajar!



My last trip, which was only a week after being in Italy, was to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia where we are training Saudi F-15 pilots at King Faisal Air Base. I've been in the kingdom three times before to help lay the groundwork for facilitating the training but this time was spent actually getting them trained and start them flying the jets in an actual network. With the help of my teammates we were able to get them off to a good start and helped them get the first Saudi airborne Link 16 networks established. Of course there were the standard mistakes but the learning curve was steep and they were consistently able to get the entire flight in the network.



I spent a weekend there and had the opportunity to tag along with a couple of Air Force F-15 pilots, who were helping with simulator training, as they set out on an adventure to explore the coast and parts of the desert. I'm not sure exactly where we went but we ventured north of Tabuk and then out to the west to the Red Sea. It was a clear day so we could see the Sinai and we ventured north a few miles to a windy ravine that Moses was supposed to have traversed. We worked our way south to a small inlet where a Catalina flying boat had force-landed in WW II and was still sitting on the beach. It is amazing how undeveloped the area is. Anywhere in the west it would have been lined with tourist resorts! We sped across the desert to return to Tabuk to finish the day trip.

Just before leaving I was privileged to be invited to the going away bash for the US pilot who had spent the last year at Tabuk as a sort of advisor. Lots of meeting and greeting and a rather expansive feast!

So now I have returned to Tabuk to continue training the Saudi F-15 pilots. Our manning is a little thin so I'm hear by myself but with the assistance of one of our ground station techs who was scrambled out here at the last minute because of some visa issues. But he's a travelin' fool so he takes it all in stride. The Saudi general in charge of their Link 16 program will be visiting to see how things are going so we'll try to put on a good show. There are still some challenges ahead as they learn how to interface with the Saudi AWACS and host other Link 16 platforms at Tabuk. Meanwhile, the forecast is for lots of sun and, since summer is upon us, heat! I think the high this week is supposed to get up to 109. But it's a dry heat!

As we speak I listen to the call to prayer blairing over the loudspeakers across the street. At least the guy doing it today can carry a tune and it doesn't hurt too bad to listen to. I've gotten so that it doesn't wake me up at night!

As always, no matter where I am, I look forward to getting home, especially since my oldest one leaves for college soon. Of course that's a different subject...

Travel Note 15 March 2008

I traveled to Taipei yesterday, the first leg of my journey home. I spent today walking around a bit. I went up to the observation deck of the Taipei 101. It was pretty cool. My only disappointment is that they didn't offer the option of walking up the tower. I could use the exercise. It was a reasonably clear day and quite the view. I still remember visiting the World Trade Center years ago and how massively huge those buildings looked when you stand at the base. I'm up bright and early to catch a flight to Tokyo then to Atlanta (13 hours!) and then to Boston. Then I get to start prepping for my next trip to...Taiwan!

The training went well despite the loss of an airplane along with the pilot from another squadron and a few days of not flying due to the accident and the weather. They are progressing well and learning all the lessons they need, usually the hard way.

After the trip to the Taroko Gorge we made a little side trip to the local shoreline. A huge breakwater that borders the sea and protects a small harbor and a rocky beach with lots of smooth stones of marble and granite. Beautiful turquoise blue water close to shore and then the deep water. We also walked around town for a while and did some shopping.

All in all a good trip but I'll be glad to get home and start recovering from jet lag while I work my transition to a new company. Hopefully it will be smooth but I tend to get comfortable in my ways and resist change. The hard part will be meeting all the requirements to ensure a smooth transition with our travel schedule. Confidence is low!

Since the election is creeping up on us perhaps it's time to get on my soapbox. Standby, and wear a helmet!

Travel Note 9 March 2008

The training is going well here in Hualien dispite the down days for the accident. They haven't found the aircraft or the pilot and I thing that they probably never will. The pilots are anxious to learn and learning well by making all the common mistakes. The instructors are especially eager since they will be doing the instructing soon. Another week here for me before I head back next weekend.

I spent the better part of yesterday touring Taroko Gorge. It was pretty cool! Lots of tunnels and marble everywhere. And the weather cooperated so it was a nice outing. The driver would drop us off at places where we would walk for a couple of kilometers and meet him again. It would be nice to do a more extensive hike through more of the park. Maybe another time.

It looks like my job situation is a little less tenuous as the new contractor has finally made a job offer which pretty much matches my current numbers. If nothing else I have learned that regardless of your job situation, your job search should be a continuous endeavor. We shall see what our team looks like after the dust settles.

Travel Note 5 March 2008

The last few days have been quite busy and rather long. We actually brief half the mission as opposed to sitting in the briefing to answer questions and correct misspeaks. With two missions to brief, monitor and debrief it makes for a long day. There is usually a simulator in there, too. But the pilots are eager to learn which is good.

Last night we got to feel the earth move! Just a little tremor which the locals probably didn't even notice but I could feel it in my room up on the 10th floor.

Today wasn't such a good day as we learned in the morning that the base lost an airplane last night. The initial guess is spacial disorientation as the the jet just fell off the radar scope. No news on the pilot but as of this morning they had not located him so I think they expect the worst. Bummer! Since it was one of the modified jets it leaves us with one less to train with. No flying due to the accident but we did get a sim out of the way. No flying tomorrow but some ground training with some of the instructors.

The food is not too bad. Perhaps I won't be shedding any pounds after all. You kind of have to try a little of everything and find the stuff you like. There's also enough American style food at breakfast (eggs, cereal, bacon, etc.) to get you through till dinner.

The job search continues in earnest! Resumes out, working on applications, making connections, buying lottery tickets!

Travel Note 2 March 2008

Taiwan

All of yesterday was spent traveling from Boston to Taipei via Atlanta and Narita (Tokyo). It's quite the marathon and you're pretty beat up when you get in.

I spent a half a day in Taipei waiting for the flight to Hualien. The Grand Hyatt in Taipei is pretty nice! Breakfast is a huge buffet and you could load up for the day there. And it's complementary for us! It is right around the corner from the 101 Tower which is pretty hard to miss. I think at one point it was the tallest in the world but I'm not sure. Plenty of places to eat or just walk around.

We headed off to Hualien in the afternoon via an ATR 72 (turbo Prop) on a half hour flight. It's a small city and the hotel, the Parkview, is pretty much in the middle overlooking the port. Not bad. Evidently western style food is in short supply so it may be an opportunity to lose a pound or two. We'll see. We start work early tomorrow morning.

The job search continues! It seems that Jacobs is willing to meet everone's salaries...except mine! I'm looking into a few options which may or may not mean working the same job that I'm doing. Stay tuned!!