Bob Space

My working title is “Model Rocketry Fundamentals.” Seeing as how it’s chockful of my biases about how things are done, I’m considering changing the title to “Bob’s Book of Model Rocketry Basics.” This can’t get confused by the books by Tim, Doug, or Harry & Bill (and Doug’s book is long out-of-print anyway). Any thoughts?

Still expecting to do this as PDF, though whether actual for-sale or for tips I’m not sure. Color printing and binding? Not something I can afford to front the cost of. Most of the writing is done, but I have OH-so-many pictures and diagrams to do. I might have to co-opt my 4-Hers to be models.

At least it’s winter. I like the low-angle sunlight in winter. For photographs, anyway; the weather effects of that reduced energy I’m not really keen on.

So, Christmas went satisfactorily well. I did the cooking this time around, and got to test-run my little Sunkist probe thermometer. Worked like a charm, it did. My mashed potatoes might have been slightly undercooked, but better that than overcooked and they were still tasty. (At least the Lady and I thought so. Youngest skipped dinner, and Eldest ate only the ham and a pair of dinner rolls.)

And now we have ham leftovers for a couple weeks. But Doggie did enjoy the bone.

Given the snow and road mayhem yesterday, I went to bed very early and got up correspondingly early, planning for an extra hour of travel time (partly to be consumed by the acquiring of donuts for my teammates this Friday). And the roads were … pretty much clear. I was still wary of ice patches, but for the most part the primary and secondary roads were sanded-dry. So I got to work an hour early. Ah, well.

And Eartha Kitt died yesterday. Not a welcome present. More like the taking back of a cherished gift.

Some of the holiday gifts came with free MP3 downloads. I grabbed a Moody Blues song and the Prelude/Main Title for Superman: The Movie …

Merciful heavens. I had/have the two album LP set from the original release (well, it’s a third or fourth pressing, but anyway). This is from the 2005 re-release of the score … oh, my. They’ve fixed almost everything I hated about the LPs. The tracks are complete, in order … so pretty I could cry. They still have the terminal sting on the Main Title… oh,well, guess that’s how the orchestra recorded it, even if that’s not how it came out on film.

This moves rapidly up my gotta-get list.

Majel Barrett-Roddenberry dies of leukemia.

I have never, ever heard a bad word about Majel Barrett. Which means there are rather a lot of very sad fans around the world today. Including me.

Sighted in traffic: A maroon GMC 4X4 with Texas plates…

… and OU Sooners window decals and license plate frame.

I’ve just realized that another implication of the FAA rule changes is that model rocketeers do not have to report predicted altitudes to the agency in advance. That means I don’t have to include altitude prediction features in the book! Whew.

Wow. Well, in the good news I seem to be fully recovered from the miseries of late November. So you won’t have to listen to any more Playhouse 90 episodes like “Conrad’s Heart of Phlegm,” “The Ballad of Mucous McGee” and “Coffin, Cough Out”.

Alas, some of my Rocketeers have now come down with maladies, so we won’t be meeting again ’til after the holidays. But my Astra is assembled now and needs only sealing and painting, and the Astras for the Rocketeers sit in a box in my closet waiting our next meeting. I should probably get cracking on my Astra Booster Stage.

My rocketry book idea struggles on. Fun tho’ it’s been, I’ve found an existing publication that says much the same things I want to, with better pictures and diagrams. I need to find out how much they cost, and whether or not getting exactly the words and ideas I want will be worth all the hassle. I really do think my focus in the book (keep it simple, tie everything to the Safety Code) has merit, so I’m not giving it up yet.

It’s cold here! 9 degrees F for a low is pretty impressive for us, as is 18 F at noon. Snow due again later in the week, to warm us back up to not-quite-above-freezing.
I’ve discovered that I don’t get mid-morning or mid-afternoon sleepies nearly as badly if I get plenty of protein at breakfast and lunch. It’s kind of dumb of me to be working that out now, but it does give me important notions on managing my diet going forward.

I’ve also discovered that I’ve put on weight such that I can only sleep flat now, which bites. I like my pillows, but I can’t use them — they encourage me into sleeping positions which enhance my apnea.

Middle school winter concert was last night. It was only mildly painful. I think the sad part is that our district doesn’t really encourage young people to take up a musical instrument in earnest until 7th grade (age 13-ish). I started tuba in 4th grade, and by the time I got to 7th, I was good enough that the teacher wanted me to perform in a solo piece (tuba with piano accompaniment). Had my interest persisted through high school, I probably could have gotten pretty good at it … but that early start mattered.

The Lady has been laid off from her most recent position. We have decent hopes she can get a “transfer” into another state government job in short order, but we can hear the howling of the wolves (and not from the football stadium). I’m considering several budget-cutting moves on the telecom front (cheaper cable packages, giving up my cell phone) but this needs to be a family decision, and it would only be a trifle compared to the potential crisis. I might also need to explore other possibilities in the freelance writery realm.

Well, that’s the news in a nutshell. Stay warm, friends.

My strength increased steadily through the weekend, tho’ my appetite was still iffy. But I slept poorly Friday night. I seem to be tucking my head and neck, aggravating my obstructive sleep apnea. I awoke Saturday morning with quite a headache.

Saturday was the Christmas parade, in which Youngest marched with her Girl Scout cohort. The Lady of the Manor managed to find parking and get to our viewing spot barely in time. The weather was clear and much warmer/must less windy than last year. I got some decent pictures this time … I think I’m finding I prefer photography to videography.

Afterwards we followed a family tradition (2nd consecutive year!) of lunch after the event at A&W, where we were all frazzled mightily by a puzzle on the kid meal bag and where I ate a chili-cheese dog that within the space of an hour had me doubled up with cramps. When will I learn about these high-fat foods?

Saturday night I slept only with a foam “horse collar” neck pillow. I hate being so flat, but I can’t argue the results: slept solidly well right up to 6 A.M., and no headache on awaking.

Sunday was church. The drama team has a movie- and book-inspired continuing project this month … which they’ve committed to with great gusto. I did my second turn as volunteer medical staff. Note for to-do list: review first aid stuff every Saturday night. Sunday evening I finally got around to eating the yam I bought for Thanksgiving. It microwaved up very nicely, with salt, pepper, and a bit of margarine.

Work today went swimmingly — the first day in a long time that I’ve felt I was actually ticking on all cylinders. Tonight’s to-do list: a pan of brownies for the potluck dinner Wednesday, the much-delayed combined birthday cake (strawberry cake, half banana frosting, half chocolate frosting), and prepare materials for Tuesday’s 4-H club meeting.

Yesterday the FAA published amendments to its regulations governing rockets. “Amendments” is an understatement — it’s a complete overhaul, and it’s a good one. They…

… created a new standard definition for all amateur rockets, allowing for suborbital flight up to 150 km (93.2 miles) but capping motor power at 889,600 N-s … that’d be a “T” class motor.

… created definitions for new classes of amateur rockets:

Class 1 — Model Rockets (Same definition as in Model Rocket Safety Code)

Class 2 — High Power Rockets (Same definition as in High Power Rocket Safety Code, motor limited to “O” power)

Class 3 — Advanced High Power Rockets (and on up)

… created a standard operating safety regime for all amateur rockets, with additions (many!) for Class 2 and Class 3, plus notification/reporting requirements for Class 2 and Class 3

… cleaned up some technical regulations to better support current art and practice

Bottom line: The FAA, after fourteen years of the bogus “large model rocket” definition issue, is once again out of the model rocketeer’s hair. As long as the vehicle is built and flown in accord with the MRSC, no other regulations are engaged. Whee!

(Gee, that’s going to make that FAA part of my book really short now.)

I kept the food and drink simple yesterday, and actually feel like I got a decent night of sleep.

As such, I’ll say that I’m somewhere in the Ape realm, not sure if I’m up to great ape or not, but definitely on the road to returning to homo sapiens soon. If I continue to be careful.