Okay, here are my current thoughts on how to keep personal momentum while building the airplane. They are customized for me, and I would not possibly recommend them to anyone else, even if they work.
1. Work the project every day, with precedence of activities according to following list. Every day excludes only illness (fever, short-term prescription medication for self, or ER/urgent care for self/immediate family) and travel (out of town at least 12 hours).
2. Make measurable progress on AIRCRAFT BUILD. Token progress is acceptable. Aircraft build is limited to the following activities: (A) Fabrication: permanent functional alteration of materials that are intended to be part of the finished aircraft. (B) Assembly: reversible attachment of materials that are intended to be part of the finished aircraft. Assembly also includes any disassembly necessary to correct mistakes.
3. Conduct planning and logistical support to ensure AIRCRAFT BUILD begins as soon as economically feasible and will not be interrupted.
4. Log progress on the web every day. Keep careful records of time, money, equipment, and check progress against certification requirements.
5. Spend time with the family to keep up morale.
6. Stay fit, healthy, and mentally balanced (the last may be considered a "stretch" goal).
7. Put in extra hours to reach project milestones.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Swamp Phone
New swamp phone = much easier to post. Long, long overdue ... like so many things Swamptooth.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Upper Deck Construction, 4 January 2009
Later that evening, the construction crew pictured recorded a jazz-rock version of the D.H. Lawrence poem "The Snake."
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
GrassQuest 2008
Apparently this is the easiest way to share progress with prime contractor Don Varner. I used the Milwaukee Tools jigsaw again, so I guess that means it's time to post something on Swamptooth. Will helped too. Shown here, excited with our progress, he demonstrates his knowledge that it's almost time for the yard to turn green.
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Great Gig in the Sky
Today we're in (supposedly) the worst financial crisis since the twenties. Funny how that sort of once-in-a-lifetime superlative seems to crop up pretty often. Sort of like lunar eclipses and close approaches of Mars.
None of it bothers me as much as the passing of Richard Wright, dead today from cancer at age 65. If you don't like Pink Floyd, you're excused now; I don't really want to talk to you anyway. I swear to God, five minutes before I found out (ten minutes ago), I was hearing a Pink Floyd song in my head as I drove up to my house. The song was "Welcome to the Machine." Why that song at this time? Probably because it was my oldest son's first day of preschool.
My guess is that Richard Wright will begin to get more recognition. I can't say that he was some groundbreaking genius or pioneer synthesizer musician, although maybe he was. He wasn't the main songwriter in Pink Floyd, though he did write a bunch of good stuff. What places him in the pantheon for me, though, and occasions a deep sigh and a dark mood with his passing, is his piano playing throughout The Dark Side of the Moon. If it's possible to reach across the anonymous void and attain certain knowledge that you are not alone in the universe, the expressiveness of Richard Wright's playing in the song "Us and Them" gets it done. Like the individual notes are reaching right into your brain and triggering synapses that tap directly into your soul, almost as an extension of the instrument. That quality is exceedingly rare in any music.
Sad, too, how he was treated callously by his bandmates from The Wall on.
I was pleasantly surprised when Pink Floyd put the old rancor behind them to reunite for Live 8, and genuinely moved by their performance in a way that could not be explained by the pretty-darn-good musical standard maintained.
Why does it happen that fantastic bands so often fall into fratricidal behavior that leaves bitterness lingering for decades? The Beatles, The Eagles, especially Creedence Clearwater Revival? How could you give up something so good - the ability to tap into that rare elixir - and make that same leap into meaningless solo careers?
To find out, I started my own band. The elixir wasn't as good, but we did the same thing as those others. Various band members who were best friends and (more or less) grew up together now won't speak to each other. I can't say I'm any wiser for it, but at least now I've seen it up close (apart from the "fantastic" aspect).
I think it's like getting a divorce, although I've never done that. I've seen a few up close, though. Not that close.
None of it bothers me as much as the passing of Richard Wright, dead today from cancer at age 65. If you don't like Pink Floyd, you're excused now; I don't really want to talk to you anyway. I swear to God, five minutes before I found out (ten minutes ago), I was hearing a Pink Floyd song in my head as I drove up to my house. The song was "Welcome to the Machine." Why that song at this time? Probably because it was my oldest son's first day of preschool.
You've been in the pipeline filling in time
Provided with toys, and scouting for boys
Provided with toys, and scouting for boys
My guess is that Richard Wright will begin to get more recognition. I can't say that he was some groundbreaking genius or pioneer synthesizer musician, although maybe he was. He wasn't the main songwriter in Pink Floyd, though he did write a bunch of good stuff. What places him in the pantheon for me, though, and occasions a deep sigh and a dark mood with his passing, is his piano playing throughout The Dark Side of the Moon. If it's possible to reach across the anonymous void and attain certain knowledge that you are not alone in the universe, the expressiveness of Richard Wright's playing in the song "Us and Them" gets it done. Like the individual notes are reaching right into your brain and triggering synapses that tap directly into your soul, almost as an extension of the instrument. That quality is exceedingly rare in any music.
Sad, too, how he was treated callously by his bandmates from The Wall on.
I was pleasantly surprised when Pink Floyd put the old rancor behind them to reunite for Live 8, and genuinely moved by their performance in a way that could not be explained by the pretty-darn-good musical standard maintained.
Why does it happen that fantastic bands so often fall into fratricidal behavior that leaves bitterness lingering for decades? The Beatles, The Eagles, especially Creedence Clearwater Revival? How could you give up something so good - the ability to tap into that rare elixir - and make that same leap into meaningless solo careers?
To find out, I started my own band. The elixir wasn't as good, but we did the same thing as those others. Various band members who were best friends and (more or less) grew up together now won't speak to each other. I can't say I'm any wiser for it, but at least now I've seen it up close (apart from the "fantastic" aspect).
I think it's like getting a divorce, although I've never done that. I've seen a few up close, though. Not that close.
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