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Monday, September 15, 2008

Geeks in Spaaaaaaace





So I finally got my trip with Zero G. Sunday morning I took a cab to the training building just a couple miles from the hotel we were staying at. I arrived way too early but hung around in the lobby until others started showing up. I got checked in, met some of the crew including my team captain. They divide the group up into 3 sections denoted by the color of the bracelet and socks they give you. Silver, blue, and gold are the three teams. As you can see from the pic, I am in the silver team. This just makes it easier for the team leaders to keep track of people. Since there were only 16 of us instead of the usual 35 we had a lot more room and the colors didn't play too huge a roll. They got me a flightsuit and I started getting my hat camera wiring ready to go and got the ok from them to bring it with me. I designed my system for wearing it so that it wouldn't be like rocket science taking it on and off which turned out to be a very good thing. The one downside is I started noticing the adhesive on the velcro holding the camera to my hat was starting to wear out.

As more people started showing up they had a nice zero gravity friendly breakfast lined up. We ate a light meal and talked amongst ourselves and with Buzz Aldrin until it was time for the pre-flight videos and safety briefing. They played us a video describing the trip we were about to go on, some fun things to do in zero g, and all the required safety information and features of the modified 727 named G Force One.

Following the videos and other information, we were again encouraged to have a light snack and then to security screening. Like any other commercial flight you have to go through TSA screening before you can get on the plane. They operate a little differently though. We flew out of McCarran airport like a normal commercial airplane out of Vegas but we didn't go through the terminal. Instead an official screened us with metal detectors and sent us to wait in a bus to go directly to the plane on the tarmac. We rode in through a secure gate at one of the private jet companies at McCarran and drove out to the 727.

We got off the bus and gathered for some group photos and began lining up with boarding passes in hand to enter the plane. Unlike boarding your normal jets, we climbed up a staircase in the very rear of the plane. The 727 has no windows (except in the emergency exits), no bathroom (wouldn't want to have to use one on a parabolic flight anyways!), and few seats. It is basically a big, flying, hollow tube. It is a good looking plane though and doesn't show it's age. They keep it in pretty good shape.

I took my seat in the middle (won't catch me doing that on a normal airline either :) window seat or else! but no windows, so I guess my rule didn't apply ;) ) of the front-most row and got belted in. As we waited for what seemed like hours waiting in line with all the other airplanes trying to leave LAS we got the usual spiel about the emergency exits, oxygen and how to use it (as a side note, oxygen is located below you on this plane due to the fact that there are no overhead compartments), in the event of a water landing, etc. etc...

After an undetermined amount of time we finally got off the ground and headed into our allocated airspace somewhere out in the middle of the Nevada desert. Their airspace allows them freedom from ~24,000 ft to ~35,000 ft and so the parabolas are within that window. We did 15 parabolas. 1 martian (1/3 normal gravity), 2 lunar (1/6 normal gravity), and 12 zero g. During the periods when we are not in reduced gravity environment the g's range typically around 1.8 which means you feel nearly twice as heavy as you normally would. The reduced gravity portions last ~30 seconds each.

It was all great fun! I am sure I look really goofy but I don't care. It is hard to control yourself and I pretty much stopped caring and just had fun and wherever I went is where I was. On the second zero g parabola we chased skittles around, on a later one we played around with water and on the last one I did some flips (although I did a few on other parabolas by the looks of it too lol). Fly like superman or worm your way around the fuselage there isn't much you can't do. On one I managed to get myself to one of the little windows in the door and attempted to get a good shot of the outside with mixed results and on one of the lunar parabolas I did a mid-air somersault with help of my team leader. Buzz Aldrin roamed between the different groups and we all had fun floating around with him. We had two small breaks of straight and level flight to give everyone a little break. Most people did pretty good. I saw a few people get sick and have to sit out some or the rest of the trip but I was fine and so was most everyone else. I didn't take any chances though, I took motion sickness medication before we left.

The whole trip lasted just under 2 hours with a combined total of ~8 minutes of weightlessness. We posed for some last minute group photos and got back to our seats for landing. We de-planed and got our pictures taken with Buzz and two of the very nice people of Zero G at the rear of the plane and got back on the bus back to the training facility.

When we got back there were sandwiches and champagne waiting for us and we had a little event where they handed us certificates and shook hands with Buzz Aldrin. Shortly thereafter I got a ride back to the Luxor from one of the flyers and a few hours later was dinner.

Dinner as mentioned in the previous post was at the Fluer De Lys at Mandalay Bay. Right next to the Luxor I just walked over. There I had a wonderful evening with the group and crew of our flight. Buzz stayed for a while but had to catch a plane and I stayed talking with everyone until about 9:15. I had a lot of fun and it was well worth the hassle I went through. The people at Zero-G made everything right and I would gladly fly again. Thanks.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Vegas: Round 2


We got into Vegas on Saturday 9/13. Just enough time to wander around before going to bed. We stayed at the other end of the strip this time at the Luxor. Not near as nice as the Bellagio but *shrug* it was a place to sleep. We toured the hotels and casinos in the immediate area, Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, and New York, New York.

I am a sucker for rides and I had to try out the roller coaster at New York, New York. I have to say for such a small roller coaster it is very well done. It doesn't jerk you around like a cheap ride at a county fair.

We grabbed some dinner and headed for downtown Vegas. We stopped to check out the light show at the Fremont and Golden Nugget and listened to the street musicians for a while and wandered around the Golden Nugget for a while and headed back.

Sunday was zero g day. I won't go into detail here because in the next post (above) covers it but, it was awesome. I took a cab to their training facility about 2 miles away from the hotel (which brought the cab fare to ~$20 lol) and proceeded to spend most of the day there and on the plane.

Following the flight and re gravitation party back on the ground I had a few hours to kill before dinner. One of the flyers who was staying at the same hotel as me let me ride back to the hotel with her which was very nice as I didn't have to get in another taxi.

First thing I did when I got back to the hotel was go wander about some more. Dinner was at 6:30 and I had a few hours to go. I was getting pretty sleepy at that point and went back to the room to take a short nap before getting ready and wandering my way down to dinner at Fluer De Lyes at Mandalay Bay. Dinner was put on by Zero-G and I had a very nice evening with the flyers and crew of our flight plus Buzz Aldrin. I said goodbye around 9:15 and headed back to the Luxor.

Monday morning and it was time to go. I packed up my bags and headed back to the airport. LAS is always crowded and going through security there is never very much fun. Fortunatly my big mass of wiring from my hat camera didn't cause me any trouble with security.

Our flight was delayed about a half hour because of traffic on the ground but otherwise an uneventfull flight. Southwest has open seating which makes getting a good seat kind of a pain if your at the back of the line but I got a window at the very last row.

When we got to southern Oregon I shot this pic of Crater Lake and one of the couple wildfires still burning down there. The smoke was so thick it continued all the way through southern Washington.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

T-minus 3 days and counting

Well it is the end of day 5 of the Boeing strike and less than 3 days till my schedualed Zero-G flight (again). My flight to Vegas is mid-day saturday and my zero-g flight is sunday and my return trip is monday. woohoo! 3 flights in 3 days! I am currently watching my e-mail and phone like a hawk to make sure I don't miss any important (read: bad news) messages from Zero G (better not be any!) and they had better get it right this time!!

I'll post pics as soon as I can :)

Wish me luck!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Math count

Well I have either lost it or something.. My apprenticeship math book has been driving me nuts so I am going to just get it over with. I don't know how long the strike will last but I am going to get as close to *done* with this thing as I can. I am already burnt out on it so what's a little more insanity eh? ;)

Current chapter: 24 of 105
Last updated: 9/8

What's even nicer about this pic? The book only has ODD numbered answers!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Strike!

Well it was bound to happen sooner or later. My first strike at Boeing. With an overwhelming majority Boeing's best and final offer was rejected. It was actually rejected 48 hours ago but the government stepped in and called for a federal mediator and a 48 hour 'hold'. So we worked the last two days and now that time is up. There has been no other offers so at 12:01 we'll walk. My picket duty isn't until Sunday but it will be interesting. I hope to use the time off to catch up on my apprenticeship math (which I have ridiculously too much of) and I hope we end up with a good contract :)

Lets see where this goes...

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

I'm waaaaiting....

Well it is less than 2 weeks until my scheduled ultra spiffy zero g flight. I have not received my final schedule yet and am starting to get annoyed. Mostly concerned but a bit annoyed. Not like they have ever given me any reason to doubt them *dripping sarcasm* but I would just like to know that everything is still good (lest my wrath be unleashed). This is the *last* chance for them to make this work for me and I *really* want to go so it would be really nice to have some good news.

*crossing fingers* I think I will just call them tomorrow (again) if I don't hear anything.

Update: I called them at work today (9/3) and had a new itinerary sent to me. Apparently it got lost on its way to my inbox(s) :/ but, that's good! I have an official schedual! (again) *keeping fingers crossed*

Monday, September 1, 2008

Kumoricon '08


Oh boy! it's that time of year again. I had been putting off Kumoricon thinking that I didn't feel like going but of course I changed my mind at the last moment. It was held at the Double Tree by Lloyd Center again and I still can't help but laugh everytime someone who has never seen this stuff before stares as they walk, ride, or drive by. Being that I waited until the last minute I missed Pre-reg so I got to spend 5 hours in line. Weee! It wasn't so bad though, I waited with some good people and there were sandwiches involved.

Surviving the registration process I proceded to do what I do every 'con, buy stuff and take pictures. I don't do much of either anymore as I already have a zillion megabytes of con photos eating up HD space on my computer but hey, it beats sitting around the house. I liked the vender room selection this year. I don't really follow a specific anime but I like some and I enjoy Japanease culture so I am not really looking for the limited edition action figure from *insert anime here* but I did like the hand made and small shop items like the EMOblock plushies and some handmade katamari phone charms. I also ran into a really neat Kimono booth run by KimonoMomo
http://www.kimonomomo.com/ .
I had a Kimono that I had bought cheap at Sakuracon a year or two ago but haven't worn much because I was missing some pieces. The lady there was really nice and helpful and set me up with the remaining pieces (plus some extras lol) and showed me how to put it all on without it falling off or needing 4 hands to do it. The Obi is the hardest part (the 'belt' ). It is about 10 feet long and depending on how fancy you want to get, is a pain to tie. I make a simple bow on the back but it is still kinda tricky. She also showed me how to store the kimono (not on hangers!) so that they would last. Some of my kimono stuff (like the Haori in the picture) is pre- WW2 so I don't want it to get in any worse shape. None of my kimono stuff is very fancy but for a con like this it is fun to wear.

Overall, I had fun. I think next time I will definity be pre-registering though so I don't have to repeat the 5 hour in line bit though.

*grrr bad formatting *twitch*.... oh well. I don't feel like fixing it.*