Your Blog Profile
Finally got around to reading your entry in the Blog, having had one recently myself I know what angst is present in answering these questions in such brevity. I finally gave Lauren final edit. I couldn't pare it down any further.
I was taken with your adoption of your daughter. Good on you, as they say.
I don't understand though what you are doing in making a life size model of the animusic character? What is that and what does it entail?
You remind me of some guys I served with in the Navy when we were Helicopter Mechanics serving as Plane Captains (the Navy's term for Crew Chief). Most of us were mechanically inclined to a very high degree to say the least or we wouldn't have had the responsibility we did on these Helicopters. We were the ones who told the Pilots that the bird was good to fly. So, we had the duty to make the final inspection on an aircraft. On a helicopter this was a lot of responsibility to place on such young men that today looking back I wonder how we managed the stress. Helicopters in particular have no glide pattern They just drop from the sky, and many did. Fortunately for me none of my birds did. That's how I ended up in Vietnam in the long run, the Navy cherry picked many of us from other squadrons and formed up yet another Search and Rescue detachment.
Some of my friends from back then, were our personal goto mechanics on car problems. We all thought we were god's gift to cars and destroyed many a vehicle trying to prove it. But, what a learning experience. I never would have had the balls to ever do what I did to an automobile back then. But, this too was a time when unleaded fuel was just introduced.
I joined up to avoid the draft and was a diesel mechanic's helper in a boat yard at the time I joined. I was looking forward to a career working on larger water craft. As a kid we had all had boats with outboard engines and I did the overhauls on outboard motors every sailboat seemed to have on the back in case of trouble at this boat yard.
Did you serve in the Military first and get some training there too?
Regards,
Worldvet
I was taken with your adoption of your daughter. Good on you, as they say.
I don't understand though what you are doing in making a life size model of the animusic character? What is that and what does it entail?
You remind me of some guys I served with in the Navy when we were Helicopter Mechanics serving as Plane Captains (the Navy's term for Crew Chief). Most of us were mechanically inclined to a very high degree to say the least or we wouldn't have had the responsibility we did on these Helicopters. We were the ones who told the Pilots that the bird was good to fly. So, we had the duty to make the final inspection on an aircraft. On a helicopter this was a lot of responsibility to place on such young men that today looking back I wonder how we managed the stress. Helicopters in particular have no glide pattern They just drop from the sky, and many did. Fortunately for me none of my birds did. That's how I ended up in Vietnam in the long run, the Navy cherry picked many of us from other squadrons and formed up yet another Search and Rescue detachment.
Some of my friends from back then, were our personal goto mechanics on car problems. We all thought we were god's gift to cars and destroyed many a vehicle trying to prove it. But, what a learning experience. I never would have had the balls to ever do what I did to an automobile back then. But, this too was a time when unleaded fuel was just introduced.
I joined up to avoid the draft and was a diesel mechanic's helper in a boat yard at the time I joined. I was looking forward to a career working on larger water craft. As a kid we had all had boats with outboard engines and I did the overhauls on outboard motors every sailboat seemed to have on the back in case of trouble at this boat yard.
Did you serve in the Military first and get some training there too?
Regards,
Worldvet
Cars & Trucks - Toyota - Camry - 1994 Toyota Camry
Answers & Comments
Thanks for the kind comment regarding my "Pa-Russkie" daughter.
Re the Blog: It was def hard to slam 50 some years into a few short paragraphs. I had to leave out a large chunk of the past; 27 years in the theatre biz, working as sound tech for several bands on the road, Being "the guy" that makes the IATSE tech people shake in their shoes when I walk into a theatre in Pittsburgh, I am VERY well know in the theater business...and a lot of other hoovna that I do not care to make public, by choice...but, that was the past, and that is who I "was", not who I am now..
..It's Toyota, primarily.
Re the animusic project: There is this "computer generated" thingy out there, created by Wayne Lytle (www.animusic.com); he creates wireframes and colours and shades them, then, using sophisticated software, the musical instruments "play themselves", using the MIDI files from the musical score. In short, the animation does not drive the music, the MUSIC drives the animation. The project for Sophia is a 2 stringed "bass guitar" that has sprouted arms, and can "play itself". Re the the above www and click on the downloads link; "Stick Figures" from DVD 1, and "Pogo Sticks" from DVD 2 to see them in operation. My daughter is 100% immersed in this, and, building her a working duplicate seemed to be a perfect idea to give her on Russian Christmas. It's not hard to build, but, getting the shoulder/elbow/wrist joints to actually work physically/in reality was a tremendous endeavour. Fortunately, I have a couple of South Bend lathes that I bought and reconditioned here at my shop, and I had to create said joints from scratch, so to speak. The joints turned out quite well, I must say. Then, using round stock, I just turned out the "hands", and drilled/tapped/screwed it all together. The electrics come from Ebay and the local music store. Easy to do, really;
90% of the job is wanting to do it. Lowes suplies the Red Oak wood.
She is going to PISSS her panties when she sees it.
OH YEAH!
Re: you and the past: I have nothing but the HIGHEST regard for y'all, then and now. To serve, to fight, and pay the ultimate price is beyond comprehension to most people today. My dad was in Korea, and he carried a bunch of shrapnel in him until the day he died....
It is interesting, that a seasoned vet such as yourself has not questioned my avatar, nor did you mention the same avatar that is present in the picture of the dva of us...in fact, nobody has mentioned the avatar. But, that is a story for another day.
Thanks for the interesting info on you and your birds....Remind me to tell you a story about 'Nam Medavac pilot Bill Vaughn someday...Unless you already know it... :-)
Did you get to check out the Animusic site? Thanks for the FixYa!
The title Hero of the Soviet Union (Russian: Герой Советского Союза, Geroy Sovyetskovo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.