Worth read for sure. Bonus for the SW:TFA reference…
Recently, Apple hired Tor Myhren as VP of Marketing Communications.
He comes from Grey, where he was the global chief creative officer and president of the NY office.
To borrow some new Star Wars terminology, he’s a big deal in advertising.
I don’t write here much, and there’s probably good reasons for it. I spend time on Twitter (@stevekirks) and on the web forums for PilotEdge so this space get neglected. I’m still working for CenturyLink doing basically the same thing I’ve done for years: help people understand the technology they have and then help them understand the technology they need.
I keep thinking that this site is for personal items or longform writing, neither of which I’ve been motivated to write. Mostly it’s time–I like to write something of quality and not a blurb or comment–so that leaves me at a crossroads. I spend all day on a computer for work, then some evenings on the flight simulator, practicing or flying for fun, so writing seems like the furthest thing from my mind.
On April 13th of this year, I was finally able to take my first flight lesson. A gift from my dad, it was about and hour behind the controls of a Cherokee 140 out of the airport in Bolivar, MO (M17). It included a quick pre-flight walkaround, then a flight over to Stockton, MO for some basic maneuvers and back to Bolivar.
It was an experience I’ll never forget…
I’ve been flying using a home simulator setup for about the last year or more so much of the flight was familiar but the real life sensations weren’t. I was on sensory overload most of the flight but was able to fly the plane using the habits already in place from the time on the simulator. My instructor told my dad that “he’s a natural” and my dad was impressed that the landing was good remarking “if you’d greased it on the first flight I would have been shocked”.
It cemented the idea in my mind that I could indeed become a pilot. About a month later it was my birthday, and everyone chipped in to open a savings account in my name for flight lessons, filled with enough cash to get three lessons booked.
I’ll try to keep these posts updated as a log of what I do
Looks like it has been awhile since I posted to the ol’ weblog. I think it might be time to start up again. I’m travelling for work and that’s caused me to break up old routines and start new ones.
Here’s some quick notes about my experience flying some of the legs from this year’s WorldFlight on VATSIM:
Flying the 777 during high traffic events:
Man, this plane is amazing! FMC programming was a breeze and takeoff/landing was relatively straightforward. I had some issues landing at some airports due to my scenery files were not updated but the FMC navigation data was. One of the flights had the ILS localizer about 100 feet to the left of the scenery’s runway. A quick dance to disengage the autopilot and a slide to the right and all was well.
Knowing how to program a HOLD at a fix in the FMC:
I was quickly able to program a random, non-published hold in the FMC while on approach. That was mainly due to reading the manual and having it open while working the sim. I got about 5 minutes warning before reaching the fix:
“FedEx 4345, a delay is required. Hold at fix TUBBY, one minute circuits, left hand turns, maintain flight level 350”
That was reasonable simple, but I had never done it and it was nerve-racking for sure. Luckily it was one circuit so within a 5 minute span of time, I programmed the hold, completed the circuit and exited the hold, with aircraft in front and behind me.
Tips for flying in events:
ATC Coverage:
The WorldFlight ATC team was great and worked very hard to keep everyone on track, inbound and outbound. I’ve got some ideas about helping these guys out for next year, but I’ll save that for a future post.
I bit the bullet last night and purchased the PMDG 777 add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator X. It’s nearly $100 and worth *every* penny. Here’s some initial impressions:
As the family’s tech authority, I frequently get this question:
“What iPhone should I buy?”
The answer is easy, but most people don’t listen. For the family reading this, do yourself a favor and read this twice before making the decision.
1. Buy one with the biggest amount of storage you can afford.
The most important feature you should be shopping for is storage. Most of the people I come across use their phone as their primary camera. That means it’s jammed with photos. I mean *jammed* like 2 to 4 GB of photos. When you have a 16GB phone and the OS/core apps take 2GB-ish, that means almost 20% of your phone will be photos–more if you take videos. The speed of the iPhone 5S is meaningless to 90% of the users out there and the fingerprint sensor is “first generation” so skip that for now and wait for the 2 year upgrade to get the much better version of what’s out there now.
2. Buy it outright if you can afford it.
It’s expensive to do it but you should buy the phone outright without the burden of a contract. That will allow you to move between carriers and/or upgrade more often if that’s your thing. Don’t buy into the carrier’s “upgrade once a year” plan–it’s a money trap.
3. Buy iCloud storage that matches the amount of your device, maybe more
If you have a 16GB device, buy iCloud storage equal to or greater than the device so that would be 10GB additional for $20/year. That will ensure all of your photos are stored at Apple in case your device is stolen. It’s cheap and easy to do right from the device.
4. Buy iTunes Match if you have a music collection.
Adding iTunes Match ($24.95/year) ensures your music is safe, just like iCloud for your photos. Even better, your Music app will show your iTunes library of music, but without actually storing it on the device. Want to listen to a song? Tap it and it streams from the cloud. You can even flag songs to be stored on the device.
Tammy and I traded up to the iPhone 5 a couple months ago, knowing new phones were in the pipeline. I had a pretty good idea where things were going, and the “5S” to be was still mostly a mystery. I figured a solid “5” in the hand was a better choice. Now, with iOS 7 on board, I can see I made the right decision. Here’s a few observations, in no particular order of importance:
* Siri is better — Using Siri for the same tasks as before is much better. From more accurate speech to faster transcription, Siri is now at a mature baseline of behavior for me. Using Siri for texting is fantastic. The first time I used it was in the car, while driving, windows down and it nailed every word. Later on, while in the office, it guessed at a poorly pronounced phrase and when I tapped the word to change it, it suggested the correct 5 words to replace it. Simply amazing.
* Control Center replaces three laborious tasks — I used to do three things frequently and Control Center has reduced my workload. The flashlight button allows me to delete a non-essential Camera+ app. I can now set a timer with one tap to hit the Timer app and go (skipping Siri too). Finally, the toggles for Wifi and Bluetooth allow me the control I need for power management.
* Visual cues with app loading/switching give me confidence — The interface cues when I load apps, switch apps and go back to the home screen are a big win. These small visual tricks give me mental reassurance as I quickly navigate the system, allowing me to focus on speed and not steps.
Overall, in the short 24 hours I’ve had the upgrade, I’ve concluded I would have paid money for this upgrade. Fantastic work, Apple!
I don’t write much here anymore and that’s OK. I usually wait until I have something important to say.
Yesterday was my 17th wedding anniversary. Looking back, it’s the longest time I’ve spent committed to anything or anyone in my entire life. I can’t imagine living life any other way.
My wife, Tammy, wrote a great blog post that sums up things nicely. I wish I could write as well (or as often) as she does. I’ll let her speak for me–she’s the best friend/wife/partner that I could ever ask for. When I’m asleep, dreaming of the future, she’s always at my side.
Here’s to 17 more…
I listen to live air traffic control audio to relax. Yes, I’m weird. Most of the time, I’m lurking on the Las Vegas Approach/Departure feed on LiveATC. Favorite phrases:
“Descend via the Sunset 3 Arrival”
“Caution Wake Turblance”
Bonus–sometimes they have to control USAF traffic out of Nellis as they enter and exit Las Vegas Class B airspace. The callsigns are great. Usually they coordinate with a KC737 that’s pulling AWACS duties. Truly insane amounts of words and traffic passing through there each day.
Steve Kirks 