Macon Aero Modelers Club Fundraiser is Saturday, August 12th

The Macon Aero Modelers Club is having its annual radio control fly-in fundraiser on Saturday, August 12 , on Model Aviation Day, at the club's flying field in Otto. The day is to support the Macon County School's Robotics Team.
Every summer the club picks out a worthy group to support with the proceeds from the day. This year, the flying club is being SMART : (Smoky Mountain Area Robotics Team). The event will not only support the student Robotics program in Macon County, but will also offer the public the opportunity to learn more about radio control aircraft. Gates open at 10 AM and from then till 4 PM there will be demonstrations and flying of R/C airplanes, jets, drones and helicopters. There will be large scale aircraft which are about 25 percent of the size of real airplanes.

At noon there will be special demonstrations of 3D (aerobatic) helicopters, turbine powered jets, and a 50% scale Yak 54 airplane. Throughout the day there will be flying of scale model war birds, civilian and military aircraft, and the opportunity for those who are interested, to fly airplanes on dual controls with an instructor pilot. Spectators will also have the opportunity to fly radio control aircraft on simulators.

There will be BBQ plates and hot dogs for sale., along with soft drinks. Entry fee is $5 per car. 

In case of bad weather, the fly-in will be rescheduled for Saturday the 19th, the next Saturday. Same schedule of events.

The Macon Aero Modelers Flying Field is on US 441 South of Franklin, at Otto. At the Otto Fire Department and Post Office, take a left -- if going south and if going north a right-- onto Tessentee Rd. The field is 1/2 mile from the bridge on Tessentee Rd., on the left. There will be directional signs along the route.


DAY SPONSOR

The Southeastern Private Property and Federal Land Use Conference in Bryson City is underwriting Macon Media today.

The Southeastern Private Property and Federal Land Use Conference will be taking place in Bryson City on Saturday, July 29th. The purpose of the conference is to examine how the shrinking amount of taxable private property in rural counties leads to below-average economic conditions for businesses and people in those areas. Additionally, the conference will focus on the changing management of federal lands and how this affects rural counties and forest users in the mountains. Learn more about the conference and how you can attend at http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-southeastern-private-property-and.html 

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Autumn 2011 Franklin Bird Club Activities

From my friends at the Franklin Bird Club:

Bird Friends,

Don't forget our last meeting of the year:  

October 17 at 7:00 at the Macon County Public Library

We have a special program:  Karen Lawrence and Barbara McRae will talk about "Birding Through the Camera:  Tips on Photographing Birds and Using Photos for Identification." We should see lots of bird photos and be inspired to do our own.

Our Greenway walks will continue though October so come out on Tuesdays/Wednesdays to watch for last migrants and other interesting birds.

And you can always check our bird happenings at our blog:  http://franklinbcb.wordpress.com/

The time is NOW to consider joining Cornell University’s PROJECT FEEDERWATCH which begins Nov. 12, 2011. This project is a fun way to learn about and enjoy the many birds that come to your feeders as well as other birds that visit the feeder area. It gives you a chance to “go birding” in the winter without leaving the warmth of your home, and you are also contributing to the research of scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. To join you can sign up online at http://www.feederwatch.org OR you can call (800)843-2473. There is a $15 fee to join and you will receive in the mail a kit which includes a beautiful bird poster, a birding calendar, a Handbook and Instructions, tally sheets, as well as a subscription to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology newsletter and Birdscope. You also have the option of sending in your bird lists by mail or entering the data online. LAST year there were 2 of us in Macon County involved in this project–hopefully we can have YOU and many others as well!!!!!

UPCOMING BIRD EVENTS (Events are free unless otherwise noted)

October 11

8:00 am

Bird walk along the Greenway with Karen Lawrence. Walk will begin at the Greenway entrance

adjacent to the Macon County Public Library parking area.

October 12

9:30 am

Bird walk along the Greenway with Paula Gorgoglione will begin at Salali Lane. Park in the lot off

Fox Ridge Rd., just south of the Flea Market on Highlands Rd.

October 17

7:00 pm

Franklin Bird Club meeting at Macon County Public Library. Karen Lawrence and Barbara

McRae will discuss photographing birds.

October 18

8:00 am

Bird walk along the Greenway with Karen Lawrence. Walk will begin at the Greenway entrance

adjacent to the Macon County Public Library parking area.

October 19

9:30 am

Bird walk along the Greenway with Paula Gorgoglione will begin at Salali Lane. Park in the lot off

Fox Ridge Rd., just south of the Flea Market on Highlands Rd.

October 21

9:00 am

The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee (LTLT) will host a nature walk at Tessentee Bottomland

Preserve in Macon County just south of Franklin. The walk will feature different forest stands,

historic farmhouse and silo, rivercane patch, and a great time to view the fall leaves. Tessentee

Bottomland Preserve is stop #53 on the NC Birding Trail with the preserve’s bird list at 126

species and butterfly list at 43 species and counting. The walk will be led by Jason Love, LTLT

board member and Site Manager for Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research. To get to

Tessentee Bottomland from Franklin; take the Georgia Rd. (US 23/US 441) south for

approximately 5.2 miles, turn left onto Riverside Rd and follow for 0.5 miles, turn right onto

Hickory Knoll Rd and follow for approx. 1.9 miles — the Preserve is located off a private drive

(2249 Hickory Knoll Rd) on the right-hand side of the road; parking area is on the left, before the

farm gate. For directions from other locations and to RSVP, contact Jill Wiggins at

outreach@ltlt.org or by calling 828-524-2711 x209.

October 25

8:00 am

Bird walk along the Greenway with Karen Lawrence. Walk will begin at the Greenway entrance

adjacent to the Macon County Public Library parking area.

October 26

9:30 am

Bird walk along the Greenway with Paula Gorgoglione will begin at Salali Lane. Park in the lot off

Fox Ridge Rd., just south of the Flea Market on Highlands Rd.

October 28

7:30 pm

Highlands Plateau Audubon Society meeting. Program by the Eagle Lady.

Highlands Civic (Rec) Center

November 12

9:00 – 10:00 am

Fall Seminar provided by Blue Ridge Bird Seed Company: “Successful & Economical Bird

Feeding.” At Harvest on Main Restaurant, Blue Ridge, GA.

December 10

9:00 – 10:00 am

Fall Seminar provided by Blue Ridge Bird Seed Company: “Our Winter Birds.” At Harvest on

Main Restaurant, Blue Ridge, GA.

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Introduction to Ensemble Forecasting Models

The above graphic is an example the most well known type of weather forecast made using computer model ensembles. What most don't realize is that the same models are used year-round to provide forecast guidance to meteorologists in making their forecasts.


The Chief Meteorologist at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC Greg Fishel joined Nate Johnson for a discussion of the change in meteorology from "deterministic models" to "ensemble forecasting" in this video:




This video is part of the WRAL-TV Web Weather Extra series and more can be found on the WRAL-TV website.


For more information on the models used used to forecast the weather, please visit the following websites:


NCEP Ensemble Products


NCEP Model Analyses and Forecasts


European Centre for Medium Range Forecasts Products (The Euro is better than the American models for forecasting the weather in the 4 to 10 day range)


NOAA's Global Forecast System (this one is good up to 48 hours from an event, beyond that, it's crap)


If you are interested in seeing even more models, including current output for the latest model runs, you can visit PSU's e-Wall. Warning...it's a Geekfest of data.


Also, if you are interested in learning more from scratch, Jeff Hay's Habyhints website can get you started on a new hobby if you're interested. It's where I got my start a few years ago.

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Adventures in RC Flight Videos: "Winterwonderland"

If I were to get into building and flying RC Planes...this would be the kind of video I would try to make! Another thing that would be fun to do this way would be storm chasing. 


The RC Plane is a Ritewing Zephyr.


The builders are the same people who flew the Alps and New York City. Yes, New York City.


For more information on FPV (First Person Video), visit FPVpilot.

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Square Foot Garden Update: Carrots, Tomatoes and a Couple of Mystery Plants

I've been trying a new method of gardening this year, one that was invented by Mel Bartholomew called The New Square Foot Gardening Method, and if you follow me on Twitter, you've seen the photos I've posted of my progress so far.








I have a pepper plant that I think has been snacked on by a snail, and am trying to nurse it back to health by transplanting it to the warm and dry area where I've located my garden. The two mystery plants to the left had sprouted up next to my Jiffy Pellets.




Yesterday, I made an instructional video (and I use the term loosely) showing me planting some carrot seeds. It was an off-the-cuff thing, so I ad-libbed my way through it:
















Just a few minutes ago, I decided that my Cherokee Purple had taken up enough space in my germination laboratory, and transplanted them to my SFG [Square Foot Garden] box. It sure was a pleasant experience, having had to deal with clay soil all of my life to just slip them into Mel's special soil.


I'm thinking of putting together another box tomorrow and transplanting some Yellow Tomatoes and planting a few Chinese Red Noodle beans into it. Maybe start some peppers from seed...hoping that it's not too late to do that. But, that's part of the fun of gardening, to try new things and see if it works out!


I'll let Mel explain the benefits of this method of gardening:






To find out more about this unique method of gardening, visit the Square Foot Gardening Foundation. Most libraries carry a copy or two of his book...but I bet you'll have a hard time finding it on the shelf!


Another good place to check out on the Internet is Tim's Square Foot Gardening Page.


Here (courtesy of Wikipedia) is just a few of the benefits of Square Foot Gardening:

• Much less work. Conventional gardening requires heavy tools to loosen the soil, whereas in this method, the soil is never compacted and it remains loose and loamy. Weeding takes only seconds to minutes, due to the light soil, raised beds, and easily accessed plants. Harvests per foot of garden are increased due to the rich soil mixture, well-spaced plants, and lack of weeds produced when following Mel Bartholomew's method.
• Water Savings. The soil mixture that is advised has water-holding capacities, so that the garden needs water less frequently, and in much smaller quantities than when using other gardening methods. Water is also spared by hand-watering directly at the plant roots, so that there is very little waste and tender young plants and seedlings are preserved.
• Very little weeding. One benefit of this close planting is that the vegetables form a living mulch, and shade out many weed seeds before they have a chance to germinate.
• Pesticide / Herbicide Free. Natural insect repellent methods like companion planting (i.e. planting marigolds or other naturally pest-repelling plants) become very efficient in a close space and thus, pesticides are not necessary. The large variety of crops in a small space also prevents plant diseases from spreading easily.
• Accessibility. A plywood bottom can be attached to the bottom of a box, which can then be placed on a tabletop or raised platform for those who wish to garden without bending or squatting, or to make gardening easy for wheelchair, cane or walker users.

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Convection

This is a brief look at a thunderstorm (12 minutes compressed into 30 seconds) that was located in Rabun County, Georgia and moving into Oconee County in South Carolina. I was in Macon County North Carolina, about 4 miles NE of Franklin. 

I apologize for the lack of detail on the clouds...as my primary camera (a Kodak Zi6) died on me Tuesday night while covering the primary races. I filmed this with my Kodak Z950. It is a good still camera, or for taking videos of close subjects, but sucks at my favorate activity...taking time lapse videos in HD.

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A little cumulus time lapse

Click here to view full-size in HD.

I shot this yesterday afternoon at my home in Macon County, and almost forgot to post it here.


I should be back to posting a little more about political matters in a few days, but I won't be posting 7 or 8 articles a day like I used to. (Famous last words).

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Gas-Powered RC Planes Roar Over Macon County

Some of the local Radio Control Aircraft enthusiasts showed off their flying skills this weekend in Macon County. They had four big gas-powered planes in the sky at once, and this is the video one of them put together documenting their antics!

Visit Macon Aero Modelers for more information, including more videos like the one above.

And here is a video from a meet these guys had in Highlands a couple or so weeks ago:

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Watch the Moon Occult Antares Saturday Night

Photo Credit: Sky and Telescope

The Moon will be only about 16 hours from full when, on Saturday evening June 6th in the Americas, it will cross the 1st-magnitude red supergiant star Antares.
The occultation will be visible across much of the United States and Canada, all of Central America and the Caribbean, and northern South America. Surrounding areas get a still-spectacular near miss.

Source: Sky and Telescope

Related: Lunar Occultation

Related: Antares Wikipedia Page

If the weather is clear at my location, I'll try to take some photos of the event.

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World's Smartest Mouse

World's Smartest Mouse - Watch more Free Videos
Just think about the time this guy invested in teaching the course to the mouse!

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The Chase of Norfolk Southern 134

This is video by local Railfans as they chased a train from Catawba to Salisbury on video.



From the video description:

About a 40 mile chase of NS 134 with two KCS SD70MACS, a NS C40-9W, and a SD40-2.

I have added links to the equipment referenced. I am assuming the KCS refers to Kansas City Southern.



Railfans are people who are hobbyists interested in the various aspects of the Railroad Industry. You Tube and other video sharing services offer them another way to share their experiences with others.

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