Dockside, Part Two

Dockside, Part Two

Been busy busy getting Lady of the Blues (a name I’m fond of and will keep) here at Smith Mountain Lake deep in Appalachia, so busy that I only occasionally have the time and perspective to enjoy how beautiful this area really is. To give you a mental image of my surroundings, if you saw and recall the movie Deliverance – and I bring it up strictly for the visuals, not the vibes of the story – as in the film this lake was created back in the 1960s via a hydro-electric dam that submerged a substantial chunk of central Virginia; whole neighborhoods and towns are now at the bottom – it’s not uncommon to lose your ground tackle (anchor) from fouling the foundation or chimney or whatever’s left of someone’s former abode, if you’re unlucky in placement.

Addendum: In Deliverance this was important for the subtext: if you’ll recall, the locations of the various dramas and personal agonies that transpired on the canoe trip were ultimately ‘covered up’ by the rising waters, if not the memories of the characters; this was a vital aspect of the story’s ending (the Jon Voight character’s dream and so forth). And as I’ve mentioned before, in story-telling, endings are everything.

Although we’ve had our feisty moments, I’ve become quite fond of Steve (the previous owner), without whom I’d be truly lost here. Although we’re very close to areas similar to those in the beginning of Deliverance – who can forget the ‘dueling banjos’ scene with the kid on the porch – the rural folks I’ve met are smart and friendly enough, but without a local connection like Steve I’d not be able to get anything done, let alone learn some local history. Yesterday after making the rounds of the marine and hardware stores, Steve took me on a land-tour of the lake’s shoreline. Learned some stuff you don’t get in the Chamber of Commerce pamphlets.

I finally cleaned out the rig stem to stern. Christ was it dirty, and I found some soft wood here and there. No structural problems but it will be tough to sell. I’m struggling with the figures trying to see how I can keep the boat and the rig. Gonna be tough but maaaybe. I’d love to be land-and-water mobile. That would be the best. We’ll see.

During the final thousand feet, the grid fins are useless and the thrusters only work in the weightless vacuum of space. So how can it stay upright AND adjust trajectory. Impossible, no matter what you are ‘seeing.’

Any of you live over on the Potomac River, maybe near Colonial House Beach? Beautiful area and looks like the closest to this lake by highway, which is the next big step. Hiring a big rig to haul Lady to the Potomac. In about a month, I’m hoping.

Meanwhile, I got distracted last night watching the Spacex Falcon Heavy launch in April, which I had not noticed at the time. Incredible. The twin booster ‘landings’ looked identical to the February touch downs. I’ll have to check my archives but I would bet what they played to you all and the world was the same images they used before; it’s like they are not even trying. Well, why should they? If you believed it the first time, why bother to make fresh imagery – like maybe having them land in different order (close then far, etc.) or maybe have one come down then the other ten or twenty seconds later; after all, they are ‘falling’ through high and unpredictable winds.

As far as I know I’m still the only blogger or ‘journalist’ or ‘researcher’ or whatever to point out that these images are breaking the laws of physics.

Maybe a hint here, in this ‘private’ video of the boosters. See how the upper wire doesn’t pass in front of the booster like the other three? What’s up with that?

I’m still waiting for a video of someone lowering a broom or stick to a spot on the ground from a palm-balance. Can’t be done, can it? If not, how would a rocket do it? (And if you’re going to misdirect re the grid fins and thrusters, how do you explain all the test flights when none were used?)

Sorry for the paltry imagery. My main Macbook is still down and all my still photos are on it (and on the Time Machine back up that I can’t seem to figure out).

I’ll be back on my game soon. Still have the list to deal with.

Allan

Some major generosity from out there. One of you ponied up $100 to keep me going and – get this – a long time and very… interesting (can’t go into it) subscriber sent me a Phantom II drone to film Lady from on high. What a guy!