Started working on a game in Java with Andrew. Changing some of the game loop code around to get a constant FPS, then have to change the objects around so that the x,y refers to the center and not the top left corner. That's going to be important since I'm writing the collision detection method. Hopefully I can figure that stuff out. Also need to do some school related stuff later. But think right now I am going to go do some r/c stuff. Seems like a nice day, so will probably drive the truck around a bit. Need to consider getting a bigger helicopter sometime this summer that I can fly outside.

Last weekend Andrew took some really good pictures of the mSR flying with his digital SLR camera. Really came out great. Need to drag him with me this summer to the flying field to get some even cooler pictures. Will be cool. Just can't wait to get some more flying in. Also picked up an ebook on the mSR. Redid my expo/dual rate settings based on that. Should actually be more effective, since I sort of want some lighter controls for laning and takeoff.

Also the little stevens aeromodel SQuirt came in. Got that glued up the other night. And just sanded the fuselage and put some clearcote on that. Not actually going to do a film coverning except for the wing panels. That is the recommended way to do things for this particular model to keep mass down. Kind of critical with those indoor models.

Hopefully this summer i can come up with some really cool stuff to build. So much fun.

Also, found a cool program called Flicnks. Basicly a text based browser to teach you speed reading, Quickly flips through the words on the page.

Picked up a blade mSR today. Tried flying it at home earlier all excited thinking that it would be a bit challenging but manageable and was disappointed. However I went to an indoor flying group tonight and tried it, and found that all I needed was slightly more space and I could fly it fairly well. Not nearly as well as the mCX, but not crashing every 45 seconds. Infact I only had a couple of real crashes, but managed not to have any big enough to break anything. Think if I make flying at this place a regular weekly event I might actually get good with it. A couple of the other pilots complimented me on my skill with it. Not bad for having just gotten the thing.

Next step though will have to be a radio with multiple model memory. Having to manually change the trim settings when I switch models kind of is a pain. Means nearly crashing a few times while getting things dialed in. Also the packets/sec on the radio that comes with the RTF kit isn't that high, while the DX6i and the DX7 series have much better refresh rates. Not a problem with the mCX, but I did notice it with the mSR. It seems to be twitching a bit and commands are slightly sluggish. Not terribly so, but enough when you consider the speed and agility of the mSR. It be a fast little helicopter. Also need to get someone to get some videos sometime too.

Second long weekend in a row. Kind of nice. Getting time to do random stuff. Spending some time flying the little helicopter and spending some time in RealFlight with some park fliers. Feeling like its almost time to get another helicopter though, one of the intermediate level ones in the Blade family. The mCx s300 is lots of fun, but feel like I need a little more to get some more skills. Can fairly reliably land precisely with full rates on the radio. So really need the next step up, and probably eventually a better transmitter, probably the Dx6i. Hopefully in a month or two I can do that. Maybe get the Ember as well so I can get sometime in with a fixed wing craft.

And Java sucks, the language is such a mess. Don't know why anyone would willingly use it. Though for some of the stuff I want to do I will probably end up writing my own libraries for Go. Don't think there is a version of openGL ported to it yet..... sounds a lot like effort though.

Crazy roombas...... Such a nifty and useful device. Must make some accessories and stuff at some point. Bur right now focusing on changing some things around in my Game of Life program. Need to take care of a few refinement things as far as catching some events and adding some more delay functions. Then I want to make it so you can use command line arguments to change the ruleset that is used. Could be interesting to explore other CA patterns.

Google is taking over the world.... but I think I am Ok with it....

Well, this was an r/c heavy weekend. Got in a lot of flight time with the little Blace mCX s300 helicopter. Did some figure eights and precision landing practice. Lots of fun. Glad I got another battery for it. Starting to flight with the high rate transmitter setting now too, instead of the low rate controls. Much harder to do precision landings, but still lots o fun. Can't wait until this summer when hopefully I can afford to get a decent electric plane and maybe another helicopter too. Something that can fly in the back yard. This one is a bit small for that, would worry about it getting blown away with the wind.

Made some more abrasion holograms with ML. Starting to come out good. Will have to try some more intricate ones at some point.