Happy New Year from Digital Roanoke

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Be safe.

Roanoke Endures a Rubber Ball-valanche

It had all the makings for a really fun and unusual event. Evidently, I was not the only one to think so, as the citizens and press turned out in force for this occasion. The scenario was that people would each get a bunch of rubber balls and drop them all at the same time in the atrium of the Center in the Square at Noon on New Years Eve. Well, people were there, and the event went off without a hitch (that I am aware of). The children had a BLAST!!!. What else could you expect. Children and 11,000 rubber balls. Of course they had a blast. I think everyone did.
After the drop, the youngsters cleaned the floor of all rubber balls in an energetic frenzy, as the parents watched it all and wished that they could get their kids to clean their rooms with the same speed and intensity.
Here are some images of the event.

Pause in Posting

I apologize for the pause in posting here on this blog. I have been busy with astronomy, astronomy outreach, telescope building, guitar building and repair, as well as my regular, day to day activities. My music has taken a back seat as well, and I am aslo trying to remedy that situation. Here is an image I shot back in August 2004 as I was setting up for an astronomy class that I was giving to the general public. Evidently, these duck were interested in the telescope setup, but never took a turn looking through the eyepiece.

Merry Christmas Roanoke

I wanted to wish everyone in Roanoke, and everywhere else, for that matter, a very Merry Christmas. Please be safe and make the world a happier place.

Toyota Prius with a Gas Pump Attitude

When I saw this press conference announcement, I knew I had to be there. Several reason drove my decision, but the main reasons were my interest in electronics, and my desire to someday make my Astronomy Outreach Vehicle energy efficient. I arrived a bit late, but had a chance to talk to alot of people, including Stan Breakell, Dr. Glenn Skutt, and Dr. Jack Lesko. Stan is the owner of the high mileage Prius, Dr. Skutt is President of VPT Energy Systems, and Dr. Lesko is Vice-President of VPT Energy Systems. Dr. Skutt and Dr. Lesko were willing and able to answer my questions about their choice of batteries, as well as the theory behind the layout of their electronic system. Their novel approach to solving several problems with this technology was innovative and refreshing. I love to talk with people who are willing to think "outside the box". When the conversation worked toward my former life as a Firefighter, we discussed the issues that would involve the safety of this system under extraordinary circumstances, such as a vehicle fire. It was nice to see the number of safety controls and fail-safes that they built into this system.
Great job. It is an impressive bit of engineering.

Here is the Toyota Prius from the front. Looks like a normal Prius.


Here is the Toyota Prius from the back. Again, it looks like a normal Prius, except for that yellow extension cord hanging out the back.


The reason for the extension cord, and the lack of a spare tire. This is the entire auxiliary battery system that has been added to the Prius. I was amazed how small it was, yet is capable of full electric motive motion of the car for 12 to 15 miles.


The system as seen from the other side of the car.


Dr. Glenn Skutt fielded many of the questions about the system from interested onlookers.


Dr. Glenn Skutt (left) and Dr. Jack Lesko (right) talk about one of the questions that I posed to them about their electronic technology.


Dr. Glenn Skutt received the honors of talking to WSLS-10 about their innovative Prius.


Group Photo - Dr. Glenn Skutt, Stan Breakell, and Dr. Jack Lesko.

Car Show Benefit for Bryan Lawrence

The weather reports called for a partly cloudy day. When I woke up to take the Astronomy Mobile Outreach Vehicle (AMOV) to the car show for Bryan Lawrence, it was mistily raining. Being an astronomy related vehicle, the AMOV does not drive in the rain very often. You see, rain is usually accompanied with clouds, which usually massively reduces the chance of viewing stars.

I arrived at the show, to the usual odd looks from the organizers. After some quick explanations, they guided me to a very nice spot right inside the entrance. As I would find out as the day wore on, there would be quite a bit of foot traffic walking right by my vehicle. After getting approval from the organizers, I set up several telescopes to help me explain what the vehicle is all about. One set of telescopes had solar filters mounted to allow the daytime viewing of the sun, much to the delight of the hundreds of people that looked at, and through the telescopes.

I stayed very busy all day, and with about 300 vehicles entered in the event, I would have to say that it was a successful event. Below are some images that I managed to take between talking astronomy with the masses.

Here is the Astronomy Mobile Outreach Vehicle (AMOV). It was a 21 passenger bus before I saved it from the scrap yard and started using it to teach astronomy. I also use it as a base of operations when I am involved in astronomy outreach with members of the local astronomy group, Star City Astronomy Network (SCAN).

The Astronomy Mobile Outreach Vehicle (AMOV), from the back.. The large telescope toward the back of the vehicle is a 15" Dobsonian Reflector, built by StarGazer Telescopes.
The telescopes with the solar filters were mounted on the tripod near the front of the vehicle.

Below are some of the other vehicles that struck my fancy at the show.

I believe that this beautiful, 1937 Ford was my favorite at the show. I could easily see myself driving this gorgeous street rod.

This 1940 Ford is stunning.The orange paint was flawless, as is the rest of the car.

What can you say about "Rat Rods". They are as cool as cool can get. I really liked the stuffed bird in the grillwork.

I really like this dragster. With the T-Bucket style body and the front mounted, open motor, it just screams about drag racing 40 years ago.

It was a nice day, and alot of nice cars, and people. Hopefully, the proceeds will help Bryan Lawrence with his recovery. Thanks to all that were involved with this worthy benefit. A job "Well Done".

Gotta get more time

Sorry I have not posted to this blog in a while. I haven't had much time to run around Roanoke, as other ventures are keeping me busy. I hope to have some more pics up here soon. Stay Tuned.

Folks around the Ol' 917

Well, one of the coolest parts of the day was the people watching the event unfold, and the media attention that the locomotive move garnered. I decided to shoot some pics of the people taking pics of the event. Lots of good people there, and it definitely made the day brighter.

Kyle Green from the Roanoke Times gets the lowdown from a young, rail fan.

WSLS Reporter, Lindsey Ward, watches as the cranes set up for the move.


WDBJ Reporter, Susan Bahorich, reacts to being a target of another camera.


WSLS Reporter, Lindsey Ward, talks with the people watching the move.
Photographers line up on the high ground for the best shooting angles.


Smiles and cameras were abundant.


Who is that white-legged, Nikon and umbrella toting, photographer?

The Ol' 917 gets moved to Ohio

The big point of interest today was the removal of the Ol' 917 Steam Locomotive from the Virginia Scrap and Iron lot, for it's trip to Ohio. The nicest part of the move is the fact that it will be restored from its current, dilapidated condition. The sad thing is that the people, corporations, and governments of the Roanoke Valley can't seem to come to grips with the fact that our history is being taken away from the valley, piece by piece. It seems that the rest of the world cares more about the history of Roanoke than Roanoke does. Does anyone else realize that you can never move forward unless you accept who you are? Folks, losing the icons of our heritage as a community is shameful. We just lost another one today. But I applaud the people that are going to restore this wonderful, old piece of Roanoke's history. At least some people in Ohio have vision.

The cranes are in place and preparing to lift the 917 from the rails in the scrap lot.

The straps tighten as the lift is starting.

The drive wheels leave their contact with the rail for the first time in over 50 years.

The cranes are starting to turn the locomotive for placement on the flatbed trailer.

The crane operators did an outstanding job in rotating this lift. Smooth as butta....

The locomotive shows the firebox opening for firing the boiler.

I am not exactly sure what the balloons were for, but everyone got a chuckle when they saw them.

I was extremely surprised how low the locomotive sat behind the truck cab. I would have guessed it would ride much higher. - Goodbye 917.

I've been shooting the night sky

I have been photographing the stars the past few days, so feel free to check out those images at www.theastronomydude.com

I will be posting more images here as I shoot them.

Helicopter Lift from Roanoke Memorial Hospital

If you all missed it, one of the more exciting things to happen in Roanoke took place Saturday, June 28, 2008, when a US National Guard BlackHawk helicopter lifted a crippled Virginia State Police helicopter from the helipad on top of Roanoke Memorial Hospital. I positioned myself to try to photograph the lift and carry from a side view perspective. Below are a few of the shots I took of the endeavor.

The mass of deciders is gathered on the helipad, while the military personnel prepare the broken helicopter for the trip.

After a swift hookup by the loadmaster, the BlackHawk tightens the lift cable to start the transport.

The BlackHawk barely strains to lift the crippled chopper off of the roof helipad.

The crippled helicopter cooperated completely through the entire trip. It only started to rotate as it was about to be placed on the landing zone.

The BlackHawk then had to return to the RMH Roof Helipad to retrieve the broken helicopters rotor blades, which were removed for the transport.

While the lift was being organized and in operation, Carilion set up a temporary landing zone for incoming flights.