Ian's Blog

NBC11 Interview of Ron Meadows and me about CNSP-10 balloon record

See the video of the Bay Area NBC11 interview of Ron Meadows and me about the CNSP-10 balloon altitude record.

Stratofox recovers record-breaking CNSP-10 balloon

Stratofox teams (including me) recovered the CNSP-10 balloon payload after its flight to 136,545', breaking Cornell University's altitude record for balloon flights confirmed by Amateur Radio APRS telemetry.

Photos from STS-134 Endeavour launch

I posted my photos of the launch of STS-134, the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour on May 16, 2011. There were two trips to see this launch because the first launch attempt on April 29 was scrubbed for technical problems.

Notes from Space Access '11

I'm posting notes from Space Access '11 during the conference on April 7-9.

Slides from my presentation "Geographic Computation in Perl" at SVPerl

I posted slides from my presentation "Geographic Computation in Perl" at SVPerl on March 3, 2011.

Masten Space Systems rocket engine static test, Jan 25, 2011

I posted pictures from Masten Space Systems' January 25, 2011 static test of a rocket engine.

"State of the Research 2011"

I posted the article "State of the Research 2011" summarizing the current progress and plans for my project to research a suspected impact crater at Nevada's Black Rock Desert.

Practice approaches at Stockton

I posted my pictures from a flight with Dave Goodin to Stockton for practice instrument approaches.

Pictures from SVPerl meeting - January 6, 2011

I posted pictures from the SVPerl meeting on January 6, 2011 at Ixia in Santa Clara.

Pictures from Mojave Air & Space Port

See my pictures from a quick stop at the Mojave Air & Space Port on December 30, 2010, including NASA's X-34s and a line of retired airliners.

Pictures from Arches National Park

See my pictures from Arches National Park, Utah on December 28, 2010.

Pictures of Upheaval Dome

See my pictures from Upheaval Dome impact structure in Canyonlands National Park, Utah on December 27, 2010.

Pictures from Monument Valley

See my pictures from Monument Valley, Arizona/Utah on December 26-27, 2010.

Pictures from Meteor Crater

See my pictures from Meteor Crater, Arizona on December 26, 2010.

Santa's Flight Check

See my variation on an aviation holiday tradition, "Santa's Flight Check".

Pictures from Aviation Geek Fest 2010

My pictures from Aviation Geek Fest 2010 on October 23, 2010. This was a get-together of aviation bloggers, tweeps and geeks for a VIP tour of the Boeing wide-body airliner factory in Everett, Washington.

My summary of the Sept 20 SJC Airport Commission meeting

I posted My summary of the Sept 20 SJC Airport Commission meeting on my PilotQuest blog.

My preview of the Sept 20 SJC Airport Commission meeting

I posted My preview of the Sept 20 SJC Airport Commission meeting on my PilotQuest blog.

Trip to Tennessee and Kentucky

I posted photos of my trip to Tennessee and Kentucky from Sept 3-7, 2010. I saw museums, Civil War battlefields, caves, impact craters and more.

Can you recognize a thunderstorm without seeing lightning?

Even here in California we get occasional thunderstorms, usually in the Spring and Fall. After each time, someone tells me we "never" get thunderstorms here. It tells me a lot of people just don't know how to recognize them. See "Can you recognize a thunderstorm without seeing lightning?" on my Pilotquest blog.

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2010 pictures

My pictures from EAA Airventure 2010 in Oshkosh, July 26-Aug 1, 2010.

Perseids Meteor Shower 2010

Photos of the Perseids Meteor Shower under the dark sky of the Black Rock Desert, August 13, 2010.

Twilight photos at SFO

I got some twilight photos of airliners landing at SFO.

San Jose RACES Field Day, June 25-27, 2010

I posted my pictures from San Jose RACES Field Day 2010 at Almaden Lake Park in San Jose. This was our local site for an annual nationwide Ham Radio emergency drill.

San Jose Int'l Airport Terminal B opening

I posted my pictures from the grand opening and open house of Terminal B at San Jose International Airport. I was there on June 27, 2010, the second of two days of the public tours.

Reid-Hillview Airport Day, June 26, 2010

I posted my pictures from Reid-Hillview Airport Day 2010, which was held June 26, 2010 at Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose.

My appointment to the San Jose Int'l Airport Commission

See "My appointment to the San Jose Int'l Airport Commission" on my PilotQuest blog.

My response on California AB48 regulation of flight schools

See "My response on California AB48 regulation of flight schools" on my PilotQuest flight instruction blog.

Hollister Air Show 2010

See my photos from the Hollister Air Show on May 29, 2010.

TWiki announces OpenID module which I wrote

See the blog entry at TWiki.Org about the new OpenID authentication package that I wrote.

Notes from Space Access '10

I'm posting notes from Space Access '10 during the conference on April 8-10.

Reminder: paper pilot certificates no longer valid after March 31

Pilots: if you're still using a paper pilot certificate, time is running out to replace it with a plastic certificate so you can keep using it. See my entry on my PilotQuest blog, "Reminder: paper pilot certificates no longer valid after March 31".

New FAA instrument flight procedures published today

It's another 56-day cycle of FAA instrument procedures. More airports are getting LPV instrument approaches. The lucky one in California this time is Auburn. I have a summary of what's new in my flying and flight instruction blog at PilotQuest.com.

Masten Space Systems goes to Washington DC for NASA award in Lunar Lander Challenge, Nov 5, 2009

I posted my photos of the trip with the Masten Space Systems crew to Washington DC for the NASA and X-Prize Foundation award ceremony at the Capitol for the Lunar Lander Challenge on Nov 5, 2009. And I did some sightseeing on Nov 6-8 while I was there.

Masten Space Systems qualifies for Level 2 of Lunar Lander Challenge, Oct 30, 2009

I posted my photos of Masten Space Systems' rocket flights qualifying for Level 2 of the Lunar Lander Challenge in Mojave, California on Oct 30, 2009.

Masten Space Systems qualifies for Level 1 of Lunar Lander Challenge, Oct 7, 2009

I posted my photos of Masten Space Systems' rocket flights qualifying for Level 1 of the Lunar Lander Challenge in Mojave, California on Oct 7, 2009.

List of planned instrument approaches now updated weekly

I posted an entry on my flight instruction blog, "List of planned instrument approaches now updated weekly". This is a display of the FAA's schedule of new instrument approaches. And now my display of the data has been expanded from a statewide list to nationwide.

5 year ago: SpaceShipOne won the X-Prize

I was there among the tens of thousands of spectators on Oct 4, 2004 to see SpaceShipOne win the X-Prize in Mojave for a second manned space flight in a matter of days. See my pictures and others' at Stratofox.

Stratofox remote support for Mars Society TEMPO3 balloon flight, Sept 26, 2009

I was one of the Stratofox crew who provided remote assistance from California for the Mars Society's TEMPO3 balloon flight in Colorado on September 26, 2009.

Las Vegas photos

I posted photos from my trip to Las Vegas to visit family on Sept 23-25, 2009.

WebFetch 0.13

I posted WebFetch 0.13, an update of the feed reading and distributing Perl module. A new feature is the ability to write data to TWiki systems.

XML::CAP 0.02 Perl module

I posted XML::CAP 0.02 an update of the Perl module which handles the XML Common Alerting Protocol (CAP).

Photos of Space Shuttle Discovery landing at Edwards

I posted my photos of the Space Shuttle Discovery landing at Edwards AFB on Friday, Sept 11, 2009.

Masten Space Systems rocket lander flight test

I posted (with permission) photos of Masten Space Systems test flight of the XA-0.1B rocket lander in preparation for the Level 1 Lunar Lander Challenge competition flights.

Tour of XCOR Aerospace in Mojave

I posted (with permission) photos of a tour XCOR Aerospace on Friday, Sept 11, 2009 including quick looks at the EZ-Rocket, X-Racer and progress on construction of the Lynx spacecraft.

Flight to Mojave to see the space shuttle landing

I posted pictures from the flight to the Mojave Air & Space Port to see the space shuttle landing on Sept 11, 2009.

10 years ago today: Lightning struck my backyard

10 years ago today, lightning struck a tree in my backyard. It was easy to remember the date: 9/9/99. I posted pictures of the burn marks on a broken branch when it was later removed, and notes about what I learned about the event. At least I knew my Ham Radio antennas were properly grounded - since an antenna taller than the tree was only 15 feet away and was not struck! The strong line of thunderstorms had gotten the attention of everyone across the Bay Area. I wasn't the only one with a story like this.

New instrument approaches planned for California

I posted a blog entry and a web page with the full list of FAA's planned new instrument approaches for California. Many airports are getting new WAAS LPV approaches with lower minimums, which means they should be useful in more types of weather.

WebFetch 0.12

I updated the Perl module WebFetch to version 0.12.

New Perl module XML::CAP

I uploaded a new Perl module XML::CAP which handles the XML Common Alerting Protocol (CAP).

Something else Twitter could stand for

As tweeted, something else Twitter could stand for: "Today's Worldwide Internet Trend for Tech Entertainment and Revolution".

Something else Twitter could stand for

I tweeted something else Twitter could stand for: "Talk With Impunity, 'Til The Employer Reads".

Practice Instrument Approaches at Stockton, July 20, 2009

I got some pictures while I helped as "safety pilot" when a friend flew some practice instrument approaches at Stockton Metro Airport.

Photos from NewSpace 2009 Conference

I posted my pictures from the Space Frontier Foundation's NewSpace 2009 Conference at NASA Ames on July 18-19, 2009. The conference continued to July 20.

Something else Twitter could stand for

Of course, I tweeted this first... Twitter could also stand for "Tangled Web of Incomplete Thoughts Transcends Earlier Rumormills".

Photos from the LiveStrong Challenge in San Jose, July 12, 2009

I participated as the radio operator on a SAG (support and gear) vehicle at the LiveStrong Challenge bike race in San Jose on July 12, 2009. I posted my photos.

Comical Waypoint Names

I posted "Comical Waypoint Names" on my flight instruction blog at PilotQuest.com.

What Twitter really stands for

You heard it first from me. Twitter now stands for "Tersely Worded Information Through Text Enclosure Restrictions".

Photos of fireworks in Cameron Park, June 27, 2009

I posted my photos of the fireworks at Cameron Park's Summer Spectacular 2009.

"Flying GPS-direct is simple - but still no substitute for thinking"

I posted "Flying GPS-direct is simple - but still no substitute for thinking" on my flight instruction blog at PilotQuest.com.

Getting to the Black Rock Desert

I added a page "Getting to the Black Rock Desert" which has information including the current I-80 road construction over the Sierras and alternative routes.

get-twitter-rss 0.4 - bug fix update, parsing improvement

I posted get-twitter-rss 0.4, an update which fixes a bug and improves the method of parsing Twitter text to add links. get-twitter-rss gets a Twitter user's updates via their RSS feed and formats it for display on a web site. I use it on my own site.

get-twitter-rss - a Perl script to get and format Twitter updates

I posted the code for a Perl script get-twitter-rss 0.3 which gets a Twitter user's updates RSS feed and formats it as desired using the Perl Template Toolkit. This script is now running every 5 minutes to update my Twitter status on my home page.

Atlantis landing at Edwards on May 24, 2009

I went to Southern California to see the space shuttle landing. Here are my photos of the landing.

Recollections on the 5th anniversary of the CSXT Space Shot

Stratofox posted recollections (including mine) of the CSXT Space Shot 2004. That was the first amateur rocket launched to space. It took place at Nevada's Black Rock Desert. I led the search teams which recovered the spacecraft.

Photos of Masten Space Systems VTVL rocket flight test, May 8, 2009

I posted my photos of Masten Space Systems' first flight test of a vertical takeoff/vertical landing (VTVL) rocket at the Mojave Air & Space Port on May 8, 2009.

Stratofox presentation at EmCommWest/Pacificon 2009

The slides have been posted from my presentation about the Stratofox Aerospace Tracking Team at EmCommWest/Pacificon 2009, the ARRL Pacific Division Convention, in Reno, Nevada on May 2, 2009.

Soaring (glider flying) photos at Hollister on April 11, 2009

I posted photos from soaring (flying in a glider) at Hollister on April 11, 2009. This time I got more pictures because I rode in the back seat while another glider pilot Gabriel Flores flew.

Photos from open house at new NASA Dryden facility in Palmdale

I attended the open house of the new NASA Dryden facility in Palmdale on April 9, 2009. This is where they'll keep the SOFIA airborne telescope and other NASA aircraft. I posted pictures.

Photos from Space Access 2009

I posted photos from Space Access 2009 in Phoenix on April 2-4, 2009 and the flight home on April 5.

Soaring (glider flying) photos at Hollister on March 16, 2009

I posted photos from soaring (flying in a glider) at Hollister on March 16, 2009.

Photos from SVWUX meeting Feb 5, 2009

It took a couple months but I finally downloaded the photos from the February 2009 SVWUX meeting out of my camera.

Stratofox presentation at Space Access '09

The slides have been posted from my presentation about the Stratofox Aerospace Tracking Team at the Space Access 2009 Conference in Phoenix, Arizona on April 2, 2009.

SVWUX mail list for state alerts affecting Santa Clara County

The ongoing storms from the past week have had a lot of us emergency responders waiting and watching. I made a mail list and an automated tool for SVWUX to forward alerts affecting Santa Clara County from the California OES (Office of Emergency Services) to subscribers of the mail list.

Outline found for suspected impact crater at Black Rock

We finally have an outline that we can have confidence in for the suspected impact crater. I found a circle that fits a succession of mountain ranges/peaks/etc all the way around, marking fragmented remnants of the rim of the suspected crater. It turns out to be a lot bigger than any of us expected at over 50 miles across, surrounding the entire Black Rock region. In hindsight, it was a big hangup for us - none of us were looking at that big a scale. The 30-mile scale circular feature we previously thought was the rim (which includes the Kamma Mountains) is apparently the remains of an uplift ring concentric within the larger structure.

I posted the outline with a link to a Google map with an overlay that you can use to explore the terrain features for yourself.

"State of the Research 2009"

I posted the "State of the Research 2009" summarizing the current progress, plans for the upcoming year and some answers to frequent questions in the research of a suspected impact crater at Nevada's Black Rock Desert.

Stratofox recovers missing Japanese CanSat research payload at Black Rock

I was a member of the Stratofox team who recovered the missing Japanese CanSat research payload from the Black Rock Desert in Nevada on November 23. The odds against finding a soda can sized object in the vast desert would have made a needle in a haystack search look good. Fortunately, as has been the story before, a little intuition about where to narrow down the search and quite a bit of luck led to success.

Discover Magazine mentions my Black Rock crater research

The December 2008 issue of Discover Magazine mentioned my research about the possible impact crater at the Black Rock Desert. Though the scarce print-column space only mentioned me, of course many friends have helped me with the project. I wrote an article to acknowledge everyone's help.

Photos from AOPA Expo 2008 in San Jose

I posted my photos from AOPA Expo 2008, the national convention of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which was held in San Jose on Nov 6-8.

I posted photos from a "Bay Tour" flight in a friend's plane. Photos include the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco International Airport.

Photos of the fireworks at San Jose, July 4, 2008

I got pictures of the 4th of July fireworks in downtown San Jose.

Grand Canyon photos

I posted photos of the Grand Canyon from my visit on June 12, 2008.

Night photography in downtown San Jose, April 12, 2008

I did some nighttime photography in downtown San Jose on April 12 and posted my photos. The weather was perfect. I got pictures of The Tech Museum and the Circle of Palms/San Jose Museum of Art.

SVWUX visit to Mt Umunhum, April 11, 2008

I posted pictures from SVWUX's visit to the radio facilities on Mt Umunhum on April 11, 2008

Presentation slides on rocket piloting from Space Access '08

I posted my slides from the panel discussion about "Paths to Rocket Piloting" on March 27, the first day of the Space Access '08 conference in Phoenix, Arizona. These slides weren't actually shown due to changes in format of the panel. But they were used for notes and I promised the audience I'd post them. You can download them as PDF (256K) or OpenOffice (260K).

Passed the Commercial Pilot check ride

I took the Commercial Pilot Airplane check ride (flight exam) today with an FAA designated examiner. The flight was out of Reid-Hillview Airport. I passed. So after 19 years as a private pilot, today begins a new chapter in aviation for me with my commercial pilot (airplane single-engine land) license.

Flight to Apple Valley and Mojave on Feb 28, 2008

I've posted photos from my flight to Apple Valley and Mojave on Feb 28, 2008.

Photos of Gimli Glider at Mojave

I snapped some photos of the Gimli Glider at the Mojave Air & Space Port today.

Defending Reid Hillview Airport

Reid-Hillview Airport is under possible threat again from our county politicians. This seems to happen once a decade. I posted an article on "Defending Reid-Hillview Airport".

Got my Instrument Rating

For those who might have wondered what I've been up to lately, I passed the check ride (flight exam) today and got my instrument rating.

My flight to the Mojave Air & Space Port

I posted pictures from my flight to the Mojave Air & Space Port on November 14, 2007. I also have a blog entry at SpaceDash about it.

Pictures from Stratofox 4 camping trip to Black Rock Desert

I posted my photos from the Stratofox 4 recreation and exploration trip to the Black Rock Desert on Aug 17-19, 2007.

Pictures from Picn*x 16, the Linux 16th Anniversary Picnic

Wow! What a great picnic. Good food. Lots of personal networking (about 400 attendees.) And it's turning into a bit of a technology demo too. I posted my pictures from Picn*x 16, celebrating the accomplishments of Open Source Software since the release of the first Linux kernel in August 1991.

AeroPAC's Aeronaut 2007 launch at Black Rock

I was at AeroPAC's Aeronaut 2007 launch meet on Aug 4-5, 2007. Once again, I was the Launch Control Officer at the night launch.

Photos of Blue Origin's spaceport site

I got some pictures of Blue Origin's spaceport site north of Van Horn, Texas when I was passing through the area on July 15, 2007.

Photos of Sierra Madera impact crater

I posted photos of the Sierra Madera impact crater south of Fort Stockton, Texas from a visit on July 15, 2007.

Photos of fireworks in downtown San Jose, July 4, 2007

I posted my photos of this year's 4th of July fireworks in San Jose.

Photos of fireworks show in Cameron Park, June 30, 2007

I posted my photos of the fireworks at Cameron Park's Summer Spectacular 2007.

Photos of Atlantis landing at Edwards

I got lucky. I was visiting Mojave when the space shuttle came to land nearby at Edwards AFB. I posted my photos of the landing.

My photos in the Masten Space Systems blog

Some of my photos from 6/21 are shown in the Masten Space Systems blog. There's continuing progress toward the first tethered flight.

Photos of Atlantis and ISS visible pass, June 19, 2007

I got pictures of the visible pass of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station over the Bay Area on June 19, 2007. This was a few hours after Atlantis undocked so they passed as two separate dots in the sky, or separate streaks in my long-exposure photos.

Stratofox presentation at Carter Observatory, Wellington NZ

I've posted the slides from my presentation about Stratofox at the Carter Observatory in Wellington, New Zealand on April 7.

Space Access '07 Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, Mar 22-24, 2007

I posted my notes from the Space Access '07 conference in Phoenix, Arizona on March 22-24, 2007.

Pictures from Stratofox Crater Assault 1, Jan 28, 2007

Stratofox members went on expedition to Black Rock which we called Stratofox Crater Assault 1 on January 28, 2007. The purpose of the trip was to investigate the theory of an impact crater at Black Rock and collect rock samples.

Impact crater at Black Rock Desert

I posted on my web site "Submitted for Study: Discovery of Possible Impact Crater at Nevada's Black Rock Desert", my presentation of evidence of an impact crater at the Black Rock Desert. I have many friends to thank for their help in this research, listed in the Acknowledgments section.

X Prize Cup, October 20-21, 2006

I've had my pictures uploaded since just after the event. But things like my day job got priority since I got back. Three weeks later I've finally posted my write-up of the X Prize Cup 2006 which took place Oct 20-21 in Las Cruces, NM.

Comet Swan photos

Sean Lynch and I got photos of Comet Swan.

Zion National Park, Utah

I posted pictures from my trip to Zion National Park in Utah on Sept 27, 2006.

Shuttle Debris Search, Day 2

I posted pictures from the second of 2 days searching for shuttle debris in southern Utah.

Shuttle Debris Search, Day 1

I posted pictures from the first of 2 days searching for shuttle debris in southern Utah.

"The Loneliest Road" and Great Basin National Park

On Sept 24, 2006, I had a road trip on Nevada's US-50, "The Loneliest Road in America" and visited Great Basin National Park for a cave tour. See my pictures.

AeroPAC's XPRS 2006 launch at Black Rock

I was at AeroPAC's XPRS 2006 launch meet on Saturday, Sept 23, 2006. I was the Launch Control Officer at the night launch.

Pictures from Stratofox 3, Sept 2006

My pictures from the Stratofox 3 camping trip to the Black Rock Desert on September 8-10, 2006.

Image::Flight::Suborbital 0.1 uploaded to CPAN

Image::Flight::Suborbital 0.1 was uploaded to CPAN.

Slauth 0.02 uploaded to CPAN

Slauth 0.02 was uploaded to CPAN.

Fireworks Pictures from Downtown San Jose, July 4, 2005

I got pictures of the downtown San Jose fireworks show on July 4, 2005. So if you missed your local fireworks show or just couldn't get enough, I hope you enjoy this!

Tax Day 2005 Madness at the San Jose main Post Office

A well-kept secret form of entertainment in my neighborhood is to walk over to the nearby San Jose main Post Office and watch the madness as people get their tax returns in at midnight on April 15. Well, the secret is out. Here are pictures from Tax Day 2005.

Stratofox recovers missing CSXT booster

On Nov 26, 2004, Stratofox recovered the missing rocket booster from the CSXT Space Shot 2004 from snow-covered mountains in Nevada.

Total Lunar Eclipse Pictures

I've posted pictures that I took at the total lunar eclipse on the evening of Oct 27, 2004.

Pictures of SpaceShipOne, Oct 4, 2004

Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne won the XPrize on Oct 4. See my pictures and others' at Stratofox.

Photos of fireworks in Cameron Park, June 26, 2004

I posted my photos from the fireworks at the Cameron Park Summer Spectacular on June 26, 2004.

CSXT SpaceShot 2004, May 17-18, 2004

Pictures by Stratofox members (including me) from the CSXT SpaceShot 2004, the world's first amateur rocket launch to space.

Pictures from Stratofox 2, Aug 2003

My pictures from the Stratofox 2 camping trip to the Black Rock Desert on August 22-24, 2003.

Eyewitness to STS-107 Columbia disaster

I was an eyewitness to the re-entry of the Space Shuttle Columbia from Mount Hamilton near San Jose, California as it left a strangely-smoky trail across the sky on Feb 1, 2003. See my article, "Report from Viewing the Re-entry of STS-107".

Pictures from Stratofox 1, Sept 2002

My pictures from the Stratofox 1 camping trip to the Black Rock Desert on September 6-8, 2002.

JP Aerospace's DSS3/Oklahoma, March 2002

My pictures from JP Aerospace's Dark Sky Station 3 mission, the inaugural flight from the Oklahoma Spaceport, March 23-24, 2002

Rotary Rocket Company's Roton ATV rollout ceremony, March 1, 1999

See my photos of Rotart Rocket Company's Roton ATV rollout ceremony on March 1, 1999 at the Mojave Airport.