The pictures of the Bird Palace came out pretty good. That is cool. I am in Salt Lake for the day. I need to go back to St. Louis tomorrow afternoon for a 2 day trip. I will be back Monsay night for the week. I even got a carpet job for that Thursday. Timo, can I borrow the truck? I had fun on this last 3 day trip. Thanksgiving in Charlotte was a blast. I enjoyed fine nuts, and granola bars, plus plundered Pepsi's from the airplane. I was getting over a cold so I slept most of the day. Watched the Redskins get beat. And finished "Foundation and Empire". It is good to be home for a day.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 7:41 PM

 
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Things are pretty crazy here with the 6 grandchildren all under the age of 4. We had a great turkey dinner and now just having fun hanging out.

I will be home hopefully tomorrow(Friday) afternoon. Keith said I would be back on Dec. 20th but I think he meant that day is my last day of exams and then I will be heading home again. Not much else going on here. I have enjoyed my long visit. Anyways, talk to ya'll later.
Amanda
posted by Keith at 1:44 PM

 
That's a sweet palace.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I have a mostly frozen turkey in my fridge, but we won't be having dinner until Sunday.
posted by Lee at 12:26 PM

 
Amanda will be home until the 20th of December or so. I will be there the entire first week and then on and off. The 7th works well. Leina's party is that night too. That will work out good.

I am done with reserves. Hopefully for life. That was no fun waiting by the phone all day. If I had to do any more I would need to get a pager. I read many a book though.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 7:34 PM

 
That is good, Lee, that you mastered the Gather Point. That helps keep everyone working. Also, you can double click a building (Barracks for example) and all the buildings of that type, that are on the screen, will highlight and you can set a Gathering Point for all of them.

The 8th is not good for me. I will be flying to St. Louis right after church to fly starting Monday. Amanda and I should be back on the 29th for a short time. I fly on the 1st of December, so the 30th, I fly to St. Louis.

The Lines are built up woth all kinds of Cities. I will fly to all of the American Connection Cities with the Line I fly. There are only about 5 cities right now.

Talk to everyone later.
-KJH
posted by Keith at 7:14 PM

 
I think I would've won. I had a good sized army that was together, plus your destruction gave me access to a couple untapped gold mines and I had plenty of workers. Lack of gold was my weak point and I'd sold so much wood that it was pretty worthless. At first I thought you and Anneli had a truce and were attacking me since you were both attacking me in the same place, but then I noticed she was also attacking you. If I could have taken it to the end I felt I had the resources and man power to quickly overrun her. My biggest problem up to now was thinking "Well, I've got my stable, archery range, and castle..." but now I've realized having several of each is the best thing so you can produce quickly. I also got the hang of how that flag works assigning a location per building. That helps too. Oh well, enough post-game analysis.

Matilda is excited about math. She has a notebook where I give her problems and she solves them. She wants to do it everyday. It kind of fun. Though it would be slow, I realize int he future I can use helping Matilda with her homework to improve my own math skills. I wish I'd taken math more seriously when I was in school.
posted by Lee at 11:48 PM

 
When you get a line, do you fly between the same cities?
posted by Lee at 3:49 AM

 
I do have a line for December. In fact there were 28 lines(schedules) to choose from and I was number 19 on the First Officer seniority list. I have a line with 14 days off, and 87 hours of flight. I will probably pick up a couple days of flying to make it closer to 100 hours of work and 12 days off. All in all, not a bad way to start my flying. No reserves! Actually I have 3 days of reserves starting this Sunday, but considering it was often months for most new hires... I am lucky.

That bird Cage is a palace. It was fun building it. We even made a nice drawer for underneath it. Too nice of a drawer for its purpose. Anyway, talk to everyone later.

-KJH and yes the 7th is about the best day. I am flying all the other Saturdays.
posted by Keith at 7:35 PM

 
I can play. Saturday morning is better for me. Should I be online at around 7am my time?

After a terrible day of sleet we are back to the colder snowy conditions. It makes things much nicer. We are all doing well. Did you get a line Keith?

Hello Aila, glad to hear from you.

I got my first Finnish passport ever a couple of days ago. It looks strange seeing my face there. Now I have to get my American one renewed.
posted by Lee at 11:47 AM

 
I finished flying yesterday. My IOE that is. I am back in St Louis on the 24th for reserves, 3 days. I have a trip scheduled for the 27,28,and 29th. Then I am off until next months schedule. I put in a bid for next months lines. I should get the results by tonight at 6 PM central time. All is well, and I will talk to everyone later.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 11:31 AM

 
Yes, I have heard about the watch. He called a couple weeks ago saying it would be done at the end of the week. Then called at the end of the week and said it would be done the next week, but said he'd call when it was really done. He didn't call last week, but he is obviously trying to get it going. I think he is finding it more difficult than he thought. If by Friday he hasn't called, I'll call him.

Now if Melina would get better, we'd all be healthy.
posted by Lee at 12:58 AM

 
Hey, sorry I had to stop like that yesterday. It would have been fun to keep going. It was a vicious stomach virus, but it seems like it is over now. Matilda and I both had it. Owen had it a couple of days earlier. Actually, everyone we have contact with in our building had someone sick yesterday. Two of Matilda's friends were sick, plus the mother of these three sisters Matilda plays with. It's pretty contagious, I guess.

We'll have to do play again soon.
posted by Lee at 2:30 AM

 
Hi all,
Keith is home and has been sleeping since he got here. His night out on the town with Justin wore him out I guess.:) Maybe his week of flying too.

I might be able to play conquerors but not until 11:00 p.m. or so. I'll see you online if I can.

Not much else going on,

Bye, Amanda
posted by Keith at 9:05 PM

 
Oh yeah, Lee, Justin was dying to play a game of Axis. We called the game stores around, but they were all closed. Maybe next time.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 3:02 PM

 
Justin is doing well. He has a $900 studio on 3rd AVE and 35th ST. We strolled about Manhattan down 3rd and up Park Ave. Very busy City considering it was after 2:00 AM. I asked him if it would be hard to get a cab at 6:30 AM. He laughed at me. It took me about 10 seconds from walking outside to having a cab parked in front of me.

The flying was great. The airplane is difficult to land in the crosswind. It takes some seriously rudder inputs and you have to hold that wing down pretty good. It was a great 4 day trip. I learned a lot and had a great time taxiing around the big airports. Some are very smooth and efficient. Some are horrible. Detroit was horrible, but all the 747's about made it worth it.

Talk to everyone later.

-KJH


posted by Keith at 3:01 PM

 
Het, I hope you all have fun arrowhead hunting, if you make it. I will be online starting at 6.30am/9.30pm. I wouldn't worry about rust. I never got broken in.

So how is Justin these days?
posted by Lee at 11:12 AM

 
Hello from Manhattan. I stopped off in NYC to see Justin before my flight at 8:30 to SLC. It has been fun. What a crazy town. It doesn't sleep Friday Nights, thats for sure. The buzz from outside has been constant and it is now 6:30. I am just leaving for the airport. Anyway, flying was great, I will write more later. Bye.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 4:21 AM

 
Hello all,

Mark, we want to go arrowhead hunting on Saturday. Do you want to go and show us where to go? Keith will be home about 1:20. I will pick him up at the airport and then we can go straight from there. Timo is talking about going also. We want to put a HAM radio adaptor thing in your jeep so we can put ours in it :) Anyways, it would be fun if you want to go.

I would like to play conquerors with you Lee and Timo. Keith would probably want to too if that's alright. It's been a while, so i'm a bit rusty. But I still think I can shake things up! :)

Tuula, it must be nice to get your car back, I hope they can get the smell out of it for you. We are going to Atlanta for Christmas. My last exam is on the 20th. If we can't get on a flight that day or the next we could come to your Christmas party. It sounds like alot of fun and we would love to be there. I can't believe what has happened to Ody. Do you think she is going to recover? Anyways, if we go arrowhead hunting you can come too. I'm hoping to find one and make a necklace or something out of it.

Talk to everyone later,
love,
Amanda



posted by Keith at 8:54 AM

 
Welcome Mark, now we'll have to stop talking about you.

Yesterday Matilda almost tipped our dishwasher over by swinging between it and our kitchen table. So I can see how those anti-tip brackets could be useful since she wasn't doing anything that seemed likely to cause a problem. Another thing in Finland that can be a problem is the doors. The hinge is split in two with the door half set down on the wall half. I heard at work about a one and a half year old who picked up a post-it board that was partly under the door and the whole door lifted up and came crashing down. Luckily the hit a table and didn't smash the kid. I went home and tested one of our doors and it popped off with barely any effort when I lifted it from underneath. But it's pretty unlikely to be a problem.

Timo, I'm game for a Sat/Sun Conquerors extravaganza. I can get up at 7am (10pm MST) or even 6.30am (9.30pm MST) if you think an extra half hour worthwhile. Let me know, and anyone else interested is welcome, of course.

posted by Lee at 11:21 PM

 
That's great. It's good thing the passengers didn't know it was his first time. I remember Ithaca well. Greek Peak, the towering mountain, the slopes as long as... Well, it was fun there. It was so cold that weekend no one was there but a few die hard fools. It was like having the ski resort to your self.
posted by Lee at 11:21 PM

 
Hey Everyone,

Keith had a great time flying today. All of his landings were great except one was a bit shaky! He is staying in Ithica tonight.

School is pretty crazy as usual. I had three tests yesterday. I went over to Timo's today and had a great time playing Carcossone and Sarge's heros. Michael is so good at sarge's, I could not even beat him! Not much else going on.

Love, Amanda


posted by Keith at 10:18 PM

 
Glad to hear you all made it back safely. I read about the storms and wondered how it was going.

Timo, when did you want to play? There isn't really a time we could playing in the PM for me and AM for you that would be convient. But the way we did it was fine for me.

Good luck, Keith. It's a big day.
posted by Lee at 2:18 PM

 
Off to Richmond today. I will fly tomorrow for just over 6 hours. It should be fun. Glad you made it through all the snowy passes Mom. Talk to everyone later.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 7:32 AM

 
Well, Timo, maybe I was, but I had the feeling that I was just getting killed. Next time...

Today Matilda, Owen, and I went sledding. It was Owens first time. I am not sure how he liked it. He didn't cry, didn't laugh, or show any sign in his face, but wouldn't get out of the sled, so I guess he liked it.


posted by Lee at 11:08 AM

 
I talked to Mark. He already made it back from California by 4:00 PM. it took him 10 hours. He said Mom and Cindy were quite jumpy going over Doner pass. Shandra can confirm that if needs be. Apparently it was raining so hard they could hardly see.

Amanda and I did not go fishing. It would've been a good fishing day in the rain. Maybe another day. It has been a nice break. Talk to everyone later. I may log on araound 10PM or so. If everyone can, maybe we should try CIV 2 or Hearts, or Conquerors if you guys want to play us vs... someone.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 5:35 PM

 
Timo, I'll be online tomorrow morning then, Fri/Sat.

I almost lost my work computer the other day. After a near heart attack waiting for the bus to leave Erottaja I returned to the Hessburger I last remembered having the backpack in. Luckily, three hours later it was still there, untouched. Two girls were just pointing it out to the cashier, but since it had been in the counter's full view the whole time, they couldn't have been surprised. I was so happy it was still there. I didn't know what I'd have done otherwise.

Things are pretty normal here. It snowed a bit here today. About two inches. Matilda and some neighbor kids I didn't know built a fortress out of six or seven big snowballs.
posted by Lee at 12:37 PM

 
Hello,

Timo and I got a lot done at his place today. Three trips to different dumps. Mom, Mark, Shandra, and Cindy are on their way to Alicia's to get the car for Mom. Amanda is exhausted after many late nights and school every day. Last night, Timo, Cindy, Amanda, and I went to see Mark play at a new night club they got called, Club Gravity. They are sounding better and better. Too bad it was slow. We made up half the audience. Anyway, talk to you all later.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 5:47 PM

 
Hi everyone,

This is Amanda. Our trip to Atlanta was really fun but pretty short. It was great to see my family. I saw my sister's baby blessing and I got to jam with my brother Jared who plays the drums and a bunch of other instruments. The weather was so nice,cool, and sunny. Everything is still green and beautiful there, I miss the trees.

School is so crazy this week with tests and all the practicing I have to do. Today Keith went to UVSC to see about going back to school. I think in January he will start if it works out.

Not much else going on here. Talk to ya'll later!
Love, Amanda :)
posted by Keith at 9:17 PM

 
Hi all. Lee, FMS stands for Flight Management System. Sorry about that. To many acronyms in Aviation. The FMS is basically a highly advanced Positioning Computer that has an updatable database of all airports, and navigation aids across the world. It uses GPS, Radio Signals to our VHF Ominrange Receivers (VOR's), and Distance measuring equipment (DME). DME recieves a radio signal and sends one back. It figures the distance using the respones time. Amazingly we still have near 100% accuracy even without receiving GPS signals. Anyway, we were originally trained on the Honeywell FMS's, but our new planes have Universal FMS's. So there you have it.


I saw Airforce One again. Yesterday I watched it Taxi and take-off from St. Louis. Mr Bush has gotten around this election time.

I have my schedule for my First ever flight as an airline pilot carrying passengers. Richmond to Pitsburgh. Then back. Then back again. Then PIT to Grand Rapids. Then back. Then PIT to Ithica. Sounds like a fun first day. When I get to St. Louis it will be... STL to Moline. Back. Then back. Then back again. Then back once more. Then back another time. Actually, we will pick up Dayton, and Houston from STL in December. I guess what this is starting to look like is a little something Steve Bell (A Captain here at TSA) told me. Life as an airline Pilot is hours of boredom, punctuated by moments of sheer terror.

Talk to everyone later. Tiina, was this one long enough?
-KJH

posted by Keith at 8:30 PM

 
Keith, what is FMS?
posted by Lee at 11:17 PM

 
Hey all,

Don't worry mom, I'll find something to write. Matilda loves her swimming lessons. It's become the touchstone of her week. "Three more days 'til my swimming lessons."

Owen's learned to climb out of his crib. He doesn't use our bed, though, which would be easiest since his crib is up aainst ou bed, but goes off the other side holding on to the side while slowly lowering himself to the ground. Now he waddles out of the room at least once a night before we go to bed.
posted by Lee at 11:17 PM

 
Hi everyone. I did my differences training on the FMS and was going to Richmond so I can fly 5 Nov, but of course, everything changed. I am now waiting to go back to Utah, and unfortunately I missed the flight Amanda was on. I don't start flying until 12 November now. That gives me a good week in Utah. Anyway, I will talk to you all later.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 11:48 AM

 
I've been reading the posts, but not much is going on. It is pretty cold, we have some snow, but up in Vantaa they have an inch or two. Yesterday we were there for a Halloween party. I think it is funny that in Finland All-Saints' Day is a holiday, but since Nov. 1st was on a Friday they observed it on Saturday, since they wouldn't want to give people time off work. So most of the shops were closed yesterday for the holiday. Today, when they are normally closed, they are open to make up for the holiday when they were closed. What's the point?

Once as I was driving home from Bethesda to Annapolis I noticed an odd amount of police as I turned onto 50. Every cutoff through the median along the way had a cop in it, and every overpass had a binoculared policeman on it. As I got to Annapolis, I saw a convoy of police cars, about 20 black Suburbans, a few limousines, and two ambulances pass on the otherside of the road. It was during the failed push for finalizing the Oslo Peace agreement with Arafat, Bara, and Clinton. I wasn't sure who was in it, but the security was tight. Also that was happening at Camp David and this was coming from east of Annapolis. But maybe for security reason they took windy routes. I can't imagine anyone else getting such security.

Owen's begun saying "this" and "that". Melina thinks it's a bad sign that his first words are English, despite living in Finland.

Hope all is well.
posted by Lee at 6:39 AM

 
Well, a funny thing I just realized. As I was leaving Paul's earlier I saw about 30 cops along I-75. I thought they were getting ready for a major speed trap. They were all over. Then as I pulled into the Kranendonk's neighborhood I saw a 747 flying from North to South at about 5000. I thought it was weird because Hartsfield is 25 miles due south from where I was and all planes approach from the East or West. Anyway, I just saw on TV that Pres Bush is leaving Atlanta, and it all clicked. I saw Airforce one flying over Dunwoody. How funny.
posted by Keith at 1:11 PM

 
I saw Paul this morning. It was fun. Out of nowhere they decided to buy a house last week. They apparently came across a great deal in a neighborhood they had looked in prevuiously. They will close on 5 December. The house has 3 bedrooms 2 1/2 baths, 2 car garage, stucko front, siding on 3 sides, and a large fenced in back yard.

I also saw my friend Andrew. He is flight instructing North West of Atlanta. This morning a student and himself were doing touch and goes when the flaps would not retract. They were too far along to abort. Andrew took the plane and flew right to avoid the trees. With the flaps out the airplane doesn't climb to well. He said they flew a windy path below tree level before finally climbing above them. They flew back to their home field and landed safely. My flying career has been unusually void of critical scenarios. But, I am not complaining...

Talk to you all later.
-KJH
posted by Keith at 11:50 AM

 
Welcome to Blogger Mrs. Gillespie.
posted by Keith at 3:01 PM

 
It was an uneventful flight to Atlanta. It is nice to be able to be hear. I have to be in St. Louis on Monday morning at 9AM. It is only for training on a new Flight Management System(FMS). I hope I fly shortly thereafter. Talk to everyone later.

-KJH
posted by Keith at 1:30 PM