Ken Q

I should note too that the same applies for Approach Plates, and any other chart, plate, or diagram in Navigraph Charts, like SIDs and STARs. Ken

I use Navigraph Charts on my "Fire" tablet. To use for taxiing, enter your flight plan. Then click on the airport in question, departure or arrival. On the dropdown choose the "Chartlist" tab, then select "Taxi" and "Airport Info.". You'll get the "Airport Diagram." If your plane does not show up as a magenta triangle, click the white airplane triangle on the upper right. Zoom in to see the details you need. As you taxi the magenta triangle will show location in the airport, though there is a little lag. Ken

I use Navigraph and Navigraph Charts. It shows all waypoints and a triangle where the plane is (moving map). Three chart options, too. Easy for flight planning, either VFR or IFR. Makes navigation easy, even taxiing around the airport. Ken

Ah yes, the mountains! And the gorges! And the canyons! The San Juan range in the Rockies (New Mexico and Colorado), and Toltec Gorge. But the most Awesome (I mean full of AWE, not as used colloquially) was the first glimpse of the Grand Canyon. We took the steam train from Williams to GC, Bright Angel Lodge, then climbed the stairs, and there it was! I was overwhelmed! Such majesty, such splendor! Such beauty! As an 7th century English Shepherd said (Cadmon): "He aerist scop aelda barnum heben til hrofe, Haley scepen; tha middungeard moncynnaes uard, Ece dryctin, after tiadae, firum foldu, frea allmectig". (He (God) first shaped for man, heaven as a roof, the holy Creator; then eternal Lord created Middle Earth as mankind's ward (yard), the firm earth, the Almighty Lord). The wonder of creation! Ken

Best wishes, Graeme, many happy returns! Kem

Absolute NO to "Social Media" like Facebook, etc. I don't and won't!!! I enjoy YouTube videos, especially aviation and nautical history channels. I particularly enjoy "Aviation 101" (Josh Flowers) and Steveo1Kinevo. I obviously enjoy this forum, and use email extensively. I also use Wikipedia and some other sites. We (wife & i) were late in joining the cell phone world. I only got one when my mother was dying (2011) and had to be immediately accessible at all times. Since then I have found it handy, and at times necessary, but I only use it occasionally for voice and brief text messages. It's a "clamshell" model. I'm told it is a "smart phone" but if it is I don't use whatever those features are, just voice and text. Ken

Me too. I miss him and his contributions.

I just upgraded from FSX to P3D v. 5. I also just got a new Jetline computer to run it. I'll be adding additional monitors to my cockpit and will use my old Jetline computer as the client in a network. I'm happy with the performance of P3D on the new computer with all of the Orbx scenery. With FSX I'd run into memory issues around LAX. Now I don't have these problems, so I can do the "I-Ratings" on PilotEdge Ken

Bibliographic note for Rob, and any one else interested: Hi Rob, I know you're particularly interested in the Northwest fur trade. I don't know if you have encountered this book, but it is an interesting read. Frances Backhouse. "And Once They Were Hats; In Search of the Mighty Beaver".

Ho boy! You would ask!! Actually I can answer in two words, but that would not be fair so here goes: Hats are made from felt, which simply said is matted animal hair. Making felt is complicated, but to make it simple, step one, remove the hair from the skin or pelt (incidentally "felt" and "pelt" are ultimately the same word). Then open the microscopic hooks and barbs on the outer layer, or cuticle of the strand of hair. Early on felt makers learned that a plentiful, naturally occurring chemical helped both processes: urine! Later it was discovered that Hatters in one shop were more successful at this process than others, and raised the question, since one or more men in the were being treated for syphilis, could that have something to do with it? The treatment at the time (16th century) was inhaled mercury vapors. A little experimentation established that it was, this man (or men) was (were) excreting mercury in their urine, and it amplified the effects on the pelts. So Hatters started adding elemental mercury to the baths used to prepare the pelts. Later nitric acid was substituted for the urine. Of course working with mercury (a heavy metal poison) for years had nasty effects, including hair and tooth loss, hallucinations, dementia "madness" and eventually kidney failure and death. So that said, yes it was an occupational hazard for those who made the felt, though it took years of exposure, and consequently was not very common, at least in its worst manifestation. The process was finally outlawed during WW2 to conserve mercury for the war effort. Incidentally, the famous and familiar "Mad Hatter" of "Alice in Wonderland" is not a hatter at all. He's a politician: William Gladstone! It's like Rocky and Bullwinkle, A political satire, among other things. And, incidentally, the March Hare is not mad, he's horny. Just watch our native jack rabbits (actually hares) in the Spring. Ken

Hi Rob, Right you are!!! A commander is a cotton cord tied in a loop with a slip knot. A steamed, hot wet cone shaped felt hat body is placed on the crown block, and the commander is drawn tightly around it near the top. A runner down is a wooden tool which is flat near the bottom with a notch or groove cut in it. It is used to force the commander down the felt and block to the band line. Tollickers are a variety of wooden or metal tools used to further shape the hat. You win A (virtual) Gold Star! Ken (the Hatter at Old Bethpage Restoration Village)

Along with the hammer, ax and knife, the two absolutely essential tools: the corkscrew and the church key!

No guesses? Here's a little help, in the old grade school tradition of the multiple choice quiz. It is an 18th - 19th century trade, and one of the following: A) Perruquier B). Cordwainer C) Hatter D) Tinker (AKA " Whitesmith ") (I work in a Living History Museum - semi-retired now). Ken

I'm good with all of the above. The BFH from my days in the blacksmith shop. All the rest go without saying. But today I mostly work with a "commander," a "runnerdown," and a "tollicker.". Now to answer a question with a question, what is my trade where I use these? The answer will come later. Ken

In terms of solving these puzzles, the difficult we do right away, but the impossible takes a little bit longer, and, apparently a LOT more beer! Ken

You are right, my apologies to W2DR, and thanks for a great little story. Ken

Happy birthday, John. Many more! Ken

OK, my response to the original question: Terrible T's story of the "Man and the Ostrich" just posted here! Good laugh and well done. Ke

My wife works with me at the living history museum; I run Lewis Ritch's (1776-1835) shop, while my wife keeps the house. A couple of years ago we had a spider set up house in the back kitchen where it wove a beautiful, and very effective web. Now early 19th century houses don't have screens, so flies are a nuisance, so the spider was welcome. My wife referred to it as the" vice-president in charge of insect control ". I named it Carl, after the folk song " Carlton Weaver". Ken

Here's wishing you a happy birthday, and many more. Ken

Likewise. Hope all is well, and happy birthday! Ken

OK, not exactly on topic, but here's the story about the time Chessie, my cat, applied for a job at the museum where I work. My at that time boss, and still my good friend can't stop laughing when he thinks of it (which was today when we met for coffee). At the museum we always employ some contractors for special jobs. These contracts are supposed to be put out for bids. But in a living history museum finding competitive bidders can be difficult, if not impossible. Well, with a new administration in place my colleague "H" was tasked with getting alternate bids for all of our contracts. He managed to drum up most of them, but was stumped by the contract for Paul, the decoy carver. (Someone who carves fake birds to attract the real ones- today a popular folk art). Decoy carvers (like hatters-me) don't grow on trees, and H could not find anyone to be for the contract. So, my cat Chessie applied. I set up an email account for him, and he applied, noting that he had spent his whole life (at that point about 20 months) studying birds, and was quite expert at carving them. He demanded a compensation to reflect his expertise, and of course Paul had his contract renewed. Ken

Ho boy! The drunk driving the drunk beats the blind leading the blind. Ken

Good one, Doug. But others should remember: for professionals (?) only- don't try this at home! Ken

If by "lived" we mean a sojourn of more than a few weeks, the only other country I've lived in was Italy. I spent a bit over six months in Naples, and thoroughly enjoyed soaking up the history. Ken