New Mexico, Nevada, and points in between

A lot of stuff has happened over the last several weeks that I haven't wrote about so here goes. Although, if you've been following me on Facebook, you'll know what I've been up to (Not that I'm advocating that, because then you'd have to acknowledge me as a "friend").

Met my Mother-in-law at McDonald's

So, this past Friday, I was eating at a McDonald's in downtown and my "mother-in-law" approached my table. I put "mother-in-law" in quotes because she was not actually my MIL. She was a nice older lady who dressed alot like my MIL and seemed to have midwestern mannerisms. She said, "I have two questions for you?"

"OK, what can I do for you?," I said (clearly not trying to mess with karma).

"Do you know Phoenix pretty well?"

"Yes, I think I do?"

"Great, do you know where the central library is?"

"Why, yes, I do. Go east on Van Buren, take a left onto Central, and it's about mile on the right."

She said thank you and went off to another table to eat her lunch. At that point, I looked around to see why, maybe, she picked me to ask this query. I realized that I was probably the "friendliest" face in the restaurant as I was happily chomping on my burger and probably had that look on my face because I was done with work for the week.

So I've been flying (for REAL) a lot recently. 3 trips back and forth to Albuquerque and one trip back and forth to Vegas. But that's been the most flying I've done in over 5 months. And I've been taking my DSLR with me on each trip. Which is kinda cumbersome. I have a new slingpack for the camera and then my laptop backpack. So with the sling pack in front and the backpack on the back, I must measure 50" front to back. Here are some of pics from my recent travels and other events.

Tour of the Cardinal Stadium

My dad and I recently took a tour of the Cardinals Stadium in Glendale. I'm sorry...the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

Dad wondering "What its all about?"



Ohh, yeah, the only field (until the new Dallas Cowboys stadium) to ahve a field of grass that can roll in and out.



The support columns for the massive roof are entirely cast-in-place concrete and have these red neon tubes that will light up (similar to a noise meter).



The architect of the stadium project described it, at one point, to be like a barrel cactus.



This is the view from the interior of the NW side of the stadium.



Airplane Spotting

So yeah, I've been doing quite a bit of airplane spotting. Here are some highlights:

An Aeromexico ERJ-145 taxiing to the gate at ABQ.



A Southwest 737 waiting for a gate to open at ABQ. This airport is perfect for spotters like me. They have two areas on the north and south of the airport that abut the runways for "Spotting".



Hawaiian 767 taking off for Honolulu from PHX:



A "go-around" Southwest 737 flying over my spot at PHX. In case you were wondering if Southwest's planes really were red-bellied:



Opening Day of the new Downtown Phoenix Civic Space

So the city of Phoenix demolished some decrepit buildings to make way for a new park / open space in downtown Phoenix. There is a new project going up in the previous civic space, so they dedicated a couple of city blocks to a new grassy area. It's across the street from the new ASU Walter Cronkite building and makes up the western edge of the ASU Downtown campus.

Picture of some very expensive public art. I had heard that this fishing net cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 million.



Looking east towards ASU Walter Conkrite.



Another view of the fishing net:




Vegas, baby, Vegas

So one of my recent trips brought me up to Vegas. I decided to make it a weekend and came in a day early to spend it with my parents and brother. I decided to make use of my camera while I was flying.

Here's the turn towards the runway with all those US Airways, Southwest, and United planes waiting for takeoff:



Here's the takeoff with the Phoenix ATC tower in the background:



On our way to Las Vegas, we flew over the Hoover Dam.



On final approach, this is Wayne Newton's Shenadoah house and horse ranch. Yes, the same place where Bevely D'Angelo's character was nearly seduced at in National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation:



As we taxi into the gate, Southwest's California One was at the gate adjacent to us:



So I headed to my parent's place and got to meet my parent's new dog, Abby. They are now covered with the alphabet A(Abby) to Z (Zoey). This is my dad, my brother, and Abby & Zoey:



This is Abby being held like a baby by my brother:



After meeting Abby, we all went down to the Luxor to catch the Bodies exhibit. Joy and I saw a very similar exhibit when it came through Phoenix a year or so ago. This is where they have all these skinless bodies preserved and on display to show your innards and outtards. They also had a Titanic exhibit on display there as well. When I was a fifth grader, I became really fascinated with the story of the Titanic. I found standing in the lobby of the luxor that I couldn't pass this up. So my Mom and I went through the exhibit. And it was like I was 12 years old again. It was really cool. Obviuously, I'd show you pictures if they'd let me take them.

On my way to the airport, I went to the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign on the strip. It was very busy there. I only had this one opportunity to get a relatively unimpeded shot of the sign. The couple you see walking away in the background "cut in line" if you will by crossing the street. They took over the sign as I was lining up my shot. When I offered to take their picture, they hesitantly handed me their camera. I took the first short holding the camera horizontally. Looking thorugh the view finder, I was able to fit the whole sign as well as capture both the northbound and southbound traffic on LV Blvd. I tried to rotate the camera 90 degrees (to get, in my humble opinion) a better composed shot. They started shouting at me and gesturing their arms wide. I took that to mean they didn't want me to rotate the camera. I took another picture of them, handed their camera back, and they walked away. So I finally took this picture as I was feeling the pressure of about a dozen people walking up behind me to get their pictures.



This is a picture of the line that had formed within a minute or two of me walking away from the sign back to my car.



So that's more or less what I've been up to the last several weeks. I'll try not to take so much time in between entries (and I was doing so good too).

Cheers,
Cory

Woot-woot

So I'm no longer a head ninja assassin at my company...just a normal
old ninja assassin. And I'm so happy about this. And a far better
result than I could have asked for.

I'm an architect again and I'm so fully embracing it.

I'm not just saying that because I'm drinking an awesome beer. OK,
well maybe I am.

Its hard to be excited in times like these but it isn't all doom and
gloom. Movies like Fast and Furious are there to cheer you up. I like
to imagine that my Thunderchicken can pull off the same moves but
alas, its prolly not a good idea to try to drive the Thunderchicken
through a copper mine.

Alas, I bid thee adeiu for now but not for long. :)

Cheers,
Cory

--
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Cory Newkirk
cory.newkirk@gmail.com
-----------------------------------------------------
Check out my blog at: http://tx18366.blogspot.com

Architecture in Phoenix

So my new digital camera has opened up possibilities that have recently become highly visible. Cheif among these is architectural photography. An art unto itself, the vast complexities of the lens available for my camera allow a perspective that isn't seen until you look through the lens. Magical, isn't it?

Yesterday, I couldn't sleep and this morning doesn't look like a winner either (as I'm up at 2 AM writing this entry). I left for work early and was in downtown at 5 AM. At this hour and at this time of year, it is still "night" at this hour. There was not even a glimmer of the bright sunshine the day was to bring. As I was driving in, I noticed the Central Park East (under construction) is reflecting light of the mostly glass Chase Tower and I'm struck by how cool that is. Rather than immediately start work, I park the car (not disasterously this time) and walk around downtown taking pictures.

I must have looked quite the sight, backpack and a camera bag with my camera out and taking pictures at night. The "urban outdoorsman" were awakened from their slumber and got their game on.

So without much in the way of preamble, here are some of my recent pictures:


Phoenix Burton Barr central libary.


Phoenix Burton Barr central libary.


Phoenix Burton Barr central libary


Phoenix Burton Barr central libary


44 Monroe residential building in downtown Phoenix.


Downtown Phoenix


Phoenix Sky Harbor new control tower and overview of airport. Come on, you didn't think I'd get away from not including some planespotting opportunities?


Chase Tower at night reflecting the construction lights on Central Park East.


San Marcos Hotel with some great neon signs with the US Bank building in the background.

Cheers,
Cory

The story of Cory the Bumper Hater

So my parents-in-law were in town last week. I was ridiculously busy at the office last week so my time was limited with them was limited to grilling at night and two Spring Training games over the weekend. We had a great time and I told some great stories.

One of the stores happened the very first day my in laws were in town. It is titled by one of my most loathed friends, Hop-a-long Hank, "Cory the Bumper Hater."

At my company, we have a multitude of safety policies in place as it one of the triad of values we hold dear. One of these policies is driving. We were all given these index card sized placards for our cars. This card has a number of short statements that indicate policies such as,"Don't make backing up your first move." This statement has no illustrating examples of how to make this an easy policy to comply with and is written as almost a suggestion rather than a order. I extrapolated that to mean that I should either pull thru the parking spot when I park or back up into the parking spot. This is where the story begins.

With my in-laws in town, my wife needed my car because it has four doors and easier to take people around. So I drive her Honda Accord coupe that day to work...which is both longer and wider than the Thunderchicken.

My building has a parking garage integrated into the bottom seven floors. I had no problem parking driving into work. I drove into the garage, backed up and parked in my usual spot on the 5th floor which has no building elements in or around the parking spot. I drove off to a meeting, had a bad time there, drove to Best Buy for some mid-morning retail therapy and drove back to the office. It was late on lunch time so I was pretty sure I wasn't going to get my usual spot back so I parked in the visitor's parking. I chose a spot that was adjacent to a square concrete column. The ONLY difference is that this one has conduit for an air conditioner next to it and protruding out over the line of the parking spot. Well, I start backing up and straighten the back end out when the car kinda stops moving backward and I hear a bump. I ease the shifter back into drive and the car rolls forward when this sound erupts: "Bee-RUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHP-Pink-pink-pink-pinkpink-clatter-clunk"...I couldn't see behind me in the car so I stopped and got out to see that the painted bumper cover is now mostly on the ground having been pried off the car from the conduit.

Near as I could tell, no damage occurred to the conduit other than some of the foam insulation came off. I walk around the other side and notice that I have a lonely lighting wire that is holding the bumper cover to the car. I tried to disconnect it and pushed and pulled. Finally, I had to kick the bumper cover off the car and the wire snapped.

Now that the cover is off the car, I stand behind the car and stare at it and the cover for a few seconds, thinking, "what the heck am I going to do now?" Just then some of the hard foam inserts in the bumper fall out of the actual metal bumper.

It dawns on me how foolish it would be of me to bring my bumper cover upstairs as I get mercilessly questioned and skewered by my "friends" at the office. It eventually happens anyway because secretly, I know this is going to be a GREAT Story...

I then figure out that my license plate is still firmly attached to the cover with hex-screws rather than traditional Phillips head screws. Having no tools in this car (not even a Leatherman), I then realize that I have to borrow a tool from the office. I go directly to the admin assistant and innocuously ask where the tool kit is. She escorts me and I grab several tools like a couple of ratchets and some pliers. I scurry back downstairs unseen by my coworkers. I was able to extract the license plate off which I placed in the back window.

I look at the fallen bumper and then contemplate how am I going to get this home. This is a four-seater coupe, not a SUV or a truck. Even my trusty Thunderchicken would have a difficult time trying to carry the bumper cover. I fold down the back seats and alternately push and pull the bumper through the car and turning is as I try to ease it all the way in the car. I was able to get the left side into the passenger cabin with the very tip of it sticking up out of the now-opened sunroof. the right side fits within the length of the trunk but sticks like Alfalfa's hair out of the trunk. Not wanting to drive in this condition nor visibly displaying the bumper cover in the office parking garage, I forcibly bend the right side down so that it fits under the trunk lid. I succeed and am able to close the trunk.

I get back upstairs and wash my hands and get to my desk and make The Phone Call. My wife and her parents are on the way to their first spring training game. She answers and we exchange Hihowareyou's and I tell her,"Honey, I tore off the bumper on your car."....pause..."You did what?"..."I tore off your bumper"..."umm, how?!?"..."I backed up into the parking spot and tore it off on the column." In the background, I suspect that her parents are snickering. She says,"Umm, OK, can you get it fixed?"

This is the part where my Eagle Scout served me because before I made that phone call, I made another one to the Honda repair shop to get a verbal estimate and a brief description of what work is involved. "Ohh, yes, it can be fixed and I already have an estimate." "Well, OK, bring it home and let's discuss it." In the background, I definitely hear hysterical gut-busting laughter.

At dinner that night, I tell the story to my in-laws and my wife...and a good time was had by all.

Later that week, I had put the bumper cover back in my car crammed the way I described with the intention that I was going to get it fixed that day. Since I had already told the story to Hop-a-long Hank, I decided to post a note to his facebook account saying, "There is a car missing its bumper parked in the 5th floor of the garage." I knew exactly what would happen and sure as its sunny in Arizona, Hank sends me an email, "Where exactly did you park?" I describe where and I get an email back,"I'm going down right now. BWAHAHAHA."

I want him to get a full appreciation for the story so I run down to go meet him. He has his blackberry out and starts taking pictures. I then open the trunk and start posing with it. He posts them to facebook and I ask if I can borrow them to post to the blog. He sends me an email with the subject line of BITEME with the pictures. It's the kind of friends we are.

So here for your viewing pleasure is the garage pictures from a crappy mobile phone:





I'll get another blog up soon with my recent pictures with my shiny new camera and more luminous planespotting pictures as well as an experiment in "Light Graffiti".

Cheers,
Cory

Facebook and Photos at the Phoenix Botanical Garden

So I'm a cool kid now and have finally joined facebook. I'm told that Facebook is the adult equivalent of MySpace. All I know is that I scored 10 out of 10 on correctly guessing the correct Star Wars Helmet. So if you a friend of mine, look me up and we can be friends on Facebook. Very clever isn't it?

Speaking of clever, I'm nearly done with my photography class. I have one more homework assignment entitled "Romancing the lines of the automobile." It was kind of funny, but every guy in the class instantly knew what they were going to do. All the ladies had to sit there and wonder what it meant.

In addition, we had a field trip to the Phoenix Botanical Garden to try out our mad skillz. In addition to the plant life, there was also an exhibit interspersed with the plants: Chihuly glass. Dale Chihuly is the amazing artist that did the glassworks in the Bellagio in Las Vegas. In addition, he's done large scale exhibits all over the world. Here's some of the phots that I took at the Botanical Garden:





















Also, I've been doing plenty of sim-flying and not so much of the work flying. My last work trip was to DFW. That was also the last time I took any photos of planes. I'm rolling my pennies right now so that I can get a digital SLR camera. And when I say "rolling my pennies", I mean I'm trying to extract every VALID credit and deduction out of our 2009 taxes. We're using TurboTax so we know how that works out for Joy and I.

That's all I have for now but if you can check it out, come on out to facebook...it's a happening gig...and not just because I'm there.

Cheers,
Cory

P.S. because you guys are always screaming for it, here are many more pictures of my simflying:

The Arizona Cardinals and Other Unbelievable Things

Unbelievable thing #1 – The Arizona Cardinals are going to the Superbowl.

The Arizona Cardinals are going to the Superbowl. Whuddathunkit? When your average Phoenician is asked,” How about dem Cards?’ the typical response is something along the lines of “We have a NFL team here?”

I wish I wasn’t making that up. But it’s true…most people that call Phoenix home are fans of other teams. The Cowboy’s / Cardinals game when played here is mostly populated by Cowboys fans.

Alas, it’s hard not to root for the home team and so thus, I got on the bandwagon of the Cardinals. I hope they beat the Steelers...though I’m sure it’ll be like the other championship team here, the Diamondbacks, they won the World Series in 2001 and haven’t even had a sniff since then (making the wild card doesn’t count).

Thus far my only contribution to the bandwagon is that I bought a Cardinals hat. And not the NFC Championship one, I bought the vanilla white one with the logo on it. I’m contemplating buying a flag for the house if they win the whole magillacuddy.


Cardinal Stadium in Glendale, AZ

Unbelievable thing #2 – I like to spot airplanes. Really.

In other news, airplane spotting is going well and I start my first photography class on Thursday. I researched the wiki article I have below and found out some other plane spotting spots at SkyHarbor.

The unique thing with this spot on the airport is that it overlooks one of the private aircraft ramps. While I was taking pictures of takeoffs from runway 7R, a Challenger business jet (think of a small regional jet like American or US Airways flies and cut it half) pulls up to the hangar near where I’m standing. I’m on the second floor of this building and can overlook most of the south ramp. Anyway, this jet parks next to two BMW sedans and two guys get out of the jet and walk up to each of the cars, one of the ramp staff opens the cargo hatch and extracts an overnight bag and a set of golf clubs each and hauls them to the vehicles. They are whisked away for what I assume will be a week off and all week passes to the FBR Open in Scottsdale: the “Greatest Show on the Green”. Now, the article points out that I should not take any pictures of anything on their ramp lest I be asked to leave and maybe given my film up. So I didn’t get pictures of any of this but I certainly watched with fascination.


Southwest Winglet over PHX headed to Reno, NV


The same winglet landing in Reno, NV...gosh, it's cold here.

Unbelievable thing #3 – There are some good movies out there. Really.

Joy and I have been doing pretty good and we recently took a week off during New Years. That was time well spent and we were well rested. Over the holidays and shortly thereafter, we had gotten / purchased a number of free movie tickets to Harkins Theaters (one of the better movie theater chains) and so we’ve been slowly catching up on some of Hollywood’s offerings. Recently, we saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Gran Torino. Both of these movies were great but for wholly different reasons. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett were great casting for Benjamin Button and the movie was a very engaging journey into fantasy. Gran Torino is centered on a war-weary old codger played by Clint Eastwood and is centered on the declining neighborhood that he’s always lived in. He plays it very well and the supporting cast is very good.

Unbelievable thing #4 – Phoenix has a light rail train system. Really really.

The Phoenix light rail trains have started running between Mesa and Phoenix / Glendale. A significant chunks runs between my office, my client’s office and the airport and is just as convenient as driving. I have been using it probably about once a week and will probably start using the RAPID bus again. Much has been talked about the light rail in Phoenix and hopes are high. More than a few jokes have derided it and refer to it as the PhART (Phoenix Area Rapid Transit). I’m not sure how successful it will be but the trains have been pretty full most of the days I’ve ridden it. I imagine the trains will be quite warm (and probably nearly intolerable) once the summer comes back in full force.

Unbelievable thing #5 – This is the end of the blog entry. However, there are more pictures.

I won’t even torture you with pictures of my Flight Sim flying. I will however torture you with pictures of small model airplanes.


My collection of model airplanes and some NASCARs too...because I like to go FAST!

Take care of you and yours,
Cory

Airplane Gawking: Not just for little kids...

So as I've mentioned before, I like airplanes...alot. Joy has permitted me to engage in this "little hobby" of mine and I got a big boost recently. My dad gave me his old Canon Rebel SLR camera. From what I've been able to gather form the likes of Airliners.net and MyAviation.net, an SLR is absolute minimum starting equipment for fledgling airplane photography. A digital SLR is even more desirable. A Digital SLR is far more expensive than a free camera and I don't know much of how to use the features of the SLR to know what to look for.

So instead of dropping some serious coin on a new Digital SLR, I've been doing a little of figuring out what my current camera can do on my own and on weekends, I will go to Phoenix SkyHarbor Airport to try out my mad skillz. I also signed up for a photography class at the local community college to bone up on what my camera can do.

As I've mentioned before, Airplane Gawking / Spotting is not an uncommon hobby as there is a wiki article and a dedicated wiki about it. I also have purchased a radio scanner to listen to the planes and control tower. Those pilots and controllers sure do talk fast.

With that, I will show you some pictures of my recent travails at SkyHarbor.


Northwest A320 taking off from PHX


US Airways newest Airbus A321 taxiing for takeoff


Overview of planes lined up like Rockettes for takeoff on 7L at Skyharbor


Another overview of the Rockettes


US Airways tribute plane "America West Airlines" A320


Delta 757 landing on Runway 8

Cheers,
Cory