New Southern Crescent Cycling Website

This past week I've been working on a new website for my local bike club, Southern Crescent Cycling. In 2010 the club had a website that was maintained by someone else.  That site administrator charged a fee.  I think the club paid about $600 per year.  That may not be much money, but the club's annual budget is only a few thousand dollars.  So, in 2011 the board decided to forgo the formal website and utilize Facebook instead.  Most of the members had already been using Facebook to coordinate rides and post pictures.  It worked well for those day to day, more spur of the moment things.  However, Facebook seemed to be lacking as a way to provide the club with a true identity on the web and as a place for non members to find out about us.  I discussed this with the club's officers at our Winter Party in early January and decided to see what I could do.  I spoke with club sponsor Tim Cannady of AdvoCare about it.  He had already started construction of a website for the club under his existing Weebly account.  I liked what Tim had started but I felt uncomfortable using his site.  So, I decided to strike out on my own.

Weebly Website Access Page

I created a Weebly account for myself.  I hadn't used Weebly before but it seems to work well.  I started with a free account.  After a few days I upgraded to a Pro account for $72 for two years.  A Pro account has added features like video and secure pages.  The club has a domain somewhere but using it had unknown obstacles to conquer so I chose a new domain and started to work.  The new domain was BikeSCC.org.  It's similar to the Southern Bicycle Leagues domain and easier to type than SouthernCrescentCycling.com.  Short and Sweet!  The domain costs $40 for one year.  I know that's a lot just to register a domain but I figured I was paying for convenience.

Weebly Website Editing Interface

The Weebly interface allows the user to select from a list of predefined templates.  Various features are simply dragged and dropped into the template pages.  More pages are easily added as needed.  As I get used to the Weebly interface I realize that it relies heavily on Google apps.  Google handles any e-mail issues easily.  Forwarding emails took a minute to figure out though.  Google maps and calendars can be added to web pages by dragging and dropping a "CUSTOM HTML" box onto the page and pasting the HTML embeded code into the box.  Getting the calendar settings correct for public viewing is a bit of a puzzle though.  Once I figured that out I was happy!

So, please go to the new Southern Crescent Cycling website and let me know what you think.

Southern Crescent Cycling's New Website

In addition to creating a new website I setup on-line membership registration through Active.com. Here's a link to that bit of work - Join us! 

It seems that a marriage between facebook and a somewhat static website will be the best bet for my club to keep members informed.  I hope that's the case!

Thanks for reading.

2012 New Year's Resolutions

Today I made my New Year's Resolutions for 2012.  I usually don't make resolutions but I thought I'd give it a try this year.  I didn't go overboard, so I think I should be able to complete them.  I wouldn't want to set myself up for failure so there won't be a "I'm gonna qualify for Kona" resolution, this year.  So without any further ado, here they are:

1. No more "wining".  I don't drink much wine and it's not that I dislike the taste.  The problem is that I almost always have a headache afterwards.  No more wine = No more headaches.  For full disclosure this resolution does not affect any future beer drinking.
2. Stretch more.  I didn't stretch much in 2011 and I've started to notice the twinge of Plantar Fasciitis (PF) in my right foot.  I want no part of that so I'll try to stretch 20 minutes before and 10 minutes after a run.  A better way to word this resolution might be that "I will not get PF in 2012".

That's it!  Those are all my 2012 New Year's Resolutions.

Thanks for reading.

Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project

Stephen Ramsden in camo and a co-worker checkout Steve's new telescope setup on Saturday afternoon in Hampton, Georgia.  The telescope was configured with two different filters to allow better viewing of the sun.  Note the camera on the far right.  Steve was taking time-lapsed photos which he'll stitch together later to form a short Apple Quicktime video.

It's a new telescope!

Steve switches into Albert Einstein mode (but looks like Bubba Stein).

Steve got some really cool images of the sun. 

You can see them and others on his website. http://www.solarastronomy.org/

Thanks for reading.

Atlanta Airport Control Tower Tour

Friday, December 30th was the last day of work for my friend and co-worker Tom.  After 44 years of government service the majority of which was working for the Federal Aviation Administration, and about 10 years working with me, he's decided to pack it in and retire.  Tom (and I) had wanted to take a tour of the new air traffic control tower at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport since it was constructed a few years ago.  We decided to use the occasion of Tom's last day at work as an opportunity to make the short drive from the Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) where we work to the airport for that tour.  I'd called the facility manager about two weeks ahead of time to set things up.  Realizing that it was the holidays and people get distracted during this time of the year, I called again a few days prior to our trip just to make sure we could get in.  Well, it just so happens that he the facility manager was on leave.  His wife probably was making him participate in Christmas.  Fortunately for us he had arranged for someone else to give us a tour.

Tom and I arrived at the tower just before 10am.  We got through security and met up with our guide.  As an Auburn engineer and former Facilities and Equipment (F&E) project manager, Tom had helped install some of the equipment of the old tower so this was especially interesting to him.  We went through all the equipment rooms working our way up to the tower cab where the controllers are located.  I brought my camera with me and took some pictures during the tour.  It was a cloudy day so some of the pictures might be a little gray.  I didn't take any pictures in the tower cab.  I didn't want to be impolite!

Hartsfield-Jackson Airport ranks as the world's busiest airport in both the number of passengers and flights. The airport accommodated 89 million passengers and 950,000 flights in 2010.  Construction of the 5th runway and the 398 foot high control tower were completed in 2006. The international concourse is still under construction with completion scheduled for April 2012.

The view of the Atlanta tower from Aviation Blvd.

A closer view of the tower

Tom waiting for me to take pictures

One of many equipment rooms

An antenna on the 12th or 13th floor protected from the weather by an air filled bladder

The view of the new Int'l Terminal from the tower cab through the dark tinted shade

Tom outside the tower on the catwalk

The new Int'l Terminal from the catwalk

The view from the catwalk to the parking lot below

Aircraft lineup on the taxiway ready to takeoff

What a great way to spend your last day at work.  Good Luck Tom it's been great working with you.

Thanks for reading.