pete4winds

Yeah, it's not a half bad midway, and the fair overall is a really nice one. It surrounds a half-mile horse track. The midway runs the length of the front stretch behind the grandstand and curves around turn 4, outside turn 3 is the animal area/barns, along the outside of the back stretch is mainly for farm equipment dealers with food and other vendors scattered throughout, and outside turns 1 and 2 are the main food area and exhibit pavilions.

Part 2, END: The Great Frederick Fair

I've been inactive here for a few years now, but I decided to make my "triumphant comeback" with a Photo TR. The Great Frederick Fair is the main (though not only) agricultural fair in the immediate area of my city, Frederick, MD. While it isn't even close to the largest or best known fair in the United States, it's arguably one of the better-rated ones. These are just some random scenes from the fair, shot over two consecutive Saturdays (Sept 16th, second day of the fair, and the 23rd, the final day). My son Connor figures prominently in a number of photos.

How many DVDs or Blu-Rays do you purchase each year? I'm still transitioning from DVD to BluRay, so I've been getting lots of combo packs lately. I guess I average about a dozen or two a year. How many digital downloads do you purchase each year? Dozens, but mostly music. I don't have the storage space for too many movie downloads. How do you purchase digital downloads? (iTunes, Stream, etc) Amazon. Do you download directly from iTunes to your device, or iTunes to your computer, and then transfer to your device? I don't really use iTunes, but on the rare occasion I do I download to my computer and transfer. My Amazon downloads are direct to my phone. Is a 1.5gb - 2 gb file "too big" for you to download to your device? Unfortunately, yes. As previously mentioned, I just don't have the storage space. For my computer downloads I have plenty of space, 3TB to play with, so 2GB is easy.

^ Look me up when you swing through this area. We live about an hour from here and DC.

I've been inactive for what seems like forever, so I thought I'd make my return to TPR with a Random Photo TR of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly VA. This museum is for all the exhibits and artifacts "too big for the main museum on the National Mall," as the Smithsonian describes it. For you movie buffs, this is the filming location of the scenes in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" in which geriatric Decepticon-turned-Autobot JetFire first awakens. The story continues in the captions! The SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, the first aircraft seen (other than the stunt plane hanging above the lobby) as visitors enter the museum. "Earth? Terrible name for a planet. Might as well call it dirt. Planet Dirt!" This Blackbird was the plane that transformed into JetFire in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. When she was retired and donated to the Smithsonian in the '80s, this plane flew from Los Angeles to the Washington DC area, a distance of about 2,500 miles, in 1 hour, 4 minutes. It took me about that long to drive the 43 miles from home to this museum. How's that for perspective? Floor level view. View from the catwalk above and behind the tail and engines. For you aficionados of REALLY obscure movie trivia, this is the plane Sam, Mikaela, Simmons, and Leo hid under when JetFire first woke up and transformed into robot mode. Jetfire's film prop landing gear door. Model mockup of JetFire in Decepticon livery. Decepticon insignia. These are the hangar doors that JetFire burst through after unsuccessfully commanding them to open. The ACTUAL view outside the hangar doors. Not a whole lot of desert out there. A Gen1 Optimus Prime. The Allspark Shard film prop. Agent Simmons' Sector 7 ID prop from the first film. Look close...that's John Turturro's picture. Simmons' "do what I want and get away with it" badge. Simmons' aviator costume from the JetFire awakening scene of Revenge of the Fallen. The toy version of Autobot Wheelie. Connor learns a little about flying. This 1973 Cessna 150 is set up to allow visitors to learn and try out the various controls. Yup. Typical early '70s. It even has an ashtray in the door. This is the back seat. Two passengers and their luggage are supposed to fit here. This is the advantage of flying commercial...not MUCH more room, but more room nonetheless. Entering the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar, home of the Space Shuttle Discovery. Her final flight was launched Feb. 24, 2011, exactly 2 years 2 days before this photo was taken. She spent a cumulative total of exactly one year (365 days) in space, and touched down for the final time on March 9, 2011. Discovery was the 3rd orbiter to fly to become operational, following Columbia and Challenger (4th if one includes the first orbiter Enterprise, which never flew in space), and the first to be retired. Connor gives us perspective on the sheer size of Discovery. Discovery's engines, or in typical TPR parlance, her ass. The circular structure in the foreground is an instrument unit from the Saturn V program. A model of the Mother Ship from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I'm not sure if it's a movie prop or not. Best. Mailbox. Ever. A phone booth shaped like a Mercury capsule. This originally lived and operated at Kennedy Space Center. Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that essentially ended WWII by dropping the first atomic bomb ever used against an enemy, over Hiroshima Japan. As a combat veteran, it was intensely humbling for me to see this aircraft up close and personal. The nose cone of an Air France Concorde, the fastest passenger aircraft ever built. It's surprising just how narrow this is. A Boeing 707, Boeing's first jet airliner and first foray into commercial aviation. The Excalibur III, a P-51 Mustang modified for various record-breaking speed flights. The rotorcraft display at one end of the hangar. This display had a wide range of bizarre looking helicopters. The x-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the development platform which would eventually become the now-grounded F-35 Lightning II. Prior to Sept. 22, 2006, if you were flying an enemy aircraft, this is NOT what you wanted to see in your rear view mirror. The F-14 Tomcat, one of the most successful aircraft in US Military history. Nowadays the only F-14s in service belong to Iran, having been sold to them in 1976 when we had friendly diplomatic relations with the government of Iran. Another view of the Tomcat. For you Riptide fans out there, the UH-34D, the military version of Nick Ryder's "Screaming Mimi." The green SUV facing out, dead center, is my truck Serenity, as seen from the 160 foot tall observation deck in the Donald D. Engen tower. Just north of the museum is Dulles International Airport. Barely visible (thanks rainy day) beyond the trees are the two main north-south runways. The felt hat worn by downed CIA U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers on the day of his release from a Soviet prison, Feb. 10, 1962. This lunchbox was in the gift shop. DO WANT!!! Like any theme park, this nearly empty parking lot is a beautiful sight here too. There was a roughly equal number of cars on the other side of the lot, just off-frame to the right. On the way home I noticed the city planners in Dulles VA are Star Trek fans. Connor learns about CGI filmmaking. The video was the JetFire awakening scene, filmed here, with the animatic version of JetFire rendered into the video. In some shots, you can see the real SR-71 still in the shot behind JetFire, and others you can see it fade out. This is at the end because I somehow managed to skip it in the initial upload.

Sweet!!! Finally a TPR trip that doesn't involve an airport for me! Imma try to do both days.

Wow. Looks good in here. You kids do some remodeling or something? New couch, maybe?

Sadly, I haven't been around much (the night shift is a fickle b*tch), but I thought I'd pop in and share a really cool (if short) PTR about some of my work being exhibited in Baltimore. The Veteran Artist Program exists to allow military veterans who also happen to be artists (in all media) to network with each other, art professionals, and buyers, collectors, and dealers, and to give them an inroad to getting their art seen and exhibited. From July 11 to August 28, 2011, they're hosting "Remembering: An Art Exhibit" at SkyLofts Gallery in Baltimore. The wife of my friend and coworker Tommy is the curator, so knowing I was a photographer, he mentioned it to me. I submitted 3 photos, and all three were accepted. Today my family and I had to go to Baltimore to bring the bench seat of my van to the insurance inspection station where the van is for the time being, and we knew we'd be going to the gallery at some point during the show's run, so we decided to make an afternoon of it. The last 3 photos in this TR are the photos that are on display. There are many other amazing pieces of art (in all kinds of media - including poetry), so enjoy! Oh, and if you're in the Baltimore area, please feel free to stop by the gallery and check it out...it's free! By the way, all 3 pieces are for sale (wink wink). The truck I rented to move the bench seat. Nice truck! a 2011 Dodge Ram...it had integrated satellite radio. I want satellite radio. Where else can you hear Metal Church, Badlands, and Grim effin' Reaper on the radio??? Parking this beast at the gallery was a little challenging. Here we are! In case you didn't catch it in the previous photo. The very comfortable lounge in the gallery. My 3 are top row, just right of the windows. Connor investigates the gallery. He liked the echo. We're not sure we did. A view of the display that included my pieces. Mine are top left. The 2 airbrush canvases (bottom center) and the 3 photos (bottom right) are my friend Tommy's. Another view of my 3. ...and in case you didn't know whose they were or how many were in the set! Another wall in the gallery. This was taken at a cemetery a few blocks from my house. Officially it's "untitled" for the purposes of the exhibit. This was taken at Gettysburg National Battlefield. The cannon sits atop Little Round Top, and points roughly toward Devil's Den. Look carefully and you'll see that it's actually an unedited full color photo, NOT black & white. This 2/3 scale version of the Marine Corps War Memorial (AKA Iwo Jima Memorial) was one of the prototypes for the actual memorial that's at Arlington. This one is not far from my former home in Fall River, MA.

Yesterday my family and I spent the afternoon exploring some areas of our city, Frederick Maryland, that we hadn't really seen before (aside from occasionally driving by or through). One of the stops we made was the Frederick Municipal Airport, a small general aviation airport right outside of downtown Frederick. This helicopter came in for a quick refuel and inspection before heading back out. Taxiing right in front of us. A second helo approaches... ...and taxis to its parking spot. A view of the field. Connor had a great time looking at airplanes and helicopters. A small jet taxiing by us. Valet service? Due to the proximity of the field to the terminal, even helicopters had to taxi out to the runway. Up... ...up... ...and away! My attempt at an artsy look at wheel chocks. Hey, even I get my gas at Shell. I wonder if the pilot got to use his gas points? Even little tiny Frederick Municipal Airport has an Enterprise Rent-A-Car desk. Wheel chocks. Ready for departure. The airport restaurant in the terminal. I'm willing to bet it's quite a bit better than the average airport food court. The terminal.

Finally, a TPR event I can actually get to, and it just HAPPENS to be at my favorite park? HELL YES I'll be there...

One more day until semi-final voting ends! Thanks, everyone, for all the support, and thanks in advance for any last-minute votes for my daughter Ceilidh's memorial NASCAR Sprint Cup car! http://www.sponsafier.com/share/287971

Some of the Wendy's stores in Massachusetts do. I have yet to find on in Maryland that does. Why is this afternoon's Wendy's 1/2 pound double still taunting me?

Thanks for the heads-up on the tweaked link. Not really sure why it did that. My wife said the same thing, but it worked fine for me. In any case, here's a better link. If this one doesn't work, let me know ASAP: http://www.sponsafier.com/share/287971

I'm not normally one to bump a thread for the sake of bumping, but obviously this one's personal. 3 days left to vote!