Flight Simulator Adventures

I have transitioned to the F-16 simulator found in Lead Pursuit's Falcon 4.0: Allied Force. This is the coolest flight simulator I have ever flown. It has fully functional buttons and knobs throughout the cockpit and comes with extensive instructions on how to operate everything from starting up the jet to navigating around to bombing targets and more. After spending a lot of time getting familiarized with the controls and customizing my HOTAS (Hands On Throttle And Stick) for operating this jet, I have begun the basic Balkans campaign. Campaigns are awesome! It is a truly dynamic environment that simulates thousands of objects including infantrymen and tanks. Below is a screen shot of my Falcon enroute to do some tank busting. Here's what I mean by dynamic: there was a pretty sizable force of enemy tanks moving across the map to meet a group of U.S. Marines so I fragged (scheduled) a mission to slow them down. My flight of 4 Falcons used Maverick missiles to knock out about 12 tanks and after the mission there was a noticeable change in that tank battallion's speed of movement. I could send another flight finish off the tanks but I think the Marines supported by Abrams tanks are close enough to finish them off now so I might as well let them have some fun too :-)

The campaign missions are generated by the computer but I can also frag my own missions as long as aircraft are available. This is very cool and sometimes it's just fun to watch the map as the war wages and see all the units move throughout the map. It's a lot of fun and hopefully I'll be able to do at least one mission every night until I win this campaign. Then I'll try the Korean campaign. Fun, fun, fun :-)

Flight Simulator Adventures

I spent a few hours flying around in my new Boeing F/A-18 Hornet in Flight Simulator X the other night and below are a few of the highlights. I started in Seattle and flew a course that weaved me around the terrain of Alaska on my way to Anchorage. The F/A-18 sucks gas like crazy so I had to make several stops to refuel. One of these stops was a little hair raising since my flight planning showed an airport in the area but I had to fly around longer than I wanted to in order to find it. At one point my fuel was so low that a message popped up asking me if I wanted to use the "auto-refuel" cheat since I was running out of gas. "Heck no!" That would totally take away the realism. So I finally found the airport only to discover that it was a tiny little dirt strip apparently put in place for bush pilots on fishing trips or something. So I trimmed the Hornet for very slow speed, applied full flaps and used my brilliant pilot skills to bring the plane down on a very short and icy runway without incident. It was so stressful that I even began to sweat! Man I love these flight simulators!

Halloween 2007

Here are some photos from the kids' harvest party on Saturday.

oh and this too

Oh, and here is a picture of my new fake eyelashes that I bought to go with my Halloween costume. Aren't they sooo cool?!

A taste of my work

Hey, here's a picture I took at work on the epifluorescence microscope. The glowing blue dots are the nuclei of each cell in the tissue, which in this case is the trachea of a fly larva that I dissected. The nuclei are glowing because I stained them with a fluorescent dye called DAPI. I wasn't even supposed to be looking at this tissue, but it looks a lot cooler than what I was supposed to be looking at :-)

Problems Continue in Falcon 4.0: Allied Force

I connected my pc to my camcorder to help provide better quality images of what is going on with my Falcon 4.0 game. None of my other games have problems. If you have any pointers for how to fix this I'd really appreciate it. I'm running the game on a Pentium 4 2.5GHz with 3GB of RAM and a BFG 8600 GT OC 256MB graphics card with the latest drivers. You'll notice in the video that the game starts to stutter at about 1:05 and then freezes up with strange artifacts and flashes at about 1:23 It's at this point that I was forced to do a hard boot.

Capturing Video from Call of Duty 2

As you can see from the video I figured out how to capture video without degrading my frames per second. It's done by using an s-video cable from my graphics card to an A/V Switch (thanks for the idea Joel) and then I connect my camcorder's native A/V cable into the output of the switch. Unfortunately, it isn't capturing any audio so either no audio is transmitted across the computer's s-video output or my 4-pin s-video cable is inadequate for both audio and video. I could simply plug a cable from my PC headphone jack into the camcorders mic jack for the audio... I'll try that next. Stay tuned.

Costume-clad

Here are some pictures of me in my costume(s) for the opera. Sadly, they were pretty boring. Maybe someday I'll get to be in a show where they do something really elaborate. Oh, and here is a picture of the Halloween costume I just put together today. Isn't the hat great? It was the only part of the costume that I had to buy, since I had everything else laying around. The only other stuff I want is some massive fake eyelashes and some cool spidery tights. I also bought decorations and hung up a bunch of cobwebs and things around the house. I can't wait to have my very own trick-or-treaters come to the house!! Any kid dressed as a witch gets extra candy :-)

Gaming Technology: Beyond Entertainment

...
Video gaming is one early result of low-cost, powerful computer graphics. Today, the advantages of this technology are being realized in crucial areas such as health care and energy exploration, and in the future, the technology will expand into other new uses, creating long-term benefits for society and resulting in positive economic growth worldwide.
Click here for the whole article.

-- Wow, I'm saving lives and the planet too by simply supporting the gaming industry. Isn't that wonderful? I will certainly keep that in mind the next time I take off in my F-16 simulator or go for a leisurely flight on Microsoft Flight Simulator. -- Chris Muller

Graphics Problem in Falcon 4.0 with BFG GeForce 8600 GT OC

I know this is going to be extemely boring for some people reading this but it's the best way I could think of to document the problems I'm having with my brand new BFG GeForce 8600 GT OC (256MB) graphics card and the Falcon 4.0 Allied Force simulator. I upgraded the graphics card drivers to the latest version (ForceWare v162.18) and I applied all the patches to Falcon 4.0 (v1.012). As you can see in the video, everything is going fine in the beginning. (BTW, ignore the scrolling dark box... it's an anomoly caused by shooting video of a computer monitor) Anyway, everything is going perfectly. The screen looks crsip and clean, the flight controls are smooth and, I must admit, this is the coolest sim I've ever flown. Then, at about 2:14 into this video (it's been about 3 minutes of flight time) the simulation stutters like it's trying to refresh the image and flashing static pixels appear. There are also flashing anomolies around clounds and the horizon but you can't see them in this video becuase I have zoomed in on the flight instruments. At this point I try to escape out of the flight but commands don't respond. Then I CTL-ALT-DEL and initially there is no response either. Finally, I hold down the power button to do a hard boot. I've done everything I know of to resolve this and spent several hours researching and updating software all to no avail. I'm not sure how to troubleshoot the hardware itself so if you have any pointers please email me at mullman71@gmail.com

Flight Simulator Adventures

I decided to fly down to Florida and say hi to the folks at NASA. As you can see from the screenshots I got a little closer to the shuttle than is allowed by law. That's the fun thing about flight simulator: you can do things that are totally forbidden in real life. (I probably would have been shot down in the real world flying this close to a shuttle during its launch) Enjoy the screens.

Wedding Plans

Hey everyone,
Can you believe the wedding of the Century is less than 3 months away. Yikes! Ryan and I have been busy with work and planning. Ryan won a Packer getaway for the game in Green Bay on November 18 so we are really looking forward to that. It is really cool to read all of your blogs. Diane, I am so sorry about your relatives. They are in my prayers.
Laura, it sounds like you are doing great. Good luck trying to kick my ass. I may be old but I can still put up a good fight.
I can't wait to see those of you who are going to be in LaCrosse for Oktoberfest and the rest of you I will see you sooner than later.
I love you all!

Jennie

Sooo excited!

GUESS WHAT EVERYONE!! Next Saturday I will be taking my first offical karate class!! I found a really good-looking dojo online (http://midwestkarate.org/rates.htm) with an AMAZING sensei, and I went to just observe the beginners class this morning and it was so cool! Then, the advanced class was right after that and sensei said I should stay and watch so I did and WOW! It was mostly black belts and they are so fricken AMAZING!! I'm super SUPER excited to start taking classes. It is kinda expensive ($80/month) but I have wanted to do this for several years now, and I think it's completely worth it. The sensei is one of the highest ranked non-Japanese black belts in the world and he's such a cool guy. He's 73, but moves and acts and looks like he's only 40. It's cool cause he's a really kind man, but you can just sense from him that he's someone who deserves a lot of respect and could probably kill you with one punch. So yeah!! Better watch out my dear siblings, cause next time you see me, I'll probably be able to woop you ;-)

PS-Chris, I can't believe you flew to Minneapolis and didn't even stop by to say hello. Tsk tsk.

Flight Simulator Adventures

The adventures continue. Today I flew a monster Boeing 747 to Minneapolis. This is the most difficult plane I've ever flown. Smaller planes pretty much fly themselves but this monster required constant attention. Here are a few shots from the flight.

Chris Muller, you are an anomaly

Chris, you're a total dork.

Also, the sounds of freedom are not guns and fighter jets. WTF are you thinking, boy??

Saint Paul is cool. I'm going to the library tomorrow to look for The Golden Compass, the Floating Brothel, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Today there was a bomb threat in the building connected to mine and they all got to go home but we didn't even though if I take 5 steps out of my lab door I'm in that building. Lucky bastards....

I'm wearing a shirt with a drawing of a giraffe hugging a brontosaurus. I makes me happy.

I just learned that dinosaurs previously part of the genus Brontosaurus have now been officially designated as belonging to the genus Apatosaurus. That messes with my mind.

Ok love you all. BYE!

Flight Simulator Adventures

The three day weekend has given me enough free time to 1) overseed the front lawn and 2) fly to Portland, Oregon. Seeding the front lawn wasn't nearly as much fun as the simulated flight to Portland. I took off from La Crosse at about this time flying a LeerJet which, in the simulator, is a very sleek and sexy corporate jet. It's also very fast but not fast enough because I had to land in Great Falls, Montana around 5:30 pm since it was supper time. I hate pausing these games. It's just more fun to find a close airport and land then tell Diane that, "I'll just put down in Montana for supper and resume the flight to Portland afterward." I know, it's geeky and lame but, hey, that's me ;-)

Here are some screenshots from the flight. Flying around the mountains was really neat. In one of them you will see Mt. Ranier (it's got the flat top). In the other is Mt. Hood which is just outside Portland and very visible from the city. When I was there a couple years ago I was amazed at the beauty of the city and its surroundings. If you ever get a chance, you must go visit Portland. It might be loaded with liberal kooks but it's an amazing city and worthy of a visit.

You will also notice in the Mt. Hood screenshot that I am descending and turning. As I was flying around the mountain I was also setting up for my landing at Portland International Airport (PDX). It was a picture perfect landing.... See!

Flight Simulator Chronicles

My on again, off again love for flight simulators is now on again. I spent several hours of free time over the past couple of days to navigate and fly my way to Monroe, Louisiana (home of our Centurytel Corporate Headquarters). My first hop was a short 1-hour flight from La Crosse to Dubuque. I believe that was on Sunday. Then on Monday I flew from Dubuque to St. Louis. I don't remember how long that flight lasted but I suppose I could check the flight logs if you're really interested. Then on Wednesday night I flew from St. Louis to a little podunk town in Arkansas. Finally, tonight, I finished out the flight to Monroe. On the way I navigated using the radio beacons that I was able to locate via the Internet. It's pretty cool how Microsoft Flight Simulator actually maps out all the real world navigation aids. I used real world information to plot my course and it got me to my location exactly as it should have. My next adventure will be to visit Portland, Oregon but instead of using a slower than molasses prop plane I think I'll upgrade to a Leer jet or maybe even an F-14 Tomcat. The screenshot is my approach to Monroe Regional Airport (MLU) just after midnight. Obviously it's at night so a little hard to see but you can just make out the exterior of my plane and the runway lights are clearly visible. I'm taking requests for future flights too so let me know if there is somewhere you would like me to visit and take screenshots.

Living it up--Saint Paul style

Hey all! I moved into my new house today! I am planning to take pictures and stuff later, but I'm not unpacked yet. Also, I think the wireless card on my computer is broken, so I can't access the internet on my computer (I'm borrowing the house computer right now). Oh, and guess what? I was talking to my boyfriend Dan's sister this morning and she was wondering if I wanted to hang out tonight (she also lives in the cities). When we exchanged addresses we realized that we live about 5 houses apart on the same street! Crazy how that works sometimes. Anyway, it will be nice to have at least one person around who I can hang out with. There's also a guy in the opera chorus who I met who's older brother I knew from Lawrence. Weird connections all around. Hope all is well with everyone, and I will post pictures of the house when I can. Oh, and I think I will be home next weekend at mom's if anyone is around we should hang out. Oh, and someone should maybe tell mom. Hehee.... Love!

A sad day in WI and MN

I just wanted to tell everyone to count your blessings and live each day to the fullest. I found out today that my cousin's mother and father in law were killed in the flooding in our area over the weekend. Their car was washed into a 30 foot ditch. It really hits close to home when someone you know leaves this earth in such a way. My cousin's son, Cody, is only a year older than Mitchell and to think that he has lost grandparents in such a way is hard. Please keep the family and all those who suffered losses over the weekend in your prayers.
God Bless !

Civil War Cannons Blowing Stuff Up

The Sounds of Freedom Photos

This one has taken a beating from the gunnery range.


This Armored Personnel Carrier must be new to the range. It's almost unscathed.


This tank has been used for target practice. Note the damage to the top portion.


An old Huey helicopter fuselage.


An old F-4 Phantom (Vietnam era)


The Blackhawk helicopter.


Sometimes the sounds of freedom are deafening.

The Sounds of Freedom Video

As promised...

The Sounds of Freedom

Mitchell and I spent most of the day listening to the awesome sounds of freedom. Yes, I'm talking about American Fighter Planes! Those screeching jet engines are the sound of freedom and today we went to the Hardwood firing range to watch Wisconsin Air National Guard pilots practice bombing and strafing in their F-16 Fighting Falcons. It was so cool that I could hardly breathe! Video clips and photos to come shortly. But first I have to perform some software updates on my PC. Stay tuned. You don't want to miss these.

My life as a wage slave

This is the view from just behind my computer station











That's where we knock out the flies with CO2 so we can do stuff to them (pick out virgin females for future mating, dissections, etc.)














This might possibly be the most unflattering picture of me ever.

Jeanie's b-day extravaganza

Wow, I Suck At This

One more try! Yeah, It Worked!!!

Well, Here We Go

Ok, I'm going to try to put a picture up of Jaydon's birthday party. Wish me luck!

Uh oh...

So, I think I completely forgot about Jackie's birthday.....I know I forgot about several niece and nephew birthdays, but I accept that because it's hard enough to remember brothers and sisters for me. I also forgot two of my best friend's birthdays that were last week. I think I've just had so much stuff going on lately with moving and a new job, etc. Ugh. I should call these people...


By the way, I just realized that this post is useless. Get ready, cause I'm sure it won't be the last. I have lots of little bits of random free time at work. Mwahahah!

This is awesome

Hey everyone,
This Muller Family blogger thing is COOL! Ryan and I will have so much to post soon. We are going to Lansing,IA this weekend for our first wedding shower. We are very excited. I love you all and will see you all soon.

Mitchell's Last Pee Wee Baseball Game

Here's some footage from Mitchell's last game. He got to play 1st base and made some awesome plays but, unfortunately, I didn't get them on tape.

Installed a New Sink

Well, I gave into Diane and spent the day Saturday installing a new sink. It took 10 hours and 6 beers to complete the project. I know what you're thinking, "10 hours for a new sink?!" In the course of preparing for the project I discovered that the plumbing to the kitchen sink was done using flexible copper and that, instead of making nice smooth bends in the pipe as it snaked it's way to the sink the pipes were bent and kinked in multiple places. As I explained to Diane, "You can't kink a garden hose and then expect water to come out of the spout." So, I decided to do the job right and replaced all the pipes coming from the main galvanized iron supply. For those of you who know me this was a great feat. I am a computer geek and I have no experience with these kinds of practical jobs. I learn fast though and it was quite interesting to sweat the copper tubes and get them aligned properly so that the water could get the sink with the proper amount of pressure. Actually, it was quite easy once I got over my apprehension. The video only shows the before and after for the sink. I only thought of doing this after all the work on the plumbing was complete. I wish I would have thought of it sooner because the plumbing job was quite impressive if I do say so myself :-)

American Queen Visits La Crosse

The American Queen stopped in La Crosse recently. What a magnificent sight! This is a mammoth paddle wheeler that is an amazing thing to behold as it lumbers up the Mississippi. You can take a cruise on her too if you like. Just visit the web site for the company that offers cruises all over the U.S. at http://www.majesticamericaline.com/ This would make a wonderful vacation for any family interested in the beauty of our nation.

Amanda's Last T-Ball Game

Here are some clips from Amanda's last T-ball game. Hope you like the background music ;-)

Birthday Presents Up North

The kids got to open more birthday presents when we got up north to the resort where we vacation with Roger and Shirley and Becky and Gordy's family.

My First Blog!

Well, this it!! My first blog ever. How exciting! I don't have any really recent pictures yet but Jaydon's birthday is this Friday so I'll be sure to add some very soon!

Update on the remote control plane

Mitchell's been playing with the remote control air hog and was getting pretty good with it. Even chased the dog around and drove him crazy. But then, he got a little too cocky and I think he flew it out of the rc range. It flew up, up, up, until it landed on the neighbor's roof and wouldn't budge. We called our neighbor to let him know and he promised to be on the lookout in case the wind blows it down into his yard or something. Oh well.... Hopefully we'll have it back after a little while.

Mitchell Turns 8!

Here is Mitchell opening his birthday presents today.

Amanda Turns 6!

Amanda's 6th birthday was yesterday. Here she is opening presents (with Mitchell's help reading the cards) and blowing out the candles on her cake.

Welcome!

I've been blogging my political views for several months now so I finally decided it was time to establish a personal blog for our family. I will post pictures and video for all our friends and family to share and I hope to inspire others in our extended family to participate on this as well. Since our lives have separated us considerably these past several years, this might be a good way for us to stay in touch in between the rare occasions when we do get together. I look forward to any ideas you might have for ways to make this effort successful.