Chad Dotson

A small town Computer Scientist / Software Engineer. Chad enjoys writing Python and JavaScript as well as tinkering with his Raspberry Pi and Arduino. When not programming, he enjoys Photography (especially lightning) and Sci-Fi.
A small town Computer Scientist / Software Engineer. Chad enjoys writing Python and JavaScript as well as tinkering with his Raspberry Pi and Arduino. When not programming, he enjoys Photography (especially lightning) and Sci-Fi.

Solomons, Maryland Trip

Back at the beginning of August, I took my first flight to Baltimore, Maryland for a trip down to Solomons, MD.  The flight up there was a little bumpy.  I didn’t know “average” turbulence could be so rough.

Its quite a drive from Baltimore to Solomons.  I was kind of surprised how fast you can get out of the larger cities into more rural areas.  Also, traffic circles seem to have been the favorite traffic management device.  Went through two on the way down practically in the middle of nowhere, relative speaking.

The area around Solomons apparently is very tightly zoned.  What used to be the island part (Solomons Island) is very nice.  There are a few light houses and natural areas in the vicinity, I did not make it to those however.  I did make it to the Patuxent River NAS Museum, those photos are included below.

We ate at Stoney’s Solomons Pier Restaurant first night, Digiovanni’s Dock of the Bay second night, and Boomerangs third night; all were pretty decent.  I’ve included two videos I took on the flight back, more videos can be found at the link at the end of the post after the two best videos and the photos.

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You can find a few more videos of Solomons, MD on the playlist I created for this trip: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL149F074C018EE34B

Posted by Chad Dotson in Misc, Photography, 0 comments

August 7, 2011 Lightning

I took these photos tonight as thunderstorms moved over Coffee County/Franklin County Tennessee.

These are the best two:
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Here are some others that I captured.
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Other lightning photos: My Lightning Gallery

Posted by Chad Dotson in Photography, 0 comments

The Last Shuttle Launch and The Future

Atlantis on the pad 39A

Atlantis on the pad 39A for its final flight.

End of an Era
Yesterday (July 8, 2011), we witnessed what will likely be the last launch of the Space Shuttle.  Of the three operational shuttles NASA had remaining, Atlantis was the second oldest.  Atlantis’s first flight took place in October 1985.

This final flight of Atlantis signals the end of an era in more ways than one.  The shuttle program is a spectacle.  While I’ve never seen one launch in person, I’m sure the TV does not do it justice.

NASA and The Future:
Its my belief that budget cuts will win out and eventually we will be mostly out of the Human space exploration business.  With Orion and Constellation cancelled, the next vehicle planned is the MPCV (Multi-purpose Crew Vehicle).  The advantage of the MPCV over Orion is its 21-day mission capability.  I’m not sure who labeled this as “Deep Space” but someone did.  I guess NASA is taking the approach of component space travel.  The MPCV would be a component of a larger spacecraft for say an asteriod or Mars trip.  My major complaint is the common one,  it seems as if we are taking a step backwards in our designs of exploration vehicles.

Stagnated Exploration
Think about it, it took us under a decade to reach the moon.  After just a few visits, we never went back, our deeper exploration stagnated.  Humans have the desire to go some place for themselves, not just sending robots.  Seeing a human walking on another planet generates more interest than robots.  Humans also are vastly more capable than a robot.  Humans are able to adapt to changing situations and circumstances that a robot may not be able to.  Also Humans can think and change analytical approaches if the need arises.

The Political Speil
It is also my belief that a good “Economic Stimulus” would be to reengage the public in the allure of space travel.  Wouldn’t the Math, Science, and Engineering jobs created and maintained by the funding of the US human exploration of space be better than some of the other less technical jobs “created.”  Funding to “create jobs” comes from somewhere, one of those places is pulling budget dollars from agencies such as NASA.  Also, studies show that we are falling behind in Math and Science…  How can we hope to improve when one of the biggest math and science sources is underfunded.

Links

Posted by Chad Dotson in Misc, Technology, 0 comments

June 15, 2011 Lightning Composites

I created several composite images of the lightning photos I took the other day, since I took several photos each time I moved the tripod.

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Posted by Chad Dotson in Photography, 0 comments

June 15, 2011 Lightning

Tonight turned out to be one of the best nights I’ve had for lightning photography.  I was able to place my camera outside under the new awning over the deck and take a ton of photos.  Since this particular storm was so energetic, I was able to capture lightning in a majority of the photos I took.  Here are a selection of the photos I took tonight.

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Posted by Chad Dotson in Photography, 1 comment

Massachusetts Tornado Videos

Check out these 2 videos of the recent tornado in Massachusetts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BtX3l-xZxQ

Posted by Chad Dotson in Misc, 0 comments

April 27, 2011 Storms

On April 27, 2011, much of the South was experienced an outbreak of tornadic thunderstorms.  CNN has compiled a list of possible tornado locations, you can find it here.  During the storms, Franklin County lost all power and cell phone coverage.  While Huntland took the brunt of the storm damage here in Franklin County, power was out for the rest of the county due to a large number of trees down as well as transmission line damage coming out of Alabama.  They told people that it could be 3-4 days before they get power back and weeks till everything is back to normal.  Hillsboro will be subject to rolling blackouts due to system load.  My power was out for 24 hours almost to the dot before it came back online.  One of the more eerie things to happen is the debris from Alabama falling out of the sky.  People from Winchester, Estill Springs, Tullahoma, and Manchester have been finding light paper items that the storm picked up in Alabama including envelopes, bills, pages of books, and photos.  A Facebook page has been setup so that people can share the items in an attempt to find the owners.  You can find it here.

I did manage to take some photos of the storm after it lessened.  I’ve posted them below.

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Posted by Chad Dotson in Misc, Photography, 0 comments