Big Sky

I'm back in Montana for work. We are doing bringing all kinds of funky technical gizmos to the remote wilderness. Tomorrow will be a very interesting test of a temporary wireless network that we are going to set up over some 10 or 20 square miles with wave relay nodes on the ground and aircraft in the air. We will be transmitting all kinds of valuable data over the network to mimic a large fire incident in the mountains. Let me know if you have Google Earth and I can send you a KMZ that shows what we are doing.

After hanging out in the remote wilderness all day we hit the Blacksmith Brewery in small little Stevensville yesterday. It’s a relatively new brewery and unfortunately their fine dry hopped IPA was out. After a few beers we headed over to Bob’s house, site of the homemade Google Earth crop circle, to shoot some golf balls on his newly created island green. They dug out a nice little pool in the irrigation ditch out back, created an island, and Bob laid down some sand with a green in the middle. My two golf playing coworkers thought this was the coolest thing ever. Cooler than Bob’s internet controlled gopher sniper gun and his 10 barrel 22 caliber gatling gun. Bob is a smart technical guy who doesn’t eat or sleep so he puts together some pretty slick toys. Of course yours truly was the only one who doesn't play golf and the only one who got a ball to stick on the green (with a broken clavicle).

When we are traveling we never get back to the hotel before 9. Last night we got back close to midnight. And there was still a slight glow of sunlight visible. It is nuts how late it stays light out here. Gets bright early as well.

All week long there has been a tiny yellow finch looking bird flying outside the windows of the hotel restaurant. The little guy goes nuts and continually tries to fly through the glass. He has been doing this for days. Someone suggested he was a house bird that got loose. I think this is a good theory, the little thing must be scared out of his wits flying around other birds 5x his size.

Stopped by Big Sky Brewery as usual after work today. Next time I’m making it a priority to hit Kettlehouse for the first time.

I flew out first class and I best get upgraded to first class on the way back!

Pics from Thursday field testing of wireless wave relay network