[photo-3d] A Tumble in Phoenix

[Tom Deering <photo-3d@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Perhaps the high point of the Mesa NSA convention for me was when my 
computer monitor (nine days old) blew off my rented convertible as we 
raced down the expressway to the airport.

The monitor carton was the top-most of nine boxes and bags that I 
brought with me to Phoenix.  In retrospect, it might have been the 
logical choice for the top of the pile, being one of the heaviest 
items at 40 lbs, but it just happened to be the last thing I loaded. 
It was fine as we drove through the city, but the wind coming over 
the windshield at highway speeds must have caught an edge.

A 17 inch computer monitor is a big, heavy piece of glass.  At 65 
miles per hour, it was amazing to see the carton somersaulting down 
the road through the rear-view mirror. The "box", which I packed and 
sealed with airport baggage handlers in mind, did not explode as you 
might have imagined.  (I use the term "box" loosely because the 
carton was more spherical than cubic when I retrieved it from the 
side of the road.)

Since we were running late, we put the monitor back on the top of the 
pile and sped away, holding the monitor cord for security.  The cord 
had been blown out of a small ragged hole in the side.  At the 
airport, I repaired the carton with filament tape and put it on the 
airplane, as-is.

When I opened the carton at home, the monitor showed no physical 
signs of damage, except for a scrape on the cable connector.  Before 
applying power, I opened the monitor and found a circuit board 
disconnected.  With the monitor attached to a 50 foot extension cord, 
I applied power from the far side of the apartment.  I pushed the 
power button with a long stick.

It lit up, and then displayed the email I had been reading before I 
left for the convention a week earlier.  The screen seems to work 
perfectly, and without the connector damage there would be no 
evidence that the monitor had flown off a moving vehicle at 65 mph.

The low point of the convention was not attending it.  A cascade of 
unforeseen computer hardware and software glitches nearly scuttled 
the digital video I had worked on for months.  I remained in my room 
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and most of Saturday, reaching the 
breakthrough just before the banquet.  Prior to Sunday morning, I did 
not see a single slide show, workshop or trade table. Now in 
retrospect, I wish I had cancelled the presentation and enjoyed the 
remainder of the convention.  I sorely miss spending more time with 
my good friend Tom Kidd, who flew in from Scotland.

Systematically, I solved or worked around each problem, part of which 
included copying the entire 1.8 gigabyte (!) digital movie to 
CD-ROMs, and reformatting the hard drive. In the end, the 
ground-breaking video was shown Sunday to a small but appreciative 
audience, the first of it's kind that I am aware of.

The trip was salvaged when we rented the convertible and drove into 
the desert 75 miles north of Phoenix.  We slept there, seeing the sun 
rise and set amid striking orange, pink and purple cumulus clouds. 
The diversity of the animals and vegetation far exceeded our 
expectations, and the craggy mountains studded with saguaro cactus 
were splendid in the rich evening and morning light.  I wish there 
had been room to pack a stereo camera.

Glad to be back in Manhattan,

Tom


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tmd@xxxxxxxxxxx    http://www.deering.org