Earlier this week I managed to procure an invite to try out the new Google Wave communication system. Something I’ve been waiting to get my hands on since first seeing the developer preview video on YouTube a few months ago.

I must admit I am impressed. I took the bull by the horns and started a few “Waves” including one that has hints and tips for beginners (like me). It now has over a hundred subscribers. Nice.

Google Wave

Google Wave

What is Google Wave? Email on steroids? Well rather than reading my explanations, take a look at the preview video here:

Be warned though – it’s an hour and twenty minutes long. It’s only for the real geeks among you.

I have started a Blog about my Google Wave experiences here: http://gwfts.blogspot.com/

While we’re on the subject of geeky stuff. I am now running the official release of Windows 7 (Ultimate 64 bit) on my main PC and the studio PC. Very impressive. Fast and slick.

I never really had a problem with Vista though but even so there is a notable difference in performance in all areas so far.

There’s not really much point in going into the pros and cons of Windows 7 here. There is so much information on the Internet, it would be kind of pointless to add mine. So here’s a picture of the box. :-)

Windows 7 Ultimate

Windows 7 Ultimate

The install itself went really well. It’s just time consuming getting the studio machine back to a working state. Lots of applications and plugins to install. Most have to be done from scratch which is not a bad thing but it is time consuming.

Finally – I managed to squeeze in one hour of flying training at Sherburn on Friday morning. What a great feeling to get back in the air. I did OK. It’s been around four months since I was last flying. So I had my doubts as to how well I might manage.

PA28 GBNOM

PA28 GBNOM

The weather was OK, a little cloudy but as we were only doing circuits, that was not a great problem. There was also a bit of crosswind which added to the challenge.

As far as I could tell, my flying was good, quite accurate with just a few of the usual distractions. I must have been OK because Jonathan stepped out after we landed on the fifth circuit and sent me off on my own for one more.

It felt great to be back solo in the skies, as I’m sure anyone can imagine. The hour was over way to quickly and I hope I can get back and continue soon.

That’s all for now.

Thanks for reading.