Dick Eastman's RV

Is This the Display Screen for Your Next Mobile Computer?

Oakley has just rolled out what might be the goggles to rule all goggles. However, I suggest we think about what this technology holds for the future. I believe it has more applications than just the ski slopes.

The new technology-packed AirWave snow goggles have GPS, jump analytics, caller-id, text messaging, Bluetooth, and music controls, all available from a heads-up display. You can read all the information while riding the slopes.  The goggles also come preloaded with maps of many popular ski resorts to find your location and track other members of your party using the goggles or Oakley's app. The goggles can also sense temperature, altitude, velocity and vertical descent data. A gyroscope and accelerometer are also included and are available to software developers who wish to write third-party apps for the goggles.
 
With the Bluetooth connectivity and an iPhone, you can view incoming calls and text messages without ever taking your phone out of your pocket. You can also view and control music playlists from the goggles. Most of the functions are controlled through the wireless, glove-friendly remote that you wear around your wrist.

Now let's look to the future.

Researching Aliens in Roswell

I have a "brickwall ancestor" who has frustrated me for years. I know a great deal about his adult life but have not been able to prove where Washington Harvey Eastman was born or the names of his parents. I have long joked that "he must have been deposited here by a Martian spaceship."

Today I found myself in Roswell, New Mexico, best known for what is now called the 1947 Roswell UFO Incident. An alien spacecraft reportedly was found near Roswell and its occupants were captured. Many people believe the military then engaged in a cover-up. The incident has turned into a widely known pop culture phenomenon, making the name Roswell synonymous with UFOs. One of the better-known local organizations that popularizes the spacecraft theory is the International UFO Museum & Research Center on Main Street in Roswell. What better place to look for documentation about an ancestor who was "deposited here by a Martian spaceship?"

Today, I visited the International UFO Museum & Research Center and consulted with the staff. No, that is not a picture of the staff above. Instead, that is a mock-up of what some artist believes happened in June or July 1947. Any resemblance to my relatives is purely coincidental.

Click on the images to see larger pictures.

Vintage Airstream Trailers Refurbished

I must admit that I love those old Airstream trailers. I even looked at several that were for sale when I was trying to decide what kind of RV to purchase. Unfortunately, the Airstreams in really good condition typically command a premium price and for good reasons. They are well built and, if properly cared for, can serve as full-time or part-time homes for many years. The only ones I ever found within my price range all were old and most had serious problems.

Architect Matthew Hofmann of Santa Barbara, California obviously has talents that I don't possess. He takes old Airstream trailers and refurbs them, often converting them into something more luxurious than what the factory engineers ever thought of. Click on the image above to see a larger picture.