Flying adventure

Flying has always intrigued me. When I was younger I wanted to get my pilot's licence. Split vision (meaning I look out of only one eye at a time and have no depth perception) made that impossible. But I still love planes and flying. For many years, back when I did pen and ink drawings, one of my specialties was aircraft. I did many, many drawings of commercial aircraft along with limited edition prints. One of my commissions was to draw all the aircraft that Telus owned and operated. A perk of this job was I got to fly in many different aircraft along the way. It was exciting!

Now I fly commercial for the most part. Layovers mean I get to see aircraft coming and going, which is always facinating. A window seat is a must for I love to watch the countryside flowing by far below. The journey often is almost as exciting as the destination. Even after countless flights I can't get over that I can have breakfast on one side of the continent and a few hours later have supper on the other, thousands of miles distant. 

What is just as amazing to me is the digital communication we now enjoy while travelling. I'm posting this wirelessly (and on a free network) from the airport in San Francisco while I wait for my next flight. I just video conferenced with Janis a few minutes ago. And I am also staying connected with my email. On the flight from Philadelphia I wrote a magazine article on my iPad which is due early next week. I have a good book downloaded to my iPad to read a little later and should I wish I can even do some design work on my laptop. We live in a truly amazing world!

-grampa dan

More inspiration

I love to travel for doing so exposes me to countless ideas. The fact is they do things differently everywhere I go.

I always keep a small pocket camera strapped to my belt, ready to whip out and snap photos of what I witnes along the way. It didn't take long to find some cool ideas that may help to inspire future projects. Some are simple but very clever. Others much more intricate and complicated. All are worth gathering.

As I got off my plane I took notice of the signs in Philladelphia Airport. Each was identical in size and shape and yet each was different. The brackets were clever. This was an idea worth stopping for. 

Everywhere I went in Atlantic City there were plenty of ideas. My camera was out often. One cool bridge truss type structure caught my eye. It was the sign for Bally's casino on the famous boardwalk. It was very large in scale as were most things in that location. Instead of dropping my money in the slot machines I spent my time gathering ideas.

Now I'm back on the way home to the little town of Yarrow, British Columbia... my head full of new ideas and ready to go to work once more.

-grampa dan

Conferences are fun!

For the last three days I have been in Atlantic City, New Jersey attending an international Sign Conference and trade show. I've always enjoyed attending such events. So many experts and suppliers are all in one place and at the very same time. It was also my honor and pleasure to present three seminars to those wishing to learn about designing, building and marketing of our three dimensional signage and features. The seminars I gave were well attended, those who came were eager to hear of our projects and unique ways of doing things. 

I also had the opportunity to catch up with many old friends, especially many from the east coast who I don't often get a chance to visit with. I also met a few new folks who I have long admired. It was a chance for me to learn many new things and see a part of the countryside I don't often get a chance to visit. 

Tomorrow morning I'll have to get up real early and start making my way back home. Thanks to all who generously shared their time with me and made this trip so memorable!

-grampa dan