In the midst of the deck wash confusion 2 weeks ago, the final bids were being placed on an eBay auction item. A triumph in multi-tasking to be sure. This was the object of his desire and fascination since they first came to market and now it is to be his birthday present trophy to self. I'm secretly glad of this as it will provide an outlet in coming months when sailing opportunities will be less..... So what did he purchase? Answer: an AR Drone!
Just what is it exactly? It is described as a wi-fi quadricopter - flying toy with on-board GPS
What does it do? We'll apart from being the source of amusement for grown ups they do have some commercial uses. One famously crashed onto the back of a triathletes head in a recent Geraldton, WA event while filming the event. By strange coincidence she happened to be the wife of one the Professional Irornmen who trains our son Viv, when he's preparing for Ironman events.
For now, we'll focus on the amusement. The package arrived just as we were due to head to Memory Cove so there was no chance to do much more than unpack the parcel and drool over the contents. No internet at Memory Cove also meant that none of the YouTube tutorials on how to pilot these gizmos could be accessed. Now back in the Marina these tutorials are being viewed VERY frequently and the funky French electronic mood music betrays the viewing of another bog lap around some chateau in the French countryside. Have a look at this link :- AR drone director mode tutorial . It's aspirational for the Bloke. He's part the way there. He has the device.
Progress has been slow due to other jobs to conquer but today he'll be off to the nearby lawn area next to a building site which the bloke thoughtfully hopes will disguise any otherwise potentially annoying sounds. Hopefully progress will be made.
Ooops, he's back....tears before lunch...more practice required.... after the glue has set!
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