Movies

# 2014 ATA Spring Nationals, Anaheim, California

“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”

Kilar-Echevarria-Mills reunion at Bubba Gump Shrimp & Co., Anaheim, CA

The ATA is a social network with its own, odd, cult-like subculture, but I love being around this group of people. Several thousand ATA martial artists and spectators descended upon Disneyland, the second-happiest place on earth (Walt Disney World is the happiest place on earth) for this year’s ATA Spring Nationals tournament.

Photo albums:

# Air Force Casualties of the Iraq and Afghanistan Campaigns

149 members of the Air Force have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
http://apps.washingtonpost.com/national/fallen/branches/air-force/

6781 U.S. service members total
4486 in Iraq
2295 in Afghanistan

6621 male
157 female

4316 Army
1387 Marines
480 Army National Guard
223 Navy
149 Air Force
120 Army Reserves
90 Marine Reserves

2631 to hostile action
2544 to IED
679 non-combat
411 helicopter accident
363 vehicle accident
118 unknown
34 aircraft crash

# Hamachi sake box roll, Kabuki Sushi Restaurant, Burbank CA

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer (ACE)

# Educated Guess Cabernet 2009

The Educated Guess Cabernet Sauvignon is smartly built; exhibits ripe, black fruit flavors and a fine touch of sweet oak; firm, yet easy in the finish. (BevMo) Perfect wine for Pi Day.

Note to self: try the Hypothesis next.

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer (ACE)

# Aerospace Cubicle Engineer’s Science Corner: How many party balloons does it take to lift a person?

If you have watched the Pixar movie “Up” (2009), then you have probably wondered how many balloons it takes to lift a person. In order to figure this out, we first need to know that helium has a lifting force of 1 gram per liter (also known as 9.8 Newtons of lift). So if you have a balloon that contains 5 liters of helium, the balloon can lift 5 grams.

(1) Balloon lifting force $\frac{1 gram}{1 liter}=9.8 Newtons$

Assume a normal balloon at an amusement park might be 30 centimeters (about 1 foot) in diameter.

(2a) Balloon size ${diameter}=30{centimeters}$

(2b) Balloon size ${radius}=15{centimeters}$

To determine how many liters of helium a sphere can hold, the equation is

(3) $\frac{4}{3}\pi r^3$ . The radius of a 30-centimeter-diameter balloon is 15 centimeters, so:

(4) $\frac{4}{3}\pi {15}^3=14,137$ cubic centimeters = 14.1 liters

(5) From (1) and (4), we can assume that one normal balloon can lift can lift 14 grams (0.014 kg), assuming the mass of the balloon and the string are negligible.

For simplicity sake, assume that in the movie “Up” the mass of Mr. Carl Fredricksen is 50 kilograms (about 110 pounds).

(6) Mass of subject = 50,000 grams

Next we divide the 50,000 grams by the 14 grams per balloon and find it takes 3,571.42 balloons to lift your 50 kg.

(7) Number of balloons per 50 kg person = 3,571

Aerospace Cubicle Engineer recommends a safety margin of 10%, plus extra balloons to allow a reasonable climb rate. The recommended number of balloons for a 50 kg subject would be 4,000.

Part b of the question would be, “How many balloons would it take to lift a house?” The rule of thumb in construction is that there are 200 pounds per square foot for a single-level home, 275 for two levels and 350 for three levels. Let us assume Mr. Fredricksen’s home was a two-story, 2,000-square foot home.

(8) $\frac{275 lbs}{ft^2}2000{ft^2}=550,000{lbs}=249,476{kg}$

Therefore, we just need to use (4) and (8) to determine the number of balloons to lift Mr. Fredericksen’s home.

(9) $\frac{249,476}{0.014}=17,819,714 balloons$

(9) $\frac{249,476kg}{0.014kg/balloon}=17,819,714 balloons$

# RIP Elizabeth Jeanette Pylypow (1919 – 2014)

Elizabeth Pylypow

Elizabeth “Lib” Pylypow, 94, died Tuesday, February 25, 2014 in her Molino home surrounded by her family.

Aunt Lib was a native of Richmond, VA and had lived in Molino for 42 years. She attended Highland Baptist Church and retired at the age of 80 as a cafeteria worker at Molino Elementary School.

Mrs. Pylypow was preceded in death by two husbands, Glen Bundy and John Pylypow, her daughter Jean Hart, and an infant daughter Anne Bundy. Survivors include her daughter, Susan Vann; four grandchildren, John (Janelle) Vann, Glen (Annette) King, Lisa (Bob) Fulton, and Joey King; nine great-grandchildren; and three great-great grandchildren.

RIP Elizabeth “Lib” Pylypow (b. June 7, 1919, Richmond, Va.; d. February 25, 2014, Cantonment, Fl.).