-
My Year in Books: 2018 Edition
My year in reading took me on adventures through spirituality, advanced flight training and management: The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself By Michael A. Singer Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find – And Keep – Love by Walter Dixon and Amir Levine Extraordinary Groups: How Ordinary…
-
Still One of My All Time Favorite Moments
Throwback Thursday: The highway’s jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive.
-
Leaving Facebook
Earlier this month I deactivated my Facebook and Twitter accounts. There are both personal and global reasons for my decision, and I don’t have anything particularly interesting to say on the topic other than I don’t miss those services and you can no longer find me there. This space will continue to be my online…
-
Instrument Training Update
I’m continuing to work toward my instrument rating. I’m learning that there is much more to this rating than flying in challenging weather conditions. The rating is about developing discipline, precision and workload management. The little things matter: How you test and tune nav and comm radios, how you organize in-fight documents and how you…
-
Harvard vs. Yale 2018
It’s cold in Boston. We spent the weekend with my sister and brother-in-law visiting my niece at Cambridge. This year’s Harvard vs. Yale football game was held at Fenway Park. My first time there. I regret not getting a picture of the clam chowder vendors walking the stands. Harvard 45, Yale 27.
-
This Must Be The Place
I recently visited my hometown of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. I haven’t been back nearly enough. Some things haven’t changed. Other things have changed a lot. I got to spend time with a few people who were deeply influential to me while growing up. I took Lauren to see some of my childhood homes, and we saw…
-
Instrument Training Lesson 1
This weekend I started training toward my instrument rating. My flight instructor is a great teacher and will be a good fit. After about an hour of ground instruction, we logged 1.8 hours in the flight simulator. We did basic attitude instrument flying in the clouds and shot an instrument approach through the rain.
-
Hot and Fast Smoked Texas Brisket
It doesn’t take 20 hours to produce a high quality smoked brisket. I’ve been refining a method to produce great Texas-style smoked brisket in about 5 to 7 hours. This method reduces cooking time by increasing cooking temperature from 250 degrees to about 500 degrees. I’ve been working on this method for more than three…
Michael Castellon 