The Guardian for this meeting was Bruce Mowbray. The comments are by Bruce Mowbray.

Bruce Mowbray: Hi, Riddle.
Riddle Sideways: Hey Bruce
Riddle Sideways: coming by to say Hey
Bruce Mowbray: Hey!
Riddle Sideways: not sure how all will be able to stay
Riddle Sideways: Hey!
Bruce Mowbray: np.
Bruce Mowbray: I'm rather preoccupied today, also.
Riddle Sideways: ah, what you doing?
Bruce Mowbray: Been trying to convert a drone mission's data to a file that will show in Google Earth.
Bruce Mowbray: I finally succeeded just a few minutes ago.
Bruce Mowbray: CSV to KLM - or something like that.
Bruce Mowbray: http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map_input?form=googleearth
Bruce Mowbray: It was KML, not KLM. KLM is the airline.
Riddle Sideways: oh, did that a couple times years ago
Bruce Mowbray: You have a drone!?
Riddle Sideways: not drone data
Riddle Sideways: some hiking data
Riddle Sideways: GPS
Bruce Mowbray: OK, some other data -- sure, for hiking.,
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, my drone data is all GPS too, plus altitude.
Bruce Mowbray: How did that work for you?
Riddle Sideways: the first time, umm ~10 years ago
Riddle Sideways: went badly
Bruce Mowbray nods.
Riddle Sideways: the little portable GPS (not a smartphone)
Riddle Sideways: did not have resolution enough
Bruce Mowbray: So, you designed a hiking route in Google Earth?
Bruce Mowbray: then pulled it up on a smart phone... or tried to?
Bruce Mowbray: I mean, pulled it up on your GPS device.
Riddle Sideways: no, took the GPS's data to a website
Bruce Mowbray: OK, but where did you get the GPS data? Did you record it from your device?
Riddle Sideways: feed converted data into a google earth plugin-embed on a page
Bruce Mowbray: (I guess I was assuming that you designed a hiking route before you went hiking....)
Riddle Sideways: yes, my devices later
Riddle Sideways: that first time was several GPS devices to be taken to Kenya
Bruce Mowbray: You see, when I fly a drone waypoints mission,
Bruce Mowbray: I design the mission in my living room,
Bruce Mowbray: then upload it to Google Earth,

Bruce Mowbray: to be sure I'm flying high enough, etc.
Riddle Sideways: well during testing each hiked the same trail
 Riddle Sideways: and funny different paths showed up
Bruce Mowbray: OK. But your data went in the reverse of mine, I thin.
Riddle Sideways: yep thin so too
Bruce Mowbray: Reverse direction -- meaning that you collected it while hiking, then moved it online to see your route.
Riddle Sideways: your planned path goes into the drone?
Bruce Mowbray: Yes!
Riddle Sideways: no manual flying
Bruce Mowbray: I have flown several such missions.
Bruce Mowbray: Right - TOTALLY autonomous once you've taken off.
Bruce Mowbray: Even if the drone loses contact with the controller (RC), it will finish the mission on its own.
Bruce Mowbray: and then land and turn itself off.
Bruce Mowbray: That's why I always make the last waypoint quite close to the launch point.
Bruce Mowbray: So it returns pretty close to where it launched from.
Bruce Mowbray: (easy to find that way).
Riddle Sideways: very nice
Bruce Mowbray: :)

--BELL—

Bruce Mowbray: I lost a drone during a waypoints mission once,
Riddle Sideways: and it is one of those drones that will auto-return if low on fuel?
Bruce Mowbray: so I am now very careful to fly high enough.
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, it is one of those.
Riddle Sideways: too low and would be in shotgun range? ;)
Bruce Mowbray: Well, that. . . also in tree tops range.
Bruce Mowbray: It's a function of whether you indicate altitude should be figured from launch point or from the actual elevation above ground.
Riddle Sideways: would it have a tracker signal if lost?
Bruce Mowbray: So, if you figure it from launch point and then fly uphill, it does not compensate for the rise in elevation.
Bruce Mowbray: Riddle Sideways: oh
Bruce Mowbray: So, important when designing a mission to always indicate that it is altitude above ground.
Bruce Mowbray: (not above launch point.)
Bruce Mowbray: My first waypoints mission flew only inches above ground....
Bruce Mowbray: (by mistake).
Riddle Sideways: under the radar ㋡
Bruce Mowbray: VERY lucky not to have lost it. . . although I eventually DID lose it on another mission.
Bruce Mowbray: Yep. The waypoints missions are entirely autonomous,
Bruce Mowbray: which means that you cannot steer during the mission without aborting it altogether.
Bruce Mowbray: nor can you fly higher.
Bruce Mowbray: but you CAN watch in the monitor to see exactly what the drone is seeing.
Riddle Sideways: does it have obstacle avoidance?
Bruce Mowbray: which can be a bit scary. . .
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, this one has obstacle avoidance in only two directions,
Bruce Mowbray: forward and downward.
Bruce Mowbray: The one that I lost had obstacle avoid. in all directions.
Riddle Sideways: so it is not looking for swooping down eagles
Bruce Mowbray: That was a sad day.
Bruce Mowbray: The one I have now does not see upward.
Bruce Mowbray: The one that I lost could see upward, though.
Bruce Mowbray: They say that if your drone is attacked by birds to fly upward as fast as you can.
Bruce Mowbray: birds do not "swoop" upward when they attack.
Bruce Mowbray: only downward.
Riddle Sideways: nope
Bruce Mowbray: I've flown above many birds.
Bruce Mowbray: try not to fly under them, though.
Riddle Sideways: often watch the little birds flying at hawks
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, I see that every summer out here.
Bruce Mowbray: brave little guys.
Riddle Sideways: usually big hawks do not even care
Bruce Mowbray: Right, they just keep on flying.
Bruce Mowbray: I was reading in one of the drone forums today of a guy whose drone was shot down by his neighbor.
Bruce Mowbray: (Shooting at ANY aircraft is against the law, of course.)
Bruce Mowbray: And in the US, we do NOT own the airspace above our property.
Riddle Sideways: was hearing of Good olde boys threatening to shoot
Bruce Mowbray: (nor can we regulate it. --- the FAA does that.
Bruce Mowbray: Right, it has happened a few times.
Bruce Mowbray: I spoke to my "good ol'boy" neighbors and asked them not to shoot down my drone --
Riddle Sideways: read of women that think their neighbor's drone is photographing into their bedrooms
Bruce Mowbray: and they replied that they had drones of their own and would not think of shooting mine down.
Riddle Sideways: good answer
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, there is a lot of fear of spying.
Bruce Mowbray: but the drone would have to be VERY close to the window. . . so it would be really obvious if they were spying.
Riddle Sideways: they are being used more and more in agriculture here
Bruce Mowbray: Oh yes, here too.
Bruce Mowbray: In fact, my farmer got a very expensive drone about four years ago.
Bruce Mowbray: and he used it to survey our farm...
Bruce Mowbray: soil conditions, etc,
Bruce Mowbray: and fed all of that data into his planter....
Bruce Mowbray: virtually autonomous planting...
Bruce Mowbray: by ONE man in ONE day = 250 acres.

--BELL—

Riddle Sideways: read about that, but not seen it yet
Bruce Mowbray: I remember when it took three or more days to plant just 150 acres.
Bruce Mowbray: I put it up on a website.
Riddle Sideways: and the same amounts of fertilizer were put everywhere
Riddle Sideways: now is regulated
Bruce Mowbray: Well with the data-driven planter, the depth of the seed, the fertilizer, and everything are set . . .
Riddle Sideways: many here, use for watering needs
Riddle Sideways: sorry bell
Bruce Mowbray: http://hermitdog.com/planting2013/planting_2013.html
Bruce Mowbray: Have you seen the art exhibit in the gallery yet?
Riddle Sideways: yes
Bruce Mowbray: Fascinating stuff.
Bruce Mowbray: I wish I'd taken Bleu's workshops.
Riddle Sideways: wow, leaves time for the rest of the crew to go BBQ
Bruce Mowbray: You're going out to dinner?
Riddle Sideways: (BBQ was ref to the planter pics you shared)
Bruce Mowbray: Oh!
Riddle Sideways: only took one of Bleu's workshops and did very badly
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, the guy who drove the planter is Robbie.
Bruce Mowbray: His parents set up a grill in the barn,
Bruce Mowbray: and we all had supper together...
Bruce Mowbray: but Robbie still had a few acres to plant when we ate.
Bruce Mowbray: I think that was the last photo that I took.
Riddle Sideways: funny another group is chatting about a Mavic Pro drone right now
Bruce Mowbray: Where?
Bruce Mowbray: MY drone is a Mavic Pro!
Bruce Mowbray: in Second Life?
Riddle Sideways: ah! thought had heard that name
Riddle Sideways: in SL an unrelated group
Bruce Mowbray: which group?
Riddle Sideways: the group for Corrade bots
Bruce Mowbray: OK.
Bruce Mowbray: Now I understand why you would be listening...
Riddle Sideways: Wizardry and Steampunks
Bruce Mowbray: coz I didn't think you had much interest in drones.
Bruce Mowbray: kk.
Bruce Mowbray: Two old SL friends have just asked me to meet them. . .
Bruce Mowbray: would you mind if I went to see them now, Riddle?
Riddle Sideways: go ahead
Bruce Mowbray: OK. Have a fine weekend!
Riddle Sideways: need to get stuff done
Riddle Sideways: thanks, you too
Bruce Mowbray: Bye for now.