Drones fly with issues

Drones have always intrigued me, but I still haven?t bought one, although they are available and for not a whole lot of money.

The Eagle ran a big article about drones Mon?day, Jan. 4, which makes one think it may not be worth having one.

The killer is that if you fly within five miles of an airport, you are required to call the tower and tell them where and when you will be flying your drone. In Hills?boro or Marion, that covers the entire town, and who are you going to call since our airports are unmanned.

If you are interested in the ins and outs of owning a drone here is an article in PC?Magazine that gives you the basics: pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2491507,00.asp

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At the end of PC article is a video of drone mishaps that may make you think twice about spending big bucks on one. There are quite a few accounts of drones that have been shot down when flown over someone else?s private property.

Drones are so new to the scene that the interpretation of the rules as to what you can do or can?t do aren?t really tested yet. And there is a $3 registration that is good for three years as well. If you don?t register and you are caught?by whom, I don?t know?there is a $27,500 fine.

Doesn?t sound like a hobby to me.

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I can hardly believe it, but by the time you get this newspaper, I will have turned 70 years old. I know I won?t be the first one to reach this age, but it is the first time for me.

So how did this happen? It is from breathing all day, every day, going to the doctor when necessary and by the grace of God.

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January is pretty much taken up with our trip to Atlanta, the warm weather of the Caribbean and back to Atlanta for grandson Alex?s 18th birthday.

We have never been gone from home this long; by the time we return, it will have been about a month.

As we are newbies at this travel thing, we hope we have done everything right to keep our bills paid and our deposits going to the right place.

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Looking forward to son Dan coming back in Feb?ruary to help us remodel our kitchen and bath/utility room. I think this will be even more complicated than our bathroom, which was just completed.

It keeps me awake at night just thinking of all the details and how we will pull this off without anyone going crazy. Dan assures us it won?t be as difficult as we think.

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The boys and I went to the Falcons vs. Saints game in the Georgia Dome Jan. 3 as none of us had ever been there before.

I bought the cheap tickets, which is why we sat practically in the rafters.

The ride on Marta, with all of the Falcons fans cramming in, was like being packed in a can of sardines.

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If you wish to share your comments or ideas, my e-mail address is joel@
hillsborofreepress.com.

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