Lou Thieblemont has always been fascinated by the sky. Even before graduating from New York Institute of Technology, he worked for Air France Flight Dispatch at JFK airport making computerized flight plans. After graduation at age 22 he was hired by TWA. He worked for 37 years as a commercial airline pilot, first for TWA and then for American Airlines when the two carriers merged.

Lou has worked in New York and Harrisburg as a radio disc jockey. He is an active volunteer around his home in Pennsylvania, including serving as vice president of the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg, member of the board of directors and science presenter for the Museum of Scientific Discovery in Harrisburg, and webmaster for the Camp Hill Police Department and a volunteer in the Fire Department. Lou served as mayor of Camp Hill from 2006 to 2010.

He has presented classes at the Pathways Institute for Lifelong Learning for over 11 years and produced programs for “Mind Matters” on WITF-TV a PBS station. Lou is the recipient of the 2012 SAGE award from Harrisburg Magazine!

He offers a series of lectures on topics as diverse as astronomy, aviation (he uses a state-of-the-art computer flight simulator as part of the presentation), Antarctic exploration, optical illusions, and computer graphics.

AVIATION: A TWO-PART PRESENTATION

Part one: A 45-minute lecture followed by Q&A on how a large passenger aircraft works. How the plane develops lift, how it is controlled, how the various systems work & what the pilot is doing during the various phases of flight.

Part two: A 45-minute presentation followed by Q&A ... A flight - IN REAL TIME - in a Boeing 757 from Reykjavik, to Akureyri, Iceland or any cities along the cruise route. Guests will ride inside the cockpit of a modern jet transport and experience everything the pilot does during the flight. All aspects of navigation, weather, traffic and air traffic control are explained using a state-of-the-art computer flight simulator. Every switch and instrument works like the real plane.

A newspaper review by the Pocono Record of PA can be viewed at: http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20150623/NEWS/150629766



ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION DURING THE GOLDEN AGE

Scott, Amundsen & Shackleton A two-part look at the race to the South Pole.
Part one: A 45-minute lecture followed by Q&A on the three voyages of discovery which competed to be first to reach the South Pole.
Scott's 1900 Voyage of Discovery, followed by Shackleton's 1907 attempt and then the 1911 race between Amundsen and Scott for the South Pole.

Part two: A 45-minute lecture on the Imperial Trans Antarctic Expedition of 1914.The greatest story of endurance of all time - how Shackleton keeps all his men alive by undertaking an 800-mile open boat journey in the worst ocean in the world. A wonderful story of Antarctic exploration.



ASTRONOMY - A MULT-PART SERIES OF DIFFERENT LECTURES TO CHOOSE FROM

The Sun
A 45-minute presentation on how the Sun works followed by Q&A
Using basic - easy - physics to show how the Sun produces all its power.

How Big is Space?
A 45 minute program on the scale of everything. Comparing an atom to the scale of the solar system. Our Sun to other suns. Our Milky Way galaxy to other galaxies. All this in a light-hearted lecture on the scale of everything.

The Hubble Space Telescope
A 45-minute discussion on the history of the Hubble Space Telescope followed by Q&A.
An amazing story of how the HST was made and how it changed astronomy and how we think about space.

A look at the night sky.
Using a planetarium program to explore the night sky anywhere in the world . If the sky is clear, a tour on ship topside to do some stargazing while I point out stars and other objects using my astronomy laser pointer.

Aurora, lights in the sky
A 45 minute program explaining the mysterious lights in the night sky. What the ancients thought about the glow in the sky.

How the tides work...
The tides of the Bay of Fundy: A 45 minute discussion on how the tides work and why the Fundy tides are some of the highest in the world.



SAYINGS & PHRASES
Things we say everyday but what do they mean, and where did they come from? Even some nautical terms and sayings. I explore where the word OKAY came from and how we use it today. I even throw in a few paraprosdokians for fun all in a 45 minute presentation.

OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
A 45-minute look at various mind blowing illusions followed by Q&A. Explore how the brain can be fooled by color, light & speed of perceived information reported to the brain by the eyes.



COMPUTER GRAPHICS
A 45 minute look at how to use a FREE computer program to make your digital photos look better. How to crop, re-color, sharpen, edit photos to add or remove part of a photo and add text all with a free program called PAINT.NET.



EMERGENCY FIRST RESPONDERS
An insider look: A 45 minute first-hand look at what it's like to be a first responder.

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.