This clip flew by on my Facebook stream a few moments ago. While I know it’s ancient in web users, I still find it hilarious… a good Monday pick-me-up.
November 2013
Third.
My dad always had what we kids would call his “grungy hat”. It was a baseball cap of some sort and he usually had a couple of them rotating in circulation at any given time: he had a vendor hat that he wore at work, he had a piloting hat that he wore in the plane, etc. He rarely wore his hat in the house nor did he wear it at anything that would be beyond a casual gathering. In every photo I have of my dad piloting a plane (including several photos I took from behind him in the Piper J-5A), he is wearing his hat.
At the end of last year I found a hat I really liked. It fits perfectly and comfortably and I feel good when I wear this hat. It’s a digital camo US Army hat that I picked up in our travels. I have been asked a couple of times if I was in the military and I always tell the truth and answer to the negative by saying, “I’ve never had that honor.”
I started flying with my hat at the end of last year. I tend to not wear it, since it doesn’t really fit with what I usually wear as my flying clothes, but it’s always in my carry-on back pack and when I get settled in my seat I take it out and drape it over my left knee. It’s probably kind of silly in a way, but I do this because when my dad and I would fly side by side I’d be in the co-pilot seat and he’d be to my left. The US Army symbology works because dad had the honor of serving in the military in the Reserves.
The flight home from Minneapolis was interesting. The flight attendant, Dawn, asked if I was in the military and I gave her my standard answer. She asked why I had the hat and I told her it was my lucky hat because it reminds me of my dad. I told her that I always fly with it. As we got closer to the airport, the pilot let us know that it was going to be a bumpy landing and Dawn said that we should “remain seated to be safe in the turbulence.” I must admit that I have never heard a flight attendant word an announcement in that way but I was glad that she did. Everyone stayed in their seats.
As we approached runway 15 at SYR the plane was bouncing all over the place. The lavatory door was flying open and closed and I could hear roller boards rolling all over the place in the overhead compartments. As we were coming over Interstate 81 we felt a surge of acceleration, the conditions were too windy and we were going to try again. To the folks in Eastwood, yes, we buzzed you. I haven’t been on a plane that buzzed someone in a long time.
Everyone around me tensed up. A lot. This didn’t bother me at all, I’d been in similar circumstances in a much smaller plane and I know that pilots err to the side of caution. No sweat.
But boy did we bounce around.
The pilot announced that the wind gusts were too high and that indicators were showing bad, we were going to try again. We flew the pattern counter-clockwise, turning base, then final and bumping around like crazy again. Off in the distance we watched another plane successfully land. We headed toward runway 15 and we didn’t get quite over Interstate 81 when they pulled up again.
“We’re going to try again one more time. We have plenty of fuel. If we can’t make it on the third time, we’re going to head to Albany.”
People around me were getting really tense. I remarked, “well that makes sense, Albany is ahead of the front.” I was asked if I was a pilot and I answered to the negative (I need to rectify that) but I added that I had flown since I was a baby and had plenty of experience flying in a private plane, had even co-piloted a few times.
We flew the pattern clockwise this time and in doing so we buzzed downtown Syracuse and the Fairgrounds. It was wicked bumpy, much more so than the last time we went around the pattern. We turned base, turned final and headed toward runway 15.
The third time had to be the charm. It’s the way things work.
As we came in over Interstate 81 I knew this one was going to be the keeper. I had one hand on my hat and instinctively I had pulled my pillow onto my lap, apparently just in case. We landed left wheels first, then front, then right. The passengers applauded, which I usually think is silly but the pilots deserved it. The tension subsided and all was well, though as we taxied to the terminal the plane was still getting blown around pretty good.
I think tonight my hat earned it’s “grungy hat” status. I’ll be carrying it on all my flights and every time I do so, I’ll be flying with my dad.
Block e.
So I’m sitting at a Starbucks in “Block e” in Downtown Minneapolis. It isn’t really that much different than any other Starbucks other than it’s the only one I could find in the immediate area that was actually open on a Sunday morning. Block e is framed by Hennepin Avenue, 1st Avenue North and 6th and 7th Streets. Looking out the front of this Starbucks I see the Target Center across the street.
My flight home isn’t until early this evening, so I’ll be heading to Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport around 15:30 or so. I’m thinking the flight scheduling could be dicey with the severe weather that is passing between here and home this afternoon. Who knows, I might be staying another night.
I am reviewing the relatively low key events of my long weekend and have decided that this vacation has been most satisfactory. I was able to slow my head down enough to actually think about a few extraneous things that had been niggling at my well-being over the past several weeks. I was able to enjoy sights, sounds and smells and be in the moment. While I loved being alone the entire weekend, there were some moments of loneliness and it was at these times that I was thankful for technology. FaceTime (and Skype and all those services) is a beautiful thing.
My feet are killing me. My left Achilles tendon is sore. I have a huge blister on the bottom of my right foot. But none of these things are debilitating, rather they’re just reminders of my adventures this weekend. Well, they also remind me that I’m 45 years old. Contrary to popular belief, I find it easier to ride my bike 80 miles than walk 15 miles a day. Maybe I’m just better built for cycling. But I’ll get over it and bet the better for it, and that’s what’s important.
* The observant reader will notice in the photograph above that I no longer have a mustache. During one of my light-rail train adventures yesterday a crazy man asked me if I was a rapist. Concerned that my small mustache may have led to this extra dose of crazy from this crazy person, I decided to shave off my mustache to see if another crazy person asks me the same thing. This is a completely random set of occurrences that actually have nothing to do with one another, but there’s a bit of comedic value in there and I thought I’d embrace it.
Transit.
So in Minneapolis they have a light rail transit system. It’s like a subway but above ground for the most part. Similar systems are found in St. Louis and Phoenix. They are actively expanding the system with a line to St. Paul opening early next year.
The rules of the rails are simple: $1.75 per ticket unless it’s rush hour, then it’s $2.25. You buy a ticket at a station and then just get on the train, there’s no turnstiles, no gates. Trains randomly have security folks asking to see tickets and the like. Tickets expire a few hours later, so theoretically you can get multiple rides out of one ticket. The ride from the Mall of America to downtown Minneapolis, basically the length of the blue line, is about 35 minutes.
I just rode the train to MOA and I followed the rules, like most everyone else on the train did. Two security guards came through and wanted to see my ticket. Fair enough. Across the aisle were two folks that didn’t have tickets. They would be fined. To write up the ticket, the officer asked for their IDs. They didn’t have any identification on them. He asked their names. The woman had recently changed her name. It was three words. When asked how to spell her name, she couldn’t. She didn’t know how to spell her name. The officer accused her of using a fake name and she said that she wasn’t, she just couldn’t spell anything. She didn’t know how to read. She did know her birthdate, though.
The guy with her gave his name and birthdate and unfortunately, couldn’t spell his name either. He didn’t how to spell.
Since the blue line passes through MSP Airport, the officers decided that the two folks in question would exit the train at one of the airport stations, since this would make it difficult for them to run. The first officer warned, “if you’re using fake names, I’m throwing the book at you.” She calmly replied that she wasn’t using a fake name, she just couldn’t spell.
The officer had one hand on his taser as he escorted the two passengers off the train at the first airport station. They were being seated on a bench as the train pulled away.
While I don’t feel bad for the fare violators, it’s sad when an honor system is abused, I do feel bad for them in that’s they apparently didn’t have the means of being able to spell their name, which meant that they couldn’t read. The given birthdates indicated that they were both in their early 30s. Something in their early life failed them, whether it be the education system, their family or whatever else contributed to their need to violate the fare requirements today.
Observing this opened my eyes just a little bit. I hope they find a more solid path.
31,409.
So yesterday my FitBit recorded me walking 31,409 steps or 14.4 miles. Since my plan for this weekend in Minneapolis was to do it all on foot (with maybe some mass transit thrown in here and there), I must say that I am quite pleased with how much walking I did yesterday. My walking was about half and half indoor and outdoor: the weather has been quite nice and the Minneapolis Skyway System is very impressive.
I took a bunch of iPhone shots yesterday. On my way up to the river I stopped and photo bombed a photo that a man and woman were taking at this corner: she was throwing her hat up in the air like Mary Tyler Moore and I was standing next to the traffic light seen in the photo below, staring at the camera like the woman in the background of the Mary Tyler Moore opening. To my left is a TV Land statue of Mary Tyler Moore throwing her hat up in the air. update: I messed that up, we are looking at the statue and I’m standing where the background woman was.
The Nicollet Mall is just starting to see the installation of holiday decorations.
My first panoramic shot with my iPhone, standing on the restored Stone Arch Bridge.
Other snaps along the Mississippi.
There’s all sorts of restoration going on along the river, and it is a wonderful thing to see. I really appreciate when urban planners embrace what they have and make it better when possible, instead of just ripping everything done and starting over from scratch.
A bridge to Nicollet Island. I found these power line towers to be quite interesting in design.
The hotel wifi isn’t as snappy as I would like it to be, so the rest of my photos will have to be posted at a later time. I am really loving this long weekend and I’m off to go exploring again. Perhaps I can hit 15 miles today!
Familiarity.
So I’m in Minneapolis on vacation. It is just past lunch time and I have already walked 8 miles today. I’ll probably walk nearly 12 miles when all is said and done by the end of the day today.
I feel magnificent.
I am trying something a little different this weekend with my diet and actually eating my heavier meal at lunch instead of at supper time. I think the change of pace will help me sleep better and I don’t have to worry about nodding off at my desk, since this is vacation and all, so I thought it’d be a good time to give this a try.
I decided to eat lunch at the hotel restaurant. I am staying at the Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis and they have a nice restaurant called “Basil’s”, which overlooks the courtyard of the IDS Center.
As I sat there eating my lunch and enjoying a brief conversation with my server, Jan, I had a sudden “geek” moment. Where I was sitting all of a sudden felt very familiar. This theoretically shouldn’t be possible, because this is my first time eating lunch in Downtown Minneapolis. However, the pop culture geek in me kicked in and I realized that I was eating *here*.
In the opening credits of the later seasons of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, Mary and her then-husband Grant Tinker ate lunch in the same restaurant!
So, while I don’t have a cameraman traveling with me, after being a complete geek I had to do an escalator shot, since I then figured out which escalator Mary was filmed on.
Earlier I quipped on Facebook that I had photo bombed a picture that a husband and wife were snapping where the woman was throwing her hat up in the air like MTM’s famous hat toss. My contribution was standing on the opposite corner looking at the woman, though I was wearing a winter hat and sunglasses instead of a scarf and cat eye glasses (I left them at home.)
I’m such a geek.
Vacation.
And I’m off to Minneapolis on Delta flight 3340. This is my first flight ever as a first-class passenger. This is a weekend of new experiences, and I figured this was a good way to kick it off.
As you can see in the photo above, I took a photo during takeoff, because we can now. At least we can do it legally now. Yay!
I have only one thing definitely planned for this weekend but there’s a lot that I am looking forward to doing in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Today is my only day with a rental car, as I’m going to be one of those mass transit types Friday-Sunday, so I’m going to drive out of the city limits and see what’s in the surrounding area today. One stop will be at American Time and Signal Company, a company that still makes clocks like the school clock/master-slave clock system collection that I have wired throughout the house. I tried to tell the folks at my alma mater that I could have used ATS to help fix the clocks in my elementary school, but they went with a whole new system 12 or 13 years ago. The one clock that was left intact (and that I got from the school) still works beautifully even though it’s nearly 80 years old.
First class is a wonderful experience. I am drinking diet pop out of a real glass. Lovely. Syracuse Airport did not have potable water this morning so there is no coffee or tea for economy class, but they were able to get two pots of coffee from the airport terminal before we left. Coffee and tea for first class. Since I’m enjoying a diet coke perhaps someone in economy can have a cup of coffee.
It is a gorgeous flight thus far. We are currently flying over Hamilton, Ontario. I can see the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area off in the distance. I’m waving to friends on both sides of the border.
Because this is an adventure I elected to wear my Dad’s flight jacket to keep warm in the chilly Minnesota autumn weather this weekend. Dad always liked hearing about our travel adventures, this is a good way to share new experiences with him.
Earl is off to Chicago this weekend to visit Jamie and then next week he is on to Memphis for work. We have another little getaway planned for December (let’s hear it for frequent flyer miles!) and then we’ll be home for the holidays.
Life is good.
Glass.
So Google has opened up the Glass waiting list a little bit, giving more of the general public the chance to sign up purchase their next big thing, Google Glass. For those unfamiliar with Google Glass, here is a video with a nice man explaining all about Glass for you.
I have talked about my interest in Google Glass before. I have met a few folks that have actually tried Glass and I’ve chatted with even more folks online about the experience and I have to say that I’m still pretty intrigued. I can’t say that I’ve seen a lot of people wearing Glass in the wild, but then again, there’s not that many people that have the pre-release Explorer edition of the device. When you couple this with the fact that folks in our neck of the woods are still using flip phones and dialing up sex lines on a 900 service (calm down, I’m kidding), it’s not really surprising that there’s not a lot of Glass around here.
If you know about Google Glass and you know what it’s capable of (see the video link at the end of the first paragraph), I’m curious as to whether my gentle readers would ever be interested in such a device. Rumor has it that it will work to a certain degree with an iPhone, but for the full Glass experience you’re better off being an Android user.
Me? The only thing that I’m really hesitant about is being seen in public with Glass on. I think I’d be shy about it at first but who knows, maybe I’d scream “Glass ON!” and then don my Glass when I wanted to be all techy in public. I wouldn’t have to wear tights or a cape or anything. That’d just be too much. I think Android has progressed to the point where I would be very comfortable moving to the appropriate smartphone to support the device.
What are your thoughts? To dorky? Do you love it? Will it catch on with the masses?
Lead image courtesy of blogs.blouinnews.com. We love his mustache.
Persevere.
So yesterday it was 43ºF and soggy outside. I’ve been feeling a little stir crazy lately, despite the amount of travel that we have been doing, and I decided that it had been too long since I had done some sort of zen-like experience through exercise.
I most readily find my zen when I’m riding my bike.
Despite the temperature and other weather conditions, I decided that I needed to go on a bike ride. So I bundled up in several layers of clothing, put a wool cap on under my helmet and off I went, headed for the Canal Trail. I was the only one down there.
A couple of years ago, the local Department of Public Works abandoned a bridge that connected the Utica Marsh area to the rest of the world, claiming the land under the auspices of Eminent Domain. While there are still ways to get to this area in a motor vehicle, it’s no longer an easy task, and the roadway is starting to look quite abandoned.
Barnes Avenue
I rode the mile or two to the abandoned bridge before turning around and heading back to the canal trails. It was a little spooky. I then continued eastward on the trail.
The trail ends at a busy street, so I decided I would just do a U-turn and head back home. This would bring my ride to about 12 miles or so and I was feeling every mile; it’d been a while since I’d ridden my bike. When I turned back and looked at the western sky I picked up my pace significantly.
The sky was very dark with a storm blowing in. Since it was 43ºF when I had left, I knew that it would be interesting.
I was about a mile from home when the skies let loose with a little bit of rain and a lot of hail. This was my first time riding in a hailstorm and I can confidently say that it’s not really that pleasant. Hearing the hail pinging your helmet is an interesting phenomenon, having the hail hit your exposed face is really interesting.
I laughed about it all. I ended up having a ball. However, I was happy that I only had a mile or so to go to get home. If I had to ride any further than that in those conditions I probably would have been a little less jovial about the situation.
Despite the weather I really enjoyed the experience and cemented (for the billionth time) that I am happiest exercising when I’m doing it on my bicycle.
I’m already looking forward to the next opportunity, come rain or shine.
