H/T to the author of the tweets and a fellow pilot for the retweets that got my attention.
Fun and Games Dept
Three feet.
When all was said and done with this latest snow storm we received 36″ inches of snow in less than 48 hours. Recovering from surgery, I haven’t been able to help Earl with the clean up and when I tried to help out he let me know, in no uncertain terms, that I was to get my butt back inside and that he would handle it. All I was going to wipe off the Jeep but he was adamant. “No!”
We just got back from taking a drive around the area to see how our neighbors were making out with their snow cleanup efforts. Close to home the folks seem to be doing well. There’s a few houses down by the housing development that still have buried cars in their driveways, which are discernible only by a mailbox at the end of the driveway. Driving in the city of Utica was a different story, where many of the side streets barely had a car-width of snow plowed down through them and it looked like those efforts were achieved by well meaning residents of the street. The sidewalks? They were visible here and there but for the most part they were nowhere to be seen. There was a lot of foot traffic to and from the local markets, even though we were out well after dark.
I had to get out of the house a little bit, even if to drive around a few miles, because recovering from this surgery is making me a little stir crazy. I was honestly frustrated with the fact that I was unable to help Earl with the driveway cleanup. I wanted to shovel the stairs and porch so that we would have an alternate means of escape in the event of a fire or something, but he was having none of it.
The man is a trouper.
The winds are starting to kick up a bit which could make for some interesting driving conditions for the next couple of days, but with spring just around the corner, I’m certain that we will be basking in the sun just as soon my surgery recovery comes to it’s (hopefully) wonderful conclusion.
Winter.
Schools all around us are closing for tomorrow even though there hasn’t been a flake of snow in the air yet. Some models show us starting to see some snow around 0345, so the schools may be making a great decision but back in my day (gosh I sound old), they wouldn’t make that call until 5 o’clock in the morning. Oh well, times change, bars are lowered and time moves on.
I’ve had a weather station in the backyard since we moved into this house in 2003. The original one was struck by lightning but this one has survived for at least a decade and is doing quite well. I put a yard stick on the side of the post that supports the weather station and I marked the level from the ground in six inch increments up to four feet. We’ll see how much snow we really get here. I enjoy following the weather, I enjoy chasing weather and I enjoy reporting weather for the area. However, I refuse to buy into the hype that many love to engage in.
Be prepared, be vigilant, be safe.
Scary?
Does anyone think I could easily get on a commercial flight today and not freak out at least one passenger if any of my tubing showed?
Good thing Steve Austin and Jaime Somers flew before the days of the TSA.
I have no plans of flying with this apparatus (commercial or as a pilot) but it’d be a kick at airport security. I’d make a “whoo” and “boo” noise just to make the natives nervous. Maybe say a magic word like “Ali Baba”.
I can be ridiculous.
Winter.
The National Weather Service is predicting one to two feet of snow and 50 MPH winds for our area from Monday until Wednesday. One to two feet of snow in March is not particularly surprising for this time of year, but with the wind kicking up that high it could make for some interesting conditions in the area. We might pick up a few groceries just in case but we don’t intend on wiping out the shelves of every loaf of bread or gallon of milk we can lay our hands on. Water works just as well, and melted snow works well for water.
I’m just as anxious as the next guy for spring to be here but the fact of the matter is it’s still early March and early March is very much winter in this part of the country. Watching the snow fall and listening to the wind whip around, coupled with the fact that I’m still recovering my from my recent surgery, will give me the opportunity to study for my next aviation challenge: my written exam for my instrument rating. I’m still a dozen or so flight hours away from being ready for the checkride, but getting the written exam out of the way will be a good step in the right direction.
Mother Nature and my surgery may have conspired to keep me grounded for a while but I can still dream of flight while I study.
Surgery Complete.
My final surgery for my “plumbing problem” was completed yesterday. Now, it’s just six weeks of recovery and I’ll be as good as new. I can work in the meanwhile. I can’t fly airplanes for three weeks or so. I’ve learned to accept that.
The surgery went well. It was six hours long. I was surprised at that for I thought it would be a two hour surgery. My parts are packed in tight and the pain is quite manageable. I’m on some pretty good meds, so this is fun.
I found out that folks from all over the country come to my doctor for this type of procedure. He invented it and has one of the highest success rates in the world. He also fixes older procedures for patients all over the country. I’m confident that everything is going to be fantastic when all is said and done.
One thing that I learned about my doctor is that he is one of the leading urologists for gender reassignment procedures. I’ve always been worried about the gay thing with my doctors but the worry has been for nothing.
There are good people in the world
Iqaluit.
I just read a Facebook update from one of my in-laws. And so I did this.
It might have been politics related. I really need to stay off Facebook. Maybe I just need to go to Iqaluit, Nunavut. I hear it’s surprisingly beautiful up there.
I mention Iqaluit because a Swiss Air flight from Zurich to Los Angeles made an emergency landing at their airport yesterday after they had a malfunction with one of the engines on the Boeing 777. Everything was fine with the landing, Swiss Air sent another airplane and picked up the passengers and they went on their way after a half-day visit to this little northern town.
This prompted me to “walk” around Iqaluit via Google Maps and it looks quite lovely. Remote, wild, small yet interesting, intimate and friendly. I mentioned this on Twitter and the mayor replied within five minutes that it’s a lovely place.
During supper tonight I mentioned to Earl that I thought we should visit Iqaluit someday. I was surprised when he agreed.
I need to look into this further.
Truth.
Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive. … And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment — the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution — not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply “give the public what it wants” — but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion. This means greater coverage and analysis of international news — for it is no longer far away and foreign but close at hand and local. It means greater attention to improved understanding of the news as well as improved transmission. And it means, finally, that government at all levels, must meet its obligation to provide you with the fullest possible information outside the narrowest limits of national security. … And so it is to the printing press — to the recorder of man’s deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news — that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help man will be what he was born to be: free and independent. — John F Kennedy, April 27, 1961
The words “truth” and “lies” have been coming up a lot since the inauguration of Donald Trump to the presidency. Mr. Trump has been president for four days and there has been nothing but the release of “Alternate Facts”, declarations and bold statements that contradict what we see and hear with our own eyes. Trump validates his success via ratings and numbers and polls, and when they don’t swing his way he declares that these numbers are false and that the media is nothing but a bunch of Fake News.
The controversy as to the attendance, in person and via television and media streaming, of his inauguration has gone on for way too long. The issue is that Press Secretary Sean Spicer made statements on Saturday that contradicted what actually happened and what was recorded by journalists, citizens and other observers at the event and around the world. The first appearance of Mr. Spicer as Press Secretary set a dangerous precedent of stating facts and painting the media as to be loaded with falsehoods, bad intentions and liars. Again, I reference George Orwell’s “1984”. We are coming dangerously close to the storyline in the famous novel.
In addition to “1984”, I can’t help but think of the original mini-series “V” and its follow-up “V: The Final Battle”. After an appearance of the antagonists, “The Visitors”, was thwarted by The Resistance and the Visitors were revealed to be who they really are, the broadcast was shut down and the journalist covering the story was shot dead. Later, a new press conference was held, completely staged, with the same audience threatened and instructed as when to applaud.
I can’t help but reflect on the fact that Mr. Trump had paid staffers in the crowd at the Press Conference before his inauguration clapping and cheering at his remarks. When the president spoke at the CIA Memorial Wall on Saturday, he used the opportunity to falsely talk about the turnout at his inauguration, slam the media a bit, attempt to reverse the fact that he and the CIA have been at odds over the possible connection between Trump’s business dealings and Russia (and perhaps Russian’s influence on our last election) and all the while there were staffers applauding his remarks. At a memorial wall that honors those that died in the line of service.
Today, Press Secretary Sean Spicer mentioned during the press briefing that the President believes that 3 to 5 million illegal immigrants cast a vote in the last election, alluding to the cause as to why Hillary Clinton actually won the popular vote. The man just can’t let this go.
According to Trump, there has been some vast conspiracy across the country that caused this rift in the electoral process, despite the fact that:
- There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that this actually happened, despite the fact that the media has been trying to somehow prove this since Election Day
- The president is doing absolutely nothing in the way of an investigation to prosecute the people that were involved in this alleged conspiracy
- The president and his administration is taking absolutely no action to assure that this sort of voter fraud will never happen again
- There is absolutely no evidence that this happened
- Do we really think that if the election was so skewed by the numbers of voters he is stating that we wouldn’t want to have a special election after determining that the potential for fraud had been eliminated? Why is Congress or no one else taking action on this?
Trump is banking on the fact that if it’s discussed enough and if it’s said enough, this blatant lie will somehow become a truth in the dialogue of the American public.
People. This is the storyline of “1984”. This is how the Nazis ascended to power in the 1930s.
I am trying my best to maintain the respect of the office of the President of the United States. I really am. But I have absolutely no respect for the man that currently holds that title and most of that is because the man is a lunatic and all evidence suggests that he is some sort of pathological liar. The man lies constantly. He keeps telling these lies so he will believe them and he hopes everyone around him does the same thing.
I don’t think the American public is that stupid. I think we’re pretty stupid, but we’re not that stupid.
If Trump was being honest all the while I could wrap my head around the fight against some of his idiotic policies. Don’t get me started about him silencing the EPA or the National Parks Commission. But when you take honesty out of the equation, it is impossible to know what to fight, what to ignore and what to focus on. A man is only as good as his word.
And right now, Trump is proving that he is completely unworthy as a man.
I’ve always thought that Trump supporters, as much as their beliefs differ from mine, believed that they were doing what they believed was right as a patriot. A patriot has honor, dignity and respect. Trump has none of these. He’s a bully. He’s deluded. And he’s a liar.
We deserve better than this.
