Have Fun.

I went flying with Flight Instructor Prabesh yesterday evening as part of our weekly flight together. I’m working on what’s called my Instrument Rating, meaning when all is said and done after this checkride I’ll be able to fly in the clouds and safely fly an airplane in instances where I can’t see the ground or the horizon. It’s a special skill and when achieved I’ll be the first pilot in the family to have achieved this milestone.

We’ve been working on my instrument rating in a selection of Cessna 172 airplanes, which I’ve flown many times before, but not recently. I have to show the new flight school that I’m perfectly capable of handling a C172 in less than ideal conditions, so Prabesh and I went up and did a lot of basic maneuvers to make sure I could handle the airplane in an emergency. This involves pulling the engine and making emergency descents, doing steep turns (showing I can control the aircraft in such a situation), and stalls, showing I can get the airplane flying again after it’s lost lift under the wings and stopped flying.

We had a lot of fun flying last night. We’ve been flying after dark working on my Instrument Rating, since I don’t need to see anything when I’m theoretically flying in the clouds, so it was a nice change of pace to see things and admire the surroundings in the daylight.

I love flying airplanes. It’s a love I did something about rather late in life but it makes me very happy. And as of Tuesday, I’ve been an official private pilot for seven years.

Seven grand years.

23 December 2021 by Pilot. 0

Discipline.

From January, 2018, the last time I grew a beard

Why don’t you have a beard anymore? You used to always have a beard.

This is something I hear once in a while. My dad and I had a conversation about pilots and beards back shortly after my 16th birthday when we were in Oshkosh, Wis. at the great aviation event with my grandfather. “A clean shaven man shows the world the man is disciplined. And it takes discipline to be a pilot.” I know plenty of private pilots with beards and they’re perfectly fine pilots. They’re on their way of becoming old pilots and it’s always good to become an old pilot. I don’t know many female pilots with beards.

My dad was very structured and disciplined with his approach to life. He didn’t talk about these traits very often, but when he did I listened.

But let’s face it, my beard grows in weird patterns, is very gray these days, and quite frankly, it’s much easier just to shave my face everyday. I don’t know if my shaving routine makes me a disciplined pilot, but it makes me feel better about myself and that’s important. Confidence is a key factor in becoming a very old pilot.

22 December 2021 by Ponderings and Musings 0

Happy Solstice.

A happy Winter Solstice to all. May you find the light in the shortest day of the year. May the sun warm your body and spirit.

21 December 2021 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Sonoran Dogs.

Before moving to Tucson I had never heard of Sonoran Dogs. Living in Chicago I’ve always liked Chicago Style hot dogs and I’ve always been a proponent of slapping the ketchup off any hot dog around me.

Earl took me out for lunch yesterday and we went to a place on 22nd known for their Sonoran style hot dogs. It was very good and I enjoyed the experience very much. A part of me wonders if one could achieve the same effect with a veggie dog, might have to give that a try.

20 December 2021 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Gatherings.

We attended a small holiday gathering last night as a family. It’s nice to socialize with folks, especially when the hosts require vaccination and everyone maintained social distancing.

Jamie snapped a photo before we left for the party.

19 December 2021 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Caturday.

Truman has to occasionally inspect the merchandise. I was trying to take a cute side-by-side selfie but he thought it’d be best to sniff and lick my head.

These things happen.

18 December 2021 by He's A Feline. 0

One Moment…

We received word from our web hosting company that they’re going to try to migrate the server we live on to a new data center in Buffalo, New York. When they tried this in October our server was down for over three days and there wasn’t much we could do about it. I thought that completed the migration but it did not, so apparently they’re going to try again.

I should have jumped ship when I had the chance.

So, if you see the blog gone for a while don’t fret, I’m still writing behind the scenes, I’m just waiting for the web hosting company to get its act together.

As I sign my emails at work when it comes to server issues: thank you for your patience.

18 December 2021 by Geek 0

Slow Down.

I mentioned the Sears Wish Book earlier this week. Sure, back in the day, the Sears Wish Book encouraged men to buy their wives a dishwasher for Christmas so she would have more time to spend with him, but that was just a sign of the times.

Sears didn’t do well with keeping up with the times, did they. The chain was purchased by Kmart just when they should have become the next Amazon. Yes, Kmart Holdings bought Sears and then renamed the whole thing Sears Holding, it was Kmart that did the buying. Kmart got too big for their britches the moment they dropped the big red “K” with the lowercase turquoise “mart” for a logo.

So many malls all over the country have shuttered Sears stores at one end of a prominent wing and it’s a reminder to all that what was in the world of retail is no more. We spent time at the mall tonight and despite it being the last shopping weekend of the season, the mall wasn’t particularly busy. People point, click, and wait for a delivery. The JCPenney was sparsely stocked and Macy’s was a mess but at had a decent selection of merchandise. Only Dillard’s looked like a department store of the before times.

Remember the before times? They were lovely but they’re never coming back. Despite all efforts to “return to normal” during these pandemic times, there’s uncertainty as to what that normal is or what that normal should be.

I wish the new normal included going to Sears.

Sears was the very first store where I witnessed the use of an electronic cash register. It piqued my interest and eventually led me to a very good career as a software engineer.

I wouldn’t mind seeing one of those old Sears cash registers from the 1970s again. In person.

At Sears.

17 December 2021 by Fun and Games Dept Ponderings and Musings 0

Holidaze.

I’m finding it quite lovely to sit in our “Great Room” and admire the Christmas decorations while drinking a beverage. Earl sits with me and we just enjoy the twinkling lights and Christmas music on the speaker we have installed in there.

It’s helping me get in the spirit.

16 December 2021 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Dance!

How I love this song. When I feel a little down at work, I fire up this video and dance around the office a little bit.

Here’s “Grazin’ In The Grass” by Friends of Distinction.

And for clarification purposes, the two ladies in the video are Jessica Cleaves and Charlene Gibson. Charlene was filling in for Barbara Jean Love, who was on maternity leave at the time. Charlene sang leads on “Love Or Let Me Be Lonely”, and ironically, in the video on YouTube, Barbara Jean is lip syncing Charlene’s voice.

15 December 2021 by Fun and Games Dept 0

About J.P.

Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.

Weird? Eccentric!

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