Landings.

As a private pilot it’s important to fly often. It had been three weeks since my last flight and it took me a couple of trips around the pattern to get my wits together this evening. By the end of the night I felt like I finally had a handle on how to land the Diamond DA40. I’m looking forward to flying again on Saturday to finish up my checkout process.

Then I’ll have to fly often to keep my skills sharp.

Flying gives me such joy, even when I’m knocking rust off my skill set. I just need to keep it up and not let too much grass grow under my landing gear.

15 April 2019 by Pilot. 0

Inspired.

Pete Buttigieg announced his candidacy for President of the United States today. He is currently the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He speaks seven languages, is a Rhodes Scholar, served in Afghanistan, is a devout Christian and married his husband Chasten in 2017, after coming out as gay in 2015. He was reelected as Mayor of South Bend after coming out of the closet.

I’m a fan and I find him inspiring. He is the “young blood” this country needs in Washington. If elected President, he will be the youngest person to serve in that office.

Critics worry about his experience, even though Trump had no political experience whatsoever (and still to this day doesn’t really). Mayor Pete has more military experience than the last half dozen Presidents. He is well spoken and articulate.

He is just what our country needs.

14 April 2019 by Fun and Games Dept This Ain't No CNN. 0

Saturday.

It’s a sunny day in Chicago today. It’s windy, but the temperature is in the low 50s. It fits within April expectations. Tomorrow we’re suppose to get rain, freezing rain, and much colder temperatures, only to return to today’s type of weather on Monday.

It’s all normal for April in Chicago.

After writing two cranky blog entries last night I relaxed in front of the television watching an episode of “Star Trek: Voyager” (I’m currently on season two) and then I watched the first episode of the fourth season of “Black Mirror”. Earl doesn’t like “Black Mirror” but I enjoy the series. It’s geeky, it’s thought provoking, and it’s eerie enough to keep me on the edge (at times) but not horrifying to give me nightmares.

The episode I watched last night was called “U.S.S. Callister”. The trailer made it look like a parody of Star Trek but it was so much more. I won’t spoil it (even though it’s been out for a while) but I found the story clever.

I love geeky things.

13 April 2019 by Geek 0

Weight.

I’m still looking forward to reaching the point in my life where I can just live the way I want to without worrying about my blood pressure, my weight, how much I’m working out, how much caffeine I’m drinking, whether I should drink alcohol or not, and trying to find a moment in my diet to figure out where I can inhale the mist of a ground up cheeseburger being blown by my face without having to face the ramifications of health professionals telling me I’m obese.

I love going out with my family and friends, having a few drinks, enjoying a nice meal, and having a wonderfully relaxing experience doing so. I see people all over The Windy City doing this. They’re skinny, they’re laughing, they’re fit, they’re beautiful.

I want to smack the beers right out of their hands.

As Suzanne Sugarbaker once said, “In fact, after work I might drive my car through a Taco Bell”. I would delight in driving the Jeep physically through a Taco Bell if it knocked Gorditas and Tacos made out of Doritos and Burritos out of the hands of pretty people who can eat these things without being scolded for being overweight.

Can you tell that my annual physical is coming up soon?

As my primary physician stabs at the computer, reviews the meds I have to take to extend my life, and then draws vials of blood to make sure I don’t have worms or something, he’ll tell me that I’m overweight and I should do something about it. I should exercise more. I should go to the gym.

I hate the gym. I really hate the gym. I derive absolutely no enjoyment from going to gym. I know that’s anti-American and that I should be jetting around the neighborhood in sweat pants, sweaty and breathless because I should be squatting something in the air with many repetitions, but I can’t think of anything more tedious than grunting and swearing trying to lift dumb bells when I could be outside walking, cycling, swimming, or just enjoying life. If I’m going to pay a business it’s going to be for food, not for the privilege of using their exercise equipment.

I’d rather save my money and fly an airplane.

12 April 2019 by Ponderings and Musings 0

Rage.

I try to be pleasant. I try to remember that my life is very good and in many respects I am a very lucky man. But then I turn on the news and see the results of the complete idiocy of the general American public (the results being the idiot in the presidency at the moment) and I try breathe easy and remember the “good days” of George W. Bush.

I want to read the news. I want to know what’s going on in the world, but within 30 seconds of hearing that stupid Orange Dipped Idiot “in chief” speak or reading his latest brain child of idiocy I want to throw the nearest lamp against the wall. Folks don’t even think twice of supporting a president that basically weaponizes human beings trying to find a better life in the United States. They support an administration that hold children hostage from their parents. If a non-white person gets beat up on the streets of this country, they cheer. They have the audacity to claim this administration was sent to this country by “God”.

If this is God’s work I want nothing to do with this “God”.

I would not be surprised in the least if Trump somehow decided that he needs to cancel the elections or if they happen and he lost, he’d invalidate the results and stay in the office. I honestly think he’s going to start a war or manufacture some sort of crisis to skip the 2020 elections all together, and the band of idiots in the Senate, stoked on by the stupid people that still support this idiocy will cheer, reinvent their “moral compass” to accommodate and bam, we’ll find ourselves in a police state.

I have purposely avoided blogging about politics or the news or anything of that nature because I have absolutely nothing nice to say. I have ZERO tolerance for idiocy. My thoughts on the state of this country are the darkest thoughts I have ever had in my 50+ years on this planet.

So I focus on my family. I focus on work. I focus on flying. I drink. I do everything I can to build a bubble around myself, to shield myself away from the complete and utter stupidity that has gripped this nation, “The Greatest Nation on Earth”.

You have got to be kidding me.

If you feel so inclined, use the link at the top of any blog page entitled “Tell me something good”. I could use the pick me up.

12 April 2019 by This Ain't No CNN. 0

Exploration.

Event Horizon Telescope collaboration et al. via National Science Foundation

On Wednesday we saw the first photo of a Black Hole, a force in the Universe so powerful that not even light can escape from it. Before this photograph no one even knew what a Black Hole looked like. Might I add, this photograph is of a Black Hole over 55 million-light years from Earth, in a distant galaxy far outside the Milky Way. It takes eight minutes for the light to travel for the Sun to our planet. This Black Hole has a mass 6.5 billion times bigger than the Sun.

Can we stop for just a moment and talk about the fact that despite all the nonsense going on in the world, in particular the United States, despite the number of people clamoring to eschew science, critical thought, and/or intelligent debate, and despite the hype of people that believe the Earth is flat or that vaccinations are bad for our civilization, we still live in an age where we have figured out how to photograph something 55 million light years away from us? I mean, how awesome is that?

Flipping through the various news source on the subject I did run across on idiotic Slate article where the author complained about the photo being fuzzy and uninteresting.

Uninteresting for the uninitiated, I say. I find this photograph and the science, determination, and hard work behind it to make it happen, to be absolutely fascinating. Ever since the Space Shuttle fleet was grounded I’ve felt like many in the United States no longer cared about space exploration. The drive that took us to the stars has been replaced by Tweets, Selfies, and Orange Buffoons. This photograph of a Black Hole in galaxy Messier 87, 55 million light years away from Earth, gives me hope. Hope that we are still moving toward a Star Trek type age where poverty and war are a thing of the past and exploration of the stars makes us a better species.

Forget the selfies, bring on more photos of wonders in the universe. The possibilities are endless.

11 April 2019 by Geek 0

Voyager.

I’ve been rewatching “Star Trek: Voyager”. I didn’t regularly watch the show back in the mid 90s, so this is my first time watching the series from episode one to its end. I just finished up season one today. I’m looking forward to season two.

Even though I’m not intimately familiar with the series, I do admit, without hesitation, that Captain Kathryn Janeway is my favorite of the Star Trek captains. I’ve always admired her grit, her dedication to science, and her determination. I know many Star Trek fanboys never liked the idea of a female captain, but I’ve never had a problem with it. Even back when “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” came out, I enjoyed the brief scene of Captain Sinclair of the U.S.S. Saratoga. No nonsense, that’s what Starfleet needs.

One starship captain I did not enjoy, though she was seen for a very short time on bootleg videos, was the original captain of the U.S.S. Voyager, Captain Nicole Janeway. Played by Geneviève Bujold for only the first two days of filming of the pilot of Star Trek: Voyager, it was agreed that Federation space was not for Bujold and she left the series. A few short scenes on YouTube are all the exist of the experience.

Kate Mulgrew is a natural for the role.

I’m not a fan of the current Star Trek series, “Star Trek: Discovery”. They lost me at the end of episode two when Captain Georgiou met her demise. From there the show turned into a Mary Sue* affair taking place in a universe with way too much strife. One of the things that I’ve always loved about Star Trek is that it showed a time when human society evolved into something more compassionate, driven by learning, exploration, and seeking to better oneself. The Star Trek universe has always been my escape from whatever we have today, especially in this Age of Chaos, and watching a bunch of strife and chaos in the Star Trek universe in the rebooted movie series and “Discovery” has held little of my interest.

But Captain Janeway and U.S.S. Voyager? I love it. I’m happy the series is available on Netflix and I’m looking forward to watching every episode in original broadcast order.

I might even venture out to a Star Trek convention this year and see if I can shake Kate Mulgrew’s hand. I love nuances she brought to Captain Janeway.

10 April 2019 by Geek 0

Placement.

If you own a vehicle and live in the City of Chicago you’re required to register your vehicle with the city. As proof of this registration, you’re required to put a registration sticker on the inside of your windshield on the passenger side of the vehicle. This sticker is identical in design as the DMV registration stickers we had back in New York; a laser printer prints the data on an exposed part of the sticker. You peel it off and put it on your windshield. Unlike New York stickers, these stickers stay in place quite well. Also like back in New York, the motorist is required to remove the old sticker and put the next year’s replacement sticker in its place.

A lot of folks in Chicago don’t do this. Instead the start a line of stickers up the windshield. I’d rarely see this in New York State, but it’s all over the place here in Chicago.

I don’t know if the practice warrants a ticket. I know that it drives me insane; it really trips off my OCD.

The sticker indicates where you’re allowed to park in the city, for example, if some streets have permit parking. I don’t know what the thought process is around keeping expired stickers on your windshield, but perhaps a $5 reminder ticket would help motorists follow the rule of sticker placement a little closer while increasing revenue for the city at the same time.

I know, it sounds petty, but with more and more drivers distracted on the roadway, the last thing they need is a row of stickers up the side of their windshield blocking their vision.

9 April 2019 by Why. 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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