Meeting night

I spent most of the day taking care of thigns around the house and then I was in a meeting with a bunch of folks that used to work at my previous employer.

We get together every few weeks to help each other find new employment and commiserate about our current state of affairs.

What that all means is that I had no time for a post today.

Perhaps tomorrow....

I guess I picked the right night to fly

Yesterday was a far better day to fly than today turned out to be. And it's not looking any better for the rest of the week.

⧫

Speaking of flying, here's a screen capture of the record of last nights flight:

It looks like I was flying a nice straight line doesn't it?

I will tell you that the path I flew wasn't quite that straight.

The air traffic control system only "sees" the plane once every few seconds. Hell, sometimes it doesn't see the plane for almost a full minute if there is interference.This means that the system actually extrapolates the position the plane was in for those times it didn't see it. What you are seeing is a refinement of the actual path.

I made the flight back "under the hood" which means I flew using only the instruments because the hood blocked my few out of the windows.

It was the third time I've flown using only instruments and I gotta tell you, it's kind of taxing. Imagine driving a car only looking at a compass, the speedometer & a map and you get an idea of what it's like.

Fortunately the aircraft all have GPS in them so I get to look at that but the GPS doesn't tell me if my wings are level or if I'm climbing/descending. I have to study the gauges to determine that.

Staring at gauges is no fun but it's a skill I need to acquire. Clouds are funny little things that pop up on their schedule and if I end up in one, I'd like to know how to keep my aircraft straight and level.

⧫

As promised, here are some links:

• Ho, ho, ho, dude.



• Key phrase in this story: "...roughly the diameter of golf balls."



• Hey, at least he let her out of the car...



• Huh. She seems like a nice stable woman. I wonder why he dumped her?



• Don't Eat Your Weed is a follow-up to their previous smash hit, Please Shut Up.



• Best line from a judge ever: "Bugs Bunny, the Pink Panther and Dracula walk into a bar."



• Pffftttt.... Rich people....



• I wish someone would go back to the moon.

Short post

This evening I completed my night cross country requirements when I flew from Northampton to Groton, CT and back again.

We left at 5:30 and I was back in my house by 9:00 which is a good thing because anything later than that is past my bedtime.

The flight down was smooth as glass and the good folks at Bradley TraCon watched me all the way. They only had to contact me once for a traffic notice and I was able to find the other aircraft pretty quickly.

I landed in Groton and then took right off for the return to Northampton.

The flight back was just as smooth and Bradley TraCon called Westover and got me cleared through their airspace during my descent into Northampton.

I landed back at Northampton around 7:30 or so, cleaned up the aircraft, tied it down and filled out the logs. Then I jumped in my car and headed for home.

Now that I'm home, I'm going to bed.

I'll try to have extra links for you tomorrow.

The administration at Hampshire College kinda stepped in some shit

In an effort to appease their customers (the students), the administration at Hampshire College decided to remove the American flag from the college flag poles around the campus.

They did not ban the American flag but they did make the decision to stop flying it as an institution.

This, of course, became national news and it's pretty much fired up everyone for miles around and now there are large groups of people waving American flags in the faces of every Hampshire College student they can find.

I'm not sure if the flag waving is being done on the campus or just around it but either way, I think they are making their point.

The kids at Hampshire are known to be spoiled rich brats who major in things like "women in the arts" or "literature and its negative impact on native-americans". In other words, nothing that they can ever use to become productive members of our society.

I am under the impression that those kids have no idea how to handle the sudden onslaught of pissed-off adults but, in their defense, it's the college administration that should be the target of the protesters, not the students.

It was the president that decided to take down the flag. The protesters should be waving their flags in the face of the administration.

Put traffic cones and a sign that reads "Road Closed" in front of the presidents driveway, pour water-based red, white and blue paint on the provosts car. Do something to them.

Take a cue from the black lives matter people: block 116 with a bunch of people chained to concrete blocks so the administrators can't get to the Starbucks and the students can't get to the Moan and Dove for the $18.00 beers.

That'll get their attention.

⧫

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time for the deployment of the Christmas decorations.

While I do that, you can click on these.

• Everyone keeps talking about Castro's death. Screw him, he's no big deal. Now Ron Glass, he was a big deal. We should all be sad about his death.



• Only in Florida.



• Key line in this story: "AUSTRALIA; where the wildlife is so determined to kill you"



• Man, I'm glad I quit smoking...



• If you live in a country where cows wander the streets aimlessly, you should plan on the occasional attack.

Safe and sound in Iowa

My daughter and her little dog are once again safe and sound in Iowa.

The trip back to Iowa was much better than their trip here because the dog got to sit in the cabin with my daughter instead of in cargo. From Bradley to O'Hare, the dog sat in my daughters lap but from O'Hare to Des Moines, they each had their own seat on the almost empty aircraft.

So anyways, in 20 days, my wife will fly out there and together, they will all drive back here for a month of holidays.

In the meantime, my dog is once again lonely and slightly confused. about the whereabouts of his companion.

⧫

When they say that this is the busiest time of the year for travel, they aren't kidding.

We got to the airport at 5:00 this morning and this is what greeted us at security:

There were a lot of cranky people there.

⧫

Since I've been awake since 3:30 this morning, I'm going to fall asleep on my couch while watching bad television.

While I do that, you should click on these:

• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Day.



• This guy isn't a brilliant criminal, he just sucks at robbery.



• Here's some scienceeee stuff.

I'm a little fatter than I was two days ago.

Man, I ate a lot of food yesterday and it was good food.

I think it might have been the two desserts that pushed me over the edge but I just couldn't pass on either one!

⧫

At least one radio station in the area that has started playing only Christmas music. They do this every year starting on Thanksgiving and ending God only knows when because no one listens to them.

Let's face it, you can only listen to Johnny Mathis sing Winter Wonderland so many times before you start to lose your mind.

⧫

You should enjoy these links:

• If I was on the jury, I'd vote innocent. He got what he deserved.



• If I was on the jury, I'd vote innocent. They got what they deserved.



• They sure have a lot of "councils" in Britain.

I hope everyone had a thankful day.

Thanksgiving is, for the most part, a nice relaxing day for me. My wife, however, works her butt off getting everything ready.

In my defense, I do the dishes afterwards but that task is way easier than all the prep work. I guess it's my lot in life to be the slacker on Thanksgiving.

I think I'll go take a nap now.

⧫

We had all three siblings and spouse with us today. Along with my mother-in-law, that made for a full house.

The dogs got more attention today than they get for an entire month.

⧫

While I watch the Steelers kick the Colts collective ass, you can click on these:

• Key phrase in this story: "...it was absurdly huge."



• Top on the list of things that need to be solved before man can go to Mars.



• If you have neck tattoos, you have made bad life choices.



• Only in Florida.
  (Interesting picture...)



• Watch the video. It's worth the wait.

Yes, I did my leaves

More importantly, the guy that lives across the street, and upwind, did his as well. This means I will no longer have all of his leaves blowing across the street into my yard.

It's the little things in life that make me smile.

⧫

As is always the case at this time of the year, I've asked Pat, The Amazing Shopper Man, to go on a quest for me.

And, as is always the case, I expect that in the next few days, Pat will find me what I am looking for. I will first go buy the object of my desire and then I will meet up with Pat and buy him adult beverages.

⧫

You may have noticed that the little paragraph breaks I use are changing.

In the original Daily News^©, I used a tilde ~ to separate the paragraphs.

Then, when I changed over this format, I started using asterisks * to separate the paragraphs.

After a while, I got bored with the asterisks and decided to use bullets • but since there is no keystroke for that, I had to code it in html (•). Not a big deal and that lasted for quite a while.

At some point in the last month or so, Blogger added a "Insert special character" button to the page where I write this and I started poking around in there.

At first I used a special character from a suit of cards, the diamond ♦

Then, today, I found a different diamond called the lozenge ⧫

I like the lozenge and I think I'll stick with that one for a while.

⧫

I spent a little while poking around the internets today and here are a few links I found for you:

• Key phrase in this story: "He's got to be in the top five dumbest thieves I've ever seen."



• Maybe they should have waited until he was done before they fired him.



• Here is today's episode of "Hey, I got an idea! Let's spray paint racist stuff on the wall and add Trumps name to it! They'll think he did it!"



• Only in Florida.



• Here's your Naked Guy In The News story.



• Key message in this story: "okay mom you can't be serious"

Kinda glad I'm not flying this week.

I told my instructor that I wasn't planning on any flying this week because my daughter was home. Turns out I wouldn't be flying anyways because it's been kinda windy

Flying in gusty winds is no fun

♦

For the record, I have not cleared the leaves off my lawn for the last three days. With the wind, it would have been an effort in futility.

Perhaps I'll do it tomorrow.

Perhaps I won't.

We'll just have to see what the day brings.

♦

I got some links:

• I'd bet that when most of you read this headline, you do your best Harry Chapin imitation and sing it.



• Meet Cameron Cook, the latest member of the A-Team.



• Here is a video on how to cook a turkey.



• I'm pretty sure that Gwenyth has gone entirely off the deep end.



• I've never been to Cod Cape.

He survived.

I have confirmed with my eldest that he was able to install his WiFi light switch without electrocuting himself. That is a good thing.

In other offspring news, thanks to American Airlines, it looks like my daughters little dog will be able to ride in her lap all the way back to Iowa when she returns after Thanksgiving.

American has a policy where the dog can be declared a "comfort animal" which allows her to ride in my daughters lap instead of in the cargo hold. This is a good thing because that little dog was a wreck after spending five hours in the cargo hold of a plane.

Besides, whenever she sits in my daughters lap, she falls sound asleep which is a comfort to not only my daughter but to the dog as well.

As for our youngest, he is working his butt off and loving his job.

And that, really, is a pretty important aspect of any career. I know people that went to work miserable every day and that's a pretty shitty way to spend your life.

Once again, I'm compelled to say that life is good.

♦

Here are some links that you might enjoy:

• I wonder if the "safe space" people will try to outlaw meatballs now.



• Only in Amherst.



• Key phrase in this story: "...a squirrel became caught in the spokes of his wheel.."



• My name is Ingo Swann and I'm a CIA agent. Yea, that's what I am, a CIA agent. And I can communicate with aliens! Yea, that's what I do, I communicate with aliens for the CIA. Yea, that's the ticket!



• I already know how to do this.



• Lex Luther will finally get his ocean-front property.



• I'm sorry but "Busch Light" is not beer. Anyone will tell you it's piss water so technically, he didn't do any damage...

Another good day

So the Small Emergency Backup Dog has overcome the stress and anxiety that comes with being put into a crate and flown halfway across the country and she is napping in my lap.

Oh, the Large Main Dog is also napping in my lap.

It's what they do - cut off the circulation in my legs.

♦

My eldest called me today to chat about not electrocuting himself, which is always a good thing to chat about.

He is replacing one of his light switches with a WiFi controlled switch so he can turn his lights on when he's not home. I'd like to do that as well but my light switches are all double-throw switches and I've yet to find a wWiFi controlled double throw switch.

So anyways, after explaining why he should make sure the load wires are either black or red and the difference between a neutral and a ground, he felt competent enough to go ahead and give it a try. I instructed him to text me this evening so I knew he was still vertical and taking nourishment.

♦

As for the two women in my life, one of them spent the morning sleeping and then they both headed out to a craft fair over in West Springfield.

I suspect they will return with some crafty-things and ideas for creating future crafty-things.

♦

Here are a few links for you to enjoy:

• Oh Canada.



• I knew it!



• This is actually kinda cool. Granted, it's probably a carcinogen but it's cool none-the-less.



• They boo'd? Why would they boo? What the hell is wrong with people.

It's a good day.

We drove to Bradley Airport this afternoon where we retrieved our daughter & her angelic little dog. Then we drove home where the angelic little dog stepped back into Small Emergency Backup Dog role and reintroduced herself to the Large Main Dog.

He was very glad to see her again and there was frolicking and peeing in the back yard.

As for my daughter, she managed to get no sleep last night thanks to the folks on the first floor of her apartment building. They apparently threw a "Bring Your Own Jackhammer and Dynamite" party. From what I understand, it was a bit loud.

So now my little girl is lounging and watching DVRs with her mom while the dogs are sleeping on the couch next to them.

Life is good.

♦

While I watch bad television, you can click on these links:

• Only in Florida.



• Also only in Florida.



• Only in Massachusetts.



• I don't know what hoons are but they got them in Australia.

My lawn remains leaf-free.

Of course, it's leaf-free because this morning, I ran it over with my lawn tractor again!

And as luck would have it, I got a flat tire just as I was pulling it into the garage.

I knew the right front tire was soft but I never got around to filling it. Well, today I must have cut a turn a little to fast and pushed the tire off the rim.

Fortunately, my neighbor has a large air pump/tank and I was able to use that to re-seat the tire on the rim. I also filled all of the tires to full capacity so I hopefully won't have to go through that again.

♦

As I was doing my take-offs and landings in Westfield last night, my instructor commented on
the buses that were sitting on the ramp next to a charter jet. He said, "I bet that's the UMass football team going to BYU. They are gonna get their ass kicked. Again."

Turns out he was right, it was the UMass football team and this morning I learned that they were sitting there because the state police bomb unit was busy searching their plane. Someone had apparently called in a bomb threat.

I sent my instructor a text this morning telling him about the news story and his response was, "I heard. It was probably called in by the UMass coach - he didn't want to go play BYU!"

My instructor is a pretty funny guy.

♦

You should probably click on some of these:

• Key phrase in this story: "Bees do not like to be disturbed..."



• This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Day.



• Never live next door to a psycho.



• Seems to me that Minnesota needs to tighten up it's daycare licensing system.

Yes, I did the leaves. Again.

I took care of all the leaves this morning and by the afternoon there was a pretty good coating of leaves on it again but I expected that.

In case you were wondering, the reason I do my leaves as often as I do is because I'm lazy. I hate raking so I run them over with my lawn tractor. If I didn't do them as often as I do, my tractor wouldn't be able to pick them up and I'd have to get out the rake.

I hate raking.

•

This is a kind-of-late posting because this evening I started my night flying and I gotta tell you, it was different than flying during the day.

In the first place, you have no horizon to speak of. Also, you can't see the ground unless you are flying over a well-lit area so you have to rely on your altimeter to keep you from having what the NTSB likes to call a CFIT.

I took off at 5:00 and flew until 6:30. During that time, we flew over to Westfield and did nine full-stop landings. After that, it was back to Northampton where I did one more full stop landing, giving me the ten full-stop landings I need to complete that portion of the training.

The reason we did this in Westfield is the runway there is 9,000 feet long and 150 feet wide. The runway in Northampton is 3,000 feet long and only 50 feet wide. Westfield is a more forgiving environment for this kind of thing.

Next up is my nighttime cross-country flight. My instructor thinks we should go down to Groton because not only does it give me the distance I need, it takes place under the watchful eye of Bradley TraCon. Trust me, having those guys keeping an eye on me while I'm flying is always a good thing.

•

While I bask in the glory of checking another box in my quest to achieve flight, you can visit these few links:

• Key phrase in this story: "Important poop news..."



• They saved his poop? Why?



• Only in Massachusetts.



• Key phrase in this story: "...vertically challenged..."
  (Trust me, watch the video.)



• Australia - It's not like where we live.



• Only at ZooMass.

There are more leaves on my lawn than there are in the trees.

Which is good because it means that the next time I clear them off my lawn could be the last time I have to do it.

•

No flying today. Today was "Go spend an exciting hour or two talking to your financial guy!" day.

Don't get me wrong, I like the guy and he does a good job with my money but spending an hour talking about the future of the stock market and the impact of the election on the overall financial picture is about as exciting as a root canal.

I would have preferred raking leaves to that.

•

In a few days, my daughter will be home for the week and she'll have her little dog with her. I'm not entirely sure how the Large Main Dog is going to react to having the Small Emergency Backup Dog back in the house.

He's had the couch to himself, no one jumping on him or biting his face and he's gotten kind of lazy since she left. I imagine she's gonna be like a spring-loaded Tasmanian devil when she sees him.

This should be interesting.

•

Here are a few links:

• If you've never tried it before and you suddenly decide to try it when you're 50 years old, you deserve to go to jail.



• Only in Florida.



• Only at a Walmart in Florida.



• Kaci Aitchison is the winner of the Video of the Week award.

So much for night flying.

I was scheduled to start the night flight portion of my training this evening but the weather had different plans.

It's not the rain that is the problem, it's the 800 to 1,000 foot cloud base that makes it pretty tough to fly around. Most of the hills and radio towers around here are over 800 feet.

•

Another thing this rain did was to cover my lawn with leaves again.

I hate leaves.

•

Here are some links that you might find interesting:

• Mugshot of the week!



• Pfffttt.... Rich people....



• If they swab mine, they'll find I spend way too much time with The Dog.



• Only in Florida.
  (Warning: Autoplay)



• Some people collect coins. Some people collect stamps. George Frandsen is not 'some people'...



• Researchers: Contributing to the betterment of our society or a complete waste of perfectly good oxygen. We report, you decide.



• The PacMan death tune is playing in my head right now.



• Apparently western Mass is not the only place being fleeced by Boston.

My lawn is still clean

As much as I'd like to complain about leaves all over my lawn, that's not gonna happen. My lawn is basically leaf free and it looks like ti might remain that way for at least the next two days.

Then again, we'll see what the rain does tomorrow.

•

This might sound a little weird but I'm happy to say that our cat died last night.

Let me rephrase that:

I'm not actually happy that the cat died but I am happy that the cat died before the ground froze.

•

The Patriots lost last night but it was a hell of a good game.

If I had a list of top five current NFL quarterbacks, Russel Wilson would be on that list. The man is calm, cool and collected in the pocket, his passes are accurate and he is able to call a good game against any opponent.

The Patriots are now 7-2 and tied for second in the overall league standings. Hopefully they continue winning and end the season as the AFC East champs.

•

You should click on these:

• If you crave attention, you probably shouldn't commit a felony to get it.



• Researchers: Contributing to the betterment of our society or a complete waste of perfectly good oxygen? We report, you decide.



• Only in Florida.



• Also only in Florida.



• Only in Australia.

Amazingly enough, my lawn is still kinda clean.

I was pretty sure that when the sun came up this morning, I was going to see a lawn covered in leaves. To my surprise, there were a few leaves but not like the other day when every leaf from every tree within a mile of my house decided to blow into my yard.

This morning I cleaned the leaves and dog poop out of my backyard so now The Dog and I can wander around back there, hunting chipmonks.

This finishes the weekly lawn cleaning duty here at the Daily News^© World Headquarters until next week when I do it all over again.

•

The Patriots aren't on until 8:30 tonight which means I might only see half the game.

I did watch the Broncos just barely beat the Saints 25-23. It was a pretty good game and I managed to get a little nap in right around half time.

Hopefully that nap was enough to help me stay awake to watch the Patriots.

•

Here are some links:

• Oh Canada.



• If you are a teacher and you're looking for a job, look no further.



• Only in Florida.



• Here's a helpful document for you folks that want to move out of the US now that Donald Trump is destined to become President.



• My Uncle Ted was a beekeeper but he kept them on a farm.



• Let's see, he's a skinny white guy, around 25 years old, about 6 foot tall and bald. Oh yea, he's also got tattoos all over his face.

Once more into the breech.

Once again I have cleaned all the leaves off my lawn.

I know that when I wake up tomorrow morning it'll probably be covered with leaves but dammit, for the entire Saturday afternoon, I had the cleanest lawn in the neighborhood.

•

Bill Burr is a funny guy:

"She dresses like a real estate agent."

Hah!

•

In baseball news, Torey Lovullo is no longer the bench coach of the Boston Red Sox. He has left the Red Sox and to take the job as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Red Sox have brought Gary DiSarcina back into the fold to take the job as bench coach.

I'm not sure how to feel about that.

Lovullo was an important piece of the coaching staff so I'm not happy he's gone from the Red Sox. On the other hand, he is more than deserving of a manager position and while I was hoping the Red Sox might offer the spot to him when Farrell's contract ends, I don't see that happening now.

As for DiSarcina, he was heavily involved in the Red Sox minor league system including managing the Pawtucket Red Sox. He has a good record and I'm hoping he will be as much a compliment to Farrell as Luvollo was.

Pitchers and Catchers report in 93 days, there are 103 days to first spring training game and there are 142 days until Opening Day. That is when we will see if Mr. DiSarcina is a help or a hindrance.

•

Here are a few links:

• Women - Don't mess with them.



• This has got to be the dumbest thing I've seen since disco.



• It's only a matter of time before the authorities bring in councilors and therapy cats.



• This is why I don't play golf anymore.



• Good for you Oklahoma.



• Everything you need to know in order to swear like an Englishman.

Fall is my favorite season

Leaves, however, piss me off and make my life miserable.

At 9:00 this morning, my lawn was spotless.

At 11:00 this morning, my lawn was covered with leaves.

I hate leaves.

•

Thanks to the internet and the phenomenon known as "social networking", I am now painfully aware of how many people are incredibly ignorant of the process our republic follows to elect the manager of the federal government.

We, the people, do not elect the president. The states elect the president and his job is to manage the workings of the federal government, including the military, as well as maintain relationships with other nations.

Jeeezus people, pick up a US history book and read about this fine Republic. You know what the Republic is, right? It's the one we pledge allegiance to when we utter that famous line "...and to the Republic for which it stands...".

It's a pretty simple concept and it might help you to understand why the founding fathers, and most  of the population of the United States, don't want the president chosen by a popular vote.

In the meantime, you kids keep it down and go in the other room, the adults are talking here...

•

Enjoy these links:

• My childhood is slowly going away.



• Are you telling me that a bra costs $72.00!! That's a lot of money for underwear.



• Ouch!



• He's an entrepreneur!



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Day.

And the riots have begun.

At some point, the hypocrisy that is the left needs to be stifled.

This is a group that supposedly demands free-speech, free-will and freedom to be what you want to be. Unfortunately, they only want you to be free to say what you want say or be what want to be if it's something they approve of.

And kudos for the best description of today's generation goes to Professor Jonathan Turley of George Washington University Law School who said,

"We're raising a generation of emotional hemophiliacs."

He's right. This generation seems to be hemorrhaging their emotions all over the place.

And that, my friends, is what happens to kids that are raised to never lose. This is what happens to a generation where everyone gets a trophy. This is what happens to a generation that refuses to accept the fact that there are other human beings on this planet and the world does not revolve around them.

When they were young children, they threw hissy fits in the aisle of Toys backwardsR Us until their parents bought them the toy they wanted because their parents didn't want to discipline their precious little angel.

When they were young children, they were told they were special and that no one could ever tell them otherwise and if someone picked on them, they should tell the teacher.

When they were young children, they weren't given rules and guidelines because that meant their parents might have to actually be parents instead of best friends.

Now that they are adults, they are still throwing hissy fits, they are still being told they are special and they certainly don't seem to follow any rules or guidelines.

Maybe it's time for a little discipline.

Maybe it's time for the adults to have their say and get things back under control.

Maybe it's time for our society to take control of itself and knock off this Lord of the Flies shit we seem to have going on now-a-days.

•

I flew for about an hour and a half today and it was great. The sky was clear, the wind was light and there was very little air traffic.

I took off around 9:30 and there was only one other plane in the area. We stayed in touch with each other so we knew where the other one was and I was able to enjoy the view without any concerns.

A couple more students took off around 10:00 but they headed out of the area so it was just me and the guy in 02V flying around the valley.

During my flight, I made four pattern entries and four landings. Each one was pretty damned good, if I do say so myself and that was the real reason I went flying today.

It's been a while since I practiced my landings and I really don't want to lose that skill.

If you fly, it's kind of important to know how to land. The alternative isn't very pleasant.

•

Enjoy these links:

• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminals of the Week.



• Wait. Maybe he's this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Week.



• Another reason to stay out of Florida.



• Apparently there is at least one person in L.A. with a sense of humor.



• You gotta love dogs.

Well that was fun.

I stayed awake long enough to watch the networks piss all over themselves trying to explain how they failed to predict how the vote was going.

The best apoplexy was on NBC when Chuck "I love the sound of my own voice" Todd and Tom "No, I'm not dead yet" Brokaw went off on a tear about how they failed to recognize that the middle-class feels like they've been treated like crap and used as a bottomless piggy bank for the last 8 years.

Funny how that works, isn't it.

This election was not about black or white and it wasn't about young or old.

It was about the middle-class rebelling against this constant beating they are taking. It was about the folks that have spent the last 8 years being told their closely-held values are wrong. It's about the people that get up every morning and put in a full days work and then watch their paychecks get smaller and smaller while the rich are getting richer and the lazy are getting lazier.

I realize that to some folks this is all about politics but trust me, it's not.

If you are a hyper-conservative tea-partyer, take a deep breath and look around you. Not everyone feels the way you do. As a matter of fact, most of us are willing to admit that perhaps there is room for all kinds of people and belief systems in this country of ours.

If you are a fanatical liberal type, take a deep breath and look around you. Not everyone is a member of the "1%" as you like to think. The guy next door with four kids, a mortgage and his own small business is probably employing five or six people and is struggling to figure out why everyone claims there are no jobs because he's been trying to hire three people for the last two months. And he's the one paying the taxes that provide all the services you love so much.

To both of you I would like to paraphrase a great saying I once heard:

Political beliefs are like a penis. I realize you are quite proud of yours but please don't take them out in public and wave them around. No one really wants to see that shit and besides, you're frightening the children.

Now that I've said that, I'd like to add that our new president had better behave himself for the next four years because if he goes off on some insane Trumpy tangent and gets us into a war with Canada or something like that, people are going to be pissed.

•

I think I'll leave you with these links:

• For those of you that were stupid enough to say you would move to Canada if Trump won, here you go.



• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminals of the Day.



• Only in Florida.



• Key phrase in this story: "May was likely under the influence of either drugs or alcohol."



• Key entry from our favorite police log: "9:51 p.m. There was a “creepy guy” at the mall."

The election is finally here.

Tomorrow, half of us will wake up pissed off and half of us will wake up happy. Then there are people like me. I don't care who gets elected because I'm more concerned about local government than I am about the presidency.

For those of you that are happy by the election, good for you. Go savor your victory but don't go out of your way to rub it in the face of those who lost.

For those of you that are unhappy with the election, sorry dude but we live in a republic which is sorta like a democracy but not quite. Either way, it means that the majority of the people told their state to vote for the winner. Relax, take a breath and support the new president as much as possible.

And please don't launch into any "I told you so!" when something happens that you don't like because trust me, no one told anyone anything.

As for the local stuff, we'll know tomorrow if we can get high after we send our kids off to a new charter school and then go gamble at the new slots parlor while eating chickens that were raised in larger cages.

Also, those of us in the first Hampden/Hampshire district will know if we have a new state senator.

•

While you await the much-anticipated returns, or as I like to call them, uneducated guesses, you can click on these links:

• Presenting this episodes Brilliant Criminal of the Month.



• Key phrase in this humorous take on the Great Massachusetts Marijuana Raid of 2016: "On the other hand, authorities did get a chance to practice military operations against their own citizens, and that kind of training is priceless."



• Only in Florida.



• Trust me, watch the video.

I like the word "defenestrate"

Defenestrate has two meanings, both of which I think are good.

The first meaning is "To throw someone or something out a window". I have actually told someone, "If you don't stop giving her a hard time, I WILL defenestrate you!"

They looked at me like I was from another planet and then they mumbled "Sorry" to the bartender and left.

The second meaning is "To remove someone for a position of authority."

That is the one I like the best. As far as I'm concerned, we should defenestrate most of our elected officials who have served more than two terms.

Most terms of office last for even numbered years, meaning 2, 4 or 6 years. If you are elected to office, you should be able to accomplish your goals during your first term.

If you are good at what you are doing, you should serve a second term so you can followup on any impacts or alterations to what you accomplished during your first term.

After that, it's time for someone else to step in and you should move on because simply put, after two terms in office, you have no idea what it's like to not be in office. This means you have no idea what it's like to be a civilian and it's time for you to relearn what it's like to find a job and not live off the public teat.

If you are not good at what you do, you will never accomplish what you said you would and there is no need for a second term.

If you have never had to find a job, worry about whether you'll have social security, be concerned that some power-hungry little napoleon is going to change how you choose to live or look at some moron spending your tax dollars on a scheme that has no chance of succeeding then you should be not be allowed to stay in office.

If you have do manage to get yourself elected because you know how to play on peoples desire to be seen as "one of the cool kids", then there should be a mechanism in place for the us adults to defenestrate you.

You might think I'm talking about Obama but I'm not.

I'm talking about Eric Lesser, the manchild who is our current state senator.

This is a kid who got out of college and went to work for Obama where he learned how to politicrat,  bureaucrat and bullshitacrat.

Once he had learned everything he could about being a politician, he came to western Mass with a pocketful of money from the Democratic National Committee and set about getting himself elected to office by having the local democratic party dissuade anyone else from running and then pouring a ton of money into his campaign.

Now he is running for re-election on the premise that he wants to put a high speed rail between Springfield and Hartford.

Let me be the first to point out that the last thing we need around here is a faster way for the gang-bangers to move back and forth between Springfield and Hartford. Besides, how fast can a train run over a 25 mile track with a stop every 3 miles?

I think it's time for Young Mr. Lesser to spend a few years learning what it's like to work for a living.

•

Enough political whining.

Here are some links:

• Thank goodness we won the revolutionary war against the British.



• If you don't have a gun, use a bow and arrow.



• If you want to own Eva Braun's underwear, now is your chance.

They're baaaack!

On Saturday, my wife and I spent most of the day cleaning all the leaves off the yard and out of the gardens.

Today, Sunday, the yard and gardens are covered with leaves. It's like all the work we did on Saturday never happened.

Oh well, I guess that's what we get for living in New England.

•

<sarcasm>
Boy, I sure am glad they implemented early voting!
</sarcasm>

The election is two days away and I still have no idea who I'm voting for. Near as I can tell, they are all insane.

•

I spent several hours at a ground school today, learning about weather. I figure if I'm going to fly a plane in the air, I should know as much about the air as I can. After that, I spent the remainder of the day being as lazy as I could. Because of that laziness, I got only one link for you.

Here it is:

• Our school administrators in action.

I took my own advice

I got off my ass and now my yard is completely free of leaves....

...until tomorrow when it will once again be covered with leaves.

•

Here are some links:

• Only in Florida.



• Underground Badger Hole would be a good name for 1990s porn movie.



• Brilliant! Weird, but brilliant none-the-less.



• Also brilliant!



• Only in New Jersey.



• Our school administrators at work....



• North Korea - It's not like where we live.

And the ambiguity continues.

I'm really hoping things settle out over the next couple of weeks.

I don't mind spontaneity and last minute things popping up but I also don't mind knowing in advance what is going on. I actually like a nice mix of those two things.

Right now, I am in full spontaneity mode and that means I don't really know what's going to happen next. It's a lot like when we had little kids and at 8:00 at night, one of them casually turns to us and says, "Oh, by the way, I need two dozen cupcakes for school tomorrow."

•

So now that the World Series is over with and the Patriots are on a bye week, I have no idea what I'm going to watch for my evening entertainment. I have a couple of Gold Rush on DVR but it's going to be a long weekend once I've watched those.

Maybe I'll have to get off my ass and go do something like rake up my leaves or clean my gutters.

•

You can visit these links if you would like:

• And I thought my EZPass statement was high....



• Key lie in this story: "You’re really going to ruin my life over two beers?"



• Only in Florida.



• Happy Birthday Jackie!



• Key line in this story: "When officers arrived at his home, they found Barron to be intoxicated..."



• I got a dollar says his new nickname is gonna be "Rocky".



• Oh Canada.

I got nothing for you today

I stayed up very late last night watching the Cubs beat the Indians and now I'm freakin' exhausted.

I didn't spend a lot of time on the interwebs today so I don't have a lot of links for you.

What I do have is here:

• Only in Florida.



• Key line in this story: "Hairston and Grace Sr acknowledged that their son was breaking the law by robbing the business."



• I've said it before and I'll say it again: You need a license to get a gun, you need a license to get a dog and you need a license to get married but they'll let any asshole become a parent.



• Proof that people can be incredibly stupid.

A little ambiguity goes a long way

No flying for me for the next week or two. My schedule is rapidly changing and I need to stay flexible for the next few weeks. As a result of that need for flexibility, I don't want to schedule any flight time or instructor time.

Once things clarify for me, I'll get my night flying out of the way, do three or four hours of checkride prep and finally my checkride.

Hopefully I pass the checkride and finally achieve a lifelong goal of becoming a licensed pilot.

•

The Indians aren't doing what I want them to do which is beat the Cubs.

Tonight is the seventh game of the World Series and they are tied at 3 games each. After tonight, we will know who the World Series champion is and I will have to find something else to watch on television.

•

You should visit these links:

• Get ready for a return of expensive gasoline.



• This is great. You know what would make it even better? If they brought in Bob Uecker...



• Here's your Naked Guy In The News story.
  (Once again, he's from Florida.)



• It's hard to find odd stories that AREN'T from Florida.



• Some people have too much time on their hands.



• Please do this to me when I die.

Caution: Long post ahead....

I got my final 3 hours of cross country flying in today.

Yay!

Trust me when I say that I am glad to have that over with. The next time I do any cross country flying I want it to be because I decided to go somewhere like the Cape or Florida.

•

My day started at 9:45 when I left Northampton and flew to Westfield (Barnes). The ATC there was beyond helpful and got me set up for my flight to Nashua, NH. He was also the guy who was on duty when I had my flat tire and we chatted about that for a few minutes. To my surprise, he said that now that he knows I'm a student pilot, he is kind of impressed with how I handled that incident.

Once clearance was obtained, I left Westfield, climbed to 5,500 and made my way out over the Quabbin. Bradley departure kept an eye on me for a bit and then transferred me over to Boston center. They kept an eye on me and kept me informed of any traffic in my area.

Boston turned me over to Nashua tower and I landed at Nashua with a certain amount of finesse. I taxied to the ramp, set myself up for my next flight and departed Nashua feeling pretty damned good about things.

From Nashua I made a quick jaunt over to Keene, NH, once again under the watchful eye of Boston center.

Just to note, since today was a pretty nice day, there was a lot of traffic out there and I'm grateful to the ATC folks who watched over me. They contacted me three or four times during my flight to inform me of traffic in my area.

So anyways, as I was approaching Keene, getting ready to enter the pattern, another pilot chimed in and indicated that he was on a 3 mile final for the same runway I was going to land on. I offered to make a wide right 360 to give him time to land and he said he would appreciate that. I did my 360 out over the city of Keene and Keene State College, thinking to myself that if my son is looking up, he sees me.

I settled into the pattern, did a nice landing at Keene and then set up to visit the good people at Orange.

From Orange, it was back to Northampton and an end to my cross country requirements.

All toll, I flew 150.6 nautical miles over a period of 3 hours. Combined with my previous 2.1 hour trip to Lebanon, NH, I'm pleased to say I have 5.1 hours of my required 5.0 hours of XC time.

•

While I savor my cross country completion and root for the Indians to kick the Cubs ass, you can click on these:

• In my opinion, the hottie in the bikini needs to dump the guy that left her to get eaten alive and hang with the stranger that showed up out of nowhere to protect her.



• Only in Florida.



• Also only in Florida.



• Here's your Naked Guy In The News story.
  (Shockingly enough, it happened in Florida.)



• Stay classy Buffalo. Stay classy....