Survival of the Fittest: Lunch and golf

Yesterday was lunch with some old friends who I haven't seen in years and then eighteen holes of golf at a golf simulator while consuming adult beverages.

That will explain why I neglected to post yesterday.

Today I am back in my usual space - on my couch watching curling.

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Several days ago, the FAA shutdown the airspace over El Paso Texas with little or no explanation. The Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) simply said, "No aircraft are allowed to operate within the airspace" which is quite different than most other NOTAMS, which usually say something like, 'No aircraft may operate with the airspace without permission from ATC/Center/person".

As it turns out, Hotshot Hegseth gave a laser weapon to the Border Patrol and the Border Patrol decided to use it against a child's balloon. That caused the FAA, who had just recently had a major loss of civilian lives due to the Army flying a helicopter into a plane that was landing decided in Washington DC to proclaim that this was a major concern and shut down the airspace. They did this because they felt inconveniencing thousands was better than killing hundreds...

Here is an article about the entire incident that might be behind a paywall so here are some memorable quotes from the article:

"The law, the staff members at the Pentagon explained to him, required extensive coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Department, which could slow the testing of the system. Transportation officials could even block the system’s use if they determined that it posed risks to aviation safety."

"Mr. Feinberg felt the Pentagon had the authority to proceed anyway."

"Late Tuesday night, the F.A.A. administrator, Bryan Bedford, was caught off guard that the system was being used without authorization and concerned for public safety, believed he had little choice but to close the airspace for 10 days, according to more than a half-dozen people. It was an extraordinary decision that surprised the flying public and local officials."

"White House officials declined to comment on Friday, and referred to a social media post from Mr. Duffy, published on Wednesday, that said the administration 'acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion.' But that narrative was disputed by multiple people familiar with the situation who said the border protection unit ended up shooting down a party balloon, rather than a drone. Military service members were present during the incident, the people said."

"The Pentagon had insisted to the F.A.A. that the lasers would not pose a risk to civilian aircraft, but the F.A.A., unconvinced, had asked for the military’s data and an opportunity to conduct its own tests, according to three people with knowledge of those discussions.

The requests were not satisfied.

In late January, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved a request from the Department of Homeland Security to allow border protection agents to use the Pentagon’s new anti-drone laser technology."

That, my friends, is the federal government of the United States failing to work with itself. This government not only doesn't give a shit about us, the citizens, they don't even care about themselves.

Oh, and once again, they lied. They said they "acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion" when in reality they acted swiftly to shoot down the "happy birthday" balloon that some kid let go of when he walked out of the house.

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Do you have any idea how hard it is to buy a snowblower during a February that follows a very snowy January?

Let me tell you, it's hard.

I actually had one guy who said, "Nope, we don't have any. And we don't have any idea if we're getting any."

The closest store I could find that actually has snowblowers is down in West Hartford and they won't deliver to me up here in Massachusetts.

I guess I'll just keep praying to the small engine gods that The Beast keeps running or we don't have more snow.

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Here are some links: