Through The Mist Darkly

Busy couple of weeks with travelling, election watching and just general “work is a bitch”’ stuff. 

I really hope that I’ve finished the last business trips for 2008. By the calculations over at FlightMemory, I’ve flown 24 times (not counting the flying lessons) and I’ve logged:

• 39,263 miles (63,188 kilometres)
• 106 hours in the air

This makes 2008 my busiest year yet.

Speaking of flying lessons, the travelling put a real damper on my time so I’ve just cracked the 10 hour threshold which leaves me at least another 10 hours before I can solo and a total of 35 to go until I can go for my license.  I also got way out of sync with the groundschool schedule so I restarted the entire course this last Thursday night.  Hopefully I can go all the way through this time without a break.  Luckily the Brampton Flying Club allows you to take the course as often as you want.

The economy may be tanking but that only means that my company becomes much more aggressive in the pursuit of new business.  I then get called on more often to provide product support for presentations and tenders and that’s on top of the day-to-day problems that require my attention.  Very tired at the end of the day.  Today (Saturday), for instance, I’m working on a system upgrade from home.

I’ve only been to the Toronto Aerospace Museum a couple of times in the last few months so projects are starting to build up.  I should be there today but no such luck.  Next week for sure.

The historic US elections this week kept me glued to CNN and the net when time permitted.  You all know which way I was leaning and I’m still overjoyed at the outcome.  Watching the Republican party bring out their knives afterwards has been fun as well.

Now comes the long slide into winter.  Lots of things to keep me occupied so I don’t think I’ll be suffering from cabin fever.

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It’s time for me to get off my ass and take the plunge.  I’ve decided that I’m going to begin the process of getting my private pilot’s license.  Of course this would have been easier, and a whole lot cheaper, if I’d done it 40 years ago but I’m not getting any younger.

My passion for aviation is out of control.  Working at the Toronto Aerospace Museum, attending aviation society meetings and just generally loving being in the air lead to one conclusion.  I need to learn how to fly.

The poor suckers who are going to be tasked with teaching this old dog a neat trick are the unlucky instructors at the Brampton Flying Club.  Located about 1/2 hour from home, they’re a long established operation so they must know what they’re doing.

The process isn’t cheap and probably isn’t that easy.  Basically, it’s 15 week ground school through 45 hours of both instruction and solo flight plus a medical and finally an exam.  At the end of it all hopefully I’ll end up the proud owner of a license.  No plane, just the license.  I don’t want to know what even a very basic Cessna would cost.  Renting one costs just over $100 for every hour that the prop is turning.

Ground school starts in July.  I hope to take the introductory flight this weekend.  Wish me luck!

UPDATE: 1pm tomorrow and it’s off into the wild blue yonder!!

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The trusty suitcase has hardly had time to air out but it’s time to hit the road again.  This time, however, it’s for fun - not business.

I’m off to Ottawa Thursday morning to attend the Canadian Aviation Heritage Society annual general meetings. CAHS is the oldest and largest organization in the world dedicated to the celebration and documentation of Canada’s flying heritage.

This year’s meetings have some really special events that I’m looking forward to attending. Thursday night, we’re off to the Canadian Aviation Museum for a BBQ and behind the scenes tour.  Saturday, it’s on the bus to Vintage Wings of Canada in Gatineau Quebec to see the country’s largest collection of privately owned classic and warbird aircraft.

We got a sneak peek at one of the aircraft when they flew their De Havilland Fox Moth into Downsview for the Wings and Wheels Festival.

It’s nice to be flying for fun for a change.

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Went to the museum yesterday for the annual general meeting.  Democracy is a wonderful thing until personalities get involved.  It was, to put it mildly, a rather tense gathering. But that’s not the reason for this post.  The first thing that caught my eye was something that finally made its way out of storage.

The Canadair CL-41A better known as the Tutor trainer.  Made famous by Canada’s Snowbird precision aerobatics squadron, the Tutor taught thousands until it retired from active service in 2000. 

Our Tutor, registration 114618 went into service on the 8th of January 1971 and spent most of its working life with the 2 Canadian Forces Training School at CFB Moose Jaw Saskatchewan.  I’d heard we had one but it has been tucked away in a remote storage building that we’ve been asked to vacate. 

One of the most distinctive features of the Tutor is the nose mounted anti-collision light.  Years ago, when we had a cottage on the Trent River near Campbellford, we were treated to a display by the Snowbirds as they practiced overhead.  I’ll always remember one particular manoeuvre that had them flying low in formation with all their noselights on.  Never thought I’d get this close to one.

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Today’s entry comes from that famous group “Average White Broads“.  Bonnie, Patti and Robyn get you into the holiday spirit as only 3 middle-aged Ohio housewives can.  Seems the Broads - hey! they started it - haven’t done much since this came out in 2005 but the website is still intact.  I guess they reached their peak with this one and are having trouble coming up with something to top it.

How about learning a little more about them?  From their site, here’s their answers to the question, “One thing you should know about me”.

Bonnie:

I was accepted into stewardess school the same day my boyfriend proposed to me. I chose marriage. That was 33 years ago and I’ve just about almost never regretted the decision. I am an orange belt in karate, but please don’t attack me because I probably don’t remember any of it.

Patti:

I absolutely adore handbags. I have a closet full of them. Be forewarned - if you carry an adorable handbag to one of our gigs, I may jump off the stage and try to buy it from you - or if you look like I could run faster than you, well, let’s just leave it at that.

Robyn:

I think life in general is very amusing and I’m much smarter than I let on. I speak fluent English. Smart people frighten others so I pretend I’m not intelligent. I’ve fooled many people. No, really, my favorite class in college was Transformational Generative Syntax.

I don’t know what they’re smoking in Ohio but Robyn should take a step back from the bong.

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FINAL FINAL UPDATE:  Mats can go golfing.  The New York Islanders won their game in a shootout and the Leafs are out of the playoffs.

UPDATE:  Ok, so they beat Montreal in what was a very entertaining game (desperation brings out the best) but they now have to hope that the New York Islanders lose on Sunday.

Those lovable losers the Toronto Maple Leafs have a mathematical chance of making it to the Stanley Cup playoffs.  They have to win…someone has to lose….blah, blah, blah.  At the sake of being run out of town, I hope the Leafs lose to Montreal tomorrow night and this whole mess is over with.

 The Leafs, who haven’t won the top prize since 1967, are one of a number of mediocre teams that have a chance because only the truly dreadful teams fail to make the 2 month playoff series.

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment owns the team and they have more money than sports knowledge.  The Air Canada Centre is filled every night so there’s really no reason to spend money or time worrying about how good the product is that they put on the ice.  John Ferguson Jr. is General Manager and the only virtue he brings to the job, as I see it, is to do exactly what the suits in the boardroom tell him.

Fine players like Mats Sundin (shown in the picture - sorry Mats) are wasted when teamed with rejects and has-beens.  No player development, no young prospects, no chances.  The only hope of making anything better is to miss the playoffs and deny MLSE the additional revenue that those games bring.  Hit ‘em where it hurts.  The bottom line is the only line they understand and something has to be done to give the long suffering fans at least a chance to relive the glory of the past.

‘Nuff said.

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Attended a meeting at the museum last night to discuss display content and layout.

I’ve been at the same “paying” job for over 28 years and I was wondering if I really knew what business life was like outside my cosy experience.  Granted, a volunteer group is hardly indicative of the real world but I was surprised how many similarities there were.

The meeting started late as participants wandered in.  Keeping the focus on the agenda was damm near impossible as side conversations and tangents bloomed from every part of the room.  Cellphones rang and were answered. Obvious longstanding tensions between certain members played out and, based on the responses of some of the players, came no closer to resolution than they ever have. Some people did all the talking, some people listened and others didn’t.  After 2 + hours we adjourned and left wondering if anything had really been accomplished.

The parallels with my real job were unmistakable.  I go through the same process nearly every day.  I’ll take some small comfort that, in the event I lose this gig, I can fit into the general business population without a lot of retraining.

Quick shot of the Lancaster restoration team hard at work.  The amount of time and dedication these volunteers put in is amazing.  My projects are measured in days, weeks and months.  Their work takes years.

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The American Dialect Society has released it’s 2005 Words of the Year list.  The winner is Truthiness which is defined as ” The quality of stating concepts or facts one wishes or believes to be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true”. The word was first used by Stephen Colbert on “The Colbert Report”.

Other words singled out are:

• Cruiselex - Refers in general to anything Tom Cruise said or did during his year of serial melt-downs.
• Flee-ancee - Coined in reference  to runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks but just as useful for Julia Roberts.
• Holiday Tree - The politically correct replacement for a Christmas tree
• Lifehack - To make one’s day-to-day behaviors or activities more efficient.  For examples of lifehacks, see the excellent site Lifehacker.

The entire list is available in PDF format

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Over at Lifehacker, someone asked the question - Is a blog a suitable vehicle for sharing information about a serious illness or death in the family? I don’t know what others think but I was glad that I had this outlet when my sister passed away a few months ago. The news came suddenly and a fast trip to England was necessary. We were separated from the rest of our family by an ocean and 5 time zones.

Keeping people up to date was a way for me to channel some of my grief and I heard from a number of relatives, friends and strangers who appreciated the updates and left comforting comments. This blog doesn’t really have a theme but quite a few of my posts have dealt with personal matters. Posting is sometimes hard, especially when the subject is difficult, but in general I find the experience of committing my thoughts to the web to be cathartic.

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 Dear Continental Airlines,

I am disgusted as I write this note to you about the miserable experience I am having sitting in seat 29E on one of your aircrafts. As you may know, this seat is situated directly across from the lavatory, so close that I can reach out my left am and touch the door.

All my senses are being tortured simultaneously. It’s difficult to say what the worst part about sitting in 29E really is? Is it the stench of the sanitation fluid that’s blown all over my body every 60 seconds when the door opens? Is it the wooosh of the constant flushing? Or is it the passengers asses that seem to fit into my personal space like a pornographic jig-saw puzzel?

I constructed a stink-shield by shoving one end of a blanket into the overhead compartment — while effective in blocking at least some of the smell, and offering a small bit of privacy, the ass-on-my-body factor has increased, as without my evil glare, passengers feel free to lean up against what they think is some kind of blanketed wall. The next ass that touches my shoulder will be the last!

I am picturing a board room full of executives giving props to the young promising engineer that figured out how to squeeze an additional row of seats onto this plane by putting them next to the LAV. I would like to flush his head in the toilet that I am close enough to touch, and taste, from my seat.

Putting a seat here was a very bad idea. I just heard a man groan in there! This sucks!

Worse yet, is I’ve paid over $400.00 for the honor of sitting in this seat!

Does your company give refunds? I’d like to go back where I came from and start over. Seat 29E could only be worse if it was located inside the bathroom.

I wonder if my clothing will retain the sanitizing odor . . . what about my hair! I feel like I’m bathing in a toilet bowl of blue liquid, and there is no man in a little boat to save me.

I am filled with a deep hatred for your plane designer and a general dis-ease that may last for hours.

We are finally decending, and soon I will be able to tear down the stink-shield, but the scars will remain.

I suggest that you initiate immediate removal of this seat from all of your crafts. Just remove it, and leave the smouldering brown hole empty, a good place for sturdy/non-absorbing luggage maybe, but not human cargo.

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Shake Hands With The Devil

My rating: 5 out of 5

Just finished this book by Canadian General Romeo Dallaire who led the United Nations peackeeping force in the early 90’s during the genocidal civil war in Rawanda.

Dallaire returned to Canada a broken man haunted by the images of hundreds of thousands of murdered men, women and especially the children. Suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, he attempted suicide before finally confronting the demons and returning to the war torn country. This book is his testament to the horrors and the heroism that marked the futile attempt by a small band of dedicated soldiers to maintain the peace in a country gone mad.

Dallaire was just appointed to the Canadian Senate where he promises to be a vocal proponent for human rights.

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Maybe it’s the books I’ve been reading. More than likely it’s the daily news. I find myself getting more and more uneasy as I cast my eye south of the border.

Courts have upheld the ban on the importing of Canadian beef into the US and our ranchers are suffering. The Canuck farm in general is in a bad way as evidenced by a rolling protest into downtown Toronto by tractors to rail against the perceived failure of Provinical and Federal governments to protect those who put the food on our tables.

At the same time, Prime Minister Martin’s decision to opt out of the Missle Shield lunacy is threatening our already shaky relations with Washington and the “unbiased” American media delights as portraying us as defenseless igloo dwellers who will be sorry when they don’t have Uncle Sam to protect them. The chances of a defensive missle shooting down an incoming ICBM are less than 50-50 but that doesn’t stop the military industrial machine from scaring billions out of the US taxpayer to fund the most expensive skeet shoot ever imagined. Let the Boeings and Rayethons build their toys, we don’t need them.

The war in Iraq continues with another milestone reached. Last week, the 1500th American death was reported. Funny that we didn’t hear anything about the estimated 16 to 18 thousand Iraqi civilians who have died over the same period but that doesn’t appear to count for much as long as the US makes the country safe for “democracy”. Again, Canada is in the doghouse for not helping out. Just because we realized that this liberation is actually an illegal occupation as defined in the UN charter. Pax Americana must continue and, if we don’t like it, we’d better get used to keeping our cows north of the 49th.

Meanwhile, the US continues to spend money like a drunken sailor. Their deficit is massive and the power of their dollar is being rapidly overshadowed by the growth of the Euro. War is expensive and sooner than later the rest of the world will have to start pulling their investments out of an economy that is built on sand and IOUs that the American youth are going to have to pay. I have no idea how Canada will resist being sucked into the recession that will surely happen and that scares the shit out of me as I get closer to retirement.

Some say that Canada needs to move quickly to patch up our differences with the US. Certainly, we need to be on cordial terms with our neighbour but in no way does that mean that we have to kowtow. We need to broaden our trade horizons, maintain our status as a peacekeeper and continue to express our moderate views. The world needs Canada even if some American politicians and commentators try and paint us as ungrateful and weak.

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The countdown is on. At 5:00 this afternoon I begin my winter vacation and don’t get back to the office until the New Year. Oh bliss!

Of course I’ll be working from home, business never stops when you’re in IT, but just being away is enough of a holiday for me. I’ll have time to do my Christmas shopping, do some things around the house and just generally goof off. Who knows, I may even find some time and energy to update this site a little more often than I have been.

Next Friday, we’re off to Maxine’s for Christmas. 3 days in the woods should do something for my spirit.

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Elizabeth Taylor

>“The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues.”

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So Colin Powell is stepping down as Secretary of State in Bush’s cabinet. Not unexpected, he made it clear that he was in it for one term only. His successor? Looks like it’s Condolezza Rice. Ouch!!

Powell was a moderate voice in a Cabinet filled with synchophants. A soldier who has seen war and knows that there must be a better solution. A learned, thoughtful diplomat saddled with the burden of being the mouthpiece for a gang who couldn’t care less what the rest of the world thinks of America.

Rice will fit right in to her new role. She’s about as diplomatic as a blitzkreig. Condi will have absolutely no problem keeping a straight face while she broadcasts the company line and look out anyone who stands in her way.

Will Powell resurface as a replacement for Dick Cheney when the guy’s heart finally decides stopping is better than hanging around in that corrupt body? Or will he wait until 2008 and take a run at the Presidency on his own terms? Either way, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the General.

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