Sunday, February 02, 2003
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN - Just what we didn't need, another "Where were you when..." moment. Not this kind, at least. Yesterday morning I checked the local forecast on The Weather Channel, then tapped the channel down button to start seeing what else was on. The next channel down is MSNBC, and they were running video of what looked like a bolide. For a second I thought I was seeing a real-world version of the New York sequence from Armageddon. Then they started talking about the shuttle, and I knew something was seriously wrong. The shuttle contains some impressive technology, but I've always had a feeling that those tiles were a weak link.
Back in April 1981 I was among the several million people present at the first shuttle launch. That first one was, of course, Columbia.
I started another ground school last week. I haven't gotten around to telling this class that every time I teach a ground school, something "interesting" happens in aviation or a related field. The big Oklahoma City tornado happened on a night I taught weather. The Concorde crash, the F-117 being shot down over Kosovo (or Bosnia, whichever), 11 Sept 2001 - all coincidentally happened during my classes.
Another coincidence (or maybe it's just our local TV guide production, which has had errors in the past) - FX had Armageddon on last night's schedule.
More TV fun - Fox News, which had been doing like we'd expect and covering every last detail of the Columbia catastrophe in excruciating detail over and over and over, last night (a little before 2200 CST) ran one of those "Vacation in Florida" commercials. What's one of the little "stuff to see and do in Florida" snippets in the commercial? Ayup - one each shuttle launch.
Back in April 1981 I was among the several million people present at the first shuttle launch. That first one was, of course, Columbia.
I started another ground school last week. I haven't gotten around to telling this class that every time I teach a ground school, something "interesting" happens in aviation or a related field. The big Oklahoma City tornado happened on a night I taught weather. The Concorde crash, the F-117 being shot down over Kosovo (or Bosnia, whichever), 11 Sept 2001 - all coincidentally happened during my classes.
Another coincidence (or maybe it's just our local TV guide production, which has had errors in the past) - FX had Armageddon on last night's schedule.
More TV fun - Fox News, which had been doing like we'd expect and covering every last detail of the Columbia catastrophe in excruciating detail over and over and over, last night (a little before 2200 CST) ran one of those "Vacation in Florida" commercials. What's one of the little "stuff to see and do in Florida" snippets in the commercial? Ayup - one each shuttle launch.
Saturday, February 01, 2003
Speaking of oil, and Arianna Huffington, I just went to my local DM (Destruction Motors) dealer and ordered a 2003 Behemoth XXL. Yes, the XXL is because it's just plain friggin' huge. They start at XL, and go up to UG (UltraGrande), but you have to drive the UG models on the centerline, because they're about 30 feet wide. The XXL is just a tad wider than a Ford Excursion. These babies come with fifty gallon fuel tanks, and they need every ounce of that capacity. Yes, the Behemoth has only one good purpose, and that's running over and stomping the sanctimonious snot out of pissants like Ms Huffington. What would Jesus drive? Well, I think he's still thumbing it back to Nazareth, but his papa likes the Behemoth - He's ordered a fleet of 'em for the flattening of Baghdad.
From The Moody Blues "I Know You're Out There Somewhere":
"And if you wake up wondering
In the darkness I'll be there
My arms will close around you
And protect you with the truth"
Yes, it sounds like a song to the one true love not yet met, or the one true love lost, but that last line - why does it have a resonance now, when so many are demanding proof of Iraq's bad intentions? Soon, we'll know. The President has promised to show some of his hand next week. Not long after that we'll have proof on site. Will those who now demand proof be satisfied? Will they still say it's only about oooiiiiilllll? Will they finally shut the hell up and let leaders lead? Time will tell. Speaking of time - Mr Penn, your fifteen minutes are just about up. For too long many the airheads and appeasers of the Left have wanted to protect us from the truth - now it's time for throw open the gates, let slip the dogs of war, and allow the truth to protect us.
"And if you wake up wondering
In the darkness I'll be there
My arms will close around you
And protect you with the truth"
Yes, it sounds like a song to the one true love not yet met, or the one true love lost, but that last line - why does it have a resonance now, when so many are demanding proof of Iraq's bad intentions? Soon, we'll know. The President has promised to show some of his hand next week. Not long after that we'll have proof on site. Will those who now demand proof be satisfied? Will they still say it's only about oooiiiiilllll? Will they finally shut the hell up and let leaders lead? Time will tell. Speaking of time - Mr Penn, your fifteen minutes are just about up. For too long many the airheads and appeasers of the Left have wanted to protect us from the truth - now it's time for throw open the gates, let slip the dogs of war, and allow the truth to protect us.
