If you missed...

...the show (which closes tonight), go buy the book.

The kiddo's were all enthralled, clapping & laughing & sooooo focused on the whole musical - until just after intermission when the day started to overcome their collective desire to watch anymore (7:30PM start time for a 1:45 run including intermission).

I'm sure this may spark some loud vocabulary & imaginative conversation around the house, especially over the validity of a certain jolly man usually dressed in a red suit. But without giving away the story - they all still believe.

The Perfect Flight

Doesn't exist; never has, never will.

So to the kind gentleman getting off my flight yesterday from AUS, thank you but..... Now I know what he meant, he was satisfied, trying to be gracious and offered his salutations deplaning, but....

Ever since Icarus man's attempt to make a perfect flight has failed, always has, always will. Any airman worth his wings will tell you exactly the same.

Let me offer as an analogy to driving your car and doing it perfectly. You must obey ALL traffic laws, all recommendations in your drivers manual, ensuring you're up to date with all maintenance & your records kept current. You think you do that? Really?? Then you haven't been paying close attention. It's kind of like the old saying, "I thought I made a mistake once, but I was mistaken", thus...

So you think you always drive at or below the speed limit, stop at or before every crosswalk, you signal every lane change or turn (even when nobody is around to see you), you get that windshield repaired/replaced when a nick or crack first appears, you always have the proper tire pressure in your tires, you always change your fluids at the recommended intervals, you've always been sober, never fatigued, and never ever distracted; and you do it day in & day out -right?

Well we all strive to, we have the best intentions - but were not Saints. I'd go so far as to say that the guy who drives the Pope-mobile does something wrong (no matter how insignificant) every time.

Same with airline flying. From a pilot standpoint we're human, we all make mistakes, we recognize that - and that's important. Most errors are small & insignificant (a mistuned radio, a wrong turn on the taxiway, a radio call answered on the PA system instead of back to ATC). Some are more so (a wrong flap setting, lining up for the wrong runway, flying to the wrong navigation aid, etc.). A few years back an airline had a rash of flights landing at the wrong (small adjacent) airports that the joke was their airline name stood for Don't Ever Land There Again.

Most are recognized right away by the pilot OR caught by either the other pilot, the air traffic controller, the FA's, sometimes the passengers, or the airplane itself. The training we receive, backed up with the experience we've obtained, mixed with the checks & balances all help manage to trap errors. Recognizing that the routine of the job requires attentiveness. Searching for those subtle differences that makes each flight unique - different weights, different runways, different routing, different weather, different crew, etc. - helps keep the routine fresh.

Untrapped errors frequently compound until you're watching it on the evening news; which rarely even cover traffic accidents anymore because they're so frequent. BTW you notice they're never called traffic on-purposes, even though we all bear witness to knucklehead driving all the time.

You can rest assured that knucklehead pilots don't make it very far in this business; the profession pretty much ensures that. That old saying goes, "There are old pilots, and bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots."

So while I was just focused on this from a pilot point of view, but it starts much earlier. From the initial & refined design, manufacturing, testing of the aircraft, engines & components, all the FAA rules & Company policies in place (most written in blood), the mandated ongoing training that everyone gets, the oversight from various departments & agencies, from management, to the maintenance side, to the dispatchers, to the ramp guys loading the baggage & cargo properly, to the FA's and ultimately the folks in the pointy end - to the ATC folks and manufactures of their equipment, to the airport folks and the guys who built & grooved & plow the runways, and installed the navigation aids, and the approach lighting, and to the engineers on the performance side who ensure given various conditions we can takeoff & land at certain weights & design T-Pro's and the like - ALL focused on getting Mr & Mrs 27 A/B from their point of origin to their destination safe & sound (and oblivious to the W,W,W,W & how's that made it so). And doing it every day & all night for thousands of flights with millions of passengers worldwide every 24/7.

It may not be perfect, but we're doing the best we can.

QofTD - answer

Question was - When is a warthog called a bulldog and asked to be a guinea pig?

Answer - When the lead aircraft of a group of Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolts (affectionately, or not) known as the Warthog (or simply Hog) with the 354th FS (with the radio call sign of Bulldog) based out of Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson is asked by Air Traffic Control to see if the weather has lifted enough for the visual approach into Navy North Island.

AUS

EZ spin today out enjoying the perfect weather. My Garmin Edge 305 was on the fritz when I left (though I finally got it to reset), so see route here.

Quiz of the day

When is a warthog called a bulldog and asked to be a guinea pig?

Toughest 2 hours on TV - DEC 18th

It's official - I'm a Blockhead!

Official Results ALA Council #67
Group III Representative Election Ballot

There were 714 eligible voters. 202 voted electronically through either the web site (193) or the IVR system (9) representing 28.3% of the eligible voters.
For Term Beginning 3/1/11 and Ending 2/28/13 Seniority Block Representative #4 (Vote for One):

Erik G. Scheller (#0605907)
162 99.39%

Ries, Paul R (#0789206)
1 0.61%

Total 163 100%

Foxtrot Oscar Golf = FUN

That was the word of the day.

After a shortish layover in SAN, I got an earlier than normal wake up call from scheduling at 4AM. The scheduler indicated that the plane for our early departure did not make it in the night before due to fog & low visibility and diverted to LAX. So we were rescheduled to limo up to LAX and ferry the plane back to SAN with a planned 8AM return & then a flight to SEA to finish up the day earlier than planned.

Of course the scheduler was very optimistic that the SAN weather was going to stay as it was - which at 4AM was pretty clear, though very humid. I had my doubts.

Sure enough by the time the sun started to warm up the FOG reformed and thickened all down the coast. This happens when the temp/dew point is already close and then as the sun rises the air warms slightly & able to hold more moisture; add in a very slight wind mixing the ingredients just so and viola! Can you say Ground Stop boys & girls?

Ground Stop (GS) is an Air Traffic Control function whereby planes take there delay on the ground rather than get airborne & hold until the weather clears. Of course planes already airborne on long cross-country or international flights don't usually have the luxury to take their delays on the ground and is the reason why we all carry enough fuel to divert to an alternate destination should the weather become a factor.

SAN visibility was reported to be 1/8 mile, which is well below their landing minimums of 1 mile. This is an unusually high visibility value for a major city airport, but due to a number of factors - terrain, tall buildings, and runway lighting - it is what it is.

While waiting for the weather to improve the Flight Attendants (FA's) were goofing around in the back of the plane - our only "passengers" - and a one point I noticed that a the cockpit air was beginning to fill with sparkly floaty stuff. Well that's just what it was - some sort of glittery makeup that got out of control. I opened my window to help it dissipate, but this only increased the flow of the stuff as it now had a method of escape. After awhile it cleared out, but I've had a persistent cough ever since - is this crap toxic?

By 10AM the FOG also began to dissipate and we were off. As were all the other flights that had been on a GS or had diverted. So now the airspace was saturated with aircraft instead of clouds or fog. We were in line at LAX for 1/2 hour before we were finally allowed to takeoff & then when finally airborne we took the slow route to SAN. Normally this would be a 25 minute flight, and it took about twice that, with many turns (ATC vectors) and speed adjustments to fall in line for our arrival slot into SAN.

On the ground it didn't get any easier. Our gate was not available as another plane was still in their boarding process so we parked at one of the remote ramps. We were the first in a sequence of many joining us as airplane after airplane landed (from every carrier) and they also didn't have a place to park. As the various remote ramps started filling up, and the taxiways filled with planes trying to taxi either to those remote ramps or for departure, they started blocking other planes wishing to push off their gates. As more airplanes continued to land & needed space to clear off the runway, even if their gate was open there was no clear taxi route to get them there. The entire airport was rapidly becoming a chaotic parking lot. Frustration started to creep into the fray as tempers started to fly (even as they physically weren't), radio transmissions were being blocked, as too many planes just sat.

We actually had the best seat in the house & with no passengers to worry about (at least none onboard) - we were relatively stress free. Once we did finally get to a gate (45 minutes after landing), the plane we brought in was not the one we were taking out (of course). And our FA's missed their OGG flight and were reassigned to cover something else. Since they need the FA's to be onboard prior to passengers boarding, this further delays the process. The plane we were taking back to SEA was still parked in remote waiting for their gate to clear. Inside the terminal it was pandemonium.

As many of the early flights were cancelled, due to lack of planes and/or crews - I'm sure many passengers Friday travel plans got screwed as mostly full later flights filled to capacity. We finally returned to SEA later than we were originally scheduled - and while we didn't actually fly very much, it felt otherwise.

You might think this airline biz is all glamorous - but all I got at the end of the day is a bunch of shimmery glitter on my clothes & in my hair & and this persistent cough. Are we having fun yet?

For Sale - best offer

Kid Kraft Fire Truck cot. Like new, great condition, fully assembled - slept in 1 year (not by me mind you, ask the boy how comfortable it is). Comes with mattress.

For product description - http://kidkraft.com/furniture-and-decor/toddler-beds/76021

Beaver trap

If those ladies didn't know he was the leaker they should've doubled up. Prosecution or persecution (Pravda knows it when it sees it)?

If it's Sunday...

...this must be AUS. Trying to keep focused on mostly everything else but actually getting on the bike. This is my 4th (maybe 5th) straight day out running. Today an EZ 30 minute trail run adjacent to Lady Bird Lake (to the darn dam & back). I could've gone out for more, and legs felt energized; but felt like I needed to hold back to prevent overdoing it.

Looking to follow some advice from Bicycling Mag for once and throw some informal fitness training into the mix. I'll still get in the rainy commute (schedule permitting), pack the bike with me for longer layovers & even jump on the dreaded stationary trainer soon to get some bike specific workouts in so I don't grow too stale. I do have some particular short & long term goals and I think this is the right way to keep balanced.

Sometimes we get too focused on a particular goal(s) that we forget what the primary objective is - HAVE FUN and stay healthy & fit.

What to do in SJC for 3 hours?

Run.

Timber vultures

Just like ambulance chasers. The County cut down a big fir tree Friday that was a leaner. It wouldn't have been long before another good wind would have blown her over. Standing at the end of a cul-de-sac it wasn't in danger of causing any traffic disruptions but potentially was a hazard to cars that may be parked up there (including our own). And the wrong wind might have blown it the our way, surprisingly not much of a root structure that keep them standing.

So the County came out in force with a big high lift bucket truck, a dump truck hauling a chipper and a crew of six. After trimming the branches of an adjacent maple that was in the way of the projected fall, they attached a cable midway up the fir to one of the trucks, and meticulously cut the base so it would fall where they wanted. Then finally with a flick of a thumbs up from the chain saw guy, the truck backed away ever so slowly & down she came with a big thuwmp. "TIMBER!", my 3 kiddo's were yelling watching the whole show. The county guys then trimmed off & chipped up the branches, cleaned up the mess, bucked up the rest in 6' log sections.

And unfortunately for us the direction of the slope of the road where the tree lay it was easiest for the County crew to put the logs on the other side of the road rather than next to our hedge. Later that afternoon as I was returning home from a run, the first timber vulture was assessing the scene. He had the big rig 4X4 but didn't have his chain saw; but he was coming back. A few of the neighbors were also lurking.

Seeing as it was a tree on county property & the county crew cut it down, it was technically free for the taking, so we had to move fast.

We made a deal with one of our neighbors who came down with a tractor with a big claw & his big truck, so that he would buck all the logs into a manageable splittable size - and he could take half. She wasn't really an old fir, only had a 3' across base maybe 75' tall, where the kiddo's will now play on her stump. We'd rather see her stay in the neighborhood, than go to those who'd just come & take. It'll be a year or more to season it so it isn't so green, but when we do finally hear her crackle in the fireplace we'll have full appreciation for our giving tree.

Keeping the leaks flowing

Amazon may have caved to pressure, as did PayPal (a division of eBay); both claiming violations of their policies banning "illegal activities"though there has been no legal charges brought against anybody (yet). None of these companies will suffer as a result; folks are too fickle to really care (though they should), as they could wreak havoc against their bottom line especially in this Holiday Season should folks decide to stick up for their principles. But who really has the Time when there's presents to be bought & deals to be had?

I, for one, in protest will personally switch to utilizing

for my future billings; and dump my stock.

How long and how much of an effect that has may depend on you.