6 tons of leaves

Yeah, that is what I took off the lawn last weekend. (seriously, at least 6 tons with the leaf vacuum and the leaf blower....The vacuum holds about 1800 pounds per load and I took 8 loads of leaves to the dumping area).

Yet, to look at the yard today, I didn't do anything at all.

I LOVE having giant oaks, but not at this time of year. 

One wonders

Chicago area Representative Luis Guiteierrez won't seek reelection.

Odd, that. He pretty much is guaranteed a job, enjoying great support from the Chicago political machine and having a district that is chock a block full of (and gerrymandered to make sure of that) progressive liberals and hispanics who LOVE his policies of wanting open borders and other liberal policies  that benefit Hispanics. (Plus he's anti Trump). He pretty much had a job for life.

Yet, suddenly, he chooses to "not run for reelection".

One wonders what dirt (and who has it) on him. 

Nighttime:

A different experience when aviatin'.

Landings weren't a biggie. I had no issues on the approach or touchdown (other than my normal flare issues, which are getting better). Everyone told me how hard it was, landing at night,  but I didn't find it any more difficult than a daytime landing.

Flying without the ground reference was a bit more challenging, but that is what they make altimeters and artificial horizons for. Really that wasn't an issue....so far. I (generally) don't get vertigo as long as I have a horizon reference, at least so far in my life. If on a boat, as long as I stay on deck I'm fine. It is below deck where my eyes and inner ear disagree that I get vertigo and the resultant nausea. Really, as long as I have even a glass of water to give me a horizon, I'm ok. Other than having to use the field as a reference instead of landmarks (which I should be doing anyway, right?) I had no issues in the pattern.

My only real challenge was the fact that 04N is down with a Nav light issue (again), so I was in 3HA, which, while  a 172S, is a Garmin 1000 instrument panel, as opposed to Steam Gauges. I don't like the altimeter and airspeed tape display, and if I had the panel brightness to where it didn't interfere with my night vision, it caused issues in reading the two tapes. If I had it bright enough to be able to clearly read the two tapes for altimeter and airspeed (kinda important), I caused issues with my night vision. This may not be an issue during the day, but it is at night.

I think I prefer the steam gauges. Easier and faster to scan, and easier for an old guy to read.
When I buy my own plane, I don't think that a Garmin panel is gonna be a selling point.

6 more landing. 2 flat, 4 good (one really smooth, and not by simple chance). I'm getting there.

I think the night landings actually helped. Better perspective.

I won't get to fly again until Monday, so we will see what else I learned and what I forgot.

Yep

2 truths

HERE

Remember those 4 young black kids?

who beat and kidnapped and tortured the mentally disabled white kid on Facebook while screaming racial epithets ...back in January? The ones that were charged with torture, kidnapping and hate crimes?

Well, according to reports, the racial charges have been quietly dropped. No more "Hate Crime". Just aggravated kidnapping and ransom.

Care to take bets as to how this would have been handled if the races had been reversed? If a group of white kids had done this to a back man or kid?

Look, I think racially motivated crimes are terrible, no matter what the mix. Black/white. black/hispanic, Hispanic/white, White/black, etc. All bad. Any racially motivated crime deserves extra punishment. (Or at least special scrutiny come sentencing, at a minimum)
But lets keep it equal. No special privileges for folks just because they are poor black kids. (Nor rich white kids either).

These kids, by their own actions of the video, did this, in part, because of race. That should matter, if only 'cause it matters in other cases.

Prolly a good idea he cancelled, anyway.

A man who believes the Earth is flat and was ready to launch himself from a rocket in Amboy Saturday afternoon to prove it has canceled his plans. At least for now.

Not having the required federal permits plus mechanical problems with his "motorhome/rocket launcher" have forced self-taught rocket scientist "Mad" Mike Hughes to put his experiment on hold.


I tried hard not to laugh, especially when I read the descriptions of him and his efforts in the rest of the article. 

The media must be biased

They must be censoring the stories of white folks going apeshit and fighting and brawling and otherwise acting uncivilized at the Black Friday sales........

I mean, every single one of the stories shows black people acting like animals, never white folks, or asians. Come to think of it, I didn't see and hispanics either. Nor muslims nor Hindus.

Odd. Why don't they show those others brawling and fighting?

Must be the same conspiracy that only shows the Muslims as mass murderers with a religious motivation.

Or, we could accept that they are showing us what is the only thing that is happening, and that the other races aren't acting like animals in a crowd. That the other races act like civilized people. 

'tis interesting

There are those who claim to actually believe the accusations against Roy Moore.

And a great deal of those women say they believe the accusers because there are more than one.

Yet those same folks, oddly enough, failed to believe (actually attacked the accusers) those women who accused William Jefferson Clinton of his assaults....Even though there were more than one accuser.

I don't know if the accusers of Roy Moore are real or made up by the Post newspaper organization. I do know that they paid for the accusers to come forward and "Tell their Story" (I don't know for sure that William Clinton's accusers were telling the truth either, BTW). But I do know that there is a double standard in how the Media chooses to cover these stories. How they are slanted and how they are reported (if they are reported at all). Was William Clinton guilty? Probably. Did he get away with it because he was approved of by the media establishment? Likely.

And there is the rub. Moore's accusers lack credibility, but are being given a platform for their accusations. Clinton's accusers did not lack credibility, but were pretty much denied a platform for their stories to be heard.

Odd

I received my Student Pilot card from the FAA/DOT.

Oddly, the picture on it looks like Orville Wright.

Heh

Gotta love people, ya know?

I especially like the Whole "Set an example" bit. Great advice for folks who wish to judge others.

Whut?

What a terrible coincidence:

"He said authorities have no reason to believe Suiter’s killing was connected to his pending testimony." (watch the video, he even keeps a straight face)

(And yet)

"Davis also said that Suiter is believed to have been killed with his own service weapon, which was fired at close range, and that there was evidence of a struggle before the shooting."

Axxidents happen., yah know.
"Snitches get stitches".

Does anyone believe that cops are immune to large amounts of money? I mean, thery are human, after all. Plus, this is Baltimore. Always honest cops in cities like that, right? I mean, it isn't like LA (Rampart) or N' awlins or Philly or something, ya know? 

Happy Thanksgiving

Be safe, enjoy the time you are spending with Friends or Family (may you have the option).

And for those standing a post or taking the duty somewhere away from said friends and family, you have my respect and thanks.

54 years ago

The US President was shot and killed by a Magic Bullet fired by Lee Harvey Oswald, who was later killed by Jack Ruby.  

There are those who believe that the whole thing happened in the manner accepted by the Warren Commission. Then again there are those who still believe that Santa Claus lives at the north pole and brings eggs to kids every year at Easter or somesuch too.

I still wonder who had him killed, and why....and how they got so many folks to believe that the story that was postulated was, in fact, the Real and Honest (tm) Truth. (And part of me REALLY wants to know how they did it, just as an intellectual exercise)

Then again, I see all these folks in power get away with so many things, and the Media and the Law Enforcement folks just let 'em....and eventually we good sheep citizens forget about it enough to let things go back to Business as Usual.

But if you believe that Oswald did it (or at least all of it) then you either haven't bothered to look at the details or know nothing about ballistics or even basic physics.


But then again, that is most of the folks who watch the news, innit? 

In conversation in the car today:

"If the folks in front of me knew what thoughts were going through mu head right now, they'd be driving better or get out of my way"

Just sayin'. 

Depends on how you define it, I suppose

"Sixty percent of women have "experienced sexual harassment"".

Then again, 28 percent of "modern" women thing a wink by a male towards them is harassment. Or commenting on her appearance is harassment (depends though, on who is doing the comment,, innit ladies....If it is the "right" guy, the one you were trying to garner interest from, then it is ok, right girls?).

Oddly,  most older women don't think that much of that is harassment. Of course, real ladies know how to handle such things, it is only the Millenials and the last half of the Baby Boomer women who can't handle a wink or a compliment. Real Women know how to shut it down before it starts, but there are few Real Women left in this world.

This shit is getting out of hand.

Ladies, I think it is time you grew up a bit. For at least the past 20 years, you've had the upper hand when it came to complaining to HR.  If you didn't do anything about it then, then it must not have been that bad....

Seriously. Grow.The.Fuck.Up. Y'all aren't 9 years old, stop acting like you are. If it is "I am woman, hear me Roar" then learn to deal with male attention. Else men are gonna think that those chauvinists and religious fundamentalist are correct, and you shouldn't be let out without a keeper until you are married ('cause, apparently, y'all are too frail to deal with an unshielded world alone), and then, once married,  you are your husband's problem. What happened to "women are equal to men"? Either you are, or you ain't, ladies.

AAAAND again, we are all gonna die

Or something.

Bird Flu. Again. and this time with a 40% rate of death for those (few, so far..) infected.

Wait. And see....

Got preps?

Y'all need to read (Link fixt)

this:

When I ask this of any people who are not steeped in politics, their answer seems to be “because in South American countries there are the rich and the starving and nothing in between, and we’re becoming like that.”

We are?  According to whom?  Sure, the vaunted 1% has a lot more than the rest of us, but where are the starving multitudes who are in need of a crumb to eat, while billionaires circle the world in jets?  Where are the ragged children starving in the streets, while we party?
Nowhere, that’s where.  Sure, there’s need in America, but that need is more often than not the result of individual choices, of a need for drugs or alcohol, or simply an inability to plan. 

Read the whole damned thing.

If you are nodding your head afterwards, then we can be friends, you and I.

If you disagree, then we can't.

Trying to figure out why I should care

The Media keeps telling me I should...that I should care that Charles Manson is dead. I cannot figure out why.

I care more for the squirrel dead on the road than this. 

Bleg:

So years ago, I had a waffle maker that made wonderful, crispy, fairly  thin, yet fluffy waffles. It had 2  square plates that were removable for washing. They were extremely hard surface. And no, as this was a late 50's era wafflemaker (I bought it at thrift shop in the early 90's), they were not nonstick nor were they stainless or otherwise rust resistant.

And there is the rub.
I had never done more than clean em with a washrag and soapy water, then rinsed and dried with a towel and then put back into the wafflemaker proper and briefly turned it on so as to heat the plates, and then spritz a bit of bacon grease or other oil to keep 'em from rusting......They required bit more care that a teflon lined plate, but not much...

And they made really, really excellent crispy waffles.

So my cousin comes to live with me after a really bad domestic issue in another part of the country. She's afraid he ex is gonna track her down and kill her when he gets out of jail....so she asks if she can stay with me for a while.

Sure, why not, I got a spare room. If he shows up half a country away, I think it shows intent, so no worries about defending the homestead and all that. So she moves in. And, of course, as women are wont to do when they move in, began cleaning my bachelor pad......

Now my cousin had, as part of the domestic issue, a significant head injury and was on several medications that kept her....functional, but had odd side effects, some of which were that she failed to connect cause and effect sometimes.

Like in the case of the wafflemaker.

First off, in an attempt to "clean" the plates, she SCRUBBED OFF THE SEASONING (which should be a legal excuse for a particularly heinous murder, IMO) but then, to compound the issue, took the waffle iron plates and RAN THEM THROUGH THE DISHWASHER....twice. (She meant well, she really did).. See, they rusted the first time through, so she scrubbed 'em and ran them through again.

Thus the demise of the wafflemaker. The plates, once pitted by rust, would not release a waffle, once one was made upon them. Simply too much mechanical "bite" no matter how much oil one used. I even left the waffle on the plate and let it burn, hoping the carbon would fill in the holes....nope, no joy.

Which sucked, 'cause my Mirro brand wafflemaker made waffles that people praised. Stuff of legends and all that. Crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside.

I've scoured Ebay for a working replacement, searched thrift shops, etc. No joy.

I've purchased many new wafflemakers, and while some are good (most are crap) none get hot enough to make that crispy texture. Cheap ones, mid range, incredibly expensive ones.......no joy. Domestic, imported, european, cheap Chinese....not what I am seeking. None of them seem to get hot enough to make crispy waffleses. I've bought used "Vintage"  ones from EBay, and some do a ok job (Some are as pitted as the old wafflemaker)  , but few last, as they are all 50+ years old and then have to get shipped and I think the vibration kills 'em, so they break quickly. . I've bought commercial ones, cheap ones, expensive ones and everything in between. NONE of the new ones get as hot as the "vintage ones", and they just don't make good waffles.

So, to the BLEG:

Anyone got a suggestion for a (NEW) wafflemaker that meets my specs? I'd prefer square rather than round, but if I can find one that gets hot enough to make crispy waffles rather than the soft ones, I'd buy it. Prefer thin waffles rather than thick as well, but CRISPY instead of soft is the key. I'm tired of spending bucks on used crappy Ebay irons that are pitted and don't work or don't last , or new ones that don't heat properly (but most of those I can return)...


Cause I miss me my crispy thin waffles on Sunday morning. 

Yet, they cannot connect cause and effect here

Read this NYTimes article.

Notice anything missing?

Like the cause of the cost changes? Like the reason it costs so much more? Like the fact these poor folks listed in the article are subsidizing those other, "less Fortunate" folks, who make bad decisions and have little to show for them? You know, the "poor"...The ones that can't afford health insurance but can afford the latest fashions....Cant pay for birth control, but sport a brand new Tattoo that cost what a used car does? You know, the "poor".....The ones that get tons of Free Shit. Now with Free Health Insurance.

Notice that the article fails to mention the fact that most insurers are pulling out of areas where they have to eat much of the cost of insurance, despite the Federal subsidies through the "Affordable" Care Act because they have to offer plans and they just can't make a profit to offset the risk?

I mean, yes the NYT is a shill for Dems, and yes, the ACA was a DNC creation, and yes, it does make some folks get less expensive health care insurance to the detriment of others, and yes, costs are rising just like the ObamaCare opponents said they would.....

But the Times fails to mention all that, just how bad it is for folks who, you know, work and make good decisions in life. You know, the productives, not the Free Shit Army.

Welcome, my friends to Socialism.... the Show That Never Ends. How do ya like it so far?