Mom on “Winter wonderland” (17 Dec 2008 (Wed) @ 5:41 PM (PST))	Great pictures - you should email a couple to Gran...
Lisa on “Crazy Ice Storm photos!” (16 Dec 2008 (Tue) @ 2:16 PM (PST))	Those remind me of Corvallis when we met!
Steve on “This is why I don't like low-wing aircraft” (3 Dec 2008 (Wed) @ 11:36 AM (PST))	At many runways like this, there is a runway prote...
Brent on “This is why I don't like low-wing aircraft” (3 Dec 2008 (Wed) @ 11:27 AM (PST))	I don't understand how a boat like that can be all...
Steve on “I was told this was a comedy website” (1 Dec 2008 (Mon) @ 2:11 PM (PST))	I think you are right. On both counts. "The prob...

Today Lisa and I went to the Pacific Science Center to see the Lucy exhibit, about a very old well preserved skeleton of a human ancestor. It was very interesting. We also went to some other places in the center, including the butterfly room where a large butterfly landed on Lisa’s head (all photos). Afterwards, we went across town to an Ethiopian restaurant and had traditional Ethiopian cuisine. In this culture, the food is served on a central platter, and instead of utensils, you break off chunks of bread and use the bread to scoop the food.

The sky was clear this morning so I decided to cancel my original plan (go to work) and head to the airport instead. I found the plane available, but covered in a thin layer of ice. Planes don’t fly with even a small amount of ice because it disrupts the airflow and causes the wing to stall.

No problem, the manager says, we’ll put it in the hanger, turn on the heater, and you can brush the ice off with a broom. Sounds like a great plan. So at about 9:45am we wheel the plane into the hanger, close the door, and turn on the big overhead heaters.

I then proceed through the preflight while the ice melts. Slowly. I finish the preflight. Still icy. I get the broom. Some ice comes off, some doesn’t. So patience is called for.

At around 11:00am, the plane is still icy but the ice is starting to come off. We move the plane out of the hanger because a plane behind it needs to get out too. That plane, of course, had been parked in the hanger all night and had no ice on it.

So they are getting going and I’m still scrubbing away with the broom trying to get all the ice off the wings and tail and everything. I’m also glancing at my watch because the next guy has the plane at 1pm and I would cry if I spent so many hours de-icing it just to run out of time and have to hand it to the next guy.

I notice that the plane hasn’t flown in over two weeks due to the weather... I check the oil and it comes out like sludge. Hmm. So finally I’m ready to go. I go through the normal procedure, hit the starter, and the prop spins slowly as the starter whir-whir-whirs it around. I try for a bit longer, and then pull out the book and find “Cold Weather Starting”, which is what I should have done all along.

Of course, the first line item is a warning about how the plane is much more likely to catch fire during a cold weather start, and that a lineperson with a fire extinguisher should be standing at ready. Nice. I follow the procedures and after a significant amount of coaxing and the engine roughly coughs to a semblence of life.

I let it sit grinding away and praying that the oil will loosen up fast enough so there is no damage. I think back to when I asked Steve if they used pre-heaters, and he told me that these old Cessnas don’t really need them. I guess “need” and “want” are different categories.

Well of course as the engine starts to warm it smooths out a bit. From that point, taxi and runup, takeoff and climb are all normal.

Part of the runup is to check the flight controls, which I did and found them all working normally.

So I arrive at 3,500 ft and decide to level off. First I gently release the yoke. Nothing. Then I push forward on the yoke. Nothing. It’s stuck. There’s no real panic or even concern in my mind, just a “that’s interesting...” So I push more firmly. Clunk. Something comes loose and the plane noses down somewhat abruptly.

And with that, normal elevator operation is restored.

So I fly around a bit, practice some manuevers, do really poorly on S-turns (due to the wind, yeah, that’s the ticket). Make an evasive turn to avoid an airplane near and heading straight toward me. About five seconds later, the tower called and told me to watch for the traffic. Nice.

Five landings; first was rough, pretty bad, with a little bounce. After that, quite smooth, with one nearly perfect. A strong headwind helped me land short, which is always nice. Good times, and glad to be “back in the saddle”.

Lisa made a special raspberry pear and pancake brunch.



The hound used the wood-pile as a pillow.

Last night we went up to John and Katy’s and hung out with them and some friends for a few hours. Left before midnight to avoid the drunk drivers; made it home just after the year changed.

Tonight we’re gonna party like it’s 1999. Wait, what?

My parents came to pick us up and we joined them for Christmas. It was a good time with gifts, good food, and some calls to California to check on some folks there. Weird weather all over the place, but we were able to make it. No way we could have driven it though. Hopefully by this weekend most snow will have melted.

One of the carports in our complex partially collapsed.



A friend of mine helped get the car out, she says: "This picture was taken after we had partially dismantled the roof and pushed the sheet metal back up so most of us could get our cars out. Only the end car was damaged."

Lisa went to go to work today and the car grounded out about five feet from the carport. It then took two hours (!) to get it unstuck enough to get back into the carport. A neighbor lent his shovel, and my idea of boiling salt water really helped a lot; with those two things I was able to finally get it back into the carport. It was stuck BAD.

Lisa and I exchanged gifts today. Highlights for me include a new set of clothes, a framed photo of one of my early solo flights with the Da Vinci flying quote written on it, and a new wallet; also the movie “Spaceballs”. She enjoyed a season of Survivor and the movie Run Lola Run.

The snow is melting but I think it will stick around long enough to be called a “white Christmas”.

A topic on reddit: “Have you ever killed someone?” A lot of the responses are very sad.... But it’s also something to think about that death can appear in various circumstances, especially in accidental forms.

A child accidentally kills his friend:

When I was about 10 I was playing baseball. I was never a very good athlete, but I hit the ball squarely for once – hard and relatively low, and it hit the opposing pitcher in the windpipe, crushing it. He died before medical help arrived.

A child’s mistake results in his grandmother’s death:

I accidentally killed my grandmother. I was visiting my grandparents house, I was about 12 or 13. My grandfather instructed me to put my luggage in the spare room where I would be sleeping. I mistakenly placed the luggage in the wrong room next to the door. My grandmother, who was quite old, entered the darkened room and tripped over the luggage. My grandfather scolded me for hurting my grandmother. She died 3 days later from the fall.

A child knocks down an older lady and runs away:

When I was six or seven I rammed some old lady with my bike inadvertently, because I wasn’t paying attention. She fell down and was unconscious, and had a bleeding wound on her head. As soon as I recognized the latter, I was scared shitless, and ran away in panic. Had to live with it ever since. And this is the first time I tell anyone about it.

A soldier shoots at a car that bypassed a checkpoint:

It was a checkpoint in Kabul. I’m a Canadian. The vehicle did not halt and instantly became my target as per the orders of my commanding officer who lead the reconnaissance mission. I was one of the few who had to pull the trigger. It was the worst day of my life.

A nurse terminates life support:

I’m an RN, and as such I’ve been asked to terminate life support for people. It’s not often, but it happens.

A rescuer loses a victim:

I didn’t kill anyone, but did not save someone I might have. Years ago on a snowy day on Route 1, Ft. Belvoir Virginia. I’m headed home from work, northbound. A southbound car spun out on the downhill slope and was t-boned by another car, hard. I pulled over and went to the car where a girl, perhaps 18-19 was lying backwards out the drivers side door, no seat belt on and unconscious. Her head was hung back. I myself was in a sort of shock. It was instantaneous, but felt so surreal. She was not breathing and had no pulse that I could detect. I lifted her by her shoulders and tried to perform CPR, but the softness of the seat prevented it. Her legs were pinned beneath the dashboard. I breathed for her, but it was all I could do. A crowd was gathered, watching me. Shortly afterward, the first aid squad showed up and took over. It took a while to extricate her. I left when they did, the whole of Route 1 being stopped in both directions. I saw on the evening news that she had died, and probably died in my arms. I sobbed all night long and dwelt on it for days, knowing it was not really in my control to save her, but feeling horrified that this pretty young girl had passed away. In some ways it changed forever how I feel about life and death.

A doctor who couldn’t save them all:

Physician here. When you decide on a treatment option that is 99.9% successful, those who fall into the 0.01% still feel like blood on your hands.

Another doctor who feels work-load may contribute to unnecessary deaths:

As a physician, maybe I’ve let people die. I wish it wouldn’t, but it does happen. The ER busy as hell, you make a diagnosis too late. And you will never know if it would have changed something if someone had diagnosed the problem earlier.

A four-year police veteran draws his weapon twice, but doesn’t use it:

I drew my weapon on 2 people in 4 years but never had to fire.

The first time, it was my first week on the job. I was with a guy named Danielson. Some asshole had been doing meth all night and eventually got in a fight with his wife. She had locked herself and their 2 kids in the upstairs bedroom when she called us.

So Danielson knocks, the guy opens the door, every bit of 6 foot and 250 pounds. He’s just peeking his head out, so Danielson starts pushing the door open asking where the wife is. Meth head steps back a little and I see a kitchen knife the size of my forearm in his other hand. Meth dude kicks the door shut and locks it.

Danielson just mutters “fuck, draw” and kicks the bajeezus out of the door. One shot and it opened. Meth guy is standing a few feet down the hallway now, I can hear kids and wife screaming from upstairs, and that blade is just shimmering.

My 9mm is now pointed squarely at meth guy’s head, but for some reason Danielson is holstering his weapon. He takes off charging at meth guy and wraps him up in a big bear hug. Now, I was 100% prepared to shoot the guy when this started happening so I have no clue what to do now. Meth guy’s forearms are kinda locked to his sides and he’s trying to wrestle Danielson off the top of him. So walked over, weapon still drawn, and stomp on meth guy’s wrist with the heel of my boot. Shattered that bad-boy. He let go of the knife at that point and luckily a couple more officers showed up because I think the shock had just started to set in. I remember walking up the stairs and telling the wife she could open the door. That’s about all.

The second time I drew some drunk guy wouldn’t cooperate at Oktoberfest when we asked him to leave. He then told us he would “shoot our asses” with one hand behind his back. Of course, I had a real gun which kinda trumped the imaginary one he was going to fire at us. I think he realized my real bullets might hurt so he put his hands up after that.

It’s been a long, deep snow... It’s starting to melt today. We took some photos:

So I guess today is the solstice. So now we can look forward to longer days.. Something interesting ... the shortest day of the year, and the day with the earliest sunset are NOT the same day... they are separated by several days.

A person says:

Anyway, the Winter Solstice has always been a time of celebration, because ancient people — more closely tied with the skies due to agriculture and no light pollution — knew that it meant the Sun was coming back up, and spring was coming. We celebrate it in modern times by going into debt. We’re far more sophisticated these days.

Here’s a picture I found on the internet:


Also, to celebrate the sun:

In aggregate, I’d say we’ve received at least one foot of snow over the past days/weeks that the snowing has been going on... This is the most snow I’ve ever seen at a place of residence... Is this going to be our whole winter spent in one punch, or is it the prelude for a snowy winter to come?



The snow is up to the hound’s neck!

You tell me.

Recorded for posterity.