Bits and pieces

Global Warming made a big time come back yesterday, for which I offer thanks. Much work was done on the yard here at the Palatial Retirement Compound,including the removal of the white oak tree leaves that hang on during most of winter and then drop in early spring. Messy they are and if the pair in the front yard keep offending me I think they will meet with Mr. Chain Saw.

In other non-news I noticed that a US Airways flight lost a piece of wing covering that hit a passenger window, producing a crack and (surely) a fair amount of consternation in the passengers. The plane landed safely so the news coverage was brief and limited, death and destruction being the usual requirement for extended talking head attention.

This reminds me of the Boeing 737 that had the top of its fuselage peel off during an inter-island flight in Hawaii. Southwest Airlines apparently has been ignoring the inspections the FAA mandated after the Aloha 737 structual failure. Given that a Flight Attendant was sucked out of the aircraft during the Aloha incident I would say they are lucky that passengers haven't discovered a hidden meaning in "You are now free to move about the country." If all passengers were shown pictures of the Aloha 737 surely there would be no grumbling about keeping their seat belts fastened while seated....

Returning to the Aloha 737, I can only tip my hat to the crew. Somehow the aircraft held together and the pilot landed it safely.

I was also reminded of a Navy P5M seaplane that had its starboard engine catch fire on a flight from PR to Norfolk. The fire did not go out and the pilot made a rapid descent and landed in the water....The rapid descent and sea water on landing put the fire out and the crew then taxied several hundred miles to Key West with a large crack in the wing. To those of you who think landing on water is "soft" I remind you of what you may have learned in high school physics. Water does not compress. Dirt does.

There is, of course, lots of politics going on but I feel that I have been too focused on Hussein. If the country doesn't know now what a disaster he will be as a President I fear that the stupidity epidemic is advanced to the terminal stage.

However, I note that Hussein's ex-minister the Reverend "God Damn America" Wright has cancelled his planned appearance at a church in Texas because of death threats.

I am sure both the Hillary and McCain campaigns are rushing agents and other protective measures to his side. The Reverend is far too valuable to both to let some nut remove him from his mortal coil.