I can’t believe I didn’t think to write about this life event until now.  I was reminded by a discussion on the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) LinkedIn group asking for folks to submit aviation photos.  As I was looking through my “Flying” photos I remembered the shots I took at Livermore Municipal Airport (KVLK) on the beautifully clear day I was suppose to go on my very first solo.  I made it all the way to getting ready to take off when I was instructed to return to the parking area as I wouldn’t be taking off anytime soon.  Okay, before you think it was because I was a total noob and did something wrong, it wasn’t.  Unfortunately, it was because they were shutting down the airport while waiting for a plane that was in distress to make an emergency landing.

Here’s how the events unfolded.  I had just returned to the airplane parking area from a flight with my CFA (Certified Flight Instructor) when he turned to me and said, “Well, the wind is a little stronger than I would have liked but I think you are ready to head out for your first solo.”  Wow, this is it.  He wants to see if, without him in the plane slapping my hand or asking me what I’m doing, or should be doing, I can pilot the craft and bring the flight school’s plane back intact.  Okay, he’s experienced.  If he thinks I’m ready then I think I’m ready.  So, my instructor hopped out and I asked the ground controller for clearance to taxi.  Guess what?  He told me to head to the runway.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As I approached Runway 25R I flipped my radio to the tower frequency.  It was about this time that a Cessna 310N twin-engine plane passed overhead and I heard the tower say something to the effect that “No, your front gear does not seem to be fully down and locked.”  A short time later I called to the tower, mentioned I was a student pilot and doing my first solo, and was located at 25R.  The quick reply was, “I don’t think that’s happening.”  The delayed reply was, “zero-niner-quebec, you can head back to parking.”

I must say that I was disappointed, and though not a good situation at all, at least I didn’t screw up.  Also, I had brought my camera in anticipation that I would solo that day and wanted to get a picture.  So, I taxied back to the parking area and grabbed my camera from my truck as well as my scanner so that I could monitor the radio play between pilot and tower.

The conversation was pretty sparse and consisted of such things as stating he had two souls on board and would like to declare an emergency.  There is a fire department located on the airport grounds, a short distance from where I was.  They were on the ready.  It wasn’t too much longer before the plane was turning base to final on a very nice approach to 25R, the widest and longest runway at the Livermore general aviation airport.  I snapped away as the pilot expertly guided his craft over the end of the runway and then leveled out, settling down on his main gear while maintaining an attitude that kept his plane’s nose slightly up.  As he slowly lost speed the nose settled down onto the nose gear and continued to the pavement as the gear collapsed up toward the fuselage.

Cessna 310N - Nose Gear Failure

I was amazed at the great job this pilot did at smoothly flying down the runway and setting down his plane so soft and straight.  When the nose reached the asphalt the sound of grinding metal shot across the field as the plane continued sliding along the runway.  Not too much further and the plane came to rest with the tail pitched quite high.  Quite quickly the door opened and the two occupants exited the plane.  About the same time the fire truck rolled up along with some other airport vehicles.  Several individuals lingered about the plane, probably taking in the site just as I and my instructor were from my vantage point.

Wow, what a great ending to what could have been a terrifically bad situation.  Definitely calm and experienced piloting skills were present in the left seat that day.  Though the occupants of the plane were quite fortunate, I later found out that the plane wasn’t so fortunate as it had encounter prop strikes on both, just recently rebuilt, engines.

As a student pilot, ready to solo for the first time, watching this really left me quite humbled and impressed at the skill of the pilot in charge of that plane.  Did it put me off flying at all?  Definitely not!  In fact, the very next day, June 11, 2006, I was back at the airport and headed off on my own.  I completed my first solo flight consisting of three take-off and landings and about .4 hours of flight time.  It’s always good when the number of take-off’s match the number of landings.  Better yet, if you are able to finish your flight and fill out your log book that’s a good day flying.  The culmination of my solo was the traditional cutting off of the back of my shirt.  Such a proud moment.

If anyone is looking for someone to keep them company flying out of Livermore let me know by leaving a comment.  Unfortunately, time and money have required me to adjust my life such that I have not flown since August 2008, when I flew my Uncle, some cousins and their children on a few sightseeing trips around the East Bay.  Arghhhh!  I need to go get my biennial done so I can get current again and go get my $100 hamburgers.

Gee, what shall I watch while I’m putting in five and a half miles on the treadmill?  Well, I haven’t seen the news for a while, guess I’ll catch up on things.  Damn!  Politicians!  Oh hell, I guess I’ll see what the President has to say.  After all, it can only make the effort of running worse.

First impressions?  What the heck is a State of the Union Address for?  Is he talking to the other politicians, who hopefully already know his agenda?  Shouldn’t President Obama be talking to the American People?  Why doesn’t he look at the camera?  If he isn’t talking to us then why is he on television?

Hey!, I’m over here!

These speeches really come off as a bunch of folks patting each other on the back and saying, “You’re great!  Keep up the good work.”  I was thinking this was a total waste of time as Obama didn’t start off saying anything new and it was just a constant round of cheering and standing ovations.  I really don’t have time for a pep rally.  Can we just disseminate the information?  Can you also maybe look at the camera once in awhile so the American People think you are speaking to them?  Oh, and while I’m on it, can you not have Boxer and Biden sitting behind you.  I know that’s where they belong when Congress is in session but it’s really distracting.

Okay, after about 15 minutes I was adjusting to the applause and standing ovations and ceremony and started listening to what Obama was saying.  Here’s my take on some of his points, and in no particular order:

Boxer, for God’s sake, sit down!!!

Health Care

I must admit, I’m not a big supporter of this, which I know it isn’t the most popular stance.  I just don’t get it.  Don’t we already have provisions in place to help folks with health care?  Can’t I, as an American, go to any emergency room and get assistance?  They can’t turn me away.  I suppose for chronic issues one would have a problem, and I understand that.  But there has to be other government programs that exist to help with this. Medicaid?  Medicare?  Sorry, this is where I maybe a bit naïve, or perhaps haven’t experienced the issue as I pay out of pocket over $1,000 a month to have health care.  And, folks, I was totally under employed in 2009, so, I’m not talking as someone who can really afford health care right now.

Anyway, as I heard Obama spout off about, “How are we going to curb insurance costs and rein in these health care insurers so that they are fair?” I was just thinking we don’t need a really expensive health care system to affect change.  Just enact laws that protect the general public from the sharks that swarm around in these companies working on ways to make money at the expense of people’s lives.  At least, in my opinion, this is a really great way to start the process.  And while you are at it, let’s look at health care product suppliers who overcharge for products because they can.  Maybe limiting medical malpractice cases to those that truly have merit would be a good idea too.  All of these efforts would be much less expensive, much less apt to step on everyone’s wallet and much less apt to go bad.  If this doesn’t work then you can start looking at other options but, hopefully, when the economy can better endure the expense.  Where are they getting the money for this anyway?  From Social Security?  Why not try and fix some of the inequities before trying to create a whole new system?

Lobbying

I’m all for controlling lobbying.  Of course, and I’m not saying it’s a bad thing,  this would likely help the President in the next election, provided he doesn’t screw something up in the next 3 years.  How?  Well, President Obama will be in a race with a pre-built fan base; folks he doesn’t have to sell.  He is only investing his dollars into incremental gain or, if he is wildly popular, he just sits back, saves his money and keeps quiet.  On the flip side, most contenders will be starting from scratch, given that most are only known by their “local” constituency.  This means they will likely need more dollars to win the election.  Something that always has been unfair.  I honestly don’t know if President Obama has thought of this.  I actually hope he is being genuine and understands that lobbying can cater to the interests of the few over the interests of the majority and, as such, needs to be more heavily limited and openly reported.  Anyway, I like this point and wish President Obama good luck as this has been proposed a lot but never really seems to win the favor of the politicians.

Job Creation

I still don’t know what to believe with regard to statements that the recovery act has created 2 million new jobs.  I hear it said but I also hear that unemployment is rising.  It is possible that 2 million new jobs were created, but this doesn’t necessarily mean a net gain in jobs overall.  Anyway, I’m all for creating jobs in positions that this country needs.  I just don’t want to pay to employ folks just to employ them.

I’m happy that the thought is to push this effort through the funding of small businesses as this really is the correct approach.  Over half of the jobs in this country are in small businesses.  These are companies that don’t have the same resources as larger companies but still impact our economy a great deal.  So, let the large companies manage their monetary and workforce resources as they always have and let’s help fund the small businesses such that they can add positions to the workforce.  The only statement I heard that I don’t agree with was that the recovery funding should go toward “adding new jobs or increasing current employee wages.”  Increases in wages should come about only if growth is a result of increasing the workforce and this increase leads to a more profitable firm and, ultimately, increased wages.  Otherwise, let the current employee’s wages increase by the company finding existing sources of funding and not recovery-based funding.

Executive Pay

Folks, we live in a capitalist society where the innovators and leaders make more than the rest of us.  To simply spout words to fire folks up because you know many will agree with you is pathetic.  How about instead of saying executives can’t pay themselves exhorbitant salaries and bonuses that you say something like, “If you are an executive, and perhaps more greedy than you should be, then you must limit your wages such that you are staying in line with those folks who also are instrumental in making your business a success?  Share the wealth a bit.”  Maybe a CEO can’t exceed 200% more in total compensation than the average total compensation of the top 40% of the company’s employees.  If they can make the company profitable enough to pay their employees more, then they can pay themselves more too.

Freezing the Budget

Funny, being in California, where there is a balanced budget requirement, this just seems logical.  It’s a big step, and there likely will be a lot of loopholes for getting around it, but it is a good idea if done honestly and properly. Yep, I think it is great if President Obama really freezes the budget for three years starting in 2011.  My only question, though, is at what level is he freezing the budget?  If it is at the 2008 level then that would be great but maybe 2005 is a better target.  If the budget freeze is based upon the 2009 or 2010 level of spending then this is an empty proposal and would just continue the upward spiral of our spending and the unchecked growth of our Country’s deficit.  So, this statement really meant nothing to me because President Obama didn’t say, “Starting in 2011 we will freeze the budget for three years at the 2008 level.”  Let’s hear what you really propose, not “This won’t start until 2011 because that’s how budgeting works.”

School Funding

I think I liked this part of President Obama’s speech the most as he’s totally right, the future of the United States will be determined by the investment we make in our children’s education.  What goes along with this, though, is instilling this belief in those parents who don’t parent.  There are plenty of kids who don’t go to school, or simply “attend” school, because their parents are “absent”.  We need to invest in our children’s education but we also must help those who could benefit by this spending but won’t due to their lack of family support.  Probably a different problem but worth trying to solve as this leads to uneducated adults who are more likely to not positively contribute to society and may find themselves in our criminal justice system.  I’d rather see the money go to saving these forgotten children as, in the long run, you will make America stronger and help future generations.  You also will lower the cost of housing a bunch of criminals and increase your tax base; and you may save a child that goes on to cure cancer or Parkinsons or the common cold.

Bipartisanship

Finally, if the President really believes in a bi-partisan approach to politics then he needs to stop adding to the divide and stop putting the onous of this on the Republicans, of which I’m not one.  His comment to the Republicans stating that they shouldn’t require 60% or more of Congress to be of a given party to pass something is inflammatory.  Here’s what President Obama should do:  Lead by example!  How?  Find a cause that the Republicans are really wanting support on and… support it!  As long as it truly is a good idea being proposed, why not show that you are bi-partisan.  That’s what being a great leader is.  By showing others how things should be done and that it isn’t about what party you are a member of, but what is best for America, regardless of who thought of the idea!  So, let’s make it happen folks as I REALLY am tired of paying for a bunch of malcontents that posture instead of representing those that put them in office.  Could you imagine how great the United States of America could be if the politicians did not participate in politics?

Okay, I’m good.  I know I may not have the most popular or fully thought out ideas but, heck, I was a bit oxygen deprived while running and watching the circus that is our US government.

Oh yeah, what the heck was meant by “We are working with Muslim communities around the world to promote science, education and innovation.“, especially as it was juxtaposed right along with “And we are launching a new initiative that will give us the capacity to respond faster and more effectively to bio-terrorism or an infectious disease – a plan that will counter threats at home, and strengthen public health abroad.“?  Do I just watch too much television or haven’t most of the recent terrorists been Muslim?  I don’t know, it just caught me as a bit off and strange that a specific religion should be a point in Obama’s speech.

Wow, the sky is still opening up here in sunny California. It was coming down fairly good with a whole lot of rain when I took Harrison to school. Looks like we have more bands that will be coming through for at least another couple of days. So far things are quite wet but hanging in there. I guess the saving grace is that we get breaks in between the storms.

Just a little while ago, well, probably an hour now, I was in my office and could hear a downpour begin. I looked out for a little while (I have a LOUSY view) and decided to go look out the Harrison’s bedroom window to see how things looked out front. It was just wave-after-wave of sheets of water. Totally amazing and fantastic to watch. So compelling was the shear volume of rain that I decided to head downstairs and step outside to take it in even more.

Bird Resting by Repaired Gutter

From the front porch I noticed that water was coming off the end of the gutter along the front of the garage. Not a huge deal but obvious that the downspout was clogged. Figured since we were still going to get a lot more rain that I should do something about it, so, went back in, dawned my raincoat and put on my Driza-Bone hat and headed out through the garage. I grabbed the trusty aluminum step ladder and went to the end of the gutter with the downspout. No surprise, the guard I have over the drain was totally covered up in Fall’s flurry of leaves. I proceeded to clean that out and decided I should keep working my way down the gutter. While standing on the top of this tall aluminum step ladder, I scooped handful after handful of leaves and who-know’s-what and threw them onto a deserving part of the yard, all while listening to the wonderous sounds of cracking thunder above my head. Hmmm, should I be standing on a metal ladder with my hand dipping into a metal gutter while lightening is coming down somewhere around me? Don’t tell my Boy Scout troop.

As I worked down the gutter I shifted to standing on the edge of my truck bed as opposed to the ladder.  When I got to the other side of the truck I actually looked at the gutter on the end that I had noticed the rain spilling off. Glory be! The gutter had actually pulled away from the house 6 to 12 inches and was hanging there! Okay, I’m now moving from getting dirt under the nails to carpentry work.  I moved the ladder around the truck to investigate further. A couple of hangers had come unfastened and a nail that was holding in the gutter also had pulled out. So, I found a new, longer nail, fashioned a washer around it as the head wasn’t real big, and re-attached things. It was a little tough as, after I had nailed things back up, I realized I had gotten the flange on the back of the gutter above the tar paper. After struggling a bit I got one of the most versatile tools known to man, the screwdriver, and situated things as they should be and I only received minor cuts from the edge of the gutter.  At the same time I noticed the end concrete shingle was not actually attached to anything. The nail in the end missed its target and was above the wood member it was meant to have gone into. So, I repositioned it and nailed it in.   A job completed!

Heck! I just did a roofing job and realized I had noticed some shingles that had slid down on the other side of the garage roof. Well, I’m in the spirit now, and actually had noticed these a couple of years ago (I’m kinda bad about attending to some repair jobs), so, let’s go crawl out of one of the upper floor bedroom windows and take a closer look.  That was the first challenge as the window I needed to egress through was Harrison’s.  Funny as earlier when I was looking out his window at the rain I was thinking he really needs to clean his room so that the windows are accessible in an emergency.  Now my thoughts had moved to cussing as trying to climb over the piles of clothes, books and other odds-and-ends on the chest next to his window just added to the enjoyment of the moment.

Repositioned Roof Tiles

Well, the screen came out and I made my way out the window and onto the narrow section of the roof.  I climbed over the ridgeline while being conscious of where I was stepping so as to try and not break any of the concrete roof tiles. I actually was rather shocked at what I found, and surprised I hadn’t seen any water in the garage.  The tiles had slid far enough down that there actually was exposed areas of the flashing and tar paper.  Something I hadn’t noticed from the street.  Okay, time to step it up and get things back in order.   What I found is that these inside edge pieces were not nailed down but simply adhered along the side connecting groove with some heavy, rubberized type of roofing compound.  What I also found was that, even though things had shifted, the compound seemed to be having a pretty good bond such that I broke a couple of tile corners getting them apart to move.   The best approach appeared to be re-positioning the tiles from the top down.  I also found that as you hold up the tile above the one you are pushing in that it is a good thing to keep your thumb up out of the way unless you like the site of blood and the pain of your thumb being smashed by the rough edge of a concrete roof tile.

Lazy Sadie

Of course, the last tile was adhered rather tightly to the one above it and this lowest tile, of about five rows, was the one that had slid the furthest. In trying to pull it apart I broke off about 5 inches of the edge with part of it still attached to the tile I was trying to slide up.  It did not want to come off.  Okay, time to crawl back through the window and grab the screwdriver again.  Damn crap in front of the window!   Wait until Harrison gets home!  Well, the screwdriver I found upstairs wasn’t doing the trick, so, down to the garage I headed with the roof tile in hand.  A few careful whacks on the screwdriver with the hammer and the piece separated without further damage.  Back out the window, over the roof top and down to this last spot and, whalla!, the tiles are back in place, little broken corners and all.  Fortunately there isn’t much that should make these shift that I can probably wait a couple of more years to get some roofing compound and go back up and fix it in a more lasting manner.  Heck, maybe I’ll tackle the tiles I noticed starting to slide off the chimney bump-out about five years ago!  At least the rain had let up while I worked on the roof and now I’m back in the comfort of my dark and dreary office after checking that I hadn’t disturbed slumbering Sadie.

I’m on a bit of a roll as last week I was doing balance beam work by walking 10 feet off the ground on the 4×6 inch beams of the backyard overhead while Ginny said prayers from our upper floor bedroom window.   I had to place some lattice back that had blown out. Nice to know I still have a little balance left in me.

So, the other day I was thinking about National Health Care, a rarity as I prefer not to try and figure out the reasoning’s of politicians.  It dawned on me that our Congress and the cost of health care have a very common thread; lawyers.  As such, we are not likely to get a viable solution to this issue if it is coming from our elected officials.

I think if I took a poll, most people would say that they don’t feel our government represents its constituents well, does a very good job of running itself (there’s another topic vis-a-vis business regulating itself), budgets the taxpayer dollars well, nor is likely to improve anytime soon, if ever.  What is the background of a large majority of the members of Congress?  Without going through all of their bios, I’ve found estimates that somewhere around 50% have law degrees, with most having practiced law prior to joining Congress.  What percent of the population is lawyers?  I’ve seen estimates of less than 1 percent to around 6 percent.  I’m guessing the former is likely the more accurate estimate.  So, are the members of Congress representative of their constituency?  Does having a law degree make someone a better politician or better at working the political system?  Does having a law degree aid a politician in managing taxpayers’ money or eating it up by writing bills that are more than 2000 pages long?  Are lawyers inexpensive?  Are politicians expensive?

Let’s move on to health care.  Again, if I took a poll asking respondents why they think the cost of health care is so high, I’m guessing I’d hear things like equipment and prescriptions are expensive, but my guess is the number one response would be due to the cost of medical malpractice and the plethora of regulations.  Think about it, the cost of many of the things that make up health care is due to concerns around liability.  So, is the health care system to blame or is it the regulations (hmmm, who write the laws?) and medical malpractice lawyers’ exorbitant fees?  Certainly we need systems in place to protect patients from general ineptitude but I think the main benefactors are those providing malpractice and liability avoidance services.  Society in the United States has become much too litigious.  Instead of being the good citizen, taking responsibility for our actions and caring for our neighbor, many are bent on what and how much they can get out of the system.  Many laws also are on the books to protect those who don’t have common sense nor practice good judgment.  And, lawyers are all too eager to help.  Just watch television and you will see an abundant number of commercials looking for clients.

Would we be better off if we limited the number of politicians who have law degrees?  Maybe there should be quotas around how many lawyers are allowed to be members of Congress, such that we can open up positions for doctors, teachers, construction workers, businessman and many of the other professions that make up the populace.  Should we regulate government like they regulate us?  How about instead of having the government, largely made up of lawyers, pull our tax dollars to pay for health care, which benefits their brethren medical malpractice buddies, we set caps on medical malpractice lawsuits and the fees that attorneys are allowed to charge?  Seems really strange to me that a doctor earns less than a lawyer.  Sounds like greed winning out over the value of life.

Not that I don’t try to be an optimist, I really do, but the pragmatist in me doesn’t see our government’s attempt at reforming and managing a health care system as being successful.  However, it likely appears that some form of government run health care system is coming.  I just wish they’d fund it with the profits the medical malpractice lawyers earn instead of on the fortunate, but already burdened, populace who pays a lot of their hard earned dollars to obtain health care insurance.

So, what do you think?  I’m not asking if you think we need health care reform, or that more of the population deserves health care, but do you think the government can really create and manage such a system based upon their  prior track record?  Do you think reforming medical malpractice might actually be as effective an approach for making health care more affordable to everyone?

I’m glad that over the past 20 years I could be there to use my Chase Bank credit cards to allow Chase Bank to partner in my good fortune by earning fees from the merchants with whom I frequented.  I really was proud to use my Chase Bank credit cards as they had such lovely graphical designs and were fashioned to fit so perfectly in my wallet.  A smile would always come to my face when I would pull out my Disney Rewards Card and see Mickey, Donald and Goofy laughing even though I couldn’t figure out why they were laughing.

I’m also so happy that I was making good money and paying lofty taxes so, after Chase Bank fell on hard times due to what must have been someone else’s poor decisions and fiscal bad practices, the federal government could step in and lend them a hand using my tax dollars.

You can only imagine the shame and guilt I felt when I called Chase Bank less than a year ago and asked them to lower my interest rate based upon my many years of being a loyal customer.  Even though they knew this really wasn’t the right thing to do as loyal customers shouldn’t be penalized with lower rates, they willingly obliged.

Wow!  You can imagine how beside myself and exalted I was when I got a notice raising my interest rate from 8.24% to 14.99%.  I think they must have sensed my sleepless nights due to the enormous guilt I was harboring.  I’m so loved I could hardly endure the joy this notice brought to my heart.  Just typing this is difficult as I’m all a twitter.

Now I’m feeling even more warm and fuzzy because I closed one of my cards, which will spread Chase Bank’s love for me to others.  At least I am quite hopeful of this as they said they would be reporting the closed account to the credit agencies within the next 30 to 60 days.  Thank you Chase Bank for your efficiency and unselfishness in spreading your love for me to others! In a sign of my appreciation I left two of the cards open as you do deserve to get more of my money, and at a much higher interest rate.  After all, my food, gas, doctor bills and other purchases are frivolous and should include some sort of luxury tax.

Thank you so very much Chase Bank!  I hope some day that you too can feel the enormous warmth and love that all your long time, valued customers have felt from you.  And being the ever so loyal customer and humanitarian, I will say a prayer that the shaft rammed up your backside is sanded and greased first.  I’m guessing you had to use the broken, splintered shaft on me because times are tough and you couldn’t afford a better one.  You folks are so prudent.

January 4, 2010

So, here’s the update, Chase found they had missed raising the rate on the other card I had with them.  Fortunately, they figured it out and, as of the 1st of the year, I have the privilege of paying 13.24%.  That’s 3% higher.  They also had bumped it 1% in March 2009.

Hello everyone!

Well, I decided it was time to move my personal blog off of Wordpress.com and host it myself. Fits in better with all the other sites I build / manage. I’ll try and be a “little” better about putting something up here once-in-awhile but no promises. As you can see, my last Posts were really cheats as I was pushing content on multiple Posts from a couple of emails I received. I did like the emails, though, and decided to share them in a larger audience than what email forwarding might catch.

Anyway, hope everyone reading this is well. Check on me now-and-then or use the buttons at the top left of my site to subscribe to email or RSS updates. You also can follow me on Twitter.

I hope you aren’t expecting too much in my first post.  It really is just a way to have something on this site while I continue going through a Lynda.com training program.  I want to get the most out of the WordPress environment that I can.  So far I am quite impressed and think it will be a very useful tool.  I’m not certain, as yet, how it is going to stack up to Joomla, which is a more traditional Content Management System (CMS).  For a work-in-progress example of a Joomla based web site you can check out Glass Bird Photography.

If you like what you see on my blog, you might consider setting up a blog of your own.  It is pretty easy to do basic things and there are likely free tutorials out there.  To get fancy would take additional skills but for general, personal blogging that isn’t necessary.  Stay tuned…