Not quite aviophobia but there's still no love...

Phew. The chance of multiple engine failure on a plane is next to none. And here I thought it was at least a 20 percent chance. Anyways, for those that have little love for flying, the New York Times put out a great article today about the Fear of Flying. While I’ll freely admit that I’d rather take a fishing trawler to South America rather than flying, I am not nearly as bad as the people described in the article. While a lot of people will poke fun at my fear, my traumatic experience on an American Eagle flight from Bradley CT to Kennedy NY during an ice storm scared the living hell out of me when I was a 10 year old kid. A few years later, another instance in the Pacific when the plane hit wind shear and did what felt like a 6 mile nose dive rather firmed up my belief that flying is for people other than myself. Despite my anxiety, I’ll get on a plane as I know it is more practical as well as safer than driving (unless you are driving with me) or taking the fishing trawler I mentioned earlier. Besides, I landed on a glacier uphill out in the middle of nowhere in a small plane that ended up getting stuck in the snow and we had to push it out. I can fly anywhere now without fear – right??

A blast from the past

I know that most of you folks probably think I am crazy for even mentioning this stuff, but seriously, who does this anymore? The cold war is over correct? First the Russians send over an assassin to knock off a political dissident living in the U.K by using radiation poison (seriously, they just couldn’t have used a knife or a shooting umbrella?) The Brits obviously then get a little annoyed that this happened both on their turf and under their noses. So after they figured out who did it they ask to extradite the killer from Russia so they can put him up on charges. The Russians refuse for various political reasons. To retaliate, the Brits PNG (persona non grata) a few Russian diplomats out of the U.K. and ask them to not come back. In return, and becuase they have to have the last say in the matter, the Russians do the same to British diplomats in Moscow and to add to the action, they send a few Russian bombers to cross over into British airspace to prove a point that they won’t be intimidated. Good lord. Kids, lets play nice. The focus is on the Islamic nut jobs that want to kill us remember?

Safest Seat on a Plane

So a good friend of ours flew out to Paraguay for the week to conduct official state business. We won't go into how he defines "official," but nonetheless he's representing our good Commonwealth down in the sultry city of Asuncion. Anyways, he was nervous about his travels down south as he was going to be flying TAM airlines. (Exactly, the airline that had a little braking problem last week.) So after a quick search, I found the following link to help him out. Not sure if he'll see this until he comes back (last we heard he made it to Brazil) but if he does, change your ticket to be seated at the back of the plane!

adventures on ice and snow

i made it to the summit of mt rainier (elev 14,410ft). the trip was a blast. here is a picture that i was able to snap on the descent.

The Pesky Russian's are at it again.....

How I wish for the old days when one knew their enemy. This simple act would have made world news across the america heartland back in the old days. Now its just a hidden article in Time Magazine.

Geopolitically speaking, this is a smart move on Russia's part. How the U.S. will act to this will be interesting. And this concludes your International Relations moment of the week.