We're Not Frozen

Apparently, the instant text message sent from the crashing plane was a hoax.

We're Frozen

In the passenger plane crash in Greece a few days ago, one passenger managed to send this text message: "The pilots have turned blue. Farewell cousin - we're frozen."

Chills down my spine. Hairs raised on my neck. I close my eyes, and shake my head, trying to get rid of the feeling of dread and sadness, reminding myself that I'm alive.

I think about that text message. I think about the sender of that message. I think about who received it. Did that person know?

As I write this, another plane has crashed in Venezuela. And both of these follow the missed runway incident at Pearson Airport in Toronto.

With a recent job change requiring more business travel, I'm on airplanes a lot more these days. All these recent incidents give me pause.

Tax Free Weekend

Massachusetts just had a "tax free weekend." Shoppers throughout the state could make purchases on most items and not pay the 5% state sales tax.

I bought a cordless mouse, and I like it. Where has this little device been all my life? A few months ago, at a big meeting I was at, a consultant pulled out his laptop and then pulled out a little mouse without wires. He attached a transmitter device to his laptop's USB port, and all of a sudden he had a nifty little mouse. And just a few weeks ago, someone was telling me how his daughter would take the wireless mouse from his home desktop computer and hide it among her toys. I was thinking about these stories during the Saturday of "tax free weekend", and realized I knew what I wanted to buy.

A Safe Landing

The shuttle did land safely in California yesterday. I listened to the arrival on NPR, and was struck by how quickly it reached the ground once it entered Earth's atmosphere. I was anticipating a thirty minute descent, and it was more like ten minutes.

The radio commentator said that while the shuttle acts like a glider near the landing, it actually falls like a very heavy brick. With wings.

Hoping for a Safe Return II

The shuttle didn't land today. NASA postponed the landing due to "unstable" weather. Shouldn't they worry about re-entry first, and then worry about the weather at the landing site? I thought the shuttle could land on any runway?

Hoping for a Safe Return

I'm hoping for a safe return of the space shuttle tomorrow morning. In various news reports, I learned that it could arrive in Florida as early as 5AM. So when I get up, I am expecting news of a safe and normal landing.

Leroy

My brother Ron has been writing a BLOG about his new car, a MINI Cooper. I've been reading his writings, and it's entertaining. Ron liberally sprinkles in MINI Cooper jargon (his car color is "HB") and other car care factoids (he used ClayBar on some dirt a few months ago). It's fun figuring out what he's talking about. One of the things that I learned is that owners of MINI Coopers get free car washes for life. Now that is going to generate some brand loyalty!