All posts by cs

TMI

I didn’t exactly blush like a school girl but come-on. Our round table group in the employee break room latched onto family topic as we caught part of an TV ad about ‘4-D ultrasounds’. What ta heck is that and the FA (who just happens to be due) pipes up that she’d like one of those… I asked if she hadn’t had an ordinary 3-D and she gushed, “oh yes, you see I have a ‘tipped uterus’ and the baby’s heart beat was hard to hear the first week and…” I’m trying to keep my appetite while gulp down my soup and wonder where this is going. The FO next to me has a 3 year old and would like to have another. The FA’s turn again, “oh! are you guys trying?” —- oh puulease! Leave something to the imagination will ya?

due diligence

A pax thrust his upper torso through our office door to inquire “about the wx”. But what he was really here for was re-assurance and make sure that we weren’t some hiring quota or green behind the ears. He had white knuckles.

phunnyfwd

After sharing a rather harmless email funny fwd with the flower child, the other youngin’ appears with a printed copy of same. (guilty — I forwarded it). The jokes, “learn chinese in 5 min.” poke fun at the translation and you have to read them aloud. e.g. + Did you go to the beach? ……..Wai Yu So Tan + Your body odor is offensive …….Yu Stin Ki Pu + He’s cleaning his automobile ….. Wa Shing Ka.

Older sibling cautions younger sibling not to take those to school and young guy nods understanding. I realized that these kids have been fully indoctrinated on issues of racial sensitivities. Heck, when I was a school type we were just then getting the clue that laughing at black jokes was taboo. Italian and Pollack (er, uh — polish) jokes were okay though.

The topic dovetails nicely with my current nightstand read. (see my blog on Aug 31) In about 1860, Chinese peoples were performing nearly half of California’s low end menial jobs. Subsistence wage seasonal farming, ditch digging and railroad work. I remember my father showing me an early California livestock fence, constructed entirely of loose stone and rock. ‘The coolies built this…’. My book is giving me a flavor taste of what the climate was like. The economy or job employment at time was cyclically tough, as it is today. These laborers took the heat for it by whites and politians alike. They were recognized as a ‘problem’. I’m reading an excerpt from page 166 of an early Bureau of Labor Statistics report commissioned by the U.S. government circa 1883. The Chinese were thought to have been stealing jobs from whites, as they would eagerly work for less. The twisted logic of the author suggested: “Again, a protective tariff of the kind that I have referred to would affect the American laborer most beneficially. It would raise the Chinaman’s cost of living, thereby causing an increase in his pay, and in that manner the difference between the Mongolian’s and the white man’s wage would be lessened, and the latter would be the better able to compete with him.” (!)

Much of this kind of talk became actual law on the books. Witness: The Chinese Exclusion Actof 1892. The 1913 Alien Land Act. The 1922 Immigration Act. The verbiage contained therein is absolutely pathetic and unbelievable. It becomes clear why the backlash and furor over racial jokes and humor. Political types learned about 20 years ago that it is now political suicide to make raciest jokes in any context. This lesson has been passed on to our children. + That’s not right ……… Sum Ting Wong. + And yet, we still silently laugh at them, albeit with a tinge of guilt and remorse.

the day the earth stood still

The airport lounge had a feeling of impending stampede. Even though the TV monitor fixtures that broadcast an endless loop of CNNairport news and ads visuals had been cut (a blackout is policy after an aviation disaster), word filtered via cell phones and internet browsers. With each successive and surreal strike the crowd had become excitable and jumpy. An Hassidic type had fallen to both knees and was praying right there next to his black carry on which further disturbed the on lookers. They imagined it to be loaded with explosives. They figured that he was making final peace with his maker… there was a gasp and a woman shrieked and that’s all it took to clear the concourse. I felt the electricity and saw the people stream. I slipped into the backroom to hear a PA for the crews to stand-by. By this time all local air traffic had been ground stopped. I exited to and traversed the ramp where many of us boarded an employee bus heading for the lot. I was struck by the unusual stillness outside as I left the scene. All of the stationary aircraft had been de-powered while others were safely retrieved and accounted for. For several stand down no-fly days afterward it was eerie. I realized that the sky had not been this empty quiet since the birth of aviation. No approaching / departing aircraft. The sky was devoid of whisping jet contrails. It was like going back in time. The air was silent.

further adventures in the park

Happening: Big dang Doberman wrestles loose from petite woman handler as B.O.U.R.Girl and Hawk Dawg breeze past. The Dobie charges full on and sensing a tango she releases Hawg Dawg to self-help. Hawg Dawg bolts away in a full retreat with the aggressor in hot pursuit. They are now gone, out of sight down the path, leaving only the sensation and shame of your ‘brave’ dog being run off. But hold up! The handlers arrive and it’s a clean fight. The Doberman is down! Pinned! Hawg Dawg stands overhead victorious.

the end is near

This is a delightful time of year. The throngs of boaters have abandoned the lake until next season. The air temp/humidity is ideal. The lake level has risen for the occassion after some rather drenching rains. The water is a tad cool although it is not yet at the point where you need courage nor does it make you yelp when you plunge.

grass roots

The guns for pilots movement would appear to be assured. The Senate last week came on board with a decided vote in favor of… and even the executive branch has relented and will go along. The holdouts are the airline industry chiefs. They have legitimate questions about implementation and I understand that they have concerns over public (customer) perceptions. Visions of ‘wild wild west in the sky’ will discourage some. So, it’s perplexing when these managers all jointly sign a protest at the 11th hour. Did the momentum overtake? Was the senate vote just a wakeup call? It seems that it is bit late for them to be jumping into the debate. I would imagine that the noise they make now is primarily to get recognition. After all, somebody is going to have to pay for this new level of security and in their view it might as well be the government. Special interest groups make this maneuver by throwing a wrench into the deal, e.g. The freeway by-pass can’t be approved because the snail darter critter will be impacted. A sum of cash will go to an environmentalist group and all will be suddenly okay. It does seem counter productive, almost scorched earth, to hear these folks bring up (yet again) sensational imaginative topics like: -what about accidental discharge- and -what if a bullet goes into the instrument panel-. The answer is this: If the bad guys have proven ineffectual, all of the other layers of ‘security’, a lethal weapon to defend the cockpit is the last line of defense and a very strong deterrent A stray slug is a manageable risk. As it stands now, the last line of defense is an F15 friendly fire shoot down. Definitely not good for business. Grant them their funds and proceed.

update

The Banner of Hope site continues to make progress. The domain name www.bannerofhope.com has been registered and fully recognized by the internet DNS, meaning this URL is accessible anywhere in the world. Further, the PayPal function is now configured and useable. Finally, we installed an secure, easy to use interface that will allow message posting and editing viewable to the public side. This eliminates the need to open and mess with the HTML. No computer geek skills required! Mutiple authorship can be enabled to allow collaboration and or delegated responsibility.

that’s the brakes

Each successive layer of black dust on those shiny alloys = brake job. The empty weight on B.O.U.R.G’s truck is 4800 lbs. and depending on useage those front pads can convert to black dust in as little as 10,000 or as long as 40,000 miles. Friction products are primarily a combination of calcium carbonate, rock wool, various resins, steel wool, brass filings, silica, and fiberglass and a few other odds and ends. luckily they don’t incorporate ASBESTOS anymore, but still one wonders about the long term effects when aspirating this carcinogenic brew. Not all of it clings to the wheels. Where does it all go? I could let the authori$ed $ervice fa$ility renew my brakes or or how about a do it yourself. I will be sure to wear a filter mask.