Idle thoughts in the life of an IT Professional that's married with children.

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Other blogs that I write:

The Wine Spot

WhineSpot (co-hosted)


Other Blogs that I read:

My Life (by Karen)

Carrie's Blog

A Nichol's Worth (Patti)

Points to Ponder

My Life in Paradise
(Curt's Blog)

poopee shmoopee's blog

BostonBlueEyes (Colin's blog)

LQ's Blog, Moo Alex

Simon of Space

Mark's Regular Life

Trucker Bob's Blog



My Current Weather




My favorite saying:

Shared pain is lessened Shared joy is multiplied

 
TGIF! (Wanna come fly with me?)

I had THE most fun last night at my neighbor's (Moe) house!! He has the Microsoft Flight Simulator 4 game, with ALL the bells and whistles!
He has the flightstick with about 10 buttons on it, the rudder pedals on the floor, and this HUGE box with ooodles of electronices in it that are for:
Autopilot (air speed, direction, altitude.. and lots of stuff I didn't recognize)
Radios (2 of them, as the real airplanes have)
About a dozen toggle switches (for beacon lights, strobes, landing lights.. etc)
Switches that look like the real thing for Landing Gear, flaps, elevator control.. etc
Push buttons for replying to Air Traffic Control.. this thing was SO gorgeous!
I tell ya, I was like a kind in a candy store.
So, Moe gets it all loaded and flying a Cessna with retractable landing gear, and a variable pitch propeller. He took off from a local field that's about 5 miles from my house, and we immediately saw buildings that I recognize in our town! He flew it to the local international airport and landed. Then, he showed me how easy it was to fly a 737. Basically, above 400ft above ground, the plane flies itself. He landed it then says, "ready to give it a try?". Are you kidding me....

So he sets me up with a Cessna 172 (fixed landing gear, normal propeller.. etc.. real beginner's plane). After a few instructions, I give full throttle and at 65 knots, pulling back on the stick we're airborn. Now, I've flown in a real plane with Moe a few times, and other people too.. and pay REAL close attention when I do. I fly to the Intl airport, and perform a PERFECT landing. Moe's jaw hits the floor as he says "I've had dozens of people here, and nobody, NOBODY has landed on the first try. Must have been lucky" to which I said: "If that was luck, lets do it again" and pushing the throttle full ahead, took off and back to the smaller airport. Moe figures I'll NEVER land at this airport, as the runway's not that long, and it's very narrow. My hands moved carefully over the radios, flaps, all the controls.
Perfect landing.
So, he decides to throw in a bit more difficulty, and gives me the plane he used originally. After trimming the prop, taking off and circling (he gives me a tough route to fly), one more great landing.
So, I decide to play.. and set myself up with a LearJet 45. Moe says "I don't know anything about that plane.. never flew it even here". I tell him, "Take a chance Moe... what the heck!"
Full throttle and I take it off from that tiny airport barely making it over the trees at the end of the runway. Flying it north, we're both trying to figure out the instruments as I fly right past the Intl airport. Now, we're lost.
Finally, I see an airport in the distance and after a few bouts with aircraft control (this thing's got too much thrust for itself!), I fly it into the Holyoke Massachusetts airport. Reverse thrusters, brakes.... perfect landing again.
4 for 4.
I'm going to ask Moe to take a picture of the console he has... because you just wouldn't believe it..... cost close to $1000, but SO worth it with this game.

Can you tell I had fun?

The following story, was printed in my local newspaper 2 days ago. I almost died laughing!

Last Sunday [Sept. 26]. My husband, stepson and I were excited about being part of the Bristol Mum Festival Parade and arrived at our designated position a little earlier than needed.

Since we had been placed in the last division, we had plenty of time to talk with our neighbors and friends about everything from the storms in Florida to the upcoming Yankee/Red Sox game that afternoon. We laughed and shared stories and snacks were enjoying a beautiful Sunday together.
When the parade in front of us finally began to move, we took our place in line and the marching band in back of us started playing. We were so pleased to be participants in our town’s festival. As we made the turn from a side street onto the first main road, we were confronted with several boos, people yelling obscenities and "flipping us the bird." If it were an isolated incident, it would not have affected us that much, but the identicalbehavior continued from block to block as we made our way along the parade route.

By the time we had completed half of the course, my stepson turned to his dad and asked, "Dad, why are people like that?"

In as controlled a voice as he could muster, my husband answered, "There are people like that in the world, just smile and wave to the other people.
How would you answer that question from your child?
Free speech is a guaranteed right in our country, but does it give people the right to publicly demean our choices or embarrass our children?
Perhaps it was a good lesson for our son to learn about the behavior of some people,.


By the way, we were towing the Bush/Cheney float.
(Her Name here)
Bristol

And now, for the news not fit to print:

Want to make the worlds greatest hamburger?

Researchers find chemosignal that encourages women's sexual desire. Said to smell like fresh cash

A 16-year-old Muskego student accused of giving a "wedgie" to his former girlfriend at school is facing juvenile charges of fourth-degree sexual assault

Mortuary wants to put the "fun" back in "funeral"

A-Z of sex tips for sexy singles and long-term lovers (remember, B is for Bondage!) *LOL*

Plastic microcar, (Smart) made by Mercedes, now available in the U.S. It's four feet shorter than anything else available in the U.S. now (I've seen these in Europe, they're SO COOL!)

Man says a shot taken of a mirror in pub shows a gruesome reflection of a bald, pale faced man streaked with blood. With pic

Probably the coolest picture you'll see all week!

And of course, my BOTD... (yes, it IS in the eyes!)

Have a great weekend.. and hey, Monday's a holiday for me so the blog will be late!
ps, Carrie, have a nice vacation next week! (maybe you can BLOG more!)

posted by Dave at Friday, October 08, 2004