Ghost Rider

When I heard about the movie Ghost Rider, I was disappointed to find it wasn't based on the antics of this
"Ghost Rider":

Who Killed The Electric Car?

Here we go again.
Since I was a kid, Popular Mechanics magazine has done this to me-
"Amazing new process promises Golden-Egg laying goose in every household!" And inevitably the article comes with wonderful pictures to help you visualize the goose dropping the golden orb into its nest on your hearth. Life will be nearly perfect.
Riiiight.
I wish I had a nickel for every "build your own helicopter" article I've read. I'm disgusted enough with those that I quickly skip them... AFTER looking at the pictures.

Regular readers know I have a 32 mile drive to work. For this post, that's an important number. With present battery technology, 30-40 miles seems to be the max. range for most of the electric cars I've researched...
That's with NEW batteries and optimum weather conditions. And that leaves many questions unanswered:
-What if it's raining and I have to use windshield wipers for the entire drive?
-What effect will headlights have on nighttime range?
-What will cold temperatures do to battery performance?
-What about heat during Winter... A/C in the Summer?

I've had an ongoing conversation with a friend/former classmate about a movie she saw-
"Who Killed The Electric Car?"
It's another of those "Michael Moore" style movies that suggests there was some sort of Government/Big Oil conspiracy to keep electrics from gaining a foothold.
I'm really skeptical.

We've all used golf carts.
We have one at the airport that we use to run errands there. It's a wonderful tool and we use it a lot. But the batteries get weaker and weaker, shrinking the range of the cart until they have to be replaced. Then WOW... the cost of replacing the batteries is quite a shock!

Some time ago we discussed this same topic when Tesla issued the press release on their Roadster. Obviously it is gorgeous. It's also very quick, and Tesla claimed a range that would make it practical for me to use on my daily commute. But there was a six-figure problem: It comes with a $140,000 price tag. At $5 per gallon for gasoline, I could drive my present beater 700,000 miles with that money.
And then there's this.
Even with a six-figure price tag rich folks were lining up to buy the car, yet Tesla can't seem to get the cars to prospective buyers. Remember the DeLorean, folks? There's a reason we don't see new companies getting into the automobile business every day.

But with the present energy environment electrics are sexy. I've been watching this one for some time now. It's interesting because it will have "motorcycle" status in many states and will sneak underneath the safety requirements for cars, thereby lessening production costs. (Not to say it's not safe... check the link for details.)

Now, again thanks to Popular Mechanics magazine, I'm watching the new kid on the block. Sexy. An enthusiasts car, promising useful range. But there's still that $$$$ problem, isn't there?

At some point there will be a "Wilbur and Orville" moment in this industry, and it all revolves around some sort of battery revolution. We're not quite there yet.
But maybe tomorrow?
I'll keep reading Popular Mechanics and I'll update ya when something exciting happens.

Irony

In '68-'69 I hugged my loved ones and was transported halfway around the world, got shot at and daily put myself into situations not conducive to longevity, trying to keep a group of perfect strangers from being subjected to a Socialist government.

Try to imagine how I feel today.

Some Gave All

There were seven Infantry troops aboard the Huey.
Add Pilot, Co-Pilot, Crew Chief and Gunner, and you come up with 11 "Souls on Board".
If we found something of military interest on our recons, we could insert our "Animals" to investigate more closely. But something out of the ordinary popped up-
The Huey pilot called the team leader,
"Lead, Slick has a problem."

"What's your problem, Slick?"

"My transmission oil pressure is reading zero... segment caution light is on too."

"Well, what d'ya think?"
The Slick was a long way from friendly forces. Making a precautionary landing would put the entire crew at risk on the ground, and would cause lots of complications.
"I think we'll press on. If the transmission oil temperature goes up, I'll know we truly have a problem."

...Fatal mistake.
The transmission oil temperature gauge sending unit receives its reading from a probe that must be in contact with the oil flow to work properly. In a situation where the oil is all gone, it has nothing to read and will not indicate a rise in temperature.
This transmission was dry.

The Slick flew on for several minutes while the gears in the transmission, lacking the lubrication and cooling afforded by its oil supply, got hotter and hotter. It eventually got so hot it seized solid and the rotor came to a complete stop. The slick and all aboard plummeted 2,500 feet to the ground...
Eleven dead because the Pilot and Co-Pilot didn't know how the transmission lubrication system worked.

This incident happened to my Viet Nam unit shortly after I returned home.
The Pilot, a guy I knew well, was a serious, quiet, thoughtful young man.
Along with many others, I think of him and all the rest on that aircraft on Veterans Day.

Our military is the tip of our spear.
All who wear the uniform are at risk. We cannot say it often enough...
Thank you Veterans.

Be Careful What You Wish For-

When I've expressed my concerns before, they've been called "exaggerated" or "overblown", and I actually hoped I was wrong.
I wasn't wrong.

You know the old saying, "All it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing"?
Remember it.
Say it loud.
Say it again and again.

We are facing a very dangerous time in the country. Certain factions have bandied the terms "fascist" and "murderer" around so often and for so long, those words may have become meaningless to them, or they may have forgotten the true meaning of the words.
The same people that used them are now threatening and assaulting their fellow citizens.

Read this.
Read it carefully.
Click and read the links.
Then realize, we are about to be represented by a democrat House of Representatives, a democrat Senate, and a democrat President who will likely nominate at least two activist Supreme Court Justices during his term...
Justices who are SUPPOSED to protect the freedom of speech of ALL citizens.

Hope and Change?
We're certainly getting the change.
And the thugs that resorted early in the Bush administration to allusion and nasty name-calling are HOPING for more of this.
God help us ALL to see the light.

Shut Up and Teach!

Conservative Rock from the movie Indoctrinate U.

No Fear, The Fun WILL Continue!

Our President-Elect holds his first press conference.
Those that have enjoyed GWB's malapropisms were concerned that the coming four years would be joyless. Imagine the rejoicing, hearing the treasure trove of "Bushisms" that issued forth:

"I have spoken to all of them (Presidents) that are living..."
Uhh, WHAT?
Rewind... rewatch.
Yep, he REALLY did say that!
Remind me... what is this guy's I.Q.?

Then, realizing what a foolish statement that was, he tried to make with the funny, and in doing so, made fun of an elderly widow. Bad form, mate.
At least he had the class to call and apologize to Nancy right away.

He's such an eloquent speaker, reading a prepared speech from a teleprompter. But when he "wings it" on his own, the sweat beads up on his forehead and he hems and haws and uhhhhs so much, he's really uncomfortable to watch. It's obvious he doesn't think quickly on his feet.

Regulars here know I view John McCain as "democrat lite", and had pretty much kissed this election off until he selected Sarah.
Liberal repubs are now attacking her with foolishness, fearful that another "Reagan Revolution" is about to take place.
Guess what sports fans...
Your fears are about to be realized.

The economy is a mess.
You can only "give the store away" for so long before the bills come due.
This economy was goin' into the pooper, no matter who was elected. Only question is, who would have the best ideas to bring us out of the malaise. Do we "bleed the patient" to rid it of toxins?
Recovery will be a long slog. No one is gonna be happy while we slog.

What happens to our military?
Will Obama support their mission, or will he follow through on his promise to an early withdrawal, thereby insuring Iraq will be another Viet Nam, as democrats have promised?
Will he cut the military budget so drastically we end up with another "Carter Era"?
And this Home Defense Corps he's planning...
What affect will that have on our fighting forces?

It'll be interesting to see how long it takes his adoring followers to realize he's just an ordinary man... a politician, brought up in the ways of Chicago politics.
Watching him stumble about in this press conference was a hoot.
And the malapropisms... What to call them?

My vote is for "Obama-Bushisms"!

And They All Lived Happily Ever After!

Unity? Hope?
President-elect Obama has a huge task ahead:

"Goodbye House."

More and more of us are experiencing this pain.
Fair warning... tissues handy.

Thanks Cary for leading us there.

I.B. The Decider

I've now been blogging 3-1/2 years.
When I started blogging, I knew I didn't want to blog solely about flying. Flying is neat, and I've had many wonderful, and not-so-wonderful experiences flying,
I suspect I'll be able to blog about flying until I retire, and after. But I'm a curious sort and I wanted to blog about just about anything I encounter that interests me. Therefore, "Musings about life...."

It's obvious I enjoy jousting about politics. And if you're smart, you know most of life is about politics in one way or another. Those that realize that up front have a bit of an advantage in life.
But talking politics can cause tempers to rise.
The last few elections have been interesting and emotional because the country is split nearly 50/50, and voters on both sides think the other side is crazy and trying to destroy the country.
That ain't gonna change any time soon.

I started moderating comments two years ago.
I will publish a comment that vehemently disagrees with me, so long as the commenter makes an intelligent point, doesn't just rehash what he/she has already said, and isn't vulgar, stupid, or profane. In the two years I have been moderating comments I have "gleefully rejected" three comments...
One for profanity, one because it was mean-spirited and added nothing to the discussion, and one because it was stupid AND a personal attack on me... "The Decider".
And please, try to imagine my grin when I truly do "gleefully" push the button that commits a crappy comment to the ethereal ashcan-
CLICK...
"That'll make 'em angry!"
-Big Greybeard grin.

Some of you come here often because like me, you love blogs.
I was knocked out by "Little Green Football's" revelation that Dan Rather and CBS were lying about George Bush being AWOL a couple years ago. Those of us that read blogs regularly are better informed than other citizens because we are free to choose what subject to pursue and how deeply to pursue it. Commenters add a great deal to that learning experience.
And commenters should be allowed to say what's on their mind if they disagree.

So please, add to the conversation.
Comment away.
Just don't be stupid, profane, or dull.

Post-Election Thoughts-

Just a couple quick thoughts to share:

-McCain campaign workers apparently were upset when greeted by a Bath towel (bathrobe?) clad Sarah Palin.
Please, Sarah, greet me that way!

-In a comment below, DDF reminds us it took Jimmah to usher in the Reagan era.
We cannot forget that with each setback comes opportunity:
I still think this administration is going to be a disaster.
The mid-term elections are less than two years away.
Get to work.

Quick Transition Thought-

I know, the Bush administration is much too adult to pull such a stunt.
But I had to snicker, thinking about the possibility they might remove all the zeros from all the keyboards in the White House.

Black Clouds, Silver Linings.

I expected to be up very late last night, watching election returns.
What a surprise...
What with Black Panthers with nightsticks and all the A.C.O.R.N. shenanigans, McCain had every right to pull an "AlGore" and muddy the waters for weeks to come. The fact he didn't says volumes, and illustrates the difference between class and classless.
Thank you Senator.

Some quick thoughts from my point of view:
Wonderful and horrible-
How wonderful that the U.S. showed a minority can accede to the highest office of the land!
Now that it is obvious minorities are truly equal, how long can affirmative action policies continue?
Are the days of thugs like Jesse Jackson coming to an end?
Will minorities in general, and blacks in particular now use Barack Obama as a role model, rather than Snoop Dogg?
We can hope.
But what a can of worms this man has been handed. And sadly... the methods he says he'll use to remedy the situation have been shown, historically, to make things worse.
I fear the next four years will be frustrating for him, and painful for us all.
And for Obama worshippers like Peggy Joseph, a huge disappointment is in store.
That's tough, and sad.

However...
From the ashes rises the Phoenix.
The republican party is down so far, the bottom looks like up.
I'm hopeful party leaders will study the lessons of this election...
Nominating a "rino" and trying to attract left-leaning moderates almost made this election a fiasco. McCain's selecting Sarah Palin for a running mate re-invigorated his campaign. In order to survive, it's obvious the tack the party must take.

So here we are, making history.
Enjoy it now.
From this point on it will get painful.

Distress

I just spent a few minutes watching Fox News with Megyn Kelly and Bill Hemmer.
They were showing video of the crowd celebrating Obama's victory outside the White House last night.
Carried by that happy crowd-
This flag, unnoticed by anyone but me, apparently.

Ten seconds later-
Video of a crowd somewhere in the Arab world, once again celebrating, carrying Old Glory like this.

Sigh.

UPDATE, 30 Minutes later.
Someone noticed and emailed.
Megyn focuses on the Hammer and Sickle.

The Misery Index

Well it's over.
Didn't turn out as I had hoped, but I take some degree of relief in the fact that, like any journey, you put one foot in front of the other until you get where you're goin'.
Things will get better, someday.

To those BHO supporters that stop by here- Congratulations.
Your candidate ran a smart campaign.
Now what?

Many of us lived through the Carter years. Many have predicted the coming years will be as bad or worse than those years.
God help us.
I'm glad I'm not looking for a job in a technical field.

For those that didn't live through the Carter years, a primer is necessary:
When Jimmy Carter ran against Gerald Ford, he introduced most of us to
"the misery index"...
A simple formula-
The rate of inflation, added to the unemployment rate.
During his campaign in 1976 he asked voters, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?"
Most folks had to answer no.
In 1976 the misery index stood at 14%.

Carter was a nice man... Navy Veteran, Christian, peanut farmer.
Folks were ready for change, and handily elected him.
(I voted for Jimmah.)

He was a poor leader, an indecisive President.
At the end of his term, candidate Ronald Reagan made a fool of him by asking, as Carter did four years before:
"Are you better off now than you were four years ago?"

In 1980, the last year of Carter's administration, the misery index hit its highest mark in history- 22%.

As a public service to all my dear readers, I intend to start keeping track of the misery index.
As you can see at the link, it currently stands at 11%.
I suspect that will change quickly.

Care to take a shot at a prediction?

Punk

He did the same thing to Hillary:


What a PUNK.
Can it be possible he'll be President PUNK?

Sara Jean, On The Vanguard!

"When are you going to vote?"

"As I'm coming home from work, honey. Why?"

"Come by and pick me up. I want to go with you."

She's been registered to vote for years, but this will be her first time in the polling booth.
She knows how important this is.

"The Cult of Personality"

Interesting.
"Only YOU can set you free!"

Fable

Learning To Fly In Alaska

I like what I've read so far, and think you might too.