We Want Dudley!

Is it possible?
We've looked at the schedules at TCM, AMC, and the Fox Movie Channel, and find that The Bishop's Wife apparently will not be shown during this holiday season.
It's an annual favorite of ours...
Christmas won't be the same without it!

Oshkosh 2009

Neat:



Thanks OPD!

You're Greatful Tuscon Neice

I screw 'em up.
A lot.

From The Patient's Viewpoint-

"Then a band of EMTs pulled me out of the ambulance, still naked except for underwear, boots, and helmet, and shoved me on my plywood spatula into the helicopter like some giant pizza going into a wood oven."

Good stuff. Read it here.

Crowded Skies?

He was just a small dot in the center of the windshield when we first saw him. But he was comin' at us at about 200 mph and we were doin' about 120, so our two aircraft were closing on one another at a little more than five miles per minute.

Mechanic in the left seat and me in the right, I was ferrying this LongRanger to Kansas City, MO. where I would leave it then ferry the LongRanger waiting there to another location to have major maintenance performed on it. We both saw the Bonanza at about the same time. It was soon obvious we'd miss one another, but it was gonna be closer than I would like if he suddenly appeared out my left door.

"You think he sees us?"
"I dunno."
"Keep an eye on him."

We watched as the Bonanza got bigger and bigger in the windscreen, then noticed the pilot had his nose buried in something...
Newspaper?
Chart?
He passed at our altitude, going exactly the opposite direction, 100 or so feet off our left side.
I'm not sure he ever saw us.

Not everyone out there has good sense.
Keep your eyes open and your head on a swivel, folks.

Precious Metals @ 11 December

Down!
Gold closed at $1119.60, down from $1169.00 last week.
Silver also closed lower at $17.09, after closing at $18.52 a week ago.
These figures are due to the wonderful(?) financial news...
Job figures are improving. Retail sales are better than expected. Life is GREAT!
(And if you, like me, think this is smoke and mirrors, this is a good buying opportunity.)

Big Brother Loves You!

This year... you MUST buy health insurance.
Next year... you MUST buy a Chevy Impala so GM can pay back the bailout money.
Where does it stop?

New Oscar Category?

The "Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences" apparently has a new category:
"He/She's NOT George Bush."

I guess that's a new category for a Nobel prize too, huh?

Self Destruction

Jobs!
Jobs, he says!
"We need more jobs. I've gathered you all here to tell me how we can put more people to work. If we need to get out of your way so you can start hiring, tell us that! "

Mr. President, only Yassir Arafat was better at obfuscating by talking out of both sides of his mouth!

Updated-
More here.

Herding With The R22

88 Years. 88 Keys.

Thank you Mom. Missing you today (and always), Dad.

Minimum Crew- One

When I review the Operator's Manual of the R22 with my students
I like to point out the fact it specifies "Minimum Crew- One". (And many helicopters will then also state a minimum weight due to center of gravity considerations.)
Mimimum crew of one?!!
We chuckle...
Why would they waste the space/paper/ink to state what is obvious? Well, every now and then someone comes along and illustrates why it's necessary to insist at least one pilot MUST be aboard the helicopter at all times.

I'll Vote For That

Precious Metals, @ 4 December Close

An interesting week...
Gold closed at $1169.00, down from $1175.50 last week, after briefly selling at a record $1219.00 this week.

Silver closed at $18.52, up from $18.49 last week.

Ski Dubai!

You may already have seen this.
Outside, it's 120 degrees in the desert.
Inside:





















The caption at Snopes says, "Which brings to mind... if you have the money, you can have ANYTHING!"
There's another quote I like better...
"A fool and his money are soon parted."
(Dubai, like the United States, is bankrupt.)

Dissecting Aortic Aneurysm

Okay, I gotta talk a little crap...
Medic types that stop here to read, feel free to correct me where I'm wrong.

The aorta is the largest artery in the human body. It's also series of intersections... most of the major arteries branch off the aorta. Sometimes, in some people, the tissue gets brittle... "frangible",
and tears. This is a serious problem because the aorta is such a large vessel, even a small tear can allow large quantities of blood to leak into the abdomen. These tears present a problem for healing hands because fixing them is like trying to sew old cloth with new thread...
The tissue tore because it was old and worn out. The tears frequently happen where the vessels branch off, leaving specialists with an almost impossible problem to fix.

Our patient was a 69 year old man. A nice guy, he had never flown and was frightened of the idea of spending 30 minutes in the helicopter. To the degree they could, my crew, a Flight Nurse and Paramedic... (both attractive females), tried to reassure him. He obviously enjoyed their attention, but his fear was still up-front evident.

Up the elevator to the helipad...
"A little bump here sir." We're trying not to jostle him any more than necessary to avoid tearing that aorta further. I open the clamshell doors and as we're about to slide him into the cabin of the BK117 he says, "I don't think I'm gonna make it."
My crew responds, "Sure you will!" as positively as they can.

I start both engines, do my before takeoff checks and ask, "All secure back there?"
"Yes we are."

I'm ten seconds into my takeoff when over the intercom I hear, "Sir? SIR?!!"
In the next few seconds I hear voices increase in pitch as Flight Nurse and Paramedic commence CPR. I've already started my 180 degree turn to return to the hospital and I've dialed in 155.340 on the Wulfsberg to let the hospital we just departed from know what's going on.
I make the radio call...
"********* Memorial, ******3 is returning to the helipad. CPR is in progress on our patient."

I land, secure the cyclic and collective, then open the clamshell doors. As my crew offloads the patient I open the starboard sliding door and grab the small oxygen bottle, the "E" tank. I turn to hand it to my crew and crush my forefinger between the E tank and the stretcher as they race by. The pain is excrutiating and I drop to my knees, but succeed in passing the O2 bottle to the Paramedic without dropping it. They race to, then down the elevator, hoping for a miracle.
My finger is already turning deep blue as I shut the aircraft down. MAN! That hurts.

Our patient died.
So did my fingernail.

Choosing Sides

For the left, the "Corps of Cadets" is "enemy territory":




Here's a guy that would be perfectly comfortable "behind enemy lines":



The revolution is coming. The question is, how will it unfold?
Who is "The Enemy"?
Which camp are you in?

Elin Woods

Now, imagine her wielding a nine-iron.

A $20K Vest for a $50K Dog-

Money well spent.

$345,229.00

That's YOUR part of it Bunky...
The per-person liability for U.S. unfunded liabilities, as of this morning.
How much more Hope and Change can you take?