Note to self: Stay away from Colgan Air

I find it troubling that the investigation into the crash of the Colgan Air Dash-8 earlier this year in Buffalo has focused on the pilot and co-pilot chatter in the cockpit prior to the crash. They are dead and otherwise unable to defend themselves. Their actions are certainly questionable -but it was Colgan Air who hired them.

And what about their families: not only do they suffer the loss of a loved one - but now they have to listen as their loved ones are crucified and, for all intents and purposes, blamed for the death of all the others.

It's a slippery slope - no doubt about it. I just happen to think that the focus should be more squarely on the executives at Colgan Air who allowed these seemingly under-qualified people to fly their planes. And for a hefty compensation of 16K a year. The people who make my coffee at Starbucks probably make more than that. Hell, I make more than that.

And it's getting stinkier at Colgan Air. Last Tuesday, Colgan Air had another incident with a Dash-8 upon landing in Buffalo. (It was captured on tape, too.)

So, yes, the pilot and co-pilot's actions may have contributed to this tragedy. But, you can bet that if I had lost somebody in that crash, the entirety of my ire would be directed at the people who let them into the cockpit.

The Idiot Demographic

This weekend, Washington Park hosts Albany's annual Tulip Fest. This is one of the many reasons I like my home so much - all I have to do is walk out the door and I am "there." And I always be sure to give all the drivers stuck in traffic on the H.J. and Calle Estado a smug look. Just because I can.

Third Eye Blind was the main attraction this year. I had heard of them, even though I could not for the life of me have named any one of their songs. But I remember this band being popular at one point amongst the cool people in my high school and college. But, of course, I was never popular enough to get into their music.

I did recognize quite a few of their songs though. "Semi-charmed life," "How's it going to be," and "Never let you go" were of course the crowd favorites.

I will tell you what wasn't a crowd favorite: the idiot morons who attended and decided that it would be a good idea to start throwing half-full cans of beer all over the crowd. Not cool. Not even a little bit. And this is just another one in a series of stunts that I attribute to what I call the Idiot Demographic, which is a sub-group of all "kids" aged 19-23.

For the record - not all kids fit into this Idiot group - just some of them. Sadly, it's usually the idiots that end up getting all the attention anyways.

This beer can throwing was not only obnoxious, but it was dangerous. It got to the point where I could not enjoy the concert anymore because I had to be constantly on the lookout behind me. I was fairly certain that if one of those cans hit Diane, she was not going to be a happy camper.

So, well done Idiots - you successfully managed to put a damper on an otherwise fine event. Mission accomplished. By the way, this is not just me being "old"...the beer can throwing even pissed off Third Eye Blind to the point where the lead singer dropped an F-bomb about it.