Value your opposable thumb (GRAPHIC)

NOTE: There is a graphic photo of my thumb below. Read at your own risk.

Last night, I was chopping up a $4 head of lettuce that Diane and I had bought at the food co-op when in the rush to eat this very valuable vegetable, I managed to slice into the tip of my left thumb. I knew immediately that it was not good. I mean, I also knew that I wasn't going to lose the finger, but I also knew there was no way I could take care of this situation myself.

So I called out to Diane, "ADB, I need you to drive me to the hospital, please." We wrapped my thumb in an old t-shirt and drove off. Luckily, Albany Med is very close.

We got to the ER and after the thumb got looked at, the doctor told me I would need stitches. And a tetanus shot. Great. I have never gotten stitches. In fact, this is probably the most serious injury I have had - if you don't count the time my foot got stuck in the elevator, which is a story I'll leave for another day.

Anyhow, Diane and I hung out in the ER waiting for the tip of my finger to be sown back with the rest of it. After only an hour or so, the doctor started working on it. He put in some local anesthesia, which, of course, did not take on the tip of the finger where I really needed it.

Eventually, the sowing got done. I commented to Diane how this was crafting in a way and if she paid close attention, she could take care of this next time it happens. She did not really appreciate that observation.

The doctor did a pretty good job, as you can see.

I have had the better part of a day to get used to this, and although having had this happen to my right hand - since I am right-handed - would have been really tough, it nonetheless has taken some effort adjust to daily activities without an opposable digit on my left hand.

For starters, making a salad after this incident last night was really hard. And dealing with contacts is just not going to be easy. Shoe-tying. Typing this has been a bitch.

Editing problem in new Southwest Airlines commercial

I admit that this is a very picky post. However, I have been known to be a stickler for details, and if you don't believe me, ask Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her mystery plane controversy which I first reported on the hallowed pages of this blog.

The other night while I was watching the new Southwest Airlines commercial that shows the ground crew running over to an airplane of another company and baring their hairy chests which spell "Bags Fly Free," I happened to notice that somebody royally screwed the ad up.

Here's a link to the ad, which notwithstanding the editing problem, is actually one of my favorites. Diane's mother happens to find the "Y" very funny.

Did you notice anything?

Well, look again closely and this time pay attention at the :14 second mark. You can see the plane clearly in that shot and you can see that it has twin engines mounted at the rear of the fuselage. I presume this is an MD80, as seen directly below.
Now, pay close attention at the :21 second mark. At this point, we are shown the perspective of a passenger in the above-referenced plane looking out the window at the crazy ground crew. Notice, however, that in this shot, you can make out the wing of the plane, and - and this is the key point - an engine mounted on such wing!!!This means that we are dealing with two different planes, folks. The only explanation that I can think of for this is that Southwest's fleet is composed exclusively of Boeing 737s. The competitor's plane is clearly not a Boeing 737 - you know, with the rear-mounted engines and all. I assume that since Southwest wanted to use their own aircraft for the interior shot, they had to use a Boeing 737.

My question: why not use an interior shot that doesn't include the wing?

New traffic at Albany

So there I was entertaining guests at my home on Saturday evening when I look out the window and see a giant plane heading into Albany International's Runway 1. I jumped up and shouted, "What the hell is that?"

After looking at the unusual beast in the air through the binoculars, I identified it as a Boeing 747. What was a Jumbo Jet doing in Albany, I wondered. So I went to Flight Aware to check out Albany's traffic and spotted a whole host of visitors we usually don't get the pleasure of seeing, including many 757's from the West Coast.

The Flight Aware maps of these flights showed that they had all done some circling in the NYC metro area before diverting this way, so I suspected that their visits to Albany were weather related. This assumption was later confirmed by the TU, which identified the B747 as a cargo plane from Brussels.