Airplanes I Have Known

Back in state service

2011-08-30T23:01:00.007-04:00

I am back in State service. These days I get to go to work in, what I would argue, is the most amazing building in Albany (and, yes, I am including the Capitol when I say that).

And here's my office view. The column, the Capitol, the Jennings Tower. What a sight...

The move meant that Gideon, my office companion fish, had to move home. Here's The Misty Cat introducing herself.

A380 Booked and Ready to Go

2011-07-26T20:00:00.003-04:00

I was recently researching an overseas trip that I will take in relation to this life decision and I had the good fortune of having the opportunity tobook part of the trip on this new and recent new beauty of the airplane world:

So in late November, the Airbus A380 will become the latest airplane I have known.

Selecting the seat on the A380 flight was entertaining. For starters, we, like I presume most fliers, prefer the two-aside seats next to windows so that we (1) have a window and (2) have an aisle. This is slightly difficult on the A380 since the majority of the economy rows are arranged in a 3-4-3 format. The 2-4-2 seating format begins towards the rear of the aircraft, so as such, Diane and I found ourselves in row 87 (!!!). We'll probably have to start boarding two days before the flight to get to our seat in time.

Almost as exciting is that per my crude research on Airliners.net, there is a chance that the Delta B767 we will also invariably be on might have winglets (ie it will be a "sexy plane" for all you posers out there).

Lessons of a Session from the Outside

2011-06-29T12:01:00.005-04:00

From my previous time at the Assembly, I had learned that everything we learned in high school about how a bill becomes a law is, let's just say for the sake of being polite, "optimistic". After 6 months on the outside, it was confirmed to me that the process is, let's just say, again, for the sake of being polite, "wishful thinking", but I became much more cynical and hurtful/hateful about it all.

After months of pushing reasonable, common sense legislation - the low-hanging fruit of legislation, if you will - and coming up mostly empty-handed, I came away thinking, "Gee, if we can't agree on this stuff, can we ever get anywhere on the stuff that really matters."

There is more inertia in certain houses of the legislature than you can imagine. The coefficient of friction is high in this government, my friends. When is it a legitimate argument in opposition to say, "Well we oppose this because we've never done it before." Typical. But that's not even the best one I heard: "It's too difficult to explain that this is not actually bad." Wow. Stop the presses. This might be too intelligent. Can't have that now, it might make people think too much. True story. So in essense the legislative session went as such.

But it was not all bad - as every surely knows by now, at least every one of my readers, the state Senate passed marriage equality. It reminded me of this scene from Dumb and Dumber. Marriage equality is Harry and the state Senate is Lloyd (starting at :45).

My recurring fishing nightmare recurs

2011-05-30T19:43:00.011-04:00

Many years ago, when we were visiting Argentina during Christmas break, my dad, sister, uncles and cousins went on a fishing trip at El Carrizal in Mendoza. Here's a summary of the trip - Luci caught 6 fish - more than anyone else. Nicolas caught 1 fish - and also the smallest of any of the many fish that were caught. This is my recurring nightmare - my little sister outfishing me badly.

Fast forward to yesterday. During my mom and Luci's visit, we went fishing at Schodack Island State Park. Of course on the way there we joyfully recalled the above referenced story and internally I thought how silly my sister would feel after I outfished her, especially since I had been fishing regularly and she probably has not fished since that trip many years ago (so long ago that we were both in K-12).

So there we were taking in the great sights of the Hudson River at Schodack Island. She had already brought in a bullhead catfish.

Then, she suddenly and calmly said, "I think I have something."

That was all she said and started reeling in. I was using a heavy sinker, so I thought she was probably feeling that, but she kept reeling and looking over the ledge into the river hoping to see something. And then I saw this 2 1/2 foot freshwater drum appear in the shallows.

I estimated that it weighed at least 10 lbs.

She caught this with a nightcrawler. I should mention, she caught it with my fishing pole, after I had cast and baited it. So, yeah, I still get no credit for it.

This was not unlike how she destroyed me in racquetball two Christmases ago, after my decade of domination. After a few years, I may get over this fishing incident. Then she'll crush my spirit once again. For the record, she ended up catching 9 fish yesterday, and although I reeled in 4, 3 of them were the smallest of the lot, and the other was a catfish.

New Hobby Pans Out, Mostly.

2011-04-25T23:48:00.004-04:00

I have a tendency to take up hobbies quickly and many times without thinking them through entirely. I bought a guitar because somebody at camp played a killer rendition of Rocky Top. Couple of years later, I can sometimes play a decent Comfortably Numb or Heart of Gold, but that's about it. I bought a damn nice guitar, too, so it's a shame.

Then some guys opened up a skateboard shop down the street and I figured this was how I was going to get to work from now on. Couple of skateboard trips (a few falls) and the realization that it's incredibly hard to skateboard uphill and my skateboard sits under my bed, probably waiting for some lazy summer moment when I don't want to walk to the ATM.

Flight, of course, is my ultimate hobby, but I only have the one exploration flight under my cap - but that one's still a work in progress.

But for the first time since I picked up hockey a new hobby finally paid off - fishing.

I am obsessed with the show River Monsters. You may have seen it - a Brit named Jeremy Wade goes around the globe trying to catch - surprise - river monsters. There are some issues with the show. The premise is that he is trying to "investigate" mysterious events leading to death. So, it sensationalizes just a bit. But - it is incredibly entertaining and I watch it for hours.

Then, one day, it hit me. There are rivers near me. I need to go catch a river monster. I went out to a shop in Renssalaer and got set up to go fishing. So far, there has been some success. I caught this "monster" in the Hudson at Schodack Island, and I caught a smaller little guy at Lock 7.

Tale of Two Unions

2011-03-12T19:10:00.002-05:00

In the span of a couple of days, headlines on the front page and sports page of your local newspaper were probably both heavy on union issues. On the front page, you read about how the governor of Wisconsin signed legislation to eliminate collective bargaining rights for certain unions; on the sports page, the news was about the NFL and its players not being able to reach an agreement on how to split the $9+ billion in revenue the league annually takes in.

So, on the one hand, we had a bunch of teachers and other public employees lose their right to negotiate salaries. On the other, we had a bunch of multi-millionaires willingly end collective bargaining negotiations with the most profitable sports league in the country - reportedly because both sides could not budge on $185 million.

Of all the problems inherent in this situation, there is only one I am going to focus on. With all the attention that the Wisconsin legislative proposal is getting, wouldn't it have been great if the NFL Players' Association had come out in full solidarity and support of Wisconsin public employees?

For starters, the demonstrations in Madison already include members of FD and PD unions, both of which are not captured under the governor's radical proposal. Obviously, the NFL is not captured either, but their star power would likely have gone a long way towards furthering the cause of the demonstrators - especially since Wisconsin's Green Bay Packers are the current NFL champions.

Ironically, most NFL players are likely registered Republicans - and it is a Republican state government in Wisconsin that is curtailing the rights that they so vigorously seem to value. God forbid the NFLPA was eliminated - they would cry foul. They should have the footballs to stand up and fight for the collective bargaining rights of others as well.

UA @ MSG

2011-02-21T21:03:00.003-05:00

I can already tell that the opportunity to travel is going to be one of the major upgrades at my new position. In the 6+ weeks since my transition, I have spent a 8 days in the big apple.

The second of those trips coincided with the UA Great Danes game at Madison Square Garden against BU. Diane's parents made th

e trip down to NYC, and since I was in town and close to the Garden, I was able to join them for the game.

I had never been to MSG before but I had heard the stories of

its grandeur. Those stories never resonated with me because, well, it's just an arena. After all, I've been to arenas before.

But this was different.

And I knew that immediately as I walked out into the place. I d

on't know exactly what made it spectacular, but it was. I mean, just the ceiling of the place was splendid.

Not only did we get to watch the Danes under the bright lights of the Garden, but we also got to take in the St. John's vs. UConn game, which turned out to be a St. John's upset over the then #9 Huskies.

So after taking in some real Big East men's hoops, we stuck

around for our main attraction and watched helplessly as the Danes got demolished by the Terriers. At least we were in the Garden. And at least we had incredible seats:

New government - for New York and for Spartacus

2011-01-27T22:12:00.002-05:00

As you undoubtedly know, January brought enormous change to New York's state government. A new governor. A new Senate majority. A veto-proof-less majority in the Assembly.

And as you undoubtedly did not know, January also brought a new challenge for Spartacus. I accepted a job offer from New York City. So my glorious run at the Assembly came to an unexpected end.

And what a run it was.

2008 - worked on a law to fire forcible touchers.

2009 - mayoral control of New York City schools.

2010 - "Race to the Cock."

The hardest part of leaving the Assembly was not leaving the job itself - since I will continue to work on similar issues. What was really tough was leaving the people. When you work the hours that we do, you become more than acquaintances with your co-workers - you become family.

We have more family dinners at work than, well, family dinners at home. We know more about each other's lives than we know about most other people in our lives. We pick on each other - maybe even bully each other. But you take it - just like you would take such abuse from a sibling.

So while the Assembly gave me great experience, knowledge and skills, what I am really thankful for is the second family it gave me.

As a parting memento, my co-workers drafted and presented me with a resolution of my accomplishments and my, uh, less spectacular moments. I have read this document so many times that I can almost recite it from memory.

And while I firmly believe that most of the clauses in the resolution should (and will) remain between my family and me, there are others that I want to share so you get a feeling for the kind, intelligent and amazing people I worked with:

"WHEREAS, you proudly disregarded all fashion sense by routinely wearing a fish belt/or giant rodent belt and white, tatty jeans while somehow still maintaining your self-respect, manhood and honor; ...

"WHEREAS, though not due to lack of effort on your part, the esteemed Program and Counsel staff still does not know how to properly respect 'sexy airplanes,' ice hockey, and eating tuna fish out of a pouch for weeks at a time or completely understand the origins of Sho-shama Spanish, 'Bagheera,' and Steve Ammerman;...

"WHEREAS, you are terrible at monopoly and would never make it as a squirrel..."

I am now well into my next challenge. And, not surprisingly, part of overcoming this new career challenge will be to learn to enjoy going to work without the great familiar faces.

Who brought the 1970's goalie?

2010-12-11T17:17:00.002-05:00

I am a bit disappointed that I have not kept hockey statistics this season because I have been tearing it up on the ice. I have a couple of hat trick games, a couple of four and five point games, and, if I do say so myself, some nasty, filthy goals mixed in. This is probably the best hockey I have played in my life.

And just to make it a bit more interesting, I also donned the goalie equipment for a game. Here's the proof:

Unfortunately, my goalkeeping was not as awesome as my goal scoring. My team lost the game I played in goal 6-5 and I did my share of the damage with what I considered 3 soft goals. It was nice to get back in the gear, though. I played goalie on the Colorado State University roller hockey back in the day and when I lived in Colorado and played both roller and ice on multiple teams (ah the joy of being a student) I mostly played in net.

When I got to Albany, my mom shipped out my equipment to me and I think I used it maybe once in the last four years. So, when Diane moved in, the equipment had to go - there just isn't enough space in my high-rise luxury condo for goalie equipment that is not being used.

However, when I was still an up and coming star with the Night Owls hockey club and did not have a permanent roster spot, I wanted to make myself as indispensible as possible. So, I told the manager that I could be an emergency goalie if someone else put up the equipment. I did not get that call until a few weeks ago - and since I didn't entirely embarrass myself, it looks like I may get it more regularly.

The Hardware

2010-11-04T11:27:00.003-04:00

Now its time to tell you about the important part of our recently completed trip to Argentina: the hardware we flew on.

Our trip was booked entirely on LAN. We did this for two (2) reasons:
(1) We had a domestic flight to Iguazu and thought that it would be best to book all the flights together; and
(2) There is always a risk of a work stoppage with Aerolineas Argentinas, and with such tight schedules, we preferred to avoid unnecessary delays in our travel.

We booked flights from JFK - which is where it was easiest for us to catch a LAN flight. From JFK, we flew to Santiago, via Lima, Peru. This leg of the flight was on a B767, sans winglets, much to my disappointment.

For a few years now, LAN has been operating the short hop from Santiago to Mendoza on the A320. This flight across the Andes offers, in the humble opinion of this writer, the most bang for your buck. From gear up to touch down, the flight can't take more than 30 minutes, but each of those 30 minutes are spectacular - if the weather cooperates, that is. On a clear day, you get a stunning view of the high Andes, including close ups of Aconcagua and Tupungato (both of which, I kindly remind you, are in Argentinian territory).On our trip, we were fortunate that the sky was clear enough to offer this spectacular view. However, Aconcagua and Tupungato were not visible due to a white out during the middle portion of the treacherous cross.

We also flew on LAN A320s to Iguazu, via Aeroparque Metrolitano Jorge Newberry in Buenos Aires. Aeroparque is set beautifully in downtown Buenos Aires and offers both a great view of some downtown skyrises as well as the majestic Rio de la Plata (which is the world's widest river). Landing at Aeroparque is always entertaining, and at times terrifying.Our scheduled return trip on LAN had us flying from Iguazu to Aeroparque, transferring in Buenos Aires to the international airport at Ezeiza and then flying (on an A340!!!) to Santiago, where we would then board a nonstop flight to JFK. Yes, quite a roundabout way to get to New York, but on the bright side, I was excited about flying on an A340 for the first time of my life. I was going to lose my A340 virginity!

Well, as it turns out, the A340 which was going to carry us to Santiago was running very late - so late, in fact, that LAN rebooked us on American. Our new trip home would be more direct, but less exciting. We ended up flying from Buenos Aires to New York via Miami. At least the Buenos Aires to Miami leg was on a B777, which provides a greater level of excitement than the B767. Sadly, we were all stuck in middle seats in the 2-5-2 seating plan.

Here are some parting thoughts about the travel and service:
(1) LAN has excellent service. We were given snacks and meals on every flight (even the 30 minute hop from Santiago to Mendoza). The flight attendants offered (and in fact almost insisted on) multiple drinks. The booze was free on the international flight, which is a nice touch since it does make sleeping a bit easier when you have a glass of wine.

(2) ALWAYS check your LAN itinerary for changes. I am one of those people that books a flight and does not keep looking for changes, or confirms the day before, or tracks flight status before heading to the airport. Well, it turns out that LAN likes to change things up quite a bit. And for the most part (actually for the entire part) the changes were negative. For example, they moved our departure time from Mendoza from 10am to 7am. Our flight from Iguazu to Aeroparque was delayed from 10am to 1pm. This particular change was rough since we had scheduled the trip into Buenos Aires with a 6 hour layover to allow for some speed tourism and a relaxing transfer to Ezeiza (which takes a good 1 and a half hours). Instead, we only had 3 hours between flights and were not able to see any of Buenos Aires and instead had to hurry hurry hurry to the next airport.

(3) Less is more in terms of onflight entertainment. Both of the long hauls (one on LAN and the other on American) had seat back entertainment units. The problem is that neither of them worked. AT ALL. I would much rather prefer a working movie to help me fall asleep to nothing. So while the fancy screens with on demand movies seem like a nice touch, they are only worth it if they work. And it was not just my bad luck - none of my fellow travelers had working screens.

Argentina 2010: Meet the Storelli Castros

2010-11-03T12:27:00.005-04:00

Yesterday afternoon we (Diane, her parents, and yours truly) returned from a lovely two+ week trip to Argentina which encompassed time spent in wonderful Mendoza and stunning Iguazu. This trip was a chance for the two families to get to know each other before they see each other again next year at our wedding.

Long story short, it was a GREAT(!!) trip. We did A LOT ... so much, in fact, that I think we all need a vacation to recover from the vacation. Although quite a bit of the time was spent hanging out with family, we still had outings nearly every day, and here are some of the highlights:

Arrival and asado at my uncle's home with nearly all the family.Time at the Chacras weekend house where we played some pretty intense ping pong matches.
City tour - here we are at Plaza San Martin.Another asado, this time on a Sunday at my Grandma's weekend home in Chacras.
We even had time to take in an Argentinian soccer game. This is a Nacional B game, which is the second division of soccer. We went to see Independiente Rivadavia (home team) take on Atletico Rafaela. The good guys won 3-1. Diane and I had been to a soccer game together before (Argentina vs. USA at the Meadowlands in 2008), but this was an entirely different experience with the local crowd (and, plus, Diane finally got to see a GOOOOOOOOOOL).
Of course we did some bodega tours - on bicycles (thanks Chacras Bikes!). We went to Alta Vista and Clos de Chacras. This worked out great since they are both very different types of bodegas. Alta Vista is a large operation and Clos is much smaller - so small in fact, that they hand label their bottles. Being on the bikes presented a challenge when it came time to transport our purchases (see the water bottle holder), but it also helped us moderate our tasting intake, since riding a bike with a buzz can't be that easy.We also took Diane's parents on the same High Mountain Andes tour that we did in 2008. Sadly, the road to the Christ the Redeemer statue at the Argentina-Chile border was closed due to poor conditions. The road is bad enough in perfect conditions ... so we had to leave that for another time. The statue was placed on the border after a history of border disputes between the countries and the premise of the statue is that the countries should not fight over the border because Christ knows exactly where it is. We did of course make stops at Aconcagua and Puente Del Inca.We spent the last few days of the trip at Iguazu where we went to see the greatest, most spectacularly amazing waterfalls in the world. There is literally no way to transmit what one feels at this location, since even pictures do it very little justice. We essentially took in all the attractions at the national park, including a boat trip that makes the Maid of the Mist seem quite tame. We also visited the Triple Border area, where one can see Argentina, Paraguay and Brasil (in the last picture below, the picture is taken from Argentina, Paraguay (and Ciudad del Este are on the left, and Brasil is on the right).That is a rundown of the activities. I will have separate posts with commentary and, of course, a summary of airplane and airplane-related activity.

New commercial flight at Fort Collins/Loveland beginning on Friday

2010-10-05T11:46:00.004-04:00

Beginning this Friday, Allegiant is beginning new jet service from Fort Collins/Loveland to Phoenix. This is the second commercial flight to operate out of FNL, and this is something that I have been harping on for years.
Northeast Colorado is ripe for air service. There are two universities in the area (Colorado State and Northern Colorado), multiple large employers (HP, Budweiser), and trendy travel destinations nearby (Rocky Mountain National Park, multiple ski resorts). Plus, the region has become significantly populated. I have a feeling that adding air service to this would have a Field of Dreams effect - "if you build it they will come."

The drive to Denver International Airport from the Fort Collins/Loveland areas takes approximately 1:30. There are many examples of airlines currently offering service to cities that are as equidistant to a significant airport as FNL. Delta currently flies to Fort Dodge, Iowa (population 25,000). It is located 1:35 from Des Moines, Iowa. Delta also flies to Jamestown, North Dakota (population 15,000). This bustling metropolis is located 1:31 from Bismarck, ND. United flies to Klamath Falls, Oregon (population 20,000), which is located 1:32 minutes from Medford, Oregon. The Fort Collins/Loveland/Greeley/Windsor area has a population over 200,000.

I am glad that at least Allegiant is developing its FNL service. The jet service to Las Vegas was a no-brainer. The next expansion should be to a Florida resort town, or a midwestern hub, like Chicago. I would imagine that there would be a lot of people in Northeast Colorado who would pay a little more for airplane tickets to avoid the long drive to Denver. Allegiant serves FNL with the MD-80, which seats 130-170 passengers. But there's nothing saying you can't fly in and out of FNL with a CRJ or Embraer, the latter of which only requires you to fill 37 seats.

That's all I got.

Forced fanaticism

2010-10-04T21:17:00.004-04:00

One of my good friends in Colorado was a big Dallas Cowboys fan. He was not born in Dallas (or Texas or anywhere near there). Nobody in his family was a Cowboys fan. He had never been to Dallas (or anywhere in Texas) in his life. He just liked the Cowboys for no good reason. Even though he lived, was raised, and was, for all practical matters, a Coloradoan. And it's not like the Broncos had a slouch team. This was during the Elway years when being a Broncos fan was a lot of fun. I was just incredibly annoyed that this kid did not support the hometown team. I would have understood his position if he had a good reason for being a Dallas Cowboys fan (like any of the quality reasons I raised above).

So, when I moved to New York in 2006, I knew that I needed to start adopting the hometown teams so that I would not become so objectionable to myself. It was not easy to make this transition. Of course, it did not help that the Rockies got really good in the last few years. And it is just very difficult to give up on the Broncos - they are quite the religion and I drank the Kool-Aid.

But at the beginning of this football season, Diane and I decided that we should choose a football team that we could root for together. We went through an entire exercise including choosing finalists, vetoing the others' choices, etc. And after much consideration, we settled on becoming Buffalo Bills fans.

As it turns out, after 4 very painful losses, this may have been a huge mistake. Much like the industrial complex of upstate New York, the Buffalo Bills' season is crumbling and there is very little hope for recovery. On the other hand, it is somewhat enjoyable to have misery to share with other Bills fans that I run into, and I do enjoy getting the sympathy. It's like becoming a Bills fan is equivalent to doing a good selfless deed like helping an old lady cross the street.

Regardless of the current and future losing that I am destined to witness, I do feel good about our decision (which incidentally was the first major decision we made as an engaged couple - woot!). There is something inherently good about rooting for the only football team that actually plays its home games IN New York.

As for the other sports, I have embraced the Red Sox, although I have not totally let go of the Rockies. I can't put into words how annoying it is that they got this good since I left Colorado after all that horrible baseball I had to endure at Coors Field. And since the Shell-Dawg is a fan of the New York Rangers, that is good enough for me to follow them.

I do have to stress that although I am still a reluctant Rockies fan, it was the Broncos that were the hardest to give up on. Probably because I knew deep inside that I was in for decades of bad football.

JFK Emergency Landing

2010-09-28T15:14:00.002-04:00

In case you missed it, a Delta CRJ-900 made an emergency landing at JFK on Sunday night after a malfunction in the back-right landing gear. The plane landed and then skidded on its wing to a rest in a shower of sparks. A passenger captured the final moments on a cell-phone camera. At 0:12 you can hear the plane touch down and it takes until about 0:18 until you start seeing sparks, which means that the pilot was able to keep the wing off the runway for a good 6 seconds.
I like how at the 0:24 mark after the plane has been skidding for a while (and has not yet veered off the runway or otherwise become destroyed) the flight attendant gives out a triumphant "Heads down! Stay down!" You can sense in her voice that they are gonna make it.

And of course, the spontaneous cheers and applause are nice. I smirked at this because on virtually every foreign airline I have flown on (save British Airways, but including LanChile, Austral, Aerolineas Argentinas and EgyptAir) the foreigners always applaud the landing. Even in perfect weather. But then again, in Argentina we always applaud the asador - we are a very grateful people I guess. (<-- By the way, I am always shocked at what you can find on YouTube.) One final item you may have missed, which appeared in the NY Daily News today, is that there have been 5 similar incidents with the CRJ in the last two years. This, of course, is problematic, and the Daily News writer explains why (with tongue firmly in cheek):

"...Landing gear being generally recommended for the landing portion of a flight..."

Although, I would go a step further and say "properly functioning landing gear being generally recommended for the landing portion of a flight..." Right JetBlue?

These are facts.

Hockey Season is Back

2010-09-26T12:55:00.004-04:00

There is a chill in the air. The leaves are turning. The Mets are playing out their final meaningless games. All of these are signs that the Night Owls Hockey Club Fall/Winter season is back.

This fall I am playing on both the Thursday and Sunday squads. We are already three weeks into the season and so far it has been a boon on the scoresheet for me, including a Hat Trick and two sick and professional backhand goals. In fact, Diane was alert enough to capture one of them right before the moment of greatness:

She also, rather passive-aggressively I might add, captured some photographs detailing the temperature inside the arena.

On another note, Diane's mom deserves some sort of medal for the very selfless act of washing my hockey equipment. If you are lucky enough to have never smelled hockey equipment, perhaps my good friend the Sports Guy will give you a level of appreciation for how powerful it is. This is an excerpt from a 2007 article:

"My theory on why all hockey players are so boring: It takes three beers to loosen them up because their brains are rendered senseless by the stench of sweaty, stinky hockey equipment. It's like the smell of death -- you can't get it out of your nostrils once it gets in there. Hence, they're on autopilot until that fourth beer makes the stench go away. And then? All hell breaks loose."

The last time I had my equipment washed (which was also by Diane's mom) Bush was still president, the New York State Senate was still a Republican (yet dignified) body, and the world was unaware of Bristol Palin's sexcapades. It was getting so bad that I was getting dirty looks in the locker room.

America.

2010-09-20T15:57:00.009-04:00

In July 2008, I began an installment called the Best Color Scheme Among Flag Carriers Tournament. I envisioned it as a summer project. More than 2 years later, here I am - trying to finish out this damned thing. Just to refresh your memory, because god knows I needed my own memory refreshed, I picked a winner from eight regions with all the winners advancing to a huge Elite Eight tournament to determine once and for all the best color scheme among flag carriers. Today is the final qualification tournament as we (I) select the US representative to this elite field.

As you know, America does not have a flag carrier, since, you know, that sounds communist. So today we are picking the US winner from a group of 16 airlines (including 2 defunct, yet classic US airlines - PanAm and Eastern).

There are two 8-airline brackets seeded as follows based on numerous factors, including regional balance, yearly passenger load, and other factors that I, as commissioner, determined but do not have to divulge. Here are the brackets:

South/West Bracket:
1. Southwest (appropriately enough)
2. American Airlines
3. Eastern Airlines
4. US Airways
5. Northwest
6. Allegiant
7. Hawaiian
8. Alaska

North/East Bracket:
1. Delta
2. United
3. PanAm
4. Continental
5. Spirit
6. Air Trans
7. JetBlue
8. Frontier

So...onto the work at hand. Let's start with the South/West Bracket:

Round 1 Matches:
(1) Southwest vs. (8) Alaska: I dislike having to make difficult decisions and already I have been saddled with a tough choice. One the one hand, the Southwest colorscheme is pleasing to my eyes - but it also seems quite loud to me. And while the Alaska colorscheme is simple, it still does just enough (like having lines of different widths running down the fuselage) to keep my attention. I am also fascinated by the Eskimo on the tail. I am going with Alaska on this because in the end, I don't think I like the wavy blend of red and blue on the southwest fuselage. I don't get it - why can't they have a straight line where the colors meet? Winner: Alaska.(4) US Airways vs. (5) Northwest: There are things to like about both of these color schemes. Although US Airways has the basic white color scheme, there is a lot of activity around it. I am a huge fan of the subtle gray that Northwest uses - and I really like the lower case "nwa" that they use here. It's a nice touch. The only part of the US Airways color scheme that I am not getting is the block of red at the top of the tail. It is out of place. Winner: Northwest.(3) Eastern vs. (6) Allegiant: I have always had a soft spot for Eastern since that was the airline that brought us to America. So even though it no longer exists, I thought that they merited a spot in this important tournament. I also am a big fan of Allegiant since they are the only commercial airline to fly in and out of Fort Collins. In this case I am going with Eastern because I believe they need to be rewarded with the fuel-saving and Earth-friendly polished color-scheme. Being green pays off, people. Winner: Eastern.
(2) American vs. (7) Hawaiian: Props for the polished look that American uses (see above). But American is not advancing simply because of the polish - it's also advancing because of the fine eagle on the tail and the great font. And Hawaiian - I am sorry but that lady on the tail is cartoonish. For reference on how to put an acceptable face on an airplane, see Airlines, Alaska. Winner: American.Round II Matches:
(8) Alaska vs. (5) Northwest: There certainly is a charm to a simple colorscheme such as the one used by Alaska. The problem with that, as I see it, is that it can result in a less dynamic appearance. Take Northwest's old color scheme (see it here): it was exciting and "busy." But when the time came for a new look, Northwest was able to adapt and come up with a new look that preserved the heritage of the old colorscheme. I am fascinated with how Northwest adapted the tiny triangle in the N/W on the tail and used it as the main point of attention on the new colorscheme. I think that although the Alaska colorscheme is certainly attractive, it has nowhere to go from here. On the other hand, I am excited to see what Northwest does next. As a side note, props to Alaska for some very well crafted special colorschemes, like the Salmon Plane below. Winner: Northwest.
(2) American vs. (3) Eastern: It is fitting and good for the environment that these two eco-friendly color schemes have advanced this far. Despite the significant similarities between these colorschemes, there are, in fact, substantive differences. First, the stripes on the Eastern fuselage rise through the tail at the back of the plane. That is not a very aesthetic look in my mind. On a similar note, while American sports the AA and eagle on the tail, there is nothing new or unique on the Eastern tail. Winner: American.

Round III: South/West Bracket Final
(2) American vs. (5) Northwest: This final has come down to a battle between two different styles. While Northwest was praised for its dynamic colorscheme, American has advanced largely on its ingenuity and classic symbols. And, ultimately, that is where I make my determination - the symbols. The American tail is distinctive and recognizable. Not to take anything away from Northwest, but sometimes the price you pay for product rebranding is a loss in identity. And what is more important than identity in a colorscheme? Winner: American.
Now it's time for the North/East bracket. Here we go with...

Round I Matches:
(1) Delta vs. (8) Frontier: Perhaps in a preview of what may be coming in subsequent rounds, I am just going to have to put out there that I have a slight problem with the Delta flag on the tail. I can see how the country's flag would be helpful on an airplane, but I don't think a "company" flag is appropriate. That being said, although I have shown some love to the hint of gray earlier in this post (see Airlines, Northwest), I am not a fan of the large, fuselage-encompassing soft gray used by Frontier. But the animals on the tail are cute and they made for some good commercials back in the day. Winner: Delta.(4) Continental vs. (5) Spirit: I like both of these colorschemes very much. Continental offers a nice two-toned fuselage with a fine golden line to separate the colors. And it is hard to mess up the globe on the tail. Spirit - like others before it - very effectively uses the soft gray. I don't think their colorscheme would work well with a white background so I give them props for that. I go with Continental here though because I don't like how the square-fade works in the tail of the Spirit colorscheme. Winner: Continental.

(3) PanAm vs. (6) AirTrans: There is a lot to like about the traditional PanAm colorscheme. The lettering is bold, and although similar in font and size to Frontier, it differentiates itself in that it is dark lettering instead of the light, almost "excuse me" lettering on Frontier's fuselage. And again, like I said about Continental, it is hard to mess up the globe on the tail. Huge props as well for writing the names of the planes near the cockpit. AirTrans essentially offers Southwest lite and I am not feeling it. The lower case "a" on the tail is a nice touch, but not nearly sufficient to knock off PanAm. Winner: PanAm.(2) United vs. (7) JetBlue: This was a very one-sided contest for me. United's new colorscheme is pretty awesome by my estimation. And actually, I would even say that their previous two colorschemes have been awesome and awesomer. I have always believed that a great colorscheme is one that can evolve and retain the greatness of the previous design and incorporate that into the new colorscheme. By that yardstick, United has been very successful. There is nothing inherently wrong with JetBlue's colorscheme. It is pretty dull by comparison here, though. Winner: United.
Now...on to Round II Matches:

(1) Delta vs. (4) Continental: I am somewhat conflicted here because I genuinely don't have major issues with these colorschemes. Sure, I made some disparaging remarks about the flag on Delta's tail earlier - but in reality the design is well laid out. Upon some research into the Continental colorscheme, I did find that I do not like how it looks on the Boeing 757 - which is my favorite plane at the mo'. Just like a great colorscheme must be able to evolve, it should also look good on the planes you fly. The problem with the Continental colorscheme on the Boeing 757 is that it makes the plane look disproportionate. Look at the Boeing 767 here: See how the gold line runs down the middle of the nose? Now look at the Boeing 757: See how the gold line is higher than the middle of the nose? Winner: Delta.

(2) United vs. (3) PanAm: Huge props to PanAm in this contest since it is the closest the US has come to a "flagcarrier." However, in this match up, I think PanAm bows out. If I had to pick one reason that United wins here it's the tail design - there is nothing wrong with PanAm's globe, but the United "U" is very imposing and, dare I say it, almost intimidating. Winner: United.

And now for the North/East Bracket Final:

(1) Delta vs. (2) United: I had not mentioned this earlier, but Delta does employ a partly-polished look on its planes' underbelly, which on these pages has been rewarded due to it's eco-friendliness. However, from a purely, purely aesthetic standpoint, the polished underbelly clashes too strongly with the white of the rest of the colorscheme. While I applaud Delta for it's partial green colorscheme, the artist within me must also punish them for an unbalanced look. Plus, if you're going to save Earth, you might as well go all the way. Winner: United.

So here we are at the final. East meets West. North and South will collide. Again. The winner advances to the big dance and will represent the US.

(2) American vs. (2) United: In a way it is very fitting that one of these airlines will be representing the US in the final tournament. Even in their names they embody the spirit of this country. These two airlines arrived here for different reasons. American has had a traditional look that has endured. And - yes, I am mentioning it again - the polished look helps. United has gone through various colorschemes even in my short lifetime - and each of the looks has been impressive. This is going to be a very difficult decision indeed. As I study both of these colorschemes closely, I am find it challenging to find a significant enough flaw on either of these colorschemes. In fact, I just keep finding pleasant surprises. For example, even the order of the red, white and blue stripes on American make sense. In any other order I am not sure if they would look that good. And the gradation and fade-in of the blue to white on United is very well done. The shades and sizes of the stripes are ideal. However, at the end of the day this is a competition about colorschemes on airplanes. The colorscheme that best suits airplanes should be the one that wins. While the polished look on American is beautiful and well complemented, I can't help but feel that the colors and variations on United help bring the different parts of the airplane out. American is like the naked human body with all its imperfections and faults. United planes are dressed up and ready to shine. Winner: United.And here are the eight finalists who will be competing for the title of "Best Colorscheme Among Flagcarriers:"

South America: Varig
North America: AeroMexico
Oceania: Air Vanuatu
Middle East: Saudi Arabian
Asia: Thai
Africa: Air Tanzania
Europe: KLM
US: United

Dunkin Run Results

2010-09-17T17:44:00.002-04:00

Diane, AK and I ran the Dunkin Donuts 5K run last weekend. The race started and ended at the Jewish Community Center. The course was nothing out of the ordinary - the second and third mile actually overlapped.

I improved on my Valley Cats 5K run, which I ran in 25:25. Here is the Garmin view of the race.

Untitled

Sun, Sep 12, 2010 8:33 AM added by niquin21

Map

Satellite

Terrain

2000 ft

500 m

Activity Type:

Running

Event Type:

Uncategorized

Time:

00:24:32

Distance:

3.14 mi

Elevation Gain:

11 ft

Calories:

485 C

Chasing Waterfalls: Niagara Edition

2010-09-01T10:25:00.007-04:00

I have a fair bit of catch-up blogging to do from my various activities this summer (including a trip to an airplane mecca) but I thought I would start by bringing back a popular installment here at Airplanes I Have Known - Chasing Waterfalls. (See installment one and two.)

A good friend and former colleague of mine was married in August in Olean, NY. By the way, I think it is important to know that Olean is only about 20 miles closer to Albany than it is to Toledo, OH.

Given that we were practically going to be in the Rust Belt, we decided to make a long weekend out of the journey. So we left Albany on Friday and headed towards Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes region. Diane had planned a trip to four wineries, all of which were spectacular. We visited Hunts, Dr. Frank's, Blue Heron, and Bully Hill. All were spectacular. By the way, there is no fee to do a wine tasting at Dr. Frank's. Just sayin'.We stayed in Bath, NY that night, which is a very ironic name for a Western New York town. When we went out looking for a place to eat that night, we stumbled across the Bath Town Fair. And it had all the glitz and glamour of a Town Fair. There were of course the rides, fried things to eat in the shape of a stick or a ball, and mullets. Note to my cautious readers: Do not be tricked to ride "The Scrambler." Trust me, it will nauseate you.
We decided that it was probably not a good idea to eat carnival food, since we were going to be on the road for the next few days. We ended up finding an old hotel in the town which was still open and serving food. We walked in to a near empty establishment with an older lady sitting at a table, a lone traveler at the bar, and an older gentleman (who we later learned was the owner) behind the bar. My burger at this joint cost me a cool $3.75.

This meal was actually a very underrated part of the trip. The owner of the hotel (the Old Northern) had that folksy charm that I thought only existed in 1980's movies. A traveler who had been sent over by the Super 8 came in while we were eating and asked if there were any rooms available for him and his wife. The owner told him, "The bridal suite is available." The traveler paused and asked, "What is it going to cost me?" " It's $67 if you pay cash, $70 credit." Diane and I smirked at this point. First of all, this guy had just probably filled his most expensive room, and second of all, his most expensive room costs $67. He was, by the way, very proud of himself for having let that room out - he exclaimed as much to the lady sitting at the table by herself. When I went to pay for the check, he said, "Give me a $100 and we'll call it even." The meal, plus the very generous tip was a $32 American.

From there we made our way to Olean. On the way we stopped at Allegany State Park for a picnic so that Diane could show me around. We ended up having a nice picnic by the lake in the park, and it was so nice that we didn't leave the park for the wedding until 3pm. The problem, you see, is that the ceremony started at 3:30pm and Olean was about 18 miles away. But we made it by the skin of our teeth. It was a beautiful ceremony in what was an old library that has been converted to a restaurant. The food was great, the newlyweds were stunning, and I even danced without the assistance of alcohol.From there, it was onward and upward towards the greater Buffalo/Niagara area. We had planned to visit the falls and stay on the Canadian side the last night before heading home. So on Sunday afternoon we walked around the American side of the Falls. That night we had dinner at Margaritaville to celebrate my birthday (and where we coincidentally ran into - or rather, were run into - by the newlyweds!) and afterwards we walked around the Canadian side of the Falls before turning in for the night.
On Monday morning we had one last hurrah at the Falls - we went on the Maid of the Mist. I highly recommend this if you have the opportunity. I have an affinity for bodies of water, and you get such a close up feeling for the power of water at the Falls. I don't know how one cannot be impressed by the sound of the Falls. Truly remarkable.As a side note, I think Diane wanted to do this because apparently some characters from The Office named Jim and Pam also went on this ride. Whatever.

After that, it was time to head home to see the Maid of the Misty Cat as I call her.That concludes this installment of Chasing Waterfalls. Please tune in for the next installment sometime after our October/November visit to Iguazu Falls.

The Beginning of the Road to "Skinny-colas"

2010-08-25T17:53:00.004-04:00

There was a definite theme to the birthday gifts I received this year. And the theme was: "It's time to get back in shape!"

My mom sent me a set of free weights (and the bar) from our actual gym in Fort Collins, CO so that I can do the Body Pump workouts in my living room. Oh, and she recorded a class and sent a CD so that I can follow along with the instructor's directions.

Diane and her parents went in on together on a Garmin running/biking watch. It is a beast. I went out for a run today to test it out and below is a brief, brief snapshot of the data it records and gives back to me. You cannot see it here, but it traces the route I ran on the map and also gives splits of the laps. Insane.

With toys like these it is going to be a blast to get in shape.

Untitled

Wed, Aug 25, 2010 4:46 PM added by niquin21

Map

Satellite

Terrain

1000 ft

200 m

Activity Type:

Running

Event Type:

Uncategorized

Time:

00:36:50

Distance:

4.10 mi

Elevation Gain:

110 ft

Calories:

643 C

View Details

One of my all-time questions is answered

2010-07-25T12:26:00.002-04:00

Since I was a dorky/debate-team member/International Baccalaureate geeky high schooler, girlfriends were not a large (or to be more accurate - "existent") part of my youth. Yup, my memories in high school are pretty much limited to doing a lot of homework, procrastinating about doing said homework, hanging out with Dan and Andrew, and traveling to debate tournaments on Saturdays.

Oh, sure, there were the occasional dates. I shocked myself by going to both Junior and Senior prom with dates, but those events were certainly the exception and not the rule. Often, when I was spending painfully awkward or dorky moments with Dan and Andrew, I would wonder about what my future wife was doing at that moment. Is she also at a debate tournament? Maybe she's birdwatching. Or thinking about politics. I would wonder if she's Argentinean or American or German or Pakistani.

Now I know the answer to most of those questions because on July 2, 2010, Diane agreed to be my wife.

And it turns out that when I was hanging out at the CSU library studying German with Dan and Andrew, she was most likely in Colonie. She was most definitely not ever at any debate tournament.

When I was thinking about her, she was probably at a dance competition. Or eating a bagel with sausage and cheese (no egg, please and thank you). Or perhaps she was practicing the baritone.

At the most basic level, Diane and I met quite by accident. Had Dr. Moore not encouraged me to apply to Albany, it is likely our paths would not have ever crossed. Had Albany not offered a very generous scholarship, it is likely I would have gone to school in Philadelphia. Had that monkey George W. Bush not been elected and screwed up the environment, Diane would not have gone into environmental policy. Had CHH not been friendly at the Dean's office I would have avoided all human contact at Albany and gone back to Colorado at the conclusion of my degree. Quite the accident, as you can see.

And now this series of accidents has turned into a lifetime with "that tall girl from Jeffy's office".

It's the most wonderful time of every four years

2010-06-13T11:06:00.002-04:00

I am always happy and proud to say I am Argentinean, but every four years, it feels like a privilege to be one. One of the reasons I love the World Cup is because Argentina is thrust into the international spotlight - and in a positive light no less.

I was too young to remember the 1986 World Cup when Argentina won on the back of Diego Armando Maradona. We had just moved to the US when Argentina was runner-up in the 1990 World Cup, and my memories of that Cup are limited but vivid nonetheless. I especially remember watching the semi-final match between Italy and Argentina (Italy was the host nation) in the basement of a friend's house with my dad - both of us under extreme pressure to subdue our urges to scream after a late-tying goal and during the penalty kicks that Argentina ultimately won.

During the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, I was in Argentina and the whole country would shut down whenever the team was playing. After a glorious victory over the hated English in the 1998 quarterfinals, all of Mendoza came out to celebrate in downtown as if we had won the Cup itself.

That spontaneous celebration is something that I cannot fathom happening in the US. Were the US team to win the Cup, I presume that it would be an important news event. But in many other countries, winning the Cup is not a news event - it's a life event. In the US, it seems that those events are always limited - there's a parade in the city of a team that wins the NBA championship, the Stanley Cup, the World Series, or the Super Bowl. So every year, four cities throughout the country have a spontaneous moment of unity. If you have ever been a part of those parades, imagine how that elation would feel if it was a national celebration.

In addition to being a nationally unifying moment, the World Cup as experienced in Argentina is also an important family event - which I am now much more aware of since I have been left to suffer through these games alone. However, even long distances have not mitigated the sense of joint suffering. Before the first game Argentina played last Saturday, I received phone calls from my mother, sister, and both grandmothers. You know it's serious when your grandmother is calling you about a soccer game.

VIP government visitor at ALB

2010-05-31T21:53:00.002-04:00

The Master Cyclist sent me over this picture he took outside Albany International Airport. It looks like some sort of CRJ or ERJ with an Air Force One-type color scheme. I presume that this plane was used to transport a high-level government official - most likely Peter Orszag, who spoke at RPI's graduation.

MK rocks the Palace

2010-05-16T22:37:00.004-04:00

Diane and I had the great fortune of catching the legendary Mark Knopfler at the Palace on Sunday, May 9th. For those of you who don't know who this living god is, first of all, shame on you and I don't even know you anymore. He was the lead singer and co-founder of Dire Straits, which rocked the world a generation before I was ready to appreciate music.

Since the end of the Dire Straits days sometime in the 1990's, Mark Knopfler has been fairly steadily putting out solo albums. To be honest, the pieces he played from his solo albums were as impressive and enjoyable as the Dire Straits classics he played.

Here is the setlist:

Bordre Reiver

What It Is

Sailing to Philadelphia

Prairie Wedding

Hill Farmer's Blues

Romeo and Juliet

Sultans of Swing

Donegan's Gone

Get Lucky

Marbletown (band introduction)

Speedway at Nazareth

Telegraph Road (part I & part II)

Encore:

Brothers in Arms

So Far Away

Piper to the End

I could not believe we were treated to Sultans of Swings AND Telegraph Road, which to me is the Mark Knopfler anthem. I have never been as familiar with most of his solo material. Don't get me wrong - I have all the albums, it's just harder to recognize the songs. But, I have to admit that even among that incredibly generous Dire Straits serving in the setlist, in my opinion, the band was at their best on Speedway at Nazareth. If you know these songs at all, that alone tells you how impressive that rendition was. It's hard to imagine Speedway at Nazareth upstaging Telegraph Road. Seriously, watch the link above.

This was my second time watching MK live. The first was on the eve of junior prom in high school. My stepdad had gotten me tickets for Christmas or a birthday or something and we went to watch the Sailing to Philadelphia tour at Red Rocks in Denver. Even after all those years, MK was still filthy on the guitar. And I am not just saying that out of blind infatuation - the TU reviewer agreed.

Technically speaking, I have never seen DS, but it turns out that MK is touring with Danny Cummings on the drums (who was an old DS percussionist) and Guy Fletcher on piano/accoustic guitar/electric guitar/percussion...vocals...everything (who was a DS ... everything). Essentially, it could be argued that we were a John Illsley short of an actual DS reunion.

One of the first things Diane and I noticed when we were walking to the Palace was that we were about 30 years younger than everybody else in the building. In fact, when we were walking out, there was a couple behind us discussing this same phenomenon and the wife said, "Where are all the young people? There aren't any young people here." We summarily turned around and remarked that we consider ourselves fairly young and a good laugh was had by all.

So now, of course, I am on an MK and DS stretch where that's all I can listen to. This morning I added Telegraph Road to my Ipod before my run. The great thing about that is that the song is 14 minutes long, so by the time I had finished listening to it, my run was halfway done. Thanks for that MK.

It's official - I'm a New Yorker (Updated)

2010-04-26T09:47:00.005-04:00

There it is - all over my car:

I can't wait to drive back to Colorado with my fancy New York elitist liberal license plates. I can already picture all the nice simple country folk out yonder sneering at my East Coast creds. And all I am going to do while I am there is blast that New York song by Rihanna and the other guy.

UPDATE: Apparently it was Alicia Keys that sings that song. Whatever.

I have now traded my Colorado license plate - which looks like a diet Mountain Dew can to me - for a generic New York plate, with no distinguishing factors that I can identify. Doesn't matter though, baby, the only thing that matters on this plate is the name, homey.

New ride

2010-04-12T22:35:00.003-04:00

I have a big problem with impulse buys.

In the summer of 2007, I was working at Camp Taconic, where the day starts with "Sing" - where the whole camp comes together after clean-up to sing some songs before morning announcements. There is nothing like an auditorium full of singing kids to get your day going. But to be honest, I did enjoy Sing most of the time. I mostly hated it when I was hungover.

I was quite obsessed with the guitar playing that I saw during Sing - especially during Rocky Top. And one day I snuck into town to buy a guitar --- on impulse.

Three years later and I can play some simple Neil Young songs, maybe a Cat Stevens tune or two...and that's about it. I just had to learn the hard (and expensive way) that my family genes have no regard for music. There is no ritmo running through my veins.

Last weekend, I made a similar impulse buy. Turns out that a skateboard shop opened on the corner of Lark and State. When I was walking in the park with Diane, this new shop came up in conversation, mostly because it was just nice to have a new business in that storefront. Well, needless to say, about 30 minutes later I owned a skateboard.

This skateboard.

I chose this skateboard because I am a Democrat.

Anyways, I have diligently practiced and I have become quite the avid skater. I even skateboarded to work the day after buying this amazing device.

Maybe this is my mid-life crisis.

Value your opposable thumb (GRAPHIC)

2010-03-28T18:30:00.005-04:00

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

2010-03-23T17:32:00.002-04:00

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

2010-03-14T12:32:00.002-04:00

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.

Piss-poor idea

2010-02-24T11:52:00.003-05:00

ANA, Japan's second largest airline, will be introducing women-only lavatory facilities on flights. This does not seem like a good idea on several fronts. My first thought, from my very limited experience in observing female bathroom lines, they tend to be five times longer.
The article also cites that at least part of the reason for this change was due to a customer survey in which a large percentage of women passengers thought this would be a good idea. Hmmm - they must have been shocked to hear that. Among the reasons the women cited for the women-only lavatory was that men leave the toilet seat up. Are any of these women married? If so, do they have separate facilities in their own home? Now, the only thing I really know about Japan is that there is no space on the island-nation, hence multiple-level driving ranges, and the whole sleeping in a drawer bit. So I presume that most dwellings do not use precious, precious space on multiple and unnecessary bathrooms.

And finally, I could totally picture the situation where there would be a boy passenger who really has to go, but is forced to wait in line while a perfectly useful airplane lavatory is waiting unoccupied. Now, the airline did say they would waive the rule in cases of "emergencies" and when "few women are on-board." But I'm thinking, isn't every time you have to go an "emergency"?

Views from the AESOB

2010-02-02T22:53:00.002-05:00

This was the view from my office window last Thursday - this is definitely one of the perks of working on the team that I work on. Yep, the view, the benefits, the parking space, the entertainment...the list goes on and on.

This was right before the blizzard. This is not a black and white picture. There are absolutely no effects on this shot.

And here is what all those ominous clouds led to.

Let's settle down with the citizen's arrest

2010-01-28T22:29:00.002-05:00

Bucky Turco, PI extrodinaire, snapped a picture of a snoozing TSA agent at a gate at LaGuardia Airport. The agent eventually awoke and started her duties. He was so outraged and shocked, that he put the picture up on his blog and it eventually go to the TSA. Now, the agent has been assigned to desk duty pending an investigation.

But Bucky is pretty darn smart: "To be fair, she could have been on a break."

Ohhhh. Right.

She. Could. Have. Been. On. A. Break.

I guess in Bucky's America people are guilty until proven innocent. So Bucky thought, "Sure, she could have been on break, but I'm going to post her picture anyway." And now he might cost this young lady her job. Granted - it was a probably not the best place for this agent to take a break. Had I found myself in the same situation, I probably would have noticed the event unfolding before me and thought, "Hmm. To be fair she could have been on a break." And I would have left it at that. It is no worth somebody's job to be taking a picture of the young, probably tired out of her mind TSA agent. Would you rather have a sleepy agent, or an alert agent screening your bag, Bucky?

Well done Bucky, well done, indeed. In case you couldn't tell, I was being sarcastic. To be fair, you are an ass.

The Misty cat steps outside

2010-01-26T11:42:00.004-05:00

Diane and I have been experimenting with having The Misty Cat explore the hallway environs. Our condo is a relatively small place for her, especially compared to Denison, where she even had an enclosed porch to go play and stalk in.

Each night around 11pm, we open the door and let her out. We're at the end of a pretty long hallway, so she has a lot of space to explore. She's walked all the way down to the elevator by herself and even into the stairwell up to the 9th floor.
One night she even went down to the basement with us to throw away the garbage, although she cried during the whole elevator ride down. It's strange to see her so scared, because usually I am the one that is the scared party.

Mandatory monthly post

2010-01-24T12:23:00.003-05:00

I admit that I really don't have much to say in this post. This is basically going up so that I won't miss out on a "January 2010" tab on the archives roll.

Basically what has happened since I got back from Colorado on January 3rd is that I've been working. In fact, yesterday was the first day since January 4th that I did not go in to work. And most of it is President Obama's fault.

No worries, though, right? Even though a lot of people were putting in these long hours, it was for a worthy cause that will improve the State's education system. Except that the bill never passed. So I learned a valuable lesson - nothing is ever certain in the Legislature until the voting machine starts recording a vote.

Ever since that, I've been getting reacquainted with Diane, since it felt like months that I'd seen her. Last night we went to the River Rats game against the Adirondack Phantoms in Glens Falls, and it was very enjoyable. I maintain that the Glens Falls Civic Center is a much superior minor league hockey venue than the TU. It's smaller and the people give a damn. I couldn't get over how loud it was every time the crowd reacted to an event on the ice.

So, that is all for now, until my next mandatory February posting.

"Mapi Liberia" documentary

2009-12-28T13:20:00.005-05:00

When my sister was studying abroad in Ghana in 2007-2008, she started a girls soccer team at a Liberian refugee camp. The team was named "Mapi," which was our nickname for our dad, because he was the one who taught her soccer.

While in Ghana, a fellow exchange student (from Germany) thought this would make an interesting documentary. Well, a few months later, here is a clip of the trailer of the film. (Click on the clip titled "Mapi Liberia Working title with new music"). It was shown fairly widely in Germany and my sister is trying to get it shown at the local independent movie theatre in Fort Collins.

They grow up so fast

2009-12-28T13:10:00.002-05:00

I am in the FoCo on a weekish long vacation before the start of the hell, wrath and fury that is the legislative session. I had a rude awakening on my first full day back here. My sister and I went to the club (gym, for my Northeast readers) and played some raquetball.

This is a typical routine for us, and it usually goes like this: We play, my sister sometimes scores in the double digits, but in the end I sweep the best of three series easily.

Well, turns out that my little sister has been practicing the ol' ballgame and she got pretty damn good. She has (umm, had) only beaten me in a series once before. Sure, every now and then I will lose a game to her, but a series, that was a once in a lifetime event. And I remember that the time she did beat me, I was lazy, uninterested and she basically ambushed me.

Well, mark this date down: December 26, 2009. I got a raquetball beatdown. An ol' fashioned ass-whooping. I am sure the fathers and mothers out there reading this can relate. It felt like that first time that a son or daughter beat you at something, whether it be chess, or basketball, or just plain physically beat you up.

So my little sister finally grew up (or I grew old). We played again yesterday afternoon, a best of 5 this time, and yes, although I ultimately prevailed, it was only after a furious rally from 2-1 games down. I am no longer the scary raquetballer that bullied my sister and built my own confidence at her expense. I am now running around a raquetball court like a moron chasing a little black ball - all this at the hands of a person that is barely over 4 feet tall.

Adventures in FSX

2009-12-10T14:01:00.003-05:00

Around this time last year, I was grousing about the fact that FS 2004: A Century of Flight was no longer good enough after I had caught a glimpse of the screen shots of Flight Simulator X. This is despite the fact that I h ad only been playing said FS 2004 for about two months at the time and had deemed it a "major upgrade." What I did not say last December, was that I had gone to Best Buy to see exactly how much FSX would set me back. Well, if you know me at all, you would also now know that it must have been a poop load of money because I am usually quite tempted when it comes to the purchase airplane and airplane accessories.

Turns out I was at the old shopping mall the other day on different business and I decided to meander on over to Best Buy and lo and behold, FSX was available at a significantly reduced price. So I bought it.

Problem: the graphics on this game are very much as amazing as I expected them to be. Why is this a problem, you might be asking yourself? Well, my laptop is not quite able to handle all of this airplane goodness very well.

Result: sometimes choppy action on the computer and a failure to be able to run multiple flights due to my computer giving up.

It's not all bad, though. About the same time I purchased FSX, I also started using a little thing called YouTube. You may have heard of this. Well, it turns out that people out there that are in fact dorkier than me have made videos of how to use the Instrument Landing System (ILS) on FSX. This is huge actually for two reasons: (1) it allows me to use the larger jetliners because I have a greater probability of landing them and (2) I can fly anywhere I want. As I have said before, one of my handicaps with the earlier versions of FS was that I only was able to use airports that I could locate with visual clues. That really limited my options. Now I can fly virtually anywhere and the ILS will guide me down to my destination.

You can bet that I have already put all the new features of FSX to good use. Here are two screenshots of a successful landing at ALB with an A321. Check out the detail on the wing - you can literally see runway between the ailerons and flaps.Another great feature of FSX is the new and improved airline options. The plane I was using above is Pacifica Airlines. It's so good that were it real and a flag-carrier, it would have a decent shot in the best color scheme among flag-carriers tournament.

The unexptected joys of long lost emails

2009-11-25T11:27:00.006-05:00

My mom's organization has been asking its employees to start trimming the volume of emails they keep in storage. As a result, she has been going back through some very comprehensive archives that she could barely recollect even existed. This little seemingly inane task has actually been incredibly rewarding for us because she has dug up some emails that my dad had sent ages ago.
Reading through them has been very bittersweet. First of all, it has been great for me and my sister to see that our parents, even after a difficult divorce, still communicated regularly and amicably about us and their conversations back and forth show that they had remained close friends and equal opportunity parents after all these years. Second, it is incredible to see how much parents worry and discuss their children behind our backs. I mean this strictly in a positive light. For example, in 2001 I was diagnosed with keratoconus, which is an affliction of the cornea that causes very poor vision and can only be controlled with hard contact lenses. This was very difficult for both of my parents, and I would argue perhaps a bit more difficult for my dad based on the long distance that separated us. This was certainly evident in the emails. My mom carried the same worry with her, but had the benefit of seeing me every day and knowing that I was in no danger. And finally, it is humorous to see my father and mother discuss events about me and my sister and see their takes on the happenings of the day.

Here are some excerpts, which have been translated and provided with context as necessary:

(1) Following my high school graduation in 2001 (from the humorously named Poudre High School) I went to Argentina for 6 months to spend time with family.

"Nico is doing well. He is always in a good mood and enjoys everything we do...We talk and go out a lot and we both have a very ironic sense of humor. His sense of humor is not the only thing he gets from me - he is also very inconsistent. It is very difficult for him to follow through on anything that he starts. He started playing hockey here, he bought the hockey stick (which he quickly destroyed at the first practice). I went to the store and tried to exchange it by saying that it was damaged, but I am afraid it is our son that may be 'damaged.' He then bought a chest protector, spent all his money and now he doesn't go anymore....One of the topics we have broached is the difficulty he has 'socializing' with the girls. I would prefer on some Saturdays that he go out with groups of kids his age. I don't force him to do anything, but at least we have talked about it. In this regard, I can assure you he is not like me."
(2) On the same 6 month trip to Argentina, I took a brief trip to Buenos Aires, and my dad takes his opportunity to air some grievances to my mom:

"I just spoke to Nico and he arrived safely in Buenos Aires. I just thought you should know that he is starting to become somewhat expensive for me - and not for what he is making me spend, but rather for what he is breaking. I lent him my watch, which I have worn continuously for more than 10 years. In less than 24 hours he broke it. He tried to open my closet while the latch was closed. He gave it an enormous tug, broke the latch, made the frame fly across the room and separated some of the wood from the door of the closet. Fortunately, my life was miraculously spared since I was away from the scene of the accident. Yesterday at the bus station, my mother went to give him a kiss on his hand. He made a sudden movement with those enormous sausage like fingers on his hand and struck my poor mother's jaw. I almost had to go looking for her detached head at gate number 28. All kidding aside, my mother's jaw was swollen last night....It's a good thing his career path is the law instead of gynecology."

(3) My sister studied abroad in Germany her junior year in high school. Here are some communications relating to that experience.
"On Tuesday I talked to her. The mother answered and I can't even tell you what our communication was like. I spoke to her in 'my English' because I think it is closer to German than my Spanish, and she talked to me in 'her English' which is unlike any other human language....[On Sunday] I tried to scold her by jokingly telling her that how could it be possible that we had to deprive ourselves of sleep to wait until 4am to call her. She was happy to hear from us and told us she was up and waiting to go to church. Nico and I had a good laugh about this new experience of hers. I told her that now that she was going to be attending church every Sunday that maybe she would become a nicer person."

So, the moral of the story is that parents are neat. And that is all I have to say about that.

Of EgyptAir and pyramids

2009-11-11T17:46:00.010-05:00

All I can say is "Wow!"

At various parts of our trip to Egypt, Diane and I woud ask each other, "How are we going to describe this to people back home?" The truth is that I do not think words (or pictures) can really do justice to the history and splendor of Egypt.

First things first, the airplane information...

Our New York-Cairo trips were on B777, Nefertiti I to be exact.

We had four domestic flights, as follows:

Cairo - Aswan on an Embraer 170 (which coincidentally was my first time in such a plane).

Aswan - Abu Simbel on an A321.

Abu Simbel - Aswan on a B737.

Hurghada - Cairo on an Embraer 170 (sadly I got no picture of this plane).

A few notes on these flights...First of all, the service was very good. We were given a little tote bag with a travel toothbrush and socks. Plus, the crew handed out refreshing towels throughout the flight. Second of all, it was absolutely fascinating to hear the announcements in Arabic. Third, on the flight to Cairo from JFK, the cabin TVs showed live video (picture below) that was mounted on the front wheel, so we could see what the pilots were looking at as they taxiied. The video was left on through takeoff. I was hoping they would turn it on for landing, but no such luck. Lastly, the flights to an from Abu Simbel were very short - 45 minutes, to be exact. As such, the plane only ascended to 13000 feet.

I am struggling to find the words to describe the rest of the adventure. The trip was much better than we had anticipated. I was worried that we might be stuck in a group of tourists and have to mope around with a bunch of old people. Luckily, that was not the case. We essentially had our own private guided tour of Egypt. We went from temple to temple with our guides, who were both incredibly helpful and added so much value to the trip.

I could rattle off all the sites we visited, but I will stick to what one of our guides called the "Big Three." (1) The Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx; (2) Abu Simbel; and (3) Karnak.

The Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx
I remember being a bit disappointed when I first saw Mount Rushmore. I guess the pictures I had seen were taken from angles that made the monument appear enormous. In reality, it was not as large as I expected it to be. I don't mean to take anything away from Mount Rushmore, I simply mean that sometimes when you have very large expectations, you may set yourself up for disappointment. I was worried about that with the Pyramids. Boy was I wrong. They are BIGGER, LARGER, MORE IMPRESSIVE than I had imagined. If they had been built two years ago, they would still be impressive. To think that they were built thousands of years ago, without the technology that we have now, is just mind boggling.
I was also fascinated by the location of the pyramids - they are in the Cairo suburb of Giza, right across the Nile from the world's second largest city. In fact, although our excursion to Giza was scheduled for the second day of our trip, we actually saw the pyramids from the Citadel, which is on a hill in the middle of Cairo. It was so interesting to see a massive urban center with such a clearly ancient temple.

Abu Simbel
Of all the temples that Rameses II built, this one is my favorite - and it's not only because of its magnificance or location, but also for the message. It is located on the shores of Lake Nasser, near Egypt's southern border with Sudan. When it was built it was meant as a "warning" to the enemies of Egypt to the south (the Nubians?).

It is also very fitting that Rameses II also honored his favorite wife, Nefertari, with an equally splendid temple near his own intimidating temple. Rameses II had over 90 wives (or so, I can't remember the exact number). One of our guides took to calling him Casanova. The guy was a pharaonic FDR. He put his people to work on all sorts of public works, actually mostly just temples honoring him and the Gods. What a guy. As a side note, we saw him (his mummy anyway) in the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. He was around 90 years old at the time of his death, and he looks remarkably good for a 90 year old (not to mention that having been thousands of years ago). He had a horseshoe bald thing going on, and his body had not contorted in any strange way.

Karnak
One thing we kept hearing on our trip was how the main Egyptian god was Amun Ra, the Sun God. That is why Egyptians lived on the east bank of the Nile, where the sun rose every morning, and all their funerary temples and tombs are on the west bank, where the sun sets. There were many other gods that were worshipped and the most important ones had very impressive temples built in their honor. We visited one in Kom Ombo built for the crocodile god and Horus (the falcon god). Horus was an important part of Egyptian mythology, and as such, he had a very impressive temple all to himself in Edfu. All along, I kept thinking, if they built all these incredible temples for the minor gods, I wonder what a temple for Amun Ra would look like? Answer: Karnak.

Karnak is the world's largest religious complex. My guidebook said that it is larger than the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica and London's St. Paul's. The Great Hypostile Hall in Karnak has just rows after rows of columns. And, my god the obelisks. This is one of those places where I specifically remembering asking Diane how we would explain this to people who have not been here. It is simply a collection of greatness that you would expect from a people that were motivated to please their main god. Anything less would have been unacceptable to the Egyptians.

As far as further observations about Egypt, I can only say that we felt incredibly safe the entire time. We could walk around at night in any of the places that we stayed. We never ever felt in any sort of danger. There is a law in Egypt that requires American tourists to be accompanied by armed guards. Thankfully our guide would tell police at the checkpoints that we were British so that we weren't joined by a guard. Frankly, the requirement is unnecessary.

Islam is a beautiful religion. Five times a day, moslems pray, but we came to the conclusion that meditation is a more accurate term for what occurs. I loved hearing the prayer calls, except for the ones at 4:30 a.m. But otherwise, there was no better way to know you were in the Arab world than to hear the calls from the mosques. There is a fairly sizeable Christian population in Egypt, and they appear to live in harmony with the Moslems, if what we were told is correct. Our observations certainly seemed to support that notion. I will probabl never understand the issue with women in Islam - but the rest of the religion is indeed fascinating. As a side note, everybody assumed we were Christians, when in fact we are atheists. We both felt it was easier to let them assume we were Christians than to have the conversation about how we believe in nothing.

Camels are asinine. We rode a camel around the Great Pyramids of Giza, and when I was getting on it, the camel let out an enormous groan/sigh/growl. It was clearly not pleased that I was on him. He was equally sad to learn that ADB woul be coming along for the ride as well. At least he didn't spit on us.

They love Obama in Egypt. When we told people we were from New York, the would say, "American..........Obama." That was usually followed by us enthusiastically saying, "Yesssss!" and them responding, "Obama, good man. Bush, bad." What a thrill to not be embarrased (and terrified) to travel as an American anymore.

My sister is a heartless, mean negotiator. When I was in Ghana with her, she was able to bargain for an amazing amount of gifts for ridiculously good prices. We didn't do so well in Egypt, although I did manage to offend a carpet store owner when I offered $100 for three carpets, including a moslem prayer rug that had Arabic scribe on it which he said cost $1300. He didn't even know why I wanted that one. "Excuse me, but I do not think you are Arabic," he said to me. I wish I could go into Hannaford's and say, "$3 for milk. You're crazy, I'll give you $1.15." I did get a little better as the trip went along. My favorite strategy was to tell people that I was Argentinean and a student. That way I could comfortably claim relative poverty compared to other tourists and gain some sympathy.

And this is my last comment about the trip, and actually it's only partially about Egypt. We met a couple from Saratoga on the way home, and Cathy was telling us about a Chilean they had met on their travels incessantly complained about how dirty the streets were. At that point, I chimed in, "Well...as a Chilean he should be used to dirty streets." Oh Chile, I kid.

Egypt Itinerary is in

2009-10-18T09:29:00.003-04:00

We finally received the details on our forthcoming trip to Egypt. By the way, I highly encourage people to watch NatGeo TV - that is how trips like this are born.

The big honker is a direct JFK - Cairo flight on an EgyptAir Triple 7, just as I suspected. It's 11 hours on the way there and about 13 on the way back. We have, to my great delight and to ADB's great indifference, a series of domestic EgyptAir flights. We are flying from Cairo to Aswan on a ERJ, from Aswan to Abu Simbel and back on an A320 and B737 respectively, and from Hurghada to Cairo on an ERJ. We are going to be pretty airplaned out by the end of this, I suppose.

Needless to say, we are both very excited about the trip. We spend a total of three days in Cairo. We then head South, to Abu Simbel, and then to Aswan to begin a cruise of the Nile with stops in Edfu, Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and Luxor. From there, we head to the Red Sea town of Hurghada for two days before heading back to Cairo for the return trip home.

I will have pictures posted of all our airplanes, as well as the pyramids probably, right here. I should note, for the record, that EgyptAir is sporting a new color scheme since the African regional in the Color Scheme Tournament. But I am sure you had all figured that out on your own already. That's what I like about you - your attention to detail.

Homophonia at Stewarts

2009-10-13T10:23:00.002-04:00

I was filling up on costly gasoline at the Stewart's on Henry Johnson Blvd, when I noticed this sign looking back at me.
It took me a sec, but I believe they meant: "Don't let your engine CEASE; use Anti Freeze." Unless they are taking it to the extreme and warning drivers to not let their engines go into seizures. Highly unlikely.

Air Force One visits Albany

2009-09-23T11:58:00.005-04:00

President Obama came to the Capital Region on Monday to speak at Hudson Valley Community College. The President flew in and out of Albany International Airport. I had a view of both the landing and departure from my office. On its approach, AF1 flew in over the western part of the city before turning to make its approach into the airport from the north.

Here are some shots locals took of the landing:

The departure gave us an even better shot (no pun intended) of AF1. The B747 departed on Runway 19, which means the flight path took it right over the center of the city. I did not have my camera, but I did get this (not so good) picture on with my cell phone.

These people got a better picture:

Said an unamed co-worker upon seeing AF1 overhead: "Paul Tonko is on that plane!"

Cyclocross skills clinic at Serotta

2009-09-15T10:48:00.006-04:00

This past weekend I attended a Cyclocross clinic held on the grounds of the Serotta bicycle factory in Saratoga Springs sponsored by NYcross.com. If you have never heard of cyclocross, then allow me to briefly explain: it is like gladiators on bikes.

The clinic was for beginners, and the lessons were taught by real-life cyclocrossers (including this master cyclist). At one station, we were taught how to take corners, at another we were taught how to properly dismount, mount and go over barriers, and at the final (and most entertaining station) we were taught how to load your bike in the 3-point carry to go up a hill. I found it fun and ironic that at a cycling clinic, two of the stations focused on how to get off the bike. Luckily, one of the instructors did teach us that it is never good form to dismount your bike over the handlebars.

The clinic ended with a mock race which included two sets of barriers and one run-up. I had been to a cyclocross race as a spectator before, and I did make some very poignant observations as a participant. First of all, the barriers are a lot higher than they look. Perhaps, this observation could be extended to note that it is a lot easier to watch somebody else carry their bike over a barrier than it is to do it yourself. Second, it is not a good idea to wear baggy shorts when you are going to be mounting and dismounting frequently. This may lead to getting tangled and ending up on your back with the bike on top of you. Just saying.

Here are some shots of the event. Here's a short clip from helmet cam shot this Saturday at the run-up clinic.

And check out NYcross.com for races in the area. They are very entertaining to watch. Last year at the Bethlehem Cup I saw somebody crash into the creek and then get back up on the bike and keep going. So, go!

Annual Colorado pilgrimmage

2009-09-11T09:56:00.011-04:00

Diane and I headed to Colorado over the Labor Day weekend. It was her first trip west of the Mississippi River, and with exception to our Andes mountain excursion in Argentina (as retold here by a friend), the highest elevation she has been at in her life.

It was quite the whirlwind trip since we only had five days to do a lot. I also wanted to spend a lot of time with my mom and sister, who still live in Fort Collins. In the end, the trip was quite entertaining. Diane got to see Denver, Boulder, and a lot of landmarks around Fort Collins, including Old Town Square, New Belgium Brewery, Coopersmith's Brewery, and a lovely hike to Loch Vale in Rocky Mountain National Park. Below are some highlights of the trip.

For me, one of the perennial highlights on trips is the airplanes I get to fly in. We flew United, which I had not done in a long time. But since American Eagle has left Albany, there is one fewer way to get to Denver than in years past. Our trip both ways connected through Washington Dulles (IAD). Here are some airplanes I have known:

From ALB - IAD we went on this very nice (and new) Embraer 700, which to my surprise had two-abreast seating. It was quite lovely and a great ride. Upon arrival at IAD, we parked next to this B757 with the blended winglets. Look at the height on those things. (Sadly, due to the gate arrangement at IAD, I could not get a shot of the A320 that took us to DEN.)From DEN - IAD, we flew on this B757 - no winglets, sadly, as you can see from the in-flight shot. Upon arrival at IAD, we parked next to this ginormous B777. Look at how the people on the ground measure up to that engine.

I also did some plane spotting at the airport. Here is an SAS A330 that arrived while we waited.

A South African A340 parked across the terminal.
Finally, on our way back to Albany, here is our Embraer 700, which we got close and personal with. And our approach to Runway 1, and landing.

My lifelong dream of having a sexy plane in my bedroom is now fulfilled

2009-08-31T14:26:00.004-04:00

One day during lunch at work, I made the tragic mistake of admitting to my non-airplane-fanatic co-workers that I believe that there are certain planes that are "sexy." I know, I have problems, but I cannot help the way I see certain things.

When my co-workers pressed me for an example of a "sexy plane" I immediately rattled off the CRJ-100 or 200 and the Airbus A340, all of which I consider to be "sexy" due to their winglets - I just think it makes them look graceful. See for yourself:

I am not a hater, so I would struggle to name a non-sexy airplane, but if absolutely pressed I would name the Cessna Grand Caravan, seen below.

In any case, as you might imagine, I received -perhaps deservedly - quite a bit of abuse after these revelations. There was no shortage of jokes made at my expense regarding certain activities of mine with these planes.

Last week for my birthday, Diane gave me the painting below, which was painted by a friend of hers who happens to be a very talented artist.

It's an absolute masterpiece. When she commissioned the painting, Diane requested three things: (1) winglets, for the obvious reasons stated above; (2) a body of water, because I also have an obsession with bodies of water; and (3) mountains, to represent Colorado and Argentina. She's the best.

By the way, I would simply like to reiterate my disappointment that EgyptAir does not use an A340 on the JFK - Cairo route. It would have been my "first time."

Reason #492 why I don't trust lawyers

2009-08-25T13:35:00.003-04:00

My first job of any real consequence was at the District Attorney's Office of the Eighth Judicial District of Colorado, which encompasses Larimer and Jackson Counties. I worked in discovery, which for the layman meant the files and evidence room. I would put paperwork in the proper case files, prepare evidence to distribute to defense attorneys, and help with the dockets of the various prosecutors.

It certainly made for interesting work - much more interesting than bagging groceries at Steele's. The DA was Stu VanMeveren, who was pretty legendary and, actually, mythical. I feel as though he was a hologram. When he made appearances everything just sort of stopped and you were left wondering if you actually just seen the legend or if you were dreaming it up. He was a decent person, you know, for a Republican.

In any case, I bring all of this up because the DA's office was recently in the news. in 1987, a woman was murdered in Fort Collins. It was very devastating to the community because there are few acts of such violence in that area. In 1999, a 27-year old man, Timothy Masters, was convicted of committing the crime (meaning he committed the crime as a teenager) and sentenced to life in prison. (Here is a link to all the stories in the Fort Collins Coloradoan, in case you have the time to get into it. It's very interesting - apparently one of the leads was not followed because the suspect was a social friend of one of the prosecutors - see page 2.)

A few years ago, Masters was released because it was ruled that the prosecution had withheld evidence, and, apparently, made up evidence. The prosecutors who lead the case are now District Judges, mind you. (Judge Gilmore and Judge Blair.) Now, an attorney for Judge Gilmore is arguing that "prosecutors who manufacture evidence can't be held liable because making up evidence doesn't hurt anyone until it's used in court - and prosecutors are entirely immune from liability for actions there." Furthermore, "Gilmore and Blair's attorneys argue that since the two were acting in their official capacities, they cannot be held liable for what happened to Masters, in part because there's no specific law barring prosecutors from manufacturing evidence."

How assinine is that?

This leads me to believe that they must be in real trouble if that is their defense. I would have loved to have been a fly in the wall when that strategy was settled on. I think if I was defending Gilmore and Blair and I had a strategy session where some nitwit brought up that defense, I would have flung them out the window like they do to this guy for an equally assinine suggestion.

I suppose this just goes to show you that the tentacles of corruption and evil go pretty deep, even into the most peaceful of communities. By the way, Governor Ritter recently appointed another former prosecutor with connections to the case to the District Court. Great timing, Governor.

You are allowed more than one piece of carry-on here

2009-08-20T14:36:00.004-04:00

I saw this on the MSN front page today, and consequently, this is on my list of travel destinations, after Iceland of course ;).

It's a 1965 Boeing 727 that's been converted into a suite. The rates range from $400-$500 a night. There is a deck over the wings and some absolutely fantastic views of the jungle and coast line below.

I'm thinking October 2010 and I'm there.

Egypt '09

2009-08-18T11:09:00.005-04:00

Earlier this year, Diane and I, at my insistence, were having the mandatory, "What would you like to accomplish this year?" conversation. She said some things and then I randomly blurted out, "I want to go to Egypt."
I probably said that because (a) I could not think of anything more clever at the time, (b) I had recently watched an Egypt show on National Geographic, and/or (c) I've had an urge to travel to Northern Africa/the Middle East for a long time.

So, shockingly, Diane took me seriously and we started looking into a trip. My preference is always to travel without a group, that way you can make your way across the country at your pace and dictate your own daily schedule. Diane and I did our due diligence and purchased some Egyptian travel books to read up on. We both really wanted to do a cruise on the Nile. Now, when you do that, you can opt for a very fancy cruise or a budget-friendly falucca ride. A falucca is pretty much a sail boat. Falucca riders stay on the boat during the day then dock at night and travelers sleep out on the banks of the Nile. Also, faluccas don't have indoor plumbing, so when you have to go, you either wait for the next docking station or you just ... well ... you just go over the side. Diane very humbly requested that we splurge a little and get something with a toilet. Not an unreasonable request.

After more research, and considering that this trip would take us to a part of the world with which I was culturally and linguistically unfamiliar, we thought it best that we take an organized tour. Plus, since we could only go for a relatively short period of time, we wanted to maximize what we saw while we were there. So, after some research, we ended up choosing this package.

The final payment just went in and now the trip is official. Later this fall, Diane and I are headed to Egypt. We fly from JFK to Cairo on a EgyptAir, which I understand uses a B777 on the trip. Personally, I was hoping for my first ever A340 flight. We will spend a few days in Cairo, obviously taking in the Great Pyramids, and then we head off for a mini-excursion to Abu Simbel, which means we get to take a domestic flight on Egypt Air - woot! After that, we embark at Aswan on our 4-day cruise aboard the M/S Carnival (toilets included) to Luxor. We then spend two days relaxing on the beach at Hurghada before flying back to Cairo. All of this in 10 days.So, look forward to some Egyptian pictures, and of course, a full detailing of the Egypt Air experience.

"My wife has an inner ear infection"

2009-08-16T13:38:00.005-04:00

Last night was the much anticipated Romanda Extravaganza - the wedding of two good friends of Diane and mine. If you follow this blog, then you have certainly seen and heard of the bride and groom - they are, for example, our Scituate traveling companions. The wedding itself has been in the works for just over a year, but the newly married couple has been together for about five years now. Diane and I played somewhat critical roles in the festivities last night - she was co-MOH and I was best man.

This was the third wedding I had been to as an "adult" - and the other two were relatively small affairs, none with the scope of this one. As such, I was pretty nervous about the best man toast for about two weeks leading up to the wedding, and certainly all of yesterday. My coworkers were kind enough to listen and read various iterations of my speech - which helped out a great deal because it was certainly not easy to write the speech.

You see, the groom and I share very strange obsessions that don't translate well to a mass audience. So, while the speech had to be about us, it also had to be written in a way that people would actually be able to understand it and perhaps get a laugh out of if.

I think for the most part, the mission was accomplished. My prepared speech was about 5 minutes long but when I started to give it I followed the cues from the crowd and since I could tell I was on a roll, I pulled a Jerry and ended on a high note.

For the benefit of the people that put with me during the entire process I will post the entire piece here because this is what I would have said in full to the bride and groom. I would have delivered the speech in full had it not been, like I said above, for the crowd factor. I suppose if you have done one of these or do public speaking regularly, then you probably know what I mean. In any case, here are my unabridged remarks:

Good evening.

I’m Nicolas, Roman’s best man. I met Roman about two years ago. Amanda and my girlfriend, Allison, the maid of honor, are high school friends, and it was
through them that Roman and I met and became, as Amanda likes to say, two peas in a pod. So I do not have any embarrassing stories from Roman’s childhood
or college years to share – which, now that I think of it, may have something to
do with why Roman chose me to do this speech.

Before I get into my remarks, a few thank yous are in order. To the parents of the newlyweds, Linda and Robert and Barbara and Walter, thank you and congratulations. Secondly, to all the bridesmaids, you have done a magnificent job helping the bride in the last year and you all look amazing. You are only outshined by the lovely bride, Amanda, who looks absolutely stunning – as opposed to Roman who just looks stunned. To the groomsmen – gentlemen, I don’t believe a
finer group has ever been assembled. Finally, on behalf of the newlyweds, I want to thank you all for coming – I am always amazed at how far people will travel for free food and an open bar.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am making this speech today at a significant handicap. Unlike all of you, I am sober. So I am going to follow some excellent advice I
received: stand up, speak up, and shut up.
Over the last two years, Roman has become a very dear friend to me. And I was honored when Roman asked me to be his best man. If you have seen us together, you would almost assume that we have known each other our whole life - that's how close we have become. Part of the reason we got along so well so quickly was because we share the same strange obsession with minor league players in the Houston Astros system, baseball umpires, Seinfeld, Jamie Seyh the Channel 10
sports girl – who sadly could not be here today, counties, New Jersey and towns
in Long Island. I believe that is probably the first time any of those words have been said in a best man speech.

They say that it is inevitable that at some point everybody meets their other half. The person that brings out their very best. Their true love, their destiny, the one person who without a spoken word knows exactly what is on your mind. There is somebody out there that you simply cannot live without, a person whose presence completes you. Roman, you are very lucky, because I believe you have found that person. And that person is me.

In fact, I remember the night I knew it was getting serious between me and Roman. We were in Scituate, at Amanda’s grandparent’s house, sleeping side by side on an air mattress. We stayed up late into the night naming baseball umpires. Joe West, Ed Rapuano, Dana Demuth. I knew then that he was a keeper. You all might understand why this speech was so difficult – our interests don’t really translate well to a mass audience. But when you know Roman like I do, you know that he wakes up each morning and kisses the ground that he does not live in Broome county, he prefers the Wendelstedt Umpire Academy, and that once we jointly named 57 of the 62 counties in New York while sitting at a Valley Cats baseball game. He is quite a catch, as you can see. Hold on to this one, Amanda.

Looking at you two stand together today simply reinforced to me, and I’m sure all of us gathered here today, how great you two are together. Roman, have found your complement in Amanda, besides the fact that she’s a Yankees fan – but that’s not a deal-breaker, I suppose. There are many mixed marriages like that in this area. I consider myself luckier than most best men because I am not just up here as the friend of the groom, but also as a friend of the bride. Amanda, you have become an equally important part of my life in Albany. I treasure your friendship as much as I do Roman’s. You certainly deserve a good husband. Since I am already in a relationship I guess Roman will have to do.

I know Amanda to be an incredibly hard working person – I think it is so admirable that Amanda recently became a teacher and works with high-risk
students. I also know Amanda to be a very caring person – she took care of
Roman this summer after he took in a little too much sun in Scituate and rubbed
aloe all over his body – that’s a lot of surface area, people.

On a more serious note, I am speaking here today as a friend of the couple, so I would like to say a few thoughts about friendship and marriage. If you listen to couples who have been married for decades, you often hear them describe their partner as their best friend. If friendship is what makes a successful marriage, then that bodes incredibly well for both of you. You make a beautiful couple. And I think you are both lucky to be coming home to such a great partner from this day forward.

Ladies and gentlemen, I had the honor to stand beside my two good friends today as they made the most sacred of oaths to each other. Please join me in wishing them all the love and happiness a couple can have.

To Amanda and Roman.

The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was very entertaining. They had a band and the food was terrific. The newlyweds will soon be off on their honeymoon and I will be taking care of Cos - their cat.

The groom got the members of the wedding party (pictured below) cufflinks with the logo of their favorite sports team. I was the recipient of Colorado State cufflinks, and they are really sharp.

Happy 60th MK

2009-08-13T14:42:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was Mark Knopfler's 60th birthday. It's one of the few non-family, non-acquaintance birthdays that I celebrate.For those of you who don't know who he is, first of all, shame on you, and second of all, he is, in my humble opinion, the greatest guitar player. Ever. And that's a fact - not my opinion.

Mark is now a solo artist, but he is well known as (1) the lead singer/heart, blood and soul of Dire Straits and (2) the composer of the Princess Bride soundtrack.

I saw MK live at Red Rocks in 2000 during the Sailing to Philadelphia tour. Dire Straits was no longer together back then, but he still performed some of their classics. He started the concert with Calling Elvis, moved to Walk of Life, and in between did Sultans of Swing, which is my favorite song of theirs - and by extension the best rock song and guitar work in the history of mankind. Again, I'm stating fact not opinion here.

They did not perform the sometimes-controversial Money for Nothing, which I was a bit disappointed by. Little known fact: the music video for that song was one of the first to use computer animation and was the first video played on MTV-Europe.When I was younger, I was obsessed with Dire Straits - it was pretty much all I listened to. The first two CD's of theirs that I got, Money for Nothing and On Every Street, did not have any pictures of the band, so for a long time my main mission in life was to find out what exactly this Mark Knopfler character looked like. The first time I saw the MK was precisely in that Money for Nothing music video and my life was complete. After that I got my hands on the Live at the BBC CD and On the Night, both of which are full of pictures of the band. So every time I see MK, my heart smiles a little.

Northwest Mass. billboard

2009-08-03T10:35:00.002-04:00

On our drive back from Camp Taconic last night, Diane spotted this billboard outside of Pittsfield.

It was late and after trying a few times to get a decent shot, this was the best I could do. The billboard shows a shot of passengers standing on the wings of the infamous USAirways A320 that crashed into the Hudson River, with the following caption: Cool under pressure. Preparation. Pass it on.

Of Scituate and thereabouts

2009-07-29T14:57:00.004-04:00

In what I hope becomes an annual tradition, we once again celebrated America's birthday in Scituate, MA, which is fast becoming one of my preferred hang outs on the East Coast. We once again were very generously hosted by AK's grandparents.

Luckily, we got some good beach weather this year. Last year we were in Scituate on a fairly overcast and somewhat cold weekend. This year was a much different story. The weather was great - too great actually. A couple of us ended up with some pretty painful sunburns, and as of a couple of days ago, I was still peeling from the after-effects.

Just like last year's trip, we ate chilli on the first night and grilled on the second night. And, of course, we were treated both nights to an impressive display of flights in and out of Logan, like this British Airways Boeing 747 making a slow approach overhead.

The AK took us to a new beach this time, and although I may be biased because the weather was so much better this year, I liked this one much more than last year's beach. The day started off with myself and Ty Willingham losing a whiffle ball ala Wilson from Cast Away. Then ADB spotted either a dead jellyfish or a lost boob implant on the beach - we think it was a jellyfish, but we are not 100% sure.

Then there was the mandatory game of catch on the beach.

And lots and lots of swimming.

I even set aside time to talk local government with Berta, who is a legendary former member of the Town Planning Board. I think they should name a school after him.

You're the man Super Joe

2009-07-10T10:30:00.004-04:00

The summer of 1996 was Villi Fuscillo - huuuuuuuge, Capital District, huuuuuuuge.

That was the summer of the Colorado Avalanche's first run to the Stanley Cup Championship, which culminated in a 4-game sweep of the Florida Panthers. Uwe Krupp's triple-OT goal gave the Avs a 1-0 victory and brought the first major championship to Colorado.

We had only recently moved to our first house, on Kodiak Road, the previous summer, and I remember watching the championship-clinching game downstairs by myself. The Avs had recently moved themselves, having relocated from Quebec, where they were known as the Nordiques.

The excitement of the playoff run that summer, which was marked by a huge 4-2 upset against the hated Red Wings in the Conference Finals, is the reason that I got into hockey.

Joe Sakic, who has been the Captain of the Avalanche the entire time they have been in Denver, retired yesterday. He was the face of the franchise back in 1996, and he continued to be our fearless leader through last season.
Super Joe is the Tim Eastman of hockey - he's just a good guy. He never showed up in the paper for having had an altercation in a bar, DUI, or sleeping around. Although he had opportunities to leave the Avs for more money elsewhere, he chose to stay. And he stuck it out during a couple of rebuilding years with the Avs.What I will always - always - remember Super Joe for is the moment he received the Stanley Cup from the Commissioner in 2001 after the Avs had just won it for a second time. That championship team was special because Ray Bourque was on it - the hockey legend who had never been on a championship team in his 20-year career.

As Captain of the team, Sakic was required to receive the Cup from the Commissioner, but as soon as he received it, he passed it to Bourque who was the first player on the team to hoist it. I don't think I have witnessed a more self-less act than that in sports.

Hopefully, hockey fans will get one more shot to see Super Joe in action. The 2010 Olympics will be in Vancouver, his home town, and Super Joe may play on the Canadian team.

Delays at JFK caused by...turtles?!?!

2009-07-09T10:39:00.003-04:00

On Wednesday, air traffic at JFK was delayed for over an hour due to "runway contamination." Turtles in search of breeding grounds overran the tarmac and a runway causing flights, which required Port Authority workers to scoop them up in a truck and transport them away.
JFK is of course surrounded by the ocean and all other sorts of marshy grounds, so it's not entirely surprising that this occurred. New York City's other airport, located on the north side of Queens County, also had a man v. nature event earlier this year, as I'm sure you all remember. A US Airways Airbus struck two geese on takeoff and ended up in the Hudson River. Consequently, the City recently began taking out these dangerous beasts.

This follows another nature-related delay at Petco Park in San Diego. Last week, a game there was delayed due to an influx of bees.

Mother nature is pissed.

New Color-Scheme tournament post

2009-06-25T11:58:00.003-04:00

I have spent the better part of the last few days working on the European color scheme bracket. Since the post goes up from the moment that the draft was begun, the post reflects the date and time it was started, not when it was finished.

If you are interested in seeing who has the best color-scheme among flag carriers in Europe, click here. Or, alternatively, scroll down past the Governor Sanford post.

Where in the world was Governor Sanford? (UPDATED)

2009-06-24T10:55:00.008-04:00

In the "Paris of South America" it turns out.

The Governor of South Carolina, who needed to relax after a bruising legislative session (tell me about it), bolted for a few days. Initially, it was reported that he was hiking in the Appalachians. Today we learned he had flown the coop (coup? or coup?) to Santa Maria de los Buenos Aires.

Governor Sanford said he had considered the Appalachians, but then decided to go somewhere more exotic. He refused to elaborate on what he had done in Argentina, except to note that he had taken a drive down the coast.

Let me tell you a little story. If you are interested in relaxing, driving in Argentina is probably not the way to go. Driving in Argentina is only slightly more relaxing than celebrating (C)ha(n)nu(k)ka(h)(h) in Saudi Arabia.In fact, there are several "relaxing" things to do in Buenos Aires that require no driving.

Drinking mate.Doing your best Evita impersonation.Spotting Commies.
I kid, I kid. Spotting commies was a joke. They're all commies down there anyway.

UPDATE:

In the initial story reporting his whereabouts, the Governor claimed that he chose Argentina as a destination because he wanted to go somewhere "exotic." Interesting choice of words. Turns out, he was doing his best Eliot Spitzer impersonation. Exotic indeed, Governor.

So, forgive me for not including "banging whores" as a relaxing activity to do in Argentina. I bet it was relaxing for the Governor at the time, not so much right now.

Moral of the story, don't bang people that aren't your spouse.

In case you are keeping track at home, that's two conservative Republicans being caught banging whores in the last few days. Also, in case you are wondering, both are hypocrits. Also, they are blaming it on the gays getting married.

Differentiating between different shades of white

2009-06-23T12:24:00.014-04:00

To be honest, I have resisted writing the second-t0-last installment of the Best Color-scheme among Flag Carriers because I knew that Europe was still out there, like a three thousand pound gorilla. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, how many airlines to they need on that continent? The whole thing continent can't be much larger than Cattaraugus county.

I have elaborated a rather complicated tournament with the top 24 contenders, as I see them. There are 8 first round matches in two brackets featuring, of course, 16 flag carriers. There are 8 flag carriers with a bye, which shall be called "Old Europe." They are British Airways, SAS, Iberia, Lufthansa, Air France, Swiss International Air Lines, Alitalia, and KLM. The winner of each of the first round matches will advance to play a member of Old Europe. After that, we will be in a traditional 4 round bracket plus the final.

Onward and upward...to the First Round Matches...(Parentheses indicate next opponent)

A Bracket

Austrian Airlines v. Brussels Airlines (British Airways): I knew I was going to get a lot of white-based color schemes here - so it's no surprise that the first match offers two similar designs. I go with Brussels Airlines here for two reasons. First, the dark tail offers some contrast. Second, I like both the bubbled "b" and the all-lower case lettering. Now that's interesting. WINNER: Brussels Airlines.

Bulgaria Air v. Croatia Airlines (SAS): So we are 2-for-2 in the white-based color scheme matches. We have a case here of two airlines using their national flag colors. The winner here is pretty clear. Croatia Airlines very nicely incorporates the Croatian checkerboard into the tail design and at least breaks up all the white on the fuselage with the light blue on the underbelly. If this keeps going it's going to get pretty hard to pick between shades of white. WINNER: Croatia Airlines.

Czech Airlines v. Finnair (Iberia): Look, Mommy, two more white planes. So it continues...I'm sorry Finnair, but I could not get over the backwards "f" on the tail. I understand why it happened - because when you look at the other side of the plane, the "f" reads correctly. And, at first I was drawn to Finnair because of its uncanny resemblance to Aerolineas Argentinas' color-scheme. But I just couldn't get over the backwards "f" - it looks like assinine. WINNER: Czech Airlines.Olympic Airlines v. Malev - Hungary (Lufthansa): Finally, we have a little splash of color in this competition. It's hard to find anything wrong with Olympic - the Olympic rings are very neatly arranged on the tail and the Greek flag is very subtly added to the front of the plane. Very traditional and easy on the eye. I was a little surprised by Malev because the nose cone is painted dark. It was actually a little distracting. WINNER: Olympic.

B Bracket

Icelandair v. Aer Lingus (Air France): Finally there is a bit of color in this competition. These are both among the most dynamic color-schemes so far in the tournament, and I would imagine that if these had not been paired against each other in this round that both would have advanced. I am leaning towards Aer Lingus on this one, even though "Air" is apparently mispelled on all their planes. Green is certainly an unusual color to see so prominently on an airplane, but it looks slimming. Also, Icelandair reminds me of Boca Juniors jersey. WINNER: Aer Lingus.

*Note: My research intern informed me that "Aer" is not actually a mispelling, but is actually the way the Irish spell "Air." Apparently, both are pronouced "Air."

LOT Polish Airlines v. TAP Portugal (Swiss International Air Lines): In Europe, they call this rivalry the Battle of the Acronyms. Who knows what all those capitalized letters mean, but we can all be sure it's something clever and patriotic. And I am going to guess that the "P" in "TAP" means Portugal. That would also imply that the name of that airline is "Something something Portugal Portugal." That's silly. And in this competition, silliness can be fatal. WINNER: LOT.

TAROM - Romania v. Air Slovakia (Alitalia): Thank goodness, I'm back to picking between different shades of white again. I have a soft spot in my heart for baby blue, so my first impression was to go with Air Slovakia. However, I also became obsessed with the obligatory eagle-like figure on TAROM's tail, and then also moderately interested in the fact that the image also appears on the winglet and engine. Possibly also on the toilet seat, but I could not confirm that. WINNER: TAROM.

Adria - Slovenia v. Ukraine International Airlines (KLM): At first glance, the design on Adria's tail looked like a moth to me. Then I realized that it was an "A" and it's reflection. Then I paid even closer attention and realized that the "A" on the tail is in the same font as the "A" on the fuselage but that they are leaning in different directions. I didn't know whether to penalize Adria for inconsistency or reward them for technical accuracy, metaphysically speaking. Ukraine did not present a similar controversy. Their color-scheme is reflective of the national colors and does not contain mispellings, as far as I can tell. Sometimes that's all it takes. WINNER: Ukraine.

Time for Round 1 1/2. All first round winners must now face the members of Old Europe that received a bye. Winners of this round make it to the continental Elite Eight.

Bracket A

Brussels Airlines v. British Airways: Although I liked the folksy charm of the lower-cased lettering on Brussels Airlines, it does make the color-scheme looks somewhat amateur next to the graceful floating ribbon on BA. And I must admit that even though I have grudge against Britain and by extenstion all things British after their pirate-like war against Argentina, I have always found the color-scheme on British Airways to reflect the grace of Queen Elizabeth. WINNER: British Airways.

Croatia Airlines v. SAS: It should be noted here that Scandinavian Airline Services (SAS) represents Denmark, Norway and Sweden, also known collectively as "Scandinavia." While I was, and continue to be, impressed with the tail design on Croatia Airlines, I also believe that SAS should be awarded brownie points for consolidation. It is honorable for a country to rise above the need to have its own airline and instead develop one regionally. There is precedent for this - remember that in the North America Regional, AeroMexico won largely as a result of its environmentally-friendly polished finish. WINNER: SAS

Czech Airlines v. Iberia: I don't think I understand the tail logo on Czech Airlines. It means nothing to me. It looks like the CBS logo got hit by a hammer. There is a lot to like about the Iberia color scheme. There is also a lot to not like about it. Especially the fact that after Iberia purchased a majority in Aerolineas Argentinas they imposed this color-scheme on us. I never forget. WINNER: Czech Airlines.

Olympic v. Lufthansa: When I look at a Lufthansa plane, I think it is thinking this: "I am so goddamn good I don't even have to bother with an elaborate color-scheme." If a plane could exude confidence, it would look like Lufthansa. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Olympic, but Lufthansa is just that good. Lufthansa planes don't taxi around the jetway. They strut. WINNER: Lufthansa.

Bracket B

Aer Lingus v. Air France: This match is difficult because we have a case to two flag carriers that very appropriately capture the national spirit of the countries they represent. The shamrock on the one hand is so traditional, and of course the predominance of green on Aer Lingus does not hurt. On the other hand, I was very moved when the tail of the A330 that crashed off the coast of Brasil was recovered. That was all one needed to see to know what had happened. When an image can conjure up an entire identity, then that is a successful color-scheme. WINNER: Air France.

LOT v. Swiss International Airlines: Swiss is almost too predictable. I know that using national symbols is a criteria in this tournament, but you have to do something other than pasting your flag on the airplane's tail to win. I do like that Swiss spells out the country's name in each of the country's official languages. That is certainly very unique. However, I just also noticed a subtlety about LOT - the stripe that runs along the fuselage is continued right below the cockpit. There's something about it that is appealing to me. WINNER: LOT.

TAROM v. Alitalia: There are two details about both of these color-schemes that I really like. On TAROM, I am strangely OK with the fact that the circle on the tail is not closed. But I am even more interested in the dark nose on the Alitalia color scheme. That takes me back to my childhood. I used to always draw planes with the dark nose cone for some reason. Probably because of some old Aerolineas plane that I saw at some point. The dark nose cone, in my mind, give Alitalia an old-school look. I like it. I like it a lot. WINNER: Alitalia.
Ukrainian International v. KLM: Like I have said before, I have a strange attraction for baby blue airplanes, if it's done in good taste. On KLM, not only is the baby blue pulled off, but the dark blue stripe below it complements it very well. The I even like how the crown over the lettering is simple. A rectangle, four circles and a cross. By the way, did you know that the Dutch prince is married to an Argentinean? There is nothing inherently wrong with Ukraine International, except that it is pretty boring when you look at it next to its competition. WINNER: KLM.

Now for the third round of play. Winners of this round head to their Bracket Final, which is also the Continental Final Four. If we're lucky, this whole thing will be settled by October.

Bracket A

British Airways v. SAS: As much as I dislike admitting that the British do anything well, you know, after that whole war issue we had with them in 1982, I have to say that I have been incredibly impressed with the new color scheme ever since it debuted. I have never seen anybody else pull off the banner/flag design on the tail and actually make it look like it's flapping in the wind. That is pretty damn impressive. SAS, I feel, made it this far on the strength of its moral high ground. So, kudos to you SAS, you're message of consolidation and minimalism has certainly been heard. But I am afraid that your color scheme is a boy in a man's world, or a girl in a woman's world - something like that. WINNER: British Airways.
Czech Airlines v. Lufthansa: It is odd, but I have nothing nice to say about Czech. I really can't find a redeeming quality in the color-scheme right now. To add to my comment about Lufthansa from earlier - not only does Lufthansa exude confidence, but it has, by far, the best mandatory eagle-like tail design on any airline that I have encountered. Hands down. It's proportional, it's ascending, it has a crest. It's ridiculously handsome. WINNER: Lufthansa.

Bracket B

Air France v. LOT: To piggyback off my mandatory eagle-like tail design from above, I would say that LOT has perhaps one of the worst of any of the ones I have encountered. It just looks disheveled, and possibly dying. And although I have given a lot of grief to the predominantly white color schemes in Europe, I had to admit that for some reason it works on Air France - and after giving it much thought, I think it works because the tail has enough color to keep the eye happy. WINNER: Air France.
Alitalia v. KLM: I admit that I may be a little picky here - but I am going to base this decision solely on how the color-scheme looks on the MD-11. The MD-11 has a third engine mounted on the tail, which can wreak havoc on a color scheme. Alitalia and KLM employ many MD-11's, and as such it is important that the color scheme on the MD-11 is consistent and appropriate. Accordingly, I am going to have to go with KLM. Alitalia has to break up the green streak down the fuselage on the MD-11 which makes the whole concept of the streak irreconcilable. KLM has a color scheme that adapts well to the MD-11. There are no inconsistencies between what you would see on an MD-11 and what you would see on any other member of the KLM fleet. WINNER: KLM.

Now, for each bracket final...the winner of the next two matches will meet in the Continental Final to determine who will represent Europe at the Big Dance.

Bracket A Final

British Airways v. Lufthansa: The tail design on both of these airlines is very impressive. It is, for all intents and purposes, a draw. The kickass eagle thingy and the wavy banner. Very impressive and well done to both. So if we are having to decide this based on factors other than the tail, then I have to go with Lufthansa, I think. I recently began to think that the ribbon on BA is a bit superfluous and I have yet to see the point to it. It is not horrendous, but it does remind me of the Forrest Gump feather - just a floating thing with no purpose or reason to exist. WINNER: Lufthansa.
Bracket B Final

Air France v. KLM: At this stage in the game, even the smallest thing can get you tossed from the tournament. Air France certainly pulls off the white-based scheme. And as I mentioned before, the stripes on the tail are so immediately recognizable. However, I do have a bone to pick with the stripes - they do not begin at the base of the tail. For what reason, I do not know. KLM is certainly the exception to the rule in Europe. In a world of white, safe and traditional, it went with blue and bold. WINNER: KLM.So, three months later, here we are at the Final. I have judged on so many things that I can't even imagine what the final decision will come down to. Perhaps the design on the seats, or the smell of the bathroom.

European Final

Lufthansa v. KLM: As I begin to type this, I really do not know who will win this match. As much as I have praised both of these giants, there are still things about them that I have concerns with. For example, is Lufthansa's tail design alone good enough to warrant a spot representing this continent? And should KLM be punished or rewarded for not using orange, the traditional color of the Netherlands, in it's color scheme? I don't know. Maybe we will never know the answers to these questions. I can tell you this, however, this is a battle royale. The winner of this match could very well dictate the future of European color-schemes. Will the traditional white-based color schemes be validated by a Lufthansa victory? Or, conversely, will the continent abandon decades, centuries, of tradition and instead roll over to the modern need for new and bold color schemes? These are questions that neither you nor I have the time to hash out on these pages. These questions shall be left to the scholars of airplane color-schemes. For our immediate purposes, I will represent my generation and validate KLM. They have been alone in the frontier of major European carriers in rejecting the same old white-based color schemes. Have they been right to buck tradition? I don't know. But I do know this - somebody, anybody, always has to be bold enough to be the first to do something. The first woman to demand the right to vote. The first African American to play baseball. The first hockey team from Florida to win the Stanley Cup. It takes courage. And America values courage. So it is fitting that we here value and commend KLM for their courage to think outside the box. WINNER: KLM.

Thank you for not smoking

2009-06-21T22:42:00.003-04:00

This past weekend, I was once again shocked and flabbergasted by the events at the depressed-old-man's bar I frequent. Let me start from the beginning...

Two or three weeks ago, can't remember which, I went out with my good friend Kel Varnson to drink a pitcher (or two) and dart it up. We go to the same place all the time. I don't want to name the bar because since I have so many readers, I don't want all of you to go there and ruin it for us.

In any case, back to the story. So, we were there playing darts and talking and all of a sudden our home was invaded by what it seemed like were thirty kids coming from prom, probably from Shaker HS. These kids thought it would be alright to start smoking - in our bar.

One cigarette -- whatevs. Two cigarettes -- OK, this is starting to get annoying. Third cigarette -- enough...So I called over the bartender and said, calmly, "The cigarettes are bothering me." She seemed pretty surprised at my statement, so I said it again. She proceeded to ask me if I wanted the kids to stop smoking. "Well, actually it's against the law to smoke in a bar."

At that point, Tweedle-dum bartender yelled out, "Excuse me, everybody. This gentleman (pointing at me) has a problem with the cigarettes. Take it outside."

Way to handle it, moron.

Thank goodness it was a tame crowd. I am not a fighter, but even I could tell that I could have taken any of those kids on. Plus, Kel is a pretty big guy so he probably would have scared off any competition.

Due to deadlines at work, I had not had the opportunity to return to the depressed-old-man's bar with Kel until last night. I was secretly worried about the prom kids coming back, I figured I could deal with the smoking situation.

We arrived and it all looked good - it was us and three other people. But, lo and behold, the bartender --- yes, the bartender --- was smoking and she had the balls, I mean ovaries, to ask me, "Do you mind if I smoke?" And I proceeded to remind her that it's illegal to smoke in bars. I also asked her if this smoking situation was going to become a regular activity, because I would hate to have to find somewhere else to spend money.

And of course, I was the grinch once again. The non-smoking patrol. I really could care less, though. If you know me well you know that I very rarely stand up for myself and that I avoid confrontations at all costs. It's mostly because I don't interact well with people, and also because when I stand up for myself I weirdly feel like I am imposing on someone else.

Not with the cigarettes though. I stood up on that twice in a row now. And it felt good. Plus, it's the friggin' law.

Note to self: Stay away from Colgan Air

2009-05-18T13:46:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-10T10:32:00.002-04:00

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.

It's a wrap

2009-04-29T16:38:00.002-04:00

Hockey season came to an abrupt end last weekend after games on Friday and Sunday nights. I'm sure you're dying to know if I extended my amazing goal-scoring streak, which at the beginning of Friday's game stood at 3 games.

Well, not only did I score on Friday, but I also got one in on Sunday - thus ending the season on a 5 game-goal scoring streak. I am going to go out on a limb and say that it is the longest scoring streak an Argentinean has had in the Night Owls Hockey Club...EVER...

Both of the goals were ugly, scrappy goals in front of the net - but whatevs - all goals look the same on the scoresheet.

Boneheaded

2009-04-27T14:45:00.004-04:00

Apparently, Air Force One was involved in a photo-op this morning. But it was not your ordinary photo-op. Somebody thought it was a good idea to fly the Presidential transport plane at low altitudes over NYC with a fighter jet on its tail.

Hmmm...low-flying jumbo jet (possibly carrying the President)...with a fighter jet on its tail...at one of the locations of the 9/11 terrorist attacks which, coincidentally, involved low-flying jets. Who signed off on this???

Well, in any case, it did make for some pretty amazing sights around the Big Apple:

Great things come in three's

2009-04-20T17:12:00.004-04:00

Stooges. Strikes. Olsen Twins.

And, for me, game goal scoring streaks. Last night, for the third game in a row, I found the back of the net. This time it was not a pretty goal, or a dramatic goal, and who knows where it ranks on the list of all-time goals. But, it was a goal, and there is no sweeter feeling in hockey than scoring. And this time, there was one witness at the Albany County Hockey Facility to corroborate my story.

I scored last night's beauty in the first period, right on the edge of the crease on a pass from behind the net. So it was, by all accounts, a typical grinding-it-out goal - which can be more rewarding than the finesse of a shot into the upper 90. As a side note, it was nice to score and not fall immediately after doing so, as was the case last time.

On a sad note, next Sunday is the last game of the Winter session for the Night Owls Hockey Club. I implore all fans out there who are curious if I will extend my historic goal-scoring streak to 4 games to attend on Sunday, April 26, in the year of our lord 2009 as that will be the last time the Night Owls suit up - for a few weeks anyway. So come one, come all for free entertainment and to see old guys on skates falling on ice. It is even more hilarious than it sounds.

My new found hockey amazingness has also led to me start considering the adoption of a kick-ass hockey nickname for myself. So far, I have come up with:
(a) The Half-Italian Stallion
(b) Speedy Castro
(c) The Mexi-Can
I will also willing to entertain suggestions.

Sometimes it's too real...

2009-04-19T11:02:00.005-04:00

After a somewhat lengthy hiatus from Flight Simulator, I took back to the animated skies a few times last week. My short-term goals are to master flying in less-than-stellar weather. It can get pretty boring to just have clear skies all the time and no turbulence on descent. On the other hand, I have to balance my need for adventure with the risk of frustration of crashing after investing so much time into a flight.

So, to reduce the level of possible frustration of crashing in bad weather on landing, I have decided to do all the experimentation of bad weather flying on short flights. I started, of course, flying the short (albeit amazing) hop between Mendoza and Santiago.

The takeoff was typical, although I did find myself relying on the instruments entirely to determine the pitch of the aircraft since I was enveloped in cloud cover and could not see the horizon. After I climbed over the cloud cover, the rest of the flight was rather smooth over the Andes.

However, upon descent I was forced to fly into a misty and gusty patch of air right before the Runway 17 in Santiago. The change in weather was so quick that it altered my approach significantly enough to affect my touch down, as evidenced below:
Sparks!!! My left wing clipped the runway shooting off a whole set of sparks and the plane made a godawful sound when that happened. Luckily, I was able to taxi off the runway and to the gate. So, mission half-accomplished.

I love you, man

2009-04-15T11:53:00.007-04:00

Two years ago today, my dad passed away unexpectedly. This is something I almost exclusively talk about with family or close friends that knew Mapi, which means that many of my friends and acquaintances are unaware that I carry this with me. I don't precisely know why it is that I keep this close to me. I have a theory that it may be because I worry that if I bring this up, more questions may follow and I think that since my dad and I had such an amazing relationship built on trust, that I should continue to honor our special relationship whereby we could talk to each other and know that we were maintaining client-attorney priviledge.

My dad was so important for me in Albany. When I moved here, I was literally alone. I did not know anybody here, not even friends of friends of friends. I was a man on an island. I remember still on August 21, 2006, I was driving on Central Avenue towards the Downtown Campus with my mom in the car. My cell rang with a call from an "Unknown" number. I answered and was so happy to hear my dad's voice. I pulled in to the McDonald's on Central and we talked for a good 20 minutes. After that, my dad made it his business to call me about 5 times a week. I was never able to tell him how important those calls were for me in feeling company in this new place.
And our calls were so silly. I knew it was him calling all the time and I would answer with a folksy, "Hiiiiii Bob, how are ya?" And he would say something corny in his broken English, like, "Hiiii Nick, Welllllllllllll, I fine, I fine." I am so happy that on this day, two years ago, he did call me. It was a Sunday afternoon and I was lying on the carpet in my apartment - I don't know why - and we talked for our typical 20 minutes. I still remember that conversation, and most importantly, I remember that the last things we said to each other were, "Chau, te quiero." That gives me a lot of consolation on days like today. My sister was not so lucky. She was in a conference that day, and was not able to take his call. He was the one who got her into soccer - since he needed somebody to kick the ball around with when I was at school - and she, in turn, started a soccer team for Liberian refugees that carries our pet name for him.

I think a lot about a lot of things that my dad missed out on life. He missed out on my graduation from graduate school and the great job I got. He missed out on my sister's graduation from college, and her trip to Ghana. He never had grandchildren, and that upsets me because he would have been an amazing grandfather, and I am so upset that my kids will miss out on him. He would have been the type of grandfather that would completely spoil his grandkids. That really bothers me a lot, even to the point that I am more upset about what my kids missed out than what I missed out on. I think about all the things I will tell my kids about their Nono.There is some consolation on days like this. When I look back on pictures and think about my time with him, I come to the conclusion that even in the short time we had together, we soaked up almost every minute of it. It was difficult that he lived in Argentina. But, even so, those precious few moments we had together were not spoiled one bit. That helps me sleep at night because I think that my dad knows how much my sister and I loved him and that even though we were very far and did not have him at hand that it did not mean he was absent from our lives.

I love him so much, and miss him so much, and I miss his phone calls so much. He was my consiglieri. I am so sad I was not there for him at that moment. But Mapi, no te hecho la culpa de nada, Viejo. Entiendo, entiendo todo ahora. Fuiste una gran persona y nunca voy a terminar de necesitarte.

Moment of truth

2009-04-13T21:57:00.001-04:00

This is what all those hours on Flight Simulator have been for. It's creepy, but when I am on a plane I always think that if something as tragic as this were to happen, and there is no other pilot on board, I may be of some assistance.

And then I would finally have a good answer for the question, "Do anything exciting this weekend?"

Chasing Waterfalls: MA edition

2009-04-12T12:54:00.007-04:00

Earlier this session, I achieved the second lowest seniority rate in the office when a new addition was made to the team. Ironically, our new colleague hailed from Fulton, thereby doubling the Fultonite population on our floor, and making it so that our per capita Fulton representation is now three times above the national average. Currently, according to census data that I have reviewed, only Roessleville, NY has a higher per capita Fultonite population than our office.

This past weekend, I went hiking in the Berkshires with my aforementioned colleague, and in a surprising turn of events, the hike also became installment numero dos of Chasing Waterfalls after we encountered this cascade.

I saw it, I documented it - it counts.

We were joined on the hike by Idgie, who yes, is named after this Idgie. Look at that face...there is no way you can resist it.The other great part about being in the Berkshires on Friday - besides that it also meant I was not at work - was that it was a homecoming of sorts. Both of the summer camps I worked at during my college years are in the Berkshires. And, even better, it's like being in that James Taylor song...

"Now the first of December was covered with snow

And so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston

The berkshires seemed dream-like on account of that frosting

With ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go"

By the way, there are a lot of people in Colorado that bad mouth East Coast mountains and they all need to shut their pie-holes. I was winded after the first steep climb. And as I write this looking out my windows, I can see mountains in every direction. In Colorado, if you live on the Front Range, you can only see mountains to the West.

Second really, really, ridiculously good looking hockey game in a row

2009-04-06T10:23:00.008-04:00

Seriously, they're going to have to start charging people to get into the Albany County Hockey Facility to see the Night Owl Hockey Club's weekly intra-squad scrimmage. Last night, I scored the 5th most amazing goal AND dished out the 3rd most amazing assist of my life.

The goal was unlike last week's beauty in that it did not dramatically tie the game in the waning seconds. But, it was pretty spectacular anyways. I snatched a loose puck at our blue line, skated all the way down the ice with a defenseman right on my heels. I made a nice little move and shot the puck over the goalie's glove shoulder.

What was most exciting for the crowd, however, was that I fell on my back immediately after shooting due to a failure to stop properly. This was especially troublesome considering all that speed I had gained after skating nearly three quarters of the length of the rink. The combination of those factors led to a spectacular collision between my body and the end boards.

The assist occurred in the second period and happened towards the tail end of a long, aggressive shift where we spent nearly the entire time on offense. At one point, I got the puck behind the net moved to the right side of the goalie and drew the two defensemen and the goalie my way. That opened up the other side of the net, where the other wing was patiently awaiting my pass, which I masterfully threaded through three sticks. Once the pass got through, he had an open net to shoot into.If I'd only gotten into a fight, I would have converted the coveted Gordie Howe Hat Trick. That's my goal for the next game. I kid, I kid - I'm a lover not a fighter.

Goodbye, America

2009-04-01T10:21:00.005-04:00

Well, it's been quite the run. For 19 years plus, this land has been a great place to grow up. In 2006, I took the final step in calling America home by applying for and being granted US citizenship. It's been a sweet marriage since then.

Out of the blue this morning, I was contacted by the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) Office in Laredo, TX - which I am told handles storage keeping for INS. They informed me that as they reviewed my records in preparation for microfiche, they noticed several discrepancies with my application for citizenship which have subsequently been further investigated by the Office.

Apparently, there was a momentary incident after my permanent residency had expired and before my citizenship became effective where I was in this country illegally. This could all have been avoided had I read the fine print in the citizenship paperwork warning of such possibility. Tisk, tisk. And the people at INS are no fun and certainly don't believe in "misunderstandings."

After a lengthy phone conversation with INS Agent Ordsby of the Provo, UT Field Office, I came to the conclusion that it was probably best to "not fight the man" and assume the consequences of my misdeeds. I expected to have to pay a small fee or write a letter explaining the mishap. Little did I know that what the INS had in mind was to deport me to Argentina with a ten-year prohibition on setting foot in the United States, pursuant to their standard procedure in these types of cases.

This could be a problem on several fronts. First of all, I'm going to need somebody to water my plant for ten years. Second, I may have to quit my job. Third, I'm definitely not going to be able to go see Tim E in Cali.

You may be wondering why I am taking all of this relatively in stride. It could be because I am somewhat sleep-deprived after the last two-plus weeks at work. Also, given the favorable exchange rate vis-a-vis the Argentine Peso, I expect the modest refund coming from Uncle Sam will go quite far down South. In addition, I have an enormous craving for asado. I have not given much thought to what I will do for a living once I settle down in Argentina. My current career does not translate very well to the country's political structure. Argentina's governance system is a corrupt one where patronage is king. I suppose I should have taken a job with the Republican Party if I wanted to be able to fit in down there.

I have considered becoming a full-time airplane blogger. I have done some basic research and have found that there is no real source of pointless airplane and airplane accessory information for aviation aficionados. I would have that market cornered with my new blog: "Aviones que he conocido."

Goodbye, America. You have been good to me. See you on April Fools Day, 2019.

March madness at the Albany County Hockey Facility

2009-03-30T13:00:00.014-04:00

Three random people in the stands last night at the Albany County Hockey Facility were treated to the highest concentration of March Madness yet this season. The weekly intra-squad showdown of the Night Owl's Hockey Club was one for the ages, and since it was a tie, everybody went home a winner. (<-- Wow, that was incredibly corny.)

After one period of play, Black (the side I happen to be on) was ahead 2-1. We expanded our lead to 3-1 early in the 2nd period. The White team marched right back to tie it at 3-3 before we answered right back with two quick goals to take a 5-3 lead into the 3rd period. Normally, a two-goal advantage heading into the final period is insurmountable, even in amateur hockey. Not to worry, though, the Black team collapsed defensively and allowed the White team to storm back, AND take a late lead with 3 minutes remaining in the game.

Right after we fell behind, I jumped out for my final shift of the night. With about 2 minutes left, we pulled our goalie for an extra skater. We weathered some close calls in our own zone sans a goaltender but finally one of our top skaters made his way out of our zone and carried the puck into our offensive zone with 37 seconds left. I was playing left wing (because I enjoy being to the left of most people) and hovered around unnoticed by edge of the faceoff circle.

When one of our forwards sent the puck towards the front of the net, I skated up looking for a rebound, and there it came, a giant pie-sized puck right in front of me with nothing but an empty net to look at. I corralled it and slung it in. WHISTLE...GOAL!!! ...
...and with a mere 19 seconds left in the game. The bench erupted, I three my hands up, teammates converged. It was glorious.

This is actually only the second most amazing goal I have ever scored, if you can believe that. But, it is far better than the previous second best goal I have scored. So there...

I realize that there have been no witnesses for either of my top two most amazing goals, but baruch atta adonai eloheynu meleh ha olam they actually happened as I have retold them.

If ever I am lucky enough that a woman wants to have children with me, I will ask said children to read about these goals on this very blog.

ESB time lapse and musings on geography

2009-03-23T23:01:00.007-04:00

It's a good thing that the landmark in NYC that reminds me of my favorite person on Jay St also happens to be the tallest building in the City - that way, it's hard to miss it.

As part of my duties as an employee of the government, I have had to travel to New York, the greatest city in the world, and had the pleasure of visiting each borough. On my way back to Penn, I walked by said landmark, and life was good again.Granted, they are not the best quality shots in the world since they were taken on my cell phone. But, they got the job done.

By the way, the one time I was unable to snap a picture of the ESB it was because I had to drive to Staten Island and the opportunity to take this important picture never materialized. Now that I have brought it up, I am going to go on record and say that I don't think that Staten Island should be called an "island."

Look at it...
It's separated from mainland by a creek! As far as I am concerned, if a section of land is separated from the mainland by a distance lesser than I could pee across, than it should not be considered an island. It should just be...more land.

In tough economic times, everybody's got to downsize

2009-03-23T22:23:00.007-04:00

And for that reason, I have decided, rather expeditiously and without much thought - a process not unlike one employed by an upper chamber of a Legislature - to consolidate my two blogs into one.

As of today, Life of Nicolas will no longer exist...I mean, I will exist, I hope, but the blog by that title will not. This is a bargain for my reader (<-- that was not a typo) since now all my pointless drivel will be in one easy to find location.

Concurrent with my hasty and un-thought-out decision, I have imported all my posts from Life of Nicolas to this site. That being said, you have a better chance of finding Waldo than you do of finding the Life of Nicolas posts now on this blog.

If there is a grain of thought in my radical decision, it would have something to do with the fact that I was tired of finding material for two blogs. And, also, my life is pretty uninteresting, so there you go.

As a consequence of today's announcement, I want to be clear that although you will still receive premium airplane and airplane accessory news and commentary here, you may also have to contend with thoughts unrelated to aviation. To those who object to that, I say, "My house, my rules."

If I sound snarky, it may be because I was at work until 3:30 a.m. last night - that's Sunday night for those of you keeping track at home - and I am still at work right now, at 10:30 p.m. I have worked 65 hours since Thursday. Just in case you were wondering.

I'm getting quite the reputation

2009-03-12T09:59:00.002-04:00

At work the other day, I was in the middle of some pretty intense budget discussion when all of a sudden the conversation was interrupted so that I could be introduced to somebody walking by the office where I was at. "So-and-so, this is Nicolas. He has a blog about airplanes."

It was said with some authority, so it was flattering, I must say. Maybe my peers see me as the go-to-person on airplane knowledge. It's my niche.

By the way, I feel guilt for not being able to post as much recently. If this blog were a child, it would already have been taken away by Child Protective Services for neglect. But, in the crazy world I operate in, this time of year is simply not condusive to anything but work and sleep.

The farm is gone

2009-03-11T21:17:00.000-04:00

Today I effectively gave up my share of the family farm in Argentina- the farm I didn't even know I owned a part of until a few days ago. This is the deal - my grandfather, a long time ago, bought a farm with a friend of his. When my grandfather passed away, according to Argentinean rules of inheritance, half of the farm went to my grandmother, and the other half was split among my grandfather's three sons.

Then, when my father passed away, my sister and I assumed his share, splitting it down the middle. So, if my math is right, which is doubtful, I own 1/12th of the farm. Here's how I figure it - my grandmother has one - half, each son has a third. Therefore, you have to split my sister and my third in half, yielding 1/6. But, then, remember that we are only operating with half a farm to begin with, so split that 1/6 one more time and you arrive at 1/12.

Maybe I would have been a good farmer. Probably not.

I love living by a decent airport

2009-03-01T13:31:00.004-05:00

In Fort Collins, you could go days without seeing a decent airplane flying overhead because the airport was crap. There was only one commercial flight of significance flying out of the airport, and usually it was not routed near the city on takeoff or landing.

But, alas, that is much different now. Granted, Albany is nowhere near your O'Hares, Atlantas, or JFKs, but at least the active runways usually ensure a few good views of flights coming in or heading out.

I thought of this last weekend as I was out chasing waterfalls and I got a good look of this little guy heading into ALB. I could not get the best look in the world, but it looked like a US Airways Dash 8.
Yeah, yeah, it's not the most exciting thing in the world, but it's much better than anything you could hope to get around Fort Collins.

Chasing Waterfalls: Installment #1

2009-03-01T13:11:00.000-05:00

I grew up as an avid birdwatcher. I still have my trusty bird book with all the species I have seen checked off with the date and the location spotted. I am not much of a birdwatcher anymore, which is odd because given that I live in a part of the country that I have not birdwatched, I could be checking off all sorts of new species.

The one issue I had with birdwatching was that every now and then, I would see a bird but not be able to identify it before it flew away. Although one can be fairly certain of what they had seen, you cannot check it off your list if even a grain of doubt exists. So, instead of seeing a bobolink, you had seen what you thought was a bobolink. And thus what you had actually seen was really an LBB - code among birdwatchers for Little Brown Bird.

For Christmas, I was given a waterfall guide to the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys, and I thought, "What a great way to get back into looking for things highlighted in a book and checking them off once I've seen them." And it's so much easier because waterfalls cannot fly away.

So, last weekend, I embarked on installment #1 of this mission. The goal is to see as many of the waterfalls in the region by the end of this year. I started off with two easy ones around the Capital Region: Cohoes Falls and the falls near Lock 7. To be fair, I had seen both of them already, but I had not seen them since I had been given the book. Thus, the previous visits were not sufficient to "check them off."

This rule of mine was questioned heavily by Diane, but eventually she caved, marking the first time in the history of mankind that I won a debate.

Here's a photo history of our afternoon:

We started off at Cohoes Falls, which incidentally, is the second highest waterfall in New York State.

Then, we headed towards Lock 7, conveniently located close to this great place on Denison to get a good meal with good company.

My new BFF

2009-02-18T11:54:00.003-05:00

Amid the coverage of the Continental tragedy in Buffalo, I found a Times Union article which could be a chronicle of my life. The story recounts the detective work of one Mark Abbott as such:

Mark Abbott, a self-described "aviation geek" from Denver, said the aircraft parked at Gate C1 at Albany International Airport last week quickly drew his attention...Abbott, a service technician, said he made note of the plane's tail number — N200WQ — and later followed its progress on a flight tracker Web site. The plane left the gate at Newark at 11:53 a.m., but didn't take off until 2:23 p.m., according to data from flightstats.com.

When he does it, people write stories in the paper. When I do that, people laugh and point at me. What the hell?

One small step for (hu)man

2009-02-17T20:49:00.003-05:00

Remember the good ol' days when I used to blog a lot ... you know, that small time of year known as June - December. Well, those days are gone. So, readers - all six of you - you're going to have to settle for these junky posts, that frankly, don't even merit the free space that I have on the internet.

But, it's my blog, so I don't really care what you think about the lax quality of posts lately.

For those that are still reading, first of all, perhaps you should go spend some time with your loved ones instead of reading this crap. Second of all, I made a huge stride in my flight-simming tonight.

Unfortunately, even for plane lovers like myself, the same old routine on flight-sim can get stale. Today, however, realizing I had nothing to lose but time, I set the weather to the harshest setting, which, unbeknownst (sp?) to me requires the pilot (me) to file an IFR. I found out how to do it, and set myself up to fly from Burlington to Albany in a King Air 350.

The weather was nasty the whole way. I saw the terminal as I took off, and the next thing I saw was south Albany on my approach. If you look carefully on the picture below, you can see the rain reflected in the strobe light.

It was awesome. I was in contact with ATC the whole way. They gave me specific flight levels and headings, and led me to the approach. Flying this way after what I had been doing is like learning to play cricket after starting with 301.

The "Fact Finder" is an a**

2009-02-11T20:47:00.000-05:00

CBS 6 in Albany has a feature called the "Fact Finder." Unfortunately for society, the "Fact Finder" is full of s**t. Last night, they ran a story about the per diem of state legislators and how much it costs taxpayers to gavel in and out.

Yes, it's true. On some days, the legislature does just gavel in and out. Does that mean that no work was done?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

This time of year, both houses of the legislature are trying to formulate budget positions, holding hearings, and crafting legislation. Is the idiot "Fact Finder" suggesting that advocates and citizens not have a say on the budget? Are they suggesting that hearings are not necessary? Or that it's not really important to ensure that legislation is sound?

Frankly, it's incredibly offensive to myself and every elected official, policy staff, and support staff that you think we are not doing any work. And I am sure that if the legislature had not gaveled in, you would be bitching and whining about "Oh, the legislators get paid x and they don't even gavel in." Am I right? Eh? Eh?

So, "Fact Finder" - you lose. The problem with you, and other like-minded gossip "journalists" - if I can even refer to you as a journalist- is that you simplify a very complicated issue so that you can get your catchy tease for the 11 o'clock news. Then you get people all riled up over something that is completely false and misleading.

Go ahead, Channel 6 News, do your thing. But you have proved to be no different than that smutty TMZ show reporting on Lindsey Lohan's latest lesbian binge. You suck as a "news" show.

Hero on State Street

2009-01-31T17:46:00.008-05:00

So today I was doing some heavy simulating from La Guardia to Albany International. I had set up the game to handle as much air traffic as it allows and I thought, "What better venue is there than New York City to test this unprecedented level of simulated air traffic?" Well, Atlanta, Chicago, LAX, Heathrow...

Whatevs, NYC it is. So I took off from La Guardia and headed up the Hudson River Valley. There was, as I expected, traffic everywhere. But, after I left the NYC metropolitan area, I seemed to be all on my own again.

That is, until I started my approach to Albany. There was an MD-83 operated by Soar Airlines ahead of me. It was pretty neat to see another airplane making the approach, and actually it helped me to better position my own approach. That's one thing about the sims - they are perfect in everything they do. Here's the screenshot of my approach immediately following the MD-83. Then, I became concerned because the sim was taking way too long to get off the runway. I could see it still on the runway as I made my final. I mean, I was literally over Albany-Shaker Road and Soar had still not exited Runway 1.

That was when the Air Traffic Controller radioed that I do a go-around. For all those non-aviation enthusiasts out there, that means power up and try again.

So I did, but I was very upset because my approach to that point had been near flawless. And, I also don't like doing go-arounds. I have done some in the past, but always due to my own messed up approaches. This was the first one that was caused by external factors.

I flew out towards Schenectady and then south towards Guilderland. I was cleared to land a second time, and I joked back to the Air Traffic Controller, "Yeah, that's what you said last time." Just kidding, you can't actually make small talk on this game. But I thought that.

My second approach was a bit more erratic. I gave myself very little room to maneuver so when I was pretty much over The Desmond when I was finally lined up over the runway, so there was no room for error. Touchdown was right on the center line, and since there was an airplane following my landing, I did the courteous thing and got off the runway as soon as possible. This is what the whole ordeal ended up looking like.
I felt like that dude from the US Airways plane that landed in the Hudson after it was all over. Good thing I was quick on my...laptop.

I taxied to gate Bravo 9 - that's B9 for the laymen - where I had a view of the jerk that forced the go-around.
We fought. She won.

Crafty like a fox

2009-01-25T12:03:00.005-05:00

In high school, I was enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Program. Basically, it's like AP on steroids. Students in IB have to take all their classes at an advanced level, complete a 4,000 word essay and 150 hours of community service prior to graduation. It was nuts, and unfortunately, I was very lazy during the high school years so it was doubly stressful.
As part of the program, students had to decide on two subjects to take at a Higher Level, as opposed to Standard Level. So, get this: Standard Level was already at the AP-type level. By extension, you can imagine how difficult the Higher Level classes were.

My choices for Higher Level were Physics, Chemistry, Math or .... Art. I got a C- in regular Physics, so that was out. Ditto for Chemistry. I figured if I really dedicated myself I could pass Higher Level Math. So, I went to talk to the math teacher and he refused to let me in the class, citing the laziness I had demonstrated in Trig. Thanks a lot, asshole. That meant I HAD to go into Higher Level Art. Luckily, I ended up in a hockey league with that same teacher and ... did absolutely nothing about it.

By the way, I suck at art.

So, I made my way through Higher Level Art for two years. I had to come up with some BS vision statement for my art and then complete 20 "masterpieces." So, I designed this whole vision centered on airplanes and cities and thunderstorms. Some day I may feel comfortable sharing pictures of my work on this forum, but that day is not today.

What I will share today is some artsy fartsy crafting that actually did go pretty well. I did this at summer camp two years ago. Whenever my campers were at woodshop, I would be there right along with them and I worked on this airplane all summer long.

It's my life's masterpiece. It even has a landing light.

There are some problems with it. The main one is that the tail is so heavy that the plane is constantly in a nose-up position. That's not necessarily a problem because it looks active and engaging that way. It just means that I cannot pla ... err ... never mind.

So, maybe I was not ready for prime time artwork back in the day. I was just a late bloomer. Do you take back all those things you said about my art, Mr. Hubka? Do you? Do you?