Latkes and... uh... Pork Chops?

Yes indeed. My Hanukkah dinner. I mean, I figured we were already going to have the applesauce out, so why not?
BTW... Kristi's latkes, as I've told everyone, were just as good as those made by the Hadassah ladies in the synagogue kitchen when I was growing up.

Man sets home on fire cleaning cobwebs with blowtorch

File this one under "headlines you could easily have missed, but will be glad you didn't":

From WSB-TV (Atlanta):

SARGENT, Ga. -- Men take note: a blowtorch is not the same as a broom. Coweta County authorities say Galen Winchell set fire to his west Georgia home Wednesday as he cleaned cobwebs from exterior eaves with a blowtorch. Winchell noticed the blaze when he saw smoke pouring from the attic.... (more)

Makes you wonder if the whole incident started with "Hey y'all, watch this!"

Latest photos up on Flickr

Perhaps you noticed some new thumbnails in the random set above? I have finally gotten around to editing and uploading some pictures from ATL in September and SXM (St. Maarten) in October. I still have some more from SXM to edit, plus I need to go through some from the Dobbins airshow as well as ATL this past weekend, so stay tuned!

Here are a few of my favorites:






'till next time....

Delta / Northwest merger approved!

This most likely won't be where you heard it first, but no self-respecting (Atlanta-based) aviation enthusiast would let it pass... The Delta / Northwest merger was approved by the feds yesterday, and the pending lawsuit in California was settled. This officially marries the two airlines. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has all the details.

Now then... this perhaps you didn't know: dalflyer (nee simuflite) over at Flickr reports of a rumor that a Northwest 747 is in the paint shop at an undisclosed location being repainted in the Delta colors as we speak, and shall be presented to the public within the next few days. Pretty soon, they'll be a regular sight in ATL, I suspect.

Countries and States Visited

I found this over at Austin Mormando's Flickr page. Thought I'd do my own.

Countries visited:

visited 16 countries (7.11%)
Create your own visited map of The World or determine the next president

States visited:

visited 32 states (64%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or determine the next president

The View From St. Maarten

Well, I have officially checked off an item on my "to do before I die" list. Guess where I just returned from?



There's more to come....

It's International Talk Like A Pirate Day!

My pirate name is:

Dirty Roger Rackham

You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Edited to add that The Pirate Guys have created a video to assist you in your pirate endeavours.

Media Bias in Politics?

Forget what you think about politics, who you like in the election, or who's right and who's wrong. There is bias in the media, on both sides. Check out what struck me as a particularly egregious example from CNN. Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin may be a lot of things, but she's not ugly. Not unless it's CNN doing their best to pick the least flattering photo possible. She looks like freakin' Ms. Doubtfire!

For posterity, here's a screenshot of the source page at CNN:


Would it be too much to ask to use a photo that, if not specifically flattering, is a somewhat more realistic representation of what Governor Palin looks like?


I'm sure you can find similarly unflattering photos of the Obamas and Joe Biden elsewhere. This one just happened to catch my eye... I mean, I see a headline about Palin, I click, and I get Euphegenia instead. Eww!