Debating Point

Who knew? Toyota is actually not so bad at making cars.

2011-02-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

So sad, yet so predictable. This "unintended acceleration" craze looked exactly like the previous incarnations: a bunch of uneducated Luddites confused by the world around them hyping up incredible stories of absent minded people who goofed and stepped on the wrong pedal without realizing it, with the attention-whoring press egging them on all the way.

Really, this is just another in a long line of depressing examples of the fundamental failure of our education system to equip people to understand very basic scientific principles that affect nearly every aspect of our lives, resulting in a bewildered and scared populace. The electronic throttles in these cars are extremely simple variants of the fly-by-wire systems have have been safely controlling airplanes for over half a century.

Most telling will be the (non)reaction of the hoards of lawyers behind the lawsuits referenced in the end of the article. Said to their clients: Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story, and remember, you're just a victim, and Toyota doesn't need all that money anyway.

Eye of the Tiger

2011-01-28T15:45:00.000-08:00

The Chinese, ever anxious to appear to be what they are not, have struck fear into the world's militaries' collective heart; with Maverick on their side, we're doomed.

Seriously?

Jurassic Park

2011-01-17T10:03:00.000-08:00

What could possibly go wrong?

Flying

2010-05-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned a little while ago, I've been spending some time burning a hole in my wallet driving a bug-smasher over the beautiful rolling hills of lower New York State. At this point, I think I've developed the necessary momentum to really see it through. At the very least, I managed to get some photos out of it (from a flight on 5/1/10):

The machine into which we clambered with hopes of casting off our earthly chains (as she gets ready to imbibe 100LL avgas, the magical elixir of flight):

Her proud pedigree:

Me making sure the important bits aren't wont to fall off:

Me making sure she drank her fill:

Me and my instructor for this flight, David Nierenberg, contemplating our chances of making it back in one piece:

Enjoying a moment of shade before departure (it gets very warm in the plane while still on the ground):

Me at the controls doing what seems to take up all a pilot's attention in busy airspace like that near New York City: Looking out for other airplanes:

Turning base for landing number ? while doing touch-and-gos at Westchester County Airport (it looks like we're much too high for landing from here, but all our landings were quite good that day; this must be due to some funny perspective/lens effect):

We had originally departed with the intention of heading down the Hudson River for some Manhattan skyline shots and a quick visit to the Statue of Liberty, but there was a temporary flight restriction in effect due to a Yankees game that made getting down there from Westchester awkward. Those pics will come another day.

While Rome burns...

2010-04-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

Ugh, just when we thought the IMF loan was going to quell the Greek sovereign-debt firestorm, the Europeans loose their resolve and do what they all too frequently do: too little, (hopefully not) too late.

And we on the near side of the pond should take a good long look at the consequences of unprincipled public spending. We've past the threatened "point of no return" several times already, and it looks like the naysayers have been wrong so far, but there clearly is such a point, and I just don't understand why so many people are willing to test it.

Developments

2010-03-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

Not surprisingly, this blog went nowhere fast. I spent 20 minutes setting the thing up a while back without any goals. I aimed low, and managed to miss at that.

So, because I lack the motivation to think right now, I'll post the typical this-is-how-I-spent-my-weekend drivel simply to claim a few more bits in Google's ~~cloud~~ brain.

Concert

I played a lovely concert on Saturday night with my newfound group, Camerata Notturna. We performed an interesting program: Betty Olivero's Neharot, Neharot for solo viola, strings, percussion, and tape (2006), with the inestimable Kim Kashkashian on viola, and Mahler's Symphony No. 4, the fourth movement of which was beautifully sung by soprano Haeran Hong.

As always, finding time in my work schedule to make it to rehearsals proved tricky, but the experience of playing this music is really without equal.

Flying

After a year and a half hiatus, I found myself in the left seat of a Cessna 172, accompanied by Nick Ringrose of Panorama Flight Service, an excellent FBO up at Westchester County Airport. I'm now underway with my third attempt to get my private pilot's license; wish me luck in finding the time to stick with it this time. Pics will follow, promise.

Return to my roots

2009-10-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

For those who know me (whom I imagine represent a large percentage of my readers), you may take interest in the fact that I have decided to reconnect with my musical life.

I'll be performing with Camerata Notturna on November 21 @ 8 p.m.

Nobel Premature Prize - Committee to Obama: "keep talking about doing something."

2009-10-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

I voted for the man, and, even though he has stumbled repeatedly since taking office, I would likely do so again if forced to choose from among the same lot, but I can't help wondering when we're collectively going to see these new clothes for what they are.

Just when I thought a bit of realism was promising to prevail, the Nobel committee managed to further debase the once prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. Apparently, long gone are the days when demonstrable accomplishment was held in esteem as a hallmark. A few speeches and flash or two of a million-dollar smile to a promptly abandoned audience seem to do the trick now.

(Un?)welcome addition to the blogosphere

2009-09-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

I'm still on the fence whether starting my first blog is an act of submission or of defiance. After all, it's not as if the world stands to benefit from another trickle of unstructured musings by a mediocre eccentric. But identity today is increasingly faceted compared to the sense of self that prevailed not too long ago, and it would be to work an injustice on myself not to imbue my online persona with at least a bit of my RL character.

I will do neither myself nor my reader the disservice of making predictions as to the expected content of this blog. But I suspect that my writing will likely be irreverent or irrelevant, frequently both. And, although I do not seek to offend, I will not submit to tyranny.

This is the start of my journey, one from which I am powerless to depart. You, my lucky reader, may at least avail yourself of your browser's "back" button.