Surf’s Up !

You know how you can go days without being inspired to write about anything and then you get so much you can’t choose what to write about ? Guess what kind of day this is ?

Chicago Airspace Project (CAP)

If you fly around the Chicago area, you might have noticed some changes. I’m just an ex-Center controller (and I think this is in Approach Control airspace) but I can’t help but wonder how that section of airspace near the EVOTE intersection is working out. Two departures streams split into six streams and then cross. Interesting.

More Airspace

While we’re in the ATC arena, my friend Brian sent me this story about ATC in India. It’s sort of an inside joke for controllers. At least American controllers. I’m sure the Indian controllers don’t think it’s so funny. The numbers are what American controllers find so amusing. 2,500 flights per day in India. America has 4-5000 flights airborne at any given time. Of course, I feel sure India doesn’t have a system nearly as robust as ours (even if it’s popular to believe ours is antiquated.) I’ve said it before, when it comes to aviation, there really isn’t anything close to the U.S.A.

Northern Lights

My friend Chuck sent me a site with some really interesting pictures of the aurora borealis . I wonder if primitive people found it terrifying or beautiful ? It seems to be a theme at this site: Terrifyingly beautiful. Go to the home page and you’ll see what I mean.

Stop Digging

Whatever your feelings on the Iraq War, it’s hard to deny we’re in a hole. Another friend sent me this article (in a round about way) and you might be surprised to find out just how deep some people believe that hole really is. To sum up this opinion from Forward: The Jewish Daily -- it’s time to take a deep breath, hold our nose and put a dictator in charge of Iraq. Yeah, it stinks. Sometimes life does.

If you find that advice a little incredulous, wait until you figure out who is giving it. You’re bright people. Do a little surfing on the web and sniff out the names you read.

The Big Sniffer

Speaking of sniffing, few do it like Seymour Hersh . He’s been around for a long time. He’s best known for breaking the story on the My Lai Massacre back in 1968 in Vietnam. Like most people that have been successful in their field for a long time, he’s been right more often than he’s been wrong. Get comfy before you click on this one in The New Yorker. It’s long. The Redirection

Don Brown
March 23, 2007