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The Barenaked Ladies tune goes through my head as I think about what I would do if I were rich. Yes, I’d do my bit to make the world a better place, but if I had a little left after solving a few of the world’s problems, I’d buy a plane. And not just any old plane. I love the Lockheed planes of the 1930s. They were flying works of art. This is a picture of the iconic Lockheed L-10 Electra. Amelia Earhart flew in one, albeit highly modified model, when she disappeared during her attempt to fly around the world in 1937. I even love the Lockheed Vega. What gorgeous planes, although I’m sure there are only a few still in flying condition.
I’ve loved planes and been fascinated with flight for a long time. My family had a Cessna 172 when I was growing up. It looks like Cessna is still making them. My father shared ownership with a co-worker of his. It was before aviation fuel prices and private plane insurance made it prohibitive to own a plane. I loved flying. We used to go on Sunday flights and short trips. My brother actually got to handle the controls once, but I wasn’t old enough before we sold it.
I suppose it was one of the reasons that I started my university career in aeronautical and astronautical engineering before switching over to journalism. (The change made sense at the time and continues to make sense.) But flight is one of those really magical experiences. I suppose it seems so commonplace now, and it’s so easy when you’re sitting in a huge jetliner to forget how amazing of an experience flight is. I was reminded a few years ago when I went to Alaska and flew in a bush plane out into the middle of Wrangell-St Elias National Park.
The pilot was crazy in a good way. When he picked us up, the cloud deck was just at mountain peak level. He pulled the plane right over the top of the mountains and landed on a postage stamp landing strip in the middle of nowhere. He ducked over the mountains at the other end of the valley and took us back just as the weather was settling in with snow topping the peaks in mid-August. You get a feeling for what it must have been for those early pioneers of flight when you fly like that. The ride was well worth the price of admission. Oh well, having a 1930s Lockheed is probably a pipe dream, but I definitely will make it back to Alaska.
After last night’s Panorama propaganda about the evils of WiFi, I was going to write something expressing my outrage as a former BBC employee over the appalling lack of editorial standards that allowed such a piece of unbalanced, biased, unscientific nonsense to be presented as an exercise in rigorous journalism. However, it doesn’t really need me to pile on. I will leave you to read one of the many posts on the subject taking the BBC and the report to task. Or just read some of the comments on the BBC’s own Have Your Say site, which are by and large much more sensible and informed than the report.
But, I’ve decided that really, this isn’t something to get that upset about. In the fine tradition of Jonathan Swift, I decided to rethink my position in light of the overwhelming evidence provided by the programme. Heretofore, I thought that these lovely little hotspots only were harmless little radio transmitters. But after last night’s Panorama, I now realise, they emit ‘radiation’. I was a little confused by the report that they didn’t use a Geiger counter, which I thought detected radiation. Instead they used some radio wave power meter. I mean if radio waves are the same thing as radiation we’re really stuffed. The BBC transmitter at Crystal Palace kicks out 1000kW which blankets London in this ‘radiation’. And then as a friend pointed out, even light bulbs emit ‘radiation’. And what about radiators? They radiate. They even radiate heat and wasn’t it the ‘thermal effects’ that we are so worried about with mobile phones? We should start a campaign to take all radiators out of schools. Think of the children. The children!
In all seriousness, I would strongly suggest that British viewers actually call the BBC complaints line 08700 100 222. As a former BBC colleague suggested, phone calls are better than e-mails in this case and actual letters even more so.
technorati tags:BBC, Panorama, WiFi, badscience, propaganda, nonsense
Suw doesn’t like spicy food. In fact, she actually says that she is allergic to capcasins.
I’m just the opposite. I love spicy food. My father got his MBA at East Texas State University, and I joke that I was weaned on chili. That’s a bit of an overstatement, but I love hot food, especially Mexican food. When Suw asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I said a good Mexican meal. Those aren’t that easy to come by in London, although if someone knows a place that I don’t know about, please leave me a tip in the comments. (Oh yes, and the Texas Embassy Cantina doesn’t count.)
One of the few places that I’ve found is Crazy Homies in Westbourne Park. It feels a little too much LA to me, but the food is good, and I can get my favourite Mexican beer there, Negra Modelo. Suw, despite her dislike of hot food, took me there for my birthday last night. Hot food, good beer, and a shot of Patrón Añejo (very dear, but it was a celebration) to chase it all down. Here’s to another year.
I’m just finding out about this through the wonderful weird world of connections that is blogging, but Eastern Market, where I spent more than a few Sunday afternoons in Washington, was gutted by fire. The roof is near collapse. Pretty grim for such a DC institution. They have quickly set up a Save Eastern Market blog. I am sure that there are lots of DC alums out there who will want to help in any way possible.
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