Todays Funnies....

After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet," which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problem, document their repairs on the form, and then the pilots review the "gripe sheets" before the next flight Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humour. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS pilots (P) and the solutions recorded (M) by the maintenance engineers.

By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an accident....

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement. M: Almost replaced left inside tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough. M: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit. M: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield. M: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent. M: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak in right main landing gear. M: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud. M: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick. M: That's what friction locks are for.'

P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode. M: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield. M: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing. M: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny. M: Aircraft warned to: straighten up, fly right andbe serious.

P: Target radar hums. M: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit. M: Cat installed.

and the best for last...

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer. M: Took hammer away from midget.

Bumper Sticker of the week:

Bumper Sticker of the week:
Silence is golden.
Duct tape is silver.

Today's Snowflake...

I'll never forget...

How many times can you say that you are waking up to a changed world? I can count the times that I have on one hand, and most of them are not good. Our new President elect touched on this last night, when discussing what the 106 year old female voter had seen in her lifetime, and that got me thinking – how many truly world-changing events have I been around to witness?

How do we recognize these events? Most often they are the “I’ll never forget where I was when…” moments. “I’ll never forget where I was when Challenger exploded.” “I’ll never forget where I was when the Berlin Wall fell.” “I’ll never forget where I was when we went to war with Iraq – both times.” “I’ll never forget where I was when the twin towers fell.”

I’ll never forget where I was when we elected the first African American President of the United States.

I mean, wow. What a way to top the “I’ll never forgets”. All I can hope now is that we continue to top ourselves with the positives instead of the negatives, that we keep moving forwards, and that we never forget what it means to all of us that we can be proud to be who we are, to believe what we believe, and to live the lives we do.

Rest in Peace, Michael Crichton

I just found out that Michael Crichton passed away today, and it is one of those things that just hits unexpectedly. I've enjoyed so thoroughly the world of SciFi through his writing. He was an amazing author who will be greatly missed, but who also has the fortune of living forever through his writing.

Rest in Peace.