nerdnet

Apparently someone decided they needed the Alpine head-unit out of my Jeep more than I did, and, just to be nice, they even removed it for me....forcefully. The Jeep was parked at a Max (light rail) station in Hillsboro, and the faceplate was locked in the center console. Whoever did it broke the locks on the center console and the glove compartment. For some odd reason they left behind a nice CB and the Alpine's iPod interface unit. Time to invest in some Tuffy Security Products. In the off chance that someone tries to sell you a used Alpine car stereo, it was an Alpine CDA-9855, serial number FAL405AS50213498. I don't really care if I ever see it again, its got some gay "glide / touch strip" thing that really sucks, especially when trying to navigate lots of settings or music on an iPod. I would love to bust the idiots that ripped it out of my dash, however, so if you come across it, keep the stereo and let me know who it is :)

Joy, Dezarae and I went to the Oregon International Airshow yesterday. We had a blast (pictures coming soon) and we headed home because Dezarae was feeling sick. We found out not long after that a blue Hawker Hunter jet had taken off and crashed, destroying some homes and killing the pilot. It shook me up pretty good, being a pilot. The airshow was cancelled immediately after the crash, understandably.

Apparently my company felt really strongly about sending me to Dallas for some microwave training at the Ericsson campus. I didn't want to go but couldn't get out of it, so off I went. Arrived at DFW at about two in the morning, and it took me another hour to drive to Plano and figure out where my hotel was. I was nearly asleep the whole first day of training. We wrapped up the next day and I was happy to be on my way back to Portland. After a 3 hour layover in Las Vegas (which, I swear they do that to you just so you stay long enough to gamble all your money away.. its not hard with slot machines right in the airport and the strip 10 minutes away...) I was on my way home.

Madison turned eight today, and for her birthday we took all the girls horseback riding in East Canyon above Salt Lake City for almost two hours. We had a very good time and the girls did great on the horses. Pictures will be posted in the gallery shortly.

This morning marked my 10th flight (I think) and a lot of touch and goes. Landing has always been difficult for me in any aircraft simply because I've always had problems understanding how to gauge my distance above the ground. This means I had trouble timing my roundouts and flares. In the past my instructors always beat it into me to look down the runway and use my peripheral vision to figure out when to make the proper transitions during landing, but they never explained to me what I was supposed to be looking for, and I struggled a lot trying to get it. If you're a student pilot who isn't getting it, click the graphic below:

Thanks to John, I got it in spades and ever since my landings have been 100% better. This morning I think I had 10 perfect landings and a couple of "less-than" perfect landings due mostly to the thermals popping up and someone walking their dog down the side of the runway, which distracted me and made me nervous. My instructor was overwhelming with praise, which was a really big boost to my flying confidence. I had to remind him that because of his training, I am becoming a better pilot.

I also experienced something totally new and exciting, not to mention a bit unnerving. Deer... on the takeoff end of my active runway. Three of them, to be exact. Just as I was taking off I saw them ahead of me. Luckily, the trike has a very small take-off roll and I easily cleared them. On my next circuit, they had moved off into some nearby trees, but we could still see them. One more time around the field and this time we spotted a coyote crossing a road near the runway, heading towards the deer. I suspect the coyote was looking for lunch, and the deer didn't feel like being the meal. We lost sight of them soon after, at which point I asked my instructor if he charges extra for the wildlife services.

Chastity can exact a painful price from young Muslim women, forced into lies or surgery to go to the marriage bed as virgins. Hymen repair, fake virginity certificates and other deceptions, said to be commonplace in some Muslim countries, are practiced in France and elsewhere in Europe, where Muslim girls are more emancipated but still live under rigid codes of family honor. Such ploys have saved many a young woman from scorn and worse. But they also clash with the more liberal social mores of France and Europe, where some decry it as an attack on human rights.

How sad that with all the advances we've made in this world, women have resort to things like these to keep their asshole husbands from killing them. Do we really have any reason for allowing women to be treated as second-class citizens?