Plane-tastic

by YTP on August 31, 2010

I have been meaning to write for some time about my July trip to the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum in Dulles, Virginia. This was, hands down, the best aircraft “show” or museum of any kind that I’ve ever encountered. From the Space Shuttle to the WWI aircraft, it was beautifully curated. I also think a good museum gift shop is about the best shopping experience you can have (because I am, in point of fact, a big shopper and a nerd), and Udvar Hazy did not disappoint. I fully employed my allotted gift shop budget.
IMG 1016 300x225 Plane tastic
I suspected this would be a great visit; what I did not anticipate was how differently people would respond to the museum. There are some people for whom the WWII planes are just it. I mentioned the museum to a family member, and all they wanted to know about was the WWII collection. I had to admit I had barely glanced at it. I was too busy spending all my visit in the WWI recon collection, as well as with the Vietnam and Cold War jets. Those are my two favorite eras of aviation, and from the Caudron G4 to the SR-71, this place did not disappoint.

The eldest YTP child ran around the entire time in his astronaut suit and stayed in the Space wing of the hanger (the whole thing is one giant aircraft hanger – it is awesome). The YTP spouse was curious about the early Boeings. Everyone had a unique angle on the place, and as I watched other visitors and listened to their conversations, I could see that diversity of response evident in their faces and words too.
IMG 1020 Plane tastic

Much of the romance surrounding aviation has died off as flight becomes so mundane, so commercial, but visiting this place reminded me how personal and emotional flying can be, and how much planes are a product of imagination as much as they are engineering. It was fun to see how those responses, mixed up with the history that all these different collections represent, came out in of each of us while there and when talking about it later with others.

Do I even need to add that you should go see this place?

Because you do.

Photos copyright ACMJ Productions

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Gulf Spill Secrets

by YTP on August 23, 2010

Poor passage planning and deviation from the p...
Image via Wikipedia

One of the most interesting things to me in the news of late is what hasn’t been there. Where is the basic understanding of the science of oil? I think that BP’s negligence along with the regulatory problems are, indeed, horrible, but that has nothing to do with the chemical structure of the oil and the impact it will have. I read an article on ABC news the other day that claimed the Exxon Valdez spill and the BP spill are one and the same. I understand that the BP spill was just as stupidly caused, but light sweet crude oil and heavy crude oil are essentially two totally different substances chemically and have totally different specific gravities.

Why are people with no understanding of chemistry writing these articles making predictions about the physical and chemical behavior of different varieties of oil? It’s very strange. I think the American people can handle distinguishing between different kinds of oil (we all know that jet fuel and standard gas are different; I think we can handle the notion that oil is a complex and complicated substance). At the very least, people putting their journalistic reputations on the line might consider a simple Google search of the oil type before prognosticating in such dire terms on the eternal record book that is the Internet. If anything is going to stick, it’s the embarrassment of shoddy research and overly dramatic writing, not large pools of black tar on beaches.

The other thing that I found so odd when reading the comparisons between the Gulf Spill and the Valdez was the lack of reporting on the relative volume of the Gulf Spill. To put it in perspective, if the Gulf of Mexico was the volume of the Dallas Cowboy stadium, the total amount of the spill would be equivalent to a 20 oz. can of beer sitting on the field. And yet, for that can of beer, all drilling has been suspended in the Gulf, which means that the companies that had been drilling in the Gulf are seeking new contracts abroad (it costs $300k a day to lease a rig, so basic financial accounting suggests that American oil companies are not going to sit around paying $300k a  day to wait on the ban to lift). Hmmm…American jobs vs. can of beer equivalent of oil which essentially dissipates.

Again, I think the BP disaster was utterly stupid and preventable, but the reporting on it has been as well. It’s like the MSM wants it to be more than the disaster that it is….

Hat tip: RJM!

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Morph Reel Magic

August 12, 2010

Image via Wikipedia I gave up on watching CNN years ago, primarily because they turned news reporting into a kind of entertain-newZ! with reporting styles that had more in common with Joan Ritter on the red carpet than Walter Cronkite. I hadn’t seen it in a long time until yesterday, when sitting in the airport [...]

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Rediscovering Vermeer

August 2, 2010

Image via Wikipedia I was always interested in art, especially Old Masters, even at a young age. As a teenager, I remember poring over pictures of Vermeer’s work, Rembrandt’s masterpieces, Titian’s groundbreaking epics. Over time, I moved away from that era, and found myself responding to photography, especially black and white, much more. I spent [...]

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New Media Television – I’m Converted

July 26, 2010

I’m back from the pause I took to recover from bringing YTP Child #2 into this world. It was crazy, but fun, and we’ve finally come up for air. In the process of enjoying and dealing with all that comes with a new kid, I discovered something awesome: new media television. Hulu has released their [...]

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Paused

July 26, 2010

As you can tell, YTP experienced its first pause in three years of existence because of the birth of YTP Child #2. But don’t worry, we’re back! Well, maybe you should be worried, depending on your view of things posted here Anyway, thanks for sticking with us!

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Review of The Strong Horse: Power, Politics, and the Clash of Arab Civilizations

May 19, 2010

I have greatly enjoyed reading Lee Smith’s eye-opening profile of Arab culture and history, The Strong Horse: Power, Politics, and the Clash of Arab Civilizations. Smith is a great writer, which makes reading his material much easier than similar books. Smith is also, clearly, a great listener, as the depth of his understanding of the [...]

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iHeart iPad

May 4, 2010

Image via CrunchBase That I would like this device was a given. However, until it arrived, I did not quite realize how well it would integrate into our use of technology, at least at the YTP household. After a few days of having it around and enjoying it, here are some of my observations on [...]

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Recommended: Martin Gilbert’s The Second World War Atlas

April 27, 2010

Do you ever have times in your writing life when you have 10-12 different half-written posts and drafts lying around, none of which you want to finish on a rainy day? That is my writing world at the moment. So I’ve decided instead to praise and recommend to you someone who did finish his draft [...]

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The Problem with Overpopulation Problems

April 15, 2010

Image via Wikipedia I am always amazed at how the meme of global overpopulation persists in our society. It’s like some form of urban legend. “And in 100 years, the people will be as thick as locusts, and we will all be starving!, and then we will all diiiieeeeee.” Seriously, even rather sophisticated thinkers often [...]

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