My Shadow, Tough Talking Pups and A Droid?

Rachel met me out at my work yesterday morning to do a job shadow for a couple hours as part of a school assignment. She'd like to have shadowed somebody in the medical field, ideally our family doctor but with all the doctor/patient confidentiality requirements it wasn't going to happen. Not that she wants to be an air traffic controller but coming in and seeing where I work and watching me during a session in the sector proved interesting for her, or so she said. Some of the guys at work have read enough about her in my blog so I thought it would be fun to have her come in and meet them; and it was.

The sector was pretty quiet as we first sat down but traffic levels built nicely and she was able to get a good idea of what it is I do. We talked about what it takes to be a good controller and wondered out loud if she could imagine herself working in this sort of environment. I told her that she definitely has qualities about her that are necessary to do the job (attention to detail and an ability to multi-task) but I'd rather see her do something much different with her life. Not to say that her talents would be waisted here but I see her out in the world working with others in a way that wouldn't happen in our darkened control room. She agreed.

Rachel was here once before but that was ten years ago after Tammy and I were first married and she was only 8 years old. They spent a couple hours with me at the sector with Rachel using most of that time to doodle with a pencil and paper while I explained the job to Tammy. Today's experience was quite a bit different for her.

Tammy and I brought the pups to the park yesterday afternoon. Our weather has been absolutely gorgeous the past two weeks and it's been nice to be out in it. I brought our video camera along because Tammy was telling me about how Charlie likes to make a run for a herd of llamas in a pasture adjacent to the park. They see him coming and they run toward him which sends him back in full retreat mode. I had to see this for myself.

Speaking of the pups, they're now on Facebook: Toby, Allie and Charlie.  (I believe you'll need a Facebook account and signed in to see those links)

Our cellphone plan is coming up for renewal next month. We've been with Verizon the past four years and have no complaints about their service so we plan to stay with them. The only question is, do I upgrade my phone to a smart-phone or stay with my middle of the road Envy or something similar? I'm very tempted to pull the trigger on a Motorola Droid but I'm having a difficult time justifying it. Do I need one? Nope. Would I like one? For sure.

We've already decided to get Rachel a Droid for Christmas. She's a busy kid and being able to retrieve her emails on-the-go and get online whenever she needs to is becoming more of a necessity. Yesterday for example: meet me at my work at 7:30 then back at school by 10:00. After school she had nearly three hours of Mock Trial after which she hurried home with only enough time to grab her dance clothes and a sandwich Tammy made for her to eat on her way to teach dance for 5:00 in Farmington.  In between the classes she teaches she has time to do homework and that's where the Droid and its ability to connect her to the net comes in handy. It's a changing world out there. She wouldn't get home until after 9:30 but even then her day still wasn't over as she would have more homework to do.  She's certainly getting the education I never did.  Tammy and I would rather she wasn't so busy but it's what she thrives on.

I've been getting in some nice rides the past couple weeks.  I was out Monday morning before work and came oh-so-close to taking a pass on work altogether. A bright sunshiny day and temps in the low 50's. It doesn't get any better than that this time of year.  I'd like to get out for one last longish ride tomorrow before the real cold weather takes hold; possibly 100+ miles. The forecast is calling for southwest winds and temps in the upper 40's under overcast skies. I'm thinking a Le Sueur loop. Tammy will be in the office and all my yard work is done.  I've got a stained glass project to finish but that's on Saturday's to-do list.

It appears we'll be hosting Christmas Eve at our home.  I think I'll use the 'event feature' on Facebook to send out invitations as everybody who will be invited (with the exception of my mom) uses FB.  Maybe it's tacky to send out invites this way or is it just another way our culture is evolving...or is that devolving?

A Send-off for Bob and Tilt Shift Photography

In the next few years we're going to see lots of people retire from our ranks in the FAA as the huge bubble of people who hired on after the PATCO strike in August 1981 become eligible. We've already seen quite a few leave but nowhere near the amount that will retire in the next 3-5 years. A friend from work, Rob, was telling me that there's a study of air traffic controllers that says for each year a controller stays on the job beyond age 50, they lose one year of life. I tried to find the study online but wasn't able to. I suppose that for some there's truth in those numbers but I'm not going to make any plans based on them. My intention has always been to work until age 56.

Bob retired last July but any sort of retirement party for him must have been overshadowed by vacations and warm, sunny weather. Rex organized a small, somewhat surprise get-together for Bob yesterday at RJ's in Hastings. There were maybe a dozen of us who showed up for lunch and beer and a couple hours together to wish Bob well in his retirement. Bob is that little voice on my Facebook who keeps reminding me that the waters of retirement are fine and to jump on in. One of these days/years I'll join him and I intend to do it in the form of a cannonball off the three meter board...but I just ate lunch so I have to wait at least an hour before going in the water.

With broadband internet connections so widely available now it seems we're all experiencing a variety of videos like never before. Of all the videos I've seen (and it's quite a few) I do have one that stands out above all others (thanks to a link from my nephew, Tristan). The style of this video is called 'tilt-shift' and I'd never heard of it before. It's where the depth of field of the image/video is very shallow, blurring the edges and giving it the illusion that it's closeup photography of a miniature scene; also referred to as 'miniature faking'. Done in the right setting it can have some very interesting results. Check this out...(be sure your audio is up)


Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

The music also adds a nice feel to it and it seems the video was maybe edited around the lyrics at times. If you checked out the links under the video you'll see that he's got several others uploaded. Here's my 2nd favorite of his called Bathtub V.

Speaking of videos, here's a collection that is sure to appeal to you on some level. They're videos of dogs seeing their owners for the first time in months after their masters come home from being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Enjoy.

Veterans Day, 2009

There are two times each year when I'm never more proud, in a humble sort of way if one can be just that. Our lead pastor at church takes time each year on Father's Day to ask all of the dads in the congregation to stand in recognition of their role as fathers. It's an incredibly meaningful moment for me. I may only be Rachel's step-dad but I stand because I'm both proud and blessed to be in her life and to be a father-figure to her. Pastor Bill also takes a few minutes each year around the time of Veterans Day to ask former and current members of the military to stand and be honored for their service. This is also a very proud moment for me although I don't feel that my service comes anywhere close to that of those who put their lives on the line in a dangerous combat environment. Still, I'm moved by the recognition.

Those of us who have never experienced the hardship of war and the tormenting damage it can do to the psyche can't possibly appreciate the sacrifice made on our behalf. But that shouldn't stop us from trying.

Stranger, by David Baerwald, Mp3 or Wma

brother at this moment
you ain't feeling any pain
and you're staring out the window
and it looks like rain
and you're a veteran and you know
about monkeys on the brain
you watched every dream you've had
lie broken in the drain
three hundred thousand men
all different all the same
three hundred thousand men
all different all the same
piled up like driftwood
in a pouring rain

hey stranger
ain't there nothing I can say
can you think of any way
that you can make it through the day
hey stranger
ain't there nothing I can do
you lost it all for me
there must be something I can do for you

a quarter of the country
is one paycheck from the street
a tenth of the country
has never had enough to eat
and one one hundredth of the country
is strangling all the rest
and every policeman on the street
is wearing a bulletproof vest
three hundred thousand men
all different all the same
three hundred thousand men
all different all the same
piled up like driftwood
in a pouring rain

hey stranger
ain't there nothing I can say
can you think of any way
that you can make it through the day
hey stranger
ain't there nothing I can do
you lost it all for me
there must be something I can do for you

Sunday Evening Musings

I was checking out my Facebook Thursday morning as I contemplated whether or not I'd gotten out of bed too early after the all-night shift; it was going on 11:00. Before I could give it much thought I got a chat message request from a friend to go riding. That was definitely on my list of things to do but so soon? I needed to wake up first. Maybe it was the kick-start my day needed.

My riding for me has and I think always will be primarily a solo endeavor. I'd say I'm a bit unusual in that way because it seems most cyclists enjoy the company of others when they're out riding for hours at a stretch; maybe it's a safety in numbers thing. As for me, I don't mind spending time with myself and actually prefer it when I'm riding. I'm a loner at heart. I've done enough group rides to know that conversation with others isn't what works for me but rather, the solitude of the road; it's the main reason I'm out there. Still, an occasional break from my routine can be nice too.

Jay said he could be by in 30 minutes so I quickly checked the winds and forecast temp then hurried to grab a bite and get suited up. Southeast winds lend themselves to the Hampton Loop which is the way we went. I didn't know what Jay was up for but I think the 45 miles we did may have been about 10-15 more than he was fueled for.

I'll never take a sunny day for granted again after the stretch of cloudy, rainy weather we've experienced for too many weeks of late. It was so nice to be out and I considered adding another hour to the ride but I didn't want to push it since I'm still recovering from 'the bug'.

We had some visitors Thursday night. Two Mormon missionaries had come by our house earlier in the week when Tammy didn't have time to sit down with them so she invited them back. She likes to engage them about their beliefs and I think a part of her feels bad at all the rejection they must experience door after door. We had a nice discussion and after all was said we agreed that neither of us was likely to sway the other about what we believe but we enjoyed our time together.


I took advantage of some unseasonably warm weather to put up our outdoor Christmas lights on Friday. Rachel asked me earlier in the week if I was putting lights up this year and that she was hoping I would. There's no way I'd disappoint her as this will be her last Christmas living at home before leaving for college.  I have a feeling I'll still be hanging up outdoor lights next year and the years after that too for when she comes to stay with us during her break from school.  And someday when Tammy and I are grandparents and I'm not keen on climbing the ladder anymore I think I'll still find a way to keep the tradition alive even if I have to pay one of the neighbor kids.

I hurried through a bunch of yard work yesterday morning so I could get back out on my bike for most of the afternoon. I had another request from Jay to ride with a couple other guys but I took a pass in favor of my fix of solitude. With the winds out of the west I headed toward Shakopee and figured I'd decide when I got there which way to go. I tracked toward the northwest with thoughts of St. Bonifacious running through my head but I didn't see how I could do it with the sun setting at 4:56. I set my sights on Victoria instead. A quick stop for fuel there and I was back on the road.

A few miles out of Victoria I spotted another rider off in the distance and the chase was on. It's a thing we bikers do and we pretty much all do it. I caught him climbing a hill just north of highway 10 and we struck up a conversation. My first words when I catch somebody are usually, "where you headed?" We then typically share where we're from and maybe discuss bikes and equipment...small talk. Depending on how much speed difference there is between us I'll sometimes ride together for a bit before being on my way. John was keeping a similar pace (I had to work to catch him) so we rode together for ten miles before our paths diverged.

During my time with John I'd committed myself to extending my ride through Jordan rather than taking a more direct route home. I'd use up most of what was left of daylight and have to hustle to make the 5:00 service at Hosanna. Tammy was still in her office and would be until 7:30 doing her telephone triage nursing so I'd be going alone. H1N1 calls are dominating her days lately.

A few miles from home I got a text message from Rachel saying she was having a good time at the senior-high retreat (put together by Hosanna) near Alexandria a few hours to the northwest. I wouldn't get a chance to respond to her message until I got seated at church more than a half hour later after I'd had a chance to shower and change clothes.

71 miles later the pups met me at the back door and I gave them a couple minutes to lick the salt off my face. It's a treat they look forward to. I know...what a treat! It's a part of our routine. Toby and Allie lick while Charlie bites at my hands. I felt bad for them because they'd been on their own pretty much the entire day and I was about to leave them again. I'd make it up to them later with some lap time while Tammy and I watched a movie.

I poked my head in Tammy's office to see if she was interested in going out to dinner later. She suggested T.G.I. Friday's. I liked the way she was thinking.

Finally, after a very full day we were relaxing in the restaurant, having a burger and a glass of wine while I recalled my day for the lovely Mrs Gilmore. I had been going since the minute I woke up and I don't think I realized that until I recounted it for her. I love days like that.


I wish I had taken a photo of Tammy while we were there so I could include it here but all I had with me was my cellphone camera. Not good enough. I'm getting some flak from a couple guys at work who say there's a disproportionate number of photos of Rachel compared to Tammy in my blog...and they're right. All I can say in my defense is that Tammy is one of those who shudders at the shutter. Okay, that may be a bit strong but she doesn't really like her photo being taken and I respect that. Rachel on the other hand couldn't care less. Anything to please the love(s) of my life.

Apologetics, Not an Apology

There are way too many sick people at work to avoid catching this junk that's going around and it finally caught up with me last week. I'm still sneezing and hacking but it could be worse. I'm not sure if that's because of the zinc tablets I'm taking but I'd like to think I'm not wasting my money on them. Don't get too close to this post; I don't want you to catch it.


I took a couple sick-days from the salt mine last week and used the time to resume work on the stained glass project that I'd put away when the weather turned warm last spring. We're so close to finishing it that I think another 8-10 hours should be all we need. I'd really like to get the entire project completed this winter. We've got some neighbors who would like us to do some work for them but I don't want to take on anything until these six panels are done. Here's what a completed panel looks like and here's where I was with the current one as of a few days ago. We're quite a bit further along now. If all goes well I'll have it hung by weeks end.

These windows are going above the entertainment center in our basement. Here's a link to a video I made last spring that shows the project in more detail.

Christian Apologetics is the science or art of defending the Christian faith. So many of us who call ourselves Christians readily gloss over some of the more difficult realities of our faith; myself included. I recently finished reading a book titled Letters from a Skeptic by Dr. Gregory Boyd and Edward Boyd. Greg is a Christian theologian and Ed, his father, is a cynical skeptic of the Christian faith. The book is a series of letters the two exchanged over the course of a couple years whereby Ed posed some very difficult questions to his son about Christianity followed by Greg's responses.

Some of the titles of letters his father posed to his son in the book are:
Why has Christianity done so much harm?
Why is the world so full of suffering?
Why does God create earthquakes and famines?
Why did God create Satan?
Why didn't God spare your mother?
Aren't the Gospels full of contradictions?
Why are there so many differing interpretations of the Bible?
How could an all-loving God torture people in an eternal hell?

Ed would form his questions with an honesty that left no room for Greg to misunderstand his father's intent. To give you an idea of how the book reads, below is an excerpt from one of those letters titled, Why does God make believing in Him so difficult?

Why does God put us in a position where we have to try to believe in Him? Why does He toy with mankind, teasing us with evidence that's good enough to make us uncomfortable, but never coming out directly and making Himself clear? what's so great about "faith" that He desires it above an obvious revelation of Himself? And when He does reveal Himself---supposedly in the Bible---He does so many damn bizarre things that no one who wasn't there to see it can be expected to believe it. Yet "salvation" supposedly hangs on this! Why do people have to believe things and accept stories that they'd never accept under ordinary circumstances in order to be saved? This isn't exactly fair.

So if I want to avoid hell, I presumably have to believe that a snake talked to Eve, that a virgin got pregnant from God, that a whale swallowed a prophet, that the Red Sea was parted and all sorts of other crazy things. Well, if God wants me so bad, Greg, why does He make believing in Him so damn impossible? He gives an evidence here, an evidence there---enough to get us wondering---but then He throws in these other bizarre things which we can't possibly be expected to take seriously! If there were only the evidence, or only the crazy stuff, I'd have no problem. But combined, it's most aggravating.

It seems to me that an all-powerful God could do a much better job of convincing people of His existence than any evangelist ever does, and even better than all your arguments do. Hell, just write it across the sky, nice and big: "Here's you're proof, Ed. Believe in Me or go to hell! Sincerely, the Almighty." You wouldn't have to spend an afternoon arguing history to me. I'd be on my knees.

I suppose it's for the better, but the more convincing you sound, the more ticked off I seem to get. And I've found myself recently thinking about all this material too much, which means I walk around here in a state of frustration. I don't have a clue as to what you could do about this. Maybe tell your "Spirit" who is supposedly quietly chipping away in my heart to come out of the dark and write in the clouds! Short of that, I think I'm destined to be an intrigued but frustrated skeptic, and your optimism about me is doomed to disappointment.

Sincerely yours,

Dad

Sometimes I'd actually find myself oddly amused at Ed's frustration; he reminded me a bit of my own father. His questions were well thought out and while I may have at times been strangely entertained by Ed's straight-to-the-point cynicism, I couldn't help but be sympathetic toward him as well. Just when I thought he couldn't possibly pen a more difficult scenario for his son to explain away, he does just that. Very pointed questions which Greg would speak directly to in his responses. Rather than write his answer to his father here for you to read, I'll encourage you to pick up the book and read it there with the rest of the dialog. There's also a story within the story of his father's struggle to find anything meaningful in his son's faith. I promise you that you'll find the book enlightening and worth every minute of your time. Link to the book at Amazon.

I saw Greg speak at our church earlier this year at a Men's Breakfast and he'll be back to talk with us again in December. I'm looking forward to it.

Greg isn't well liked by many in the Fundamentalist Christian arena. Watch this video where Greg appears at 2:07. He marches to his own beat and there's something about it that is very appealing to me, but then, I've been accused of being on a different wavelength from the norm myself a time or two.

Learning from NWA188

The Northwest flight (NWA188) that missed its mark and overshot MSP airport last week continues to be in the news. I still can't get over how both pilots could disassociate themselves from the task at hand to the degree they did, especially considering that in a job such as piloting an aircraft, multitasking is a necessary ability. The pilots have lost their licenses and have been suspended and now the focus has turned to the FAA and why we were so slow in notifying the military of the situation.

My coworker, Tim, does a much better job of filling in the details than I will with this post and he brings up an important matter that nobody appears to be talking about; fuel load. I'm going to take this in a different direction.

There's a bit of disinformation in the news today with respect to who failed to notify the military as our protocols require. You'll likely hear that 'controllers' failed to do this when in fact controllers did everything they should have. When it became apparent that the flight was no longer responding to radio calls, controllers notified management. In situations such as this a controller will ask the supervisor in the area to contact the flight's operations desk and give them a message to call us on a radio frequency we provide them with; it's a common occurrence. Other times a controller may ask a company flight on frequency if they can send a message to their dispatch via a data link and have them contact us. We can usually reestablish communications in just a few minutes. Once a controller has notified the supervisor there isn't much else to do or that needs to be done from in front of the radar scope.  We simply wait for the flight to call.

I'm not sure how far along NWA188 got before the military was finally notified but based on what I'm hearing in the media it was much later than it should have been. I've heard the flight was silent for as long as 91 minutes.  That's a long time by any measure.  In our post 9/11 world we've established procedures to allow us to be much more proactive in situations such as this. For whatever reasons it appears we fumbled this one quite badly.

What will we as controllers and management learn from this? Plenty I hope.

Switching gears just a bit here.

We occasionally get Quality Assurance briefings at work where they play for us on fancy new projectors mounted from the ceiling receiving data from a laptop at the podium, audio and radar data of close calls (separation errors) in hopes that we can learn from them. Sure, we can all take something away from these situations but the problem I have with the way they're conducted is that management uses errors of our coworkers much to the humiliation of the controller involved. Figuring out who the controller is isn't difficult as their voice isn't distorted. It's embarrassing to the individual and it's entirely the wrong way to go about it. We could just as easily use events from other facilities around the country where the person involved would be anonymous to us but we don't.

After our last QA briefing I talked with the manager who presented it and asked him why it is he doesn't use anonymous events from similar facilities rather than embarrassing my fellow controllers? He responded by saying that if he were to tell me he'd run a stop sign on the way into work it would have more of an impact on me than had he told me of somebody who I didn't know running a stop sign. Huh?  No, I don't think so; besides, we're not talking about running stop signs. He implied in our short talk that he had no intention of changing the way he conducts his briefings. I told him I disagreed with his approach and left it at that. What more could be done or said?  It's his call.  He's one of our better managers actually in my opinion but his logic here left me bewildered.

Management has little to fear from being embarrassed like the rest of us in a QA briefing because their time in the sector is extremely limited and it's nearly always when there's little to no traffic. Their chances of getting two together are very remote.

This latest incident with NWA188 raises an interesting question for me. Will QA brief us on how management should have handled this event better? Will they talk about distractions that may have played a role in their lack of attention to a serious matter? Will QA talk about what management should have been doing while NWA188 flew over the top of MSP at 37,000 feet totally bypassing their destination with the military none the wiser?  I'm curious to see how this is handled.

To ignore this episode and managements' role in it in future briefings will speak very loudly indeed.  Maybe now QA will have a better understanding of my concern when it's managements' actions that are being scrutinized before a roomful of people; except, this time it's much more than a roomful of people.

David Crowder Concert, NWA188 and Photo Review

I got up from laying down after the all night shift Thursday morning and figured I'd better get a ride in while I could because the forecast wasn't looking so good. The temp was just above 40 with a northeast wind steady at 15 mph under overcast skies. 40 degrees is very reasonable cycling weather but the key is to be somewhat chilled when you start out. Being warm and toasty at the beginning leads to being sweaty, cold and clammy before the ride is over. While putting air in my tires before leaving I could tell that I needed a lighter top layer. I'm glad I made the switch.

I loved the ride and would like to have gone further but David Crowder was playing at our church and I didn't want to be late getting in line for some good seats as it was general admission. I considered a quick detour by Hosanna on the way home to get a pic of their tour bus but I figured I should really act my age.

The concert was worth every penny and better than any of the other times we'd seen them. I don't know that Hosanna has ever been rocked quite like that. Tammy and I got seats maybe ten rows back from center stage while Rachel and some friends camped out in front of the stage.

It's not uncommon for people at our church and churches similar to ours to lift their hands in praise while worshiping. I just wish they wouldn't do it during concerts; especially if they're really tall to begin with because it makes it especially difficult to see anything other than them and that's not what we were there for. I was intent on getting some decent video so I jumped into the same row as the tall guy with long arms where there were a couple empty seats and found a clear view. We'd all be standing until the concert was over and I was fine with that. I expected it.

My cellphone vibrated to life mid-way through the show. It was Rachel texting me to say, "I go to church here :)". I love that she has such a connection with Hosanna. It's an important part of her life and we're thankful for that.

I got some good video as I'd hoped for (although a little shaky at times) and uploaded it to our YouTube account. Here's a link to a playlist of it.

I can't remember a rainier stretch of weather than the one we've been in for the last few weeks. The sun was out for most of the day yesterday and it was really nice to be out under it. I got up and went about my usual routine; feed the pups; let 'em out; make breakfast (something substantial for what was going to be a busy day); check my email then load the pups into the back of Tammy's Forrester and head to the dog park. They haven't been to the park for a few days with all the rain we've had so I knew I had to take advantage of the clear skies for their sake.

They were so happy to be there. It's funny...Toby has this thing he does with me whenever we're on a walk. He'll pause and look back at me and wait while I catch up to him, then I lean over so he can jump up and lick my face. As soon as he does it he runs forward to continue his walk. It's the sweetest thing. I get at least one kiss each walk and often times, two. I love that little guy.

I spent most of yesterday raking leaves. The job only gets bigger each year as trees grow and drop even more leaves. It was nice that most of my neighbors were out doing the same thing which will reduce the number of leaves that migrate with the wind into our yard. In splendid geek fashion; before and after.

While I was out raking I noticed a couple neighbors up the street talking; Dave and Tom. They're both pilots for Northwest/Delta and I wondered what their thoughts were on the recent news story about NWA188 and its loss of radio contact with controllers and subsequent overflying its destination of Minneapolis. As Dave said, "stranger things have happened". I'm sure he's right but I'm hard-pressed to think of one. Tom mentioned that the NTSB most certainly jumped the gun when they went after the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). The only time that data from the CVR is reviewed is in the case of an accident and not for punitive reasons. There's a reason it works that way and that is to ensure that the CVR remains operational at all times in case there ever is a need to review it. Pilots have the ability to disable the device and once you begin to use its data for anything other than accident reconstruction you risk not having the data when you need it most. Besides, details recorded on the CVR are written over every 30 minutes so whatever the NTSB finds will be of little value with respect to what led up to the pilots' distraction.

The pilots are pretty emphatic that they weren't sleeping but I'm having a difficult time imagining any other scenario to explain what happened. We lose aircraft on frequency all the time but seldom is it ever an issue where we can't find a way to get them a message about what frequency to contact us on with a phone call to their dispatch.

At least we're getting a break from Balloon Boy and his nutty professor father.

Rachel got her senior photo proofs back. Laurie did a great job photoing Rachel; she/we couldn't be happier. There are nearly 200 photos to select from so Tammy had an idea that we'd each pick our ten favorites and go from there; a process of elimination. So far so good. Here's my favorite. I had no idea that so much effort (or money) went into senior photos but then I never had mine taken...or went to Homecoming or Prom or...I wonder how it was that I ever graduated now that I think of it?