Well, after talking about it for something like two or three years–maybe more–this site has finally been revamped, redesigned, rebuilt, and relaunched.

So what do you think?

There are a lot of new features. The biggest change (besides the new design, of course) is that everything is dynamically generated. Many of people are using the same software I am, but I don’t know of too many that are incorporating all the bits in quite the same way.

The textual portions and templates are pretty much controlled by Movable Type. I love this thing. After looking at PHP Nuke, PostNuke, phpWebSite, and a dozen other CMS applications, I just couldn’t find quite the right software. Even Movable Type didn’t have everything, but it was the easiest to adapt.

The photo gallery, previously managed by software from ImageFolio, is now running under Gallery, which is not only free but incorporates a lot of neat features like slide shows, image transitions, online print ordering, improved administration, and most importantly, automatic thumbnail generation.

Anyway, Gallery was been embedded into Movable Type so that it shares the same look and feel.

As if that wasn’t a tall enough order, I also wanted the ability to have multiple designs that were user-selectable. If you look the in the lower left corner of the page (at the bottom of the menu bar), you’ll see a “style selector” that allows you to pick from five aviation-themed designs. Give it a try! The system will also set a cookie to remember your preferences for the next time you visit.

One of the biggest problems with the old site was that it used frames–which I have learned to despise–and a million table tags. Using tables to control the design of the page is a trick as old as the Web itself. Alas, that’s not what tables were designed for. The result was a lot of very messy, spaghetti-like code.

No bueno.

The answer was to build the new site so that it used standards-compliant cascading style sheets and XHTML. Now the code on each page is compact, clean, and easy to edit.

So that’s the story. There’s not a lot of content here at the moment, but the tough work is done and it should be all downhill from going forward. The photos–all 1500 of them–have been moved over, and I’m finally starting to write.

The “Flying” and “Stage” pages are blank for now. Eventually those will contain some details about my lives in the aviation and theatrical worlds.

I have to add one final note of thanks to David Dasinger. I’ve worked with him on several sucessful projects in the past, and this one will certainly get added to the list. He’s the guy who made all this happen. Thanks, David!

Only a few more hours until the polls open for voters here in California.

Thankfully, the House of Rapp has been under construction for most of the recall campaign period. This has spared you and 300 million of your fellow Americans my thoughts on people like Gray, Cruz, and Arnold.

But since the Age of Web Site Construction is over, indulge me for just a moment, if you will.

Now I know some people feel that this recall is: (choose one)

a) a right wing conspiracy
b) undemocratic
c) unconstitutional
d) turning California into a laughingstock
e) all of the above
f) none of the above
g) Monty Brewster for mayor
h) An augmented sixth chord built upon the flat second degree of the tonic key

… however, I would have to disagree with item “d”.

First of all, who cares what anyone else thinks? I don’t expect the residents of Rhode Island to consider my opinion on their island state before going to the polls, so why should Californians care what someone from Vermont or Iowa thinks? Do we really need them loving this state so much that they rent one of those U-Hauls with the massive watercolor murals of the Rocky Montains painted on it and move here?

More importantly, if I was a resident of (insert any state with a budget deficit of less than $40 billion), I’m fairly certain I would be envious of California’s ability to finally stand up and say “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna to take it anymore.” I certainly wouldn’t be laughing at a state that saw a $10 billion surplus magically turn into a $40 billion deficit the day the last gubernatorial election ended.

Still, a wee bit of circus every now and then isn’t always a bad thing. With something like 135 candidates on the ballot, you just know there are going to be some gems in there. Yeah, there’s the chick with the big rack. The golf pro. The aspiring comedian. A fellow pilot, Jim Weir, is also on the ballot. There’s even a Green Party candidate.

If it’s sheer whacked out insanity you crave, however, I think I’ve found your man. I found this ad on page A11 of the front section of the Los Angeles Times:

I think it’s very magnanamous of Mr. Busch to offer to share power equally with “great statesman Gray Davis” and “exceptional human being Arnold Schwarzenegger”, especially when one ponders the fact that this guy isn’t even one of the 135 candidates on the ballot.

He’s also the only candidate I’m aware of that’s taken it upon himself to work out a settlement agreement with Osama bin Laden.

In the words of Kenny Banya: it’s gold, Jerry… GOLD!

Those kooky Brits.

If I tried anything like this in the U.S. I’d lose my pilot certificate faster than you could slap that annoying little “zoom zoom” kid from the Mazda commercials.

Maybe they have a get-out-of-jail free card for anyone who flies a Spitfire…

Congratulations, Governor-elect Schwarzenegger.

I’ve never been a fan of Gray Davis, but I have to admit he gave a very graceful concession speech. Not that there were many options open to him. The results were so lopsided that it would have been tough to blame the loss on hanging chads or voter disenfranchisement. Nice to see that he’s smart enough to know when to fold ‘em.

Since some have already started making noises about recalling Schwarzenegger, I’ve been thinking about a rematch. Next time there’s a recall election, I’d like to see Tony Danza (”Who’s the Boss?”) run against Bruce Springsteen (just “The Boss”). If we’re going to have entertainers running for office, let’s at least have some fun with it.

What other pairings could we come up with? Hmmm… how about Kermit the Frog vs. Peter Camejo. An epic battle fought under the title “It’s Not Easy Being Green”.

Or perhaps Dustin Hoffman running against Michael Richards? We could call that one “Kramer vs. Kramer”.

Anyone need a cool digital camera, cheap? A friend sent me this message:

“I’m selling a friend’s digital camera. He’s in the hospital now, and will probably be there for a while. He needs the money to pay for medical bills - it’s a great camera, see the attached last picture he took to see the amazing photo resolution & quality.”

One fine summer afternoon, a tiny Cessna 150 was flying in the pattern at a quiet country airfield. The instructor was getting irritated at the student’s inability to maintain altitude in the thermals. Just then he saw a twin engine Cessna zoom by 5,000 ft. above him and thought “Another 1,000 hrs of this and I qualify for that twin charter job! Aaahh, to be a real pilot actually going somewhere.”

The Cessna 402 was already late and the boss told him this charter was for one of the company’s premier clients. He’d already set MCT and the cylinders didn’t like it in the summer heat. He was at 6,000 ft. and fighting a 20 knot headwind. Today was the sixth day in a row and he was dead tired of fighting these engines. Maybe if he could get another 10,000 ft. out of them, the wind might die off. Jeez, those cylinder temps! He looked out momentarily and saw a Boeing 737 leaving a contrail at 33,000ft in the serene blue sky. “Oh man” he thought, “My interview is next month. I hope I don’t blow it! Outta GA, nice jet job, above the weather… no snotty passengers to wait for… aahhh.”

The Boeing 737 bucked and weaved in the heavy clear air turbulence at FL330 and ATC advised that lower levels were not available due traffic. The captain, who was only recently advised that his destination was below RVR minimums had slowed to LRC to try and hold off a possible inflight diversion, and arrange an ETA that would helpfully ensure the fog had lifted to CATII minima. The company negotiations broke down yesterday and looked as if everyone was going to take a pay cut. The first officers would be particularly hard hit, as their pay was nothing to speak of anyway. Finally deciding on a speed compromise between LRC and turbulence penetration, the captain looked up and saw Concorde at Mach 2+. Tapping his first officer’s shoulder as the 737 took another bashing, he said “Now THAT’S what we should be on… huge pay …super fast… not too many routes… not too many legs… above the CAT…yep! What a life…!”

FL590 was not what he wanted anyway and considered FL570. Already the TAT was creeping up again and either they would have to descend or slow down. That damn rear fuel transfer pump was becoming unreliable and the F/E had said moments ago that the radiation meter was not reading numbers that he’d like to see. Concorde descended to FL570 but the radiation was still quite high even though the NOTAM indicated hunky-dory below FL610. Fuel flow was up and the transfer pump was intermittent. Evening turned into night as they passed over the Atlantic.

Looking up, the F/O could see a tiny white dot moving against the backdrop of a myriad of stars. “Hey captain” he called as he pointed. “Must be the Shuttle. “The captain looked for a moment and agreed. Quietly he thought how a Shuttle mission, while complicated, must be the be all and end all in aviation. Above the crap, no radiation problems, no fuel transfer issues… aaah. Must be a great way to earn a buck.”

Discovery was into its 27th orbit and perigee was 200 ft. out from nominated rendezvous altitude with the commsat. The robot arm was virtually U/S and a walk may become necessary. The 200 ft. predicted error would necessitate a corrective burn and Discovery needed that fuel if a walk was to be required. Houston continually asked what the commander wanted to do but the advice they proffered wasn’t much help. The commander had already been 12 hours on station sorting out the problem and just wanted 10 minutes to himself to take a leak. Just then a mission specialist, who had tilted the telescope down to the surface for a minute or two, called the commander to the scope.

“Have a look at this–isn’t this the kinda flying you said you wanted to do after you finish up with NASA?” The commander peered through the telescope and cried “Ooooohhhhh yeah! Now THAT’S flying! Man, that’s what it’s all about. Jeez, I’d give my left nut just to be doing THAT down there.”

The Discovery commander was looking at a Cessna 150 in the pattern at a quiet country airfield on a bright, sunny afternoon.

Morale: pilots are never happy unless they are drinking beer and looking for a better job.

I’ve never been one of those people who believes that God strikes people down with a bolt of lightning when He’s unhappy with them. After all, if this were the case I would have been burned to a crisp years ago.

No, I think His method is to allow organizations like the FAA or IRS to hound people like me until we only wish a 1.21 gigawatt bolt would finish the job.

Nevertheless, it’s a hell of a coincidence that the actor portraying Jesus in Mel Gibson’s controversial film “The Passion of Christ” was recently struck by lightning during filming. The odds of being struck by lightning are 1 in 600,000. That’s rare enough. Now let’s consider fact that there are usually dozens of people on a set during filming, yet the guy who was hit just happens to be playing the role of Jesus. And it doesn’t end there; one of the assistant directors was also hit–for the second time in as many months while on the set.

I’m not suggesting God’s pissed–I’m sure He couldn’t care less. I just think it’s weird.

Even stranger, though, is the uproar over this project from certain religious groups. Apparently they are concerned that the film will spur anti-Semitism through it’s conclusion that the Jews killed Jesus.

Am I the only one that finds that conclusion funny? I guess if you read the Bible the Jews did kill Jesus. He was in Israel. Is anyone surprised that there were Jewish people there? If He had been in Spain, it would have been the Spanish. If He’d been in Athens, the Greeks would have killed Him. If he’d been in America, we would have done it.

But that’s just geography. The real problem I have with religious leaders opposing something like this film is that it places responsibility for anti-Semetic acts with the wrong party. Don’t get me wrong–I understand the role history plays. The Jewish people have been persecuted since the days of Constantine for this. Technology has only accelerated mankind’s ability to kill his fellow man, and in the greater scheme of things World War II is still recent history. Once bitten, twice shy.

But clarity must reign supreme. Personal responsibility is the key here. Racist behavior today cannot be sloughed off on a film any more than a German operating an oven at Auschwitz could say they were “just following orders”.

Racism is bred out of fear and ignorance, not truth and knowledge. So all that’s required is for someone to say the blacks/Jews/Mexicans/etc are responsible. A film is just a film. No matter what it says, it doesn’t force anyone to do anything. In fact, such a film might even be healthy. It forces us to think and reflect on its conclusions. Religious leaders who look upon this movie with trepidation have cast their aspersion based on the worst humanity has to offer. Shouldn’t our rabbis, our pastors, our clerics look to the best instead?

But let’s stipulate that these religious leaders are right, that anti-Semitism rises after the movie is released. Even if the conclusion and content of a film like “The Passion of Christ” are 100% reprehensible, when race-based crimes are committed, the responsibility for those crimes must lie with those who commit them. Period. Any other conclusion takes us down a very slippery slope.

Consider the broader issue of “hate crimes” legislation. I’ve never understood this. The basic idea is that if you commit a crime against someone because of their race, color, sex, or religion, you are punished more severely for it. So if I beat up John Doe because he’s black, I get 10 years in prison. If I beat up John Doe because I want to steal his wallet, I get two years.

This is extremely dangerous because it punishes people based on what they think instead of what they do. If someone beats up John Doe, they should be punished because they beat him up, not because of why they did it. The reason is immaterial.

As I understand the concept of freedom, people are allowed to think or feel whatever they wish, even if it’s unreasonable, ignorant, and just plain wrong. The law should be limited to punishing people based on their actions, not their thoughts or beliefs. That’s why for more than two centuries, the American Way has been to defend the right of the other side to say their piece, even when we find their beliefs to be in complete opposition to our own.

I can appreciate the good intentions behind the P.C. police using the legal system to change the way people think, but that is not the system’s purpose. The law should not be used that way for the same reason the framers of the Constitution prohibited it from being used to establish religion.

Sometimes the best way of protecting something sacred is to not protect it at all.

I’ve only been flying out of the Los Angeles basin for about six years, but in that time I’ve been witness to some unusual stuff. September 11th comes to mind. I recall standing outside the fence at John Wayne Airport and listening to the sound of complete silence. The Southwest jets normally found on the east side were replaced with F-18s.

Today is another one to remember for those of us who fly. The ring of fires encircling Southern California has poked more than a few holes in the aviation system. I checked for NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen) on the web and found this:

HHR 10/032 ZLA CA.. SO CALIF APPROACH CONTROL OTS
HHR 10/034 ZLA CA.. SAN DIEGO AFSS CLSD
HHR 10/035 ZLA CA.. RIVERSIDE AFSS CLSD

The “approach control OTS” line is not something one sees everyday. It’s referring to Socal Approach, which controls all traffic in the Los Angeles basin below 10,000 feet. Everything from the Mexican border to Oxnard falls under their perview. The Socal Approach facility is physically located near Mirimar, and yesterday one of the fires nearly consumed their building. They evacuated the facility and have been offline ever since.

So for the immediate future, there is no one controlling this airspace. Which poses some interesting problems for someone (like myself) planning to fly through airspace which, according to Federal Aviation Regulations, requires radio contact with an approach controller.

Los Angeles Center is covering what airspace they can, but it’s dicey. L.A. Center is normally only responsible for stuff above 10,000 feet and they don’t have the charts, equipment, or procedures to deal with Socal’s lower airspace.

Socal Approach is made up of different “sectors” covering different areas of the L.A. basin, but as I said the controllers are physically located in the same building. I’ve been wondering about the long term impact this will have. If the fire burns down their facility, this gridlock could persist for months while air traffic functions are transferred to a new location.

I have a few other concerns about flying in these conditions. For one, contaminants in the air could clog the intake filter to the point where the engine doesn’t get enough air to operate. But I’ve called around to several FBOs in the area and they’ve been flying all weekend with no problems. I also wonder if it will be possible to get anything productive done in the air with the visibility so low.

Still, I’m looking foward to flying today. It will be an educational experience and a good chance to see what things look like from the air. I’ve actually flown through smoke on more than one occasion. My last flight to Mammoth was like this. Worse, probably, since the route takes you through the narrow Owens Valley where the terrain climbs something like 15,000 feet in less than two miles. There are no IFR routes through the Owens Valley, so technically you have to rely on your eyes to keep you out of the rocks. But with the advent of GPS, you can back up your visual cues with hyper-accurate satellite navigation.