Scuba Diving The Devil's Den

Devil's Den is a spring about 40 minutes from Gainesville that offers some fun diving practice in fresh water.

The UF Scuba Club had booked some of the gear setup areas with tables and it was very nicely organized. We arrived and the group all geared up and headed into the spring after checking in, doing waivers, paying the entrance fee and rental needed equipment.

Entry is through a tunnel heading downward and you need to mind your head as its rather tight.

Even though you enter through a cave entrance, there is direct sunlight through the ceiling of the collapsed cave.

That hole is rather pretty when viewed form under the water:

There's a nice platform set up that you then enter into the water.

There's a mound of rocks and rubble piled in the middle of the spring with deeper areas to the sides.

There's a few fish wandering about the spring;

There are some swim-throughs, meaning an overhead environment, but it was always a pretty quick transition through them,. and you can still see daylight,  and some swim-throughs turned out to end in blockages that require you to turn around which got a little tight but was fine.

 

There is a cave entrance, but entry into the cave is strictly prohibited.

Most springs with caves have the standard Grim Reaper with the "No Non-Cave Trained Divers Should Enter" sign.  This one is an outright prohibition.

Lights were needed as it was dark in the spring, and a lot of particulate in the water made for some difficult photos.

Leah loved her first certified dive experience, and she did great for a first dive as a certified diver without an instructor present, and did a very good job as a dive buddy.

We had a nice 54 minute run time with a max depth of 52 feet. The temperature ranged from 72-75 degrees depending on where you were in the water which made for a comfy dive.

A great dive and a great time with the kid.

Go Gators!

This weekend I went to Gainesville to visit Leah.

This was the UF Scuba Club Parent-Student dive weekend.  Leah has decided she want to get certified and she just earned her Open Water Certification last week through the club, so of course I had to be there for her first dive as a certified diver.

We had a number of activities planned, including attending a tailgate and going to watch the Gators play LSU.

The tailgate, hosted by the UF Scuba Club was a ton of fun.

Good food, fun people, and a good time had by all.

And, of course, there was a keg of beer. As no tailgate is complete without one.

After watching the kids do keg stands, there is a rumor that I was challenged to do one, and a further rumor that I then set the standard. Rumors only of course, but someone had to show them how it was done . . . .

After the Tailgate, we met up with some of Leah's friends and wandered into a frat house for some food which was also a fun experience. 

Then we headed to the game.  We had seats in the upper level endzone and it was a fun experience.

90,000+ fans. The energy was incredible.

Having 90,000 people belting out Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "I won't Back Down" was quite the experience.

The Gators, while not favored to win, recovered from a rocky start and beat LSU 27-16.

It was an amazing game to attend.

 And quite the celebrated win

Quite a great day.

Amherstburg Naval Yard

When I was in Amherstburg last weekend, I decided to check out the historic site of the Navy Yard.

Used by the British in the War of 1812, the area saw heavy use ending in the Battle of Lake Erie - that the US navy won.

And of course there are Cannons

And Carronades, guns that while being shorter and shorter-ranged than cannons, packed a heavier wallop at close range:

 

There's also the flags of Ontario, the United Kingdom, Canada, The United States, and France on display:

Ok, just kidding about the white flag on the right being the French flag, mostly.

There's some nice monuments to the Battle of Lake Erie even if it looks like the gun carriage has gone missing, hopefully temporarily.

 and its a nice walk along the shoreline with Michigan across the water.

They did a very nice job with a series of connecting parks along the shoreline, and have nicely preserved quite a bit of history and it's well worth visiting, being such a short hop from the Detroit area.

First Heating Day Of Fall 2024

Turned the heat on yesterday evening as 61 degrees was a tad chilly.

 I had resisted turning it on up until now.  Certainly more comfortable, but a sign winter is coming.

Remembrance Day and Veteran's Day

In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, today is Remembrance Day marking the end of the First World War and honoring all those servicemen and women lost in the First World War and since.

I was in Canada this weekend and among other places visited Amherstberg, Ontario and the Town certainly memorializes and honors its servicemen that died in the wars, and will hold ceremonies today to honor them.  

In the United States, it is Veteran's Day, a day for appreciating and honoring those who have served our country and defended this great nation in times of open war both declared and undeclared, cold war and in preserving the peace.

Trump and America Win

Not only in the electoral college, but likely also winning the popular vote, President Trump had a very very convincing win yesterday, too big to rig as it were.

We still wait for my Democrat-run State of Michigan to get its act together and actually administer an election in a timely manner.  And also as part of that potentially more fraud out of Democrat-run Wayne County to try and tip the balance in the Senate race between Rogers and Slotkin, but that will not affect the overall outcome of a Republican victory.

I certainly wish President Trump and the country success.  

I hope that he has learned the lessons of his first term, including not to keep people in government offices that are actively working against him and stymieing his policies. I hope that he leads the country with wisdom and good judgment, and makes our nation  preeminent among the nations of the world and an example to all.

The Republicans in Michigan also wrested control of the state house from Democrat hands, ending the Democrat domination of all three branches of state government, which is a good thing.

It is hoped that the Democrats will learn some lessons from their loss.  The lessons include their error in the selection of a terrible and inarticulate candidate appointed more for her filling DEI check-boxes than for her actual ability; and their push to tilt the Overton window so far left that they left the American Middle, and even some of the American Left far behind among many other mistakes on their part.

And to my Democrat-supporting readers, as few of you as there may be: We survived 4 years of Biden-Harris, you'll make it through 4 more years of President Trump.

Flying: To CYTZ And Back

On Saturday I flew over to Toronto Island Airport to go visit the folks and celebrate my Dad's 80th birthday.

I did the electronic paperwork, called Canpass, filed my typical route and got my clearance to depart. Approved clearance was ADRIE T781 OLAMO CYTZ

I climbed to 3,000 as instructed and contacted Detroit Approach.

A beautiful day and still some fall color to see.

Detroit Approach climbed me to my filed altitude of 5,000 and then amended my clearance to just fly direct to CYTZ, which was nice.

Had a light tailwind and was cruising along at a nice 146 knot ground speed.

Crossed the border and it started getting a little overcast around Sarnia:

I got permission to climb above the layer to 6,000 and enjoyed the view.

Toronto Center then amended my clearance and had me go direct to OLAMO before heading to the airport.  I then did a practice localizer approach to Runway 26 and had a very good landing.

I had a nice time in Toronto with the folks, and the open house party on Sunday to celebrate my dad's birthday went very well.

Then yesterday, it was time to head back.  The weather would, unfortunately, not be quite as nice. Overcast, rainy, and windy it would be.

I had filed what I had done for the return on the last trip, which was accepted. Easy enough.

I got to the airport, paid my parking and fuel bill, did the preflight.

 I contacted Ground, and then was told my clearance had changed and was I ready to copy?

Yep, yet again I got the PERL.4 Departure, DERLO Transition, PICUP, OKLND ONE Arrival.  So next time I go, I'm  just going to file that from the outset to save time as they seem to like it a lot on Mondays.  Knowing it well from the last time made reprogramming the system a lot faster.

I then, just before takeoff, got a further amendment to the departure procedure and was told to climb to 3,000, on heading 210 degrees, so I did that and out over the Lake I went.

It was rather overcast and I had a pretty major headwind of around 30 knots so my ground speed was around 90-100 knots, most of the time so it was kinda slow going.

Toronto Center then got me on course to the next waypoint and I was told to climb to 6,000, and then once I reached that next waypoint ANCOL, I got an amended clearance to fly straight to DERLO which saved a little bit of time.

At DERLO the Overcast became more acute and I started getting some instrument time.

It was rather solid with some light chop and light precipitation.  Air Temperature up there was 15 degrees C due to the warm front that was moving in and causing all the winds and clouds, so no icing risk which was good.

The clouds opened up just a bit as I was crossing the border.

And soon closed up again, with even more rain and bouncing around and I was again in solid IMC conditions.

Then for a brief while I was right in between two layers of clouds which was kinda neat.  The air was smooth and it was all rather beautiful.

But soon it closed up again.

I got the weather at Pontiac with winds of 14 knots at 180 degrees for a very direct crosswind for landing on 27L.  I was passed on to Detroit Approach and clearance amended to fly straight to GUZVY for the 27L RNAV and was then cleared onto the approach.

Up to the Final Approach Fix it was IFR, as I followed the glideslope down and got lower I broke out of the clouds.

Not the best visibility, and I was kinda flying sideways in the wind following the RNAV guidance.  This was a tad disorienting, so I just kept on the needles, and it took a bit to find the airport as the nose was pointed into the wind left of the Airport, even as the plane was moving on a nice straight line right to the runway.

Then I had the runway in sight before the missed approach point, and still had to fly crabbed into the wind on the way towards final.

I then made a most excellent crosswind landing, even as it felt like a lot more than 14 knots.  The excellent landing was likely due to a lack of observers of same.

I then cleared customs, then headed to the hangar and got the plane refueled and put away, and that was the end of the weekend.

November 2 I had 2.0 out, and 1 great landing.

November 4 I had 2.4 back, .9 actual instrument time, an instrument approach and another great crosswind landing.

An excellent trip flying that sure as heck beats driving, and it was good to get some actual IFR time and a real approach in and plan for and deal with more challenging conditions.

A Safety Brief For Halloween

Remember witches, flying VFR into IMC will get you every time.

Happy Halloween to all.

So This Happened Last Night

Last night at Jitsu was leg lock wall drills.

Two (then three) people started out lying on the mat with everyone else lined up on the wall. Then two (later three) people came off the wall to face those on the mats.

When lying down you had your legs up in open guard and had to first let the attacker get your leg and begin a leg lock. 

Then you had to defend it.

If you defended it, you stayed on the mat and then next person came off the wall at you.

If you got submitted, it was the attackers turn to be on the mat defending.

To say this gets exhausting very quickly is an understatement.

I started out on the mat.

I successfully defended against the first two blue belt attackers off the wall.

Then I got toyed with by a purple belt and got caught in a fancy heel hook pretty darn quickly. I learned from this. 

The Main Lesson - do not meddle in the affairs of Purple Belts for you are squishy and can be folded into various uncomfortable positions rather effortlessly.

Then, I got to get to the wall and then rotate in as an attacker.

Sometimes I was back on the wall, sometimes I got to stay out on the mat defending.

Much more learning occurred.

This went on for an hour and was one heckuva workout.

After that, one of the purple belts was promoted to 4 stripes, and he's already so good that he's a brown belt in all but passing the test - which won't be hard for him.

My name got called and I was taken by surprise as I wasn't expecting it.

This happened:

 

It is amazing how a little piece of tape can both mean so much, and mean nothing at all at the same time.  Even as I didn't feel I was adequately ready to be a three-striper, my instructors determined that I was.  Feels rather good, and is  a sign of how incredibly much more I need to learn.

Another blue belt also was surprised by getting their first stripe.

After we were awarded the stripes we had a celebratory roll.

In this roll, the newly promoted blue belt 1-striper did his best to kill me, and I successfully defended his attacks, made it difficult for him to do so, and made some fun problems for him on the way. We ended in a draw.

Quite a great end to the evening.

The Rather Delicate Democrat Coalition

Is showing some further signs of fraying:

USA Today:  Devices used in Oregon, Washington ballot box fires had 'Free Gaza' messages, reports say

Considering the Democrats pandering to the Islamists, arson attacks on ballot drop boxes in Democrat strongholds in Oregon and Washington is rather ungrateful action on the part of the Hamas-niks.

Pity, that.

Do tell me again how ballot drop boxes are so secure secure, right?

It's Getting A Tad Sporty Out There.

So far, three Jewish students in three separate incidents at University of Michigan have been attacked for the crime of being Jewish. Perpetrators were the progressive and Islamic types - not a MAGA hat in sight.

Now, courtesy of Instapundit, we learn that this weekend in Chicago,  an Orthodox Jew being shot by an illegal immigrant from Northwest Africa who shouted "Allahu Akbar" before shooting him. The illegal was here due to the Biden-Harris administrations' weak border policies crossed our open southern border a year and a half ago and made his way (or was he transported by the feds?) to Chicago.

Civic Duty Done

Went and voted early today.

It was a rather large line as the early voting location is handling everyone form West Bloomfield, Sylvan Lake, and Keego Harbor.

Waited in line just a bit over a half hour but it moved along rather reasonably.

Did get in after being in line just before closing which was good.

Voted in split ticket fashion after researching the candidates ahead of time. 

Quite a turnout so far in the area.

So if you haven't voted yet, get informed and research the candidates, know who you are voting for and why -- and go do it.

Is Their Election Slogan It takes A Criminal To Catch A Criminal?

The Detroit News: Oakland, Wayne Co. sheriff challengers hope voters will overlook their criminal records

When all you have to run on is your criminal record, you might as well run on that:

Amrit Kohli said he's qualified to be the Oakland County sheriff because he's been an Oakland County Jail inmate and knows what needs to be fixed.

Wayne County sheriff candidate T. P. Nykoriak said his federal conviction for stealing from a Detroit church should not prevent him from being elected as the county's top law enforcement official.

Ok then.

Kohli is a very progressive  Democrat who is on the Democrat ticket running in Oakland County against the highly popular and effective Republican Sheriff Bouchard. 

"I want to get elected, so I can disrupt the policing of the Sheriff's Office and try to make a mark of what policing can do when they're not about guns and oppression," said Kohli, who was convicted of drunk driving in 2003 and malicious destruction of property in 2004. "Police are the apparatus of oppression and have committed genocide, in my opinion."

Yeah, he's the perfect progressive Democrat defund-the-police-type to run for the position with no law enforcement experience aside from being on the criminal end of it. He is also, of course, given his everything-I-don't-like-is- genocide,  pro "ceasefire" for Gaza.

This is part of why straight-ticket voting is dumb - he'll likely get votes from Democrats in the County who do a straight ticket and don't know any batter.

We'll note that while T. P. Nykoriak is nominally on the ballot as a Republican in Wayne County, he actually has a long history of running as a Democrat for the Sheriff slot, and other positions, and possibly changes party affiliation like others change their underwear.

Both should use a white circle on a red background as their campaign flags - They both have a snowball's chance in hell of winning.

No, We Can't Trust Kamala

Got a mailer from Kamala t'other day.

Except no, you can't trust her.  

Because at the same time she's sending this out, as well as some TV ads in this area claiming she is pro-Israel, she's saying something else to pro-Hamas types and to the population in Dearbornistan: 

NBC News: Harris targets digital ads spotlighting her words about 'human suffering in Gaza'

We will also note that Harris said the following publicly when interrupted by a pro-Hamasnik claiming what is happening in Gaza is a "genocide".  She declared that what the protestor was saying was :"real":

New York Post:  Kamala Harris publicly agrees with protestor accusing Israel of genocide: ‘What he’s talking about, it’s real’

For the last time, and for the simpletons who swallow Hamas propaganda wholesale in between licking the windows on the short bus, what is happening in Gaza is not a genocide.

Let's use a picture to help get this across:

It is not a genocide when you attack your neighbor, massacre civilians, kidnap others, and then you start losing the war you started as you choose to fight in urban areas while hiding behind civilians in those area and those civillians get killed along with your combatants.

That Kamala would even say "it's real" shows she either is dumb enough to believe there is a genocide going on - contrary to reality- or she's willing to pander to idiots in order to get the Muslim vote to help her win Michigan and some other battleground states. 

Given the demonstrated pro-Iranian and pro-Hamas bent of the Biden-Harris administration, and Kamala choosing to surround herself in office with pro-Hamas types,you absolutely cannot trust her when it comes to Israel, or much else for that matte.

Resist Arrest, Shoot At A Cop, Get Killed, Your Family Gets $4.8 Million

In an interesting (for meaning so the word interesting) settlement, the City of Akron has decided to pay the family of Jayland Walker $4.8 million dollars when he was killed after feeling an arrest and firing a shot at police - while wearing a ski mask - in June.

The Detroit News: Akron to pay $4.8M to relatives of a Black man killed by police

The family of Jayland Walker, a Black man killed when eight police officers fired 94 bullets at him after he shot at least one round out his car window, will receive a $4.8 million settlement from the city of Akron, the mayor's office said Monday.

Talk about winning the ghetto lottery. 

All because yet again, someone decides to resist arrest for what would have been a fix-it ticket.

So at least in Akron, Ohio, you can resist arrest, fire a shot (or shots) at police, and when they return fire your family can sue the city for millions by playing the race card.

Of interest, of the 94 rounds fired at him, only 46 hit him, resulting in a hit rate of 49%, and a lot of bullets with "To Whom It May Concern" flying around.

In addition, the City has now implemented a policy where Police will not be allowed to chase wrongdoers who refuse to pull over for equipment violations. This entire course of events started when he fled and refused to pull over for a broken taillight and license plate light, so criminals are now incentivized to flee from police - which is a rather bad incentive, really.

Akron, Ohio is the rubber capital of the world.  It's a pity Jayland Walker's parents weren't using one at the time he was conceived as the city could have saved themselves a lot of money that way.

Goodbye Yankee Lady

The Yankee Lady has taken to the skies from the Yankee Air Museum Michigan Flight Museum for the last time.

 

Bought by the museum in 1986 for $250,000 she was allegedly sold for somewhere in the range of $15 million.

She's heading off for an overhaul and then to the new owner apparently in California.
 

Sold, likely due to the costs involved in keeping her airworthy, and for the announced reason that it was due to the museum's over-reliance on the revenue from rides on the aircraft, which was affected whenever B-17s were grounded by the FAA, the museum decided to sell its centerpiece.  The museum, in a separate decision, also rebranded itself as the Michigan Flight Museum, bringing an end to the years of goodwill and recognition as the Yankee Air Museum.

The Yankee Lady has departed its home base Ypsilanti for the last time, and is off for an overhaul and then on to its new but currently undisclosed owner who is apparently in California.

From Sinwar To Sinwas

The top commander in Gaza of Hamas, and the planner and implementer of the October 7 massacre and kidnapping has been killed by the Israel Defense Forces.

The Times of Israel:  New details emerge of Sinwar’s final moments

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Maybe Hamas will learn from this that it is time to release the hostages and end the conflict they started, but I doubt that.

Can You Trust Any Statistic From The Biden-Harris Administration?

If the true statistic would make them look bad, the answer is clearly no.

We've seen the Bureau of Labor Statistics under Biden-Harris release, with great fanfare numbers showing job growth, and then the job numbers are quietly revised. Downward.  Every time, in some cases by 800,000 jobs after the good news is announced.

Now so too with the FBi and violent crime stats.

The FBI reported crime was down 2.1%, to benefit Democrats,

It has now quietly revised that decline to a 4.5% increase, which is quite a major and a notable increase.  Missed it by that much, I suppose,

Real Clear Investigations: Stealth Edit: FBI Quietly Revises Violent Crime Stats.

Democrat AntiSemitic Township Trustee Acts Just As Expected

 There's video of the Bloomfield Township meeting where Stephanie Fakih tries to dissimulate her way out of consequences for her hateful social media posts:

Stephanie Fakih starts off cautioning people not to label her or others (19:00).  The crowd gets quite a laugh out of that. After all,  she just labelled Americans and Israelis in her post as "scum". One has to admire the sheer effrontery of this gambit.

Of course according to Stephanie Fakih, it's not her the fault, but the fault of the Board and the news organizations for shining a spotlight on her posts, because she considers her statement to have nothing to do with the running of the township and thus it's perfectly fine (20:11).

She doesn't back down, she doesn't apologize, she instead propagandizes.

She goes on to claim of course she just means Zionism and not Jews and thus its all hunky-dory (this is a paraphrase), and diversity (so long as it hates "Zionists", of course)  is a good thing per her and then she goes on to claim she will never "stand to divide", whatever that means, after dividing the community with her post.

You can watch the whole thing including her supporters emoting and lying. Quite a show.

Well, That Was Difficult

Went to Jitsu last night.

First it was a lesson on escapes form inverted heel hooks, which are rather nasty things to be subject to in grappling. In short a properly set heel hook is going to tear your knee up, and fast. So learning about preventing it and knowing how to escape it is pretty important.

Next it was a fight sim session - meaning protecting yourself from punches (with gloves worn) with sparring simulating being attacked and then defending yourself from an attack.

Good practice, but when you're up against a late-20s aged opponent at the same skill level, while you're in the low 50s, it gets ugly pretty fast.

On the upside, once on the ground I was able to protect myself and have a position that made punches ineffective, and I was basically able to hold him off and prevent him from doing any damage whether by punching or other techniques.  Took a lot of work, but I managed it. But, what I could not do was escape from him and get to a dominant position. Physical strength has a quality all its own in a fight, even a simulated one, and I sure ain't as strong as I once was, even as my technique is likely better than ever. But I "survived" the encounter and that counts for something.

After that workout, it was then time for freestyle rolling.  I did decently at it.  I actually got some decent submissions on some opponents and got nailed myself as well, so I was both the fly and the windshield during the rolls.

Lots of fun with a great group of people and it was one heckuva workout, and some new techniques were learned.

A challenging class, and I'm a tad sore now, but it was still a great time.

Democrat Bloomfield Township Trustee Makes Public AntiSemitic Statements

The Oakland Press: Township Trustee Criticized For Calling Zionists scum

Of course, she's set her account to private. But, there's a screenshot, as can be seen in the article where she attacks Israeli and American "Zionists" (for Zionist just read Jews - as people like her do).  Stephanie Fakih is, to no one's surprise, a Democrat.

Now, she happens to be a Bloomfield Township Trustee and due to the outrage is apparently going to make a statement about her post tonight: C&G News Bloomfield Township trustee to address report of calling Zionists ‘scum’ in social media post.

She has the right to her opinion as she may wish, but there are consequences to racist opinions, and making her account private seems to be an acknowledgment that she got caught.

While she's not running for reelection, she should do the right thing and resign, but I suspect that will be not the most likely outcome. 

She instead seems to be calling on Muslims from outside of Bloomfield Township to appear at the meeting to support her, so the meeting could get interesting and it'll be fun to see how she tries to handle her mess.

I expect Rashida Tlaib will have a position waiting for her when she's done as trustee.

Quite The Impression There Gretchen

The Detroit News: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer feeds podcaster Dorito in 'weird' viral video

The video has the governor feeding the podcaster a Dorito chip (What Kamala has claimed is her favorite) while wearing a Kamala Harris / Walz cap, and a rather bizarre expression, to the kneeling podcaster in a rather bizarre tik tok video.

She's now walked back this rather weird stunt and apologized as to how it was perceived, after being called out on it especially as it appears to come across as either some weird dom/sub thing, or a bit of mockery towards communion celebrated by Catholics:

Mediate: Gretchen Whitmer Apologizes For Bizarre Doritos TikTok Stunt After Catholic Outrage

Not exactly a stunt a governor of a state should be participating in, really.

But that's our governor for you, when she's not killing the elderly with bad Covid decisions, she's all class (not) and ever eager to take a poke at those who don't get behind the Democrat party line.

Yom Kippur

Yesterday, I went to services for Yom Kippur.  The services were meaningful, as was the fast which I made through without issue or complaint.

After services at the mid-day I took a break and did a hike at Haven Hill in Highland Recreational Area.

The weather was absolutely perfect for a hike.

 Saw a swan on the pond there:

And then by the parking lot some Sandhill Cranes were wandering around the field.

Rather ungainly looking birds, and they seemed to be clowning around for the people watching them.

It was a nice couple mile hike under gorgeous conditions and rather meditative to be out in nature in between services.

Then had a very pleasant light break the fast meal.  It was a meaningful Yom Kippur.