Just Stop Oil Needs To Be Stopped

Nihilism often cannot be reasoned with, unless you call smacking the nihilists with a 2x4 to be reasoning. This is especially the case when it comes to environmentalist nihilists.

 The Detroit News: Climate protesters arrested after painting Stonehenge monument orange

One should note that the clean up and the damage to the environment from the spray paint, and the chemicals needed to remove them having to clean up after these tantrums by these "environmentalists" are harming the environment, not to mention a monument made of natural materials that has stood there for thousands of years, the very thing they claim to be all about protecting.

It's a sad commentary that these "protesters" are most likely rather privileged and wealthy ideologues.  Privileged and wealthy ideologues who have become so wealthy and privileged due to the very surplus and profits created by the same civilization and scientific advances they now despise and wish to destroy.

At some point Just Stop Oil and the other proggy enviro whackos need to be declared hostis humani generis and dealt with accordingly.

Maybe There Actually Ought To Be A Law Sometimes

Well, my fellow Michiganders, if you have a certain rather rare (at least I really, really hope this is rare) kink, you've now got a shrinking window to act on it without running afoul of the law. 

Verily, If you're a necromancer or necromaniac, or both, this new law is gonna cut down on your opportunities.  For everyone else, well, not at all.

The Detroit Free Press: Bills criminalizing necrophilia in Michigan head to Gov. Whitmer's desk

Yes, it is, to my and many other people's surprise, apparently totally legal to have an intimate relationship with a corpse in Michigan.  

At least, it currently is until this bill becomes law.

The bills, collectively known as Melody's Law, came after a west Michigan man was convicted of the December 2021 killing of 64-year-old Melody Rohrer.

Prosecutors said Rohrer was out for a walk in Van Buren County, about 15 miles southeast of Kalamazoo, when Colby Martin, 31, ran her down with his pickup truck and loaded her body into his vehicle. He later committed sexual acts with the body before dumping it in a wooded area in St. Joseph County.

A jury later convicted Martin of murder, failing to stop at the scene of a fatal crash and concealing a death. Prosecutors could not charge him with the alleged sexual crimes because Michigan, unlike many other states, had no law on the books specifically criminalizing necrophilia.

Yeah, this is certainly a weird case.

While I'm generally not one for saying "There oughta be a law",  I can understand wanting to add some extra penalties for what this murderer did and preventing such acts in the future.  

Apparently, both sides of the aisle thought so too, as the bills passed unanimously in both the Michigan House and Senate.

Father's Day Adventures

So yesterday we headed to Ann Arbor to hang spend Father's Day with Abby.

Leah declared she would chauffeur me and off we went. She's become quite a good driver so there was a minimum of screaming involved even though she really needs a bumper sticker that states "Curbs Fear Me".

We met with Abby, and we then headed off to the secret location for my Father's Day.

We drove along and soon found ourselves, to my surprise, at Willow Run Airport.

Knowing me well, they had decided to take me to The Yankee Air Museum.

So they paid the admission fee and we went in and wandered around.

Quite a few aircraft in addition to the gorgeous F-4 Phantom II are on display.

 

An AH-1 Cobra, a  Spad, Harrier, F-84F in Thunderbirds colors and an F-18 Hornet in Blue Angels livery, and an A-4 Skyhawk. 

There was also a nice exhibit on Rosie the Riveter and women in the war effort, as well as many other small things to see and some hands-on exhibits as well.

The kids had fun in the cockpit of the KC-135.  As they "flew", I adjusted the frequencies on the radio stack to Detroit Approach and Willow Run's Tower, and set the Nav aids for the ILS approach for accuracy.

 

As well as a neat display of military rations from 1907 through the issuance of the MRE.

Combat Tea apparently was a thing:

It's a very nice small museum, the docents are friendly and knowledgeable, and it was a great time.

After the museum, we headed back into Ann Arbor and went to Tomukun for Korean BBQ, which was fabulous.  They bring you the meat and you cook it at the table yourself on the table top grill.  We had the thin sliced brisket and the marinated bulgogi beef as well as veggies and some great appetizers.  Simply amazing.

I then took them out to ice cream to finish a great day.  We then walked Abby home and drove back.

A fantastic Father's Day with two of the greatest kids ever.

Saturday Fly Day

So yesterday I had planned to depart Pontiac at 9:15, in order to meet Mr. B. and Eaton Rapids Joe at Jackson for a breakfast get together.

I arrived early at the airport, entered the hangar and the lights would not turn on.   Strange.

More importantly, the hangar door would not open either.  Not good.

It turns out that all the hangars on the north side of the field had no power and maintenance was coming by with a generator to open hangars in the order that calls were received.

So, I had plently of time to preflight the aircraft with the man door open for light, and to even wax the leading edges of the plane wings, cowling and stabilator using a wax suggested by Mr. B. to make bug removal easier on my return.   Turns out it's not just good stuff, but fantastic stuff, great for your car, too.

9:15 was clearly not going to happen, so I waited patiently, got everything ready to go, and finally at around 10:10 they came by and I was able to open the hangar door, pull the plane out, close the hangar door and get on my way. I already had the ATIS for Pontiac and got moving in very short order.

I was finally airborne at 10:20. Clearly not going to arrive at the planned 10 am time.

I got flight following from Detroit from a very helpful and friendly controller and who helped me and a jet keep separation routed around some glider activity which was helpful.

See the jet in the picture? We had been on a much closer and converging course before he carefully adjusted our flight paths.  This is why flight following pays off.

Running at 130 knots indicated and 146 knots ground speed,  or a lovely 168 miles per hour, I got to Jackson in good time, and arrived to hear Mr. B's callsign on the radio.

The airport was pretty busy and the controller was doing a great job of coordinating aircraft coming in from all sides.

I was setup to land on Runway 7 and Mr. B was slotted in right behind me.  He courteously let the tower know he'd do his best not to collide with me, being a friend and all that. This was comforting.

I landed, coming in with a bit too much speed trying to move along and keep separation, so it wasn't the best landing, but I got off the runway quickly and headed to the terminal parking area, and Mr. B followed right behind.

We met up with Eaton Rapids Joe and had a great breakfast and conversation.  Always good to see them both.

Then I and Mr. B. both took off, I back to Pontiac, and he to Mr. B. Land.  We took off after a cheerful departure from Jackson Tower - the controllers there are really great folks.

I then got flight following from Great Lakes Approach that lasted for some traffic advisories for just the immediate Jackson area, and they held me at 3,500 feet to avoid traffic for a bit, and then they dumped me as VFR with no further radar services.    No handoff to Detroit or anything.  Great Lakes must have been busy with IFR services and were dumping  their VFR traffic (VFR flight following is a as available service - and  a very useful one for everyone's safety but it is as controller workload permits) as they did it to a few other planes. 

I then came into Pontiac VFR, was given a downwind entry to 27L and did a darn nice landing.

Thankfully, power had been fully restored by my return and all was well.

The bugs came off a lot easier after the wax application and I saved a fair bit of time cleaning the plane. 

It was a  gorgeous day for flying, and a very good time having a great breakfast with two real great people.

That's 1.4 and 2 landings.

Father's Day Dad Joke

Q. Where does 007 invest?

A.  In the Bond market.

Happy Father's Day to all my fellow dads out there.

Not Exactly A Statistic For Michigan To Be Proud Of

The Detroit Free Press: Michigan surpasses California as the top cannabis market in the U.S. by sales volume

Michigan with a population of 10 million surpasses California with a population of 39 million in terms of amount of marijuana sold. In terms of cash, in Michigan in total sales is a $4 billion industry compared to California's $6 billion marijuana industry as the devil's lettuce cost more in the land of fruits, nuts, and flakes.

This may account for the ever-present unpleasant smell of skunk in this state.

The article notes Marijuana is cheaper in Michigan than California as we have a better business climate so opening and operating marijuana businesses is cheaper and less tied up in red tape, and Michigan doesn't tax the electric lettuce quite as much.

That Michigan is leading in Soma purchases and consumption is hardly something to be proud of as a state, and consuming more than a state three times as large is kinda worrisome for its overall impact on the state's populace.

But, maybe it will lead to some new Michigan Visitor's Bureau slogans:

Great Lakes, Great Weed!

Pure Marijuana

Michigan - It's Dope!

All Skunk Smells Lead to Michigan!

Michigan, The Skunk State!

A Truly Tremendous Use of Your Federal Taxpayer Dollars

Yes,  Visit Detroit, via a grant from the Michigan Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus, which itself got the money from Covid relief dollars, is spending a million plus to sponsor a football team to wear "Visit Detroit"  on their jerseys.

The team? Burnley FC in Burnely, England, United Kingdom.

This idea likely came up after the Visit Detroit execs were wondering how to spend their Covid funds they received before the grant ran out, and they had just watched a few episodes of Ted Lasso.

The Detroit Free Press:  Why Visit Detroit became prominent sponsor for English soccer team Burnley FC

Burnley you ask?  it's a thriving metropolis of 73,000 in Lancashire, England. Currently the team is not in the top league having been relegated. Clearly Burnley is a potential source for throngs of English visitors to come visit Detroit.  Maybe visitors will fly Emirates to get here. Nothing against Burnley mind you, it seems like a nice enough place, but for Detroit to burn through Covid funds to sponsor its football team is kinda bonkers.

The Clarets don't have quite the name recognition of say Manchester City or Arsenal, or such, being currently ranked 23rd, but when you've got a million plus you need to burn quickly, needs must and all that, wot?

Sounds like an absolutely great use of over a million dollars in Covid (federal taxpayer or debt sourced) funds.

Tuesday Fly Day - Ferry Flight To Adrian

Today after some work I left the office and headed to the airport. 

The club needed the Archer ferried to Adrian as the avionics shop had stated they were finally ready for us and had booked us to arrive today. I was originally going to fly with James, but he had a last-minute issue so I had to herd cats and find another pilot in the club to do the ferry flight. Scott was available in the afternoon, but not the early morning before work as I would have preferred,  but beggar ferry pilots can;t be choosers, so we made it happen. this afternoon.

So I flew the Dakota down, and Scott flew the Archer. We both got flight following and headed off to the southwest.

A beautiful day, but since it was the afternoon, it was rather bumpy.

Cruising in the Dakota at about 140 knots ground speed was pretty nice.

 Overflew Ann Arbor and kept clear of Detroit's Bravo airspace.

I then did a practice RNAV 23 approach visually using the autopilot in to Adrian and went to the avionics shop.

Scott in the slower Archer soon arrived and we dropped the Archer off at the shop.

We then piled back in the Dakota, and I flew us back, again getting flight following and requesting an approach in at Pontiac.

While remaining outside the Bravo, we could see Detroit Metro Airport:

As we got closer to DTW, they had me descend from 5,500 to 4,500 to be under their corridor.

I then put the foggles on and flew on instruments.  Since I had a safety pilot, might as well get in an approach that counts for currency.

We did the RNAV 27L starting at KUHNA, and it worked quite nicely, and I flew a good approach.  Scott didn't even scream once. A very nice landing which he appreciated, and that was our ferry flight. Cleaned off the bugs and we were all set.

So, we will see if Lucy will again yank away the football or if we actually get the autopilot installed this time.

That's 1.6 for free as it was a club flight, which is always the best kind of flying time. 2 nice landings, and 1 instrument approach.

Who Ya Gonna Believe?

Al Jazeera, the Qatari-based terrorist supporting "news" organization, in response to the claim that one of the kidnappers and holders of the Isralei hostages that were rescued, "journalist" Abdallah Aljamal, had any connection to him:

Yahoo: Al-Jazeera Denies Connection With Journalist Who Israel Says Held Hostages in His Home

Also Al Jazeera:

 So who ya gonna believe, Al Jazeera, or your lyin' eyes?

Meanwhile, In The USA

 We have pro-Hamas protesters defacing our national monuments:

And not being arrested for it.

Blaze Media:  Huge pro-Palestine protest surrounds White House, smoke bombs set off, progressives demand 'butcher' Biden be arrested for war crimes

PM: BREAKING: Pro-Palestinian protesters surround White House, clash with police

Interesting how it is not getting any play in my local papers today, at all. If you rely on either the Detroit News or the Detroit Free Press for your news, you would have no clue this demonstration and defacement occurred - at all.

In Michigan, meanwhile, The Goodman Acker law firm was vandalized by Pro-Hamas scum because Acker is both Jewish and on the University of Michigan Board. Non-Jewish board members did not have their workplaces vandalized - funny, that.

The College Fix: ‘Antisemitism’: U. Michigan regent’s office vandalized with pro-Palestinian graffiti 

Note the red hand symbols as part of the vandalism.

The red hands symbol is used by the pro-Hamas types use. It  commemorates the Ramallah Lynching that took place in 200 where two Israelis were murdered in a Palestinian Authority Police Station and the murdered held his bloody hands up to the window.   And of course the empty-headed Hollywood types wore it as a symbol for a ceasefire.

Yep, these are the progressive and pro-Hamas scum that the Biden Administration wants to cozy up to for votes.

Israelis Rescue 4 Hostages - Kamala Commiserates With Hamas

Israel's National Police Hostage Rescue Unit,YAMAM, along with supporting forces, just pulled off a stunning coordinated rescue of 4 hostages in two separate locations within the Gaza Strip.

The Jerusalem Post: IDF rescues four hostages from Hamas captivity in daring Gaza operation

Now named Operation Arnon, after the 34-year old Yamam Commander Arnon Zamora killed during the rescue operation, the rescue mission successfully retrieved 4 hostages held by Hamas since October 7.  Hamas in this case includes a Hamas journalist that works for Al Jazeera and the Palestine Chronicle (a media organization with ties to the USA) who held the hostages in his house. he won;t be holding anyone hostage ever again, nor spouting propaganda anymore either.

So, of course, the Biden Administration sends Kamala out to kiss up to the pro-Hamas Islamists that they are counting on for support in November in Michigan, Minnesota and elsewhere:

Fox News: Kamala Harris mourns death of Palestinians in raid that rescued 4 Israeli hostages

Disgusting, that. 

The BBC tried to top that stupidity by asking the IDF spokesman why the IDF didn't warn the Gazans ahead of time about the raid.  Yes, the bint really seriously asked that.

Be sure to take the Hamas-run Health Ministry claims of casualties with a ton of salt. We know they lie, they know they lie, the media reporting the figures know they lie, and yet they still credulously report them, verbatim, as truth.

After all, if Hamas and Gaza doesn't want casualties, they can end this by releasing all the hostages.  If they don't want civilian casualties they can quit fighting from behind civilians and quit using "civilians" to keep the hostages prisoner.

An outstanding rescue operation by the IDF, Border Police, and intelligence agencies.

Took The Piper Dakota Flying T'Other Day

Yesterday morning I got up, did the weather brief and headed off to the airport.

After the preflight, I started up the Piper Dakota and arranged for flight following and headed to Jackson.

Flying at 4,500 feet, I had a bit of a headwind but it was very calm and beautiful out with only a light wind of about 7 knots from 260 or so.

A gorgeous day for flying. 

I flew with the autopilot, really working on gaining competency with it.  

In NAV mode it seamlessly followed the track to Jackson. And with the Alt mode enabled it captured 4,500 feet perfectly.

I then had to switch to HDG (heading) mode, as Detroit Approach routed me around an aircraft that was not communicating and seemed determined to merge with my aircraft on their radar. That worked, and after a few heading shifts I was able to get back on NAV mode to Jackson.

I then did a practice approach to Jackson's Runway 25.  Not for IFR currency, as it doesn't count, as it was clear conditions and I was the only one in the plane. But, I used it to remain sharp with the approach procedure and also to use the autopilot on the approach to gain further competency with that in a safe environment.

Autopilot worked well, and I easily adjusted the descent using the vertical speed mode to follow the approach path down and stay on the RNAV glideslope. Then I disconnected the autopilot and hand flew the last portion of the approach and did a good landing. Jackson Tower is a really friendly and hospitable controller and I passed along greetings from a Pontiac controller to the Jackson controller.

I then taxi'd to the ramp, parked the plane and headed in to the terminal building.

I then met up with Mr. B., who had also flown in for breakfast, and we had a very enjoyable time.

We each had the Pilot's Omelette and it certainly fit the bill.  It was a lot of food and real good.  Service was great, the food delightful. So, if you're ever in the Jackson area, eating at The Apron is highly recommended. 

We then preflighted our aircraft and got ready to depart.

Again the weather was nice and clear, but a tad bumpier as the ground had been heating up, and I climbed to 5,500 feet for the return trip.

I then got routed around some glider traffic, and got a practice approach for the RNAV 27L and I soon had Pontiac airport in sight (top center of the photo below).

I then got a landing clearance to be number three after a few other aircraft.  I kept on coming in, and then they cancelled my landing clearance but also told me that the aircraft would continue to hold short and I was to keep on coming in.

That was a bit confusing, as I was very much on final by that point.  So, I kept on approaching and was ready to do a go-around if I didn't get a landing clearance.

Coming up on the airport fence I then got my landing clearance and I continued the final approach to land and did a good landing.

I then put the plane away and got it refueled and washed all the bugs off, and it was the end of a very enjoyable morning. Always great to get in the air and meeting up with Mr. B. is always a good time.

That's 1.8  (1.1 there and .7 back) and 2 good landings.

The Longest Day - 80 Years Later

80 years ago today, the greatest amphibious operation the world has ever seen headed for the shores of occupied France.

Thanks to the courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle of the airmen, sailors and soldiers from the United States, Britain, Canada, Poland and other allied nations, the Nazis stranglehold on continental Europe was broken.  Much more hard fighting would be needed to bring the war to an end, but the beginning of the end took place on June 6, 1944.

Forget it Jake, It's Detroit.

The more things change, the more they stay the same:

The Detroit Free Press: Feds: Embezzled millions funded ousted Riverfront Conservancy CFO's lavish lifestyle

Is anyone at this point really surprised about embezzlement by Detroit officials? 

Apparently some credulous fools are: Amid $40 million embezzlement probe, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy has work to do

Say it ain’t so, Riverfront Conservancy. 

Like the rest of metro Detroit, we've watched with dismay as news of financial malfeasance at the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy trickled out over the last month: A Michigan State Police investigation into missing money, quickly handed off to the FBI. The suspension and firing of the conservancy's CFO. And an auditor's report that estimates the sum of money potentially diverted by that CFO — who may now be missing — at more than $40 million.

The riverfront — the conservancy — must survive this.

But regaining the faith of the community that believed in the riverfront — rebuilding trust with the funders who paid for much of this transformation — must be job one.

 Not sure how the Detroit Free Press Editorial Board could write that last bit with a straight face.

It's the same Detroit Corruption Game, only the players have changed.

Graduation Day

Today was the day for Leah's graduation ceremony from International Academy.

Slightly over 300 students from the three IA campuses (IA is a public magnet high school that draws students form multiple school districts in Michigan and then rigorously puts them through the grinder and gives them a great education, were set to graduate today.

The ceremony was held at Pine Knob Concert Theater and there was metal detectors at the entrances.  Getting in was interesitng.

On going in past the metal detectors, they checked a guy with a backpack right in front of me and let him through with his backpack. All fine and good.

Then the guy checking stuff, after looking in my camera bag and seeing it had a camera and lenses in its aid my camera bag can’t come in.

I pointed out the guy’s backpack was much larger than my camera bag. Again he said a camera bag can’t come in. 

“Ok” I said, slinging the camera bag onto my back, “my camera bag identifies as a backpack.”

I, and the bag, got in.

Stupid rules and stupid people require stupid responses, just saying. 

As you can tell as she headed up to receive her diploma, from the UF she decorated her cap with, Leah will be going to University of Florida!

Note the multiple honor cords shes wearing - graduating summa cum laude, Mock Trial Captain, Peer Corps Captain, Spanish Honors, National Honors Society, and IB Honors.

The ceremony was great. Only downside was with a few Muslim students had some Pali-type keffiyahs over their gowns, and a couple waved them around when they got their degree, and a couple also had scarves that showed Israel replaced completely with "Palestine" on them (again River to the Sea is a call for the destruction of Israel and everyone who isn't clueless knows it). But, there was no disruption, which was good.

A proud parent moment, and it celebrated another amazing accomplishment by Leah.  This was the result of 4 years of really hard work and dedication on her part.  The kid has grown into a fine young lady and will make her mark in the world.

Wash N Wax

Today was the club's Wash N Wax day to clean the planes.

With a good member turnout the work went quickly.

I got to taxi the Archer to the wash stand and we then soaped it down and power washed it clean.

 Then I taxi'd it back to the hangar and we dried the plane off, applied wax and buffed it to a shine (Mr. B., the wax you suggested is now on order so we'll have better stuff soon).

We then did the same with the Dakota once it returned form the Wash Stand.

With everyone working it only took and hour to get it all done.

Then we got to checkout this nice 1967 Chevelle SS that a nearby hangar owner drove up in.  He checked out our nice and shiny planes, and we got to checkout his very nice car.

All original except for some hoses and the white paint on top which had been redone.   Per the owner, the original A/C has a leak and is inop, especially with the cost of freon these days,  Other than that, she's not just working and all-original but an absolute beaut of a car. 

It was a beautiful morning and a good time with some good people, cleaning planes, talking aviation, and admiring a classic car.