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.

The Liberty Aviation Museum - Part 2

There's lots to see at the museum:

If you have interest in the naval side of World War 2, they have not one, but two PT boats undergoing restoration.  Once restored, they plan to give tours on Lake Erie in them.

 

To defend the airfield and the PT Boats they have multiple German small arms:

And if that's not enough they have some German Flak guns:

That's a 20mm to the left and a 37mm to the right of it.

 

If you get hungry, they have a German field Kitchen, complete with a mounted machine gun, though the Tin Goose diner next door has far better food.

They also have multiple World War 2 Vehicles on display:

 

 

 

It's a very impressive collection, and that's not all of it.

Well worth a visit to see these amazing historical artifacts in person.

The Liberty Aviation Museum

At Port Clinton airport, while waiting for the eclipse we toured the Liberty Aviation Museum.

The Museum has been growing steadily since it was opened at the airport in 2011. It has a very friendly staff and enthusiastic docents wandering around sharing their love of hisotry and knowledge of the artifacts on display.

It has a rather eclectic range of exhibits and restoration activities, and it is not all aviation related.

This range includes informs and costumes. 

Early airline uniforms:

The original uniforms worn int he series Hogan's Heroes:

The uniform Charlie Sheen worn as the Wild Thing, Ricky Vaughn in Major League:

The bathrobe worn by Alan Alda in MASH:

Pretty cool stuff.

Of course there are airplanes:

Georgie's Gal, a B-25 in flying condition.

A PBY Catalina undergoing restoration:

The PBY is a lot bigger in person than you would think from this picture. It's huge.

There's also a couple Ford Trimotors undergoing restoration to flying status.

A beautiful Stearman was on display:

A beautifully restored TBF Avenger, with its wings folded, was in the hangar:

Lots of things to see, with more pictures to follow.

Trip To The Totality

Originally, I was going to fly my eldest daughter and her boyfriend to Bowling Green, Ohio to see the totality.

That fell through as our maintenance officer grounded the Dakota yesterday after finding the left main landing gear had an issue and needed to be shimmed likely due to some of our flying club pilots being dumb and being on the brakes during landing.  Drat.

So, I got invited to go along as co-pilot with Scott, who had the other plane checked out.  Unfortunately, he had a guest, so I couldn't take the kids as we didn't have the seats available. He wanted me along to help handle the flight as he expected the airspace to be all sorts of busy.

Got to the airport this morning, and we got ready to go.  Scott would fly down and I would handle the radio, and we would switch on the way back.

Scott had filed IFR ahead of time which was a good idea. I got our clearance and we then headed out.  We planned a route from Pontiac to Adrian to Port Clinton to both keep out of what was going to be a busy Detroit Bravo airspace and to follow along the Lake Erie shoreline and not trying to cross the Lake.

It was a smooth flight out, I had fun handling a lot of radio traffic, and we were able to cut the corner of our route as Detroit Approach cleared us into the Bravo south of Ann Arbor, and then we bypassed Adrian and went direct to Port Clinton along the shoreline.

We passed by the Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station.

 Arriving at the terminal area for Port Clinton it got all sorts of busy.  Lots of IFR and VFR traffic all coming in to land and enjoy the eclipse festivities.  We approached from the east and Toledo approach had us divert from the approach for spacing.  We then got vectored back and then cancelled IFR and went VFR for a visual approach.  We then got into the traffic pattern and had a nice landing.

We then headed to the terminal and got marshaled to a parking spot.

 

Lots of other planes were there and many more were arriving. They did a good job keeping the terminal parking area organized.  We checked in, bought some fuel, paid a landing fee and then headed to the Liberty Aviation museum on the field to both tour the museum and enjoy the festivities.

Much more on the Liberty Aviation Museum shortly.

We had a good time, toured the museum, got lunch, and saw the eclipse.

 There was a good layer of clouds so the totality while visible was not super sharp but it was still cool.

Birds stopped chirping, the temperature measurably fell, the airport runway and taxi lights came on automatically and it was an extremely cool experience.  Well worth the trip.

After that, we packed up and got ready to head back.  Pretty much everyone was leaving at the same time so we waited a bit to let the rush clear and then headed out.

I was flying this leg and did the departure from Port Clinton and climbed to 5,500 feet. We got flight following on the way back, and they first had us change course for traffic, and then let us into Detroit's Bravo having us descend to 3,500. We stayed in the Bravo all the way up to Ann Arbor where they kicked us out of the Bravo, and had us fly a bit west and then on to Pontiac.

On the way back, we could see traffic way backed up on the highways below us. 

Got a little bumpy at 3,500 compared to how smooth it was at 5,500 but no worries.

Then Detroit Approach instructed me to descend to 3,000, and they handed us off to Pontiac Tower.  I got to do an extended downwind and then follow other traffic in for landing on 27R.

I made a darn nice crosswind landing with winds right out of the south at 9 gusting 12 knots with no issues. 

Both Detroit and Toledo Approach handled the throng of air traffic very well, and Detroit clearing aircraft into the Bravo really helped a lot with traffic flow.

That was my first trip out of state in the Flying Club's aircraft and it was a ton of fun. Need to do more of that. 

It was a great trip to see the totality, and it was totally worth it.

That's 1.3, 1 landing, and one totality experienced.

A Cloudy And Grey Monday

For Labor Day we decided to head off to Vemrillion, Ohio to spend a day at Lake Erie. Abby was staying at College so it was Tash, Leah, and I.

The forecast initially said thunderstorms, then no storms, then a 20% chance of rain, then no rain. So the forecast kept changing.

So we decided to try our luck, and luck was not quite with us. We got in the car and headed off with road-snacks and some in-car entertainment.

From Michgian through Ohio it was pretty solid overcast, if not low IFR conditions all the way. When we reached Vermillion, The weather did not improve, and there was indeed rain, which petered out shortly after we arrived at the beach, leaving there were lots of clouds with a fully overcast sky.

We did as the sign instructed.

No, the Clouds would not be overlooked.

Not a day for swimming, as due to the choppy water and there was a major undertow warning for the beach as well as quite constantly blowing wind.  A few people wandered the beach, but we had it practically to ourselves. On our previous visit when you could hardly find a spot.

So we pulled out our chairs and had some snacks on the beach and read a bit and watched the rather choppy waves.

After awhile it got a  bit chilly in the wind so we packed up and headed off. We walked around for a bit then drove home, stopping at IKEA for some items along the way. Got home, tended to lots of things that needed doing, made dinner, and now just relaxing for the rest of the night.

Still, it was a nice calm time, and not a bad little family road trip.

Anniversary Trip Was Not A Cruise But It Was Still Good

We had planned to do a cruise for our 25th wedding anniversary yesterday but Covid kinda put the kibosh on that.

Instead we exchanged anniversary cards ion the morning and had breakfast and then we headed out on a drive to Elmore, Ohio. 

Why Elmore?  Because their Schedel Gardens and Arboretum is open to the public while Ann Arbor's botanical gardens are still closed - yes open air gardens are closed still due to Covid.   Covidiotic.

So we headed to Elmore, which is a rather quintessential American small town.  Strangers actually cheerfully say hi to you when you're walking down the street. We stopped for lunch at the Village Inn which was delightful.   While service was slow, as everywhere is these days as help is hard to find, the food was worth the wait.  I had the Buffalo Chicken Chink -0 basically chunks of lightly breaded fried chicken in a buffalo sauce which was great, and Tash had the Greek salad.  We also tried a Birch Beer which was rather tasty and sort of a wintergreen root beer in flavor.  Good stuff.

Then we went to the Schedel Gardens and Arboretum.

To say its picturesque is an understatement.  Multiple themed gardens and really a beautiful place.

The Japanese themed garden was very serene, peaceful, and beautiful.

They have a large selection of Bonsai trees including this one Ponderosa Pine dating back to 1941 that is still going strong.

They also have a species of redwood tree, the Dawn Redwood that were thought to be extinct until rediscovered some valleys in China during the Second World War. 

 

Lots of things to see, though the peonies have yet to fully bloom and their vegetable and flower gardens are just starting to grow.  It was a very nice time.

After that we headed home, narrowly missing getting into a car wreck as a fellow made a left turn right into a car approaching straight down the road at high speed. Both had a green light but the left turn definitely lacked the right of way.  massive bang sound and just missed us.  Not fun.  Both cars had airbags deployed but they seemed ok and a sheriff's car was right there. 

We got home safely, rested and changed and then headed out to a nice restaurant, It's a Matter of Taste on Union Lake for dinner on their Patio.  Excellent food, service, and atmosphere.

It made for a very nice anniversary day indeed.

University Visits - Oberlin

Day One We headed out of Michigan and into Ohio.  The roads immediately got better, the drivers worse.

We first stopped at Oberlin College.

Unfortunately with Covid, the buildings were all closed to visitors so it was all an external ride and walk about tour.

Oberlin is in a rather pleasant town.

We also stopped at Gibson's Bakery which is rather famous due to its mistreatment at the hand of Oberlin's administration - as can be seen by viewing the entire story over at Legal Insurrection.

We met one of the Gibson family who was working that day.  Super nice guy. We had a great chat about jiu-jitsu as Abby was wearing her jiu-jitsu sweatshirt and he had been practicing for quite some time and was even involved in the Oberlin Jiu-Jitsu club back when they had one.  

He was not negative about Oberlin College in any way, didn't discuss the dispute, and didn't do anything to dissuade a possible applicant to the college - even with how his family had been badly treated by the college administration.

Oberlin is overall a nice university in a small town setting.

Overall, Oberlin is rather heavily focused on music and the liberal arts, whereas Abby is all about science, so it may not be one of her top picks.  So, on to the next scheduled stop at a University in the next state.

Independence Day In Ohio

For Independence Day we drove to Vermillion, Ohio to enjoy small town America, and to take the kids to Lake Erie for the first time.

Vermillion is on the shores of Lake Erie, A nice picturesque town where people from Cleveland come to go boating with their yachts, and there's some darn nice yachts there.

The town wasn't very crowded, and many people wore masks walking around, but most did not when outside. Stores had signs limiting guest to 5 at a time with masks on in the stores stores, so we checked out the various art galleries and other shops for a bit. Ohio tends to be less uptight about masks, etc., than Michigan and has opened up quicker and been les dictatorial about it throughout.

They also have a nice park with a couple naval guns on display:

They're 32-pounder smooth-bore Dahlgren guns from the US Civil War era with anchors signifying naval usage.

We had lunch in the park, doing takeout from the Main Street Soda Grill - burgers, fries, onion rings, milkshakes and ice cream floats. Everything was great.

Then on to Lake Erie:

We had a nice swim and relaxed on the beach.

Now the only Great Lake they haven't at least dipped their toes into is Lake Superior - and we'll fix that.

Then, home in time to watch fireworks and have dinner. It was a great Independence Day.

Random Thoughts On Road Travel Through Different States

Michigan roads seriously suck. You can actually feel the difference when you leave the state and enter Ohio.

Ohio drivers, for some reason, seem compelled to pass you on the right of the highway, even when the left lane is clear and available for passing. Why this is, no one knows.

Ohio is also a helluva long state, and just as you think you've made it, the area in Cincinnati right before the bridge between Cincinnati and Covington, Kentucky is always under construction, always having a goofy traffic jam and the signage basically sucks. Again, no reason why, it just is, Every. Single. Time.

Tennessee drivers tend to be fine, although just as in the above states, BMW drivers have not ponied up for the expensive turn signal option for their vehicles.

Georgia - Atlanta traffic on 75 really sucks, and Atlanta goes on forever. Not having the express lane open was a BS move there Atlanta, really. The traffic just past Atlanta near the 475 Valdosta bypass somehow manages to suck even more and go even slower. But at least there are good BBQ stops close to the highway which makes up for it somewhat.

Florida drivers are their own special breed:

Yep, lots of left lane hogs at or below the limit, with lots of people in all lanes that couldn't find a speed limit with both hands. Those people were coupled with those who thought the speed limit should be ignored and weave in between those who don't doing about 95. Watched one moron do 10 lane changes going across all lanes no less, in less than 3 miles, complete with tailgating before each lane change, and it didn't actually get him all that farther than if he just stayed in a lane.

The most important question with Florida drivers is: Can someone please tell me how the living hell you can manage to be useless enough cause an accident on a clear day, with perfectly smooth and dry roads, with said accident being big enough to shut down the entire freeway going south to a complete halt for over an hour and a half?

That was no fun parked sitting in that and finally seeing 4 tow trucks come up from behind us and then go on up to the accident location and it finally began to open up after that. Sheesh.

One possible answer could have been drivers like the one idiot I saw texting with both hands, while speeding on the highway and doing a fair bit of weaving, because hey, who needs to touch a steering wheel when going 80-85 mph, texting is more important, right?

It was an adventure getting to Florida last week, and that was without any particularly bad weather aside from a dash of rain in spots.

Another Instance Of Educational Zero Tolerance Follies

Apparently, merely pointing fingers in a manner reminiscent of pointing a gun can get a 10 year old suspended from school these days.

The Detroit News: Ohio student, 10, points finger like gun, is suspended

A central Ohio principal says she suspended a 10-year-old boy from school for three days for pretending his finger was a gun and pointing it at another student’s head.

Yet another example of zero tolerance equaling zero sense and leading to absurd results. A three day suspension for using a hand as a handgun? Wow. No point just telling the kid not to do it and move on right? That would make too much sense. Instead let's deprive him of three days of school just to show that it can be done. Who knows how long you're suspended if you actually hit another kid. Sheesh.

The kid was just playing as kids do, but you better be careful kid, that'll show you not to play and it'll go on your permanent record!

Dive 247 - A Deep January Dive in Gilboa Quarry

Early this morning, an intrepid band gathered at Keith's place to load a car with dive gear to go for a dive at Gilboa Quarry in Findlay, Ohio,

Unlike local lakes, the quarry is not frozen over and the latest reports stated it had 39 degree water and good visibility.

We planned to dive the deep section and then move into the shallower areas.

So for this dive we packed full tanks and scooters and all the related gear and headed to Ohio.

We reached the quarry and after filling out the world's most over-lawyered waiver, we headed into the depths.

Sure enough, the water temp was 39 degrees and the visibility was fantastic, probably 80 feet which is incredible.

After a descent of two minutes, we hit a new record depth for me - 118 feet down. The water temp at 118 feet was cooler at 32 degrees.

Scootering around made the dive a lot of fun and let us get around the quarry quite effortlessly. Now I've got some video footage to edit.

Here's Chad showing how to scooter in style.

We left the deep end and headed into the shallows. We dove around and in the Grumman Gufstream

and around and inside the huge Sikorsky Double Deuce CH-37 Mojave helicopter, both at 35 feet depth. The chopper is so big you can scooter right through the cargo doors and out the side without touching any part of it.

In addition to my heated vest, I put a Little Hotties Hand Warmers in each glove. This made a huge difference. With the warmer in each palm of the sealed gloves my hands an fingers actually stayed warm the entire dive. I'd recommend these to anyone who is outdoors in the cold or underwater.

A great deep dive in January.

Dive details
Dive Time: 36 minutes
Water Temp: 39 degrees
Max Depth: 118 feet
Average depth: 60 feet
Breathing Gas used: 1600 Psi

COSI Day 2 - A Dose Of Knowledge And Culture

In the morning we had breakfast at the hotel, went for a swim and then headed back to COSI.

On Day 2 We did the second floor. Before we went up however we did the energy exhibit.

At the exhibit there is a torture devise where you put your hands on some copper plates whicle someone else cranks a generator so you can feel what electric current feels like.

Tash and Abby lasted less than a second, I did a bit more. Leah on the other hand could have kept her hands on the plates for hours - she didn't feel it at all, which was kinda strange but certainly a neat trick.

Up on the second floor is a very extensive exhibit about the human body and health.

We did tests of strength, hear rate both resting and active and flexibility.

After those we signed up for a lab to make hand sanitizer. After being dressed in a lab coat, safety glasses and gloves, You had a choice of using alcohol, tea tree oil and witch hazel or any combination in a test tube with an aloe base to design your own sanitizer.

Then you got to test your formula using a petri dish that you first touched with your unwashed hands in one section, left a section alone for a control and the third you touched after using your sanitizer.

The lab was run by students from OSU's College of Pharmacology and they did a great job leading the kids through the scientific method. Then the dishes were incubated and you could check online later to see how you did.

Leah did a sanitizer with more alcohol than anything else, and it showed in the results:

Tash deliberately omitted the alcohol:

The lesson: Alcohol kills germs kids, tea tree oil and witch hazel alone aren't going to cut it.

Next we went to the Progress Exhibit with walkable streetscapes and shop interiors from 1898 and 1962.

Next the kids got to explore Space. After landing the lunar lander on the moon and crash-landing the space shuttle a few times they jumped in the Gemini capsule for liftoff and re-entry:

Whoever designed the Gemini simulator had a sense of humor - take a look at some of the labels on the lights and buttons:

For the finale at COSI, the kids headed outside and between the two of them lifted a Honda off the ground into the air:

Give your kids a place to stand, and they will move the car. Then tomorrow, they'll move the world.

After COSI we headed to the Cheesecake Factory. In Columbus there was no waiting at all and we were immediately seated. Compare that to the 2-3 hour wait currently at the Michigan Cheesecake Factory in Novi Michigan. Great food, great service - I had the Hibachi Steak which seriously rocked, and Stupendous Cheesecake! The family shared two slices - a Peppermint Bark and a Smores Cheesecake. Verily they were ambrosia upon the plates. If you've got a Cheesecake Factory near you, it's worth it, except for the long waits at the new Michigan location. Hilariously enough, at the restaurant we ran into some friends from Michigan that happened to have just arrived that day and they were taking their kids to COSI the next day - what were the odds of that?

After that we headed back to the Hotel. In the morning, we had breakfast and hit the road and headed back home. With no driving rain while driving this time, we made it home in great time.

COSI is really worth a visit, and Columbus is quite the nice city to visit.