THE END OF THE DAY

Over The Limit?
UNDER ARREST!
Please don't drink and drive

"Let's all be careful out there!"

AIRLINE PILOTS

HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR

What little most of us know about airline pilots is that disembodied voice over the PA that welcomes us aboard, and then tells us the weather at our destination, on arrival. There have been anecdotes about pilots forgetting to shut off the PA and then making statements to the first officer that are broadcast plane-wide. Here are some pilots being interviewed while undergoing flight simulator training.


Mahalo to Happy Thoughts for discovering more flight humor.

***

In other, Hawai'i related, airline news. Aloha Airlines cargo division abruptly ceased all operations. It appears that their ground services operation has also gone under.

Since the cargo division handled 85% of all air cargo traffic in the State, things are expected to get a bit dicey for the perishable goods market. Milk, produce, bakery items, prescription drugs and the US Mail all relied on Aloha to transport their products to the neighbor islands from O'ahu (Honolulu). Also affected are UPS, FedEx and DHL ground transport companies. The general consensus is that we can expect perishables to double or triple in price at the local retail level. Mau'i may fare a bit lighter, since we do have the Hawai'i Superferry making daily trips between Honolulu Harbor and Kahului Harbor. Service by the ferry to the Big Island and Kaua'i are still in limbo. While there are barges shipped every day to all the islands, these are via containers and most of the perishables would not fill a container. Thus using such an option would be not cost effective.

Quite a few of the major mainland airlines used Aloha's ground services division for baggage handling, maintenance and ticketing services. That also appears to be gone. Which means the majors are scambling to find a way to service their customers at the various airports in the state.

The rough edges of paradise are beginning to unravel.

Over The Limit?
UNDER ARREST!
Please don't drink and drive

"Let's all be careful out there!"

265 DAYS

AND COUNTING

Dubya is going to hold a rare press conference today. I plan to wait until his spin doctors have a chance to re-write all his misstatements, so I can actually understand what the hell he is talking about.

Oh, shit. I just did the time conversion. He's talking right now as I type. A 10:30 AM news conference in DC translates to 4:30 AM here.

***

I see that North Carolina's Governor Mike Easley has endorsed Clinton today. Not that it makes a hell of a lot of difference. The number of delegates up for grab via the primary process is not enough to push either Clinton nor Obama over the top. The decision making will be done by the "super delegates". What is a "super delegate"? Hell, I don't know. All I know is that the Democrats were a "shoe-in" to take the White House, just 6 months ago. Now I am not so sure. The only misstep that McCain could make would be choosing Huckabee as his running mate. Lets face it. Intelligence is no longer a prerequisite to being President.

***

Summer vacation time is just around the corner. Where do you plan on going? The normal run up of gas prices during vacation season will probably put us in the $5 a gallon range. Looking a little further into the future, you might want to reconsider. Think how much it is going to cost to heat your home this winter. Will this cause a mass migration to the warmer southern & southwestern states?
I am going to prognosticate here. I think that we will be looking at $200 a barrel crude oil and $10 a gallon gas by the end of 2010. Your conjectures on this would be appreciated.

***

As always, thank you for stopping in. I appreciate each and every one of your visits.

I'll probably be back later with more.

Have a great day.

Mahalo

Aloha

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

Over The Limit?
UNDER ARREST!
Please don't drink and drive

"Let's all be careful out there!"