We’re blessed with a strong population of foxes in the area, and with three in particular that have become so used to us and to the dogs that they sit and watch us, as we watch them. Rarely does a walk with the dogs go by that we don’t encounter at least one, and often at very close quarters. The three foxes we see regularly are very distinguishable, with different reds and varying combinations of black and white, enough that we can tell them apart. We often see them together play-fighting and chasing or just basking in the sun. But they hunt separately, their intensity and pace we’ve assumed is an indicator of their hunger level. They have found a good way of both relaxing and hunting at the same time, which they accomplish by hanging out at the burrow of a groundhog (a badger-like animal (but not as nice) that we also have lots of around the place), just waiting.

Three years ago we had a brood of foxes born in local gardens. Early mornings and late evenings would find them playing like kids on the lawn, chasing each other, staring at us as we watched their antics.

Fascinating to watch and hopefully keeping the local vermin in-check we think of these as good neighbours and friends and look forward to our encounters.

First flight of the new year was to York Pennsylvania KTHV this morning, for breakfast at Orville’s Restaurant. The aviation group I’m associated with needs little excuse to get into the air, but food – and particularly breakfasts – are close to the top of that list. Seven aircraft, including my own, made up the fleet, with nineteen aviation friends, partners, club members all enjoying a crisp and clear morning. Wheel’s-up at 8.30 into a calm and smooth sky, and just 52 miles to our destination, west of our home-base at New Garden N57. The aircraft was full, my cockpit companions – Jim, Jeff, Harv – presented the Cirrus with no problems. All aircraft enjoy the cold air and generally leap off the runway even when loaded, the excellent Cirrus is no exception.

With accomplished pilots alongside you and paying close attention to everything that’s happening there’s a certain amount of added pressure to ‘get-it-right’. It seemed to work well today, with reasonably good landings and take-offs, and no surprises. My pattern circuit at York was too tight, I didn’t make enough allowance for the additional weight onboard and had to re-align for the final approach….. but all fine in the end. Another learning added to the never-ending list, and one of the reasons I really enjoy the challenge of flying – it’s new every time.

For a country with just 6% of the population owning passports the US has a surprisingly well developed negative opinion of English food. We’re here in Southport England, our previous home-town before moving to the US, enjoying the wonderful comfort and unique company of family and friends, but also catching-up on the fine foods and the best of beers we’ve missed. No tortilla or flour wraps here, the wholesome and flavourful foods served in pubs now equals that of many English restaurants and is simply a treat for us. Meats, pies, with correctly cooked vegetable and tasty potatoes are the usual fare, and come at very affordable prices. Matched with unsurpassed beers including Old Peculier [sic] and Old Speckled Hen served pulled by hand and at cellar temperatures – not chilled -make the whole experience such a pleasure for us.

Fish and chips at The Swan is a must-do for us, and I made two visits on this brief trip. Melt-in-the-mouth cod, mushy pea’s and chips – all freshly cooked and served piping hot accompanied by buttered white bread and a generous pot of tea…..just wonderful.

I suppose it’s what your used to, the foods of your childhood that breeds the biases that results in our lingering taste for the familiar, badly missed when we can’t get them. And that leads to us being more critical of the ‘local’ foods available to us, and that become substitutes. There isn’t much American food that I dislike. But it’s all still a substitute, until our next visit home.

Cab rides in New York City are a combination of high adventures and nightmares but are a required pastime to get about the city with luggage, briefcases that are heavier that most toolboxes or when you just can’t face the subway anymore. The 13,000-some cabs themselves are, for the most part, the same – Medallion taxis, Ford Crown Victoria’s, painted yellow etc. But the drivers are each very different and make – or break – a reasonable trip with their attitude and temperament, be it up or down. I’ve experienced both, and everything in-between, but overall positive.

No matter what the nationality, the time of day or night, road and traffic conditions, most NY cab drivers are on the cell (mobile) phone continuously. Wireless ear-pieces, flashing blue, connect them throughout the entire trip…. to who? Who are they talking with? There’s no ‘office’ dispatching them to addresses about the city. That’s unnecessary here when there are always more clients than taxi’s and hailing cabs street-side is the norm. So who are they talking with, and about what? And who’s paying? It’s as intriguing (and fun) as is trying to guess the ethnicity and/or language in use, the range is astounding and represents the fascinating diversity of the city itself.

The next time I get a ‘nice’ driver I may pluck up the courage to ask. I’ll make sure I’m about to leave the cab and am in a crowded area. You never know. And I may not like the answer!

There it was. Right on the screen. I hadn’t expected it. It was a jolt I didn’t need. Dan’s name and his cell phone number, ready for me to call him. Dan, a good friend, fellow pilot, fellow sporting clays shooter, was killed just two weeks ago while piloting his aircraft here in Delaware. A tragic accident and devastating loss to his very young family, his friends, his colleagues and to the clients of his specialised software products – just about to be released in the new year after years of development and of which he was very proud.

And here’s the dilemma. When is it ok to delete Dan’s phone number from my contact list, or to remove his address from my email list? Despite the jolt of seeing his name scroll up on the car phone display it was good that I thought of him again. We’d conversed by email a week or so before the accident. Shall we go shooting this weekend? Yes, lets. We had to cancel, my fault, and we didn’t meet. Damn.

So, I’ll keep his name out-there some more. I don’t mind being prompted into remembering him as fondly as I do. I’m not ready for that minor act of removal or distancing. Not just yet.

Miss you Dan.

Gun laws are always contentiously debated. A recent NYT article by Adam Freedman sheds new light (for me at least) on the issue, going back all the way to the oft-quoted Constitution and which shows that the use and subsequent interpretation of English and, more importantly in this case, punctuation and the use of capitals can have. The Constitution states:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Note the commas and the lack of capitalisation of ‘people’, both used by the two factions debating gun laws to further their argument and cause, for and against. Taking away the commas helps I think but, as the intriguing article points out, could lead to only outlaws having them!

If only we had access to The Framers to ask them what they intended when they penned (quilled?) the Constitution, and to be able to ask if they would change it now based on the current dispiriting and too-often deadly circumstances endured here.

It took the transfer of cous’ Graham F and family from Germany to Greenville South Carolina for us to enjoy the American tradition of visiting and eating with family over Thanksgiving. We flew down in the Cirrus in just 3 hrs (a 12-hour drive was avoided!). An IFR flight but very smooth and uneventful, and were met at the airport by Graham, Ricarda and Oliver. The next two days passed too quickly, enjoying strolls in warm temperatures, the children looked over the aircraft, but mostly just relaxing in good company. The excellent food prepared by Barbara included the traditional Turkey but also delicious German Stollen Bread and other European delicacies.

We reminisced over family matters past and present, catching-up on more recent happenings, here, in the UK and in Germany. We discussed the intricacies of languages and marveled at the children’s ability to thrive amongst it all. Oliver in particular, with just three months in the US and at just 6 years old, had learned very good English and was keen to exercise it with Lynne and I. Very impressive.

The return flight, with the aid of a tail-wind and speed-over-the-ground of 222 mph at 11,000 feet, was just 2.2 hrs. It was a challenging cross-wind landing at the home airport New Garden and took two attempts, but was safety done. Nice to be met at the airport by Neil, who’d flown home for a weekend with his chums

A great break for us, challenging and enjoyable flying, and wonderful to see Graham and the family, and to fulfill another American tradition – Thanksgiving Dinner on the road!

Nice flight today in the Cirrus, to Latrobe Pennsylvania. The airport is know as Arnold Palmer Regional airport, and is the home of the great man – Arnie. He’s a pilot, flies his own Citation and I’ve seen him at the airport on a previous visit. Interesting flight out, with lots of cloud cover but the gizmos in the airplane telling us all was well at Latrobe, 7 miles vis, calm winds, runway 21 in-use (lookout for the displaced threshold)…… which is just what we found. We dropped over the mountain range to a rapid descent into the airport in the valley below.

The scenery on route (between the clouds) was just wonderful, with Fall Colours or reds and golds just everywhere. Some snow on the Appalachian Peaks too, amongst the pines. The plane ran just fine, a 59 minute flight.

A Buffet Lunch was on offer at the Latrobe Airport Restaurant, which we consumed while the plane was being refueled. Jim flew us back, with improved weather en route. A nice way to spend Sunday.

Just returned from the ‘world’s greatest’ General Aviation event – Air Adventure 2007, known as Oshkosh ‘cos that’s where it’s held. UK-based friend and colleague Rodger made a US visit to accompany me (I’d been pestering him for years to do so).

We departed N57 Thursday in the Cirrus, IFR, headed west through rain showers, past Cleveland and Detroit, across Lake Eire through Canadian airspace, and stopped-over for fuel and bladder relief at Muskegon. Appleton – our destination across Lake Michigan – was weathered-in but the bad stuff was tracking south so we stayed on the east side of the lake, flew IFR up north to Manistee, then across the great lake towards Green Bay. We diverted to our destination – Appleton – as the weather cleared, per our revised plan. Great flight. We joined a whole gaggle of aircraft and pilots on the ground at  Appleton, all going to the Oshkosh show.

The air show, Thursday evening, Friday and Saturday was just great with aerobatics by both teams and singles. The weather improved each day, with Saturday being stunningly beautiful – the blue skies being the perfect backcloth for all the action. The C-17 Globemaster reversing down the runway under it’s own power was a highlight for me, the display of power was just awesome. The B-2 Stealth Bomber made several passes, each quiet and sinister. The F-22 Raptor was the opposite – intentionally noisy and in-yer-face brute force. The WW2 fleets of aircraft flying in formation at different altitudes was stunning.

We both made the required purchases of aviation must-have’s, and some trivia from the numerous aviation stands.
The return flight was as challenging (but as enjoyable) as the outgoing trip. We flew VFR then IFR, with ugly weather at our home-base showing up on our Cirrus displays. We put-down in Franklyn PA for fuel and lunch.

Departing Franklyn IFR we’d worked up several options if we couldn’t get into N57 due to the string of thunderstorms showing on the NexRad in the Cirrus. Flying around heavy cells was favoured and supported by ATC. By the time we reached Harrisburg the weather was clearing. I canceled IFR at Lancaster after getting below the cloud-base, then flew VFR into N57 with 1700ft ceilings.

A great experience, a great airplane and great company – my pal Rodger.

Trip photo’s here

From my friend Everitt:

For you lovers and good users of the English language:

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from “Miffed” to “Peeved.” Soon though, security levels may be raised yet again to “Irritated” or even “A Bit Cross.” Londoners have not been “A Bit Cross” since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists themselves have been re-categorized from “Tiresome” to “A Bloody Nuisance.” The last time the British issued a “Bloody Nuisance” warning level was during the great fire of 1666.

Need the latest news, gossip and business updates? Forget the WSJ, forget the NY Times. Take the 5pm Amtrak Acela from Penn Station NYC, going south toward DC. At no cost you will be treated to an update of all the latest happenings, the new deals signed that day, who’s hiring and firing who, who’s is, who’s out. It’s all there, provided to you – whether you want it or not – from a variety of fellow-passengers anxious to make their bragging calls to their office-bound colleagues, crowing about their signings and accomplishments of the day. They do this over cellphones, which are hardly needed due to the volume of their reports, the velocity of which increases with every south-bound mile. Apart from being objectionably loud and annoying to anyone within four rows these ‘professionals’ and road-warriors impart information, data, dates, names and other otherwise company-confidential stuff it would make their CEO cringe. Arrgh.

Me? I’ve heard it all before. I’m now immune, under the spell of Nils Lofgren and his incredible guitar via my iPhone and iTunes.

The young’n has been out-and-about in Nevada, seeking ghosts in towns like Rhyolite, Beatty and Eldorado Canyon. Check it out here. He writes so well too, dont’yathink?

After three weeks of the iPhone I can report not only satisfaction with the device but that I’m impressed every time I use the thing – and that’s rare. It’s gaining accolades elsewhere too:

The Most Successful Product Intro of the 21st Century : “Apple’s iPhone could emerge as the most successful product introduction of the 21st century, new research suggests.” Conducted by Lightspeed Research, “the research findings are staggering,” reports Jonny Evans (Macworld). “Nearly 90 percent” of the respondents had heard about iPhone, and 32% of those who didn’t already own one intend to purchase one. In a separate survey, Lightspeed Research also learned that “nearly half of those who would like to own an iPhone stated that the benefits of having music, movie, internet and wireless all in one was the top reason.”

I have trouble associating myself with anyone called ‘Jonny’, nonetheless the iPhone is a clearly big success for all concerned. It got a little tedious hearing news reporters challenging people on the street with “Would you pay $600 for a phone?”. It’s like describing a Porsche as a car, when it’s a lot more. Duh.

Anyroadup, not only am I chuffed with the incredible iPhone but, having bought the stock after being really impressed with the iPhone video Apple sent me just four weeks before the launch, and having seen the stock gain 9% (on paper at least, with which I could bought another iPhone) I pretty good all-round. Ha!

Lynne says it was the first time I’ve joined a line for anything. But there I was, stood on the pavement outside the ATT store at 5pm, a full hour before distribution would start. The line was 40 strong, 10 of whom had sat there since 6am that morning. By 6pm there were 10 more enthusiasts behind me. I met some people I know, and the weather was warm and mild so the time passed pretty quickly, until that is the store doors opened at 6pm. Expectation was that we’d stream in, put down our monies and walk away clasping what we all come for the iPhone. After all, activation would take place at home, via iTunes – another of the revolutionary features of this revolutionary product – right? Wrong. There was no ’streaming-in’, it was a slow, unmoving shuffle that took another 100 minutes, as people opened-up ATT accounts, dealt with back-bills etc etc. We folks with existing ATT accounts, good credit and green-backs in-hand got no pref treatment. Very silly, and a waste of everyone’s time-especially mine. Meanwhile we were shepherded and ‘entertained’ by an Apple rep, who walked the line and who took great glee in withholding answers to reasonable questions and generally teasing we liner-uppers, queuing for his product.
To “How many iPhones do you have in the store?” the answer was “I can’t say”. Same to “Well, do you have enough?”. We only got anything like a reassuring answer when the question “Well, if you didn’t have enough for everyone in-line would you tell us??” was formulated and positively responded to. Annoying and arrogant on his and Apples part.
Not what Mr Jobs envisaged.
In the store it took me just 120 seconds to effect the purchase.

I got the 8GB iPhone home only to find the SIM card was defective. It said so on the screen. If only I’d opened it up in the store, which was now closed. The Apple Store , which I’d avoided thus far anticipating throngs of ‘dudes’ with goatees and ponytails, was open until midnight. I dashed over there. The place was open, and empty, with a stack of iPhones still for sale. A black-Tshirted ‘genius’ swapped mine for a iPhone with a working SIM (I checked!). And so to home, now midnight.
Firing up iTunes, the iPhone connected – and failed to activate. My ATT settings weren’t as it wanted them. Bah! To bed. Enough.
Not what Mr Jobs envisaged.
I was at the ATT store at 8.50am the next morning. They opened at 9, and watched me pound the pavement outside the store, staring at each other through the store windows until the stroke of 9 (nice job guys!).
They adjusted my account settings, complicated in-that Lynne and I share the account – duh! Then home, and had it working within minutes.
Not what Mr Jobs envisaged.
In the face of all of this torture I really like the device and its features and will test-drive some more before recording my experiences here.