Taku Glacier, Alaska

chopper log 241104: summer has mercifully gone

I, Stephen, am not a fan of Summer. The heat waves, sweat-drenched clothes, mosquitos, skin cancer and hoards of misguided, shallow tourists swarming over every cultural attraction like a plague of locusts. But Fall, how I love Fall. The kids have been dragged back into school, pumpkin spice-flavored drinks and foods as far as the eye can see, cozy fires in the fireplace, and endless possibility. What’s not to love.

Stewart is of an opposing mindset and would rather spend the preponderance of the year residing on the surface of the Sun, but whatever.

The photo above is from my work trip to Alaska in July, flying above the Taku Glacier. Kudos to Alaska for having a far more agreeable Summer climate, albeit with biblical amounts of rain and weather patterns that can make the most salty of pilots just a little on edge.

a note about the election

I am not one to have a great deal of faith in America’s institutions. Justice can be bought,

APPS I’M CURRENTLY USING

  1. Flighty. For the frequent traveler, a godsend of situational awareness. Because face it, all airlines are terrible at what they do, driven by money to cram as many flights into the day as they can get away with, supported by the flimsiest of IT infrastructures that’s shakier than the Tetris game on your Grandmother’s flip phone.

  2. All Trails. Fantastic app for front and back-country hiking and biking.

  3. Windy. There is simply no better weather app than this one. A trove of meteorological information.

  4. Open ADSB. Rich people can ask for their private aircraft’s location and tracking info not be made publicly available, so that mean commoners can’t track their wherabouts on social media and embarrass them. And most apps/companies comply with the request. Except for OpenADSB, who doesn’t give a flying f*ck.

  5. Seek. Plant identifier, it’s fantastic if you’ve ever wondered what species of tree dropped several gallons of sap onto your car when you accidentally parked underneath it.

 

currently supporting

  1. World Central Kitchen. Provides meals for those in the worst possible circumstances. Currently serving the civilian Ukrainian population caught on the front lines of the war, amongst many other places.

  2. American Civil Liberties Union (aclu.org). Incalculably effective in the fight for people of color, the LGBT community, and for women.

  3. Southern Poverty Law Center (splcenter.org). A smaller and more narrowly-focused version of the ACLU. Strong advocate against hate groups.

  4. The National Resources Defense Council (nrdc.org). Sort of like the ACLU for flora and fauna, it ensures the Environment has a say in DC and the courts.

  5. Center For Inquiry (centerforinquiry.net). Recently merged with Richard Dawkins' organization, it is one of the many groups guiding America towards a society and government based upon secular values.

  6. Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org). The leading LGBT political advocacy group in the U.S.

  7. Planned Parenthood. Only in America, gay men having to support one of the few organizations dedicated to empowering women.