Category: Politics, Religion & Money

I flew on 737 Max 8 planes for some of my trips to Arizona after my father’s stroke and subsequent death. I remember my first flight on a Max, taking my seat and looking out the window. The engine was much bigger and closer to the ground than I’d seen before on 737’s. The first overseas 737 Max crash, Lion Air Flight 610, happened just one month after my final return flight from Phoenix.

The recent near-disaster on a Max 9 highlights that Boeing has yet to put its house in order. I’ve been waiting for the main story from last Sunday’s Last Week Tonight to be posted. It popped up on YouTube this morning.

John Oliver notes the poor safety record of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, with its triple engines. During my busiest business travel years I flew on DC-10’s. Even more frequently I found myself on another triple-engine plane, that Oliver doesn’t mention, the Lockheed L-1011. Fortunately, I never had a scare on either aircraft, but overall I preferred the L-1011 because it was quieter at cruising altitude, which gets back to my recent comment about tinnitus.

Start here to follow the BBC podcast series Hollywood Exiles, with Charlie Chaplin’s granddaughter Oona, but be prepared to hear commercials.

If you want to avoid the commercials, go here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xtvsk/episodes/player

Seriously? Trump could win in November?

Trump leads Biden by 4 points, according to NYT poll

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/02/trump-biden-poll-new-york-times-siena-00144555

If he does win, we can expect every single day will be like this, happening on every single flight. Even if he loses, there will be a lot of turbulence.

Drew Carey’s Friday Night Freak-Out on SiriusXM is always a fun listen, and Drew often says how much fun it is for him hosting The Price is Right. Today I put the show on while paying bills. Here’s Drew having fun helping somebody pay their bills.

At the start of the 1990’s, a technology company outside of Boston (a unit of a well-known mobile phone maker) collapsed shortly after completing construction of its beautiful, new headquarters. The building, on the grounds of an historic site dating back to the Revolutionary War, was never occupied. It was put up for sale and my employer submitted a low-ball cash offer of half the asking price.

I was told by someone in the know that the parent company’s rejection of our offer was less polite than saying, “You must be joking.” A year later, with commercial real estate in a slump, and having received no other offers, they came back with their figurative tails between their legs. Was the offer still good? Yep, the same amount, take it or leave it. They took it.

Another former Trump true believer who had to learn the hard way that he’d been conned.