I watched the RNC last night.. Like millions of other Americans, I was interested in the McAged pick for his VP ruining mate.. Oh, sorry.. I meant running mate..
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The typical republican disrespect began with the robotic-arm king of New York.. I couldn't get past the little man's robot arm pumping up and down like it was disconnected from him.. But the first indication of the fear mongering was the twin tower-less NY skyline jammed down my throat, blazing in the background.. What a load of disrespectful BS..
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I couldn't help but wonder if I was the only one who felt bad for the families of everyone affected by that day in 2001.. I felt embarrassed for our political system that enables the fear mongers to use grief and tragedy for political gain..
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Then it was Palin's turn.. In the beginning I was entertained.. But her condescending disrespect really started annoying me.. By the end of her onslaught I had completely written her off as another idiot evangelical republican who can't understand that there are other views and opinions in the world.. I did learn one thing significant however.. She admittedly bought her popularity in her home state with oil revenue; If she'd send me some of that cash I might give her a popular rating too..
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There are tons of allegations and stories being levied against McAged's ruining mate (damn.. did it again..) I meant running mate.. I'll let you figure out which angle you choose to look at on those, as yet, unconfirmed reports..
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There is however one issue that cannot be ignored.. The fact that Palin is part of an Alaska group that promotes that state's secession from the union.. I don't really feel that I'm informed enough to have an opinion on that group's ideas and goals.. But I do feel strongly that any connection with any group that advocates a break up of the Unites States should disqualify Palin from any national political office..
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She thinks that Alaska should be it's own country..? Maybe that's not such a bad idea.. If Alaska was it's own country, then McAged could illegally invade and occupy it and steal their oil too.. Just think of the convoluted spin he could use on that one.. He could make a bunch of civil war references and there is no doubt he'd seal his place in history.. The finest President since Abe Lincoln..
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I can't wait..
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Thursday, September 04, 2008
Monday, September 01, 2008
Small Scale Convergence Zone
Mount Stewart, Bellingham Washington..
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I’ve nicknamed Mt. Stewart “Ugly Betty”.. Ugly because of the logging scars that pepper the entire face of the mountain.. And Betty because of the beautiful soaring conditions that can at times be as mysterious as a beauty queen..
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Thermal conditions at Stewart lure pilots along a southern spine and along the north spine.. Both of these features appear to reach out and collect convection currents in an obvious search and soar pattern.. Many times the search is successful.. But sometimes the search can lead to a frustrating marginal soaring flight spent looking at a curious set of cumulous clouds that continuously form out over the large gap between the two spines..
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Most days at Stewart you are able to see surface wind conditions evidencing from the southwest at Agate Bay on Lake Whatcom.. A few miles to the north, on the other side of Squalicum Mountain, additional feedback typically shows surface winds from the northwest on Squalicum Lake..
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My theory is that depending on the prevailing wind’s strength and direction, the flow directed around Squalicum Mountain often meets as a small-scale convergence line on the lee side of Squalicum Mountain.. This convergence thermal area is directly out in front of Mt. Stewart and away from the north and south spines that are favored by the conservative school of thought.. Unfortunately, conservative decision making rarely lends itself to rewarding discovery..
..
Last Saturday was one of those curious cumulous days at Stewart.. There were numerous clouds developing all around the area.. But early in the afternoon, the clouds did not firmly set up above the mountain.. The strange set of clouds out in front of Stewart, in the lee of Squalicum Mountain, had been consistently developing however..
..
I, and a few other pilots, had been struggling to stay in the air for about forty minutes.. We weren’t getting very high and I felt that we were fighting a losing battle.. We had sunk down to an altitude where the typical course would be to follow the north spine out toward the landing areas while still keeping yourself in a position to work anything that was coming up the south face of the north spine..
..
Instead of making the run across the spine, the clouds out in front were too tempting to ignore.. The Agate Bay wind was showing southwest and the Squalicum Lake wind was indicating northwest.. I flew straight out away from the mountain and directly toward the convergence; or what I thought should be the convergence area..
..
..
The first bumps of thermal were solid, but not very big.. I continued towards the west and flew into a large area of lift that was quite smooth and consistent all the way to cloud base.. From there it was easy to hop from cloud to cloud.. None of those clouds were above Mt. Stewart; All of the lift was way out away from the mountain.. After a while I had made a brief tour of the area and came back quite low.. The wind in the landing area was light and fickle so I wasn’t interesting in landing.. The convergence thermal was still working so I climbed back to cloud base in the same smooth and consistent lift that had taken me up an hour earlier..
..
Now I’m not saying that the convergence is going to be there all the time.. And I’m not even saying that the convergence is really there at all.. All I’m saying is that it’s worth thinking about.. ..
..
I’ve nicknamed Mt. Stewart “Ugly Betty”.. Ugly because of the logging scars that pepper the entire face of the mountain.. And Betty because of the beautiful soaring conditions that can at times be as mysterious as a beauty queen..
..
Thermal conditions at Stewart lure pilots along a southern spine and along the north spine.. Both of these features appear to reach out and collect convection currents in an obvious search and soar pattern.. Many times the search is successful.. But sometimes the search can lead to a frustrating marginal soaring flight spent looking at a curious set of cumulous clouds that continuously form out over the large gap between the two spines..
..
Most days at Stewart you are able to see surface wind conditions evidencing from the southwest at Agate Bay on Lake Whatcom.. A few miles to the north, on the other side of Squalicum Mountain, additional feedback typically shows surface winds from the northwest on Squalicum Lake..
..
My theory is that depending on the prevailing wind’s strength and direction, the flow directed around Squalicum Mountain often meets as a small-scale convergence line on the lee side of Squalicum Mountain.. This convergence thermal area is directly out in front of Mt. Stewart and away from the north and south spines that are favored by the conservative school of thought.. Unfortunately, conservative decision making rarely lends itself to rewarding discovery..
..
Last Saturday was one of those curious cumulous days at Stewart.. There were numerous clouds developing all around the area.. But early in the afternoon, the clouds did not firmly set up above the mountain.. The strange set of clouds out in front of Stewart, in the lee of Squalicum Mountain, had been consistently developing however..
..
I, and a few other pilots, had been struggling to stay in the air for about forty minutes.. We weren’t getting very high and I felt that we were fighting a losing battle.. We had sunk down to an altitude where the typical course would be to follow the north spine out toward the landing areas while still keeping yourself in a position to work anything that was coming up the south face of the north spine..
..
Instead of making the run across the spine, the clouds out in front were too tempting to ignore.. The Agate Bay wind was showing southwest and the Squalicum Lake wind was indicating northwest.. I flew straight out away from the mountain and directly toward the convergence; or what I thought should be the convergence area..
..
..
The first bumps of thermal were solid, but not very big.. I continued towards the west and flew into a large area of lift that was quite smooth and consistent all the way to cloud base.. From there it was easy to hop from cloud to cloud.. None of those clouds were above Mt. Stewart; All of the lift was way out away from the mountain.. After a while I had made a brief tour of the area and came back quite low.. The wind in the landing area was light and fickle so I wasn’t interesting in landing.. The convergence thermal was still working so I climbed back to cloud base in the same smooth and consistent lift that had taken me up an hour earlier..
..
Now I’m not saying that the convergence is going to be there all the time.. And I’m not even saying that the convergence is really there at all.. All I’m saying is that it’s worth thinking about.. ..
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