The airwaves have been thick with news and, more often, speculation about the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 for a week and a half now. Hard evidence has been sketchy and ambiguous, and in the ensuing fact-vacuum theories about the quandary have ranged from terrorism to pilot suicide to alien abduction.
Leave it to an experienced pilot to come up with the most plausible explanation I've seen, based on the facts as we know them. Pilot Chris Goodfellow yesterday wrote an article in Wired magazine that examines the disappearance from the perspective of a flyer with 20 years' experience and comes up with a scenario that accounts for each facet of the case of the Boeing 777 that left Kuala Lumpur but never made it to Beijing. It also tells us where to look for the wreckage, if we want to save time and expense doing so.
In all likelihood, nothing will ever be settled conclusively until the aircraft is found, if it ever is. If Chris Goodfellow is right, that is probably going to be 20,000 feet below the waves of the South Indian Ocean. But until then, I'm going with Goodfellow's case as a good tentative explanation.
To take a look at things through the eye of a professional pilot rather than a breathless news anchor, go to this link.
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Sunday, January 5, 2014
New California Laws for 2014
After spending the past week visiting family and vacationing in
Southern California, I'm back home and ready to alert you California
residents to some information you can use. Here are some of the new laws
passed in the Golden State last year that took effect on January 1.
I'm listing some I feel you might likely encounter in daily life.
Pocketbook Issues
• Minimum wages go up by $1 to $9 an hour on July 1 and by another $1 on Jan. 1 2016 to $10.
• Computer software, or “bots,” used to buy blocks of tickets before regular consumers get access will be outlawed, making it more difficult for scalpers to hoard the best seats.
• Domestic workers, such as in-home aides, housekeepers and nannies, will be eligible for overtime and other benefits.
• Starting July 1, workers will be able to use the current paid family leave program to care for a seriously ill grandparent, grandchild, sibling or in-law. • Workers in outside jobs will be guaranteed recovery periods to cool down or employers can be penalized. • Businesses must act to protect workers who are victims of domestic violence and cannot fire them.
On the Road
• Low-emission and zero-emission vehicles without a passenger may continue to use car pool lanes until 2019.
• Drivers who park at broken meters cannot be ticketed.
• Teenagers under the age of 18 may not text while driving, even if using “hands free" devices that use voice-command messages.
• Owners may order a special $50 “Snoopy” license plate to raise money for museums.
• Motorists must leave three feet of space when passing bicyclists.
Education
• Districts must adopt policies allowing transgender students to use the restrooms and locker facilities of their choosing, as well as play on the sports team that matches their gender identity. (There is a referendum gathering signatures in an attempt to overturn this law.)
• Veterans who served at least one year in California and file an affidavit declaring their intention to become permanent California residents will be exempt from higher out-of-state tuition when enrolling at a California State University.
• Schools may discipline students who use social media to harass others — called “cyberbullying” — even if it occurs off-campus.
Immigrant Rights
• Unauthorized immigrants will be eligible for a driver’s license by the end of the year or sooner, once DMV adopts the regulations.
• Local authorities can no longer turn unauthorized immigrants over to federal authorities for deportation if they are suspected of only minor crimes.
• Employers could be fined up to $10,000 and lose their business license if they report or threaten to report the nonlegal status of a worker who files a complaint over unsafe conditions or sexual harassment.
• Those without proof of legal status may practice law, under certain conditions.
• Non citizens may work at polling places if they are permanent legal residents.
Guns
• The Department of Justice will start keeping records of long-gun purchases. Previously those documents were destroyed within five days.
• Conversion kits can no longer be sold if they allow a gun to shoot more than 10 rounds.
• Purchasers of long guns will have to pass a written safety like the one now required for handguns.
• People found guilty of making violent threats will have to wait five years to own a firearm.
• Gun owners who do not keep their weapons securely stored can face criminal penalties if the gun is used in a shooting involving a child.
• Hunters cannot use lead ammunition. This goes into effect no later than July 1, 2019, but likely much earlier, as soon as Fish and Wildlife writes the regulations.
Pocketbook Issues
• Minimum wages go up by $1 to $9 an hour on July 1 and by another $1 on Jan. 1 2016 to $10.
• Computer software, or “bots,” used to buy blocks of tickets before regular consumers get access will be outlawed, making it more difficult for scalpers to hoard the best seats.
• Domestic workers, such as in-home aides, housekeepers and nannies, will be eligible for overtime and other benefits.
• Starting July 1, workers will be able to use the current paid family leave program to care for a seriously ill grandparent, grandchild, sibling or in-law. • Workers in outside jobs will be guaranteed recovery periods to cool down or employers can be penalized. • Businesses must act to protect workers who are victims of domestic violence and cannot fire them.
On the Road
• Low-emission and zero-emission vehicles without a passenger may continue to use car pool lanes until 2019.
• Drivers who park at broken meters cannot be ticketed.
• Teenagers under the age of 18 may not text while driving, even if using “hands free" devices that use voice-command messages.
• Owners may order a special $50 “Snoopy” license plate to raise money for museums.
• Motorists must leave three feet of space when passing bicyclists.
Education
• Districts must adopt policies allowing transgender students to use the restrooms and locker facilities of their choosing, as well as play on the sports team that matches their gender identity. (There is a referendum gathering signatures in an attempt to overturn this law.)
• Veterans who served at least one year in California and file an affidavit declaring their intention to become permanent California residents will be exempt from higher out-of-state tuition when enrolling at a California State University.
• Schools may discipline students who use social media to harass others — called “cyberbullying” — even if it occurs off-campus.
Immigrant Rights
• Unauthorized immigrants will be eligible for a driver’s license by the end of the year or sooner, once DMV adopts the regulations.
• Local authorities can no longer turn unauthorized immigrants over to federal authorities for deportation if they are suspected of only minor crimes.
• Employers could be fined up to $10,000 and lose their business license if they report or threaten to report the nonlegal status of a worker who files a complaint over unsafe conditions or sexual harassment.
• Those without proof of legal status may practice law, under certain conditions.
• Non citizens may work at polling places if they are permanent legal residents.
Guns
• The Department of Justice will start keeping records of long-gun purchases. Previously those documents were destroyed within five days.
• Conversion kits can no longer be sold if they allow a gun to shoot more than 10 rounds.
• Purchasers of long guns will have to pass a written safety like the one now required for handguns.
• People found guilty of making violent threats will have to wait five years to own a firearm.
• Gun owners who do not keep their weapons securely stored can face criminal penalties if the gun is used in a shooting involving a child.
• Hunters cannot use lead ammunition. This goes into effect no later than July 1, 2019, but likely much earlier, as soon as Fish and Wildlife writes the regulations.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Current Events Quiz
Here's something fun to challenge yourself with. The very highly regarded Pew Research organization developed this 13-question quiz on current events. I invite you to take it and see how you stack up against 1,041 randomly selected adults. I ran across this when my friend Louie Campos posted it on Facebook. This link will take you to the quiz. It includes not only words but pictures, maps and graphs.
I did get all 13, but had to guess on one and got lucky. Just so you'll know when you try it, the one I had to guess on was the logo. Good luck also to you, and let us know how you did!
I did get all 13, but had to guess on one and got lucky. Just so you'll know when you try it, the one I had to guess on was the logo. Good luck also to you, and let us know how you did!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)