Wednesday, December 30

how do you like your plane...big or small?

I'm flying again, moving progressively farther west and north. While doing the puddle jumper flight from Regina to Calgary this morning I was thinking about people's preferences when it comes to plane size. Now I know some of you may say that it's not the size of the plane that matters but where it's going. However, I for one think size matters. When it comes to my planes, I like them small.

I've flown in planes of all sizes, from a two-seater to massive jumbo jets. Hell, I even put my life at risk and flew Aeroflot (affectionately known as Aeroflop). Without roads, small planes are the main source of transportation north of 60, so I've spent a lot of time in them. In a small plane, you hear all the noise, feel all the bumps and are crammed in, but at least you know you are flying. Also for a number of irrational, incorrect and mildly insensitive reasons, I feel safer in a small plane. Let's consider:
  • Ground control: in small planes, you can usually see the ground. Even if it's cloudy, you know you're closer to it than you are at 30,000 feet. Closer to the ground, means less distance to fall (I told you these were irrational)
  • Glider Effect: a big plane is a whole lot of metal. A small plane weighs a lot less. Combine this with being closer to the ground, and a small plane can glide safely to the ground (see above for how it's closer to the ground allowing it to do this) while a big plane will likely just plummet straight down, damn gravity.
  • Terrorists: think about it, terrorists don't blow up small planes:, they go for the biggest bang (literally). If I think of all the big terrorist attacks on airplanes, they have usually been big planes.
  • Hijackers: (see terrorists above) Once again, big plane with lots of people. Small plane, not enough passengers for adequate leverage.
  • Personal Touch: In a small plane you often see the captain and co-captain, many times they are the only crew on board. I'm convinced this personal interaction makes us safer. They know who their passengers are, we've chatted, made some jokes, shared a granola bar. Because we've interacted they now have a personal vested interest in getting me there safely.
So yes, a small plane may not take you as far, or may take longer to get there, but in my view it will always get you there safely.

PS - given I spend a lot of time in small planes, please don't shatter the illusion by pointing out the irrationality of these reasons.

Sunday, May 31

guilty pleasure: literal video #1

The blog has been quiet for a while, but finishing law school, graduating, moving and travelling has taken up most of my time and energy these last five months. Anyways, as noted below I've started a blog for my time in Regina, which has now begun. There's a new post over there.

On this blog, I'll probably be posting those silly or general thoughts that don't quite fit on the Regina blog. On the topic of silly, I figure it was time for another guilty pleasure, this one a literal video. Literal videos can best be described as someone singing exactly what is happening in the video. I stumbled upon this one the other day. I've discussed my love for cheesy 80s/90s power ballads before and now one of my favourites gets the literal video treatment. Enjoy!

Saturday, March 21

moving

As some of you are aware, once law school ends I will be moving to Regina, Saskatchewan for a year. In the spirit of this move I've decided to move my blog as well. Beginning in May 2009 (with a few advance teasers) I will be posting short tales of my experiences and life in Regina. Think of them as short monologues..in fact, think of them as Regina monologues.

The new blog can be found here.