JohnMitchell

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Everything posted by JohnMitchell

  1. JohnMitchell
    30 years of government service and I don't think I ever got preferential treatment for having children. If I had to be somewhere with them, I had to use annual vacation leave. It was granted on a a first-come, first-served basis. I even had to use vacation leave when they were born. Being a man, I was not able to use sick leave as paternity leave. Raising children properly is one of the most important jobs there is. We were lucky that my earning ability allowed Vskydiver to be a stay at home mom. Other people aren't as lucky. I can cut them some slack if they need it. Some of the worst leave abusers I've seen had no children at all. I think people with severe illnesses should be fired. Some of those f-ers have really screwed with my plans for time off. I don't care if you have a broken leg or cancer, if you can't do your job all day, you should be canned. Did the sarcasm come out okay on that last one?
  2. JohnMitchell
    Poopy Porter, Porcelain Stout, Tinkle Dunkel, Urinal Cake IPA for starters?
  3. JohnMitchell
    Think that's an easy one to figure out.
  4. JohnMitchell
    Guess you could never be an astronaut. Guess where they get all their drinking water on the space station.
  5. JohnMitchell
    Damn, voice of experience. Thanks for the tip. Nothing like experimental proof.
  6. JohnMitchell
    Yes, mode C is considered valid when it varies by less than 300 feet. Since it reads out it in 100 foot increments, 200 feet or less variance is considered good. Anything more than that, we have to ask questions, as well as verify you have the correct local altimeter setting. You should get one altimeter setting per enroute frequency. If not, the guy's slackin'. In enroute data blocks, 200 foot variance or less is actually filtered out, to reduce clutter, when you're at your final assigned altitude. To do a precise mode C check (such as for a test flight) the controller needs to override the filter function.
  7. JohnMitchell
    Barcade sounds great, like a place I'd want to hang out at. You can expand to micro brewing later.
  8. JohnMitchell
    I've done remodels on a 1920's Craftsman house. I can't imagine a 180 y.o. warehouse. Do you intend to resell it when it's complete or start your own business in that location? My first thought is that your town needs a great microbrewery and pub right there.
  9. JohnMitchell
    Damn. It's happened before. I'm afraid it will happen again. I'm not a multi-engine rated pilot, so I can't say how this could happen or what could prevent it. I guess I'll just say that if you have a positive rate of climb, take a deep breath and analyze carefully before you do anything drastic, like shutting down an engine.
  10. JohnMitchell
    Tempus fugit, eh? Yeah, that still ranks as our favorite boogie of all time. The stars aligned for a darn near perfect trip.
  11. JohnMitchell
    I can think of a few things where swallows are still needed.
  12. JohnMitchell
    Just last month for us. Still funny after all these years.
  13. JohnMitchell
    Exactly. Malfunctioning mode C is not too rare of an occurrence. I've seen aircraft at 3500' show FL 295. I've said "stop altitude squawk" many times. And as a controller I was happy to call a harmless altitude busts "mode C malfunctions". It avoided a lot of paperwork for the pilot and most pilots seem to learn from it without "coaching and counseling" from FSDO.
  14. JohnMitchell
    I can think of a few things where swallows are still needed.
  15. JohnMitchell
    Can't complain too much. Made a couple of jumps at Eloy the other day. Been getting rained out too much at home this winter. Gonna spend some time jumping on the North Shore this March, so that's gonna be nice. Looking forward to a nice long summer of jumping. Been doing some more remodeling around the new house and keeping the old one on the market. When that one sells I'll really have some free time and a few extra $$.
  16. JohnMitchell
    Sounds like the Acapulco boogie for Vskydiver and me. Ran for the plane in LAX and just barely made it. All our gear but had to buy toothbrushes. . . Have a great time down in CR. We went to a boogie at Playa Tambour back there in '96. Loved the wildlife, especially the birds everywhere.
  17. JohnMitchell
    Oh yeah, I remember reading more than a couple of pilots a phone number to call when they landed. Sucked, but when you lose separation and the pilot caused it, there's not much you can do. A takeaway from this? If you think you f-ed up and they are quizzing you really hard about your altitude, the pilot's verbally reported altitude trumps mode C legally. "Darn, what does my mode C show now, Center? I just had it in the shop last week. Let me turn it off for a minute."
  18. JohnMitchell
    Yep, that can definitely be the bulge in the pants that's getting checked out sometimes.
  19. JohnMitchell
    Pretty much a fact there. Women say they want a man with a good sense of humor. If you're good looking enough, everything you say is just witty as hell.
  20. JohnMitchell
    Gasoline dissolves soap. I don't think that will work to fix your leak. Sorry.
  21. JohnMitchell
    Do it. You're in better shape than too many 20 y.o. If you want to fly to Seattle I'll be glad to teach you.
  22. JohnMitchell
    I've seen that attitude before, but don't agree with it. I've had tandem passengers make 6-7 tandems over the years, just for fun, with no desire to be a skydiver. Fine and dandy.
  23. JohnMitchell
    That's pretty weak, to ban someone for an intelligent question.
  24. JohnMitchell
    Yeah, considering we made a sport out of a f-ing emergency procedure, I guess maybe you're right. I heard a lot of extreme fishing and bowling stories at work. I didn't bother telling too many of mine.
  25. JohnMitchell
    He's a damn handsome guy, and I can say that even though I'm a dude.