A Housatonic Valley Massacre and a Bad Luck Boeing and Other Rubbish

I am Alexander Ivanoff, and I admit that there is bias through this entire blog entry.

First, my heart goes out to the communities in my (formerly) next-door neighbor county of Fairfield County, Connecticut. I know people from Connecticut and the school shooting in Newtown is almost as if it happened right in Brewster (Southeast), a community whose school system often has exhibition games with schools in Fairfield Count.

Gun control should be a constant topic in American political circles, not just when shootings in theatres, military bases, shopping malls and schools occur. It should be everyday. Although coming from Northern New York, where a strong gun culture that stems from recreational hunting exists, I believe that guns should ONLY be used for gathering food for your family (and indirectly controlling the deer population), NOT for harming the lives of innocent human beings. The life of every human, no matter how depressing or horrid that might be, is valued and should be with utmost dignity. I applaud NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg for starting the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition. If I were a mayor or town supervisor in New York, I would sign the statement of principles, no matter how hard it would be for my conscience to allow me to sign it. Gun ownership is a privilege and not a right, and should always be treated as such, even if our national Constitution allows gun ownership.

But the plot thickens. As I write this, while taking a break from flying planes on the computer (something I have discovered I can only do so much of) the shooter, whose name I won't mention out of respect for all involved, was reported as having Asperger syndrome. As many of you know, I myself have Asperger sydrome.  It's painful. I've had some really sickening thoughts run through my head at times. But then I realize: first, I don't want to hurt anyone intentionally. Whether it be through words or actions, I just don't. I cringe when I kill wasps/hornets because I was taught not to kill living things. But I worry though that one day, I'm going to have an anaphylactic shock because of a bee sting. I still haven't been the first person elected to political office on the autism spectrum!

Even today, society portrays those with Asperger's syndrome no better than they did of those with much more severe mental handicaps/developmental disabilities only three decades ago. It's a shame and we can do better as a society. Most, and I think all of us on the spectrum can feel pain. Unfortunately, the way we can express that pain can come out in the worst of ways. But to jump to the conclusion, like the writers at Rupert Murdoch's New York City rag did is horrifying.

What's even more tragic is the deaths of all involved. Like the heroic teacher who was in my eyes just doing her job. There's some polite and flattering things that I would want to comment about her in this entry, but once again, out of the respect for all, I'm not going to. And those children, younger than my two middle-school aged half-brothers, who will never be able to experience aspects of life. These children are so young that Bush was President when they were born. Growing up, my brain has matured enough to where I now see elementary school teachers in a brighter light.

And onto another less disturbing topic. As many of you know, I think of Airbus as a spoiled rotten brat run by a spoiled rotten brat. I know of people by the last name of Leahy, and the ones I know I love and adore, whether they live in the North Country or the Mohawk Valley or the Green Mountain State (and help represent it with America's only elected socialist at the national level, no less).

Except for one, John Leahy, the COO at Airbus.

*Disclaimer: I am being somewhat constructive of what I say, as I am applying to work for a company which is an Airbus client AND Mr. Leahy is a Syracuse University graduate, making him a New York native of any sort.

I do give Airbus a significant amount of respect. I think the A3(XX) series of aircraft are intelligent designs, which makes it possible for one to be crossed trained on the A318 to A380 and everything in between in no time at all. Boeing has yet not entered the realm of cockpit commonality, which upsets me. And Boeing could (with some serious design work, MAYBE) raise the height of the 737. Being low to the ground does present problems, even though I think every plane should be designed like a 757. 

But I am a Boeing "fanboy" by nature. My dad's cousin Walter is a former Boeing engineer whose work made the 777 and 787 (and quite possibly the 737NG as well) possible. He's a fibre-optics guy who still knows people there and on very rare occasion works with Boeing (I need to clarify that somehow). And Boeings are designed (mostly designed at least) and assembled in America, just like Cessnas (sans the C162 Skycatcher, with Cessna Textron should really rethink)

Anyways, I was on aviation site FlightAware and an article popped up on how the head of Qatar Airways had thrown a hissyfit over the grounding of his company's Boeing 787 Dreamliner due to maintenance issues. In the interest of sourcing all of what I say, here is the original article.

I had to agree with the person who started the discussion, with a few disagreements. Most of this paranoia about the 787 has stemmed from Boeing's problems from Day One on the plane. Boeing should have brought parts suppliers under its control, should have written off several billion on the plane itself because of its forward technology and the general cost of developing a new aircraft.

The 787 will be a success, and customers are satisfied despite the bugs. JAL is connecting Boston with Asia, San Jose, CA, which needs a link to Asia because of the Silicon Valley, is getting a flight through ANA, ditto for San Diego. I understand how with aviation fuel so expensive, airline execs are antsy. They need planes that will make cash.

It comes down to that Boeing should call up Rolls-Royce and GE and offer them into a 767 reengining project. Ditto for the 757 if something can be done in that arena. If I was an airline exec and I was already happy with a 767 fleet, I'd want to build on that with a new engine. The USAF did a few years back by re-engining the KC-135 transports/tankers and a company founded by a former McDonnell Douglas executive, Jackson McGowan, whose company, Cammacorp, turned out about 100+ re-engined Douglas DC-8s with high-bypass turbofans.

Hey, can someone give me money to start an airline?

 And if all that wasn't bad enough, a CNET writer gave me the exact reason why I've lost a fair bit of interest in Apple: the rumor mills. I stopped going on MacNN and it's affiliate websites a few years back. I probably don't even know my password for their forums.

Once again, people are putting words in the mouths of celebrities. Give Morgan Freeman a break. As much as it sounds wonderful and I'd like to believe that Freeman would write something like that, I can't. Not in today's society which resembles the phone chains we did in elementary school (back to that again!)

And finally, I close by yet another argument: Jennifer Lawrence, from the Hunger Games fame, looks just like someone I went to college with who honestly is one of the most attractive ladies I've come into over the years.

I'm done. There might be updates to this for clarity's sake and all that jazz, and because I like that stuff.

Signed,
Mediocre Man

P.S. Rachel, if you're reading this, disregard liking this because I know almost anything I say you agree with.