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I am going to attempt to write a blog post on my iPad. So far the onscreen keyboard has not gotten in my way, which is a big plus and pretty surprising. If I stop abruptly it will be because typing on the iPad was obnoxious.

(now onto my post)

I’m tired of the Internet. I’m tired of everyone being completely too cool for everything. Message boards, Twitter, Facebook, blogs and everywhere else you look, someone is telling someone else what they should think. If not what, then they’re telling everyone how to think. I don’t think it is possible anymore to simply disagree. Being right is now a Right.

The most recent large scale event that caused waves in the “better than you” crowd was the release of the iPad. For full disclosure, I own an iPad. Two actually. I love the device. Is it everything i wanted it to be? No. Is it exactly what I expected? Yes. I haven’t fallen in love with the idea of convergence. I’m ok with things in my life having purpose. I put no pressure on my printer to also be a handy card reader or a fax machine. My digital camera does a great job but I don’t ask it to do the job of my video camera.

Back to the outcry. Since the day it was announced, people have spent countless hours and words telling other people why the device would be/is crap. It doesn’t multi-task. It doesn’t have a camera. It can’t make coffee. (I’m sure there’s an app for that) My personal favorite is the contention that it’s a massive iPod Touch.

It doesn’t end there. On message boards i frequent, you can’t go more than a few posts without someone telling others how/why to think certain things. “No human could like this comic because it is crap, the writer is crap and the artist draws with crayon,” they’ll say. Great. What if it makes me laugh in the same way that the movie Airplane does? Is it ok to like it then? Hearing people call into a podcast to ask if they are weird for liking mainstream comics truly brightens my day. We all need to stop apologizing for liking things. Especially, “mainstream” things. They’re mainstream for a reason.

Everyone has examples. Meatball fan-ism for your favorite sports team. Technology holy wars. Michael Bay movies. Coke or Pepsi. Democrat or Republican.

When did life change so that it was no longer sufficient to say, “We don’t agree”?

Friday morning brought a quick breakfast at the Courtyard and then a day at NAS Pensacola for the Blue Angels Homecoming air show. It was a beautiful day for an air show. 75 degrees and only a few clouds in the sky. It was an amazing day of air show antics topped off by an always amazing Blue Angels performance.

I grew up on Corry Station (which is adjacent to NAS Pensacola) and saw practice sessions, both air shows each year and even had a pilot show up at one of my birthday parties as a kid. (I’d be ok with that happening now as an adult too.. just sayin’) The Blue Angels and this area is part of who i am and I’m having a blast on this trip.

I’ve uploaded some of the better pictures I took today while at the air show. They’re all uploaded to Flickr. Feel free to browse. Airshow Nov 09

We arrived onsite for the air show:

Had our picture taken next to an F/A-18 Hornet flown by the Blue Angels:

The GEICO Skywriters drew 3 American flags in the sky during the National anthem.. it was pretty cool:

But not as cool as the sky diver that flew the Flag as he descended to the flight line. The Skywriters circled him as he descended. This was amazing:

Fat Albert lifted off using JATO. Marie hadn’t seen this before… it’s far more cool in person..

Fat Albert then executed a parade pass:

The Angels passed the flight line in a diamond:

And.. The Angels flew past the flight line mostly upright:

All 6 Angels climb in formation:

Again in formation as they fly toward the flight line:

And then roll out.. this was pretty awesome to see.

Beyond the pictures, the experience was amazing. Seeing the jets again was great. Over NAS Pensacola, they could fly faster than at some air shows at which I’ve seen them. The F-16 fly over at 600 mph was breathtaking.. literally. Seeing the power and grace of the jets can’t really be described by a picture… if you have the chance, find an air show. Spend some time wandering the display areas and check out the planes they have on display. Talk to the pilots and the crew that make themselves available. You won’t be disappointed.

I didn’t make a post on Facebook or Twitter on Veterans’ Day for a reason. I knew I’d be here two days later. My love and respect for veterans’ runs deep and can’t be summed up in 140 character posting. I prefer to show my support in person. I prefer to celebrate as I do everything else, quietly and in my own way.

Marie decided a few months ago to do something nice for my birthday. She’s been trying to surprise me for quite some time and this week, while not surprised, she definitely made a great decision on a birthday gift.

We took a long weekend to fly to Florida, spend a weekend tooling around where I grew up (from time to time) and happened to be here for the Blue Angels homecoming air show at NAS Pensacola.

Things started out a bit poorly. Caitlin didn’t really want us to leave..

We landed safely in Pensacola..

Saw a Blue Angel F/A-18 when we got off the plane.. sort of..

And had dinner at my favorite restaurant when I was a kid..

We got a good night sleep… and got ready for our long day in the sun at the airshow.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve found a few interesting pictures that I’ve wanted to add.  They’re a collection of odd things I see while I’m out and about.

This picture is simply infuriating.  I saw this truck a few weeks ago while having lunch in St Paul.  Where do these people come from? I am all for the free exchange of ideas, but ignorant people frustrate me.

Where do these people come from?

The next image is brought to you by the wonderful folks that paint directions on the street.  The road ends in a T not more than 250 feet from the painted arrows.  You can see the street sign in the distance.  Do they really need to tell drivers that you ONLY go left and right?

The road t's... what other options are there?

I love the next image.  While waiting for chinese takeout, I noticed my little friend in the fish tank. Clearly, he’s the super-hero of the fish tank with his dashing domino mask. I wonder what his secret identity is?

Wonder what this fish does when not in costume?

Finally, while driving to Minnesota tonight, I noticed a quickly moving object north of me on I-39 heading into Rockford, IL.  Clearly, as is normal, I thought it was an alien spacecraft until I got a little closer.  Turns out, the Rockford Airfest was this weekend and a B-1 Bomber <fixed> was flying over the city.  Very cool random sighting while on the road. (and for those that are going to ask, I pulled over to the side of the road to take the picture.. I swear <crosses fingers>!)

B-1 Over Rockford...

Day two of riding the metrolink to downtown stl.. Day two of the train stopping on the way home to change conductors. They change in the middle of a route during rush hour. What the heck?

Heading into work again for another fun filled day of fixing. This Metrolink thing works pretty well and drops me off a block from the office. Can’t complain about that.

Of course, it’s 9 am and the train is filled with Cardinal fans. The whole city is filled with people wearing red jerseys. Makes me miss home and Wrigley. A little bit.

5 more business days before vacation. Can’t wait for San Diego. Three days in SD and two in LA. It’ll be nice to see southern cal again.