Sympathy for the Pilot Devil

There's a highly politically correct movement afoot to try to understand, explain, and some might say excuse the actions of the Germanwings pilot who was responsible for crashing that Airbus into the mountains with 150+ people aboard.  Folks are looking to leverage the story as a mean s to open a dialog about mental illness and the stigmas associated.

Fine.

But let us not forget:  I don't care what he did or did not have, or why he did or did not have to hide it. The fact remains that he was responsible for 150 souls, and he listened to their terrified screams as he dove his plane into the Alps. That makes him a mass murderer, and one of historic proportions. 

Evil monster. Period.

Saturday Song Share: Pomplamoose - Pharrell Mashup (Happy Get Lucky)

A catchy one this week, and a pretty cool mashup to boot:

Suicide Pilot? How About a Murderer?

As more and more news comes forward on the Airbus A320 crash in the Alps, it becomes clear that the co-pilot meant to crash this plane.  It looked like a purposeful, conscious event.

The media has picked up on this, and has deemed the pilot as being bent on a suicide mission.  To that, I say "hogwash."  This was flat out mass murder.  

Life tough?  Want to off yourself?  I'd strongly encourage you not to, but ultimately the decision lies between you and your Maker.  But should you make that fateful decision, don't take dozens of innocent lives with you.  That just creates a massive ripple effect of depression, and you end up making things worse and not better.  Talk about irony.

Finally, and I don't mean to get preachy here, but here's a quick pop quiz for you: What was the mass murdering pilot likely NOT:

A) Atheist
B) Muslim 
C) Christian

Think about that.  Especially the next time you fly.

A View at Retirement

Mrs. YDP and I are currently engaged in a vacation down in Ft. Myers, Florida.  We've been here since Sunday and will fly out in a couple more days.  It has been a lovely vacation - I've been doing a ton of running, played some golf, and we've had dinners with friends.  It has been fantastic.

Being in this part of Florida, one can't get away from the number of retirees that live/winter here.  They're everywhere, and with good reason.  The place is really nice, and lacks the pretense of other places.  It is casual, slow, and fun.  The way retirement should be.

Being out of work since January has me thinking about my own retirement.  I'm now over 50, and for my industry, I'm ancient.  Where it took me mere weeks to find work (and with competing offers) just five years ago, I now find a lot less interest.  There's less interest despite me being better than I ever have been at what I do.  It's scary, maddening, and infuriating all at the same time.

And it begs the "what if" question: what if this is indeed the end of the road?  I hate to even consider that.  While we could possibly retire at this point, it would take a massive and disruptive lifestyle change to accomplish.  Plus, the market could never, ever tank.  But more than that, I feel like have have so damn much more to offer.  

Is the salt in my hair and the cheaters at the end of my nose that much of a turn off?  

Being down in sunny Florida has given me a view of retirement, and, gentle reader, I want nothing to do with it right now.

101 Year Old Golfer

Our course opened last Friday, and since I'm unemployed, I decided to sneak in a round.  Days later I was still feeling it in my arms.

And I'm 50.

Given this, I feel like a bleeping wimp:



Hat tip to Cousin Murphy

Thoughts on Leaving the Republican Party

Glenn Beck made big news last week by ostensibly stating that he's taking his political football and going home, thus leaving the Republican party to the RINOS (Republican in Name Only) that appear to have taken over.  

Coward.  Idiot coward.

Politics in this day and age have razor thin margins.  If a voting group stays home, they have the ability to swing elections.  We've definitely seen that in the last two Presidential elections, where staunch evangelicals stayed home as a protest to McCain and Romney and ultimately handed Obama victory.  They actually felt that the country needed to learn a lesson, and the damage Obama wrought was necessary.

Cowards.  Idiot cowards.

How many people have been hurt by the Obama administration?  From Fast and Furious, the IRS scandal, decimation of US foreign policy, record numbers on food stamps and/or disability, and on and on.  This was "the lesson" we needed to learn?

Here's a note to those who are "more Conservative than thou:" What has happened to our country is not all Obama's fault.  You put him there, and these are your results.  You jeopardized our very livelihoods.  You.  Own it.

Cowards.  Idiot cowards. 

Fr. Don's Thought of the Day

As I've stated here previously, I subscribe to Fr. Don Talafous' daily meditations.  It is the way I start my day, and gets things going in the right direction.  In fact, I jokingly claim to have coffee with Fr. Don every morning.

Every once and a while he says something really profound which really impacts me.  That was the case in last Friday's post, where he wrote:

If God's love for us comes through the actions and words of other people, then our love for God, too, is shown through our words and actions for others, our admiration, appreciation. 

Quite a responsibility, huh?  How are you living up to it?  

Me?  I think I've got some work to to.  

Saturday Song Share: Foo Fighters - In the Clear

Shot in NOLA, with backing horns from Trombone Shorty and friends.  The best rock band currently standing: