December 2003

December marked both the end of the year and the end of another chapter in my life. The "married, dual income, no kids" chapter of my life is about to come to a close. I'm looking forward to see what the next chapter holds for us.

December 6

Our new dining room furniture arrives.

December 14

Road trip to Leavenworth; we know we won't have as much opportunity to just get away in a couple weeks.

December 29

Susan's parents arrive to help us prepare the house, and ourselves, for the coming arrival.

December 30

My Mom arrives to help us prepare the house, and ourselves, for the coming arrival. Last in the series of pregnancy poses.

December 31

Today is the day. We load up the Honda and drive to Steven's Hospital in Everett. We have some time to kill, so I take notes in my little notebook. Susan realizes that she forgot something. Finally it is time to go to the C-section room.

The room is cold and very sterile. I'm probably more nervous than Susan. The doctor's are preparing things. I stay on the safe side of the barrier that installed across Susan's middle. Susan is numbed up and doesn't feel a thing from the waist down.

Andrew Thomas Straka arrives at 1:15PM. He is cleaned up and weighed, then eventually taken into a separate room for monitoring.

Everyone but Susan gets to meet Andrew. We are all getting hungry, so everyone but Susan goes to Applebee's to eat. While we're there, we get a frightening call from Susan. The doctors want us to return to the hospital as soon as we can.

When we arrive, the doctors tell us about a problem they discovered with Andrew. His breathing sounded odd, so they did some X-rays and found his bowels where his left lung should be. They called Children's Hospital in Seattle and arranged an ambulance to take him there.

The next time we got to see Andrew, he had hoses sticking out of his arms and legs. He had a tube in his mouth to help him breath. He was strapped down so he couldn't move. It was terribly depressing to see him like this.

Here are my notes:

10:30	Check-in to room 706 at Steven's Hospital. Called home to ask the Haksch's to bring Susan's slippers.
10:40	Called home to ask the Haksch's to bring a box of Kleenex tissues - the hospital's were too rough.
11:15	IV attempted unsuccessfully due to squiggly veins.
11:30	IV inserted successfully by a different nurse.
12:05	Dr. Sciscoe comes in to explain the upcoming events.
12:15	Anesthesiologist comes in to explain the upcoming events.
12:30	Susan starts to prepare.
13:15	Andy is born; legs bent a crazy angles and his heels nearly touching his ears. He weighs 6 lbs 9 ozs.
13:45	Andy taken to nursery for post-birth monitoring - standard treatment for C-Section babies.
15:45	Andy gets his first official cleaning, followed by foot prints.
17:00	The grandparents and I go to Applebee's for dinner.
18:30	The doctors come in and explain to me and Susan that Andy has a diaphragmatic hernia.
20:00	Andy is transported to Children's Hospital in Seattle by ambulance.
21:00	Mom and I drive to Children's Hospital and check in at the emergency entrance.
21:15	Mom and I found Andy on the fourth floor Infant Intensive Care Unit (IICU).
22:00	Dr. Lee gives us the details of the problem and surgery and the prognosis for his recovery.
23:15	Mom and I go home, arriving in time to bring in the new year with very modest enthusiasm.

November 2003

November brought the final flight of the Concorde, a baby shower, and Thanksgiving with friends.

November 5

Retired British Airways Concorde arrives in Seattle as the newest member of Seattle's Museum of Flight family.

Here's what the newspaper had to say:

The Concorde Arrives In Seattle

November 5, 2003

By KOMO Staff & News Services

SEATTLE - Back in the 1960s and early 70s, Seattle tried very hard to get a supersonic transport. Boeing was building it but dropped the project when government funding fell through.

Some 35 years later, Seattle finally has their plane.

About a thousand people gathered at Boeing Field to see one of seven retired British Airways Concorde supersonic jetliners arrive around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, making its final landing before going on permanent display at Seattle's Museum of Flight.

After it came to a stop, pilots waved British and American flags from the cockpit windows.

The Museum and British Airways announced last week that Seattle was going to be one of the three North American homes for the jets. One is going to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City and one to Grantley Adams Airport in Bridgetown, Barbados. The other four were going to remain in Britain.

"We are delighted to be able to share Concorde with the public here in the Pacific Northwest and with our visitors from around the world," Ralph Bufano, the museum's president and CEO said last week during the announcement.

"This exciting airplane represents the pinnacle of technological achievement in commercial air transportation, and it is highly fitting that this historic type joins other airliners in our world-class collection," Bufano said.

The museum's collection includes prototypes of the Douglas DC-2, Boeing's 727, 737 and 747, and the only de Havilland Comet in North America.

Although some had wished at least some of the sleek aircraft could be kept flying, BA chief executive Rod Eddington said a study had shown that "the technical and financial challenges of keeping a Concorde airworthy are absolutely prohibitive."

Eddington said the destinations had been chosen for location, accessibility and "ability to properly exhibit and preserve the aircraft."

Flights of the droop-nosed aircraft have been halted by British Airways and Air France, the only airlines that flew the Concorde. The last trans-Atlantic flight landed Friday at London, carrying 100 celebrities from New York.

Air France grounded its five Concordes in May. One has gone to the new branch of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The others will be displayed in France and Germany.

In the late 1960s, the U.S. government supported Boeing Co. efforts to develop a larger competitor to the Concorde.

Because of environmental and cost concerns at a time of general recession in the aviation industry, the federal money stopped in 1971, worsening Boeing's worst slump in the company's history.

The Concorde turned out to be a financial flop, but its financing through European government subsidies set the stage for Airbus, which is poised to eclipse Boeing as the world's biggest commercial jet maker this year.

The airline also said it would hold an auction of Concorde memorabilia - including a nose cone and pilots' seats - on Dec. 1, with proceeds going to charity.

The Museum of Flight anticipates that Concorde will open there for tours by museum members only on Nov. 22. They're estimating it'll be open to the public on Nov. 28. Tours will be free with museum admission.

November 6

Susan's co-workers throw her a baby shower.

November 8

The latest in the series of pregnancy poses.

November 9

Susan and I buy a new dresser for Andrew. Susan starts filling his closet with tiny clothes.

November 15

We go to the Museum of Flight for a close-up look at the Concorde.

November 19

First snow of the season.

November 19

We go to see a model train show.

November 27

We celebrate Thanksgiving with the Lindleys in their new house.

November 29

Our cros-state friends, the Weedas, stop by for a visit.

October 2003

October was a slow month, but I did get my pegboard installed in the shed.

October 10

Finished the pegboard in the shed.

October 19

The next in the series of pregnancy poses.

September 2003

September brought a change in ISP, some new computer hardware, new tires for the (paid off) Honda, and a new tooth.

September 1

Went to Fry's in search of a Linksys wireless router, but it was too expensive. Went to CompUSA and found it cheaper, plus it had a mail-in rebate! Picked up an Antec 400 Watt power supply for the computer, too. Yes, it also had a mail-in rebate!

September 2

Realizing that my driver's license had expired on August 15 (oops!), I got a ride to the DMV and got it renewed for five years. Dropped Earthlink satellite service.

September 3

Signed up for Earthlink cable service, mailed rebate form to Linksys, ordered Canon GL-2 digital video camera and various accessories.

September 4

Mailed rebate form to Antec. Canon order blocked for verification; sent e-mail containing a scanned copy of my driver's license for verification.

September 5

Canon order verified. Saw Open Range in Woodinville.

September 6

Went to Wings Aloft and signed up for Cirrus SR-20 introductory flight. Pulled cables through crawl space and into computer room.

September 7

Verified notebook computer works on wireless network, recorded some songs off the DirecTV music channel onto the notebook.

September 8

Frustrated by the verification and shipping delays, I cancelled the Canon GL-2 order. One of the accessories already shipped, so that part of the order couldn't be cancelled, but the rest was cancelled.

September 10

Doctor appointment followed by Dentist appointment to install new temp tooth in place of chipped tooth. Susan took me on the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train for our anniversary.

September 13

Flew the Cirrus SR-20 at Wings Aloft. Todd flies solo for the first time!!! Lunch and celebration with the Lindleys. Caulked seems in siding.

September 15

Rode backseat on Todd's cross country flight to Hoquiam. Susan's friend Candria stopped by to help Susan draft possible furniture layouts for the computer room and baby room.

September 16

Jimmy Buffett concert at the White River Amphitheater; cold and rainy and super-crowded; left at intermission.

September 19

Received bonus check from Cisco and paid off the Honda!!! Bought a JVC progressive scan DVD player at Video Only and Lord of the Rings: Two Towers.

September 20

Per Candria's plan, we moved furniture, shelves, and the BowFlex into the computer room and removed the fishy border wallpaper (finally).

September 21

Bought Michelin tires for the Honda at Sears and received a rebate for a free JVC DVD player! How funny, since we just bought a new one two days ago. The free one is not progressive scan, so we'll be giving it away as a Christmas present to some lucky friend/relative. Bought silk trees for the living room and dining room.

September 24

Ordered TDK DVD Burner from ZipZoomFly.

September 25

Temporary tooth replaced by permanent crown.

September 27

Bought baby stuff from garage sale in Snoqualmie, watched the sunset from Mukilteo.

September 28

Moved some dirt from the pile, cleaned out the backside gutters.

September 29

Mailed JVC and Michelin rebates. Darren informed me that I had received a small raise; thank you very much. Downloaded my first song from MusicMatch -- Legally, for 99¢. TDK DVD Burner arrives.

September 30

Bought Maxtor 80 GB hard drive, CD Stomper, DVD cases from Staples.

August 2003

August started, as usual, with the Blue Angels at Seafair. Kendra and Kerissa got to go flying. Mom and Cathy & Dave came out to visit

August 1

Borrowed Martin's Canon 10D camera with 400mm zoom lens and went to Lake Washington with Susan, Todd and Mike to watch the Blue Angels.

August 2

Met the Lindley's at Wings Aloft to watch the Blue Angels, went to Zoopa afterwards. Susan & I then went shopping for pregnancy clothes, then to the Mariner's game (Mariner's 12 - White Sox 0).

August 3

Watched SeaFair Sunday from home; highlight was the original Boeing 707, but no rolls this time around.

August 5

Meigs Field permanently destroyed.

August 9

Chehalis Air Fare; Kendra flew with the Young Eagles, Tom & Kerissa flew in an old Waco biplane.

August 14

Picked up Mom at Sea-Tac, got a haircut, ate at the Ranch Diner, moved dirt to front yard, bought 6000 points at Trend West, free dinner at Olive Garden.

August 15

Drove to Anacortes, but missed the ferry to San Juan Island by 3 cars, so we drove across Highway 20, then down to Chelan, dinner in Leavenworth, then home. Worst power failure in history hits East Coast.

August 16

Saw Singin' in the Rain in Issaquah.

August 17

Street of Dreams in Issaquah.

August 18

Ultrasound shows a boy, met Lanna & Kendra at Southcenter Mall and handed off Mom.

August 21

Broke off a chunk of my tooth while eating pizza at lunch.

August 22

Air Force One at Boeing Field, picked up Cathy & Dave at Sea-Tac.

August 23

Seattle tour; breakfast in Bothell, Ballard Locks, Pike Place Market, Seattle waterfront, Pacific Place, monorail back to Seattle Center, Space Needle, Highland Park.

August 24

Mountain tour; Krispy Kremes on South Hill, lunch supplies in Eatonville, hiking at Paradise, Reflection Lake, Nirada Falls, dinner at the Scale Burger, dropped Cathy & Dave in Chehalis.

August 27

Dentist appointment, Comcast internet hookup.

August 28

Picked up Mom, Cathy, & Dave at Amtrak station in Seattle.

August 29

Dropped of Cathy & Dave at Sea-Tac, went to Museum of Flight with Mom, dropped her off at Sea-Tac, went to Fry's grand opening (line around the block).

August 30

First in a series of Susan's pregnancy photos

July 2003

July included a visit from some friends, some flights, a ball game, some lawn work, and an a couple air shows.

July 4

Cleaned house in preparation of Weeda's visit, party at Marty's with food and fireworks.

July 5

Mountain flight at Auburn Flight cancelled due to bad weather.

July 6

Watched the mini hydro's race around Lake Pleasant.

July 7

Flew to Chehalis to get Mariner's tickets from Tom & Lanna.

July 8

Great seats for the Mariner's game. Mariners 6 - Orioles 5.

July 10

Todd takes first flight lesson.

July 11

Bought cool double-decker queen sized air mattress for Weeda's visit.

July 12

NWEAA Arlington Fly-in, Weeda's stop by and spend the night.

July 13

McChord Air Show; playing in the rain.

July 19

Built wall in front yard, looked for trees at Flower World, listened to live Jazz in Everett.

July 21

Susan's 12 week doctor's appointment.

July 24

Paine Field touch-and-go practice with Todd and Susan.

July 25

Watched Antz under the stars at Silver Lake.

July 26

Today we scheduled a flight around the Olympic peninsula with the Lindleys. The plan was to stop in Forks for the Salmon Bake Fly-in, then continue to Port Angeles for fuel and food, then back to Seattle.

The weather was a little bit low on the south side of the Olympics, but we decided to go have a look. When we passed Bremerton, the ceilings started to drop, but not too low. We continued west. The ceiling continued to drop, but we knew we could fly up the coast as long as the clouds stayed around 2,000 feet. We tuned the radio to the Forks airport common frequency and heard people flying in with clear skies, so we turned the corner and headed north.

The fly-in was nice, but Forks has a short airport. I had to do a go-around on the first attempt, but got us in on the second. The food was great, but soon it was time to continue.

At Port Angeles, we found the self-serve fuel pump and bought some gas. Then we called a taxi to take us into town for dinner. After dinner, we returned to the airport and flew back to Seattle.

July 27

Back to Flower World to look at trees again.

June 2003

June saw a family visit in Florida, an additional heartbeat in our family, a new medication, and an aerobatic flight in a WWII trainer.

June 1

Shopping at Lowes, bought bird feeders, plywood, peg board, grass seed, fertilizer.

June 2

Susan's doctor appointment - no additional heartbeat, stopped at Baby's R Us.

June 5

Called Nikki to arrange vacation plans.

June 6

Shoe buying marathon.

June 7

Off to Orlando, then drive a cool convertible Mitsubishi Eclipse to Ft. Myers Beach.

June 8

Beach day - rented beach umbrellas and kayak, got good and cooked after only one hour, played cards.

June 9

Boat tour of Everglades from Everglade City (monster mosquito attack), drove to Miami in super storm, stuck in traffic, Alligator Alley return.

June 10

Edison-Ford Summer home, Page Airport.

June 11

Back to the Everglades, Shark Valley tram ride, stop at Marco Island Airport to check out planes, sunset on the beach.

June 12

Flew in Cessna 310 twin to Key West, took glass bottom boat tour of the reef, walked to southern point, flew back to Marco Island, ice-cream for dessert.

June 13

Public fishing pier, saw dolphins, baby shark, pelicans, bought T-shirts. Drove back to Orlando, stopped at Sun 'N Fun, ate dinner with Emory's and Rollinitis's, played in the pool with Zack.

June 14

Played mini-golf with Nikki and Zack, raced mini-Indy cars with Zack and Dave, dropped off rental car, back to Seattle.

June 15

San Antonio Spurs beat New Jersey Nets to win championship, David Robinson retires.

June 16

Susan's doctor appointment - heard a second heartbeat!

June 18

Sold 200 shares of Cisco stock at $18.53.

June 19

It's official; I'm over the hill. I'm now on BP medication for the rest of my life.

June 21

Saw Finding Nemo, went to Boeing Field to see B-17 and B-24.

June 22

Took check-out flight in Piper Warrior III at Auburn Flight.

June 24

Flew Cessna 172 to Bellingham with Mike Hulbert to fly the T-6 Texan WWII fighter trainer with American Warbirds. Dennis Miller arrived in personal jet. Lunch at Friday Harbor.

June 28

Took Honda in for 45,000 mile tune-up, turned in paperwork for Warrior check-out, hauled away remaining wood chips from stump grinding.

May 2003

May marked the beginning of a new way of life, and a detour to the plans put into motion last month.

May 2

Stayed home sick, went to walk-in clinic with Susan, found out that she's pregnant!

May 6

HOA meeting with enough people this time.

May 8

Went to Susan's doctor appointment, mowed front yard.

May 9

Saw Little River Band at the Tacoma Dome.

May 10

Mowed back yard, worked on stump holes.

May 11

Flew a Cessna 172 to Orcas Island with Susan, ate lunch, and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine while walking along the rocky coastline.

May 15

Talked to Monica; she's pregnant too and due in November! Los Angeles Lakers eliminated in second round by San Antonio Spurs (woo hoo!)

May 17

New satellite dish and HDTV antenna installed.

May 25

Saw REO Speedwagon, Styx, and Journey at the Gorge in George, Washington.

May 26

Visited the Weeda's and the Lindley's.

May 27

Jeremy from Pan Am called to see what I was up to. Mowed the front and side yards.

May 28

Bought Home Depot gift certificates for Todd & Danielle, ate at Kidd Valley - no more peanut butter milkshakes (@#$%^ lawsuits)!

May 30

Air France flies the Concorde to New York City for the final time. The plane will be retired after its return flight to Paris tomorrow.

April 2003

April was filled with dreams of flying. It all started when I heard Tony Robbins say, "Dreams do not happen on their own. Every day, you must take steps that lead you closer to your dreams." With this in mind, steps were taken down the path to a professional flying career.

April 1

Made arrangements with Pan Am International Flight Academy to tour their facilities in Phoenix, Arizona on April 25.

April 3

Made arrangements with Westwind Flight Academy to tour their facilities in Phoenix, Arizona on April 24. Picked up Alaska Airlines tickets to Phoenix.

April 6

Mowed front yard, worked on hole from first stump.

April 7

Jeremy Brown called from Pan Am; he's my new contact. Dick ground my remaining stumps.

April 8

Home Owner's Association meeting; only 39 show up. Mariners win home opener against Anaheim 5 - 0.

April 9

Marines pull down Saddam statue in down town Baghdad.

April 10

Doctor appointment; start taking blood pressure pills for 1 month to see how it works. Won $3 on the Washington Lotto Plus!

April 12

Took Infiniti for emissions test, bought Arizona tour guide and map, finished reading Lord of the Rings series, mowed the front yard.

April 16

Chat with Patti reveals Kelli's latest wedding plans... tomorrow!! Mom and Ray called to see if we were going the wedding!

April 17

Kelli marries Bryan at the courthouse.

April 18

CPR/TAC training with 90 minute presentation, beers at Jalisco's afterwards.

April 19

Mowed the front yard, scraped moss off the roof, started hauling stump grindings out of the yard.

April 20

Easter Sunday; church with Susan, washed the Honda, ate lunch with the Days, drove to Ice Caverns trail at Big 4 Mountain.

April 21

Bought 4 pairs of slacks, 2 shirts at JC Penney.

April 22

Bought more shirts at Fred Meyer, packed for Arizona trip.

April 23

The day of our grand adventure to Arizona finally arrived. First, I had to wrap up some tasks in the office. Once those were complete, it was just a matter of time before Susan called to say she was passing the McDonald's on Broad Street - my sign to start shutting down the computers and go meet her by the first floor door.

I jumped in the car and we drove towards Sea-Tac airport. We were hungry so we stopped for a bite, then parked the car at the off-airport parking lot. The shuttle whisked us to the airport.

While talking about the emergency rows, he also mentioned flying the MD-80. Here are a few of the comments he made:

• For those into group floating, he has good news. The three forward escape slides can be used as liferafts.
• When discussing oxygen masks: If you have more than one child with you, decide now which is your favorite. Position your mask first, then help your favorite child before helping your other children.
• After some time in the air, he said he had an announcement from the front of the plane: Although he did not have any navigational equipment, radios, charts, or other, he was sure we were closer to Phoenix.
• Before landing checklist included: "Flight attendants, prepare your hair for arrival."
• Please remain seated speech contained comment about cleaning crew having the evening off. He'd like to thank the first six volunteers who stand before the light is extinguished for staying behind and cleaning the plane.

April 24

Met Mike Mosier from Westwind Flight Academy, met Patrick Ryan from Arizona OSHA, drove the Apache Trail.

April 25

Mike Mosier, from Westwind, took me and Susan on a tour of the facility, and ended it with a one hour flight around the valley in a Cessna 172. Jeremy Brown, from Pan Am Academy, showed us the campus, but didn't take us flying. Even so, I was more impressed with the professionalism at Pan Am. If I had to choose right now, I'd probably sign up with Pan Am. Of course, I still would like to check out the flight schools in Florida before coming to any conclusions.

After touring both Westwind and Pan Am, we headed north toward Flagstaff. The drive was pretty amazing. Phoenix is about 1,000 feet above sea level, whereas Flagstaff is about 7,000 feet above sea level. The landscape along I-17 changes gradually as you gain elevation along the route from barren desert to alpine forest. Also amazing is the climate difference. It was around 90 degrees in Phoenix, but in the 60's in Flagstaff.

Along the way, we just had to stop in Sedona. From everything we read, we had great expectations, and we were not disappointed. Sedona is stunningly beautiful. It lies at the base of a series of canyons that carve their way to the north and east. It's main attraction - at least for me -is the large red rock outcroppings that stand high up above of the ground level.

Once in Flagstaff, we ate at an old diner along the famous Route 66. Then we went up to Mars Hill to see the observatory before calling it a night. We had big plans for the following day and needed our rest.

April 26

Toured the Grand Canyon, drove back to Sedona for sunset.

The Grand Canyon is amazing. Like Sedona, it lives up to - check that - it exceeds expectations. I shot at least 100 pictures, so it was hard to pick just one for this blog.

The sunset back in Sedona was nice, too.

April 27

Quick stop in Sedona, back to Seattle.

April 29

Proficiency flight in Cessna 172 at Galvin Flying Service, day and night ready.

April 30

Doctor appointment; prescription for blood pressure medication, went home early not feeling well.

March 2003

March marks the beginning of Spring and the end of ski season. Once again, the lawn and other home projects dominate our thoughts. Continuing the theme of the year, several big changes also came about. March ended with an event so unusual and unexpected that it most certainly must have been an April Fool's joke, but unfortunately it wasn't.

March 8

Yearly carpet scrubbing.

March 9

First ski trip, highway 2 closed for avalanche control. Drove to Snoqualmie Falls and spied Todd's house.

March 13

Took the day off from work to help Todd move boxes to his new house.

March 14

Flight Simulator: A Century of Flight alpha disks arrive.

March 15

The battle with the moss begins: fertilizer/moss killer on front yard, spray moss killer on roof.

March 16

Planted grass around back half of shed, met with two stump grinder contractors, moved branches and previously cut small trees into piles for mulching.

March 17

Speaker stands from Wood Technology arrive. President Bush gives Saddam Hussein 48-hour ultimatum.

March 18

Hired one stump grinder for the small stuff and the other to bring down the Maple tree.

March 19

Small trees mulched, but six still left standing. US attacks Iraqi military target believed to be housing Saddam.

March 20

Maple tree cutting started, but incomplete due to high winds.

March 21

Maple tree cutting complete; lots of clean-up work to follow.

March 22

Bought maul and sledge hammer and began splitting and moving the Maple tree pieces out of the yard and into the garden beds.

March 23

Finished splitting the Maple logs and cleaning up the back yard. St

March 29

Rented a Kuboto backhoe. Tom came up and we worked two projects. First, we leveled out the dirt on the other side of the fence from the shed. Second, we worked on removing the maple tree stump.

March 31

In a sneak attack at 1:30AM and without prior notification to the city or the FAA, Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago cuts huge X's into the runway at Meigs Field, destroying it and trapping 16 GA planes in the process. For years the mayor has wanted to convert the airport into a city park, but organizations like AOPA and Friends of Meigs Field have stood in the way. A little over a year ago in December 2001, the mayor agreed to keep Meigs Field open for 25 years in return for federal funding for other Chicago-land airports and a new airport in the region. So much for his promises. While America fights a tyrant in the Gulf, we discover we have our very own living on the shores of Lake Michigan.

CONTROLLERS CONDEMN DALEY’S MIDNIGHT MADNESS; NATCA joins FAA, users in blasting Chicago mayor's Meigs policy

3/31/2003

CHICAGO – Air traffic controllers blasted Chicago Mayor Richard Daley’s unannounced forced closure of downtown lakefront Meigs Field under cloak of darkness Sunday night, assailing the stealth maneuver as a major step backwards for Chicago aviation and warning of a domino effect on traffic at neighboring airports.

“Mayor Daley bulldozed his way into aviation history this morning by destroying a national treasure and potentially causing unsafe flying conditions for the greater Chicagoland airspace,” NATCA President John Carr said. “This reminds me of the Colts sneaking out of Baltimore by dead of night. Clearly, the mayor didn’t think his policy choices could either figuratively or literally withstand the light of day. It’s the epitome of arrogance.”

Chicago media are reporting today that before midnight on Sunday, workers with construction equipment arrived at Meigs escorted by Chicago police and carved out large, X-shaped portions of concrete out of the center of the runway. Sixteen aircraft appeared stranded. Sources said under terms of a deal with then-Illinois Governor George Ryan in December 2001, Mayor Daley agreed to keep Meigs open until 2026.

“Mayor Daley has managed to do what terrorists couldn’t -- he permanently shut down an airport in the great city of Chicago,” Carr said. “It’s just outrageous.”

The monthly average air traffic volume at Meigs in 2002 was 1,564 instrument flight rules operations, meaning flights where pilots were in contact with air traffic control. But Meigs routinely became a much busier airport during events at the nearby McCormick Place convention center. In fact, last September, the airport handled 2,273 IFR operations.

“The problem with Meigs closing is those 1,500 operations are going to have to go somewhere else,” remarked Ray Gibbons, president of the local NATCA chapter at Chicago Terminal Radar Approach Control. “O’Hare and Midway airports are already operating above capacity. In fact, we are working more aircraft than we were before Sept. 11, 2001. Meigs’ closure adds complex and higher volumes of traffic to this area’s overburdened, understaffed facilities and sooner or later that understaffing will reach critical mass. At some point in time, the safety of the flying public will be compromised.”

February 2003

February started with great excitement and great sadness.

February 1

With great excitement, I jumped out of bed the moment the alarm went off at 5:30 AM. Anyone who knows me knows that I rarely "jump" out of bed. It's usually more in the order of three snoozes later, I grumpily lumber to bathroom to start my morning process. But this time, I was anxious to get the day started. Yesterday, I rented a Nikon D100 digital camera and a Nikkor 400mm f2.8 lens and I was ready to put my photo shoot plans into action. The trick was how to get Susan motivated to go, too... just kidding :-)

As I gathered my equipment and loaded the Honda, Susan packed the cooler with her special dietary foods and water. We were walking out the door when Susan told me she heard on the radio that NASA lost contact with the Space Shuttle. I told her that it is common for the shuttle to lose communications during reentry and I briefly wondered why the news was reporting such a common event.

We drove up Highway 20 to Sedro Woolley to shoot some photos of Bald Eagles with the enormous 400mm lens.

When we returned, we learned that the Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed upon reentering Earth's atmosphere over Texas. It is hard to believe. We are emotionally numb.

February 5

Went to North Seattle Community College with Susan and worked on my web page outside her classroom.

February 8

Fulfilled promise: scrubbed the shower, watched Signs.

February 10

Cooked beef stew in Crock Pot.

February 14

Dropped AOL, sent holiday pictures to the Pearces, nice dinner with Susan, bought Samsung SIR-TS160 HD tuner and Terk powered TV antenna.

February 15

Cleaned clogged drain on Susan's sink, installed wall outlet for antenna/phone in living room, installed antenna in the attic.

The antenna in the attic didn't work out as well as I'd hoped. With me in the attic and Susan in the living room, I'd adjust the angle until Susan said the picture was good. Then she'd change the channel and find that the picture was bad again. I'd adjust some more, only to find that the original clear channel was now gone. We're going to need a better antenna...

February 17

Tom hits the big 4-0! Finally saw Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers at Cinerama.

February 21

Gary Payton traded to Milwaukee for Ray Allen.

February 22

Museum of Flight moves B747 and B727 across E. Marginal Way, Northwest Aviation Conference in Puyallup, met Hal from Microsoft, went to Tom's birthday party.

February 23

Beautiful day: washed the Honda, Girl Scout cookies arrive, worked on taxes, applied to LendingTree.com.

February 24

Filed tax return electronically, took pictures from Queen Anne at lunch.

February 26

Dentist appointment, haircut, dropped off Infiniti for 90k tune-up.

January 2003

Welcome to the year Two Thousand Three. The beginning of a new year. Time for new resolutions. Time for new furniture. Time for new hardware. There's something about January - I don't know what it is - that makes me want to start fresh. This year it was certainly no different.

January 1

Susan and I had big plans for this day, but we couldn't get ourselves out of bed early enough to pursue them. We had planned to drive to Washington D.C. and tour the Smithsonian Institute and other monuments. We have heard that there are no lines on New Year's Day. We wanted to take our young nephews, Gabriel and Caleb, but they wouldn't commit to getting up early. When the alarm went off, we decided at that moment that it wouldn't be the same without the kids, so we rolled over and went back to sleep.

We still wanted to do something with the kids, so Susan made plans with her sister, Noemi, for the evening. Noemi stopped by later and we drove to Hanover, Virginia and went bowling for two hours. My performance was below my standards, but considering I only bowl twice a decade, I guess I shouldn't have expected too much. As it turned out, I was beat by the girls every time; a sad day for mankind at the bowling alley.

After bowling, we took the kids and headed for the Science Museum in Richmond. The IMAX theater was playing Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. Susan's father, George, met us at the entrance. Just before show time, we filed into the theater and found seats in the center of the dome. I'm sad to say that I wasn't impressed with the quality of the film. The colors were too cool and the dome caused the image to stretch wildly around the edges. I much prefer IMAX films on flat surfaces.

January 4

Susan and I return home to Seattle.

January 12

A former co-worker called me and explained that he was trying to start a new business. He wanted to know if he could inspect our home, along with a professional inspector, as practice. We agreed, so he stopped by with all of his equipment and gadgets and got to work. We did not expect if to find any issues, since the house was inspected before we bought it a few years ago. To our surprise, he informed us that 1) we had roots running through our crawl space and 2) that our water heater was nearing its end.

The water heater was surprising, but it was still working so we ignored it for the time. The roots, on the other hand, were a big concern. We decided that the Maple tree in the back yard was the likely source of the roots. This tree, although very beautiful in the summer and fall, was just too close to the house for comfort and it was now potentially destroying our foundation. We decided that it had to go.

January 16

At a certain point in one's life, one must let go of their old, hand-me-down furniture that they've been lugging along from one apartment to the next for over a decade. Today, Susan and I reached that point. We drove to the Lazy-Boy Showcase store in Lynnwood to look for a love seat, possibly leather, with dual recliners. The salesperson started us in the "cheap" section, but gradually lured us towards the fancy stuff at the other side of the store. As we followed along, I saw a very nice set with a large price tag attached and told Susan to avoid sitting on it because she might like it and it was too expensive! We looked at several recliners, couches, love seats, and sets before we eventually were routed back to the showcase piece that I was trying to avoid. By this time, I was willing to give it a try. We sat down on the love seat and, well, fell in love with it. It was so soft and cushy, we had to have it. But we didn't want the entire set. During the walkthrough, I had found a recliner that I liked, so we combined the individual recliner with the matching sofa and love seat and an ottoman for the perfect set.

January 17

One of our favorite comedians came to the Paramount Theater and we went to see him. Sinbad is one of the rare comedians who is both hilariously funny, but "safe for the family" at the same time. You will never hear him go on a cursing tirade, like a lot of the younger comedians seem to do these days.

January 18

Continuing the theme of replacing old furniture, we decided to get rid of the old waterbed and move the guest bed with its nice new mattress into our bedroom.

January 19

Visited Todd & Danielle's new house under construction.

January 20

Reinstalled XP to get rid of bad modem drivers

January 21

After reinstall, Internet is back, but Money is dead! Scoped out new motherboard

January 22

Ordered motherboard

January 24

Motherboard arrives

January 25

Rebuild computer, Lazy-Boy delivery

January 26

Super Bowl: Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21

January 28

Picked up package from Mom: OSU National Champs sweatshirts

January 31

Rented Nikon D100, Nikkor 400mm f2.8 lens for the weekend