Category: Auto-biographical
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When the going gets tough . . .
I have a friend who is going through a personal health crisis. That is always tough. Somehow, it is more than frightening to consider our lives and think of it interrupted by necessary treatment. It is also frightening to consider our own mortality and such events always bring us to thinking about that. More often…
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A Blip on the Radar (Part 12) ‘No Man is an Island’
Photo by Francis Meyrick A Blip on the Radar Part 12: No Man is an Island I have read stories and biographies that, in the final thrust, left me unable to identify, to connect, with the protagonist. It was as if the make-up team had been in. The dreaded publicist. Massaging the true writer away.…
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A Blip on the Radar (Part 13) “The Lady in Blue “
A Blip on the Radar Part 13: The Lady in Blue I try hard, not always successfully, to live by my own maxims. One of these goes like this: never mock what you don’t understand. It has to do with respect I guess. Other people’s religious and spiritual beliefs may seem strange, unreal, but if…
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A Blip on the Radar (Part 11) “Plastic, War, and Manta Rays “
A Blip on the Radar Part 11) Plastic, War, and Manta Rays In my little life, I have frequently witnessed distressing events, man-made, that made absolutely zero sense to me. No rhyme, no logic, no sense. I’d be left thinking… why on earth… do people do and say-such incredibly silly things? Do you have to…
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A Blip on the Radar (Part 10) “Burning The Garbage; Moggy, Moggy, what you DO?? “
A Blip on the Radar Part 10: “Burning The Garbage; Moggy, Moggy, what you DO?? “ Looking back, I know I elevated naivety to an Art form, truly worthy of the Guinness Book of Records. But I plead innocence. After all, I mostly meant well. That is probably what I shall be telling Saint Peter…
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A Blip on the Radar (Part 9) “Deck Boss have Big Problem “
A Blip on the Radar We were all ship mates. In our own way, despite different nationalities, cultures and priorities, we often relied on each other. I was learning Chinese, and I often chatted for hours with the crew members about their lives, their homes, their goals in life. They showed me photos of their…
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Moggy’s Tunaboat Helicopter Manual Ch.3-H-1 “Drawings “
Here are two drawings that attempt to illustrate two different possible roll-over scenarios. They illustrate parts of the story described in “Blip on the Radar(8) ” “Eyes of Dead Man “. (note: for an interesting discussion on Dynamic Roll-over, see Vertical Reference.com Here is the link) You can imagine wobbling about, big rollers coming through,…
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Moggy’s Tunaboat Helicopter Manual Ch.2B-1 Potential Employers
Ch.2B-1 “Potential Employers “ 10/6/2009 You still see websites today, posting information which is totally out of date. Some times ‘years out of date’. This then is the ‘rough start’ of a chapter which tries to address that issue. I will need help to do so, as I am out of the tuna helicopter business…
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A Blip on the Radar (Part 8) “Eyes of Dead Man “
A Blip on the Radar Part 8 Fear and Panic: “Eyes of Dead Man “ Fear and Panic are two different beasts. A helicopter pilot does well to ponder the difference. And research, study, envisage ugly scenarios, prepare mentally for them, and try hard to never be surprised. In this last endeavor, believe me, he…
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A Blip on the Radar (Part 7) “Routine and Sudden Terror “
A Blip on the Radar Part (7) Routine and Sudden Terror: How to crash a Helicopter In the Introduction to “Moggy’s Tunaboat Helicopter Manual ” I wrote this: “But if I had never had any help, never had any advice, never had mentors… I would be stone dead by now. I have waltzed -innocently- into…