Truly Smart People Realize There's No Silver Bullet
There’s no silver bullet when it comes to software, hardware, operating systems or complete systems. Fanatics, especially Mac fanatics, will tell you that Mac is that silver bullet, but truly smart people know better. Take this brief blog entry about installing Leopard. That doesn’t sound like a great user experience; not at all. That doesn’t sound like something my Mum would be able to get through without help.
This isn’t a dig on Mac or Apple. I agree that more often than not, things work when dealing with a Mac. But the same is true of Linux. And Windows for that matter. The point is that you can’t judge an entire technology because of one person’s experience. More so when that person is using a laptop with recently released hardware on a beta version of an operating system. If you were so quick to judge, then you certainly wouldn’t ever install Leopard given the number of people who have encountered issues when upgrading.
But I won’t stoop to such hasty judgment because I truly believe in using the right technology for the right job. And to figure out what the right technology is, you need to be unbiased and approach everything with a clarity not found within fanatics.
Building PA-32 Time
Since purchasing my share of a Piper Cherokee Six earlier this year, I’ve been trying to build time flying in it. I haven’t really been trying hard as it’s been a rather busy year between changing jobs, trips to Africa and other exciting places like South Carolina, San Francisco and Montreal and regular life business. But last weekend I did a day trip to Edmonton City Centre (CYXD) to visit with a friend who lives up there and pick up another friend for the return trip.
This was my first flight to CYXD, which is right in the heart of the City of Edmonton. But it wasn’t the extreme crosswind on final for Runway 30 that made this trip memorable but the fact that I now have more time in the PA-32 than I do in the Cessna 182 family. The 182 was my aircraft of choice until I started dating the Piper Cherokee, so it is a fairly big milestone. Next in line to be passed, at slightly more than twenty flight hours away, will be the Cessna 172, which was my aircraft of choice until I discovered the Calgary Flying Club’s Piper Warriors.
On a side note, while in Edmonton I visited the Alberta Aviation Museum. The museum has thirty or so aircraft on display including two of my favourites, a DC-3 and a de Havilland Mosquito, inside a gigantic hanger. If you have a few hours to kill and are remotely interested in aviation I highly recommend a visit.
No Firearms When Paying Your Parking Ticket
I went down to the new Alberta Court House building in Calgary on 5 Street SW this afternoon to pay an overdue parking ticket (don’t get me started on parking tickets – it wasn’t mine). The building is very modern looking on the outside and is even more so on the inside. But the big surprise was that in order to get past the lobby, you needed to go through a security check similar to those found in airports.
Before I continue let me note that I fully support additional security where the powers that be feel it is warranted. Is it warranted at a Provincial Court House? I don’t have an answer for that and I wouldn’t presume to know the answer but it is worth noting that the old court house, in use up until only just recently, had nothing more than a Commissionaire sitting at an open information booth.
The new court building is a different matter. There is an x-ray machine, which you have to put your coat and electronics through as well as a metal detector, which failed to pick up my belt (though perhaps that’s because it’s newer and more sensitive than the detectors found at airports. You can read a few more details about the building on Wikipedia. Despite all the security it seems that if you have some sort of electronic pass, you can put the pass into a turnstile-type machine and bypass the security check. I would have assumed that this bypass would be for law enforcement personal, since removing their firearm and such would be a pain, but interestingly enough I saw a short, plain clothes women use it which makes me wonder about the security process. But like I said, I wouldn’t presume to know about the security setup – just found it odd. In any case, when paying your parking ticket, make sure you leave your firearm at home.
