sync

As did the climate-change deniers.

It's not just "anyone" worried about near-crashes in aviation, it's the people most knowledgeable about them.

Air travel safety professionals have raised concerns about the safety of U.S. air travel. Numerical sense? I prefer common sense.

For someone like me, whose knuckles are white from the instant the plane ticket is purchased until I'm on the ground again from the return flight, the following is way TMI: August 21, 2023 By German Lopez La Guardia Airport.Desiree Rios/The New York Times Close calls The U.S. has not had a fatal plane crash involving a commercial airline in more than 14 years — an incredible safety achievement. But the elaborate system that keeps planes from crashing is struggling. In recent years, air traffic controllers, who guide planes out of harm’s way, have suffered a staff shortage. Out of 313 air traffic control facilities nationwide, just three as of May met staff targets set by the Federal Aviation Administration and the union representing controllers. Aviation officials worry the shortage is leading to close calls, in which planes nearly crash. There were at least 46 near misses involving commercial airlines last month, according to an investigation by my colleagues Sydney Ember and Emily Steel that published this morning. Those close calls are still a small fraction of the nearly 1.4 million flights in the U.S. each month, and it is not clear whether the rate is increasing. But any close call is dangerous, potentially leading to a fatal crash that breaks America’s safety streak. As a spokesman for the F.A.A. said, “One close call is one too many.” The agency’s goal is to reduce the number of such near misses to zero. Staff shortages make that harder. “The controllers we’ve talked to take real pride in their job, and they work really hard to make sure these planes are safe,” Emily told me. “But they’re worried that the circumstances around their jobs could make them slip up and that those mistakes could be very dangerous.” What is behind the shortage? Part of the problem goes back decades: In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan fired thousands of air traffic controllers who were on strike. The F.A.A. then hired new controllers. Many retired when they became eligible to do so 20 years later. And now, another 20 years later, another wave of controllers is retiring. Chronic disinvestment in government services is another cause. Over the past decade, the number of fully trained controllers has fallen 10 percent, while airport traffic has increased 5 percent. The F.A.A. has asked for more money to increase hiring. Even if the agency receives those funds, it will take time to hire new controllers and train them. In the meantime, the U.S. risks more close calls. Some in aviation worry it’s only a matter of time before the overworked system fails to stop a deadly crash. “Aviation officials will say that we have the safest system in the world,” Sydney said. “But underlying that success are risks and issues that deserve attention.”

It doesn't matter to me. If an advertisement is of no interest to me, I just move along.

I thought maybe others like myself who admire dancing abilities, while themselves having to focus intently to just navigate one foot before the other, might get some enjoyment/amusement from the following video clip: s

That is a beautiful thought, but I just know I would bond and have to face the eventual inevitable separation be it to another owner or demise.

I agree with those above regarding the tattoo. A tattoo of "Kill'em All" is a powerful indicator that the wearer has a radical and possibly harmful misperception of reality.

I ceased dog ownership after my third loss. I lost two to automobile strikes and the third one to cancer. The consuming grief from the third loss solidified my decision to forego any future dog ownership. My encounters with the dogs of neighbors sustain me for the present.

I believe I see one more at the top all the way to the right...not that I was looking that hard. 🤭

This morning the following email tidbit I received about TV transmissions roused my ire. I've been beginning to experience concern that my hearing may be diminishing. A case of the mumbles: If you find yourself turning on the subtitles to watch TV, you aren’t alone. About 50 percent of Americans — and the majority of young people — watch videos with captions on most of the time. Dialogue really is getting harder to understand, experts say, as TV speakers get thinner and weaker. And unlike traditional broadcasts, which adhered to a set volume limit, streaming services each have their own audio standards. Brian X. Chen, a Times tech writer, tested some technological remedies: Most helped, but none fully solved the problem.

The tenor featured above looks like he might have an appealing "cigar."

Second from the left looks like a "good flight." 😛

Kudos to all the green thumbs. Artificial greenery has perished in my care.

I have my doubts that genuine high-speed rail passenger service (200+ mph) in the U.S. will be available anytime soon due to the likely resistence to it by the domestic air carriers.

I'm drawn immediately to the yummy cutie standing all the way to the right.

Could be. In the "I Am Into" listing he has included "WS."

I just saw a tv report of how the fire was swept out into the harbor igniting numerous boats, prompting some observers to say the water was on fire. The scope and speed of this horror is biblical-like.

I'm for hirsute chests/arms/legs if the hair is plentiful and kempt.

Among other things! 😛

The director must be a big draw to be getting off with a suspension.

As I have mentioned elsewhere, the only men who look better wearing ink, to me, are on U.S. currency.