It's only flat on the bottom

This morning, as I waited at the bus stop on my way to the office, I witnessed something a bit bizarre. I was skimming the headlines on the front page of my Washington Post, and I heard a strange but distinctive sound approaching. It was the repetitive smacking sound of a car with a flat tire. I looked up and saw a Ford Taurus approaching slowly, at maybe half of the posted 35 mph speed limit. The car had its hazard indicators on, but was driving in the left (i.e., passing) lane. At first I thought the driver was looking for a place to pull off and change the tire, as there are no shoulders. However, the car passed by several empty, but well lit parking lots and continued slowly up the road. My bus pulled up as I watched the car slowly pulling away from me, so I never did see where it went, but I couldn't help wondering why the driver kept going. Maybe the car didn't have a spare. Maybe they were *almost* to their destination. Maybe the driver was just dumb as a rock. All I know for sure is that the tire was going to be far beyond any hope of repair by the time the car stopped, and there was every possibility that the wheel it had been mounted on would need to be replaced as well.

Washington's first airline crash

Tomorrow marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the crash of Air Florida flight 90 in the Potomac River on a cold, snowy afternoon. The plane crashed into the 14th Street Bridge, which carries I-395 and US 1 into Washington, DC just north of National Airport, shortly after take off. Seventy passengers, four crew members, and four motorist on the bridge were killed. The subsequent investigation indicated that the crash was the result of improper de-icing of the plane.

I remember watching the footage of the efforts to rescue the few victims who were found floating in the frigid water afterward. The U.S. Park Police made a valiant effort to use their helicopter (which was not equipped for rescue work) and a floatation ring on a rope to pull the survivors to shore. During my years as a volunteer EMT in this area, I had the opportunity to talk to several people who responded to that crash as part of the various emergency response agencies.

On the front page of today's Washington Post is an article discussing the wide ranging reforms that have resulted from the investigation of that crash. In particular, the article focuses on improvements in cockpit culture and crew communications, and notes that these lessons have been adopted well beyond the aviation industry, including other high risk environments such as surgery. Apparently, this crash is regularly dissected as part of the curriculum in aviation oriented schools, to train the future engineers and pilots the importance of cooperation and communication in airline safety.

[the article via MSNBC.com]

MLS lands a very big fish

Today's sports news leaves me feeling a bit confused. The Los Angeles Galaxy has apparently signed David Beckham to a five year contract reported to be worth $250 million. This is from a team in a league where the average player salary is about $100,000 per year. Now I understand that Beckham is famous and will undoubtedly draw crowds to the Galaxy games to see him play, but soccer has never caught on as a spectator sport here in the US, and I don't see how spending this kind of money for one of the world's most famous players is going to change that in the long term. Furthermore, why would Beckham want to play here, after playing in the much more competitive environment in Europe?

[via The Washington Post]

Girl Scout cookies anyone?

My daughter is selling Girl Scout cookies again, and, inspired by her success last year (over 300 boxes sold), has decided she'd like to sell 500 boxes this year (yikes!). So, as a supportive parent, I'm asking if any of my friends would like to buy some cookies. The cookies are available in eight varieties for $3.50 per box (note to regular GS cookie purchasers, they have discontinued the sugar-free Lemon Coolers and introduced the sugar-free Little Brownies instead). The cookies should be delivered at the end of February or beginning of March. If you are interested please let me know. For those of you in the DC area, we can make arrangements to get the cookies to you. If you don't live in the DC area, but will be attending the BookCrossing convention in Charleston, I'd be happy to take your order and deliver the cookies to you at the convention.