Happy Friday!

Looks like there's a job opening in the IT Dept. at the FAA center! Pretty scary stuff. "Somebody" failed to do a routine 30 day reset of a system that has a known bug and all communications with planes over California, Arizona and Nevada are lost for 3 hours. It's a known glitch in every FAA center in the country & they've known about it for over a year. Now they've decided to get it fixed within a month. Gee, ya' think that might be a good idea? We spend billions on systems for our country's critical infrastructure. We develop back up systems for the back up systems. And they still fail. And we're supposed to feel safe from terrorists when something as simple as this could cripple us??.

I'm pretty happy it's Friday. This week seemed to go by in a flash. It's been really feeling like Autumn all week, which makes me even happier. Rain showers and sunbreaks with a little wind thrown in. Leaves are starting to turn. We even had a fire in the woodstove last night. And like clockwork - the rain starts, the cats start coming in. Ozzie took up residence in his favorite winter spot above the computer. We'll see how long it takes before the Kittlin challenges him for it.

Tomorow we are attending the official christening of my dad's new sailboat. It's a brand-spanking new 43 footer that was shipped down from the manufacturer (in Seattle, I think? Can't remember the name... I'll post it later, maybe with pics). He and my stepmom are planning to take it down the Columbia and up the coast a short ways to Gray's Harbor for her maiden voyage. I'm a little concerned. This requires going across the Columbia River Bar. The third most dangerous river bar in the world, and the only one in the U.S., I believe that specifically requires big commercial ships to use licensed bar pilots to cross it (in addition to your regular river pilots you see elsewhere). Granted, he's done it before (with another, much more experienced sailor). And in calm conditions it's not a big deal. But the forecasters are calling for an early start to the fall/winter storms (see above). Which typically mean high seas and dangerous currents. Right in the middle of a very busy shipping channel. You've got huge container ships coming in on you and there's not a hell of a lot of room to manuever. So if you lose the engine, or if the current is running stronger than the engine can push against, you're fucked. And they'll be in a brand new boat they will only have been sailing for a couple of days.

You know, the more I think about this the more I'm thinking it's a bad idea. And I just called my bro in the Coast Guard who was stationed there, and he says he told Dad the same thing. But Dad's got a hard-on for getting out in the ocean so who knows if he'll listen to us.