This, like so many, was a horrible privatization of Chrysler by Cerberus. Any honest evaluation of Chrysler assets would have revealed what the bankruptcy courts are exposing today -- that the company was never worth $7B and the bonds used to buy it were horribly at risk.

The bond brokers blame the union, not their own incompetence -- a red herring really.

The truth is, they're right for the wrong reason, in this case they should never have sold these bonds because it was a shitty investment, and, yes, the company would have been worth more without those shitty union contracts.

I just flew on a full flight with over 180 people and the same on the way back -- most everyone on the plane slept, or watched the movie and ate snacks. In my experience flying, people aren't discussing the conspiracy theories you mention.

It's like anything else, you spend 90% of your time and effort on the 5% out there who are louder, and kookier than everyone else. Patrick, they are idiots and crackpots, you should just delete their letters and ignore them.

Yes, the fact Renlow failed 5 simulator tests is very disturbing -- Colgan seems to operate like so many corporations where everyone follows the procedures but nobody actually taking responsibility. The bad thing with procedures is it does free you from real responsibility.

...Dan

The "Kite" effect is the same as the Bernoulli effect. In looking at the incident traces on an inverted airfoil, you'll see that the location where the airflow separates (between up and down) moves down the foil with higher angle of attack, which, in effect gives the upper path a longer distance to travel, and creates the same vacuum. Yes, it won't be nearly as efficient as flying right side up.

At an air show over 10 years ago, I saw a Toyota-sponsored aerobatics plane flying sideways, using the fuselage and rudder to provide ALL the lift for steady, sideways flight, pretty cool.

...Dan

Is the "board" based on the name-game? There are rhymes and shared syllables and tangential links -- but I'm having a hard time figuring out the "rules" to it beyond that.

...Dan

I just thought of something -- what would a run on Citi Deposits look like?

Not only do foreign wealth funds buy stock in Citi, they also deposit money in Citi -- large scale foreign wealth fund withdrawals being used to stimulate their respective economies are a possibility. I don't think anyone wants to be holding Citi stock when that happens, especially, our US government!

...Dan

Autopilot is a computer program, a "controller" in programming jargon. There is a broad range of operating parameters that this controller must operate over, and the controller would have to make calculations of input versus response over temperature, altitude, humidity, load, etcetera.

In essence, the autopilot would have identified unsafe conditions only if it were "smart". When the autopilots get to that level, when it can recognize subtle variations in response that are only attributable to icing conditions, it will have become a completely autonomous, self-aware robot that can fly itself, take off and land, all without a pilot.

I expect that day to be within 25 years. We've seen the results of the DARPA challenge (autonomous vehicles tested in the desert) and the huge improvements that have been made. We also know that the stealth bomber is already flown by the computer, with the pilot only providing high level direction (the aerodynamics are not stable, only the computer can provide enough feedback to maintain flight).

Of course, the aviation industry suffers from, and is a benefactor of FAA qualification requirements. Even if this autonomous autopilot (the autopilot was invented in 1912 and first demonstrated in 1914) were introduced today, it would be years before it was qualified, longer still for acceptance.

I think it's instructive to look at Neal Armstrong's experience. He shunned the "hero" label completely -- it's been reported that he performed his mission, and felt any attribution of "hero" would take away from the thousands who worked to put him on the moon, and especially, the one man who led the country and had committed it to place a man on the moon, John F. Kennedy.

He stood on the shoulders of giants, there are many who would have done exactly what he did -- he just felt extremely lucky to have been selected to do just that, and felt a huge responsibility towards all those who had put him there. Reportedly, everyone in the Apollo program was dedicated to fulfilling JFK's pledge -- had it not been July 20, 1969, there were 2 more flights lined up following it to be completed in 1969.

Similarly, our pilots are being trained to handle various emergencies; controllers, firefighters, engineers, FAA, mechanics, and many others are all employed and tasked to various degrees to make flight safer. In effect, our pilots also stand on the shoulders of giants, and I believe Patrick is trying to make that point. Yes, you also have to be good, and when things go wrong, you need to be lu

Looks like not a bad "crossover" you got. We have a Honda Element with 4WD and that good ole reliable Honda V6 -- it hauls an incredible amount of stuff (which we sometimes need to do) and gets 24 MPG highway miles.

Personally, I'd prefer a 4 cylinder (or 2 cylinder boxer, in my dreams) for better gas mileage, as Mark got -- but we're happy, and this category of car is very useful (though who knows how the Element is categorized?).

A small economy car won't satisfy all your needs, keep the

SUV miles down, use the bikes as much as you can, and only Laurie David will look down on your efforts (from her private jet plane).

If anyone cared to look into it, divorce settlements can be structured so as to maintain insurance coverage for an ex-spouse. Sounds like the perfect solution for this case.