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2006/7/21 Friday, Thunderstorms, the Unknown, and Mail....If you're a regular visitor here, you'll notice that I've changed the colors a little bit (okay... a lotta bit). I've been feeling a little creative lately, and its starting to show. For one, I got God-awful tired of how bright the other layout was. This is a little more down to Earth in my opinion, which is a bit oxymoronic seeing as it takes on a hue of blue, similar to that of the sky in which we fly. Speaking of that thing called aviation, I got my August issue of Flying in the mail this morning. After realizing that the "Flying Mail" (comments on past articles that were in the magazine two issues back) would be based on the June issue, I eagerly tore it open at the table and delved into the chaotic mass of Aviation literature and such. However, I found no such word on the article. Oh well... I suppose it goes by the old phrase "No news is good news", though it's a little sad to read that no one had anything to say. Ho-hum, that's life I suppose. Needless to say, I blew past that and flipped eagerly among the pages. I found that there's a new topic that was being brought up: thunderstorms. The atmospheric German Shepherd... so beautiful to look at, but oh so dangerous to provoke. When I read that it was titled "Strategy and Tactics" and it was a two-part segment, I was relieve to see that Tom had written the "Strategy" part and Richard Collins took on "Tactics". I found it rather coincidental that it was just a few hours before picking up the magazine that I had dusted off my "Weather for Dummies" book because I wanted to figure out what dBZ meant, seeing as I see it all the time with Doppler radar. However, the first page that I flipped to was related to supercell thunderstorms. I always read with images, meaning that I completely ignore the words whenever there are pictures, and I only read the article if I see something I don't understand. When I read through the pages surrounding the definition of a supercell thunderstorm and all of the elements that go in to making these mongrels, I was a bit surprised as to how complex this stuff really is. Updrafts, downdrafts, positive and negative charges, currents... the list goes on and on. Sure, I've read about this stuff before and knowing it got me a 96 on the Earth Science Regents, but it was interesting to see the pictures that the author used to show the atmospheric conditions that are needed for a thunderstorm to occur. Reading about how something works or develops is like trying to put something together with an instruction book that has no illustrations. Not only did I read Tom's half of the story, but I also found myself unusually interested in Dick Karl's article. Because I love it when Dick describes a flight in his Cheyenne or how his screensaver is a slideshow of various pictures of him with airplanes and people (my screensaver is the same... heh heh), his column is usually the second one that I read besides Tom's. However, this time around his article was a bit on the glum side. He started off talking about how he was out to dinner with a few friends and wanted to further the occasion by just sitting back and ordering a post-main course drink. As he tried to assume the relaxed position by crossing his legs, he found that he couldn't raise his leg (don't worry, he's up and flying again). A lot of times when I read an article or a note about a certain event or subject I always find that I'm asking myself "How can I relate to this?". Sure, most of the people that read Flying have WAY more experience than I could dream of at my age. But it can be surprising as to how many things I've read where I've said aloud, "Wow... I would do the same thing" or "Yeah, I've thought of that too...". This just goes to show that it's not only how many hours you have or what you fly, but your willingness to learn from others. Even if you're a 15 year-old with only 30 hours in your back pocket, you can still have a heated debate over user fees or FAA regulations with an airline captain who has flown for over 30 years if you're willing to stay current on aviation affairs. So what does that have to do with Dick Karl's experience? This time around I didn't find myself questioning "How can I relate to this?", but rather "What if this happened to me?". The second I realized I had said this I immediately remembered a quote that I read a few years ago - As a pilot only two bad things can happen to you and one of them will be: b. One day you will walk out to the airplane not knowing that it is your last flight. Such a scary thought, but it's true. Like Dick wrote, "When, exactly, would I be able to fly again? I would be able to, wouldn't I?". Like that song that constantly says "Live like you were dyin'", if you were stuck in that sort of situation where you didn't know whether or not you would go flying again (or do anything, in that matter), would you take comfort in feeling that you've experienced enough to never do it again? I don't think so! You never know what you've got until it's gone... But, believe it or not, the real reason why I'm writing about Flying isn't because of thunderstorms or the unknown. It's about my other piece of mail that came along with the magazine this morning. Have you ever has something happen to you where you start thinking about something out of the blue and then you get a letter in the mail, an email, or someone mentions it to you? Well, regardless of your answer, that's what happened to me. Lately I've been thinking of what to do for college. I can honestly say that I have absolutely no idea what I want to do for a career (besides flying, of course, I need something that's a bit more "grounded"). I've been wondering about pursuing aeronautical engineering... but everything is so up in the air, so to speak. Oh right... you're wondering what the mail had to do with this. Well, it turns out that apparently I've been selected by Edifi (I guess I'm one of x amount of students) which is a college scholarship and financial-aid program. I have to go for a 90-minute interview and I suppose they pick out which scholarships and programs that you're eligible for based on the answers to your questions. *Shrug* Actually, I stirred up a joke about this to Mum seeing as I've never been to an interview before. After trying to figure out what possible questions they could ask, I came up with a makeshift list with my own answers. Assume that I'm wearing one of my "I'd Rather Be Flying" shirts. 1. What is your name? Erm... if I'm correct, you guys are the ones that contacted me... 2. Are you interested in attending college after you graduate High School? No... I'm here to talk about college scholarships and financial-aid because I have absolutely nothing better to do... 3. What are your career interests? Refer to the shirt. 4. Do you have any unique talents and abilities? Refer to the shirt. 5. Do you know which college you would like to attend? The one where you are taught? I know... the questions are ridiculous. But hey, if I had the choice, those would be my exact answers. Heh heh. Luckily I'm not that stupid, so I guess we'll just have to see what happens. A 90 minute interview about school... if I can make it without falling asleep, someone please contact the Guiness Book of World Records... And so I've just realized... the above that I wrote regarding the thunderstorms and such kind of makes me feel like it's more of a magazine article itself than something I wrote... See? I told you I was feeling creative! And... on that note, I'm heading to sleep. Nighty night. 引用通告此日志的引用通告 URL 是： http://elationaviation.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!FD1CF9BB907EDDE0!222.trak 引用此项的网络日志
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