It has been wonderful overall. It has fulfilled its purpose of putting my mind to playful hard technical work whenever atrophy trotted by, and in the process given me some experiences found in few other ways.

It is hard to compact them all into a pithy blurb, except for poets which I am not: visiting airports from teeny to huge; seeing the land from low and up high; losing myself in the natural monster known as weather; full intellectual investment in safe practice; and even just enjoying the utility of rapid personal transportation.

I have not loved the logistical complications of airplane ownership and operation. The costs have been astronomical but affordable, now settling upon sustainable. I hope C-GXRP will give me, my family, and my passengers good service for many more years.

The first, DC vs. Heller is a landmark case about the US Constitution’s statement on guns. The court majority brought together ample history and logic to affirm the standard conservative interpretation. Hurray.

The second is France 2 vs. Philippe Karsenty, decided about a month ago. In case you’re not familiar with the case, it was about Karsenty’s accusations that the worldwide famous Mohamed al Dura death video was a hoax, like so much other Palestinian propaganda. He was sued by the state broadcaster for libel, and this was just dismissed.

The raw footage, hidden for nearly a decade and still only partially shown to the court on its demand, has shown not just inconsistencies but obvious acting (with multiple “takes”, “wounded” people getting up and smiling, the supposedly dead boy looking around, “blood” in reality red rags that move around from scene to scene). It is appalling to contemplate the number of deaths caused directly by this video and its negligently naive worldwide regurgitation.

he: “What does this `blah blah blah’ mean?” (in a comic strip speech bubble)
she: “It means that this character is saying something, but no one is paying attention.”
he: “Just like Frank [says blah blah blah]?”
she: nods knowingly

SUSAN SARANDON, who appeared in three films last year and won kudos for her TV movie “Bernard and Doris,” is still not a contented soul. She says if John McCain gets elected, she will move to Italy or Canada. She adds, “It’s a critical time, but I have faith in the American people.”

“We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times … and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK,” Obama said.

“That’s not leadership. That’s not going to happen,” he added.

How is one to understand that, except as begging for others’ approval for americans’ driving, eating, and heating habits?