I work as a freelance writer - a famine-or-'lite'-meal existence, to be sure - and need to increase unique visitor stats. for my website, www.blairwatson.net. If you have a spare minute and could click on the link and then on some of my articles (via any of the 58 thumbnail images on my website), I'd be grateful.
Also, if you could leave some of the article webpages open on your computer for a few minutes (minimized on your task bar, unless you actually want to read them), that would also help improve my stats.
These are some great looking and well written articles.
Nice work.
I have read several of your articles and several more are open.
Many or your articles are on one of my favorite subjects; aviation. I especially liked the story about the Bonanza loosing an engine and the subsequent trucker-assisted safe landing.
DW and I used to have a vintage Model 35 V-tail Bonanza and we loved that plane. We had some great adventures in it including beautiful flights down the Oregon coast and over the Cascade mountains, and I even chased a UFO in it one night.
(Yes MikeUtah, there really are UFO's in Washington State.)
Never had to execute an emergency landing in it, but circled airports on a number of occasions while manually cranking down the gear in cold weather.
Hope this "friends and family" campaign helps your click count.
These are some great looking and well written articles.
Nice work.
I have read several of your articles and several more are open.
Many or your articles are on one of my favorite subjects; aviation. I especially liked the story about the Bonanza loosing an engine and the subsequent trucker-assisted safe landing.
DW and I used to have a vintage Model 35 V-tail Bonanza and we loved that plane. We had some great adventures in it including beautiful flights down the Oregon coast and over the Cascade mountains, and I even chased a UFO in it one night.
(Yes MikeUtah, there really are UFO's in Washington State.)
Never had to execute an emergency landing in it, but circled airports on a number of occasions while manually cranking down the gear in cold weather.
Hope this "friends and family" campaign helps your click count.
Yea, and now they have a weekly flight from Australia ( Tasmania) to Antarctica.
These are some great looking and well written articles.
Nice work.
I have read several of your articles and several more are open.
Many or your articles are on one of my favorite subjects; aviation. I especially liked the story about the Bonanza loosing an engine and the subsequent trucker-assisted safe landing.
DW and I used to have a vintage Model 35 V-tail Bonanza and we loved that plane. We had some great adventures in it including beautiful flights down the Oregon coast and over the Cascade mountains, and I even chased a UFO in it one night.
(Yes MikeUtah, there really are UFO's in Washington State.)
Never had to execute an emergency landing in it, but circled airports on a number of occasions while manually cranking down the gear in cold weather.
Hope this "friends and family" campaign helps your click count.
Yea, and now they have a weekly flight from Australia ( Tasmania) to Antarctica.
Are these sightseeing flights only, or do they actually transport goods and passengers back and forth?
Because if it is the latter, I would like to know more about it.
I've been thinking about taking flying lessons. Dr. W. do you and DW still fly? I know nothing about it. I am thinking about going to an intro next month. Not to hijack the thread, but do you have any advice for a totally naive person looking into taking lessons? I don't know if it would be too difficult and stressful. I like things slow and calm, therefore I like the idea, but don't know if all the details would work for me.
These are some great looking and well written articles.
Nice work.
I have read several of your articles and several more are open.
Many or your articles are on one of my favorite subjects; aviation. I especially liked the story about the Bonanza loosing an engine and the subsequent trucker-assisted safe landing.
DW and I used to have a vintage Model 35 V-tail Bonanza and we loved that plane. We had some great adventures in it including beautiful flights down the Oregon coast and over the Cascade mountains, and I even chased a UFO in it one night.
(Yes MikeUtah, there really are UFO's in Washington State.)
Never had to execute an emergency landing in it, but circled airports on a number of occasions while manually cranking down the gear in cold weather.
Hope this "friends and family" campaign helps your click count.
Yea, and now they have a weekly flight from Australia ( Tasmania) to Antarctica.
Are these sightseeing flights only, or do they actually transport goods and passengers back and forth?
Because if it is the latter, I would like to know more about it.
It said that it was "mainly" used for scientists, so you probably have to be one to go. But I'm like you, if they ever open up travel to regular citizens, I would love to go too. I know alot of people probably wouldn't want to, but I think it would be awesome.
I've been thinking about taking flying lessons. Dr. W. do you and DW still fly? I know nothing about it. I am thinking about going to an intro next month. Not to hijack the thread, but do you have any advice for a totally naive person looking into taking lessons? I don't know if it would be too difficult and stressful. I like things slow and calm, therefore I like the idea, but don't know if all the details would work for me.
Maybe shouldn't use that word on a thread about flying.
I've been thinking about taking flying lessons. Dr. W. do you and DW still fly? I know nothing about it. I am thinking about going to an intro next month. Not to hijack the thread, but do you have any advice for a totally naive person looking into taking lessons? I don't know if it would be too difficult and stressful. I like things slow and calm, therefore I like the idea, but don't know if all the details would work for me.
Maybe shouldn't use that word on a thread about flying.
Done
Nice Work! So you're a journalist? I guess that explains the high quality well referenced posts you usually put up on here. It's nice to help a post-mo brother, as long as I'm not being asked to drink the kool-aid in the basement.
I work as a freelance writer - a famine-or-'lite'-meal existence, to be sure - and need to increase unique visitor stats. for my website, www.blairwatson.net. If you have a spare minute and could click on the link and then on some of my articles (via any of the 58 thumbnail images on my website), I'd be grateful.
Also, if you could leave some of the article webpages open on your computer for a few minutes (minimized on your task bar, unless you actually want to read them), that would also help improve my stats.
Thanks!
Blair (CdnXMo)
Done. Very well researched and written articles! BTW, how did a psychologist ever get so deeply into airlines and hedges? I met you at an exmo foundation conf. one year - we shared a cab to the hotel - and have read all your posts with great interest and gratitude for the wise counsel they offer. I thought of you in that capacity and was therefore surprised by the content of your thumbnails here.
I hope the visitor stats increase for you - I've read one of the articles and will go back and read more.
CdnXmo - I have enjoyed your posts and all of the great information you so willingly share. I have been clicking around your web site. Although I am not really into aviation that much I found this picture to be amusing for some reason.
Keep up the great work! I hope that your traffic stats go way up after all this. I will try and visit your site regularly.
I've been thinking about taking flying lessons. Dr. W. do you and DW still fly? I know nothing about it. I am thinking about going to an intro next month. Not to hijack the thread, but do you have any advice for a totally naive person looking into taking lessons? I don't know if it would be too difficult and stressful. I like things slow and calm, therefore I like the idea, but don't know if all the details would work for me.
Poppy,
Thanks for asking. We sold the Bonanza when the family outgrew it (with the arrival of kid #3). We now mainly fly the sails on boats.
Like a lot of other things, private aviation has changed a great deal in the last 10-20 years. One can still take flying lessons at a local airport, but the cost of private flying has increased substantially since we had our plane. It has shot up faster than the cost of living, mainly because of product liability issues.
Inadequately trained pilots keep crashing their planes and then suing the manufacturers, thus sending the product liability costs through the roof. Don't get me wrong, for adequately trained and current pilots, private aviation is safe and a lot of fun.
My recommendation would be to go online and find as many local flight schools as possible. Then go talk with all of them. Most FBO's are friendly folks and will be glad to show you around and take you on an introductory flight if you are willing to schedule one.
I would suggest that you pay for a couple of introductory flights (usually about $49 - $99 or so with a coupon off the internet), and see if it is something you would like to do.
I got started by working on airplanes and cars owned by flight instructors or colleagues who were pilots in exchange for flight time. Next we bought a plane (Cessna 152) and leased it back to a flight school. With this deal, we essentially flew for free (cost of fuel only) for almost two years. DW took lessons in the 152 and turned out to be a pretty good pilot.
When we were ready for a fast retractable so we could fly up to Canada and down to California and southern Oregon, we got the Bonanza.
We loved flying while we had the plane. Now we find sailboats more useful for both business and pleasure.
One strong recommendation for flying is that the training one receives in navigation, meteorology, aerodynamics and cool calm decision making is some of the best available outside the military.
You never forget this stuff. Pilot training has made it a lot easier to become proficient in ocean sailing and navigation.
CdnXmo - I have enjoyed your posts and all of the great information you so willingly share. I have been clicking around your web site. Although I am not really into aviation that much I found this picture to be amusing for some reason.
Keep up the great work! I hope that your traffic stats go way up after all this. I will try and visit your site regularly.
Dagnabbit Copilot!! I told you not to pour that damn chili into the fuselage!! We'll be backfiring all the way to Cleveland. Talk about skidmarks! They won't let us on their runway ever again. I can't take you anywhere.
Are these sightseeing flights only, or do they actually transport goods and passengers back and forth?
Because if it is the latter, I would like to know more about it.
Looks like the Australian Antarctic Division's Airbus A319 flies 'Really Down Under' between Oct. and Mar. (ref. http://its-db.aad.gov.au/proms/public/schedules/flight.cfm). If you're interested in visiting the bottom of the world, you might want to touch base with them and find out if civilians can buy a 'tour' package ("And on our left, we have ice covered by dunes of blowing snow. Looking right, we have hardened snow covered by a layer of ice. Ahead, we see a white-out in the distance.")
From late Sept./03:
"A Canadian rescue team attempting a dramatic South Pole rescue landed safely in Chile Sunday after picking up an ailing American contractor in need of medical attention.
The twin turboprop Twin Otter landed in Punta Arenas in the southern tip of Chile at 10:30 p.m. local time after stopping at a British base on the coast of Antarctica, said Elaine Hood of Raytheon Polar Services.
Piloted by Canadian Sean Loutitt, the Twin Otter arrived at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station on Saturday and stayed overnight before beginning the return trip.
The patient, an American whose name is being withheld at his request, can walk but may need surgery. Although his employer, Raytheon Polar Services, didn't offer details of his sickness, he is reported in stable condition and will be flown to the U.S. from Chile.
The mission had been delayed for five days because of wind and snow during the southern hemisphere's spring season.
"Definitely the weather at the bottom of the world is very fickle in the spring," said Valerie Carroll of Raytheon Polar Services, which manages the station at the South Pole.
Kenn Borek Air has about 60 aircraft, 35 of which are Twin Otters that specialize in cold-weather flights. For the past several years, the company has signed annual contracts with the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Va., to fly to and from the South Pole.
The Kenn Borek Air team is led by pilot Sean Loutitt, who was the first person to fly a plane to the South Pole in total darkness.
The sun won't come up at the South Pole until Tuesday.
Back in Calgary, Alberta, Loutitt's wife Sandy told CTV News she's not worried about her husband being on such a dangerous assignment.
"Pilots are made to fly. They enjoy that, so he has had this whole week of waiting. I think he is pretty much happy to be in the air. I am happy for him too."
In April 2001, Loutitt helped transport Dr. Ronald Shemenski -- who needed surgery for a life-threatening pancreatic illness. Over the past four years, there have been three rescue missions to the South Pole."
I've been thinking about taking flying lessons. Dr. W. do you and DW still fly? I know nothing about it. I am thinking about going to an intro next month. Not to hijack the thread, but do you have any advice for a totally naive person looking into taking lessons? I don't know if it would be too difficult and stressful. I like things slow and calm, therefore I like the idea, but don't know if all the details would work for me.
I have very strong feelings about small private aircraft.
With very few exceptions, people don't need to pilot small aircraft, they want to pilot small aircraft. Generally speaking, it is a hobby and an expensive one.
Secondly, if there is anyone in your life who truly needs you at this point in their lives (young children, elderly parents, those who count on your income to sustain themselves) I strongly urge you to not consider getting your pilot's licence.
When something goes wrong and it often does, the margin for survival is very slim. Basically, if the weather suddenly turns on you or you have a health emergency or there is mechanical failure, you are dead.
You can quote statistics all day about how it is safer to fly than drive a car or how you can trip and fall down the stairs or slip in the bathtub and hit your head and die, etc. but at least there is a chance you might survive any of those events. Your chance of surviving a plane crash is almost nil.
My advice is don't walk away from small aircraft, run away as fast as you can.
I've been thinking about taking flying lessons. Dr. W. do you and DW still fly? I know nothing about it. I am thinking about going to an intro next month. Not to hijack the thread, but do you have any advice for a totally naive person looking into taking lessons? I don't know if it would be too difficult and stressful. I like things slow and calm, therefore I like the idea, but don't know if all the details would work for me.
I have very strong feelings about small private aircraft.
With very few exceptions, people don't need to pilot small aircraft, they want to pilot small aircraft. Generally speaking, it is a hobby and an expensive one.
Secondly, if there is anyone in your life who truly needs you at this point in their lives (young children, elderly parents, those who count on your income to sustain themselves) I strongly urge you to not consider getting your pilot's licence.
When something goes wrong and it often does, the margin for survival is very slim. Basically, if the weather suddenly turns on you or you have a health emergency or there is mechanical failure, you are dead.
You can quote statistics all day about how it is safer to fly than drive a car or how you can trip and fall down the stairs or slip in the bathtub and hit your head and die, etc. but at least there is a chance you might survive any of those events. Your chance of surviving a plane crash is almost nil.
My advice is don't walk away from small aircraft, run away as fast as you can.
While I do not agree that one need avoid private aviation no matter what, I do understand that it is not without its risks.
One measure of how safe or unsafe private aviation might be is reflected in insurance actuarial data and the resulting riders on life insurance policies.
If you are an active private pilot, your life insurance premiums will be higher than they would be if you were not, all else being equal.
In my case, however, I just loved flying. I flew anything I could get my hands on, from experimental home builts to corporate twins, including amphibians, sailplanes and helicopters. I even jumped out of them a few times. I would choose to do the same again if I had it to do over.
Some things in life are worth the risks. The photograph below was taken after our first salt water landing (landing on the ocean ain't like landing on the Hudson, even in a plane that is designed for water landings). This trip got us onto a beautiful and pretty much deserted island in the San Juans where we spent the weekend.
Note the expression of DW's face. Like I said, some adventures are worth the risks.
Your articles really are very good and I have enjoyed reading them.
Hope you will return and report as to whether or not the "PostMo Clickers" were able to make any significant difference in your page views or click count numbers.
For those who might be interested, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has gone with an idea that I pitched to them in 2008 about a TV series on a century of aviation in Canada (1909 to 2009 - ref. http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/canada_above_and_beyond/).
Despite being one of Canada's most experienced aviation writers, the CBC stole my idea and did not involve me in the project. Their response was that they were not interested in doing the series that I pitched to them. The Morg isn't the only organization that will screw you if it can.
For those who might be interested, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has gone with an idea that I pitched to them in 2008 about a TV series on a century of aviation in Canada (1909 to 2009 - ref. http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/canada_above_and_beyond/).
Despite being one of Canada's most experienced aviation writers, the CBC stole my idea and did not involve me in the project.
For those who might be interested, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has gone with an idea that I pitched to them in 2008 about a TV series on a century of aviation in Canada (1909 to 2009 - ref. http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/canada_above_and_beyond/).
Despite being one of Canada's most experienced aviation writers, the CBC stole my idea and did not involve me in the project. Their response was that they were not interested in doing the series that I pitched to them. The Morg isn't the only organization that will screw you if it can.
Have a great weekend!
CdnXMo,
Unbelievable.
If you still have the pitch, or documentation of the pitch (PowerPoint files, e-mails, graphics, written notes, outlines, content examples, etc.), you should contact the CBC and make sure that whoever is in charge of production now knows that you are the one who originally pitched the idea to them and that you have expertise in the area of aviation journalism.
Even though the publications you sold your articles to now own the copyrights, the fact that you did the work and have the contacts and background knowledge to develop content in the area should make them think twice about excluding you completely from the production.
I know that CBC is not Hollywood, but they still have an obligation to respect your ideas and intellectual property, especially if you have demonstrated expertise and a track record in the business.
They should at least bring you on board as a paid consultant. Professionals who understand aviation and can write about aviation don't exactly grow on trees.
I would go back to them and make your case. Let them know that you understand that they are ripping off your ideas and you will not sit quietly by while they do so.
Don't know about Canada, but in the US, you would have some legal recourse as long as you can prove that you made the pitch and that the pitch described substantially the project that they are now working on.
If you are rejected after providing evidence that you make the original pitch, I would see an attorney. It sounds like they are willing to recognize that you did pitch them and have since changed their mind for NO to YES.
You don't necessarily need to actually work on a project that was originally your idea in order to make money from it.
I understand that you may have already followed up with them and been rejected. However, IMHO, it sounds like it would be worth a little more time and effort.
For those who might be interested, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has gone with an idea that I pitched to them in 2008 about a TV series on a century of aviation in Canada (1909 to 2009 - ref. http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/canada_above_and_beyond/).
Despite being one of Canada's most experienced aviation writers, the CBC stole my idea and did not involve me in the project. Their response was that they were not interested in doing the series that I pitched to them. The Morg isn't the only organization that will screw you if it can.
Have a great weekend!
Did they put that response in writing? Cause if they did I agree with DrW there is a thing called intellectual property or something like that. So if you can prove you pitched the idea and they acknowledged receipt of said idea and now they are going ahead with it they should have to pay you something.
