Maine aerial photos: Deer Isle Bridge and Vinalhaven

by philg

From the Bar Harbor Airport we proceeded southwest to the Deer Isle Bridge (cost $900,000 to build in 1939, $17 million in today’s mini-dollars):

And for the sailors, North Haven and Vinalhaven:

From our Boston to Bar Harbor, Maine trip in a Robinson R44 helicopter. Tony Cammarata was in back with a door removed and a Nikon D850. Instrument student Vince Dorow and I were flying.

Also available as a streaming 8K video.

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Department of Homeland Security is reading academic papers

by philg

A medical school professor friend was denied Global Entry at Logan Airport when returning to Boston from a Christmas holiday in his native European homeland (remember to listen to public health advice from the MD/PhDs regarding the covid-spreading potential of travel; don’t follow their examples!). His luggage was taken apart piece by piece, scrutinized, and repeatedly X-rayed. He presumed that the unprecedented (for him) examination was due to all of the European food that he’d packed. The agents explained, however, that he and another passenger on the same flight had been flagged due to having published journal papers on the subject of COVID-19. Someone at DHS had read these and flagged the two academics as potential carriers of forbidden “human biological samples” (Customs and Border Protection page).

My literary foray into the area of what the government might be monitoring (a few commenters seemed to think that I was serious):

We still have some of the brisket in the freezer…

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Sunrise over Bar Harbor aerial photos

by philg

Departed BHB just before sunrise, south through Somes Sound and then around the east side of Mound Desert Island:

The Jackson Laboratory, a great place to stop for mice:

And then on to the main town for this part of Maine, so to speak… (Bar Harbor itself):

And finally a fly-over of the BHB airport:

From our Boston to Bar Harbor, Maine trip in a Robinson R44 helicopter. Tony Cammarata was in back with a door removed and a Nikon D850. Instrument student Vince Dorow and I were flying.

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How does Indian-American intersect with BLM?

by philg

Message in a discussion group from an (East) Asian immigrant:

My town is half Indian. Everyone is “Love is love”, “BLM”. I want to see their daughter fall in love with a Dalit boy.

Readers: How are your Indian-American friends doing with BLM? What does it mean to folks who recently showed up and missed nearly 400 years of Black-white relations? Are they identifying with the oppressed or the oppressors?

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What praise for our new leaders are you seeing?

by philg

From a woman in her 50s who has spent nearly her entire life in government-funded jobs:

I put an American flag on our front porch. Today’s the first day in years I’ve been proud to be an American.

My response:

“proud to be an American” implies that it is somehow better to be an American than to be something else. Virtually any other country on the planet should be objectively superior as an ID due to having zero Trump voters. Why is it an accomplishment (and therefore the subject of pride) to be “American” rather than to be Nigerian, Laotian, Norwegian, or Bolivian?

From a guy whose paycheck is derived from federal taxpayer funds:

A Maskachusetts suburbanite’s feed:

An MIT graduate’s feed:

Weeping with joy, with relief, with hope.

Three from a Harvard graduate’s feed:

His summary: “This is like my childhood in the USSR. When the new general secretary got appointed, there were tears of joy and dancing in the streets. When can we start asking when children will be let out of cages and reunited with their parents?”

Readers: What are your favorite public expressions of support for America’s new rulers?

An inauguration meme sent by a friend:

Related:

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Mount Desert Island and Bar Harbor Aerials

by philg

Bass Harbor to Southwest Harbor:

Northeast Harbor, a not-intolerable place to suffer through a summer 2020 COVID quarantine:

From Northeast Harbor to the core of Acadia National Park and the Park Loop Road:

Late afternoon light on Bar Harbor, Maine itself and then to the airport and Columbia for an overnight stop.

From our Boston to Bar Harbor, Maine trip in a Robinson R44 helicopter. Tony Cammarata was in back with a door removed and a Nikon D850. Instrument student Vince Dorow and I were flying.

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Landfill all of the Trump-hatred books?

by philg

From our local public library’s new and featured books section:

And, upstairs in the children’s section:

Given the demographics of this Boston suburb, it may not be the right time to #Resist having working-class Black Americans pay higher taxes so that wealthy white families can have their student loans forgiven…

Trump is gone, right? Will people still want to read books about Trump, books about resisting Trump, books about a former president’s elderly wife who was defeated by Trump, etc.? Once President Harris is in charge, is there still a market for a book about the shortcomings of “White Male America”?

What happens to Trump hatred once Trump himself escapes to Florida and/or, depending on how intensively he is hunted by Democrats and their attorney generals, beyond the borders of the U.S.?

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President Biden delivers on his promise to shut down the United States…

by philg

… well, the Washington, D.C. area at least. From the FAA:

It is still possible to go IFR into three airports:

But VFR pilots and those based at GAI, for example, are denied the use of their aircraft during this most joyous of days.

Related:

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Sell COVID-brand cigarettes?

by philg

“Smokers in N.J. Are Eligible for Vaccine. No Proof Needed.” (New York Times):

Faced with soaring rates of coronavirus infection and more doses of vaccine in freezers than in arms, New Jersey officials made a calculated choice.

They opened the floodgates of vaccine eligibility on Thursday to about 4.5 million additional residents: those 65 and older and younger people with underlying health problems, including cancer, heart conditions and diabetes — diseases that can lead to severe complications from Covid-19.

As part of the expansion, New Jersey also became only the second state in the country to open vaccinations to another high-risk group — smokers. As is true for all Covid-19 vaccinations in New Jersey, no documentation of an underlying health condition is required.

Could we make a few $$ by selling COVID-brand cigarettes to folks in New Jersey who want to buy their first pack ever and check the “smoker” box when getting a vaccine?

Readers: What should the package look like? A picture of Dr. Fauci on the front and Dr. Jill Biden, MD on the back?

From a state fair in New Jersey, 1995:

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Maine coastal aerial photos: Castine to Mount Desert Island

by philg

Castine to the causeway from Trenton to Mount Desert Island, home of Acadia National Park:

Down the west coast of Mount Desert Island to Bass Harbor:

  • lL

From our Boston to Bar Harbor, Maine trip in a Robinson R44 helicopter. Tony Cammarata was in back with a door removed and a Nikon D850. Instrument student Vince Dorow and I were flying.

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