General Aviation

White House budget contains user fees despite opposition from, well, everyone except the guy in the White House

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Wednesday morning, the White House released it’s requested budget for the 2015 Fiscal Year. The epic tome is almost 250 pages, and was delivered to Congress considerably later than any other time in the history of the United States.

Once again, user fees for aviation were part of the president’s new budget proposal, even though there is blowback and a strong opposition from Congress and the aviation community.

Apparently, nobody in the White House listens to the American people.

From the AOPA:

“We are disappointed that the President doesn’t seem to have gotten the message” said AOPA President Mark Baker. “With Congress on our side, I am confident we can prevent this arbitrary proposal from becoming a reality, but we have to stay vigilant. We are working hard to make general aviation more accessible and affordable, and whether you call it a user fee or a surcharge, we will keep fighting against proposals like this that would raise the cost of flying.”

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Dead Tree Books, eBook

Camp NaNoWriMo set to start up in April and July of 2014!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

campnanowrimoparticipant2014Chris Angotti, the Director of Programs over at NaNoWriMo sent out an email blast to everyone on the mailing list for NaNoWriMo about the summer program.  If you’ve never tried to write 50,000 words in month you should.  That’s what NaNoWriMo is all about.  Camp NaNoWriMo is the off-season alternative to the ginormous November writing event, and it offers much more in the way of flexibility – but just as much fun and excitement.  The word goal is up to you – anywhere from 10,000 to just shy of 1,000,000 words – and it’s up to you to make it happen!

From the email:

You’re invited to return to Camp NaNoWriMo, running this April and July!

We first imagined Camp simply as an off-season alternative to National Novel Writing Month, but it’s evolved into much more than that: writers choose their own projects—from novel sequels to scripts to pop-up books—and find cabin communities (and often new friends) to support them. Continue reading →

Big Bear Lake

Time Bandits Ship Sinks

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

There’s a little (no pun intended) secret about the 1/3 scale 16th century Spanish galleon replica that tours Big bear Lake: it was the tiny ship used in the Terry Gilliam film Time Bandits, which featured a cast of men of diminutive size.

During this latest (and, so far this year’s only) storm which brought snow to the San Bernardino Mountains and caused some people to get all wound up and and start calling it a ‘class 1 hurricane’ the Time Bandit ship was sunk.  Maybe it was the high winds, the rain, or the snow.  At this point, the only thing known is that the 27-ton ship is sitting on the bottom of Davy Jone’s locker.  Okay, Big Bear Lake can’t really qualify as his locker … maybe it’s more like Davy Jone’s Smallish Cupboard.

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Religion

Fish and Fasting: the life of a Catholic during Lent

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Well, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday.  Per the ol’ Code of Canon Law, all us Catholics who are between 18 and 59 are supposed to fast and participate in abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all the Fridays throughout Lent.  Fasting is an interesting thing; to me, fasting would seem to mean the absence of food.  The Catholic Church thinks that fasting is “one full meal during the day.”  And a light snacks for breakfast.  And maybe a snack in the afternoon. Or in the evening.  This is the kinder, gentler Church, I suppose.

According the the American Catholic, in addition to fish it’s still okay to eat eggs, milk products or condiments that are made from animal fat; chicken broth is okay, gravies are fine, sauces flavored with meat are coolio, butter, margarine, and lard – the staples of the American kitchen are “permissible,” and se can even slather even bacon drippings on our Lenten lettuce for a tasty salad – even if said dripping include bits of meat. Continue reading →

State Parks

Ocotillo Wells SVRA seeks input on Draft Planning Alternatives

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Comments due by March 10!

California State Parks has launched a comprehensive update of the General Plan for Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA). As part of the update, Draft Planning Alternatives have been developed to illustrate different scenarios for how Ocotillo Wells SVRA may be managed over the long-term.

California State Parks is gathering public input to help identify which combination of options best serves the public’s interest in Ocotillo Wells SVRA’s future. The Preferred Planning Alternative ultimately identified for the General Plan Update process may be one of the alternatives or a combination of features from more than one alternative.

Learn about the Draft Planning Alternatives for the General Plan Update and submit your feedback via their Online Input Forum. HERE.