Come fly with me...

Enlarge to read.  click on the photo

    Kulula Airlines, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, has it's aircraft painting like no others.  The airline is known for its sense of humor, so that is reflected in the paint scheme.
   Each part of the plane, or nearly so, is identified on the outside of the plane.  I thought it was a pretty good idea.
   You can find more at:

www.southafrica.to/transport/Airlines/Kulula-flights/Kulula-humour, or simply "google" the name of the airline.

Click to read

I like it!

A visit to Saint Nick

  If someone has a child with autism a visit to Saint Nick can be something to avoid.  Although Hollie always wanted to see Santa, she wouldn't get too close, or sit on his lap.  Kids, or adults, with autism very often don't want to be touched, held or in any way too close to someone else.
  I found an article the other day about a special program for kids with autism:

You may have seen photos of some child kind of pushing away from Santa, maybe that was autism, but in my estimation Santa scares small children, they don't want to sit with him.

That's it! I outta here!

That's as close as it gets, that boy has no intention of sitting with Santa.

Poor guy; doesn't stand a chance

You need to know that Just because the man is Santa Claus, he doesn't have an easy time doing his job.  I guess he's just like most people, workers looking out for themselves first, and dissatisfied customers.  As I examined the problems I came away with the feeling that, well, there's just no answer.  Just take a look at just a few of his problems.

First there's a geezer who has probably never been satisfied with anything:

See what I mean?

Then we have an angry employee:

That Joker is finished!

Next a really dissatisfied customer, one who used bullying tactics!

Just as I said!

Now, on a personal note, I identify with the geezer.  I saw a surgeon yesterday who said what really was wrong with me was old age.  Can you imagine that?

How does this Santa thing work?

I guess we'd all like to believe that Santa and his Elves just keep making toys.  Out of what?  Thin air?  All of those toys contain real stuff don't they?  So where, and how, does that happen?
  I'll show you.  Santa, I don't know much about Elves, has several ways of making all of those things, and more, happen.  He works!  And he even searches and finds some of the pieces.  So there!

He looks in all the right places.  One mans junk is another............

He is in one of those "work from home" deals.

And last, but certainly not least, he works as a model; you know he poses for all of the photos and paintings.  He even poses for Cosmo, I think.

See? (or seen enough?)

I'm not a fan of.....

   ...the space program, or NASA.  I think there is a greater need right here than spending billions of dollars to fly some fool to Mars, it's just my opinion - an I'm entitled to one of those.
  But this past week I came across some photo that show the Earth the way Santa Claus must see it.  So why I don't believe in NASA they do something right every so often, I guess, well I concede.  But I still don't want any more of that stuff funded, except for satellites - those ARE useful.

This is the Golden Gate Bridge, seen from the Shuttle, nice shadow too.

Three of the five Great Lakes, from a satellite.

Florida and parts of neighboring states from the International Space Station, at
night obviously, I can see Micky Mouse(not really).  That green "ring"
at the edge of the earth is light bouncing off our atmosphere, it's
always there and always green.  Hey! Maybe we're the little green people!

It's winter in my mind

Acadia National Park is one of the most visited; in the summer.  Winter is another thing altogether, most roads close but the gates are open.  People, mostly local, still go to the park in winter to hike, cross country ski, or to nose around.
  I walk almost everyday but I wouldn't be able to go there and wade through the snow, but what would I see if I did?  Good question, lets take a look.

Loop road in winter.

The Loop Road make a semi-circle around the whole park, or at least the whole part of the park on Mount Desert Island, that's almost the entire park.  Snowmobile, cross country ski, or walk?

The road along side of Day Mountain

The Loop Road goes fairly close to most major parts of the park, it goes right by here, Day Mountain.  By the looks of things there's a lot of water that leaks and drips through the rocks.  This is a common sight in Maine, but I have always been amazed by the amount of water leaking from the small spaces in ledge or other rock formations.  In winter you can easily see just how much because, of course, it freezes and stays in one place.

Cross country skiing.

Popham Beach or Popham Colony

A recent edition of the Bangor Daily News provided a pictorial "tour" of winter at the beach, Popham Beach State Park was the subject.
  I hear about the Popham Colony just about every summer when the University is looking for volunteers to help excavate a little bit of the old Popham.  Founded in 1607 a few months after Jamestown, Virginia; Popham was far more successful, even then it lasted only a few years.
  There were a number of structures built, they were mostly burned in a fire before the colonist left.  The first ship built in North America was built at Popham, the Virginia of Sagadahoc was a successful build as it sailed to Europe and back a couple of times.
  Today Popham Colony site is a part of Popham Beach State Park, on the Atlantic where the Kennebec River enters the sea.  It's a very popular spot in Southern Maine (which for some reason they refer to as Midcoast Maine-they're about a hundred miles off).
  Well, lets see the photos!

Sequin Island Light seen from Popham Beach

Sunrise (time lapse) over Fort Popham (think War of 1812).

Seagulls here too.

Weathervane on Popham Chapel.

A view of Georgetown from Popham.