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Posts Tagged ‘ airplanes ’

Evl Arcrft

Posted on March 11th, 2010 – 6 Comments

I’ve been pounding away at the keyboard all day, dear reader, and I’m feeling comfortably frazzled. And I’m not even ashamed of what I accomplished today. The portfolio has started to co-operate and it’s doing some very nice things. One more piece and she’s ready for prime-time. I’ll have to juggle a few things tomorrow, some social engagements and such, so I’ll be keeping it short and sweet tonight. I do hope you understand. Not that I’d have anything else for you if you didn’t though. :)

Two things managed to break my bubble of steely concentration today: the weather was starkly beautiful again —

(Although this evening does smell an awful lot like rain. Kind of a mild, mildewy, wet dog smell.)

— and I’m rather pleased about this second one, I finally managed to capture my arch-nemesis! At least from behind. At least something.

Crafty crafty “organization” named Ornge Lift. Not Orange, Ornge. As in, Evl.They fly their aircraft around Ontario taking critically ill people to hospitals. Basically flying paramedics (so they get to do whatever they want).

They also airlift to hospitals downtown using these orange helicopters and landing on the roofs of places like St. Michael’s. St. Mike’s happens to be quite close to where I live, a few blocks maybe, and apparently the approach path is directly over my flat.

In the winter I hardly notice. But with the weather lately I’ve been keeping the windows open and “THUP THUP THUP THUP THUP THUP THUP THUP THUp THup Thup thup up p p p”. It’s an experience. Sometimes, I swear, that thing hovers over my street just for shits and giggles. Like, aren’t there people that need saving or something?

Haven’t caught sight of the pilot yet, but one day … one day …

Filed under: B Sides, Pictures

How my summer vacation spent me

Posted on September 7th, 2009 – 4 Comments

That’s it, it’s officially the last day of summer.

The sun’s hanging lower in the sky, the CNE is shuttering up for another year, and the kids are going back to school tomorrow. That’s the end of the summer, no matter what the calendar says.

As part of that last effort to get kids to forget their miseries, the Ex has the annual closing-weekend air show.

The announcers always go into excruciating technical detail like maybe we’re looking to pick up a couple of the aircraft after the show. Fires a hundred rounds a second, you say? I may be interested, keep talking.

Then, while waiting for the planes to fly into the show, the announcers go into all the crazy certifications and programs you’d have to go through before you’re even allowed to approach one of these things. For who’s benefit is that? The three-year-old standing next to me who should realistically start thinking about university now if he wants to be a pilot?

Then, the Top Gun music kicks in:

The show’s not entirely ironic. There were plenty of jet fighters on hand going down the real danger zone highway:

This happened to be the air show’s 60th anniversary, so the Blue Angels flew up from the US and with a salute:

This is the second time I’ve attended the show and I’ve really enjoyed it both times. The planes fly close enough to knock toupees off and the little prop ones do some really crazy stuff. Like climbing up into the sky, then cutting the engine, starting a crazy wobbly spin around every possible axis of rotation while plummeting back toward the water, and mere moments before impact, straightening out, re-starting the engine, and pulling up. Just insane.

I didn’t get to chill with the horses in the horse pavilion this year. That’s a regret. But the holiday weekend tradition I like to call “the flu” probably needed a bit of sunshine, so it was good to get out. And, all in all, it’s been a pretty happening summer. Maybe too happening; next year I’d like to see some of those things I missed this time around. I figure it’ll probably take four to five years to properly see most of the concurrent festivals, parades, and events that happen around the city every year. And with all the random news, changes, and just interesting stuff around … good frickin’ luck with that timeline!

I’m going to have to learn to pace myself.