Dan Gould

What an amazing story they covered in today's episode. Almost immediately after takeoff, first the altimeter (there are three of them) and then the air speed indicator failed. Then the pilots started getting multiple warnings, sometimes contradictory ones (the stalk shaker started with a stall warning while the high speed warning was also going off!). They consulted ATC for info on altitude/heading/air speed but since the transponder was sending the same messed up data to the ground, their info was worthless. And all of this is going on at night so there are no visual markers for attitude or altitude. Ultimately the plane gradually lost altitude so that when the ground proximity warning went off, it was a "true" alarm - but in the dark, the pilots didn't know and treated it like they were treating the other alarms, having no idea whether they were accurate or not. And the cause? The sensors for these instruments are on the bottom of the wing. Following procedure, ground crews covered them before cleaning the plane, but forgot to remove the tape. The supervisor was out sick, so another mechanic filled in, and didn't spot it. Neither did the pilot on his walk-around (which is not surprising considering that he was using a flashlight and the duct tape was silver and reflective, like the underside of the wing. This is the type of accident where I'd be curious to see how other pilots do when placed in a simulator programmed to give the same series of readings/alarms. It seems like a near impossible situation to deal with when you add in the darkness. Pilots are trained to trust their instruments because of the way that flight illusions can mess with their senses, but what the hell do you do when the instruments aren't working and you can't fly visually?

He lived in Fort Lauderdale, last I knew, but that was a few years ago.

No, he says he needs more time to decide, and that the choices remain NY or retirement. What I don't understand is why he signed a contract last year that had such a small window for him to decide on his player option. Why not have 30 days after the WS? Or is there a limit in the Players Agreement as to how long a team or player has to make a decision on picking up an option year? Either way, I have no doubt that if he decides to return, he will sign for the same 16 million, and only with the Yanks. Otherwise, Pettitte is every bit as two-faced as A-Rod.

So there's your confirmation that Coco has some appeal despite his recent hitting struggles. I would think the Yanks would jump at a Crede-for-Damon swap since the salaries are quite uneven and I don't think they'd do any better than Crede. ...And confirmation that his price is a leading attribute. Funny, no mention of glove... I'm pretty sure I mentioned that his being cost controlled at a reasonable salary was an important part of his appeal. Meanwhile, looks like Big Schill is returning to the Sox: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...ling_sox_close/ I'm a little surprised, as last week the Globe was reporting that the team would only offer a low salary plus incentives, never getting near 13 million guaranteed, and that Schilling would probably leave. Assuming this gets done, its obvious that the team wants to use their young pitchers for depth next season. They'll use Schilling and Wake in the rotation, and either Lester is the number 5 starter or Lester and Buchholz fight it out in spring training. Either way, the one who doesn't get it, plus Masterson and Bowden, will be on call if either of the old farts break down or show that they can't hack it. While I'm anxious to see what these kids can do, it probably makes sense. Best case scenario, you have Schilling adding to his post-season resume one more time next October. I do hope though that their picking up the option on Tavarez wasn't to include him for pitching depth but to control a marketable asset. He's made it clear he wants to start and did a fairly good job at it last year. As a starter with a 3.5 million dollar salary, he should be worth something to a lot of teams, when you consider what free agent starters are getting.

Paul, I don't think Eddie Higgins is too much of a composer so I don't think there would be many options there. Not sure about Ira, we both think of him more as a player but ... on the other hand, I think some big band arrangements of a Gigi Gryce tune or two could be very cool. It looks like you'd have quite a few options just based on the suggestions so far. Good luck!

Yeah, well, he wants to win a championship and figures that the Red Sox have the best chance to win more than one over the life of a contract. Note that he isn't hot to join San Francisco because he thinks they are going to win anytime soon. That's not what I hear. SF would be the best fit for him as a shortstop [his natural position] and in the high praise and accolades squandered on him in NY. Boston could give a shit from what I have heard. Boston is going to monitor the situation going forward as they attempt to re-sign Lowell. And my point stands uncontested: A-Rod wants to go to Boston to win a championship. A-Rod hasn't said squat that he wants to go to SF to win a championship, because it ain't happening anytime soon with that roster. And it won't happen anytime soon when his 35 million dollar salary represents 25%+ of the team's payroll. Or did you not notice how that worked out for Texas?

So we are supposed to believe that if you download an album (illegally) and like it, you go out and get it? Which is it? Are you a poor college student (who owns 500 albums) or someone who buys a legitimate copy if he "likes" it after hearing it? Tell the truth: you've downloaded hundreds of albums that you liked and will never ever pay for. Not now, not when you aren't a poor community college student. NEVER. But oh, you bought a Coltrane CD once, so who cares if you have seven other releases for free? You've supported the artist, just not quite as much as some people.

I don't think any team in the NFC looks to be on the level of the Pats/Colts. But someone has to represent the conference in the Super Bowl and if they get past the Giants next week, Dallas ha got as good a chance as any. And anything can happen in the Super Bowl, if they get there.

When I was a poor college student, I still didn't rip people off. Precisely! When I was a poor college student, I listened to the radio if I couldn't afford something I wanted. Hell, I'd set up my boom box with a blank cassette to try and catch whatever song it was that I fancied. That's how you got "free" music. Not anymore. What this shit-for-brains can't figure out is that there won't be any music to purchase by the time him and his generation are through fucking over musicians. I second Chuck's suggestion that he leave.

Can anyone direct me to some specific threads?

So there's your confirmation that Coco has some appeal despite his recent hitting struggles. I would think the Yanks would jump at a Crede-for-Damon swap since the salaries are quite uneven and I don't think they'd do any better than Crede. A Crede for Damon swap would be a good move for the Yanks IMO, it clears a little of the DH/outfield jam and makes it possible to sign Rowand and move Melky Cabrera to left with Abreu in right. The defense improves quite a bit that way and Matsui can DH and do some outfield. Paging Mr Cashman... Damon is the one with the limited no-trade clause, so he's the one likely to go. Good for the Yankees because he's probably also the least valuable of their plethora of OF/DH types. Of course, Matsui would have to compete with Giambi for DH starts. I hear that they like Rowand for some set of "intangibles" but I wonder if he has any interest in NY. Also not sure that Melky should be moved out of CF. Is Rowand really faster? I doubt it, and there are very few arms that compare to Cabrera's.

Yeah, well, he wants to win a championship and figures that the Red Sox have the best chance to win more than one over the life of a contract. Note that he isn't hot to join San Francisco because he thinks they are going to win anytime soon.

So there's your confirmation that Coco has some appeal despite his recent hitting struggles. I would think the Yanks would jump at a Crede-for-Damon swap since the salaries are quite uneven and I don't think they'd do any better than Crede. crede would make a great 3rd baseman for yanquis. No, they had a great 3rd baseman. Crede would be mediocre at best. His 162 game average is a .259 batting average, .305 OBP, 25 home runs and 85 RBI. A-Rod would have exceeded those stats by the all-star break.

Latest from Nick Cardafo: So there's your confirmation that Coco has some appeal despite his recent hitting struggles. I would think the Yanks would jump at a Crede-for-Damon swap since the salaries are quite uneven and I don't think they'd do any better than Crede.

Is this another new episode? Glad to see that there's more production on the way. No, it says its a 2004 episode, it was an AeroPeru flight.

The episode with the Greek plane full of unconscious people is on this afternoon at 4 pm. Man, that was a tragic episode. My hat is off to the flight attendant trying to save the plane. That must've been a nightmare being the only one conscious. What I couldn't understand is why he didn't attempt to fly the plane sooner than he did. It was probably hopeless anyway but that was the one part of the mystery that I find kind of baffling.

I never thought my Seminoles were going to beat BC on the road, but I guess the Curse of Being Ranked Number 2 continues. If BC had been 1 or 3 or any other ranking, I bet they would have won.

Looks like an interesting one tomorrow morning at 10, too. Something about a plane with an air speed and altitude instruments failure. Talk about flying blind!

I'm lucky I've got NFL and College football to get me into February, then its only two or three weeks til pitchers and catchers report! The problem is that its still six weeks til the games start. I do seem to get more things done though - both personal and professional - during the offseason.

The problem is that a charge-back takes money out of Paypal's coffers. Unless they know the reason why you did the chargeback, they can't go after the seller, and by their own policies, they aren't supposed to investigate or mediate the dispute after sixty days. BTW, and you've probably realized this, the seller probably already sold the item, and since he couldn't send to you what he doesn't have, simply used excuses to "run out the clock".

Did he? He did to me. He informed me that due to my posts, I was on some list of his moderators and they (not him) would follow me around on the internet to see if I was speaking badly of Steve. I think they have banned some people in the past for dissing Steve on other sites. And what did you do? Given that type of Gestapo tactic, I would A) Forward the threatening email via PM to every member of the Hoffman forum, to make sure everyone knows how they treat people who criticize the Saint. B) I think I'd start a blog about Hoffman and his Gestapo tactics, and make sure my site stayed near the top of search engines.

The episode with the Greek plane full of unconscious people is on this afternoon at 4 pm.

Nick does good work throughout the year in his Sunday "Baseball Notes" column.

Well she is much easier on the eyes than the Money Store Guy:

That's your hero? A man who assaults women and anyone else who pisses him off? And who has the chutzpah to sue his victims for five million dollars for "a violation of his First Amendment rights, and alleged defamation, libel, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment and an abuse of process." You've got one fucked up definition of "hero" pal. Not only is this guy a world class asshole but it sounds to me like he's swindled the taxpayers of New York for "disability" pay while being perfectly capable of assault and intimidation. A thousand