I took a class this week for work. 3.5 days in a zoom classroom with a 400-page workbook detailing the MANY intricacies of running the operations side of an airport. And then yesterday, I took the required exam, and passed on my first try. Seriously, it's almost crazy the level of detail the FAA requires for literally everything from the width of the black border surrounding painted stripes on the airfield based on the type of surface, to the types of light bulbs you can and cannot use for various lenses you might have, to the exact amount of time you have to clear runways of snow and ice (which was all new to me since it doesn't snow here).

The cert itself is called ACE, or Airport Certified Employee. I managed to take 60 pages of notes in the class, only to realize the exam would not allow me to use any of it. The exam itself was only 100 questions, but the weird part was how it was proctored. Before starting, I had to rotate my webcam around the room to show a full 360 degrees including all 4 walls, the floor and ceiling, and my desk. Then during the test, all video, audio, and my screen was recorded.

Now I get to put the fancy ACE credential on my business cards and email signature. Pair that with the CM cert I got a few years ago (and was probably more difficult) , and I'm developing quite the word salad after my name. Feels good to know I'm not too old to learn and retain new information. It doesn't give me any sort of bump in pay, but it will look great on the ol' resume when I apply for promotions or if I ever want to work at a different airport.

Have a vintage Morgan race car for your time.

Got my Redbubble shipment today, including an Oppo sticker from our very own @Arch-Duke-Maxyenko within. After a little internal discussion regarding proper placement, I ultimately elected that my helmet was the proper location to display my Oppo pride.

And really, it's a perfect fitment. No obstruction of my field of vision, even with the visor all the way down. Thanks ADM!

My parents bought a new (used) car today, a Mazda CX-5. They got it from a local Mazda dealer near their home in Jacksonville, FL. I didn't know any of this, as they hadn't even mentioned they were looking at cars recently. But at any rate, I got a call from them while I was having lunch today. All my mom said was, "We're buying a car at the Mazda dealer and we ran into someone that knows you."

I thought this was weird, since they moved to Jacksonville from the Cocoa Beach area after I had left the state, so I had no social ties to the city they had taken up residence in. Apparently while they were doing the financing paperwork, my pops had mentioned to the salesman that both of his kids were Mazda people at one point (my brother has had a few Miatas over the years, and I had a Mazdaspeed Protege from 2003-2006).

As it turns out, their salesman was a buddy of mine from Orlando, 18 years ago. Him and I were among the founding members of a local group of Mazdaspeed owners in and around Orlando. Pretty cool talking to an old friend, and my folks said they took great care of them, especially once the familial connection was made clear.

So far, they love the CX-5. I probably won't get to drive it for awhile (being clear across the country and all), but I told them I'm glad they got it in Soul Red, as that really is the best color in the Mazda palette.

It's a small world, after all.

Filled up the C5 with gas on my way to work today, and a guy walked over to tell me how much he liked my car. I thanked him, and we chatted for about 2 or 3 minutes while the gas pump did its thing. Once I was done, I got back in the car, and had a thought; I get a lot of comments from people in this car, while pretty much no one ever says a word when I'm in the Jaguar.

Through all the vehicles I have owned over the years (25-ish I think), some have been completely unnoticed by folks, and some generate a lot of comments from strangers. I always welcome the opportunity to chat cars with folks, but there definitely seem to be patterns. Here are a few of mine that have resulted in the most impromptu conversations.

Corvette - Like I said, I wind up in a lot of random talks when I take this car out. It isn't like C5's are very rare or worth a ton. But people seem to love Corvettes in general. I get a lot of, "my dad used to have a Corvette" kind of comments, which is always kind of neat giving someone a hint of nostalgia.

Subaru SVX - Most people that would stop to talk about this car fell into one of two categories. Either they'd never seen one before and wanted to know what it was, or they knew exactly what it was an always wanted to own one. The windows alone were a great conversation starter.

Ford Mustang (1965 Coupe) - I think this was more just because it was a classic car, and lots of people like classic cars. It's all back to the nostalgia thing. Most people who would talk to me about it were my parents' age or older.

Honda Ruckus - Because it's always a little funny to see a 6'3" guy riding a 50cc scooter, I guess.

Honda S2000 - This is a car that probably was the most polarizing in terms of both positive and negative comments. Bright yellow, loud, low, and clearly a sports car. A lot of people loved it, and a lot of people called it a slow rice rocket. Didn't really bother me, because it was just flat out fun to drive.

Peugeot 405 - Much like the SVX, the majority of comments were questions about what kind of car it was. One guy told me that "Pew-got" isn't a real car company that he had ever heard of, so it must have been some kind of fancy Honda Accord.

Toyota MR2 (AW11) - I had a few "Is that a Fiero?" questions, but mostly folks just thought it was a neat car. A lot of people that knew a bit about these cars would make comments like, "How many times have you spun out?", to which the answer was always, "Several."

How about you all? What cars have you had that numerous strangers would choose to ask you questions or give you unsolicited thoughts about?

I just realized today that I haven't been to Jalopnik once since Oppo got the boot.

And really, I'm more than okay with it.

Had a few cancelations tonight, meaning the airfield was eerily quiet after about 2300 hours. So I had to snap a quick potato-phone picture, because... well... not much else to do. Just a bunch of empty planes parked at empty gates.

About time to head home and start my weekend. Good night Oppo!

As one could surmise, working at an airport during a pandemic left me with some extra free time over the past year. One thing that we've found to be quite fun is a game me and a colleague came up with involving the parking garage.

Person 1 comes up with a specific type, brand, model, color, etc of vehicle. For instance: BMW M-cars, Swedish cars, dually trucks, Mitsubishis, convertibles with tops that aren't black, SUVs with stick figure family stickers, blue RWD sedans from Europe, vehicles without a 3rd brake light, and so on.

Person 2 guesses how many vehicles will be in the garage that match the description.

Person 1 then guesses if the true number will be higher or lower than what Person 2 guessed.

Then we drive through the garage in our work trucks and see who wins. We play on the honesty policy. So far, I don't think either of us have ever intentionally cheated. We tend to just do one lap around the perimeter of each floor of the garage, only going down individual aisles if we both agree to. Usually, it isn't a problem to do so, as we both seem to have a pretty keen eye and just serve to validate what we thought we saw.

We usually take turns making the guesses, and we're down to doing it once per week. Doing it on multiple consecutive days feels a little less honest, since the turnover of cars isn't incredibly high some days.

It's not much, but at least it eats up a tiny bit more time than watching rows of jets sit cold and idle at every gate at the concourse.

Fun fact: Our garage has 5,255 total spaces. And despite spending most of 2020 at 35% capacity or lower, people would routinely still park on the roof level. That always struck me as odd. Parking in the garage costs more than any of the surface lots. Part of that is surely for the convenience factor, as it is closer than any lot. But part of that, you would think, would be reduced exposure to the elements. Kinda defeats the purpose if you're going to park on the roof, which somehow collects a fair amount of sand despite being nowhere near any discernable source of sand.

Okay, now for some Oppo input. Give me some great guesses to spring on my colleague.

And here's a bonus for your time, a real rarity, as spotted in said garage.
I posted it once on the old Oppo, and the owner actually managed to find come across the post and appreciate the love we gave his car.

Pulling a week of midnight shifts at work, just completing my first one. Driving on the airfield in the middle of the night is a significantly different experience. For example, the runway and taxiway inspections have me focusing on a whole other aspect of airport safety.

During the day, I'm looking for issues with the driving surfaces. Cracks, spalling, rutting, pooling water, damage to signage, and so on. At night, you really can't see much of anything other than the lights. And there are So. Many. Lights. It's sorta like when you're checking your Christmas lights for burnt out bulbs. Only the strings aren't strings, but a pair of 8,000' slabs (plus another 20,000' or so of taxiways) that you have to get out of the way of jetliners for here and there.

Slightly terrifying, very exciting, and a lot of bulb checking.

Not my photo, but I'll try and grab some if I can this week.

@taylor-martin I know it's weird getting into online dating, speaking from experience. But there's good people out there, and right now a lot more people are probably going that route than under normal worldly circumstances.

A couple things I would throw out there, also from my experience.

1. Women on dating sites get TONS of messages. Many of these messages are crass, vulgar, and occasionally include unsolicited dick pics. So being a decent person right off the bat can help.

2. If you don't think you're suave, witty, or clever...don't try to be. Forcing it can reek of desperation. Being honest will get you a lot further. And let's face it, if you pull off witty lines via chat, but can't in real life, it doesn't really help you get a second date.

3. Know fully well going in that every date isn't going to be amazing. Be prepared for some duds. It isn't necessarily anyone's fault. Some people just don't "click" when they meet in person. Don't take rejection personally. On the flip side, if you aren't "feeling it" after a first date, be honest and tell her how you feel. It's less of a dick move than just ghosting her. It can be a text or email the next day, but at least say something to the effect of, "Had a fun time, but I didn't really feel any chemistry". Funny enough, I went on such a date when I first moved to California, and we wound up being best friends, just never wanted to be dating one another.

4. Ultimately, if you don't feel up for it, then just don't do it. If your heart isn't in it, you aren't going to be your best self.

As for Florida back roads, they really do exist. Sometimes, you just have to know where to look. I can't remember if you've ever said where in the state you are. I was in Cocoa Beach and Orlando for about 18 years, and my folks are in Jacksonville. I've found a few decent drives in both areas, but yeah, they aren't everywhere like in some places.

P.S. Just to toss it out there, I've been in my relationship about 7.5 years now, and we met on OkCupid. We lived 4 blocks from each other in the city, had mutual acquaintances, even went to some of the same bars and restaurants. But without online dating, there's a decent chance we would have never actually met. Now we have a house, a dog, and I got her to sell her Jetta for a BMW 1-series. So, miracles can happen!

I know I haven't posted much on Oppo over the last few weeks. Still getting a feel for my new job duties. But I did spot two neat cars down near the FBO here at work. I think it's safe to assume that both are owned by NBA players, as this is generally where they park when the team flies out for road games.

First is this nice satin black C8.

Next up is a very interesting Tesla Model 3 (I think). I need to try and get some better pictures of it, but it definitely has a very reflective copper wrap, and it looks like maybe a widebody kit of some sort?

I feel weird taking pictures of cars while I'm working. Maybe once I get more comfortable I'll have some neat stuff.

Unrelated note, it's a tiny bit nerve-wracking to be driving on active runways in a Ford Explorer, having to duck off and on between screaming jet liners. But at least it's also kinda fun...

I'm thinking that another 2 or so years from now, I'll be trading in the XE for an XF Sportbrake. Such a good looking car, and functional too!

@hfv I hear ya, buddy. Working today as well, except it's 82 degrees with 30mph winds here.

I elected to go with an energy drink from Reign today. Their lychee flavor is quite tasty.

@ttyymmnn No raise, unfortunately. Just a bit of resume padding for the time being. But more than that, it was actually good knowledge to have for my job (which is often not the case for training classes).

@dipodomysdeserti Haha, the technical answer would depend partially on aircraft characteristics and on Sky Harbor's ACM.

But in my opinion, anything in triple digits is too hot to be out on the tarmac.

@shop-teacher True. It certainly was helpful for me in the test. There were several questions that I distinctly remembered writing down during the class.

@just-jeepin Hanging out with this truck?

I took a class this week for work. 3.5 days in a zoom classroom with a 400-page workbook detailing the MANY intricacies of running the operations side of an airport. And then yesterday, I took the required exam, and passed on my first try. Seriously, it's almost crazy the level of detail the FAA requires for literally everything from the width of the black border surrounding painted stripes on the airfield based on the type of surface, to the types of light bulbs you can and cannot use for various lenses you might have, to the exact amount of time you have to clear runways of snow and ice (which was all new to me since it doesn't snow here).

The cert itself is called ACE, or Airport Certified Employee. I managed to take 60 pages of notes in the class, only to realize the exam would not allow me to use any of it. The exam itself was only 100 questions, but the weird part was how it was proctored. Before starting, I had to rotate my webcam around the room to show a full 360 degrees including all 4 walls, the floor and ceiling, and my desk. Then during the test, all video, audio, and my screen was recorded.

Now I get to put the fancy ACE credential on my business cards and email signature. Pair that with the CM cert I got a few years ago (and was probably more difficult) , and I'm developing quite the word salad after my name. Feels good to know I'm not too old to learn and retain new information. It doesn't give me any sort of bump in pay, but it will look great on the ol' resume when I apply for promotions or if I ever want to work at a different airport.

Have a vintage Morgan race car for your time.

@grindintosecond When you're done with this series, maybe do a 5-part run on why not to fly a MAX...

Kidding... mostly...

We had to help UA shuffle a few MAX-9's around to RON spots Friday morning after Boeing issued their advisory.

Pulling a week of midnight shifts at work, just completing my first one. Driving on the airfield in the middle of the night is a significantly different experience. For example, the runway and taxiway inspections have me focusing on a whole other aspect of airport safety.

During the day, I'm looking for issues with the driving surfaces. Cracks, spalling, rutting, pooling water, damage to signage, and so on. At night, you really can't see much of anything other than the lights. And there are So. Many. Lights. It's sorta like when you're checking your Christmas lights for burnt out bulbs. Only the strings aren't strings, but a pair of 8,000' slabs (plus another 20,000' or so of taxiways) that you have to get out of the way of jetliners for here and there.

Slightly terrifying, very exciting, and a lot of bulb checking.

Not my photo, but I'll try and grab some if I can this week.

@nowhere said in Picked up some Cheesesteaks for a friend:

@jminer The only thing that bothers me when I drive RHD vehicles is that I can't stop myself from instinctively looking up and to the right when I want to check the rear view mirror. Everything else is fine but for some reason I can't make my brain believe the rear view is on the other side of me.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with this problem, hahaha!