Spring is here and everyone is getting a bit giddy. That's why there's been a bunch off things in the news locally and nationally that have been weirder than usual.

For example a few months ago an Air Canada flight was going along when suddenly the plane pitched up and down violently. A couple of passengers were even hurt. The pilot came on and apologized for the turbulence and the flight concluded normally. Well, the Canada Air Safety Board issued their incident report this week and it wasn’t turbulence. Seems that the co pilot was napping while the pilot flew the plane. At one point he woke up and saw the lights in the windshield. He grabbed the controls and swerved the plane violently to avoid colliding … with the planet Venus. This is why on long flights US carriers have a third pilot that rotates in if one of the regular two want to nap somewhere not in the cockpit.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/04/16/air-canada-zurich-flight-incident-report.html

Then there was a police call this week in Saanich, just north of Victoria. Police and tactical units and all the rest turned out because of a report of a man with a gun in his belt. It turned out not to be a gun though. Seems he had an argument with his roommates and in a fit of pique had stuffed a curling iron down his pants and stormed out. It's not quite clear WHY he did this but he did and it caused a bit of a fuss. I would have thought that people might have noticed the electrical cord coming out of the handle but for whatever reason they didn't. Somehow, "Is that a curling iron in your pocket or… " just doesn’t have the same ring.
http://www.timescolonist.com/threatening+that+curling+iron+down+your+pants/6474025/story.html

Just to prove that even Canada has its share of Darwin Awards candidates I offer the following. Last week some guy drove his motorcycle WAY over the speed limit on the highway near Nanaimo. He was weaving in between cars and generally being an idiot. Even dumber he then posted the video of it on YouTube. He’s claiming 300Km/hr though watching the video I don’t think he was doing more than 200. The speed limit there is 90-100 km/hr and he seems to be doing about twice the speed of the other vehicles. Oh and yes they got the bike and they got him. He not only has a list of violations as long as your arm from this ride, they'd already revoked his license because of the 25 previous citations. They say prosecuting him could be difficult because they’d have to prove he was the one on the bike. I’m not sure I buy that. He lives with his mom who doesn’t ride. He’s bragged to friends and on the internet about the ride. Other drivers couldn’t see his face but they identified the outfit and helmet as matching the ones he owns. The video was uploaded from his computer on his account. I’d think a good prosecutor could put together a case for this being all but a confession.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/04/19/bc-motorcycle-video-victoria.html

This week Marsha was watching a Twins game on TV (yes we get a few though she has to watch most on the computer.) It turned out they were having a celebration for Jackie Robinson. One thing I did not know was that before moving to the Dodgers, Robinson played in Canada for the Montreal Royals. (I'm always looking for a Canadian connection.)Then he went to the Dodgers and the rest is history. Of course I think it must have been after he stopped playing that he went to MoTown and performed as Jackie Robinson and the Miracles. (Tears of a Clown, I Second that Emotion, Tracks of My Tears, and many more.) He was an amazing person.

Doug & Marsha

In lieu of pictures this week I’ve got something extra special. I took this video this morning. It’s spring and the birds were amazingly loud. I suspect that they were all screaming “Shut the %&@!!# up. I’m trying to sleep over here.” In addition to song birds and others, there's even a couple of chickens waking up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bq-deID_04