..."spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch" was the first thing that came to mind when I read your post. :p :D

btw, you use a paper checklist? I have mine in my phone calendar! Nothing wrong with checklists! :)

Yes, the amount of crap necessary to pull off a successful trip can be way too high, but creature comforts are important.

The company stuff alone is way too much. I've got a plotter, still new in wrap, that is 25 years old. Never used it, but it's apparently necessary for the safety of flight.

My ex used to say that I looked like I was doing the Macarena when checking for the crap in front pockets, back pocket and around my neck. I was simply doing a verbal count--keys=1, passport=2...

I'll do it a couple of times in the hotel room before putting the baggage puzzle together, and then I'll do it again after the puzzle is complete.

The one time I didn't do it at home, I had done the 35 minute drive to the lot and rode the 15 minutes to the terminal to find out I had forgotten my ID.

It gives you a pretty good edge, painting around the house.

The article in question was written in response to a "real" dating blog:

Top 6 reasons you should date a pilot

The response is definitely a gag piece and and is subtle satire... even the paragraphs/topics perfectly match the dating blog. No toolishness detected. The latter, the "real" piece, is toolish in the extreme, but written by the girlfriend of a pilot.

"The Macarena," now that was hysterical and was a great visual!! :D



I thought both articles were cute and contained lots of truth. :)

Damn! Beat me to it.

I do it every time I walk out the door, keys, phone, wallet, watch. Easy.

+1, it is a semi-funny satire like a lot of British/Aussie features, part true, part exaggeration. It is a cultural thing. Do you find Monty Python funny? Some people do, a lot of people, particularly Americans don't.

"He or she may already have a drinking buddy listed as 'domestic partner' so they can take free trips to Vegas" or "you might get bumped from the flight and go home with the memory of being harassed by a security guard - for free!"

July, 1995. Second trip off IOE at ASA. I walked out to the plane and Bill J. was standing at the top of the stairs and informed me I was 3 minutes late and that I was off the trip. I said "OK," we had some words, and then I picked up my bag and walked back to the crew lounge. BJ came running after me and said he was only kidding. Never had an issue with him again.

FWIW, flying airplanes was a third career for me, after the military and working in the finance industry. At 30 years old at the time, I didn't take crap off of anybody then, and don't now.

You mean Beal?