I don't fly because of my issues with turbulence. A story in the news today was a great example.

A flight from Houston to London was diverted to Ireland because of a severe situation over the Atlantic. A number of passengers suffered broken bones. The pilots did a great job with the plane.

I can't imagine going through something like that. My flights were bad enough.

There are a series of tropical storms that might impact us over the weekend or not matter at all. The weather people are ecstatic over it.

Forecasting is difficult, but they can never be wrong. What does 20% chance of rain really mean? 

I can't imagine taking a long car trip to Florida or any place else. My 234 mile drive to New York City is a big enough challenge and seems to take forever. I can only last about two hours before I need to stop.

I saw a posting on Facebook from someone who drove 615 miles on their way to Florida in less than 10 hours. They must have made very few stops or encountered little traffic. I assume they left around 2am.

How do people drive that far? It doesn't matter if you have more than one driver. I would be so uncomfortable. 

For the second time in a week, we are hearing about a pilot being taken off a flight for allegedly being intoxicated. This time, it was on a trans-Atlantic flight. Passengers faced a ten hour delay until another flight crew arrived.

I wonder how many pilots get away with it. We never hear until someone is caught. I think it's a problem that has been around for a long time.

Charity golf outings always charge a certain price for golf, food, shirts and prizes. It can be a real challenge to keep the cost down.

I played in an outing today that changed caterers a few years ago. The food was better back then. The cost of meals can easily get out of control.

I try to eat a lot of chicken. It's always breast tenders for me because it's the healthiest meat. The leg and thigh served today never had enough meat on it. The barbecue made it such a mess.

Grilled chicken breasts might raise the entry fee. I would be ok with paying another $10 to get better chicken. 

We always hear about salmon being so good for you. It's better fresh rather than previously frozen or farm raised.

I stir fried my piece in olive oil tonight. I was surprised to take out ten bones almost an inch long while cooking it. I had another two while eating.

Will I have this many bones in my next piece? 

Flying single engine planes can be dangerous and leaves little room for error. Emergency landings can lead to catastrophic results.

A pilot was lucky today when he was forced to land on a sandbar in the Quabbin Reservoir. The recent drought has caused historic low water levels. 

This guy was really lucky because he had few options to land. Without the low water levels, his landing may have been fatal. It was either touching down in the Quabbin or in the trees.  

Natural disasters are so devastating to people. I've been watching the news about the destruction in Central City, Louisiana from flooding caused by rain.

The city of 27,000 had about 90% of its residents effected. The area had not experienced a flood in over 60 years.

How will the federal government respond? Things are not off to a great start. 

Last week, the mayor of Boston was called out for wearing cargo shorts in public. I don't understand the big deal doing that on a Sunday. He was criticized as a fashion disaster. 

I have never owned cargo shorts because they always look so wrinkled. They were in style a long time ago, but I never wanted to look like I slept in my clothes. 

I have never been so close to changing my internet provider. I could end up canceling my land line. That would be a huge step. 

It would be a no-brainer. I could save even more money by eliminating a line I never use.

It would feel real strange to give up a phone number I've had for over 40 years. 

I had a question about my health insurance benefits so I decided to check the on-line guide. I thought it would be easy.  

After my login, I was told to change my password to eight characters, including the usual upper case letter, symbol and number.

That went well until I had to verify my email address. I was told to type in a key code from an email they sent me. I never received it because it went into my spam folder.

I should have checked it, but I ended up calling customer service. My login issued was resolved and they answered my question about my benefits. 

A local bar in an old factory building just won approval to covert the upper floors into housing units. This all sounds good, but the bar has live music several nights a week.

The people who will live there must be acceptable of that arrangement. It will be too late to complain about the noise. Several other buildings on the street have similar situations.

I don't know how the residents do it. The constant noise would too much for most people. 

Voter turnout in the presidential election has not exceeded 60% since 1968. One company decided to jump on an advertising campaign that guaranteed free purchases of their furniture if the turnout was greater than 75%.  

This election is something we have never seen before, but I don't think 75% of the voters will cast ballots. It's a low risk bet for the company and an excellent way to sell furniture.

They probably took out insurance in case the unexpected happens, but there is no way 75% of the voters will show up. 

I just saw a story on the news about the dangers of things falling off cars and trucks and becoming projectiles. The examples shown were very scary because it can happen at any time.

I try to avoid vehicles that have secured loads. You never know how well they are strapped down. Some are just accidents waiting to happen.

The weather people are going crazy about the Heat Index for Thursday. According to them, it will be very oppressive. What do they really know? They can only be so accurate on a daily basis.

They use to talk about "Triple H Weather", (hazy, hot and humid). Now it's all about the Heat Index. It's a lot like the wind chill factor.

I don't think we will ever see a cash free system in my lifetime. People will keep using paper currency and write checks as long as they can. 

I pay all of my bills on-line, except for my rent and use a credit card for purchases to earn points. It has worked out well so far. 

A food server in Boston was in the news for not taking cash, which is against state law. The owner made a strong argument in his defense.

I don't know how you can stop taking cash. It doesn't make any sense. 

A few weeks ago, I bought several bottles of Pepsi that were on sale. I try not to drink more then 6-8 ounces a day. I use to consume too much of it.

Today, I noticed that the expiration date on one bottle was last month. I should have checked when I bought it. The store must have known that it was reaching its date. That's why it was on sale. Where was it before then? Was it sitting in a warehouse? 

Tonight is the opening ceremony for the Rio Olympics. I have no plans to watch the three hours of excess hype. The program is too long with all of its pageantry. 

The Olympics cost too much money for the host city and country. Thousands of people were displaced for construction. Next year at this time, many of the venues will be rotting away from lack of use.

NBC is looking to score big tonight on the ratings. It's all about the money. 

I took a ride to Hampton Beach today and walked along the sand for one hour. My timing in mid-afternoon was perfect as it was low tide. It makes a big difference with walking. 

That was my first time on the sand this summer and it's already August. The season is rather short around here. Once Labor Day passes, the beach will be very quiet.

Just six more weeks of summer. 

The news today mentioned that studies show that using dental floss daily does not reduce the chance of gum disease or cavities. They said that brushing daily is just as effective.

I totally disagree with all of this. I have been using it for over 30 years. My gums to this point are in good shape. I have a couple of spaces where food gets trapped every time I eat.

My flossing has helped saved my teeth and gums. I wouldn't want to know what would happen without it. People can make their own decisions. 

It didn't surprise me to read that Boston hotel room rates are comparable to New York City. Boston has a shortage of rooms, especially affordable ones. Reasonable rates can only be found on the outskirts or in the suburbs. 

New York City has many reasonably priced rooms. Rates are always dictated by time of year and special events. The high rates in Boston don't do anything to help tourism.