He sure got to the bottom of the issue.

The Shuttle toilet was way more civilised, but it did have its own “quirks”. It used a fan to suck the poop. The astronauts had to align their orifice accurately or the fan propelled some fecal matter back towards the pooper. And then that could float around the cabin.

Oops. Double post.

I’ll add that when the throttles (there are two in an F/A-18) are operated, the arm would not be extended out like that anyway. They are placed in a nicely ergonomic position.

Correct. The F/A-18 has automatic guidance during the cat shot and the initial climb. The pilot keeps his hand on the “towel rack” handle to ensure it doesn’t flail about during the maneuver. You can see the pilot placing his hand on the towel rack around the 0:28 mark.

Truth! For instance, one could fly a cargo plane hauling rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong well past 66.

That was truly inspired. All the stars to you!

For travel, I’ve found this Vheonet charger brilliant. No problems charing my Thinkpad (or wife’s MBP), a phone, an iPad and a WiFi hotspot at the same time. (I use a Baseus three-way cable similar to this one with it so I can charge up to 5 devices.)

For travel, I’ve found this Vheonet charger brilliant. No problems charing my Thinkpad (or wife’s MBP), a phone, an…

We have those “wipe everything down” pilots too. A good 10-15% of flight crew will grab a couple of wipes and go to town.

Well put. Lots of people freak out about germs on aircraft but they go into malls and office buildings without a second thought...

We don’t really worry about storms. They’re just part of the job, and properly managed, the risk of anything untoward happening is small.

Eh. Some crew are total germophobes and wipe everything down. Others, like me, just wash our hands with reasonable frequency but don’t worry so much about it. Anecdotally, I see no clear trend in which groups gets more sick. Planes are dirty but not more than most public spaces. The air is passed through HEPA filters…

I! LOVED! THIS!

I like this expression, “micro talks”. Our strategy, not that we ever sat down and formally formulated one, was always to answer honestly, but in an age-appropriate manner. And not to make a big deal of it.

And more power to you.

That depends on the looseness of the shorts. I live in the tropics. Going commando is pretty much the only way to survive summer.

To paraphrase my ex, “panties end up there [in the crack] anyway so I might as well wear shortcut the process.”

• Know where you are. If you’re in a loud night club with people hanging over the bar desperate to attract the attention of the bartender, keep it simple. Whisky and soda. Gin and tonic. Rum and coke. Beer. White wine. Red wine. Let’s be honest. You’re not there to get a nice cocktail and drink it in a leisurely fashion…

Negroni only really become fashionable in the past 4-5 years. Negroni actually turns 100 this week, but it’s not super well known tbh.

Ori and the Blind Forest.