I was visiting my cousins a few weeks back and the conversation turned to the existence of aliens and other life forms in the universe. He was a bit surprised when I shared with him my belief that there are other beings in the universe, other inhabited worlds. When he asked me why I believe this, what proof or what am I basing this belief on my answer was simple:

I can’t believe that human beings are it. I refuse to believe that what we have here is all the life that could ever form anywhere. My ego just isn’t that big. I won’t allow it to be.

My choice to share this with you, my readers, was prompted by the recent video of physicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson sharing “the most astounding fact about the universe” with the readers of TIME magazine:

The Most Astounding Fact from Max Schlickenmeyer on Vimeo.

The video above reminded me of Carl Sagan’s You Are Here (also known as Pale Blue Dot):

Although the two videos focus on how amazing it is that we are here and we are us, to me they also emphasize how small and insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things. Among all those other planets, star systems, galaxies I refuse to believe we are the only life forms, much less the most intelligent ones.

No related posts.

Legendary pilot Bob Hoover lent his knowledge to a P-51 Mustang pilot who was experiencing some trouble with the airplane’s landing gear.

According to Flying Magazine:

… the left landing gear was stuck in the wheel well and all normal emergency procedures failed to free it.

After making several calls, [Cavanaugh Flight Museum Director Doug] Jeanes phoned venerated P-51 pilot Bob Hoover to see if he could offer any advice.

Hoover suggested the pilot put the airplane through some high-G manoeuvres to free the stuck gear. The manoeuvres worked and the pilot was able to land safely at Mobile Downtown Airport.

In case you’re not familiar with Hoover’s previous exploits, here’s a video to give you an idea why if you find yourself in trouble in the air, you want Hoover on the line:

[via The Aviation Daily News]

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1. Canadian “Do Not Call” list

There will be no Canadian Aviation Expo in 2012. According to a press release from the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum the Expo “has postponed the 2012 Expo and its 20^th anniversary celebrations until 2013 in order to support this years 40^th anniversary of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (CWHM) and the 60^th anniversary of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Associations (COPA).”

The Canadian Aviation Expo brings together exhibitors from virtually every aspect of aviation for a two day trade show. If you’ve never been or just want to see what the expo was like in previous years, I have a few posts which you can find here.

With the Expo postponed, the next aviation event to look forward to in Hamilton is the 2012 Hamilton Air Show taking place June 16-17.

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2. Canadian Aviation Expo
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The show will be taking place June 2nd and 3rd at the Waterloo International Airport (CYKF). It was a great time last year with many wonderful static and performing displays. This year you can look forward to:

• The Snowbirds
• Pete McLeod, Canada’s Red Bull Air Racer
• CF-18 Demo Team
• Jet Aircraft Museum’s T-33 Mako Shark
• Otto the Helicopter and more!

This will be my third year attending, second as a member of the audience and I’m really looking forward to it. Watch this space for more information as the show date approaches!

Posts that may be related:

1. 2012 Hamilton Air Show brief
2. 2011 Hamilton Air Show Tease Picture
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The 2012 Hamilton Air Show will be taking place Father’s Day weekend, June 16-17 at John C. Munro, Hamilton International Airport. The show will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum and promises some fantastic displays including:

• Royal Canadian Air Force’s 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, better known as the Snowbirds
• The CF-18 Demo Team
• Boeing B-29 Superfortress
• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
• Avro Lancaster MK. X
• Pete McLeod, Canada’s Red Bull Air Racer
• LOT’S MORE!

This will be the second Hamilton Air Show since its decade long break, the first taking place last year. I have a number of posts that you can check out covering last year’s show. Please note that they only apply to last year’s show and things have likely changed.

I will leave you with some pictures from the airshow last year but watch this space for news about this and other air shows in Southern Ontario as we get closer to summer!

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1. 2011 Hamilton Air Show Lineup
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There is a new meme image out there with the picture of an astronaut on the moon. I particularly enjoyed the two below.

Here he is commenting on the computational power available nowadays.

Try your hand at the meme here.

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This video from the very reputable news source, The Onion, reminds me why I would be foolish to sign up for cable TV. Be forewarned, the language is NSFW.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the BBC’s version.

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1. Upcoming events (or “where you can find Flying Dan this weekend”)

I present to you, the Most Interesting Air Traffic Controller in the World:

via reddit.com/r/aviation

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I’ve entered an aviation photography contest and would appreciate your vote. You can find my pictures below with link to the page where you can vote. Simply LIKE the picture to vote. Thanks for your help!

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

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I co-host Cleared En Route the Canadian aviation and space exploration podcast. Check out ClearedEnRoute.com to listen to episodes, read show notes and to find out more about the podcast!

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