The Price of a White Christmas

So there are some things that are really cool about a white Christmas:
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-Your brother might do something crazy...

















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...like jump on the trampoline...






















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...in his shorts...






















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-Everything around the house looks amazing...






















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...especially when the blizzard is blowing snow...

















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Unfortunately, these kind of blizzards can lead to cabin fever...






















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...family that can't get home for Christmas, and obnoxiously slow-loading blogs.

Enjoy your white Christmas if you have it, and enjoy your family actually being there if you don't!

When Capitalism Works

Today I volunteered to have my flight to Colorado for Christmas bumped back one day. Amount I was reimbursed: $400 voucher towards a plane ticket, $90 hotel stay, $26 in meal vouchers. I believe that's the most I've ever earned in a day!

How to Make a Good Landing

Be sure you evenly distribute the weight onto both wings of the aircraft

If there's one thing harder than landing on a rough back-country airstrip, it's landing on a rough back-country airstrip in a tractor plane with four of your friends holding on for dear life --- especially when you aren't in the cockpit. So I've developed a foolproof method to land in the most rugged terrain, even when your friends are hanging on the wings like a pack of apes:

1. Scream. It always seems to even out the group's collective anxiety level. If you're getting scared, so should everyone else.

2. Deflate your tires. Or in this case, take them completely off. Usually the friend that's hanging closest to the landing gear can reach down there and remove them comfortably in flight (if you forgot to do this before you took off).

3. Balance the weight of your entire party on the aircraft. If one of your passengers hops on the right wing, hop on the left wing. This is just common sense.

4. Take it slow. The slower your landing, the better the pictures come out later.

5. Use your flaps. Here, for instance, you and your friends' legs act as the plane's control surfaces. So stick out your legs and start moving (note: swimming flippers come in useful at this time as well).

This kind of landing obviously takes some practice, but with these tips you'll be well on your way to being the best bush pilot out there.