A friend was a WW2 USM pilot. He dropped out of hs to get a job to pay for flying lessons and enlisted at 17 before WW2. In WW2 his class was just ahead of GHW Bush. He had an incredible reputation as a pilot, especially getting into formation. He retired when the war ended but was called back in to train pilots for Korea. Next time he retired he bought an N38 with open cockpit. He took me for a ride over Mt St Helens. I was so in awe of everything I was afraid to.open my mouth for fear my teeth would fly out even tho they were what I had been growing since a child.
Pilot moved to Santa Paula CA where his son had flown the plane. It was put in an airplane museum there. Santa Paula is famous for it's museum.

I think a lot of people know very little about breeding and do it for the money. My dog's breeders had national champions (poodles, Schnauzers and Dobermans that daddy took duck hunting. They practically gave me the dog because he was getting old enough to be "curious" about females and my mother had been their baby sitter while in hs so they knew the type of family he was going to. Just the right timing for us. (The female poodle with her long hair in braids was the first one to jump into the water after the duck)

I think that any mixed breed breeder is in it for the money. Once again, the shelters are fill of mixed breed dogs.

I've heard stories like that. Don't know anyone personally who has had that kind of experience but there's a lot of fear involved with the breed.

Those are the kind of numbers that make my wallet hurt just to think about.

A pedigree dog is so far beyond my pay grade that they might as well be talking about luxury yachts or exotic sports cars. But yeah some people can spend a LOT of money on pets, just like I see cars and trucks on the road that someone spent a lot of money on.

I let my cars and trucks look kinda ugly and focus most of my maintenance on the engine and drivetrain and suspension components - everything to make it go down the road and to control it.

People in fancy $100k cars tend to keep their distance if they suspect what you're driving is about $400 Blue Book value.

Nice. I miss the good old days when aviation was affordable to someone of average means.

Speaking of aviation, the virus lockdowns and lack of people traveling has just about bankrupted many passenger air hubs. And the lockdowns resuming again in Europe are probably going to bankrupt so much of the travel industry that it may never recover. The days of jet-setting around the globe are probably over.

A bunch of us have been playing with tools like RTL-1090 to monitor aircraft transponders. It's weird because there are very few commercial passenger jets, but a lot more FedEx and UPS cargo flights hauling everyone's Ebay and Amazon purchases.

They are extremely dangerous.  They appear to be sweet and appeasing, which they often are in their early years. But their genetics are to fight and kill, and eventually too many of them snap.  Once they go into fight mode, they don’t back off. They clamp down their jaws and don’t relax them, and they keep fighting even when there is no threat.  They will kill anything in their paths if they want to and if it’s possible.  People, animals, it doesn’t matter. 

For a lot of people, a dog is as essential as a car.  Of course, it depends on your budget, but I’ve seen people on forums who can barely support themselves, who will pay for a quality dog if they need one.  There are still working dogs out there.  

I believe the airline industry will come back. Unless people stop moving away from families and friends, stop vacationing and stop working on site, travel is a must for them.  I have already heard from people I know who can’t wait to travel out of their own countries.  This is just a temporary impediment.

One airline just announced they are filling what used to be the empty center seat. Probably cutting a plane from the schedule and cramming the planes again?