Pilots are allowed to drink before a flight
Oct 21, 2008 News Breaks
Well, to a certain extent of course. The limit, according to one report, is that it’s three times lower than the driving limit.
I bring this up because I came by an article yesterday which horrified me. A United Airlines pilot was arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport before his passenger plane took off under the suspicion of being above the legal drinking limit, ABC News reported.
I just assumed that the pilot was not a passenger, and was indeed about to fly the plane but it was not mentioned in the report. However, I found this other article which confirms that this man, who was unidentified, was indeed one of the plane’s pilot - the first officer of the plane, to be exact.
He has since been suspended pending investigation.
What troubles me most, however, was this:
In a statement, the airline said: “United Airlines’ alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have absolutely no tolerance for abuse or violation of this well-established policy.
The other report explained that the legal limit for pilots is nine micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath (apparently, drink-drive limit is 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath). I’m not sure how much that is but if we take the usual two glasses of beer for drunk driving, then this would come up to about half to three-quarters of a glass?
Which, I think, is a lot considering you’re maneuvering such a huge vehicle, with so many lives relying on you. Of course, no one would admit to getting drunk on one glass of beer but … And if it’s true that United Airlines has one of the strictest policies … then other pilots are drinking more than that, no?
You know, when I first read about the nine micrograms, I just assumed it was like if the someone had cake with alochol in it, or had a dish of drunken chicken at a Chinese dinner - that kind of bits of alcohol.
Now, my calculations might not be correct (if anyone knows, please leave a comment and correct me and I’ll fix it), but it is a scary thought nonetheless. And for there to be such irresponsible pilots around - eeks. I did a Google search and there has been other instances in the past too such as this and this!
9.10am Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: alcohol limit, pilot
Kids for A Christmas Carol
Oct 20, 2008 Performing Arts
If you have any kids, siblings, cousins or friends who are between the age of 8 and 13, you might want to point them in this direction. Well, not my direction but … sigh. Just read on. :P
KLpac will be staging A Christmas Carol (yes, with Mr Scrooge, the three spirits, et al), directed by Chris Ling with Joe Hasham as Artistic Director and Faridah Merican as producer, and are auditioning kids this weekend (Saturday, Oct 25). The details are as follows:
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11am sharp | Studio 2, KLPac
The director is looking for 4 boys and 2 girls aged 8 to 13 years old to play various speaking roles (such as Tiny Tim, Child Scrooge and the Little Cratchits). The audition will be conducted in the form of a 2-hour acting workshop. As such, no prior preparation is necessary. Places are limited to 20 children only.
Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis. Please contact SESHA on 03 4047 9031 or 016-237 4262.
Do take note of the following:
Children who are cast will be required to attend the following rehearsals:
· Saturday, Nov 15; Sunday 16; Saturday 22; Sunday 23; Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 | 2 to 6pm
· Tuesday, Nov 25; Wednesday 26; and Thursday 27 | 7.30 to 10.30pm
· Tuesday, Dec 2; Wednesday 3; and Thursday 4 | 7.30 to 10.30pm
· Saturday, Dec 6 and Sunday, 7 | 2 to 6pm
· Monday, Dec 8; Tuesday 9; Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 | 6.30pm to 10.30pm
A detailed rehearsal schedule will be made available at the workshop.
Performances for A Christmas Carol will be from Friday, Dec 12 to Sunday, Dec 28.
Boys auditioning for the role of Tiny Tim will need to be able to sing.
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Obviously, I am promoting this because, ahem, I am involved in the show. But more details to come on this blog as the dates come nearer. All I will say is that I’ve not been onstage since I performed in the Fastest Clock In The Universe in 2006.
It’s good to be back in rehearsals.
Tags: A Christmas Carol, Audition, klpac
Mizuno Wave Run 2008
Oct 19, 2008 Events
Those of you who have been following my blog or column in the papers (or well, if you’re my friend then Facebook updates as well) would know that I’ve taken to running. I did my first race on Merdeka Day in Singapore for the Nike+ Human Race 10k where I completed the run in 58mins-ish.
This morning, I woke up at an ungodly time for my second proper run, the Mizuno Wave Run 2008 which flagged off and ended at Padang Merbok in Kuala Lumpur. Compared to the first run, this one was small - only 2,800 runners to the 10,000 in Singapore.
I was also initially a bit worried, since I’m such a newbie and started my running addiction with what PuehTian calls “mother of all 10ks”. I have been warned not to have such high expectations in future runs.
Still, I thought the one today was well organised. Yesterday, I queued up to collect my numbers and race kits and that went smoothly. Today, baggage storage, flagging off and the whole race went pretty good too. I really have no complains (except for one incident with a bitch cow at the goodie bag area, but that’s just a personal thing).
I had heard the route is really tough, because it goes through Kenny Hills. Yes, hills. The Singapore one was pretty flat I thought, so I was expecting the worst. But I thought I did pretty well. My own timing showed that I did my personal best, just below the 58 mins that I did in Singapore (and with the hills too!) - which got me a medal, meaning I came in the top 500 in my category.
The official timing might be a bit longer, because we had to queue up to get in at the end (yeah, my one complaint would be the small area at the finishing line).
But all in all, it was good fun. I had good company - Marcus, Wari and Malik joined me, and my friend Yin, a “veteran” of sorts was already running. I also saw PuehTian and Jamie, who I ran in Singapore with, from a far.
My knee hurts (gotta get it checked), but if it’s not a permanent problem, I think I’ll be running quite a bit more in the future!
Bring on Terry Fox Run on Nov 2!
10.11am Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
A tribute to Bangsar
Oct 18, 2008 The Bangsar Boy
It’s been a while, but I thought that for The Bangsar Boy this week, I’ll write about - ahem - Bangsar.
Yes, it’s a tribute of sorts and this is one of my favourite articles in the column.
RECENTLY, I found myself awake at 7.30am - an ungodly time of the morning, mind you - and so, not knowing what to do with the few extra hours in my life, decided to go for a run.
It was a most interesting run, I have to say, because I bumped into so many people I’ve not met in a very long time. Living in Bangsar all your life (yes, since I was born), you tend to know the people who make Bangsar tick - the newspaper uncle (who has put on so much weight!), the nasi lemak lady and the Filipino maids.
More so than the geographical space, my tribute is to the people of Bangsar - my friends and neighbours and the people I grew up with.
To read the article, click here.
12.50pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: Bangsar, The Bangsar Boy
Meet Joe the Plumber
Oct 17, 2008 People
I missed the earlier session of the final US Presidential Elections debate yesterday between Barack Obama and John McCain but picked up on this guy - Joe the Plumber. I wasn’t sure if he was a rhetorical character or a real person, but today, I found out. His real name is Joe Wurzelbacher.
Then I came across this video - an ABC interview with the man himself. Apparently, he had met Obama while the latter was on the campaign trail, and asked him about his pledge to raise taxes for those earning US$250,000 or more a year from 36% to 39%.
I’m not sure I agree with Joe when he says that the rich shouldn’t be taxed more, though. Does that make me a socialist?
It’s good to put a face to a name though. And I wonder if he’s going to make the US$250,000 sooner than he thinks, with the kind of publicity he’s getting (23 times he was mentioned during the debate!!!).
8.41pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: Barack Obama, joe the plumber, joe Wurzelbacher, John McCain, politics, US elections
