Model Airplanes

Dad poked his head out his bedroom door, saw me passing by and yanked me inside.

“Help me wrap!”

He needed help with gifts for my younger brother and sister.

We sat on the floor, surrounded by ribbons and scraps of holiday paper. He was still in his blue work shirt after pulling an all-night tow call, asking me whether I thought Santa would bring me everything I wanted. I was 16.

I pulled from the Napa Auto Parts bag a rubbery black stick. He snatched it back. Because that was clearly MY gift.

“No, not that one. This bag. Wrap what’s in this bag.”

That’s how I knew, with my newly minted driver’s license and first used car, I got a tire air pressure gauge for Christmas.

Every year, my mom gave us neatly wrapped packages signed in perfect script with “Love, mom and dad.” She gave us clothes, toys and jewelry. These were the gifts we’d asked for and wanted.

Dad bought his own gifts. A mechanic and tow truck driver by trade, they came from auto part stores and sometimes luxury car washes. Over the years, I received sheep skin seat covers, new rims and tool sets. 

He got us what he wanted, but it didn’t matter

I’m not knocking gifts of the gear-head variety. They were great, though perhaps not for teenage daughters and a bookish son. He got us what he loved. What he would have wanted.

On Christmas morning, in the heap of opened presents, his gifts lay untouched. He only wanted to see the rapture on his children’s faces when they opened the gifts from Pep Boys

Article source: https://www.whas11.com/article/news/nation-now/what-my-dad-who-died-on-christmas-day-taught-me-by-always-giving-awful-presents/465-ee94670e-e1b7-4fc4-bb88-8dadd39ba647

• When flying in premium economy on Singapore Airlines, the solo seats at the rear of the A350-900ULR are the best seats in the house

  When flying in premium economy on Singapore Airlines, the solo seats at the rear of the A350-900ULR are the best seats in the house

  
  

  Article source: https://www.chron.com/chris-mcginnis/article/Singapore-Air-A350-premium-economy-review-13456076.php

Waiting at the airport in Antigua on Friday evening with her 10-year-old son, Shemar, Shemika Simon must have wondered whether she would ever make it to Britain in time to spend Christmas with her family. Earlier in the week, Gatwick airport, her intended destination, had been plunged into chaos by the sighting of a drone hovering near its runway. Its reappearance on Friday did not bode well.

“My heart was in my hand when I saw the drone – I thought our flight would be cancelled,” said Simon. But, by midday yesterday, she had arrived at Gatwick. The experience, though, had left her bewildered. “It’s crazy that a drone could cause so much disruption and actually take flights off course.”

Crazy but predictable. For years, aviation experts, pilot groups, MPs and peers have been warning that a drone could unleash mayhem at a busy British airport. It was a question of when, not if, they said.

The government, though, appears not to have been overly worried.

Two years ago, in response to concerns raised in parliament by Paul Flynn, the then transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, insisted “there is no complacency whatever from the government on the use of drones”.

The same year, Lord Harris presented a report to the London assembly that called for the government to examine whether “the current legislation relating to the use of drones is suitable” and for ministers to “explore technological options to improve the capacity to restrict drone use or disable them”.

The DX Chogokin VF-1J Valkyrie is a very good toy indeed.Credit: Ollie Barder

Even after all this time, Super Dimensional Fortress Macross is easily one the most successful mecha anime franchises ever made. Not least for its ground-breaking approach to transforming aircraft, known as variable fighters. The most iconic of these being the VF-1J and Bandai Spirits has released the best toy of it yet.

The VF-1J is the mid-level version of the VF-1 Valkyrie, with the VF-1A being the starting iteration for lower ranked pilots and the VF-1S for more experienced pilots. While the airframe’s look the same, the easiest way to distinguish each type is based on the number of head lasers they have. With the VF-1A having one, the VF-1J having two and the mighty VF-1S having four.

In the original Macross TV series, Hikaru Ichijyo is given his own VF-1J, with the very characteristic white coloring and red trim. It’s this version of the VF-1J that many identify with Macross and with Hikaru, so it’s no surprise that Bandai Spirits added this classic design to its DX Chogokin toy line of variable fighters.

However, as you would imagine with such a popular design, there have been multiple attempts at bringing Hikaru’s VF-1J to life over the years. What makes this iteration so very good is

Article source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2018/12/23/dx-chogokin-vf-1j-valkyrie-toy-review-easily-one-of-the-best-macross-toys-ever-made/