Doh, Was That A Tree?

Broke down and actually PURCHASED a computer game yesterday. [waits for everyone's mouths to return to their normal size] Yeah, I know, not exactly in my usual scheme of doing things. Alas I could not find a copy of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 ANYWHERE through my usual avenues of acquiring entertainment, and I finally made the decision that since it was going to be more a learning tool than anything else, and was actually applicable to my future career, that I could justify paying full price for it. At least it came with the strategy guide included, that must count for something.

Basically for those who have been under a rock, the Microsoft Flight Sim series is one of the oldest gaming institutions there is, with the initial product coming out in 1988, I believe. There have always been people wanting to fly a plane without leaving their room, taking lessons, getting certified, and paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for x number of hours of flight time. Interestingly enough, the program has become so advanced, that instructors actually use it as a training tool for their students to teach various concepts. It makes sense really, you can practice the same manuever over and over again without costing anyone money, and all those initial banking curves through trees and spirals deep into the dirt are much less horrific than the real thing.

I got through all of the initial student training and ground school, learning an absolute ton of information in the process. Interestingly enough I found the answers to about ten questions that I've seen on practice AFOQTs in the aviation information section, so I'm probably doing myself a real big favor by reading through all this before the test Monday, at least for that section. Spent the day yesterday over at Borders, Super Crown, and Barnes and Noble, going over more sections and practice problems, and otherwise busying myself wandering around reading random material. I always get weird looks in bookstores these days, apparently I fit in better with the glasses and braces look of middle school, people tend to look at me as if I got lost on the way to Sports Illustrated.

The big test is Monday, have to be in LA at 6:30am, weeeeeeee. Oh, and you can only take the test twice in a lifetime. No pressure. :) Actually I'm not worried, I think I'm much better prepared than your average Joe. And modest besides.