Poltrack Blog

The only bright spot during this dreadful weather pattern is the constant appearance of hummingbirds around the feeders. The rain seems to have dampened the flowering of their native food sources so the feeders are quite attractive to them. It’s great being a teleworker, I can work while listening to Hank Williams and watching hummingbirds. Now if it would only … please… STOP RAINING!

On April 16th, 1944 over three hundred bombers and fighters of the 5th Air Army took off on a mission to bomb and strafe the Japanese airfields located at  Hollandia , Dutch New Guinea. The mission was successful and no aircraft was lost to enemy action, however their safe return was blocked by a massive weather front. 37 aircraft were destroyed or went missing because of the bad weather.This event known as  Black Sunday  and marked the biggest operational loss due to weather in WWII. My uncle piloted a  B-25  on this mission. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea Ed Poltrack's Squadron The experience of crews who did find an airfield was no better. Alfred B. Colwell,Jr., was the Navigator/Bombardier on a B-25 in the 38th Bomb Group based at Nadzab, New Guinea April 16 Mission #48 – Hollandia. … The whole area was full of planes-B-24s, B-25s, A-20s and P-38s. We got down to 50 feet above the coast and followed it towards Sa...

At Mary and Melissa’s graduation we were once again privileged to experience a performance by our very own “Pyroman” as well as great firework display. Pyroman has spent many hours perfecting his craft. He wears a special Kevlar and Nomex outfit along with a motorcycle helmet affixed with pyrotechnic devices. The pyrotechnics are electronically ignited, a process that consists of each device being attached electrically to a trigger box. This setup allows Pyroman to coordinate his performance to a musical score. Pictures cannot adequately capture the essence of the performance but I tried to take a few. I have been lucky enough to witness other Pyroman displays but this one was the best ever. The smoke did not obscure the stage and several new innovations were added. This year a pinwheel was added that produced a lovely dynamic spiral effect. At the end of the performance, we were treated to several large mushroom shaped fireball effects that may have be...

Terry gave me a lead about research material that formed the basis of the article that I read online in the Pakistan Daily . Apparently this was lifted from a article posted by Rev Ted Pike and posted in June 2006. You can find it here . It’s a bit sad that Reverend Ted doesn’t spend more time with his sculpting, painting and poetry, he seems to have talent with these pursuits. His skills as a preacher are a bit more questionable. Of course once something is posted on the internet it get aggregated and rehashed in thousands of sites. I found one site that takes me back to the literature that Aunt Adeline sent us in the early sixties. All the old favorites are mentioned: The New World Order, Communists, Freemasons, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderberg Group,  Club of Rome, and the Illuminati. You can find that article here . The internet is a smorgasbord for conspiracy fans. I am so sorry that Adeline did not have these resources when she was doing h...

The latest combined casualty numbers for Iraq and Afghanistan is 4,962 dead. As a child I remember at my grandmother house at the famed 4th street address seeing a picture of 3 smiling young men in the South Pacific. This picture was shown in the local newspapers and is significant because it was a reunion of two brothers and their cousin. From left to right, Joe Kowaleski (cousin), Francis Poltrack (Marines) and Edward Poltrack (Pilot). What is is extraordinary about this picture is the reunion part. The Pacific is a large place, it’s wartime, the only communication is sporadic letters. Ed writes about how he managed to arrange this meeting on Nov 22, 1943. He got Joe and tracked down Fran. He remarks about how thin and worn his brother looks. He writes how he asked about the fighting then regrets bringing it up. About a year later the Commander of the 1st Marine Division predicted that the island of Peleliu could be taken in about 4 days. The battle lasted for 2 months. Peleliu...

We attended Stephanie & Jesse’s graduation today. Both graduated as engineers, Jesse is a mechanical engineer and Stephanie is a chemical engineer. Stephanie is a member of the Society of Women Engineers. This commencement was “Green”. Power for the ceremony was supplied by methane produced by a landfill. There were recycle and compost bins near the food area. Shuttle service was available and I noticed a train depot right on campus. I was especially impressed with the commencement address given by Gary Hirshberg the CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm . I have a warm spot in my heart for the Stonyfield Yogurt folks because for a short time I lived next Samuel Kaymen one of the founders here in New Ipswich. When he came over to introduced himself I was actually cooking up some of my own yogurt in a Salton yogurt maker (this was in the wonderful 70’s when we were going to change the world and be self sufficient). I remember having a fine burrito supper with his family with plenty of win...

The character Daniel Faraday played a lovely piano piece in the Lost Episode “The Variable”. I suspected the piece was composed by Chopin and a little research confirmed that. Daniel was playing the middle part when his mother informed him that he had no time for music. Definitely a poignant scene. Give a listen: Impromptu, Op. 66, Fantaisie-I...