Hello, Dubai.

I figgered my trip to Dubai was a good chance to re-engage on my blog and to capture the experiences for all to read. I plan to spend 2 weeks in Dubai, working for the Emaar Group, consulting on the Dubai Mall, the largest mall in the world.

My flight began as all flights do, with me counting down the lift-off and its' relationship to the loss of personal control of my life and safety.

As we power up and move down the runway, I mentally go through the scenarios:

At 150 mph, I submit to a horrific crash, but a possible survival.

At liftoff, I accept that a crash at this point probably means a permanent disfiguring injury, if I survive.

At 1000 feet, I know I have no chance of survival, but still have hopes for a one-piece burial.

At 10,000 feet, I accept that I'll just be 12" X 12" chunks at best, if I can be identified at all.

Of course, at 10,000 feet, I can turn on my personal electronic devices, so I'm happy.

You know, there is so much trust we place in our unknown pilot. I always wonder, out of the tens of thousands of U.S. pilots, where does my current one rank? In every field, professionals can be ranked. There is the worst doctor, the worst lawyer, the worst quarterback. That means there is probably the worst pilot.

The other pilots have a decent idea who is good and who sucks, why shouldn't we be able to look at the ranking of the pilot on our plane before we book? I suggest that the airlines could charge more for flying with the best pilots. It's a natural selection of sorts. People with intelligence and means afford the best pilots, those who can't are more likely to be weeded out over time. Kinda like people building in a flood plain. It's cheaper, but over time, it'll always come back to haunt you.

Someone is the worst pilot. I wonder if he or she knows. I know we should.

I flew the other day with a pilot on the last day of his career on a plane that was on its' last flight.. He announced it over the intercom. Please don't tell me that - it's just tempting fate. We only have so much luck and planes can only fly so far before they have a failure. Just because the pilot and plane are pressing their luck doesn't mean that I should have to.

I'd pay more to avoid a flight like that - and I'm a cheap bastard.

That's all I have to say about that.