I don’t watch TV much anymore (and get increasingly upset about paying over $140/month for cable), but one of the only things I’ll turn the TV on for is Saturday Night Live.

I used to watch it every Saturday night when I was growing up and loved the old cast: Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray and all the rest. I don’t think the show is anywhere near as good as it used to be, but they still come up with some great stuff.

Enough worth watching, there’s usually at least one great sketch every time. I saw this one a week or so ago and it just cracked me up. I still laugh every time I see it. James McAvoy is fantastic with his Scottish accent and the situation is so goofy.

Actually, it resonates with me since ships also sometimes need to deal with traffic control. Sometimes we have to pass through “traffic separation schemes“, especially where there is a lot of ship traffic. They help keep some order and make it easier for us to follow the ‘Rules of the Road” (COLREGS).

English is the international language of the sea (as well as the air), and like in the SNL skit sometimes it’s almost impossible to understand what people are trying to say over the radio. I’m sure at least some accidents are caused by mis-communication. It’s hard enough to understand people when you do speak the same language.