When the truck came around, my choice was usually Good Humor Toasted Almond. When those frozen bits of perfection disappeared from this mortal sphere, I was very sad.

A few days ago I was crunching on my new favorite granola and... wait a minute...

For everyone missing that delightful treat: Buy a bag of Trader Joe's Just The Clusters Vanilla Almond granola. Crush it up. Dish out your favorite vanilla ice cream (Tillamook Vanilla Bean, in my case). Generously coat the ice cream with the crushed granola.

You're welcome.

For those who don't feel like clicking, the text is below:

FAA Statement on Certification of the Boeing 737 MAX-7

Monday, August 3, 2026

Statement

Following almost a decade of extensive review, the FAA has issued an amended type certificate and updated Production Limitation Record for the Boeing 737 MAX-7. The approval reflects years of sustained work to resolve complex technical issues and complete a thorough review of the airplane’s design and supporting safety analyses. Throughout the process, the FAA performed or directly reviewed significant work involving flight controls, system safety assessments, human factors, flightcrew alerting, and other novel, complex, or safety-critical areas, while also requiring testing, design changes, and additional analysis where necessary.

Before granting approval, the FAA required the MAX-7 to incorporate key improvements that address requirements in the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act and NTSB recommendations, including updates to the flight-control software, flightcrew alerting system, and a redesigned engine anti-ice system. These changes provide pilots clearer information and warnings and prevent the engine inlet from overheating and potentially weakening the surrounding structure.

FAA safety inspectors will remain on site at Boeing production facilities across the country to closely monitor the manufacturing process, including observing and assessing Boeing’s Safety Management System (SMS) and safety culture.

Background

The amended type certificate confirms the aircraft complies with all applicable design and safety requirements, and the updated Production Limitation Record authorizes Boeing to begin production of the aircraft. 

Wracked with indecision, turning to the hive mind...

U.S. citizen, experienced flyer but have never flown with Turkish Airlines or through IST. I've been haunting United's site for a few weeks so I can pounce on one of their 88k point biz class flights as I need to get from SEA to AMS. Pickings have been almost non-existent from SEA/YVR/SFO/LAX so I ended up grabbing a EWR-ZRH-AMS itinerary on Swiss even though I'll need to reposition to Newark. However...

Occasionally, including just now, United will pop up with a Turkish Airlines business class flight from SEA to AMS via IST. However, this itinerary has a 1 hour 20 minute layover. To make it worse, the IST-AMS flight is the last one of the day so if I can't make it, I've got to wait 11 hours overnight for the next flight.

Considering the size of IST, the short layover time, the wait until the next potential flight out, and the fact that I'm an older lady with a bad knee who can't sprint across a vast airport (or even walk all that fast)... would booking this itinerary be feasible, risky, or just plain idiotic?

I'm leaning toward "don't be stupid, wait for a less stressful option." But on the other hand, IST makes special provisions for short connections and I'm arriving from a U.S. airport. So maybe?