Catching Up With Capt. Mike Carriker Capt. Mike Carriker, a chief test pilot for Boeing, was involved in ensuring the safety of the most commonly used commercial airplanes that will carry travelers this summer. A former Navy pilot who flew A-7E and F-18 combat jets, Captain Carriker has logged more than 8,000 flight hours in more than 130 airplanes. READING I like biographies because I like reading about people who, despite making mistakes, somehow had the perseverance to go on and make decisions that affected people's lives for the better. I just finished "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand. Before that was "No Ordinary Time" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. And I really enjoyed "John Adams" by David McCullough. One of my favorite books is "I Could Never Be So Lucky Again." It's the autobiography of Jimmy Doolittle, the Air Force general who is most famous for the Doolittle raid on Tokyo after Pearl Harbor, but he did so much more. Sometimes I think I could title my whole life that - "I Could Never Be So Lucky Again." LISTENING I water-ski off Washington's Olympic Peninsula and when you get in that cold water, which was snow on the mountains just three weeks ago, you really need something to get you up and get you going. So I have a massive set of speakers on the boat and have burned CD's to play to get pumped up. The first song while I'm shoving off is kind of mellow like maybe George Winston, but when I jump in that water and am ready to go, it is Guns N" Roses" "Welcome to the Jungle" followed by AC/DC, Foghat, etc. The closing song is from that theater show about horses, "Cavalia." That's what I listen to when I'm putting up the boat and calling it a day. I look up at every airplane that flies over. Old habits die hard. BUILDING I am about halfway done building a wine cellar underneath my house on Puget Sound. For eight years, I did the testing of all the systems the pilot touches on the 787 Dreamliner and there were times when it felt like we weren't making much progress. So, building something at my house and looking at it at the end of the day, it's nice to be able to say "Hey, look, I've accomplished something." I have the wiring in for the lights and the temp controller. And I have the wood to turn the pillars that are the centerpiece of the room. I grew up in Baldwin City, Kan. Every boy in my class knew how to frame a house and build a barn - it's just what you did. EATING My wife and I are striving for the simplest pizza that has the most taste. We are down to olive oil, lots of garlic, black pepper, whole oregano leaves and a dusting of fresh Parmesan cheese. We have several Médoc wines that we like that seem to pair well. That is our Friday night fare.