fjbering.com

• 01Aug

  Airport fun

  Fun Stuff No Comments
  Yesterday I flew to see my sister in Anchorage, Alaska.  I had purchased my ticket more than a month previously and got the best price that I could, even though it wasn’t a non-stop.  I was slated to fly on Delta to Salt Lake City and then onto Anchorage.  I also grabbed window seats for each leg of the flight so I could enjoy the view – I was actually looking forward to seeing the Rockies from the air.  But you know what they say about the best laid plans.

  On my way to the airport, I get a call from Orbitz TravelAlert telling me that my first flight has been delayed 15 minutes.  I now begin to wonder about that 35 minute window I have in SLC.  Then I get a second call telling me the flight is now delayed 75 minutes.  I’m now starting to urge all the other cars on the road forward so I can get to the airport.  Once at the airport, I hit the Delta counter and soon find that my itinerary has been changed – changed so much in fact that I’m not even flying on Delta anymore.  They’ve booked me on an Alaska Airlines non-stop to Anchorage.

  

  So, I go to the Alaska counter and get my temporary boarding pass and head for the gate.  Once at the gate, I notify my family at home and in Anchorage about the change and then wait.  I knew it was a long-shot, but I put in a request for a window seat thinking about all the cool pictures I could take out the window.  Alas, that was not to be.   Instead I got the aisle seat in the last row of the plane, next to the lavatories – yay!

  Overall, the flight was good and I have nothing really to complain about, except there were no condiments left for the cheeseburger I bought on-board the flight.  I  had fun watching people come back and forth to the lavatories – there was one kid who came down about every ten minutes and then there was the little girl who got stuck inside and came out with big teary eyes (cuz her father didn’t stay there and make sure she got out OK).  My row mates were an odd sort.  I think a German woman sat next to me and she was  putting spray up her nose and trying to sleep and just generally fidgety and not too friendly.  The lady with the window seat hardly even looked out the window as she read her book and then played a small electronic Yahtzee game.  My photo-shooting finger was feeling mightily frustrated!

  But in the end it was worth it – I got to Anchorage 2 hours earlier than planned, met my sister at the airport and then headed to her place.  Now I’m set for some fun and adventure.

  
  
• 20Jul

  One small step for man . . .

  Images No Comments
  

  Photos courtesy of NASA

  We can argue about it today, but yes Neil Armstrong’s quote wasn’t as all-inclusive as we’d use today.  For his time though, it worked.  It conveyed the awesome scope of the occasion.

  Today, July 20, 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.  This feat marks the highlight of mankind’s scientific achievement to date.  The sheer effort involved in pulling the moon landing off consumed lives and treasure while captivating the minds of the world.

  The success of this endeavor made instant heroes of the men who made the trip to the moon.  Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins will forever be tied to this event.  Over time, they have capitalized on their notoriety and made names for themselves or they have let the fame that they gained for just performing their job affect their lives and relationships.  Who can say how the rest of us would have performed.  I don’t know how my life would have been affected by peering into the black void of space, setting foot on an alien body and then looking back onto the blue marble of Earth.

  

  What I do know is that it didn’t take too long before moon landings were viewed as commonplace; where we thought more about the products that came about as a result of Apollo – like Teflon – than the actual feat of the lunar landing itself.  Once we had “been there, done that” we lost interest and thus killed the dream that we strived so hard to achieve.  You have to wonder what Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins think privately about the lack of effort, the lack of will.  So, what happened, what diverted us from the course that we had charted for ourselves once JFK stated that we were going to the moon?  There were many issues but I think the most important are:

  • Lack of leadership – what passes for leadership in this country is fairly poor.  We’re better emulating the Romans (make sure they have their read and circuses) than making people see that there are tough choices to be made in life.  Leadership in this country failed the country, became embroiled in wars that had no lasting difference and pandered to the basest desires of the populace.

  • Willingness to be taken for the ride – the American populace failed in their obligation to be informed and educated.  We have sunk to new lows in this country when it comes to education.   Other countries now are hurriedly taking up where we left off – Indians, Chinese and others are looking not only to return to the moon but are also talking about colonizing it.  They have the critical systems in place to do it too.  They value education, they encourage students to learn and grow and they capitalize on the investment.  America should learn this lesson and stop settling for public school systems that simply pass students through.  Education is not a cost, it IS an investment.

  • No sense of purpose – I’m probably going to get reamed for this but the Baby Boomers have left us a legacy of individualism.  An individualism that is so strong it borders on national narcissism.  These were the people who rebelled in the 60s, fueled the 70s with sex and drugs, made excessive greed popular in the 80s, and fostered the over-the-top 90s.  They gave us the “I’ve got mine, you can get yours” attitude, with no thought about the better good, sacrifice or the future.  The Baby Boomers have had their run, now it’s time to turn our attention to giving America a vision, correcting the course of the ship – it’s time to get back to the business of America.

  

  So what can be done?  Well, nothing simple, that’s for sure.  It’s going to take a lot of work, none of it easy.  It’s going to involve hard choices and difficult decisions.  First off, we have to recognize that now matter who we are – the color of our skin, the language that we speak, our economic class, our orientation – we are first and foremost Americans.  We can no longer afford to be divisive.  The politicians and the pundits have made this the easy route because that takes the heat off of them.  Instead we need to see the future of our children and work now to make it better.

  We need to look out for ourselves and our families without a doubt, but it should be tempered with the realization of our need to invest in coming generations.  We are providing the foundation for them to learn, grow, and succeed.  We cannot take it for granted that they will have good lives just because that’s the way it’s always been.  We have real competition out there, people and countries are aiming for our standard of living and they are gaining ground fast!

  Lastly, we need to be united and aligned.  We need to hold our politicians to a higher standard.  We need to expect more out of ourselves.  We need to understand that we can make a difference and work toward changing our country and society at every chance we have.

  
  
• 17Jul

  It's Relay for Life time

  General No Comments
  Next weekend (July 25 & 26), my wife and daughter will be participating in the Antioch/Lakes area Relay for Life. My wife is just short of her goal. If you can, please support my wife as she captains her own team. Your support will not only help my wife meet here goal, ut you will be helping countless others in their fight against cancer.

  Use this link to show support.

  
  
• 27Jun

  New family pictures

  Fun Stuff, Images, Private No Comments
  Just put some pictures online of my sister Sheila’s visit to IL; you can find the gallery here. Sorry, it’s password protected for family viewing only.

  
  
• 23Jun

  Game Fuel Rocks!

  Fun Stuff 1 Comment
  

  Recently I tried the two new flavors of Mountain Dew themed on the World of Warcraft. Now, unlike some other people who write and post online, I’m not a pro and I didn’t get any Dew comped to me. Instead I had to trudge out and buy it myself. I got the Alliance Dew (the blue one, it’s Dew with Wild Fruit flavor) at 7-11 and the red Horde (Dew with Cherry Citrus flavor) at Walgreens. Not sure why each store only had one, but I’m OK with it since they are only a block or so apart from where I work.

  Once I saw that brilliant blue color, I decided to try the Alliance Dew first.   I cracked into this wild fruit dew and was impressed.  It had a mild fruit flavor that overlaid the normal Dew taste.  I found this to be a refreshing drink – not too heavy or sugary.  The only drawback is the deep blue color – it can dye your insides.  You can get the drift of where this is going – and how it comes out in the end.

  The Horde Mountain Dew is red, a deeper red that Code Red Mountain Dew.  I tried this flavor a day later so I had a fresh take on it compared to the Alliance blend.  The Horde Dew is Cherry Citrus flavored and I found that mixture to be very enjoyable.  It hit the tongue well and was more refreshing than Code Red.  Though I like Code Red at times, it can be too sugary and sweet for my taste. I wouldn’t mind if the Pepsi people decided to replace Code Red with this flavor blend once the GameFuel flavors are off the shelves.

  Overall, I was pleased with the taste of these two special Mountain Dew blends.  I am planning to buy them again over the summer for as long as they are available to spice up work and summertime activities.  Still, neither one of them is as good as Baja Blast Mountain Dew.

  
  

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