What’s obvious and beneficial to one person may be a total mystery to another. Put another way, you have to have a frame of reference if you’re going to make use of the tools available to you. That’s true whether the tools you’re working with are tangible or intangible. They may be physical items or […]
Clearing obstacles
Making great progress isn’t worth much if you don’t know where that progress will lead. There’s an old joke about travel that ends with the subject proclaiming, “I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m making good time.” It’s funny because the listener knows innately that traveling quickly in an unknown direction is pointless. For […]
A distraction for the species
A debate of epic proportions took place last week. Streamed live via the Internet, the audience was massive and motivated. Each debater was bolstered by their respective armies of supporters and intellectual warriors. The concepts being addressed were critical to all humanity — or so the hype would have us believe. Evolution or creationism, which […]
The elephant in the room
Superbowl Sunday was anything but super. Not only was the game a huge disappointment to anyone who enjoys competitive sports, but earlier in the day news broke that Philip Seymour Hoffman had been found dead in his Greenwich Village apartment. Aviation shares something in common with sports and show business, whether we choose to believe […]
Searching for that last straw
Long, long ago I was fortunate enough to hear a joke that’s stuck with me for all these years. What I hadn’t anticipated was that a single joke would help inform my political sensibilities forevermore. That’s right, a joke has become a guiding light to my method of dealing with others. Emo Philips, the comedian, […]
Courting the cross-over effect
While out and about recently I saw something that left an impression on me. It was a line of sports cars and a Formula racer parked right there on the ramp in Sebring, Florida. They were bright red and carried names like Porsche and Mazda. Their engines had the ability to put out significantly more […]
Everybody has a game plan
General aviation is something of a massive storage locker that houses a plethora of game plans designed to save the industry. It seems as if virtually everyone has one they’ve been working on, refining, honing to perfection. And the story of each plan is the same. It’s better. It will achieve more impressive results. Honest, […]
AOPA gets back to basics
With the new year came a big new announcement from our friends in Frederick, Maryland. Six new fly-in events will grace the calendar starting in 2014, spreading from the east coast to the west coast, with important bases of operation in the middle of the country, too. Yes, this is big news. It signifies and […]
One size does not fit all
Imagine walking into a restaurant, sitting down, grabbing a menu, and finding only a single item listed there. One entree, that’s it. And let’s limit it to only one size of that entree. You don’t get to choose between the 6 ounce steak, the 9 ounce, or the 12 ounce. It’s the 12-ounce version or […]