NASA file image of Discovery VAB final fly by
Today I watched the last flight of the shuttle Discovery. It was one of those surreal moments you watch on television, like the last episode of M*A*S*H. Something that was a distant part of your life that will be no more.
I lived in Florida during the highest and lowest parts of the shuttle program. And every time I watched a launch it was as thrilling as the very first time. I remember staring in silence at the disfigured plume of smoke from the Challenger disaster and saw the devastating effects on the community. I saw the resurgence of the shuttle program when it started up again and we proved once again we would overcome adversity.
American pride soared with each shuttle launch. This modern-day marvel literally shook the ground you stood upon as it lit up the horizon and roared into space. People stood on the side of the road and stared at long trail of smoke long after the shuttle disappeared.
America seems to have lost that pride and awe of amazement. I remember driving down to the river along US Highway One and the riverfront across from the space center. People lined the shore as far as you could see, T-shirt vendors sold trinkets and keepsakes of each launch. Kids perched on their dad’s shoulders above the crowd, wide-eyed and giddy, pointing at the launch pad and VAB in the distance.
America is a country born out of people taking a risk and setting out on paths of unknown destiny. That is what America needs now, not finger pointing or buck passing or inflammatory rhetoric. I don’t care about inherited problems; I care about facing the problems and manning up to fix them. We need the power and roar of American exceptionalism leaving a lump in our throat, a sense of awe and wonderment causing us to gaze into the heavens, and the leadership of a Ronald Reagan as he stared into the camera, choked back emotion, and reminded us “The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we’ll continue to follow them.”
Today I watched on TV as Discovery was carried off into the horizon to her much deserved resting place, and said farewell to yet one more piece of American greatness.
On Sunday the Richmond Register had an editorial cartoon on the Trayvon Martin shooting in Sanford, FL. The cartoon showed what appeared (as best as a political cartoon can) a bald, middle-aged looking Caucasian man holding a young black guy at gun point. The next panel showed the black youth laying on the ground.
Trayvon Martin did not deserve to be shot by Mr. Zimmerman, plain and simple. But on the other hand, the entire story has evolved into a raging racial frenzy fueled by a media more interested in a sensational story than in reporting the facts.
There is enough blame on all to go around, Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch guy should not have been armed in the first place, and probably pressed Martin more than he should. The media ignored facts of the story at the time provided them by the Sanford Police department. The Sanford Police Department could have handled the situation better. And, if stories coming out now by witnesses are true, Martin should not have come back to threaten Zimmerman who, supposedly, was getting back into his vehicle.
Below is a letter I wrote to the Richmond Register on lack of accuracy in reporting this story. Because of this, the situation has gotten so out of hand that true justice may now be impossible to attain, and that makes a tragic event even more terrible.
Your editorial cartoon on the Trayvon Martin shooting was an example of what is wrong with the state of the media today. The cartoon bought in to the less than factual reporting by people who want this to be a racial issue.
The portrayal of Mr. Zimmerman in your cartoon appears to be Caucasian; Zimmerman is in fact Hispanic. The Sanford police department and witnesses gave statements to the Orlando Sentinel that Zimmerman was on the ground, screaming for help, being beaten by Martin. When police arrived, Zimmerman was bleeding from his face and back of his head. He also had grass stains on his back seeming to confirm the witness accounts. Police played the 911 tape for Martin’s father who tells the police that voice screaming for help was not his son’s.
Reports of Martin being a model student are also false. He was under a five- day suspension from school and the family’s attorneys have had his school records sealed. If he was a good student, why not release them?
The media should have done a better job of reporting this story. But in reality, the truth of this story would not have made sensational headlines, would not have sold papers nor generated higher ratings.
Largely ignored while this story has been sensationalized is the story of two black youths chasing a 13 year- old Kansas City student home from school dousing him with gas and flicking a Bic at him screaming, “This is what you deserve. You get what you deserve, white boy.” He suffered first- degree burns on his face and did not know the perpetrators.
Tragic stories like these happen daily, and while the media can’t report them all, choosing which facts to report or ignore only lends credence to their falling credibility.
Robert New, Berea
Stephanie working on my arm
My son gave me a Christmas gift this year that is not only something I’ve wanted since my college days, but something I will carry with me the rest of my life. Christmas he brought me, amidst much fanfare, an envelope. I opened it gingerly, with him you can never tell, and found inside a gift certificate to Lucky Lady Tattoos in Richmond, Ky.
There is a history to this gift though. When he was about 15 he started wanting a tattoo, probably because every music group he listened to sported them. He used to inform us, “As soon as I’m old enough I’m getting full sleeve tattoos on both arms.”
“When you get old enough,” I would say, “I’ll go with you and get one.”
But I was never too worried because Josh hated needles. When we went to Honduras I thought we would have to strap him down to get his shots.
So I kept this gift certificate until a few weeks ago, not doubting I would use it, but I was waiting on a time when I knew I what I wanted to get and when he was off work and could go share the experience with me. One Saturday in February I called them and they finally had an opening, Josh was off work, and I had printed out what I wanted from the internet. So off we went.
I’ve always heard people say when you get a tattoo you will want another one. I can vouch for that. After about 5 weeks, I’ve already started looking for what I want to get next.
I’m not sure how many people my age get a tattoo for the first time, especially given as a Christmas gift from their kids, but we had a great time. My daughter and her fiancé actually showed up to watch for a while. It turned into a family outing!
If you live in central Kentucky and want a tattoo, I would recommend Lucky Lady. The experience was great, they were friendly, and yes I will be a repeat customer. So thank you to Stephanie for a great job and great experience and to Josh for a gift I love and will have as long as I live!
Finished product
Recently I wrote an article on using Pinterest to market your product or services for an upcoming issue of Be The Boss magazine. Pinterest is taking the world by storm, growing in leaps and bounds. I remember when Facebook and Twitter started and people were reluctant to jump on. A few early adopters recognized the marketing power of social networks and the lure of free advertising took hold. Now Facebook and Twitter are almost tools you must have in your marketing plan. Enter Pinterest. And the people who were late to the game on Facebook and Twitter now recognize the importance and advantage of being where the people are.
Below is a nice graphic from MDG Advertising on marketing with Pinterest.
![Marketer's Guide To Pinterest: Pin It To Win It [infographic by MDG Advertising]](http://www.mdgadvertising.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/infographic-marketers-guide-to-pinterest_475.gif "Marketer's Guide To Pinterest: Pin It To Win It [infographic by MDG Advertising]")
This week our company implemented some new software to “better manage” our CAD database and bills of material. Supposedly they (they being the powers that be who implement, but don’t use said software) tested it thoroughly and talked through the affect it will have on various engineering users. They even sent out some PowerPoint presentations on how to use it, and a brief training program each user was to go through.
Finally the implementation weekend arrived and they rolled it out. Monday morning we came in to find a plethora of problems. Several of these were pretty major and will negate any benefits of the new software by having to add extra steps as a work around. Other problems are still “being investigated”.
Our engineering group is probably one the largest users of this, yet of all the people they worked with in testing this, none of our group was consulted or asked for any input. This is not meant to be a rant against corporate IT people, but is meant to point to several lessons that can be learned.
Here is one issue that is easily resolved. We are a manufacturing company. We produce a product that goes to our customers. Our corporate office is 3 time zones away from the two largest manufacturing plants in the organization. If we cannot produce, ship, and get paid for our products, the people in the corporate office do not get paid either. Before you make a decision, consider the customer. Get feedback on how this decision will affect them.
Secondly, testing in a laboratory environment with everything perfect does not constitute a good test. This software works exactly as stated as long as you are adding new parts to a bill of material. It is when you have several people working on existing product structures that major failures occur (which is most of what we do). Had the end users actually been involved in the testing, we would have quickly caught this.
Look at the big picture. Sometimes saving time and money on 20 percent of your work, while negatively impacting 80 percent is not a worthwhile investment. Sometimes however this sort of change just needs to be done for any number of reasons. In this case it did not and a little more investigation up front would have caught the majority of the issues we are experiencing.
As with any new release, you will never catch every issue, but with some careful planning and thorough testing you can greatly improve your customers’ initial experience. Now, back to the problems at hand.
