Driving: Way Over the Hill (6)

If you were to describe the U.S. in one word, I'm sure many words would pop into your head. How about "cars"? A huge percentage of Americans own and drive cars. In this country it doesn't take a lot to get behind the wheel. It's even easier to stay there, as long as you don't get too many speeding tickets. Retesting requirements aren't common and elderly folks who got their licenses back in the Roaring Thirties can be seen zipping around. Now the question arises, Should elderly drivers be required to reapply for their licenses?

My sister and I were catching a ride to a concert with an elderly couple, and neither of us will forget the experience. Jerky driving, flying along the freeway, arguments over which way to turn, last-minute swerves to take an exit - I was relieved to find out that this couple recently decided to carpool to visit relatives in San Jose. I do believe there should be a system that effectively screens out incompetent drivers.

Consider aviation, where any ordinary Private Pilot has to take a flight review every two years, regardless of age. This weeds out dangerous pilots. A study seemed to suggest that as the result of a mandatory vision test for drivers over 80 in Florida, accidents in the older driver population have decreased significantly. However there could be several reasons for these results. You can check the article out here. From personal experience, I know there are some elderly drivers who should be banned from the road. So enough with excuses about "age discrimination." It's better for ego to be injured than for bodies to be in the hospital.

A Few Thank-You's (5)

Time for thank you cards. Oh joy. I’ve reached the age when I must do things for myself; no more putting my signature on the cards my mom wrote on my behalf. Since January happens to be national Thank You month, Ms Chi has asked the seniors to list seven people they should write thank you cards to. I have about twenty names I could pull up because of their contribution to my mission account (Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me!). But I’ll some people who have been helpful in ways other than money:

• Mrs. Santana, who is very patient with her only student even though I’m sometimes bored and drowsy
• My mom, for putting up with me for 17 years.
• Maria, for giving me free transportation to flying lessons
• Mrs. Morgan, for getting me going on writing and, strangely enough, making videos
• Mr. Greenfield, for fixing the crazy Academy schedule
• Mr. Im, for giving us a test with half of the answers on it already
• Dr. Wilson, for his constant generosity to my family (ask me about it sometime)

Time to transplant the Bush . . . (4)

On the steps of the Capitol, the two leaders shook hands before the former President walked onto the whining helicopter and America was left with its new President. During his eight-year administration, Bush led the country through terrorist attacks, two wars, and devastating natural disasters. He ended his stay in the Oval Office with very low approval ratings and many are glad to see him go. What is the legacy that he left? I believe he always tried to take the actions he knew were best for the country. His military campaign in Iraq did help at least some people (if you're not convinced, read the book A Table in the Presence).

Now it's over and Obama takes center-stage. It was truly a historic moment as Obama took the oath of office, becoming the first African-American President of the U.S. He now has the difficult task of leading a country that's at war and is going downhill economically. What will he succeed in accomplishing? Hopefully he'll be able to leave Iraq in good hands when the U.S. military finishes its 60-month pullout. Some legislation I would like him pass is a law that would prevent the FAA from imposing a user fee on general aviation. Even if free air traffic control services is socialistic, everyone in the pilot community (including myself) would be quite upset if we had to pay to use our wings.

Finally I would like to see Obama make good on his promises. He has succeded in bringing minority groups to the forefront and he has many amibitious plans. It will be interesting to see how Obama will play into current events, as he now has the ability to make them. I wish him well, and I hope for his sake that he will do what is right.

You Could Say That Again (3)

Ever notice how you tend to hear the same words over and over again when something big is going on? Here are some words that popped up a lot during 2008, either in national news or in local happenings:

Big Three, the: The three largest car industries in the U.S. Characterized by executives who choose to top off their corporate jets rather than put cash in their employees' pockets. This term appeared in the media a lot when Congress was deciding who should get the bailout monies.

Credit crunch: A crisis in which the ability is to borrow vast amounts of non-existent wealth is hindered. Brought on by people who think that owning plastic exempts them from paying for their goods. This cliche was a favorite term for reporters to describe the economic crisis that has come to define 2008.

Lawmakers: A bunch of guys who earn their keep by rescuing unfortunate industries, getting into heated arguments over who gets to dish out the bailout pie, and taking the longest possible time to get a task done. These people seemed to have been at the center of attention as of late, and you don't hear about the economic crisis without hearing what Congress is trying to do about it.

Merger: The joining of two companies. Often used to describe the absorption of a less powerful business by a more powerful one. Examples: Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines merging, to come under the new name of . . . Delta. Also, Weimar and Amazing Facts (although officially they are "married", not merged). Weimartians heard a lot about this last spring when negotiations between the two ministries were underway.

Meet Microsoft Mom 1.0 (2)

The management is getting grand illusions again - or rather it's trying to create them. An article by Time magazine online highlighted the newest hair-brained scheme coming from the Pentagon: Design a computerized hologram that can take the place of parents who have been deployed. When a parent has to go off to war, he/she is often placed beyond the reach of email and telephones, thus preventing any contact with their kids. Some younger children are confused when a parent leaves and doesn't come home.

The brass at the Pentagon hope to improve soldier morale by improving emotional stability for families left at home. The plan is to make an artificial stay-at-home mom or dad that can say "goodnight," "I love you," and be capable to carry on a simple conversation with the child. To develop this technology, the military is looking at handing out up to $300,000 contracts to private companies with promising ideas.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, would be the key to creating the "illusion of a natural (but simple) interaction." Specially videos of the parent would be recorded before the he or she is deployed and be used to make the virtual version of the parent. Then lonely family members could "boot up" the computer and hold limited conversations with their electronic parent.

What will be next? A hugging machine?! We are living in the Information Age, with computers performing more and more tasks everyday. People are spending more time emailing, chatting, and texting than actually talking to others. This is the next step. I believe this illusion of family togetherness is exactly what it is - an illusion. Children growing up with technology like this will ultimately be unable to handle reality.

I don't think there is any real cure for upset families separated from their deployed loved ones. Better options might be real-life prerecorded video messages, support groups for the parents left behind, and perhaps better communications technology to link the soldiers with home. The article really puts the situation into perspective with its closing words: "It's obvious that the real breakthrough will come when the military can deploy parental holograms and let Mom and Dad stay at home."

What Was Great about O-eight (1)

I'm back again with a new semester of English class and those annoying numbers next to my post titles. It's good to be pounding the keyboard again, and letting my thoughts flow out onto the screen in front of me.

2009 has arrived, and with it, a host of New Year's "resolutions". Most of these vows end in failure after a few weeks, or some never get put into action. Instead of listing some ambitious plans for the year to come, I have been assigned to come up with 10 accomplishments from 2008. Sounds good, since often the best achievements aren't the result of some brave January 1st decision. So here are some of the success I experienced last year:

1. Became a Senior at W.A.
2. Learned to ride a horse (thanks Corey)
3. Got approval from Uncle Sam to start flying lessons (no relation as of yet)
4. Got in my 240 hours of work in the summertime so I could go to W.A. this school year
5. Finished my correspondence American History course before the deadline
   
6. Was published in Insight Magazine
7. Read Great Controversy
   
8. Learned how to land a plane (now I'm learning how to fly one!)
9. Overnighted on 9103 ft Castle Peak
10. Passed Ms Jenkins' Government/Economics class (whew!)

I didn't set out on January 1 2008 to do all these things ; they just happened as the opportunities arose. So here's my little piece of wisdom: Be thankful for past successes, don't plan your future failures, and take advantage of the opportunities that you already have.

Let's Take It From the Top

Much has happened during the weeks since my last post. My mom and I took our vacation in Washington and enjoyed the relaxing effect of being away from the bustle of our workplaces. After getting back, I finished my remaining hours of work for my school bill and got a few extra in for the pocket. And now, with registration only 2 1/2 hours away and my dear sister four months away, I'm taking the last few moments of summer to type my last post before the school year starts.

Vacation time this year found my mom and I driving north through Oregon on our way to Young Disciple Camp in Washington. Our first night on the road we just managed to find our campsite in the middle of the barren wastelands of eastern Oregon long after sunset. Internet directions, we found, didn't always provide the exact mileages. After having supper on a picnic table that collapsed under us before we were done, we went and enjoyed the main attraction of the campground: hot springs.

We arrived in Inchilium, Washington several days later, having visited some old friends on the weekend and seeing some of Idaho. I settled into the rigors of YD camp, having fun in canoeing class taught by my distant relative Matt Boyd (yes he was there too), gobbling the food - including an unscheduled dose of cashew sauce -, playing my trumpet in orchestra, and deep-frying plantains in Mr. Arnold's Missionary Adventures class (shhh, don't tell anybody!). I also gained some valuable insights from the Deep Bible Study classes taught by Mr. Prewitt.

Mom and I stayed a few extra days visiting my cousin and then we headed back to the Golden State, with Mr. Boyd riding in the backseat. On the way we saw the giants of the Cascade range - Rainier, Jefferson, Adams, Bachelor, Shasta - and we stopped by the gorgeous Crater Lake.
Finally we rolled back onto campus close to midnight and spent the rest of our vacation time recuperating.

So there's the scoop. School starts tomorrow and I'll be on final approach for graduation. This shouldn't be the last you hear of me, as it's likely that Ms. Chi will give us blogging assignments again. Then those funny little assignment numbers will be back on my titles. Changes continue to occur and you never know, maybe in a year or two I might need to change the name of this blog to The Flying Yankee. We'll see.

For now, best wishes, and over and out.

The Flying Dutchman.