Author: Me

A Naval Aviator’s Log Book from WWII

My grandfather served as a US Naval Aviator in WWII.  We knew him as the patriarch of a large and vibrant family, a successful entrepreneur and executive, an avid sailor, civilian pilot and world traveller.  My grandmother Joyce was the love of his life, and he adored his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren… but I think he always thought of himself as an aviator.

As a kid who grew up in the 1930’s and hung on the fence at Floyd Bennett Field on Long Island, his dream was to fly for the US Navy.  He worked hard in his youth, as a bartender in Hell’s Kitchen taking care of his parents, and eventually followed his older brother into the US Navy.  He became a cadet and attended civilian flight training then flight school in Pensacola, Florida.  He graduated as an Ensign, then served in the Caribbean with squadron VJ-16 as a Lieutenant, j.g.

I think he was most proud of his service as a Naval Aviator.  He always captivated me with his stories from that era, and someday my cousin and I will finish getting them down on paper to share.  When we lost him last year, I created a slideshow for the funeral with pictures from his life.  In all the old slides and scrapbooks, I came across his Navy records and aviator’s flight log book.  Following the urging from some history buff friends, I’ve decided to scan and post some of the materials.

The first item is the log book you can find here, which I will add to on a regular basis as I have time to scan its contents.  I may also post some interesting letters and official Navy documents, including ones from the Secretary of the Navy and the President of the United States.  I’ll update the blog when new material is posted.

Jim Collins on Success Amid Turbulence & Uncertainty

In the interest of full disclosure, both major books of top selling business writer Jim Collins (Built to Last and Good to Great) remain unread on my bookshelf as I’ve taken a break from popular business books over the last few years.

From how his thinking, his writing, and his methods are discussed however, he’s obviously someone to keep an eye on.  I also happen to like writers who retreat to the cave or the mountain for years, and come back out with the rare but delightfully well-thought-out book.

Reading this interview in Fortune, I was curious about the topic of his research today and what his next book might be about.  We was on the ball a few years ago when he started looking at how businesses succeed in turbulent times (something relevant today, right?).

“The one thing you learn is that those who panic, die on the mountain.”

Spoken like the true rock climber he is.  He talks about how the period of stability that followed WWII is ending, and will likely not return during our lifetimes.  Companies that have core values (interestingly it’s more important having them then what they are) and realize the people you have with you are the most important thing (again, think about getting stuck on a mountain).  People that don’t need management, and consider their work as responsibilities rather than just a job.

It seems like common sense, but having a planning horizon that looks at the next 25+ years rather than the next quarter, is a clear differentiator.  We can only hope that our government remembers this when it rushes solutions with little planning yet huge long-term economic consequences upon the country.  I hope they read his next book.

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.

Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Mercury 2 involved three vehicles and 13 launches, captured by two fixed DSLRs and one pad-mounted video camera.  We lost the hero of Mercury 1, my 20″ RTF, to a nearby tree but the star of the day was the flying outhouse.

More rocktes and payloads are currently being prepped for our next launch.  New launch sites are also being scouted as we await the current Santa Anna wind conditions to change.

You can see the whole photoset of Mercury 2  and the video from Mercury 1 below.  Scott and James can add links to their content in the Comments.

Excellent talk by Tom Kelly of IDEO about five practices to develop creativity and innovative thinking: Think like a traveller, treat life like an experiment, nurture an attitude of wisdom, use your whole brian and tortoise mind, and follow your passion. Great advice for work and life. Source can be found here.

Tom Kelley: How to Be an Innovator for Life

Excellent Stanford podcast by Tom Kelly of IDEO about five practices to develop creativity and innovative thinking: Think like a traveller, treat life like an experiment, nurture an attitude of wisdom, use your whole brian and tortoise mind, and follow your passion. Great advice for work and life. (Source)

“Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” Steve Jobs’ inspiring speech about loving what you do, trusting your curiosity and intuition, the lightness of being a beginner, connecting the dots looking backward, thinking for yourself and remembering how little time you really have.

Healthy Metrics & Tools

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure" is a management adage typically attributed to W. Edwards Deming.  Well it’s as true for business as it is for our health.

Elevation Graph
Elevation Graph from Trailguru

In my role as a senior manager in a large corporation, I use metrics all the time in my work*.  I’ve now undertaken the challenge of applying this same approach to my health statistics.  It will not only help me manage and hopefully improve my health, but will be fun in that I get to try out new tools and technologies and share what I find as I go.

Now not everything will be electronic, after all, you’re talking to a guy that carries a fountain pen and Moleskine in addition to an iPhone.  It’s an experiment, and will evolve as I try different approaches and hopefully get suggestions from readers.

  • Health Log – An analog way of keeping track of food, exercise, sleep and medical statistics.  Paperback and about 5×8” (conveniently the same size as my Moleskine), it’s light and not too difficult to keep on a desk or carry in the car.  I picked it up on a lark in a stationary store in Mammoth Lakes about a year ago, more for the visual design than for the content. I’ll probably go electronic at some point, but it’s cheap and doesn’t run out of batteries.
  • DailyPlate.com – So how many calories were in that In-N-Out Cheeseburger? This site can tell you (480) along with plenty of other common food items.  It’s been a great way to estimate calories, fat and carb content when nutrition labels are absent.  It also provides all sorts of other tools, but I’m not a member of the site.
  • FatWatch – An iPhone application that tracks and graphs your weight.  Aside from how I feel, how well my pants fit, and how good my wife says I look, it’s the most available metric to monitor.
  • Trailguru – An iPhone 3G application and corresponding website that utilizes your phone’s GPS capability to record and plot your outings. It has great statistics such as duration, distance, and ascent as well as charts (see above), map plots and photos you take along the way.  And inspired by Fourmilab, I’ve taken to posting my daily walks on Twitter.

* Note: I’m not really a numbers guy.  In fact, I believe more strongly in leadership, relationships, and continuos learning–but in a large corporation metrics quantify your success.