You’ve dreamed about it for years. As far back as you can remember, you’ve hankered to be a pilot. And now you’re sitting on the proverbial fence. Can you do it? Should you do it? All you need is one good reason. Well—here’s ten: Read More
The Most Important Thing Every Pilot Needs To Learn
There’s more to flying than learning a few things about aerodynamics, though that’s an excellent place to start. Also, to be a pilot, you must be more than an expert on the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs). For example, if you lose an engine right after take-off on a soupy day, being able to quote chapter and verse from the FARs won’t save you. You’ll need something else: a clear understanding of what the “C” in PIC means. Read More
Do Yourself A Favor–Help Somebody (5 Classic Guidelines for Mentoring)
Have you ever reached a crossroad in life and wondered which way to go?
It’s not uncommon. At that point, we need a little more help than Yogi Berra’s advice: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
What we really need is a mentor, someone to come along side and provide a modicum of guidance. We need someone who can point in the direction we need to go—or in some cases the way we should not go.
I’ve had several good mentors. Here are five things I learned from them.
Why Easter is the Answer to Entropy
Most folks think Easter is over. Yet, for a lot of Christians worldwide, it’s just beginning. The season of Eastertide starts on Easter Sunday and goes through the Saturday before Pentecost, a fifty-day period.
One of the oldest seasons in Christian celebration, Eastertide is part of many liturgical calendars, and it comes at a wonderful time of year. In many places, spring gets underway. Trees bud, flowers bloom. Everywhere there are signs of life, renewal—resurrection. Even the weather gets better.
While my wife and I don’t belong to a denomination that celebrates Eastertide, we have some friends who do, like Tom and Judy, who are Anglican transplants from Minnesota.
Three Ways Downton Abbey Can Improve Your Writing
For anyone who loves good drama, few television series deliver it as well as Downton Abbey, which ended its third season this year.
Any writer who watched the series will tell you there’s more than three ways it can improve your writing. But who wants to read a blog post that long? Let’s distill them into three indispensable elements of good story with a few subpoints:
The One Thing You Should Never Do In The Cockpit
Be brave, take a guess. Here’s a hint. It starts with “P.” If you ask other pilots, you’ll get a host of answers, many of them good. For example:
Pilot Error
A worthy guess, but too obvious, don’t you think? Nevertheless, pilot error, before or during flight, can definitely lead to what I’m suggesting is the number-one demon of the cockpit.
The Number One Problem in Writing (And Two Wicked Cousins)
Polonius: … What do you read, my lord?
Hamlet: Words, words, words.
Hamlet, Act II, Scene II
At some point, all writers wrestle with this problem. Those who want to improve their craft attack it with passion. They show no mercy, take no prisoners.
Here it is, the number one problem in writing: