Here are some pretty incredible photos from inside an Amazon warehouse. What is always amazing to me is that in the 8 or 9 years that I’ve been ordering merchandise from them, I’ve never had an order go astray or received a wrong item. Their system of logistics must be incredible.
The USS Shaw exploding in Pearl Harbor.
On this date in 1941, American naval forces at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii were attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was described by President Roosevelt the following day in his Presidential Address to Congress and the American people as “a date which will live in infamy.”
All eight U.S. Navy battleships docked at the harbor were damaged with four of them being sunk. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship and one minelayer ship. A total of 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed. Most heartbreaking is that 2,402 Americans were killed and 1, 282 were wounded.
USS Maryland burning and USS Oklahoma Capsized.
Scouring my news feeds this morning, I am saddened to find no references to the historical events of this day 72 years ago. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that a majority of Americans living today were not even alive that day, but I would still expect that a collective memory would exist, or at least a historical one. Those who gave their lives as a result of the attack that day deserve our memorializing of their sacrifice, at the very least.
I wonder if this is what it will be like 72 years after the 9/11 attacks. We say “Never Forget” about that day as Roosevelt said, “a date which will live in infamy.” about December 7th, but it seems that may not be the case.
All honor and respect to those who gave their lives in service to our country that day. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten.
Much earlier this year I read from another source the reason that The Weather Channel (TWC) decided to begin naming winter storms, but this is the first acknowledgement I’ve seen from TWC itself that indeed the reason for their move to name winter storms; social media, in particular hashtags.
View from my hotel window in Minot, North Dakota during a winter storm in February of 2012.
The most interesting information, to me, in this article is where this year’s storm names came from:
“The storm names for 2013-14 are derived from lists created by students at Bozeman High School in Bozeman, Mont., as an assignment in Latin class and are primarily from Greek and Roman mythology.”
This is pretty amusing and appropriate for the season. 🙂
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” – Nelson Mandela
You were a courageous man, an inspirational man, and the world will be a little less without you.
Rest In Peace, good sir.
“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” – Anais Nin
On Monday I had the pleasure of spending most of the day at the home of one of my best friends, Kirk. We spent our time together watching a marathon of 7 or 8 episodes of Battlestar Galactica, burning DVD’s from some old VHS tapes, talking computer programs and discussing some philosophical questions about life.
Kirk and I met for the first time almost 17 years ago on the day Cindy and I were married when he and his fiancee Laura, who was already a friend and co-worker of Cindy’s, attended our wedding. About 6 weeks later Cindy and I returned the favor, attending their wedding, and then a couple of months after that we all took a day trip to Tampa to attend a Star Trek convention. We obviously had already discovered that he and I had that interest in common and over the next couple of years we found that we shared a lot of the same interests; science fiction (Star Trek and Star Wars in particular), computers, TV shows, movies, books and philosophies.
Several years ago Kirk arranged an interview for me with one of the major food/entertainment businesses in the world which was headquartered in Orlando. That interview resulted in a job doing something I had been working toward for years and enjoyed with all my heart. If a downsizing due to the economy hadn’t resulted in both of us being let go, we’d probably still be there. Or at least I probably would have because I loved doing that job.
Over the years, no matter how long it might have been since we last saw each other, we could always pick up right where we left off, catch up and keep moving forward. There aren’t many friends you can do that with. I’ve probably had only three such friends in my entire life.
So we had a great time Monday. So much so that we’re going to do it again on Wednesday.
But, here’s the whole point of this post; not to just tell you what a good friends Kirk and Laura are, but to show you. The first time Cindy and I went to Kirk and Laura’s home for dinner some 16 years ago, after finding out that my favorite comic book hero of all time was Superman, they served my drink in a Superman glass that they had gone out and bought just for me. Every time I have visited their home since, the Superman glass is always there for me and me alone to drink out of. This visit wasn’t any different, though I was still surprised because it has been at least 2 years since I have been able to visit their home and I guess I just always think in the back of my mind that one day it will be forgotten or would have broken or something…but every time it is there and it always causes me to smile and be grateful for such friends.
Drinking water from my Superman glass at Kirk’s on Monday.
On CBS’ show “60 Minutes” this past Sunday night, Amazon head Jeff Bezos announced the future of Amazon delivery; using drones.
Here’s a possible glimpse into the future of Amazon deliveries.
It was 14 years ago today that my father passed away. The phone call I received while at work from my younger brother was not unexpected, but I still remember the pain of it.
When I look at it objectively, the man who was my father had not really been with us for the previous decade, following a massive, debilitating stroke he suffered while recuperating from bypass surgery. That stroke took away most of the man we had all known and loved.
But love is not objective, and so it was still painful to know that even the little of my father that we had left to us was now gone. He would not be here for his beloved granddaughter’s wedding or the birth of her own son and daughter, two great-grandchildren he would have loved so much. As a life-long fan of professional wrestling, I think he would have been ecstatic to see his oldest son finally step into the squared circle and wrestle for a local promotion in Orlando. Missing his youngest son, he would have been so happy to be here when that son moved back to the state of Florida and was close enough to visit more often. He would have loved seeing that son’s children grow up and have children of their own, giving him more great-grandchildren.
My mom and dad in 1978 with Jeff Jr. who was almost 1 and AnnMarie who was 3. My dad is rockin’ the Pat Boone white belt, lol.
My dad taught me: how to bait a hook, catch a fish and then remove it from the hook; how to swim; how to mow the grass with a push mower; how to edge the lawn using a manual edger (pictured); how to build a treehouse; how to get our house ready for a hurricane (we lived in South Florida); how to plant trees and bushes; how to ride a bike; how to paint rooms in our house; how to tighten the chain and adjust the seat on my bike; how to change a flat tire on my bike and later, on a car; how to drive a nail; how to put things back where they belong (”Is that where you found it?”); how to use a power drill; how to pick out a ripe watermelon; how to drive a car; the importance of education; and so many other things.
That’s not to say my dad was perfect. When someone passes away we naturally tend to concentrate on and remember only the good things about them. I have and will continue to do that, but I also can acknowledge that my dad, like myself when I had children, was not the perfect father all the time.
He was a functional alcoholic until I was almost 13, so my early life came with all the attendant baggage and behavior that accompanies that type of problem. But he quit cold turkey and, to the best of my knowledge, never had another drink for the remainder of his life. I greatly admired him for that act of will. He had racial views of people that I could never agree with, but while not understanding them I recognized that they were the result of his growing up in a different time, location and culture. He and I argued as I got older and sometimes had diametrically opposed viewpoints on a variety of subjects; at one point we did not even speak to or see each other for months. But we eventually healed that rift.
I am so glad we did.
Dad, I miss you so very, very much. But I keep all the good and happy memories in my heart and thus keep you alive and with me.
Love,
Your son
