Gratitude

J.F. Kennedy said it this way, "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them".

We see people take what they have for granted, it's our right they'll say.
We see people expect things to go their way.
When was the last time you heard someone declare;
Life is so good to me, I am so fortunate to have what I have.

We live in the so called lucky country.
Yes it's still known as that.
Even if things are given to us, someone still has to fight the fight.

Be grateful for what you have, even if what you have is small.
Some people have nothing, not even dreams.

Time Warp

"People who I hung around with ten years ago are still doing the same things today. They still frequent the same bars and still do the same silly things. I'm not sorry I did those sorts of things ten years ago but I've moved on they, on the other hand, have not. It sad really to see them, they haven't grown, I can't stand to be in their presence now".

This was quoted by a friend of mine recently when speaking about his life over the last decade or so. I've spoken about it also.

We all have significant events that happen to us, trouble is some of us cling to those things and so we become that event, we become known as that person who loves to party or whose parents split up when he was young or whose brother was killed tragically.
All these events are life changing but we have to move on, we have to stop being recognised as this person, and instead be recognised for who and what we are.

At 87, George Burns said "I look to the future because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life".
He lived to be 100.

Forget the past, significant though it may be.

Get on with living life now so you may make a better future.

Pesky computer....

Computer sent Qantas jet into dive: Investigators
Source: www.smh.com.au
Date: 14 October 2008

A computer fault caused the autopilot system to be overridden, sending a Qantas plane into a mid-air plunge over Western Australia last week, authorities said tonight.

The air data computer - or inertial reference system - for the Airbus A330-300 sent erroneous information to the flight control computer causing the autopilot to disconnect, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said.

More than 70 people on Qantas flight QF72 from Singapore to Perth were injured last Tuesday when the Airbus, carrying 303 passengers and 10 crew, suddenly dropped altitude.

People were hurled around the cabin and the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing in Western Australia's north.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation director Julian Walsh said the faulty unit continued to feed "erroneous and spike values'' to its primary computers.

"This led to several consequences, including false stall and overspeed warnings,'' he said.

"About two minutes after the initial fault (the air data inertial reference system) generated very high and incorrect values for the aircraft's angle of attack.''

This led to the flight control computers commanding the aircraft to pitch down, Mr Walsh said.

"The crew's timely response led to the recovery of the aircraft's trajectory within seconds, and during the recovery, the maximum altitude lost was 650 feet.''

Mr Walsh said analysis of the digital flight recorder showed the faulty air data system continued to generate false information, leading to a second, less serious "nose down aircraft movement''.

The ATSB is expected to provide a preliminary factual report within three weeks.

There had been suggestions the incident may lead to the grounding of Airbus A330-300 models.

Mr Walsh today said that would be a matter for regulatory authorities.

"However, the information we have at hand indicates that this is a fairly unique event,'' he said.

"These aircraft have been operating over many hundreds of thousands of hours over many years, and this type of event has not been seen before.''

"It's probably unlikely there will be a recurrence, but obviously we won't dismiss that, and it's important that we investigate to find out what led to the (fault) and reduce the chance of that happening in the future.''

Mr Walsh said Airbus had provided advice to airlines operating the A330-300 that would minimise risk in the very unlikely event of a similar incident occurring again.

All I can say about this event is to keep your seatbelt on at all times, as those who did not have their belt on were the one's who were injured. It's compulsory in a car and I believe it should also be onboard aircraft.

Loyalty

“If you work for someone, then work for them: Speak well of them and stand by the institution they represent...Remember, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness...If you must growl, condemn, and eternally find fault, resign your position and when you are on the outside, complain to your hearts content...but as long as you are a part of the institution do not condemn it.”

Elbert Hubbard

No comment.

Dixon in the $10m high club
Author: Matt O'Sullivan
Publication: Sydney Morning Herald
Date: 7 October 2008

QANTAS'S departing boss, Geoff Dixon, has almost beaten the Americans at their own game - by mastering the fine art of securing the best pay.

Mr Dixon will step down next month as the second-highest-paid airline boss in the world, beaten only by the head of America's second-largest airline, United Airlines.

Analysis by the Herald shows Mr Dixon's package of almost $12 million this year dwarfs the salaries of his European counterparts and all but one of those in the US - where massive executive salaries are par for the course - even though Qantas ranks as only 10th-largest airline in the world.

The revelations galled Qantas staff, who have argued against a management plan to cap staff wage rises at 3 per cent a year. The airline also decided to lay off 1500 workers by Christmas.

Mr Dixon's package is beaten only by that of Glenn Tilton, the boss of UAL Corp, whose largest subsidiary is United Airlines. Mr Tilton took home $US10.3 million ($13.69 million) last year, including a base salary of $US850,000 and $US4.7 million in share awards.

UAL's board has been under pressure from United Airlines pilots to reduce Mr Tilton's pay at the same time as the carrier slashes its workforce and grounds a fifth of its planes.

Mr Dixon's total package of $11.92 million for the year to June included a cash bonus of $3 million and almost $6.4 million in share-based payments, the Qantas annual report shows.

It is a significant rise on the previous year, when he was awarded $6.5 million. Three months before the $11.1 billion private equity raid on Qantas was made public in November 2006, Mr Dixon had close to $8 million tipped into his super account when he renewed his contract.

Qantas declared in May 2008 it was freezing senior executive pay in response to the high fuel prices, just two months before it announced the job cuts.

Mr Dixon's latest salary beats even the pay packet of Gerard Arpey, the boss of AMR Corporation, which runs the largest commercial carrier, American Airlines. Mr Arpey's total pay was $US4.6 million last year, including a base of $US656,000 and stock awards of $US3.1 million.

The Australian also trumps the $US7.73 million ($10.3 million) Northwest Airlines paid its boss, Douglas Steenland, last year, and the $US7.31 million Continental gave its chief executive, Larry Kellner. US Airways, the fifth-largest airline in the US, paid its chief executive and chairman, Douglas Parker, a total package of $US5.4 million, including a base salary of $US550,000.

The pay of European airline executives is modest in comparison with that of Mr Dixon or the Americans.

"It is an absolute double standard. How shareholders and the board let this happen, you have to wonder," the assistant national secretary of the Australian Services Union, Linda White, said yesterday.

"Rewarding one of those at the top doesn't mean you have the best airline in the world."

The boss of British Airways, Willie Walsh, pocketed £701,000 ($1.6 million) for the year to March. He turned down a £700,000 bonus after a disastrous opening of Heathrow's Terminal 5 in London.

Air France-KLM paid its chief executive and chairman, Jean-Cyril Spinetta, a total package of €1.39 million ($2.5 million) for the year to March, which included fixed pay of €750,000.

Europe's second-largest airline, Lufthansa, gave its boss, Wolfgang Mayrhuber, €2.4 million last year, including a base salary of €700,000 and a bonus of €1.4 million.

In Asia, Singapore Airlines paid its boss, Chew Choon Seng, up to $S3.5 million ($3.1 million) for the year to March 31.

Mr Dixon steps down as chief executive on November 28 but will remain as a consultant until March. Qantas declined to comment yesterday.

I know the title of this story was "No comment" but I just can't resist.

I believe in paying people what they're worth but when times are tough, and they are, just ask Geoff Dixon, we should all tighten our belts. Asking the rank and file to do more for less I have no problem with. Where I get bewildered is when these so called leaders ask their staff, who in today's economy struggle to make ends meet, to do without while they accept these huge salaries and bonuses.
Maybe Mr Dixon should've taken a leaf out of Mr Walsh's book and not accepted the bonus payment.

Good Generals will fight side by side with their men. That's how victories are won.
Poor Generals will sit behind the lines and expect their men to do what they themselves are not prepared to do.
This is just as true and relevant in the corporate world as it is in the military.

If these so called leaders were worth even a tenth of what they are being paid they would realise this.
If you get your workforce behind you and your vision then you and your company will be unstoppable.

Negativity.

What does negativity do for us?

Well it would be safe to say that it limits us. But just how much does it limit us?

Negativity will put a ceiling on our thoughts.
We can't imagine good things happening to us or our situation.
We also have a negative influence on those around us. That's right, we can effect other people and situations by our negative thought process. When, perhaps, we are asked for an opinion or for advice, what we say will possibly influence the other persons thinking.

Negativity will limit our relationships.
Our negative mindset will only allow us to be critical of others. We will limit them in our eyes and mind and so we won't believe in them. This is very damaging when we affect those close to us by limiting them and their achievements. When we don't believe in them we will not encourage them or their dreams.

Negativity will influence our friendships.
We will draw to us people who think as we do. This will succeed in then creating a group of like minded people who think nothing good will come out of any situation. Birds of a feather, flock together.

Negativity will effect our decisions.
Because we think nothing good will happen to us, our decisions will not be bold and we won't strive to achieve what seems to be difficult. We will stay in the safe zone because after all "it wouldn't work anyhow".
This will limit our present and our future.

Being negative is a habit.

Do you think being positive could also be a habit?

What would happen if we turned negative thoughts into positive?
Could that negative opinion not be offered?
What if instead, we offered encouragement?
Are our friends negative? Would it be possible to seek positive friends?
Are our decisions limited because we believe in a negative outcome?
What would happen if we believed in a positive outcome?

What would happen?
What would happen?

Your choice.....

"Any change, any loss, does not make us victims.
Others can shake you, surprise you, disappoint you, but they can't prevent you from acting, from taking the situation you're presented with and moving on.
No matter where you are in life, no matter what your situation, you can always do something.
You always have a choice and the choice can be power."

Blaine Lee
The Power Principle

What next ?

Prepare for take-off: airports to trial virtual strip searches
Author: Jano Gibson, Urban Affairs Reporter
Publication: Sydney Morning Herald
Date: 2 October 2008

AIR travellers will be invited to take part in "virtual strip searches" at Australian airports when the Federal Government begins trialling a range of security screening measures this month.

The measures include a controversial body scanner that can see underneath a person's clothes.

The Government says the scanner is designed to detect hidden weapons and explosives but critics say it is an invasion of privacy.

"It provides detailed images of a person's body, in particular body shape, which many people might find highly embarrassing," Stephen Blanks from the NSW Council for Civil Liberties.

"It's not normal for security to require strip searches of people getting on aeroplanes, and why should this virtual strip search become the norm?"

The executive director of the Government's Office of Transport Security, Paul Retter, said passengers would not be forced to use the body scanner before boarding their flights.

"During the trial, travellers will be able to choose the existing hand-luggage scanners and walk-through metal detectors, or they could choose the technology trial lane and provide feedback on the new technologies."

Measures had been put in place to ensure passengers' privacy and dignity was protected, Mr Retter said.

"People who do opt for the technology trial lane can do so knowing that the officer examining the images is located away from the screening lane and cannot see them. Faces are blurred and images are not saved and cannot be transferred."

He said the scans were safe and emitted only a very small amount of radiation. "The dosage from one body scan is 400 times less than a single medical X-ray. It would take 10,000 scans to reach the maximum level of safe radiation recommended in a year."

The other technologies on trial include explosive-detecting X-ray machines and vapour and liquid analysers. All of the equipment has been assessed by the Australian Nuclear Science Technology Organisation and the Defence Science and Technology Organisation.

"Some [of the technologies] are already used overseas as part of aviation security and we would like to assess which, if any, may be appropriate for use in Australia," Mr Retter said.

The trials will begin in the middle of this month and will run until the end of next month at airports in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

What next ??

Governments the world over have been increasingly eager to enforce new and "better" ways to ensure security when it comes to air travel. Of course this all comes at a very high price to airports and then this flows on to the travelling public through higher ticket prices. Every dollar spent by an airport is quickly passed on to the airlines.

Strangely, there is precious little security of any form in our rail system and I'm told, when I've questioned the relevant government department, that it's a matter of what poses the highest security risk at this point in time.
Fair enough, though I'm confident that the terrorists who pose this so called security risk are more than aware of where the highest levels of security are. So it would follow that these areas would be avoided and softer targets would be chosen.

Bottom line is this. We will spend billions of dollars across the world trying to keep terrorism at bay and, I would say, with limited success.

What's the answer?
Well that's another story.........

Giants

When we surrounded ourselves with people who are smaller than us, we become pigmies.
When we surround ourselves with people who are greater that us, we become giants.

Unknown