Yet there is a difference between responsible criticism that aims for success, and defeatism that refuses to acknowledge anything but failure. Hindsight alone is not wisdom. And second-guessing is not a strategy.
State of the Union: Best Line
Archives for January 2006
Washington Post: Target
From today’s Washington Post, presented without comment, but with a large smile:
When arson investigators in Houston needed help restoring a damaged surveillance tape to identify suspects in a fatal fire, they turned first to local experts and then to NASA. With no luck there, investigators appealed to the owner of one of the most advanced crime labs in the country: Target Corp.
Target experts fixed the tape and Houston authorities arrested their suspects, who were convicted. It was all in a day’s work for Target in its large and growing role as a high-tech partner to law enforcement agencies.
In the past few years, the retailer has taken a lead role in teaching government agencies how to fight crime by applying state-of-the-art technology used in its 1,400 stores. Target’s effort has touched local, state, federal and international agencies.
Besides running its forensics lab in Minneapolis, Target has helped coordinate national undercover investigations and worked with customs agencies on ways to make sure imported cargo is coming from reputable sources or hasn’t been tampered with. It has contributed money for prosecutor positions to combat repeat criminals, provided local police with remote-controlled video surveillance systems, and linked police and business radio systems to beef up neighborhood foot patrols in parts of several major cities. It has given management training to FBI and police leaders, and linked city, county and state databases to keep track of repeat offenders.
20 Years Ago
Twenty years ago today, I was an eleven year old sixth grader at Covington Middle School in my hometown of Covington, Indiana. I remember that Mrs. Woodrow was my teacher for the english class I was in.. and we were working on an assignment, or a reading, or something similar to that.
My neighbor, the principal’s secretary walked in and whispered something to Mrs. Woodrow. The students, of course, were all watching intently as this is not something that happened very often. She then left.
Then our teacher informed us that the Space Shuttle Challenger had exploded after take-off in Florida, killing all of the astronauts aboard.
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I don’t remember how I felt or even what happened for the rest of that class. I do remember a few hours later going to the library where most of the staff was gathered around the one television in the school watching the news coverage, most with tears in their eyes.
I was always interested in the space program. As a teenager, I thought I might study aeronautical engineering and perhaps attend the Naval Academy, but life had other plans for me. A visit by my family to the Kennedy Space Center a few years later reminded me of that dream, but I had already begun thinking of another course to take.
It wasn’t until years later that I was old enough to understand President Reagan’s words that evening after the Challenger had been destroyed – and now, twenty years later, they endure as a fitting tribute to those seven brave souls.
“There’s a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and an historian later said, “He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it.” Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake’s, complete.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and “slipped the surly bonds of earth” to “touch the face of God.”‘
Technorati Tags: shuttle
Letter by a US Navy Pilot
Lex posts a letter from a US Navy Pilot directed at the terrorists. A portion reads:
I tell you all this because when I come for you, I want you to know me. I won’t be hiding behind a woman or a child. I won’t be disguised or pretending to be something I am not. I will be in a U.S. issue flight suit. I will be wearing standard US issue flight gear, and I will be flying a navy aircraft clearly marked as a US warplane. I wish we could meet up close in a small room where I could wrap my hands around your throat and slowly squeeze the life out of you, but unfortunately, you’re hiding in a hole in the ground, so we will have to do this a different way.
I want you to know also that I am very good at what I do. I can put a 2,000 lb weapon through a window from 10,000 feet up. I generally only fly at night, so you may want to start sleeping during the day. I am not eager to die for my country but I am willing to sacrifice my life to protect it from animals like you.
I will do everything in my power to ensure no civilians are hurt as I take aim at you. My countrymen are a forgiving bunch. Many are already forgetting what you did on Sept 11th. But I will not forget.
I am coming. I hope you know me a little bit better, see you soon…sleep tight.
One Week
Hold it now and watch the hoodwink
As I make you stop, think
You’ll think you’re looking at Aquaman
I summon fish to the dish, although I like the Chalet Swiss
I like the sushi
’cause it’s never touched a frying pan
Hot like wasabe when I bust rhymes
Big like LeAnn Rimes
Because I’m all about value
Bert Kaempfert’s got the mad hits
You try to match wits, you try to hold me but I bust through
Gonna make a break and take a fake
I’d like a stinkin achin shake
I like vanilla, it’s the finest of the flavours
Gotta see the show, cause then you’ll know
The vertigo is gonna grow
Cause it’s so dangerous,
you’ll have to sign a waiver
One Week – Barenaked Ladies
4 Year Blogoversary
4 years
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Been a fun ride so far.