After the Tucson tragedy, I Googled "Tucson Killings England." I did this in good part wanting to see what people over in England -- besides my cousins -- were saying about Tucson.
I discovered one interesting blog titled A View from Middle England by someone using the pen name Arden Forester. He subtitles his blog "Conservative with a slight libertarian touch. Optimistic supporter of the Coalition Government. Free Enterprise NOT Covert Corporatism."
Our views are clearly different in some ways. He also writes about English political matters about which, while I am better informed than most Americans, I will not claim to be some sort of expert. If I moved there, I probably would become some sort of expert, but I am not one now.
Forester does criticize some people who might be viewed by Americans as conservative. He has criticized the Westboro Baptist Church as fanatics. A fair number of American conservatives say similar things. He's also criticized Sarah Palin thoughtfully. That's something I haven't seen too many American conservatives doing.
Prehaps most importantly, though, is his criticism of corporations and greedy CEOs. He has, I think, recognized one very important fact. Government can be a threat to liberty. Unfortunately, too many corporations are as well. Too many of them abuse ordinary staff. When a company demands so much that people cannot do ordinary human things -- like get married and have children -- that company is demanding too much. When a company shuts down a profitable factory simply because they make a few dollars (or pounds) more elsewhere for a few quarters, that is being shortsighted and harmful to the people who work there.
Quite a few libertarians in the United States always criticize things like people forming unions or turning to government for help. It hasn't registered with them the harm that some corporate management does and that people will turn to the government for help. Criticizing such people for violating libertarian theory isn't helpful. I think libertarians need to start working on reforms in business and in school -- especially business school -- to address real problems caused by corporate management. Arden Forester and I seem to have similar views on this topic.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Friday, December 17, 2010
Changing Posting Habits
I'm going to try posting to this blog at least six times a week. I plan on focusing on cultural change in tech fields. It's something I think I have something to say well beyond what normal people can say.
This week's most important event was the Progressive Maryland Awards Dinner. Senator Barbara Mikulski was the star. Maryland State Senator Paul Pinsky made thoughtful comments about "Liberty and Justice for All." That's a theme that can resound well with libertarians. Libertarians have much to contribute to our society -- and they have some interesting similarities with some conventional liberals.
This week's most important event was the Progressive Maryland Awards Dinner. Senator Barbara Mikulski was the star. Maryland State Senator Paul Pinsky made thoughtful comments about "Liberty and Justice for All." That's a theme that can resound well with libertarians. Libertarians have much to contribute to our society -- and they have some interesting similarities with some conventional liberals.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
An Evening With Triple Nine Friends
The evening of Friday, November 19th was spent with friends from the Triple Nine Society. Some I have known for some time. Some I met Friday evening.
Eric Phan is a bright young man who has taken it upon himself to organize occasional get togethers of local Triple Nine Society members. He announced this event via e-mail, as usual. What made this event different was an event that preceded our usual dinner. We were invited to the Capitol Hill Club to meet with fund manager Bill Matson and Retired Admiral James Carey. Bill was going to discuss the book by him and his partner Mitch Hardy titled Data Driven Investing. Admiral Carey was going to discuss Triple Nine help with the program Government Scholars. This program is intended to interest bright young people in careers of public service.
I did not know what to expect when I arrived at the Capitol Hill Club. For those who are not familiar with Washington, the Capitol Hill Club is the Republican club adjacent to Congress. The Democratic Party has a similar club a few blocks away. I followed the instructions on how to find the Grill Room where we would be meeting. When I entered the Grill Room, I saw quite a few young people. I assumed they were were Republican staffers and workers of various kinds. After a quick search I saw a table where Eric and Katy were seated. The other two people at the table were Admiral Carey and Bill Matson. I introduced myself to Jim and Bill. Everyone seemed quite friendly. I've come to expect that at Triple Nine gatherings.
Bill began our discussions by telling us what he and his partner had learned about investing. It seems that investing in small companies is one key part of their strategy. They also try to figure out what small companies investors are not paying much attention to and when that is not warranted. The book seems quite interesting. I plan on getting a copy and reading it soon. The book is available free to Triple Nine Society members. During the discussion, Bill mentioned the graphical representation of numerical data. I chimed in at this point because that is actually one of my specialties. During our conversation I also mentioned my concern with firms like AIG that actively prevented bad news from even being distributed throughout the firm, much less to the investing public. Bill and others seemed to agree. Bill also let us know that too many people in the field of finance were simply out to maximize their own personal returns. I'd read similar things elsewhere. It was good to hear it in person from an exceptionally intelligent insider of good character.
Our discussion turned to the Washington Scholars Program. Jim Carey and others lead this effort to get young people interested in government service. Some things make this notable. Jim is clearly a conservative. The Washington Scholars Program is aimed at Republicans, Democrats and independents. Students come from across the political spectrum. Early in his description of the program he mentioned placing a student with Nancy Pelosi. I mentioned that I was involved in Maryland politics and knew quite a few people in positions of leadership in the Democratic Party. It might be possible for me to help. During our conversation I mentioned that I had told people in Congressman Steny Hoyer's office about our Triple Nine Society event. Jim, with a friendly smile on his face, said I could now report that Congressman Hoyer's name up during a discussion at the Capitol Hill Club.
During our discussion I described my interest in reforming tech fields, especially NASA. I stated that the Columbia accident investigation had revealed significant problems at NASA. I also reported how young people were turning away from science and engineering careers because of impossible demands on their lives. I made the observation that, when a young woman must choose between a career in science and having a family, that is wrong. I also noted that middle aged geeks with a clear libertarian bent in their politics are starting to complain about abusive treatment at work. One, Eric Raymond, noted that women in computing aren't abused. He reported that everyone in computing was abused.
The conversation at the Capitol Hill Club was, as I expected, thoughtful and interesting. After 7:15 most of us departed for a restaurant in Eastern Market for dinner. We wound up at Fusion, initially because the place was quiet enough for serious discussions. Other restaurants did not meet that criteria. The food was excellent, as was the conversation.
It is interesting to hear Katy discuss home schooling her children and what her life was like. She was a career Navy officer married to a Navy man. One interesting opinion we both hold strongly is that sleep is important. While our life experiences have been different in many ways, it is interesting that we have some quite strongly held views that are similar. During our discussion I brought up two of my running triumphs in October 1996. First, I ran the Goddard Two Mile Fun Run in my best time of 12:53. Then, a few weeks later, I finished the Marine Corps Marathon. I also reported that, if I had run the first two miles of the marathon at my Goddard pace, I would not have finished the marathon -- and I would have been a half mile behind the eventual winners of the marathon.
Near the end of the evening I mentioned that the St. Mark's Players would be presenting Inherit the Wind in January and proposed a performance as a Triple Nine event. Some interest was stirred.
Wow, I have written over 900 words. I'm trying to keep these postings a bit shorter.
Eric Phan is a bright young man who has taken it upon himself to organize occasional get togethers of local Triple Nine Society members. He announced this event via e-mail, as usual. What made this event different was an event that preceded our usual dinner. We were invited to the Capitol Hill Club to meet with fund manager Bill Matson and Retired Admiral James Carey. Bill was going to discuss the book by him and his partner Mitch Hardy titled Data Driven Investing. Admiral Carey was going to discuss Triple Nine help with the program Government Scholars. This program is intended to interest bright young people in careers of public service.
I did not know what to expect when I arrived at the Capitol Hill Club. For those who are not familiar with Washington, the Capitol Hill Club is the Republican club adjacent to Congress. The Democratic Party has a similar club a few blocks away. I followed the instructions on how to find the Grill Room where we would be meeting. When I entered the Grill Room, I saw quite a few young people. I assumed they were were Republican staffers and workers of various kinds. After a quick search I saw a table where Eric and Katy were seated. The other two people at the table were Admiral Carey and Bill Matson. I introduced myself to Jim and Bill. Everyone seemed quite friendly. I've come to expect that at Triple Nine gatherings.
Bill began our discussions by telling us what he and his partner had learned about investing. It seems that investing in small companies is one key part of their strategy. They also try to figure out what small companies investors are not paying much attention to and when that is not warranted. The book seems quite interesting. I plan on getting a copy and reading it soon. The book is available free to Triple Nine Society members. During the discussion, Bill mentioned the graphical representation of numerical data. I chimed in at this point because that is actually one of my specialties. During our conversation I also mentioned my concern with firms like AIG that actively prevented bad news from even being distributed throughout the firm, much less to the investing public. Bill and others seemed to agree. Bill also let us know that too many people in the field of finance were simply out to maximize their own personal returns. I'd read similar things elsewhere. It was good to hear it in person from an exceptionally intelligent insider of good character.
Our discussion turned to the Washington Scholars Program. Jim Carey and others lead this effort to get young people interested in government service. Some things make this notable. Jim is clearly a conservative. The Washington Scholars Program is aimed at Republicans, Democrats and independents. Students come from across the political spectrum. Early in his description of the program he mentioned placing a student with Nancy Pelosi. I mentioned that I was involved in Maryland politics and knew quite a few people in positions of leadership in the Democratic Party. It might be possible for me to help. During our conversation I mentioned that I had told people in Congressman Steny Hoyer's office about our Triple Nine Society event. Jim, with a friendly smile on his face, said I could now report that Congressman Hoyer's name up during a discussion at the Capitol Hill Club.
During our discussion I described my interest in reforming tech fields, especially NASA. I stated that the Columbia accident investigation had revealed significant problems at NASA. I also reported how young people were turning away from science and engineering careers because of impossible demands on their lives. I made the observation that, when a young woman must choose between a career in science and having a family, that is wrong. I also noted that middle aged geeks with a clear libertarian bent in their politics are starting to complain about abusive treatment at work. One, Eric Raymond, noted that women in computing aren't abused. He reported that everyone in computing was abused.
The conversation at the Capitol Hill Club was, as I expected, thoughtful and interesting. After 7:15 most of us departed for a restaurant in Eastern Market for dinner. We wound up at Fusion, initially because the place was quiet enough for serious discussions. Other restaurants did not meet that criteria. The food was excellent, as was the conversation.
It is interesting to hear Katy discuss home schooling her children and what her life was like. She was a career Navy officer married to a Navy man. One interesting opinion we both hold strongly is that sleep is important. While our life experiences have been different in many ways, it is interesting that we have some quite strongly held views that are similar. During our discussion I brought up two of my running triumphs in October 1996. First, I ran the Goddard Two Mile Fun Run in my best time of 12:53. Then, a few weeks later, I finished the Marine Corps Marathon. I also reported that, if I had run the first two miles of the marathon at my Goddard pace, I would not have finished the marathon -- and I would have been a half mile behind the eventual winners of the marathon.
Near the end of the evening I mentioned that the St. Mark's Players would be presenting Inherit the Wind in January and proposed a performance as a Triple Nine event. Some interest was stirred.
Wow, I have written over 900 words. I'm trying to keep these postings a bit shorter.
Monday, July 26, 2010
What Next For Space
It was interesting to see that a Doctor Logan brought up at the recently completed NewSpace 2010 conference that humans may not be able to live on the Moon, Mars or any other very different planet from Earth. I've long thought the same thing.
Spreading out into the Solar System -- and eventually farther -- is going to take quite a bit longer than the true space enthusiast seems prepared to admit -- and deal with.
When European explorers began exploring our planet, they met human beings wherever they went. OK, the humans were somewhat different from Europeans, but they were recognizably human. Peoples from different continents could even interbreed. The earlier expansion of humanity from a location in Africa happened before we had reliable histories so it is rather hard to know just how long it took.
Antarctica is about the only example of a land that did not have people when Europeans arrived. It was not even discovered until 1820. It was ignored for the rest of the 19th Century. Amundsen and Scott raced for the South Pole a century ago. We now have some established bases and some adventurous tourists. Remember -- Antartica is a part of Earth. We can breathe the air, the gravity is the same, radiation problems are pretty much the same. It is just a lot colder than, say, Washington, DC. We do not have anything like Zubrin's Martian fantasy or an O'Neill colony even in Antarctica. It is far easier to get people and things to Antarctica than it is to the Moon or Mars.
The voyages of exploration even hundreds of years ago involved large numbers of people away from home for long periods of time. In space the normal time on ISS is six months. A few people have stayed up longer. It hasn't been good for their health.
We have discovered some utility for space regarding communications and remote sensing. We can do that today. The old L5 idea may be a part of our future -- but a distant part, at least on the scale of a human life. With a large base in orbit we will be able to experiment in ways that are now impossible. We need to learn how to do things in space. That's why NASA reform is so important. The agency does need to develop a bottom up, democratic way of working and living. Yes, the old top down approach did put 12 men on the Moon. But that was really in the nature of a political stunt that did no more than hint at possibilities. It is not a very effective way of producing the kind of knowledge and development that moving out into space is going to need.
Spreading out into the Solar System -- and eventually farther -- is going to take quite a bit longer than the true space enthusiast seems prepared to admit -- and deal with.
When European explorers began exploring our planet, they met human beings wherever they went. OK, the humans were somewhat different from Europeans, but they were recognizably human. Peoples from different continents could even interbreed. The earlier expansion of humanity from a location in Africa happened before we had reliable histories so it is rather hard to know just how long it took.
Antarctica is about the only example of a land that did not have people when Europeans arrived. It was not even discovered until 1820. It was ignored for the rest of the 19th Century. Amundsen and Scott raced for the South Pole a century ago. We now have some established bases and some adventurous tourists. Remember -- Antartica is a part of Earth. We can breathe the air, the gravity is the same, radiation problems are pretty much the same. It is just a lot colder than, say, Washington, DC. We do not have anything like Zubrin's Martian fantasy or an O'Neill colony even in Antarctica. It is far easier to get people and things to Antarctica than it is to the Moon or Mars.
The voyages of exploration even hundreds of years ago involved large numbers of people away from home for long periods of time. In space the normal time on ISS is six months. A few people have stayed up longer. It hasn't been good for their health.
We have discovered some utility for space regarding communications and remote sensing. We can do that today. The old L5 idea may be a part of our future -- but a distant part, at least on the scale of a human life. With a large base in orbit we will be able to experiment in ways that are now impossible. We need to learn how to do things in space. That's why NASA reform is so important. The agency does need to develop a bottom up, democratic way of working and living. Yes, the old top down approach did put 12 men on the Moon. But that was really in the nature of a political stunt that did no more than hint at possibilities. It is not a very effective way of producing the kind of knowledge and development that moving out into space is going to need.
Monday, June 7, 2010
DC Digital Week
Next week I will be attending the DC Digital Week and blogging a bit about it. My plan is to cover the events using both photography and writing. Parties will more than likely just be photography.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
An Exceptionally Special Day in the Life of Ambassador Chuck
What is this "Ambassador Chuck" business? People such as the wonderful folk I met Sunday at St. John's Episcopal Church on Lafayette Square in DC might seriously ask that question. For a humorous look at one of my alternative identities, do check out The Vulcan Ambassador Chuck E-mails.
Now I will move on to more serious matters.
I attended St. John's this morning rather than my usual parish, St. Mark's because our Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori would be appearing at a forum and giving the sermon. Life long Episcopalian that I am, I could not miss this opportunity to see and hear a woman about whom I had heard so many good things.
When I walked in the door of St. John's, I perceived that St. John's had some differences with St. Mark's as well as some more important similarities. People were dressed more formally. But everyone welcomed me warmly and openly. Dress matters far less than a warm welcome from good people. I will say, though, I was glad I had worn a suit and tie. I had some friendly chats with members of the congregation. I remember impressing two nice young women with my tale of finishing the Marine Corps Marathon back in 1996.
When I walked into the forum, I met briefly our Presiding Bishop. I asked her why -- in I hope a friendly manner -- why she had switched from being an oceanographer to an Episcopal priest. I handed her a business card at the same time with an invitation on following up in more detail at a later time. She briefly but friendlily replied that she was still working that out. I was impressed that she told a complete stranger that much.
The forum began at 10. One priest had gone around the congregation passing out cards for people to write questions on. The forum took on the following form. First, Katherine delivered a short talk. During the talk she mentioned how others were impressed by Episcopalians. She reported that people said about us "They use their ears. They also use their brains." We Episcopalians think a great deal more than most people. I will say this is one thing that has kept me an active Episcopalian through my life. Katherine also told us how we were warm and welcoming. We are truly open to the other, We are now working -- in multiple ways -- with other denominations. Our Presiding Bishop sees this as the future of our church and, indeed, of Christianity in general. I think along the same sort of line. She made an interesting comment about the Roman Catholic Church. She noted that there was more cooperation between local Episcopalian and Roman Catholic parishes working together on projects of importance to their communities than there was between the leaders of both churches. She recommended continuing in that manner for local Episcopalians. In the past few decades especially our society has grown more authoritarian -- with negative effects in everything from finance to space exploration to education and more. Too often people with a little bit of power over others think "How can we get people to think more like ourselves?" and too little "How can we use our knowledge to help others?" Or -- even more insidiously -- "How we can control others?" There are times when authoritarian control is appropriate. But all too often such control is presented as the best solution. This leads to all sorts of problems -- which said leadership then blames on someone else.
The Episcopal Church is active in many parts of the world. Katherine mentioned Honduras as one place among many where our church is making a real difference. I suspect Marco Caceres of St. Mark's could give us a good look at how our church is helping in Honduras. He has spoken eloquently about how open and welcoming our church is compared with the Roman Catholic.
The service that followed was also warm and welcoming -- if different from St. Mark's. The music was, as I have come to expect, the typical wonderful Episcopalian hymns and more. The last hymn of the day was particularly touching to me. It was a 20th Century hymn -- and about the positive impacts of science and technology upon our world.
After church I joined people from St. John's at their weekly luncheon. It was not only a good meal, but a great opportunity to get to know the people of S. John's better.
All in all, my experience at St. John's was truly wonderful.
What did I do the rest of the day?
First I stopped by St. Mark's. There I had a brief conversation with our brew master, Rick Weber. I shared a bit of the morning's experience with him.
Then I headed off to Paulos' place for the monthly New Members Open House organized by Metro Washington Mensa. This was a truly rare time when I showed up at a Mensa event wearing a suit and tie. I told them about the morning -- and hearing a religious leader speak openly about the importance of the mind. People were happy to hear that. I also mentioned sitting in the President's Pew at St. John's. That, of course, was just a fortunate coincidence. The party was, again, a good time. I enjoyed seeing some old friends.
After that I made the trek back home.
Now I will move on to more serious matters.
I attended St. John's this morning rather than my usual parish, St. Mark's because our Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori would be appearing at a forum and giving the sermon. Life long Episcopalian that I am, I could not miss this opportunity to see and hear a woman about whom I had heard so many good things.
When I walked in the door of St. John's, I perceived that St. John's had some differences with St. Mark's as well as some more important similarities. People were dressed more formally. But everyone welcomed me warmly and openly. Dress matters far less than a warm welcome from good people. I will say, though, I was glad I had worn a suit and tie. I had some friendly chats with members of the congregation. I remember impressing two nice young women with my tale of finishing the Marine Corps Marathon back in 1996.
When I walked into the forum, I met briefly our Presiding Bishop. I asked her why -- in I hope a friendly manner -- why she had switched from being an oceanographer to an Episcopal priest. I handed her a business card at the same time with an invitation on following up in more detail at a later time. She briefly but friendlily replied that she was still working that out. I was impressed that she told a complete stranger that much.
The forum began at 10. One priest had gone around the congregation passing out cards for people to write questions on. The forum took on the following form. First, Katherine delivered a short talk. During the talk she mentioned how others were impressed by Episcopalians. She reported that people said about us "They use their ears. They also use their brains." We Episcopalians think a great deal more than most people. I will say this is one thing that has kept me an active Episcopalian through my life. Katherine also told us how we were warm and welcoming. We are truly open to the other, We are now working -- in multiple ways -- with other denominations. Our Presiding Bishop sees this as the future of our church and, indeed, of Christianity in general. I think along the same sort of line. She made an interesting comment about the Roman Catholic Church. She noted that there was more cooperation between local Episcopalian and Roman Catholic parishes working together on projects of importance to their communities than there was between the leaders of both churches. She recommended continuing in that manner for local Episcopalians. In the past few decades especially our society has grown more authoritarian -- with negative effects in everything from finance to space exploration to education and more. Too often people with a little bit of power over others think "How can we get people to think more like ourselves?" and too little "How can we use our knowledge to help others?" Or -- even more insidiously -- "How we can control others?" There are times when authoritarian control is appropriate. But all too often such control is presented as the best solution. This leads to all sorts of problems -- which said leadership then blames on someone else.
The Episcopal Church is active in many parts of the world. Katherine mentioned Honduras as one place among many where our church is making a real difference. I suspect Marco Caceres of St. Mark's could give us a good look at how our church is helping in Honduras. He has spoken eloquently about how open and welcoming our church is compared with the Roman Catholic.
The service that followed was also warm and welcoming -- if different from St. Mark's. The music was, as I have come to expect, the typical wonderful Episcopalian hymns and more. The last hymn of the day was particularly touching to me. It was a 20th Century hymn -- and about the positive impacts of science and technology upon our world.
After church I joined people from St. John's at their weekly luncheon. It was not only a good meal, but a great opportunity to get to know the people of S. John's better.
All in all, my experience at St. John's was truly wonderful.
What did I do the rest of the day?
First I stopped by St. Mark's. There I had a brief conversation with our brew master, Rick Weber. I shared a bit of the morning's experience with him.
Then I headed off to Paulos' place for the monthly New Members Open House organized by Metro Washington Mensa. This was a truly rare time when I showed up at a Mensa event wearing a suit and tie. I told them about the morning -- and hearing a religious leader speak openly about the importance of the mind. People were happy to hear that. I also mentioned sitting in the President's Pew at St. John's. That, of course, was just a fortunate coincidence. The party was, again, a good time. I enjoyed seeing some old friends.
After that I made the trek back home.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Aerospace Initiative Home Page
I've created this page to familiarize people with the work the committee on industry collaboration of the Aerospace Industry Initiative of the Governor's Workforce Investment Board in Maryland did in 2006 and 2007 under my leadership.
I attended the Aerospace Summit held by GWIB in January 2006. I heard about this meeting via the Baltimore section of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The meeting was interesting. By tossing my business card in a jar I received as a reward Tom Friedman's book "The World Is Flat." While interesting, the book had many flaws.
Later in 2006 I received a message about a followup meeting to be held in June 2006. I went to that meeting and sat in on the industry collaboration committee. To the best of my knowledge, I had never met any of these people before. The same can be said of the larger Aerospace Initiative meeting. Our discussion was interesting and thoughtful. At the end of the meeting Art Taguding, the Maryland government representative, said we needed a chair to continue leading the group in its work. Everyone looked at me. Art asked if I was surprised. Since I had observed how the meeting went, I replied I was not at all surprised. If, however, you had told me at breakfast that morning that I would be leading a group to bring together Maryland aerospace companies to work on common challenges, I would have raised an eyebrow.
I got the group off to a good start -- according to others -- by writing a Statement of Purpose. Don McErlean did some light editing. Our group began having monthly meetings -- sometimes more frequently -- to discuss progress in creating a strawman proposal for an organization tentatively named the Maryland Aerospace Association. Here are the minutes of some of our meetings:
* September 12, 2006
* October 23, 2006
* November 21, 2006
* December 5, 2006
* January 7, 2007
Our meetings petered out after this. Northrop Grumman VP Bob Noble seemed to blow hot and cold on our committee's work. I do not know what other people were saying to him. I did get an occasional e-mail from him about our committee's work. Later, without any discussion with me about what he did not like, he dropped support for our committee's work completely. Later on he proposed a Governor's Advisory Council on Aerospace to be made up of the state's aerospace CEOs. This idea was a complete nonstarter. One wonders what thinking was going on.
Our group did develop a variety of documents in support of our strawman proposal. They are:
* A Vision Statement
* A Charter
* Organization Chart
* Organization Chart Descriptions
E-mail me at charles dot j dot divine at gmail dot com if you have half a mind to.
I attended the Aerospace Summit held by GWIB in January 2006. I heard about this meeting via the Baltimore section of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The meeting was interesting. By tossing my business card in a jar I received as a reward Tom Friedman's book "The World Is Flat." While interesting, the book had many flaws.
Later in 2006 I received a message about a followup meeting to be held in June 2006. I went to that meeting and sat in on the industry collaboration committee. To the best of my knowledge, I had never met any of these people before. The same can be said of the larger Aerospace Initiative meeting. Our discussion was interesting and thoughtful. At the end of the meeting Art Taguding, the Maryland government representative, said we needed a chair to continue leading the group in its work. Everyone looked at me. Art asked if I was surprised. Since I had observed how the meeting went, I replied I was not at all surprised. If, however, you had told me at breakfast that morning that I would be leading a group to bring together Maryland aerospace companies to work on common challenges, I would have raised an eyebrow.
I got the group off to a good start -- according to others -- by writing a Statement of Purpose. Don McErlean did some light editing. Our group began having monthly meetings -- sometimes more frequently -- to discuss progress in creating a strawman proposal for an organization tentatively named the Maryland Aerospace Association. Here are the minutes of some of our meetings:
* September 12, 2006
* October 23, 2006
* November 21, 2006
* December 5, 2006
* January 7, 2007
Our meetings petered out after this. Northrop Grumman VP Bob Noble seemed to blow hot and cold on our committee's work. I do not know what other people were saying to him. I did get an occasional e-mail from him about our committee's work. Later, without any discussion with me about what he did not like, he dropped support for our committee's work completely. Later on he proposed a Governor's Advisory Council on Aerospace to be made up of the state's aerospace CEOs. This idea was a complete nonstarter. One wonders what thinking was going on.
Our group did develop a variety of documents in support of our strawman proposal. They are:
* A Vision Statement
* A Charter
* Organization Chart
* Organization Chart Descriptions
E-mail me at charles dot j dot divine at gmail dot com if you have half a mind to.
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