On The Fly

In this episode, Our Town . . . Like millions from the  Baby Boom  generation, I grew up in a vibrant small Midwestern town with a population of ~1,300. While listening to music on Spotify, I was recently emotionally moved by the 2007 Grammy Award-winning song  Our Town  written for the Disney Movie -  Cars. Lyrics & Music  by Randy Newman and sung by James Taylor. In my imagination, I'm transported back in time. With tears welling up in my eyes, I can see all the storefront businesses on  our  town square, which surrounded a Bandstand on Main Street. In those days,  Our Town had three grocery stores, two cafes', two hardware stores, a National Bank, a Ben Franklin Store, Movie Theater, a Tastee Freeze, Drug Store with a Soda Fountain, a Furniture Store, Men's Clothing Store, Marshalls Plumbing & Heating, Tavern, Insurance offices, Wilma's Pool Hall, Doctors Office, a Newspaper Printer, Post Office, Library, two Barbershops, a Ford De...

In this episode, The Mac . . . While looking for something to share with you today, this article from the How-to Geek Newsletter by BENJ Edwards popped up in my feed. Hello the Apple Macintosh, or The Mac, has been a well-known computer platform since 1984. Have you ever wondered why it's called Mac?  Yes, It's Named after a Type of Apple. Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne founded Apple Computer on April 1, 1976. No fooling! After visiting an apple farm while on a fruitarian diet, Jobs decided on the Apple name. The story has it; Jobs wanted Apple to alphabetically appear before Atari in the phone book. In 1979, an Apple employee, Jeff Raskin, began working on Apple's experimental appliance-like computer project. In a 2003 interview with ACM's Ubiquity journal, Raskin described the origins of what he named the project: "I called it 'Macintosh' because the McIntosh is my favorite kind of apple to eat. And I figured that if I was going to have an app...

In this episode, Who Was Dr. Seuss . . . I'm curious, have you ever wondered where the name Dr. Seuss came from? Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904. Today we celebrate his 118th birthday! After reading The Cat in the Hat for the first time in a previous podcast episode ( Tribute to Dr. Seuss ), we decided to try our hand at his literary style. I'm here to say it wasn't easy. Why Dr. Seuss? Well, remember that children's book series (The Who Was Series) we introduced you to? During a recent visit to Barnes and Noble, I picked up Who Was Dr. Seuss by Janet B. Pascal. After reading that book, I was compelled to order Oh, the Places You'll Go! What a marvelous book. I'll admit I've become captivated with these books; why? If you look carefully, the attention to character detail is outstanding. The facial expressions, the use of colors, the carefully crafted words created to rhyme, and the scope of the implied meaning w...

In this episode – Change your Performance . . . Hard to believe it's been over two years already; my service at Cenergy Power has invigorated me now more than ever. Why, you ask? To paraphrase Dr. Seuss, When you’re on your own. And you know what you know. You’ll be the one who’ll decide where to go. Employ your mind with work you enjoy, you will blossom my friend. In January 2019, while still working at Home Depot, I realized that it was time, once again, to continue my lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and personal expression. Like many, I needed a change. My performance was suffering. But what to do about it? Then it hit me, stretch yourself. "Re-Fire!" Don't retire. And what better way to do that than go back and revisit old friends. Books. Books that made a powerful impact on my thinking and my professional behavior. "Of course, the parables co-authored by Ken Blanchard." But this time, as I reread those books commit to putting the learning into a...

In this episode, A Tribute to Dr. Seuss . . . by; Patrick Ball From Amazon, it must have been kismet, I received my  first  book, such a joy to revisit. Hand-delivered by truck, Dr. Seuss,  Oh,  what luck! Oh, the Places You’ll Go! I know what you’re thinking, “You’re too old for kids' books, wake up - stop dreaming.” The winter is dark, a rediscovery - who me? The  thrill  of reading, It’s what sets you  free .   Like you, I’m off to great places. “We’re off and away!” Reading is fun amidst the news of today. Come on - you’ve read Ted Geisel, you may recall, The Grinch  Christmas podcast was recorded last fall. That wasn’t a book, but a digital rendition, We read from a Kindle, O h My , we  Broke  tradition! It worked, on an iPad, artwork in color. But let's be clear, it wasn’t that clever. Somehow - someway - it’s just not the same. Having a book in hand, that’s the name of the game. What a tactile sensation, Not to mention the sm...

In this episode, Web Addresses . . . Have you ever wondered why internet web addresses are in English? While poking around on the web, we discovered a riveting segment (if you're a Geek) from  howstuffwork.com  to tickle your RAM (Random Access Memory). Ok - "Why are internet web addresses in English?" The short answer: Web addresses are in English because the people who developed the standards for web addresses were, for the most part, English-speaking Americans. Are you ready for a longer answer? In the early days of the internet, the only way to connect to a remote computer was to know its unique Internet Protocol or  IP address , a long string of unique digits such as 165.254.202.218. But in 1983, as the number of computers on the network continued to grow, the University of Wisconsin developed the  Domain Name System (DNS) , which maps numeric IP addresses to more easily remembered domain names like google.com . In 1990, according to the Computer History Museum,...

In this episode, Who Was Stephen Hawking? . . . We introduced you to the Penguin Random House Books  Who Was?  - Series. With over 250 titles, it tells the incredible stories of trailblazers, legends, innovators, and creators. This week meet Professor Stephen Hawking. A famous physicist and author. His friends nicknamed him "Einstein" as a teenager because he was brilliant. Physics has always fascinated me. As a young college student, it was my subject of choice. After moving to California in 1985, I had a rare opportunity to meet Professor Hawking. During his many visits to the California Institute of Technology (Cal. Tech), Santa Monica City College booked his appearance (Sept. 1991). Like millions, I devoured his best-selling book A Brief History of Time (1988), about the universe's origins, black holes, and other scientific concepts written in everyday language. We hope you enjoy my audio rendition from the children's book Who Was Stephen Hawking? by Jim Gigliotti...

In this episode – Sundays with Glenn | Ep. 4 . . . Have you ever had a friend that you wish you could spend more time with? But life's daily responsibilities just seem to get in the way. You may know such a person, a kind, gentle soul that you could just sit relaxed on your porch on a crisp autumn afternoon, passing the time engaged in conversation? We all have. Or should I say we all wish we had? With years of experience, Glenn has that uncanny ability to synthesize life lessons into rare practical ideas that strengthen individuals, families, and communities. Welcome to our final episode of Sundays with Glenn. Sadly, Major Glenn Ferguson passed away in Escondido, CA., on Saturday, December 18, 2021. He reached his goal of 100. A life well-lived. He will be deeply missed. Such a kindhearted, generous man and a lover of life. Glenn always toyed with and shared ideas that made the world better. But they were much more than ideas. He was a no-nonsense person that made things happen. H...

In this episode, the Who Was? - Series . . . With over 250 titles, Penguin Random House Books Who Was?  - Series tells the incredible stories of trailblazers, legends, innovators, and creators. Are you a bibliophile, an individual who loves and frequently reads books (a bookworm)? What is it that compels you to pick up a book? Is it the cover, is it the title, how about an interest in a specialized subject, or just - perhaps it's a whim? One of my ultimate goals with these podcasts is to reach a young audience. I've found that reading children's books is a gratifying and educational experience. Yes, even grown-ups can understand difficult concepts. To my surprise, both children and adults seem to appreciate the experience. With education such a hot topic in the news right now, we need to be reminded that whether it's going to school, visiting a museum, or online learning, the goal of education (both young and old) is to nurture an interest in learning. William Butler Ye...

In this episode, The Huckleberry Loop . . . Last week we spoke about a BIG world just waiting to be explored. Well, Christmas week 2021, we extended our exploration while planning for 2022. We loaded up our truck for some vacation time and headed for Tucson, AZ. "Why Tucson?" you ask? The Huckleberry Loop, of course. The Chuck Huckleberry Loop is a system of paved, shared-use paths and short segments of bicycle (bike) lanes connecting the Cañada del Oro, Rillito, Santa Cruz, and Pantano River Parks with Julian Wash and Harrison Road Greenway in Tucson. It totals about 137 miles of beautifully paved pathways. The Loop stretches more than 45 miles north to south and almost 30 miles east to west. Some 70% of the Loop directly follows the banks of five significant watersheds that dominate the Tucson Valley. Since the late 1980s, Tucson has been building this series of bicycle trails in conjunction with flood control waterways that circumnavigate the city. "The Loop" (a...

In this episode - The 1939 Story of Rudolph . . . Everyone knows Rudolph was the last reindeer to join Santa's team, but few people know about the department store copywriter who brought his story to the world. The year was 1939, the Great Depression was waning, and a manager at Montgomery Wards in Chicago, Il. decided that the store should create its own children's book for the annual holiday promotion. Free to kids who came to see Santa Claus. The boss tapped Robert L. May, an ad man for the store, to take a crack at a story. May always a hit at holiday parties for his way with limericks and parodies. But May didn't see himself as a winner. He had always felt like a bit of an outcast, and, at 35, he thought he was far from reaching his potential, pounding out catalog copy instead of writing the Great American Novel as he had always dreamed he would. The now-famous story of a misfit reindeer named Rudolph turned his “nonconformity" of a large shiny red nose to advant...

In this episode - If it Sounds Good - It Is Good . . . Let's talk about Guitars. When considering a purchase, do you find yourself on Google searching for that unique guitar and rely on the expertise of some stranger who tries to record a comparison review on YouTube? Come on - let's be honest, they all sound the same through computer speakers or headphones. And the biased of the critic always seems to come through. Honestly, though, a competent reviewer will always say, "Don't take my word for it; play the guitar yourself and just listen." Yes, I'm guilty of the above. Since August 2016, I've played my treasured 60th birthday gift and love it, my Fender Telecaster. Thankfully, my skills have improved, and I now understand why so many performers play an acoustic guitar. It's not only convenient, but the sweet, simple, soft, resonating sound achieved from an acoustic is emotionally moving. Last weekend we made a trip to Los Angles to visit the Griffith...