Having a silly college schedule is normal, though. Last semester I had an average of 7-12 minutes to relocate to the appropriate room on campus to attend my next class. Becoming more and more picky with my current classes, I spend surprisingly much time on campus but very little of that time in actual classrooms. I am on campus Monday to Friday, everyday, with only two classes, except for Fridays, where there is only one.

The Monday, Wednesday and Fridays I can be found in class from 9AM – 9:50AM and from 1PM to 2:15PM (except for Fridays). Tuesdays and Thursdays I start at 8AM to 9:15AM with one more class in the PM from 1PM to 2:15. This gives me plenty of time between classes to study, read, research, interact with fellow students and faculty and deal with all my online stuff.

Yesterday was Monday and my birthday on top of it. A day like any other (no party) I got up at 5AM, had my stuff straight by 6AM and did some work until 8, when it was time to leave for Bangor. Arriving at campus without my wallet was OK, it’s an acceptable oversight to leave it in the wrong jackets pocket. The cafeteria gives me credit, water is free, and there’s no good reason to increase opportunity costs by turning around just to get a wallet.

Having the habit of being early for classes is a good thing. Time to get to know students, have small talks with faculty, getting your stuffs ready and usually it results in me being ready to run when the professor/ instructor hails in. Not so yesterday! As 12:54PM came around, I was confused. The classroom had filled with people I did not know! They must have felt the same, as some of them kept looking at me, oddly. Something was definitely wrong when I discovered that they had different books than me! Could they all be in the wrong classroom? (Remember the wife calling her husband, stating: “Honey, be careful, they are reporting a guy going the wrong way on the interstate!” The husband responded: “Oh hell, really? One??? There’s HUNDREDS!!!”

By 12:55PM I had silently packed up my crap, nonchalantly threw my jacket on and nodded at the strangers, smiling, almost silly, as I left the room. Wrong classroom, wrong building, wrong day of the week, heck, WRONG freaking side of campus!!! I did arrive in the correct classroom where two students instantly noted that I was rather late.

It must be my age, or the silliness of having too many hours of idle time between classes. I dutifully reprinted my schedule, to avoid such incidents in the future. Hope I won’t forget it! Wallet: CHECK. Schedule: CHECK.  Pre-takeoff Checklist: COMPLETE. Lets hope we remember where we’re supposed to go…

Predictions:

Our fights of the future to secure access to small fields, lakes and airports will shift from fighting the feds and bureaucracy to small town ordinance management soon. We will see an ever increasing number of citizen and environmental movements which will attempt to shut us out and down by any means necessary to accomplish their goals. Over the next half decade or so, our industry will be affected by thousands of bills, discussed on a senate and congressional level, of which many will “sneak through” causing us great harm and damage. Associations may continue to associate (and go to bed) with anyone perceived to be enough of a superstar to somehow increase public acceptance, yet, I believe there will be no value added to the membership by doing so. They may continue to suck up to corrupt politicians and policy makers to seek this seemingly ever- lasting  one who will go “to battle” for what we do and actually represents his citizens in a balanced manner. What they will also do, is to assure that their leaders and managers never go hungry. Yet, the public perception will remain skewed and mislead by an uninformed press, seeking tomorrows headline and more affected by what some town selectman thinks about seaplanes than what we could ever factually prove. Soon, we will see advocacy battles move to the town office, where NOTHING short of our full personal participation will create an awareness within the citizenry. People have no clue about how heavily we are being discriminated against! Nothing short of huge letter writing campaigns will prevent the worst of the worst. We will see social media sites and online discussions become the major concern of trying to protect our minority interests against those who think we are rich, irresponsible, earth-polluting, greenhouse gas causing and arrogant schmucks – who just have too much money. Insulting them will make them more angry because people cannot associate and relate on anything they cannot do themselves. Instead we will have to learn how they think, act and beat them at their own game.

That’s not a threat nor is there a solid question as to “IF” this will happen, but, in my opinion “WHEN” and “HOW”. I have been saying it for years, we are desperately ill equipped to deal with it!

A possible solution

It is time for our associations to change course, not with lip service and pointing out how much fun it is and how much beauty is contained in what we do, but by actually responding to the questions raised by thousands of members leaving them. These members did/do not leave to damage the association, they left because they realized that proxy votes and insider deals on who gets which job, as well as “selective attention syndrome” to the direct NEEDS of their pilot community have made it impossible to bring about ANY positive change nor does it allow for them to take part in innovative and modern solutions to problems that will be solved in a grassroots effort. Not with superstars your general John Doe could ever relate to. (Y)our worst enemy is not concerned with which color of leather seats their new Citation or Mercedes Benz should have, I promise! While at the subject, I’d like to point out (again) that small grassroots efforts (perceived as unfitting to the current way of doing things) cannot get exposure on/ in any of the associations magazines or media channels. Assumption: The fewer people know of different ways of doing things, the better? This is the only logical conclusion I could arrive at, after asking repeatedly to share a word or two with some of the members of such groups.

For seaplane pilots this means: Get to know the other guy/ gal. Join us at seaplaneforum.com to take part in a grassroots effort that deals with (y)our fun, beauty and expertise, but also it’s resulting problems, honestly and in open, unmuzzled dialogue. It will allow you to build connections and make friendships, share advise and guidance and last but not least, develop a communication style that allows us to react to today’s challenges locally, when and where they occur.  Ignore the clowns and liars spewing false information and badmouthing our forum, describing it (or myself) as an association enemy. I am not. In fact, the next time I hear such a statement, I will publish it in it’s entirety, with full disclosure of who made it. It’s enough!

I simply believe that our current way of dealing with the preservation of rights and freedoms is not done properly and misses the mark in terms of creating enough awareness within the pilot population. Nobody seems to be aware how much individual effort is and will be required to protect and retain accessible & affordable ways to do what we do. Lets get together, across the board and invite others to the discussion. I am still waiting to see a big, huge roundtable meeting with all the associations and activists getting together to brainstorm and find better solutions to current and future issues. Until this happens, I’ll continue to refuse to support the establishment. I cannot see where they are headed, management & decision processes are not transparent enough. By telling me what I know already (flying is beautiful, amazing, oh sooo nice, blah blah blah!) I have no benefit. Member based organizations enable members to have a voice. Neither do I believe we benefit from seeing smiley faces, handshakes and public shoulder patting. I for one hope we’ll get to it soon, because we are at risk of extinction by “Europeanization”. For those who wonder what that means: Look to Europe to see what a lobby-ism only approach has done to general aviation. Neither more money nor any of the Superstars will make flying more understandable to your regular non flying citizen. WE must do that.

Disclaimer:

Even as a publisher and editor of a website, I have not relinquished my privilege to have and communicate this opinion. It’s not like I have only critiqued without providing possible solutions, either! We can fix what is wrong and come out ahead of this as a stronger and more balanced pilot community. This community won’t be limited to people who can “pay to play” and neither will it exclude anyone willing to help create it.

We are no longer able to just cut checks to our associations, expecting them to fix things for us. What will we do instead?

If the writing is honest it cannot be separated from the man who wrote it. — Tennessee Williams

]]> http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/realities-part-iii/feed/ 0 Jason Baker ostrich-head-In-Sand http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/realities-part-ii/ http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/realities-part-ii/#comments Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:30:41 +0000 JaJaBa http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/?p=1776 ]]> This is part II of a series called “Realities of Association Politics & PR written by Jason Baker;

But fortunately, there are independents!

Independent discussion boards are generally run by people with a passion for a subject matter. Almost all of them see a specific shortfall in communication and networking opportunities and try to provide just that to the general target audience. While some discussion board owners are financially independent and secure, many subsidize their bottom line by selling privileged memberships and advertising, merchandise and some even actual products, or by accepting and soliciting support from members and industry partners. In many cases, accepting sponsorship from our industry brings “association – like” conditions in terms of what can and can’t be discussed.  While the “tone” of many of these individual forums vary greatly, all of them attract members who are not afraid to “speak their mind”, sometimes in amazingly baffling manner, including name calling and blind accusations.  Its easy to lose track of the tone and general demeanor of ones membership and sometimes this becomes apparent when you feel the need to look for pitchfork hunters and cavemen in your own backyard, after reading some of the posts on display on some discussion boards. For the respective owner & administrator the question ultimately becomes: WHERE DOES THE BUCK STOP? You have promised your members to be unbiased, independent and supporting of their needs and wants to share their thoughts, yet, you are visible to the public and your sponsors do not appreciate being critiqued publicly. Neither do associations! A natural conflict of interest ensues, and sadly, most of the time the mighty $$’s wins. This can be prevented by staying small, charging fees for adverts which can be refunded without taking out a loan and by clearly telling your sponsors, right off the bat, that you will continue to own your site while setting it’s general policy and direction. By staying small and humble as well as personal, you create an environment which encourages exchange while at the same time allowing smaller industry members to advertise through your site. My personal concept on seaplaneforum.com is 100% loyalty and trust based. My members retain the right to discuss, critique or acknowledge even our sponsor companies as long as their manner of doing so is:

• Factual & truthful…
• Honest but free of name-calling, derogatory remarks or discrimination…
• Respectful & courteous in style; and last but not least…
• Providing at least one idea or recommendation that can be used by the critiqued party to change course…

Sounds very simple, doesn’t it?    I, for one, keep my advertising rates low enough so that I can issue refunds, in case my discussion board causes offense. I depend on my members and  supporters to make the effort to communicate in such a way that I don’t have to step in and remind them of these four basic pillars which carry my small endeavor. I depend on my members and supporters ability to see and understand that creating a community and making a difference requires active participation and good will and sometimes better judgement. Grassroots things thrive by those three parameters. Each one of them has an unspoken/ unwritten promise from me that I will value and consider my own members critique and remain attentive to their requests, wants and needs. They know that I will do so independently from their “status” within the community.

To be continued…

All associations depend on membership dollars to finance their programs and initiatives. These days, membership dollars are harder to get, due to the incredible impact our stricken economy in the United States has had on general-  recreational -  and business aviation. People have tightened their belts even in areas previously unexpected – such as their dreams and passions for flying. That’s normal and makes sense.  All three sectors of aviation are under combined and strong attack from all directions. Environmentalists & wilderness programs cause remote & private airstrips to be closed at alarming rates, countless small airports and flight schools are already or just about to come under attack by citizen initiatives. Lakes used by seaplanes for decades suddenly present a safety risk, or are portrayed a  a risk-factor in environmental pollution. Even invasive species are often wrongfully named as causal and closely connected to seaplane activity, even though such claims are largely unsubstantiated. Local ordinances prohibit or prevent our flying activities without much public fanfare and sometimes, fighting town-hall on such issues comes at large financial expense for litigation. The amount of trouble is truly staggering, when the pink sunglasses come off. Lets add to this another important factor, which does a lot of damage – sometimes irreparable in nature- and bare all recourse. Transport Security Administration and FAA seek to control, monitor and change how Americans perceive aviation safety and security. Feeling depressed or discouraged? That’s not the intent of this article, so please keep reading.

What do we need?

When we select which association to belong to, be it the NRA, AOPA, EAA, SPA or even our local cucumber growing club, we must have a reason for it. Many associations come with amazing magazines, online and in print, weekly newsletters, interactive websites, message boards, some even tweet, blog & facebook to share in the joys and enjoyments of our industry. You sure get 10% off your insurance policy with a monopoly insurance company, rent cars at a discount and sometimes you can even destroy your credit, while pumping 20% interest into some credit card scam, available only to members. While the selection and printing/ publication of many magazine and blog articles and news reports are driven by how well they fit into the magazines purpose and agenda, much is also dictated by advertising customers who have spent astronomical fees to have their adverts displayed. Ask yourself the following questions, when trying to evaluate something’s community value: Would your honest and factual review of Garmin’s customer service be printed in a magazine heavily subsidized by Garmin? Could you talk about Cessna or Beechcraft in a magazine that depends upon advertising revenue from just these companies? How about the discussion board? Word travels fast online, hence a single vent or rant can reach hundreds of members almost instantly. Consequently, association message boards are kept squeaky clean when it comes to discussions between members about certain practices or problems. Heavily moderated under the premise of “must be aviation related” all association MUST constantly monitor and censor things. Some say that it isn’t so, but after ~ 2 years as an association message board administrator (volunteer service, by the way!) I can attest to this fact. Message boards are intended and provided for PR purposes and positive news only. All else is perceived as a liability and risk to advertising revenue. Discussion boards can reveal a lot of things never printed and make painfully clear if your association leaders or representatives are up to par with what their members think. Sometimes there are challenges in reacting and responding to concerns and trouble, too. Communication skills and skin thickness can be tested, often with amazing results. But most of the time, management and leadership remain largely absent and non responsive to anything for fear of actually having to answer to their members. Being accessible and having to provide specific answers in a transparent/ public setting is perceived as dangerous. It is safe to assume that I could prove this statement to be true and factual in a court of law. Even in the independent discussion board arena, litigation sometimes sets the ultimate tone and direction as I have learned.

To be continued in Part II…

Click to visit SeaplaneAdventures.ca!

Seaplaneforum.com is proud to have welcomed it’s newest supporting industry member, providing seaplane instruction, dry lease and consulting as well as block time rentals to interested pilots and students. I am proud to have this operation in my industry supporter network, helping me to provide more services and a better, more modern services to our community while at the same time enjoying an affordable way to share the word.

Welcome SeaplaneAdventures.ca!

It will not matter what you owned or owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It wont matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived at the end. It won’t matter if you’re beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So, what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built. Not what you got, but what you gave. What will matter is not your success, but your significance. What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage and sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.  What will matter is not your competence, but your character. What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss, when you’re gone. What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.

A life lived that matters is not of circumstance, but of choice.

]]> http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/what-will-matter/feed/ 0 Jason Baker 298986_194092800668328_159928490751426_425046_957831240_n http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/the-guitar-5/ http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/the-guitar-5/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:54:18 +0000 JaJaBa http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/?p=1753 ]]>
]]> http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/the-guitar-5/feed/ 0 Jason Baker http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/2011-in-review/ http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/2011-in-review/#comments Sun, 01 Jan 2012 02:38:46 +0000 JaJaBa http://jasonjamesbaker.wordpress.com/?p=1733 ]]> The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 13,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.