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A “New” Way to Get Around

Jul 28th, 2010

| Posted in Aviation, Business, Environment, Politics

As an employee of a major airline, I probably shouldn’t like this idea. However, as an environmentalist, opponent of traffic jams and the hassles (sorry, boss!) of airline travel, I see some benefit in high-speed rail.

My experience with trains involves not high-speed rail but slower commuter rail in major cities – London, Paris, Washington, Dallas, New York, and Chicago. I was always impressed by how many people these subway and light rail systems could move around. Jenny and I have taken the Trinity Railway Express to downtown Fort Worth and the American Airlines Center many times to avoid traffic and parking hassles.

Admittedly, I don’t know much about high-speed rail. I know they are popular and very successful in Europe and Japan. In terms of carrying a person or pound of cargo a given distance, they use less fuel and produce fewer emissions than a car, truck, or plane. Sure, even a high-speed train is much slower than a jet. However, if you account for the chance of flight delays and the extra time and trouble you spend at the airport prior to the flight, the difference in overall travel time drops.

Leaders in Texas have discussed a high-speed train network to link Dallas, Houston, and Austin at various times. It appears to finally have a chance of success thanks to significant private investment. Southwest campaigned strongly against the idea in the early 1990s for obvious reasons. You won’t see me campaigning against my employer, but I think the idea is at least worth considering.

Check out this article in Time for details about high-speed rail possibilities in the U.S., particularly in Florida.

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Knowing All the Answers

Jul 27th, 2010

by Andy

| Posted in Cool Sites, Faith

The other night I spent some time talking to a family member about our faith. For reasons I still don’t understand, she sometimes wants my opinion on a particular Biblical issue. Although I’m honored that she would want my opinion, (“The most important men in town will come to FAAAAAWWWWWN on me…”) I feel badly that I can’t always give her the answers she wants.

We both grew up in the Baptist tradition, which in our case emphasized (among other things) Biblical inerrancy, apologetics, and certainty of one’s faith. For a given spiritual question, such as the Problem of Evil or the once-saved, always-saved debate, there was a right answer from the Bible that we needed to know and be ready to defend. Looking back, I can’t remember how much of the obsession with the “right” answer came from the church and how much came from my own perfectionistic and logical personality. I’m sure both played a role.

As I grew older, through a variety of life experiences and much soul-searching, I realized some things:

I didn’t really have all the answers on matters of Christian faith, or at least that I didn’t like some of the answers I had to some of life’s toughest questions.
What various churches taught and emphasized didn’t necessarily match what the Bible taught and emphasized.
Different Christians, all well-meaning, could interpret the same Bible and understand the same God in vastly different ways.

These realizations scared me in ways I cannot fully express.

I might never forget one lecture at Baylor. A prof was describing a Civil War battle. Prior to the battle, the Union troops prayed to God for victory, believing he was on their side based on their interpretation of the Bible and their religious traditions. At the same time, the Confederate troops prayed to God for victory, believing he was on their side based on their interpretation of the Bible and their religious traditions. Both sides prayed to the same God and read the same Bible. Both sides thought they were right.

The fact that the Union ultimately won the war is irrelevant. What blew me away was the idea that the Confederate faithful thought they were right but were actually wrong. If it were possible for them to be so badly mistaken in one’s understanding of the Word and God himself, what made me so sure that I was correct in my own understanding?

I wrestled with that idea for a long time. I still do to an extent. Finally, in ways I can’t fully explain other than to give God the credit, I found a way to return to a faith that I don’t fully understand, a faith for which I don’t have all the answers. When someone asks me a spiritual question, and I don’t have a solid answer, I can finally respond with, “I don’t know”. And be OK with it.

Thanks to BagOfNothing, I found a really interesting blogger and author named Rachel Held Evans. I’m still exploring her site and don’t necessarily agree with everything she writes (like anyone else). In fact, I guarantee some of you would disagree with her on some points. However, I really enjoy her perspective on Christianity so far. One post in particular, “Ten Things I’m Not Ready to Give an Answer About,” really resonated with me. Check out her site and see what you think.

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Our New Ride

Jul 26th, 2010

by Andy

| Posted in Aviation, Work

Ever since I started at Southwest, I’ve wanted to participate in a new aircraft delivery, the process of picking up a shiny new 737-700 from Boeing’s 737 factory in Seattle. After 9 years of waiting, I finally have my chance this week, and Jenny gets to go with me!

From what I hear, these delivery flights are tons of fun, with a more relaxed atmosphere, free food, and great memories with old friends and new ones. Several of my coworkers and leaders plan to attend. A couple of the senior management pilots will serve as the crew. Lord willing, we will fly from Dallas to Seattle Thursday afternoon. That evening we’ll meet some of my colleagues and leaders at a party at the crew hotel near Sea-Tac (SEA). Friday morning, we’ll take a shuttle to the factory at Boeing Field (BFI), have breakfast, visit the Boeing Store, take pictures of the new plane, and then fly back to DAL enjoying that new-plane smell.

At some point Friday morning, the SWA bigwigs will write Boeing a really, really big check (figuratively, I assume), and the Boeing bigwigs will transfer title for the aircraft to SWA. In some ways, it’s like buying a new car, just a lot cooler and more expensive. List price for a new 737-700 is $58.5-69.5 million, depending on configuration. I’m sure we get some sort of volume discount.

I’ll post pics over the weekend!

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Pottytraining – End of Week 1

Jul 25th, 2010

by Andy

| Posted in Brenden

We’ve gotten through one week! It has crossed my mind that someday Brenden might not like having had all the details of his pottytraining days posted on the Interwebs. May he forgive me.

He’s actually doing pretty well. At home, he is in underwear when awake and pull-ups when asleep. Away from the house, it depends. Most of the time, he’s in pull-ups there, too. Jenny did take him for a haircut Saturday morning in underwear, and I’m proud to say he had NO accidents! As he grows more reliable, we’ll try going other places that way. Overall, I’d say we have a 70-80 percent success rate. We ask him repeatedly whether he needs to visit the potty and also take him there frequently, which makes a big difference. Each success earns him a sticker on a chart. Once he fills the chart, we take him somewhere fun such as Baskin-Robbins or Chick-Fil-A. Although not always pleasant, this is an exciting time, and we’re proud of our little guy who’s not so little anymore.

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I Want to Wipeout

Jul 25th, 2010

by Andy

| Posted in Fun

I’ve been on break the last week, staying home with the family to relax a bit and help with pottytraining. That’s why the blog has been so quiet lately. But now I’m back at the grindstone, which means I should be able to post more frequent updates.

One of my most interesting accomplishments during the break, other than not getting peed on (I don’t think), is applying to be a contestant on ABC’s hit game show called Wipeout. In case you haven’t seen it, Wipeout sends contestants through four wacky obstacle courses as they compete for $50,000. As they go, the hosts provide commentary that’s one of the best parts of the show. Just watch it. You’ll understand.

Jenny and I discovered Wipeout right after Brenden was born. We are big fans of other obstacle-course shows like Ninja Warrior and MXC, so we gave Wipeout a try and rolled with laughter. Unfortunately, Jenny’s c-section incision didn’t really appreciate the show’s humor, but she was having so much fun that we kept watching anyway. After that, we were hooked.

I filled out an online application and now must wait for a phone call that would invite me to LA for an interview. I have no idea what my odds are, but surely thousands of people have applied already for Season 4, which airs next summer. If I do manage to get picked for the show, I would spend a week in California for taping at some point this fall or next spring.

To wish me well, the correct lingo is “Good luck, and big balls.” You’ll understand once you watch the show. =)

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Pottytraining – Day 2

Jul 18th, 2010

by Andy

| Posted in Brenden

Operation Pottytraining is underway! We have now completed Day 2. As expected, it’s been stressful, with a mix of success and failure. Day 1 was actually better than Day 2. He understands that using the potty is the way to go, but his body doesn’t always cooperate. I’ll spare you the details. It’s bad enough having to deal with them ourselves. From what we’ve read and heard, Day 2 and sometimes Day 3 are the hardest. We are pressing on and hoping to build on our progress tomorrow. Go Brenden Go!

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