October 2009 Archives

From CA Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter's Office:

Assemblymember Wilmer Amina Carter's Civil Air Patrol Employment Protection Act - Assembly Bill 485 - was signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger on Oct. 11. The measure assures that members of the all-volunteer Civil Air Patrol in the state of California will have employment protection after returning to their jobs from an authorized emergency mission.

AB 485 establishes a right to employment leave (up to 10 days a year) for members of the California Wing of CAP, which is an official Civilian Auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. The protection applies only when members are called up for an emergency by the U.S. Air Force, the California Emergency Management Agency or any subdivision of the state with the authority to declare an emergency.

Emergency operational missions are those that involve the saving or protection of life and property. "To perform search and rescue flights for several days and find out you've lost your job is devastating to a volunteer whose main purpose is to save lives," Assemblymember Carter said. "Until my bill was signed into law, CAP members only had the job protection rights given to them by their employers," she added. "Fortunately, employers have generally been supportive of the Civil Air Patrol."

"This bill enables us to respond emergencies that will help save lives and properties without this threat of losing our employment if we do so," said Lt. Col. Carl Morrison, co-chair of the California Wing's Legislative Committee, which is the principal sponsor of the measure. Similar legislation has passed in nine states. "We're very very pleased that Assemblywoman Carter has been willing to author this bill."

Assemblymember Carter said, "Their payment, for a CAP volunteer, is in the personal reward of contributing countless hours of non-compensated time. But the California Wing of the Civil Air Patrol can't be a consistent resource, unless they are fully supported for their patriotic service."

Every now and then you come across something and wonder "Why the hell didn't I think of that?" I just recently stumbled across a company called Sky Sectionals thanks to a buddy in Civil Air Patrol. All I can say is that THIS is the way the FAA should be distributing ALL charts these days!!! What a FANTASTIC product!

So for those of you that are not pilots and wondering why I'm ranting and raving about these guys, here's a little background. Aviation charts are typically these huge folded paper charts that are an insane nuisance and in my opinion a safety hazard in the cockpit. Sadly these are the FAA approved navigation charts and outside of products like Jepp charts (expensive), we don't have many options. To make matters worse, these charts are updated frequently and you end up having to buy them at least a couple times a year. Multiply that by the various number of charts we have to carry and this gets expensive and completely unruly in the cockpit.

In steps Sky Sectionals and puts technology to work for us. They take those very charts and have created digital versions that are distributed electronically. They are updated on the same schedule as the FAA certified NACO charts and they have even created a simple way to navigate the sectionals. You can print out an entire sectional or just the parts you need for your route of flight. I should point out that these are NOT approved by the FAA as your sole means of information so you should be cross referencing them with the certified FAA charts, but these are an absolute must in the cockpit in my opinion. They make managing your workload as a pilot a heck of a lot easier when in VFR flight.

For those of us who fly Search and Rescue, cockpit management becomes even more critical as we need to know precisely what grid we are in and searching. We need to manage flying the aircraft and looking out the window making sure we don't hit anything (especially here in WA where we fly low and slow through the mountains). Having these Sky Sectionals printed, laminated and spiral bound are the way to go. One drawback for us CAP pilots is having to take those paper charts and manually draw our search grids on them. It's super time-intensive and not always pretty or perfectly accurate. Again, in steps Sky Sectionals and gives us a lending hand by providing CAP pilots with gridded sectionals. Here's an example of a gridded sectional in the Seattle area:

If you are looking for a way to manage that workload in the cockpit and keep your charts handy and useful, give these guys a try! They have sectional and TAC charts covering the lower 48. For CAP gridded sectionals, contact them directly for the link to your area. Make sure you follow them on Twitter for updated news and coupon codes!

I've been sitting on this news for a while and can finally share it! This is great for those of you who live outside of the US or do a lot of traveling. If you travel outside of the country, with the current Kindle you have to make sure you download your books before you got on that plane. Now you will be able to access the Kindle store in over 100 countries INSTANTLY. This is great news for frequent flyers. There are quite a few other enhancements made to this specific Kindle which I think everyone will find to be a great boost in functionality. This is a lot more than a simple software upgrade so for you current Kindle owners, you cannot do a simple software update. This is physically different hardware in the product. There's plenty more good stuff coming from the Kindle team so keep your eyes out for additional coverage.

Here's a quick update from our founder, Jeff Bezos. The links in the letter below may not work, but you can get all the info by going to the Kindle page on Amazon.com

Ok, for all of you photo geeks out there, this one is for you. Sadly, as an employee at Amazon.com, I can't participate, but YOU can! Here's your shot at winning one heck of a grab-bag of goodies and a trip to Yellowstone National Park.

From November 9 through 15, just create, add to, or share a Wish List, and you'll be invited to enter for a chance to win our Yellowstone Photo Expedition with Canon Sweepstakes. Read more in the FAQ. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. See official rules.

		1. Yellowstone Photo Expedition with Canon We'll fly you and a guest to Yellowstone National Park where you'll stay two nights at Old Faithful Lodge. Your days will be spent in a private lesson at the elbow of Adam Jones, a leading photographer and instructor in Canon's "Explorers of Light" program.
		2. Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera Of course you’ll need a camera that will capture every moment. This digital SLR features an impressive new viewfinder and plenty of extras.
		3. Canon 200DG Digital Camera Gadget Bag Protect and carry your gear like a professional with this spacious, water-repellent bag.
		4. Canon Deluxe 200 Tripod Stillness is one of a photographer’s best friends. This lightweight tripod with multiple adjustments will help you stay focused.
		5. Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash This amazingly responsive flash unit will help keep your subjects out of the shadows.
		6. Canon Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Plenty of breathtaking vistas await you. Get the expansive landscape in frame with this wide-angle lens.
		7. Canon Telephoto Zoom Lenses Creeping up on wildlife is against park rules. Keep your distance but feel just like you’re there with a pair of telephoto lenses.
		8. Canon Macro Lens Transfixed by the intricate underside of a fern? This macro lens will keep the memory alive.
		9. Canon Lens Hoods You’ll see a dramatic difference when you’re in control of your lighting. These lens hoods will help you master Mother Nature.
		10. Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler's Companion to the National Park From Old Faithful to the Yellowstone caldera, you’ll be able to find all the best spots for shooting in one of the country's most popular National Parks with this guidebook.

more details after the jump...Good luck!!!

Times are rough out there these days. I know of all too many of my friends that have fallen victim to the economic times and just simply weren't prepared. I've always been of the mindset that you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to revenue streams to support your family. Hence, I've always had a business on the side I can fall back on if the unimaginable ever were to hit. And believe me, during the dot com bust, it hit...and it hit HARD for us. Thankfully I was prepared and we survived.

So ever since jumping back into the corporate world full time I've kind of slacked off and haven't been doing a whole lot to secure that additional revenue stream and it's something that has really been bothering me, especially given the recent conditions. I've thought about starting up my consulting practice again, but seriously folks...who has the time anymore, especially when I have a full time gig? Thankfully an old buddy got in touch with me on Facebook recently and he happened to remind me of a great opportunity that can bring in some pretty decent revenue or become a full time income if you choose to make it such.

Some of you may or may not have heard of Pre Paid Legal. In short, it's legal insurance for those times when you simply have a legal question or need an attorney to write a letter on your behalf (and much more). I had a PPL legal plan for over 10 years prior to going to work at Microsoft. When I went to Microsoft, they had their own legal plan so I cancelled PPL and took the MSFT plan. Well, I recently left Microsoft and lost that benefit. In walks my buddy Dave and reminds me of this benefit. What perfect timing! So obviously I went ahead and reinstated my legal coverage and just found out they have a pretty killer Identity Theft Protection plan as well now. That was another one that was simply terrifying me. I can tell you from witnessing what happened to a close friend what having your identity stolen can do to your life. To make a long story short, my buddy, an incredibly talented and high level executive, went through a living hell for over three years trying to clean that mess up and the worst part...nobody would hire him for those sensitive high level positions until that mess was cleared up. This is seriously insane stuff here folks. Thankfully he was able to get it cleaned up (at a great expense) and is now back in full swing. But that's several years of his life he'll never get back.

I've used Pre Paid Legal in the past for everything from traffic tickets to an issue with the IRS which thanks to PPL, they saved me over $10,000 that the IRS was wrongfully trying to claim. PPL has paid for itself many times over. I can't recommend the service highly enough.

That brings me to the income side of this. There is an opportunity for anyone to become an independent associate with Pre Paid Legal and not only sell their services (with a nice commission and residuals), but you can sponsor other folks into their own business. Yes, the compensation structure is based on a Multi-Level Marketing structure, but it is NOT anything like the creepy MLM's that are all over the internet. This is a completely LEGIT business with an incredible amount of clout and endorsements from business journals to all 50 Attorney Generals in the US. You won't have to go door to door, and you don't have to buy your laundry detergent, toilet paper and chewing gum from any specific organization. :)

If you are looking to replace a lost job and work for yourself, this may be a great solution for you. If you just want a little spare cash for doing fun stuff every month, this is also a great way to do that. You get out of it what you put into it. Here's a short video explaining the business side of things:

Working this is not hard at all and if you know anything about social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) then it's even easier for you than for those that may not be Internet savvy. if you think this is something you'd be interested in, I'd love to tell you more. You can start by going to my site at: https://www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/abisono and view the information or email me from the site. If it's not your thing, at least now you know what's out there. Peace out peeps!

Frank