Mutual Exclusivity. Space, The Final Frontier. July 4, 1776.

Respect. We Should Know More. Independence.

  • I commented on this issue in a previous post when a National Football League quarterback, with great athletic ability and potential, decided to lead a movement of disrespecting the Honor Guard, the Flag, and the national anthem of the the United States of America. As Paul Harvey said in his commentaries, “you know the rest of the story”. The Women’s World Cup has again brought the same type of controversy to light as a very strong-willed American woman has refused to respect the National Anthem. Not in the same way as the fore-mentioned quarterback, but in a way that she feels clearly sends her message of protest against the President and his administration. Megan Rapinoe stands for women’s rights, LGBT, and many other issues that she feels are important. I have no argument and support her efforts to promote her causes, but I will state the same now as I did then with Colin Kaepernick: respecting our Flag, our Honor Guard, and our national anthem has zero to do with the President, the White House, and politics in general. If you are participating in an event and our Flag is presented and our national anthem is playing, and more importantly you are representing the United States as a national team player, show due respect to our past and present armed forces. Don’t put our Honor Guard, our Flag, and the national anthem between your support for causes and the White House. Don’t misunderstand – I do support the 1st Amendment and strong-willed people like Megan Rapinoe. I just feel strongly that politics and showing respect are definitely mutually exclusive. #meganrapinoe
Image result for megan rapinoe
Megan Rapinoe
  • Space, the next frontier is not just hyperbole. Just ask Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk. Their Blue Origin and Space X entities have provided the playbook for privatized commercialization of space exploration. They have provided NASA and the United States Air Force with the deployment of satellites at a fraction of the cost of previous space missions. In general I never really spent time thinking about space exploration, though I have watched a few liftoffs live, including the Space X launch early in the morning on Tuesday of last week. Over the last eighteen months, I have been involved with the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary project and celebration. The design and development of displays, exhibits, and interactives celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing has been quite the learning experience. The amount of historical information, the significance of landing on the moon, and Neil Armstrong’s first steps onto the moon’s surface are remarkable. For most people the significance is underwhelming, as few people around the world have spent the time learning and understanding the next frontier. The last three weeks were spent in the office during the day and at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center at night (installation of what we designed and produced can only be installed after all the visitors have departed). The twenty hour days were tough but the end result of this project and what it represents overshadowed the lack of sleep for me and the DesignShop team. If you ever have the chance, go to the Space Center and take the bus out to the Saturn V building. Understanding the dynamics of the Apollo 11 mission that happened 50 years ago is significant. It is really good stuff. #NASA #DesignShop
The Saturn V Three-Stage Rocket at the Kennedy Space Center Saturn V building. It weighed over 6 million lbs at takeoff.

Thursday is Independence Day. The celebration of the thirteen original colonies being declared independent from the monarch of Britain. Hopefully most of you have a long weekend, enjoy the fireworks, and most importantly fly your flag. Some of you are running the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta early Thursday morning. Have a great race and a fun time!! #independenceday

Adios, pay it forward, and have a Funday Sunday!

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