PinoyOtaku's Xanga

Charity/Intiative of the Week: i'm

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 05:19:54 GMT

Well, this is the first time I'm posting a Xanga entry in ages...might as well have it aligned to a good cause:

I'm sure a few of you are wondering why I have the word "i'm" next to my name and random aviation news tidbits in MSN Messenger so here's a summary of the background of it's existence. I hope I'll be able to see more people adding this to theirs as well!

Charity/Initiative of the week - i'm

What is i'm?
I didn't get cut off when typing that: it's the name of the initiative that was created for Windows Live Messenger. There are nine organizations that is partnered with i'm:
The American Red Cross
Boys & Girls Club of America
National AIDS Fund
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
ninemillion.org
Sierra Club
StopGlobalWarming.org
Susan G. Komen for the Cure
The US Fund for UNICEF

How does i'm work?
Basically, for every conversation started with i'm, Microsoft donates a portion of the advertising revenue to one of the nine organizations that you choose to support. It's like GoodSearch but for an instant messaging client.

What can you do to support i'm
Just follow these steps:
- First, you join by submitting your nation of residence.
- Next, you download Windows Live Messenger 8.1 but if you already have it installed, skip to the next step.
- From there, you click on the arrow next to your name and select "Options" on the drop down menu. From there, you type the text code of the organization of your choice next to your name.
- Click Ok, start a convo, and you're good to go!

Thanks for reading again and I'll appreciate seeing more i'ms pop up in my friends list. :)

Friday, August 25, 2006

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:52:34 GMT

Ok here's the synopsis: the reason why I was on a hiatus for the past week was because I was hospitalized in UCLA Medical Center. I was supposed to be discharged in Wednesday but was postponed until yesterday.

- One of my friends from Taiwan arrived Wednesday, the day I got discharged, and left LAX yesterday morning for PDX/Portland, Oregon...right before I got actually discharged. Supposedly I was going to assist in the transit process but instead was just a few miles north...
- I got discharged after finally making a bond with fellow patients, especially this one person. I found out 3 hours before I got discharged that he is an avid aviation enthusiast and frequent flier. I never had an intellectually stimulating conversation about mileage runs in AGES.
- I wanted to stay longer BUT there was one reason I decided to get discharged yesterday: because I was supposed to fly TODAY. But guess what? I will not be able to fly due to the fact that the staff and my parents want me grounded from the skies due to the fact that I'm still undergoing treatment. Better yet, it was decided 7 hours before my first flight!

I missed my friend's transit in LAX by one day and get discharged with some discomfort but did it anyways to fly today only to find out I won't be doing just that.

This fucking sucks...

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 21:12:19 GMT

Disregarding my current condition and the FAA being able to issue me a medical certificate currently, this article talks about a factor on why I looked way from becoming a commercial pilot and instead aim for the medical field. It's sad, really, that I'm forcing myself away from my passion and people always mention that I am going to regret not going with what I love the most. But there's always that desire (more like an ideal, maybe?) of comtting oneself to help others as a medical professional. I guess that pretty much sums up why I decided to defer going to college for at least a semester... If I do decide to turn back to aviation, it's going to be a long, uphill battle in a volatile industry...but in the end, it will pay off.

Anyhow, on to the article...

The Glory Days are Over
BY BARRY SCHIFF (From AOPA Pilot, June 2006.)

Barry Schiff retired from TWA in 1998 after a 34-year career with the airline.

I have been agonizing over the topic of this column for a few years, not knowing if I should publicly air my personal thoughts. Not to do so, I finally concluded, would be intellectually dishonest. So at the risk of attracting flak, here goes.

I was hired as a pilot by Trans World Airlines in 1964. This was during the glamour years that began after World War II. Airline salaries were rising, working conditions improved with every contract renewal, and airline pilots earned approval and respect from every quarter. On international flights, airline pilots were treated like royalty.

No one working for Pan American World Airways or TWA during this period could possibly have anticipated the demise of their airlines. These were cultural icons of the twentieth century. At one time, TWA's logo was the second most recognizable in the world (Coca-Cola's was the first).

The death knell for this era sounded on October 24, 1978, when President Jimmy Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act. The long-term result for pilots was etched in stone. There would be an erosion of wages, working conditions, pensions, and job security.

Things got worse after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Because of the need for additional security, airline pilots are locked in their cockpits behind bulletproof doors and suffer the indignity of coordinating trips to the lavatory with flight attendants.

The glory years are gone.

I could not have been prouder when my son Brian was hired by TWA in 1989. Although conditions had declined, being an airline pilot was still a great job. He upgraded to captain on the Boeing 727 11 years later. He worked harder and earned a smaller salary than I did many years previously.

TWA was assimilated by American Airlines in 2001. During the next two years Brian went from left seat to right seat to the street. He had been furloughed and eventually found a job flying Learjets for a Part 135 operator. He now flies as captain of a Canadair Regional Jet for a commuter carrier.

Like thousands of others who have been furloughed from the majors, he has no idea when he will be recalled. It could be many years before Brian again sees an American Airlines' flight deck. Another of my sons, Paul, began to satisfy his desire to become an airline pilot in 2000 when he was hired by Trans States Airline, a company that operated TWExpress, US Airways Express, and AmericanConnection. Paul discovered after 9/11 that he was not making headway in accruing seniority.

He opted to leave Trans States and obtain a more promising position with United Express. He worked there for three years, during which he had as many changes in domicile, and discovered that the most he had earned after six years as a commuter pilot was less than $30,000 per year. He again foresaw little potential for a career like I had and with great mental anguish opted to change professions.

Paul recently started a pet-supply company, gets to spend every night in his own bed, and has an opportunity to develop a social life.

Paul says, "It is relatively easy to get a job with a commuter carrier, but not because these carriers are losing pilots to the majors; they are not. The attrition rate at the regional level is high because so many pilots reach their limits of endurance and quit. They find it too difficult to live on starvation wages. There usually was nothing left in my wallet after shelling out for commuting and crash-pad expenses."

Although these are anecdotal experiences, my frank and personal discussions with numerous other airline pilots corroborate my feelings about the state of the airline industry. I can no longer encourage aspiring airline pilots without first ensuring that they understand the treacherous and daunting journeys typically required to reach for such lofty goals.

Do not misunderstand. Maneuvering a sophisticated aircraft from one place on Earth to another remains a stimulating and gratifying endeavor (although I think it was more fun with less automation). It is the price one must pay to get there that is so discouraging.

I frequently am asked for advice about becoming an airline pilot. The best advice I can offer is to simultaneously develop a sideline vocation. A pilot should never get into a position that is totally dependent on income from an airline.

Does the end justify the means? Does becoming a captain for a major airline justify all that must be endured to get there? Perhaps, but surviving long enough to get there is the problem.

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Thu, 29 Dec 2005 02:45:34 GMT

Well X-mas was pretty good...well though we didn't do much, it was great to be w/ family again. I hope you guys have had a good one as well as a safe new years! :)

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Sat, 24 Dec 2005 20:04:26 GMT

Wow...I feel like I missed out on someone amazing four months ago...and it took me four months to figure that out how amazing that someone is! Well, I just want to wish the best of luck to you...I hope that you will be able to meet your dream and become something that I had once thought and sometimes still think of becoming, an astronaut.

"Per ardua ad astra." "Through struggles to the stars..."

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Thu, 22 Dec 2005 09:23:15 GMT

Well it's been a while...but this Xanga is alive once again. XD

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Thu, 08 Sep 2005 22:50:31 GMT

Arkan - Macross Zero OST

Dans le calme du soir
Lève les yeux afin de voir
Apparaître et scintiller
Toutes les étoiles

Dans le repos brille Arkan
Illumine la terre soura mayan
Ainsi la mer reflète Ohra
Qui s'élève vers l'infini soura-misône

Monday, September 05, 2005

Mon, 05 Sep 2005 05:44:02 GMT

I finally have a new hero...

...Filipino-American comedian Rex Navarette is truly awesome!!!!! XD

Here's a couple samples of his works:

SBC Packers

Badass MADAPAKA!

And a classic...

Maritess vs. the Superfriends

...and I can't believe I got to meet him! He ACTUALLY came up at our anime retail booth in Pacific Media Expo....omg and his performances made my day after a rather boring and stressful day...especially after getting a few cases of SEVERE ridicule from the boss. -.-;

Friday, September 02, 2005

Fri, 02 Sep 2005 16:27:06 GMT

As I prepare close another chapter in my life...

Today marked the end of my one year hope and my three year loyalty to the institution I called my alma mater... Within the next three to four weeks, I will begin a new, yet short, segment of my life. I am sure some have noticed that I have been slowly severing ties from the past. I believe it would be the best to continue on our own paths without having myself create hardships that would affect others. I just want to give my farewell to those whom made my experience in Paraclete truly memorable and I wish the best of luck to you all. Thank you for those three years.

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Wed, 31 Aug 2005 22:40:51 GMT

Katrina Death Toll May Be in the Hundreds; Rescues Continue

Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- The death toll from Hurricane Katrina, which ripped through parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama this week, may be in the hundreds as rescue efforts continue after what U.S. and state officials say may be the nation's worst natural disaster.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued thousands yesterday in the New Orleans area, which remained flooded in water as deep as 20 feet, after rescuing about 1,200 yesterday, the agency said on its Web site.

At least 50 people died in Harrison County, Mississippi, including as many as 30 in a Biloxi apartment building that collapsed, Mississippi Emergency Management spokesman Jim Pollard said in an interview yesterday.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour put the death toll as high as 80 in Harrison County, in an interview on NBC's ``Today'' show yesterday, while the New York Times, citing an emergency management official, reported that 100 were killed.

About 1.4 million customers were without power late yesterday from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, down from more than 2.1 million earlier in the day, according to estimates from Entergy Corp., Cleco Corp. and Southern Co., the parent of utilities in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The estimates were in statements on company Web sites.

A 200-foot-long stretch of a levee in New Orleans overflowed, flooding some streets, Trooper Markus Smith, a spokesman for Louisiana state police, said in a telephone interview yesterday. About 80 percent of New Orleans was under water, Governor Kathleen Blanco said in a televised press conference yesterday.

The U.S. National Guard was called into downtown New Orleans as people looted stores along the city's Canal Street, Cable New Network reported.

The American Red Cross is housing 70,000 people in 230 shelters, spokeswoman Laura Howe said. The shelters give food, water and toiletries to people forced from their homes by the hurricane.

Hilton Hotels Corp., the No. 3 U.S. hotel company, said yesterday that it closed 17 Louisiana hotels to arrivals until as late as April 2006 because of hurricane damage.

President George W. Bush declared parts of Mississippi and Alabama major disaster areas, freeing up federal disaster aid. He plans to return to Washington today because of the hurricane, cutting short a vacation at his Texas ranch, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. The president may visit the affected areas by the end of the week, McClellan said.

Katrina, which slammed ashore in Mississippi at daybreak Monday with winds as high as 140 mph (225 kph), is now a tropical depression with winds of about 30 mph and is forecast to head through parts of upstate New York, New England and Canada by Sept. 2.

U.S. insurers such as State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. said the destruction left by Katrina means it may be days before they can determine claims that storm modeler AIR Worldwide Inc. yesterday estimated could reach $25 billion. Researchers said the storm may be the second-most expensive in U.S. history.

UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, Southwest Airlines Co. and Delta Air Lines Inc. canceled flights into Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport through at least tomorrow. Delta canceled flights to 11 other airports from Louisiana to Florida while Southwest will begin flying out of Jackson Municipal Airport in Jackson, Mississippi, today after canceling flights.

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