We finally get some concrete answers two years after the disappearance of adventurer Steve Fossett. Investigators have  determined that strong winds probably to blame for his plane crash.

From CNN:

Investigators said that downdrafts — strong downward currents of air — along with thin air and a mountainous terrain contributed to the crash, the National Transportation and Safety Board said in its report on the accident.

The board’s findings are in line with witness testimony revealed in the agency’s March report: Fossett’s single-engine craft was fighting headwinds.

Fossett took off from the airport of the Flying M Ranch outside Minden, Nevada, on September 3, 2007, for what his wife described as “a Sunday drive,” according to the report.

Fossett, a daring adventurer, in 2002 became the first person to circle the globe solo in a balloon, and three years later was the first to fly a plane around the world solo without refueling. He also set world records in round-the-world sailing and cross-country skiing.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that the probable cause of the accident that killed famed businessman, pilot and adventurer Steve Fossett, was his inadvertent encounter with downdrafts that exceeded the climb capability the Bellanca 8KCAB-180 he was flying.  The Board said the mountainous terrain and the high density altitude, existing at the time, also contributed to the crash.

The accident occurred on September 3, 2007, at Mammoth Lakes, California.

Fossett was on a local personal flight, which ground personnel thought would last two to three hours.  When the airplane failed to return, it was reported missing and a search was started. No ELT (emergency locator transmitter) signal was ever detected, and the Civil Air Patrol suspended its search activities after about a month.  Approximately one year later, a hiker found some of Fossett’s personal effects, which led searchers to the Bellanca’s wreckage in remote mountainous terrain at an elevation of 10,000 feet. 

Radar data from September 3, 2007, revealed an airplane track flying south, along the crest of a mountain range with elevations greater than 13,000 feet, which ended about one mile northwest of the accident site.

An examination revealed that the airplane was on a northerly heading at impact, indicating that Fossett executed a 180-degree turn after radar contact was lost. Ground scars and distribution of the heavily fragmented wreckage indicated that the airplane was traveling at a high speed when it crashed in a right wing low, near level pitch attitude. A post impact fire consumed the fuselage, with the exception of its steel frame. The wings were fragmented into numerous pieces, and the ELT was destroyed. Damage signatures on the propeller blades and the engine crankshaft indicated that the engine was operating when it struck the ground, and an examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any malfunctions or failures that would have prevented normal operation.

At the time of the accident, mean winds at 10,000 feet were from 220 degrees at 15 to 20 knots, with possible some gusts of 25 to 30 knots. Moderate turbulence and downdrafts of at least 400 feet per minute probably occurred in the area at the time of the accident, which “likely exceeded the climb capability of the airplane,” the Board concluded.

Fossett made his fortune in the financial services industry, but he was best known for his many world records, including five nonstop circumnavigations of the Earth as a long-distance solo balloonist, as a sailor, and as a solo flight fixed-wing aircraft pilot. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon.

* Ottawa’s surplus shrinks further in December (National Post)

OTTAWA — The federal government posted a small surplus in December, of $241-million, down nearly 90% from the same year-ago month, based on deep declines in corporate tax and GST revenue.

* Grocers say manufactureres are pricing goods too high (Dallas Morning News)

There’s a tug-of-war under way over food prices between the supermarkets and giant food manufacturers such as Unilever, Kraft and Kellogg.

* Morgan Stanley predicts downtrun will be worse than the Depression (Nick Fletcher, Guardian Unlimited)

Some bleak predictions from Morgan Stanley this morning including the forecast that UK profits could fall by 60% in the current downturn – a worse performance than the great depression of the 1930s.

* Report details last Fossett flight (Tracie Cone)

FRESNO, Calif. A camper who believes he saw Steve Fossett’s plane moments before Fossett slammed into a Sierra mountainside says headwinds were so strong that day that the plane appeared to be “standing still,” according to a federal report released Thursday on the 2007 crash.

* Oil rises above $44 despite grim US economic news (Pablo Gorondi)

Oil prices rose above $44 a barrel Friday on investor optimism that falling U.S. gasoline costs amid the worst recession in decades may increase demand for crude.Dollar weakness also helped boost oil prices, although gains were limited by news that the U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 8.1 percent in February, up from 7.6 percent in January and the highest since late 1983. Companies cut 6…

* Oil leaps 6% to US$42 on gas supply drop (Reuters America)

NEW YORK — Oil prices jumped 6% to above US$42 a barrel on Wednesday, after a U.S. government report showed a sharp drop in gasoline inventories in the world’s top consumer.

* Half of state’s drill rigs idled (Nancy Lofholm, Denver Post)

RIFLE The number of rigs drilling for natural gas and oil in Colorado has plunged 46 percent in the past year one of the steepest declines in the country. But the permits to drill new wells are up, indicating energy companies might be willing to at least bet on a comeback.

* Oil jumps 4% to US$44 Thursday (Reuters America)

NEW YORK — Oil jumped more than 4% to US$44 a barrel on Thursday on expectations OPEC will cut output again and on signs of a rebound in gasoline demand in top consumer the United States.

* Canadian Natural Resources needs gas prices to recover (National Post)

CALGARY — Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. said it needs natural gas prices to recover to the range of $6.50 to $7.50 per thousand cubic feet before it ramps up drilling in Alberta, regardless of new royalty incentives introduced by the province this week to stimulate activity.

* Exxon Mobil flexes its financial muscle in tough year (Houston Chronicle)

If ever there was a time for the worlds largest publicly traded oil company to reap the benefits of hefty financial and operational muscle, its now, Exxon Mobil Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson said Thursday.

Chasing the Wind: The Autobiography of Steve Fossett is available at Amazon for $16.47. To Order click here
Amazon Product Pages contain a lot of other details on this product as Customer Reviews, Sales Ranking, Special Offers, Alternate products that customers are going for and much more.Want to read these details? click here

Want to get some other Format / Binding / Version? You can search for them from here

Other Products of Interest

• Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons In Life (Quick Reads)
• Losing My Virginity: How I’ve Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way
• Racing on the Wind: Steve Fossett (Shockwave: Social Studies)
• No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World’s 14 Highest Peaks
• Screw It, Let’s Do It (Expanded Edition): 14 Lessons on Making It to the Top While Having Fun & Staying Green

After twice trying to find a doctoral program that satisfied my intellectual curiosity while giving me the tools and credentials I need to become a university-level researcher and teacher, I’ve decided that the time is now for me to finally make it happen.

To anchor this desire to a tangible goal, I will give myself until Tuesday, December 1, 2009 to prepare and submit all of my applications to doctoral programs. From this point forward I will refer to this date is my “PhD-Day.”

Why this date? Simple: of all the doctoral programs that interest me, December 1, 2009 is the first application deadline for fall 2010 enrollment. This is the date on which I will finally take that “one giant leap” into my long awaited career in academia.

Although circumstances beyond my control were partially the reason behind my pulling away from my doctoral pursuits, I know now that I was also not clear enough about my goals. I just wanted a doctorate and did not give any meaningful consideration to the discipline in which it was anchored and how that would impact my future career options.

Previously I thought having a PhD qualified you to teach any subject, but I now realize that, with rare exceptions, the discipline in which you earn you PhD is the discipline in which you will concentrate your research and teaching.

Knowing the purpose of a PhD is to, as one of my colleagues comically suggests, know more about less, I must start with a question of “what” first, then determine “how.” I have therefore stopped first looking for a program (the “how”) that I will then try to make work with my interests (the “what”).

Instead I will take the opposite approach and first determine the topics I want to research and teach (the “what”) and then find a program that offered opportunities to study it (the “how”).

After evaluating what most interests me, I realized it had been staring me in the face the entire time: social media. I have previously mentioned my interest in this burgeoning topic in previous posts and in my list of research interests, so this is not breaking news by any means.

However, I have finally embraced the idea of studying it academically so I can understand it as a researcher and not just as a user.  Specifically, my research interest is to investigate the impact of social media on the creation and distribution of information.

What is social media?

I define social media as follows:

Social media includes information generated with and shared by individuals using various web-based tools including blogs, message boards, video sharing sites, wikis, chat, IM and similar technology.

I also feel it is related to concepts such as crowdsourcing and collective individualism.  Social media also touches on the idea of distributed computing, though in the case of social media the “nodes” are human and not computers.

In a more abstract interpretation, social media could also cross into the realm of artificial intelligence – especially as the tools we use to connect socially online continue to become more intuitive and personalized to each user.

The main use of social media is knowledge sharing among individuals for the greater good. However, it can also be leveraged (or exploited, depending on how you look at it) for commercial gain. Of course, marketing in this medium is not without its challenges and it certainly can’t be done in a traditional way (e.g. forced and artificial vs. the natural, organic feel of true social media).

Beyond products, people who participate in social media often market ideas or even products by the information they share (consider the metoric rise of Barack Obama who, despite your political persuasion, was impressively effective at using social media in his presidential campaign).

Social media can also be used as a training and development tool.  As a father to a child diagnosed with autism, I also wonder how social media might help my son learn social skills and share information in a virtual environment. As a parent, I have already been impressed by the power of social media to connect me with important information and individuals focused on autism.

I am also fascinated by the thought of using social media to enable many individuals to complete parts of a larger task (what first piqued my interest in this was when Steve Fossett went missing and there was an attempt to find him using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, even though that effort was not successful in finding him).

Clearly, social media can be both a communication tool and a marketing channel. I am interested in social media in both of its forms. It intrigues me that technology can so intensely enhance our human experience.

How will I study social media?

My investigation into current doctoral programs that include social media revealed it is relevant to several disciplines. Information Technology/Computer Science and Communication are the two I have most frequently found. Social media is also relevant to the disciplines of Psychology, Marketing and Sociology. Given the impact social media has had on the workplaces, Management is also a reasonable discipline in which to study it.

It makes sense that social media crosses into several disciplines — it is quite pervasive, but can also be investigated from many different angles. Perhaps what angles I want to study, or maybe how I want to study social media, will ultimately dictate the discipline within which I will investigate it further.

At the moment my assumption is that I will most likely be studying social media either within a Communication or Marketing program.

Where will I study social media?

Given my practitioner mindset and entrepreneurial orientation I would like to be able to teach in a business school. To do that I will need a PhD from an AACSB-accredited program.

However, given my background in communications and journalism I wonder if Communications would be a more suitable environment (especially since I am not as interested in traditional business subjects like finance and economics)?

I am still evaluating my options, but right now my top choices include the following (in alphabetical order):

• Claremont: PhD in Management and Information Systems (Interfield)
• Claremont: PhD in Management and Organizational Behavior (Interfield)
• UCLA: PhD in Marketing (Anderson School of Management)
• UCSB: PhD in Communication (Technology and Society Emphasis)
• USC: PhD in Marketing (Marshall School of Business)
• USC: PhD in Management (Marshall School of Business)
• USC: PhD in Communication (Annenberg School for Communication)

Aside from the obvious criteria of being accepted into a program is the issue of funding. Having already borrowed my way through an MBA program, my goal with the PhD is to get the cost of the program covered while also earning additional income through fellowships and other related methods.

Why do I want to earn a PhD?

I have always wanted to understand why and how certain things work (or don’t work). Whether I am contrarian by nature or unquenchably inquisitive, I was never satisfied with a surface level answer about anything. My problem was, and remains, not having the proper “tools” with which to conduct proper inquiry.

I also fundamentally enjoy creating and sharing knowledge. Looking back to my years in journalism, I think the desire to craft a story and share it with readers is related to the same idea. Notably, I recently learned the first academic paper I wrote and presented was referenced in a book called “MBA in a Day” and an article I wrote about non-profit fundraising five years ago in Marketing News (the bi-weekly trade paper of the American Marketing Association) was cited in a recent academic paper.

I was energized knowing that something I wrote helped someone else create something of their own. I want to be an active part of this process. On a related note, my experiences at academic conferences were unquestionably positive and motivating. I relished those opportunities to exchange ideas and information with difference people, creating knowledge in the process. This is why I am so endeared to the concept of “generative learning,” which Peter Senge defines as learning that “enhances our capacity to create.”

My long term purpose in embarking on this undertaking is to secure a position at a university where I can engage in active research while still teaching. I have been adjuncting online and in person for roughly 18 months now and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It has been a very liberating and affirming time for me, especially when I continue to get positive reviews and comments from students. But I also want to be adding to the academic dialogue, not just guiding students to a basic understanding of what has already been produced.

Also, although I have no pressing desire to go back to the corporate world, I am open to partnering with industry on research and also potentially consulting on the side. I just really don’t want to have to worry about red staplers and TPS reports! Even when I was in industry I tended to approach things in a more intellectual way than most. I even had two managers with whom I had good relationships tell me I was definitely “an academic” and would do well in that world.

I am a thinker and a tinkerer, but not a hard-core corporate type. I enjoy discussing and debating a topic sometimes more than “doing” whatever that topic is related to. For example, I enjoy the concept of branding and understanding how people develop allegiance to a brand, but don’t necessarily want to go launch a branding campaign.

How will I stay focused on my goal?

Staying focused on achieving my goal of earning a PhD will be challenging, given the various personal and professional obstacles I will need to overcome to see it through. At the same time, I find myself thinking about a PhD with increasing frequency: it is something I must do, not just something I want to do.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of distractions. Ironically, during the past eight months, I have repeatedly encountered one kind of distraction while driving to and from my adjunct teaching job: a delivery truck with graffiti on the roll top door that reads “PhD.” I am sure this is some tagger’s initials, but for me it represents and reminds me of my dream: a PhD.

What makes it more significant to me is that I have seen it numerous times — driving north or south, in the morning or afternoon. Usually I encounter it on or near the Grapevine portion of Interstate 5. I am unsure where it is driving to or coming from, all I know is I have seen it numerous times — at least a half dozen.

Perhaps this truck is my albatross — or maybe its just coincidence? Maybe it was sent by the “PhDMV” to keep me on track?

Below are two photos I took of the truck on March 25, 2008 while heading home from DeVry (southbound on Interstate 5). Following the photos is a short video clip I filmed the morning of October 6, 2008 while heading north between the base of the Grapevine and the split between Interstate 5 and Highway 99 North (near Lebec, CA):

What are my next steps?

Now that I have defined and committed to this ambitious goal, how do I intend to achieve it? My next steps include the following:

• Thoroughly research the PhD programs at the aforementioned schools.
• Read “The Craft of Research” and write a specific research statement.
• Begin reviewing the academic theories relevant to social media.
• Speak with colleagues and mentors to understand my options.
• Start writing my statement of purpose.
• Explore grants and scholarships.

See you in a year on PhD-Day!

Madera (California), 4 Novembre 2008 – Sono stati ritrovati i resti di Steve Fossett, il miliardario statunitense scomparso il 3 settembre del 2007 dopo essere decollato dal Nevada. La conferma arriva dall’analisi del DNA, effettuata su due ossa umane recuperate a circa 800 metri dal luogo dove è stato rinvenuto il relitto dell’aereo del ricco aviatore americano.

Le ossa sono state rinvenute la scorsa settimana, insieme alle scarpe da tennis di Steve Fossett e la sua patente di guida. Secondo lo sceriffo di Madera, John Anderson, l’uomo sarebbe morto sul colpo, e probabilmente i resti sono stati spostati dagli animali.

Il video del ritrovamento del relitto

• via: quotidianonet.ilsole24ore.com

De Standaard levert vandaag weer een sterk staaltje journalistiek af. Wat gooit de kwaliteitskrant vandaag voor nieuws op mijn bord? Een aantal artikels die mij moeten verzekeren dat hun eerdere berichtgeving wel degelijk… juist was!

Leest u even mee op krantenkoppen.be:

Moet ik dan gaan twijfelen aan de juistheid van alle eerdere artikels in De Standaard die NIET achteraf nog een keer bevestigd werden? Doen de journalisten van De Satandaard these days aan voorwaardelijke journalistiek?

Ce qui va suivre est une bien humble réflexion, qui trouve ses racines dans le questionnement qui suit : comment pourrait-on collectivement amoindrir un système où certains talents sont plus payants que d’autres? Bien sûr, cette question est en lien avec le fait qu’actuellement le travail de certaines personnes réussit à peine à les maintenir à flot et que pour d’autres, on parle d’une vie très luxueuse. Il y a une grande différence entre le pauvre qui se « tue » à l’ouvrage et, par exemple, le milliardaire aventurier Steve Fossett qui est mort dans un accident d’avion. Et, on ne peut pas parler d’un côté comme de l’autre d’un travail surhumain. Mais il est certain qu’il y a un côté plus agréable à un qu’à l’autre, en dehors de l’impondérable. Aussi, je ne voudrais pas aborder le débat concernant les salaires mirobolants (pour ne pas écrire indécents) des dirigeants d’entreprises. À part les principaux intéressés, je me risquerais à dire qu’une bonne majorité est d’accord.

Sans vouloir tomber dans le socialisme ou le communisme, je me dis seulement que si les entreprises ne veulent pas, soit d’une coercition étatique intense qui leur enlèverait une part de leurs profits pour le redistribuer, soit des syndicats qui les obligent à payer un salaire tel et des conditions telles, il faudrait alors que ces entreprises soient elles-mêmes la réponse au problème. Je m’explique. Imaginez un système où chaque entreprise calculerait sa masse salariale en conséquence de ses profits. Un peu comme si chaque employé était actionnaire et profitait à la hausse ou à la baisse du fruit de son travail concerté. Y’aurait-il besoin de syndicat, de lutte pour des augmentations de salaire, de conditions, etc., si toutes les entreprises fonctionnaient de la sorte? En tout cas, entre autres, cela permettrait sûrement de hausser la performance générale. Se battre pour son propre salaire est plus encourageant que de se battre pour ne pas se faire mettre à la porte par son patron…

Et surtout, la plus grande question : pourquoi une entreprise qui ne permet pas à ses employés de bien vivre du fruit de ses labeurs pourrait-elle survivre et faire des profits? Oui, je sais que la notion du « bien vivre » est discutable et hautement subjective. Elle est aussi beaucoup comparative, dans le sens où un pauvre du Québec ne se compare pas avec un pauvre d’Afrique, mais bien avec un riche ou quelqu’un de la classe moyenne du Québec. L’impératif d’une société n’est-il pas le bonheur de la totalité de ses individus selon l’étalon de sa culture? Si la culture fait en sorte de maintenir de la pauvreté dans sa société, il est là le problème.

Et par culture, on s’entend que la culture d’entreprise en fait hautement parti. Dans mon idée, le pouvoir de ces entreprises est la solution, et elles devraient voir leur participation à la société comme un beau défi, et non seulement considérer la main d’oeuvre comme un dommage collatéral à la recherche de profit.

(Photo : Bēn on holiday )