The Government, Air Traffic Control, and You

Reason.TV takes a look at our airplane industry and why it's plagued with delays. The libertarian news source seems to believe it's because of  the industries use of extremely outdated technology that has been in use ever since the invention of air traffic control. The reason why the technology is so old, they explain, is because of politicians and their bureaucracy and tons red tape. "The problem is how politicians spend money." says Reason.TV. The poor use of appropriated funds and the constant struggle of red tape all combine to cause old technology to remain in use. Reason.TV brings up suggestions that have been made about the U.S. turning over its air traffic control system from the government to a privately owned company. Politicians disagree citing that giving control to a private company could endanger airline passengers because selling air traffic control is like selling safety to the highest bidder. Canada has already implemented such a plan. A private company, Canada Air, runs air traffic control in Canada. Even though a private company runs such a vital part of air travel, Reason.TV reports that air flight has become safer. Why? Because a private corporation can more easily spend money to appropriately update equipment as necessary. With such compelling positive evidence of a privately run air traffic control scheme, it has yet to be seen whether or not the US will relent control in exchange for safer flights.

The Dreaded First Draft

     I thoroughly enjoyed a recent excerpt we read from Blackboard called, "Shitty First Drafts" by Anne Lamott. Lamott gives a humorous take on having the chore of writing the first draft of a paper. She begins by announcing that few writers, no matter how good, can pull off an amazing first draft. Most writers, like herself, agonize over having to being the writing process as it is not a simple accomplishment. To help herself begin, she likens the writing of a first draft to becoming a child and letting whatever nonsense you can imagine to come through onto the paper. She says that writing unrestrained could produce something brilliant that couldn't be had through more mature means.

     Personally, I enjoy this take on writing a first draft. Usually, when I sit down to write something I can feel dread creeping up because writing isn't something that comes easily to me. However, I do feel that after reading this article that I was doing my first drafts all wrong. I had the feeling that my first draft should be close to my subsequent drafts in substance and quality, but now I realize that this way of writing is unnecessary. The "child's draft" idea showed me that the first draft should be whatever first comes to mind when writing and all the other attempts made should be more refined. Putting myself in some stuffy writer's shoes, it's easy to understand how this way of writing could be seen as a bit sloppy and unhinged. What in the world could writing like a child accomplish? But I say give it a try, it could make writing more engaging and fun. I know that when I'm writing my first drafts, especially this upcoming one, I'll let the words come fluidly and see what happens. Who knows? With the right start I could come out in the end with something to actually be proud of.

Response to Sarah's "Sky News Orders All Journalists to Install Tweetdeck."

Sarah wrote about the article "Sky News Orders All Journalists to Install Tweetdeck" which discusses Sky News' decision to make tweetdeck a mandatory application for it journalists. Sarah had some criticisms against Sky News dictating their journalists social networking options and had thoughts that it could become a distraction. I believe, however, that Sky News could be on to something. With sites existing like Twitter that can be up to date with the latest news down to the second, it seems like a journalist would thrilled to have access to such a tool. Journalists are always looking for the biggest news story, and they want to be the first to report it. An app like twitterdeck could be extremely useful to help accomplish that. When these reporters are up to date with the latest news, it means that the listeners and viewers of the news will be too. With these kinds of benefits it hardly appears like a minute or two of simple distraction could be a serious problem.