Writings, Thoughts & Presentations

The Spirits of Christmas Past

By December of 1776, the Revolutionary War was going poorly for the Americans. George Washington needed a victory to inspire his small Army and fellow patriots. Realizing that it was the custom in colonial times for European military units to celebrate Christmas, Washington brought several…

Fall of the Berlin Wall

Collapse of the Berlin Wall plus 20 By Mark Lindberg, Mountain View, CA (revised November 2009) Shortly after his election in 1980, President Ronald Reagan scarred the stripes off the suits in the State Department by calling the Soviet Union an “evil empire”. Also…

The American Cowboy

Pundits (Time Magazine, July 10, 2006) attempting to criticize politicians using an analogy of “The American Cowboy” might find their argument counter productive. A few “cowboys” who have served as US Presidents include Teddy Roosevelt (Rough Riders), Dwight Eisenhower (a few years in the US…

Where is the Engine?

Aviation leaves many vivid memories. A first airplane ride, solo, Private license, seaplanes, cross country trips, etc… etc.. Last Saturday on the North Shore on Oahu, Hawaii, I added a few more memories.. On a previous trip to Hawaii several years ago, I managed to do…

The A-BOMB Decision

August 6th 2005 is the 60th anniversary of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. While there are still people who second guess that decision, events surrounding two WW II Pacific operations will clearly demonstrate the wisdom to quickly win WW II against the Japanese…

Ford Motor Company, Happy 100!

Organizations are often mixture of fundamental philosophies. For decades, the electronics industry in Silicon Valley has nicknamed the categories of Engineering as nerds, Financial as bean counters, and Marketing as glad handers. Long term survival appears to require a delicate balance of all three, and…

Events Leading to Independence

The Declaration of Independence is a remarkable document. To better understand and appreciate what we celebrate each year on Independence Day, I would like to share some of the background leading up to the July 4, 1776 approval by the 2nd Continental Congress. From the…

D-Day Remembered

On June 6, 1944, selfless courage by free people on a colossal scale responded to a dozen years of European tyranny. Put the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, LA on your historical travel plans. Long before dawn, several hundred thousand Allied soldiers huddled aboard…

Robert Kennedy and Ronald Reagan

By Matt Neely and Mark Lindberg Matt Neely and Mark Lindberg are next door neighbors on Cypress Point Drive in Mountain View. MN has a John Kerry for President in his window and ML has a Re-elect Bush-Cheney in his window. Robert Kennedy and Ronald…

A Century of Flight

For thousands of years, the speed limit of transportation was no faster than Paul Revere’s famous ride in 1775. And the pony express quickly gave way as the steam and internal combustion engines multiplied “horsepower” for another century. But even the best locomotive was hard…

POLITICS, TEXAS STYLE

Two avocations are sacred in Texas: Friday night high school football, and politics. In 1986, a business trip to Austin afforded me the opportunity to taste pure Texas politics. It was late spring and the season of the Texas primary. The state’s beloved bluebonnets had…

Selling an Old Friend

Bud Klingman arrived in the Bay Area from Georgia to purchase my Cessna 170(325DE) on a Thursday near the end of April during one of the rainiest years in California history! We managed a test flight between storms, and Bud agreed that the Franklin 165…

The Sun was Behind Me

In August, I combined a business trip to Oregon in my Cessna 170 with some airport hopping. I loaded my 10 speed bicycle, tent and sleeping bag and about 9AM on Friday departed Palo Alto, CA with the sun behind me, and headed Northwest for…