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Many TV programs discussing the John. F. Kennedy assassination started with the question: “Where were you, and what you were doing when you heard about Kennedy’s assassination?”. And not surprisingly, almost everyone did remember precisely where he was and what he was doing. Amazingly, when I was writing this piece, I had a strong urge to say that even I remember what I was doing when I heard of the assassination. Obviously, that would have been a lie. The simple reason is that I was born only one year and three weeks before the event, and to the best of my recollection, there are no recollections from the age of one year… I can only assume that this event was discussed within the family, and on the news media so extensively and over many years, that a false memory has been created for it in my mind.
September 11, 2001 was different. I was almost forty years old, and I remember clearly where I was. I was at IBM HRL (Haifa Research Lab), Omega building first floor. And what I was doing – assigning bugs to my team members. I remember clearly one of my team yelling in the hallway: an airplane just hit The World Trade Center. At that time, like many others, we didn’t even think it was a planned act of terrorism. We assumed an accident. But a few minutes after that the second building was hit, and quickly the assumption of accident was put to sleep.
I remember clearly that I started a short lecture explaining how strong the buildings are, and how they are built to sustain impact. I was talking about the steel beams that went deep into the ground to support the structures. I also remember running to the nearby gym to watch CNN live, and to my amazement, watching the first building completely collapse into itself, and then the other. Refusing to believe my eyes.
Then I drove home, spending the entire time talking to my brother, speculating about how our regional situation in Israel will change as a result. Israel was in the middle of the second Intifada (uprising of the Palestinians) following the failed Peace Talks after Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated (yes, I clearly remember where I was and what I was doing during that even as well). We both agreed that the understanding that Muslim Fundamentalism will have to be stopped, and that if America will put its mind to it, Israel will also benefit from it. We were very obviously wrong. America went into two strange wars, and was entrenched in passenger screening, bag checking and Homeland Security issues.
It’s 10 years later. Afghanistan is still showing some stamina, Iraq (no sign of Weapons of Mass Destruction) is still not a very peaceful place, add to that the revolution in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Syria, and the outstanding fusion of Turkey into an Iran-like country, and of course Iran – the ultimate Muslim Fundamentalist state, with an option – an option for Nuclear weapons. Add to this equation the upcoming Palestinian State (no doubt in my mind that this is a reality, not a fantasy), and the current Israeli government who will do absolutely nothing to strike the so needed peace. What do you get? An explosive Middle East. Literally, the world’s most important oil producers are dancing with Olympic style Flame…
September 11 knocked down the US to its knees. Not because it suffered a direct attack on its own soil, something that didn’t happen for a hundred years prior to September 11 2001. The US was down to its knees because 9/11 changed the American life style. There is more tracing, eavesdropping, following, surveillance, reconnaissance, inspections, questioning. There is less human rights when it comes to suspicion. And most amazingly, it hurt the economy. It hurt the economy real bad.
After a decade of listening, reading, watching documentaries and fiction about the event that is similar in size to Pearl Harbor and the assassination of JFK, I can suggest the following. I mourn for the people who died, I salute the NYPD and NYFD for being real heroes, I respect the new measures taken for security, I’m not sure what the US is doing in either Afghanistan or Iraq, I’m hoping that the US economy is back, big time, and I really, really miss the times when if you didn’t have luggage to check in, and you had a boarding pass, you could just go to the gate, board, and fly. I miss the times when I didn’t have to strip, remove my belt, my watch and be checked. But most, I miss the Great American Spirit. Yes, the US is still the most potent country in the world. Its economy is number one. But its spirit is not the same.
I think we live in an extremely interesting times. Yes, like the Chinese curse: “May You Live in Interesting Times”. Between the collapsing world economies, the starvation in Africa, the natural disasters, the rising religious fundamentalism, I think we live in interesting enough times. It’s time to bless everyone: “May You Live in Really Really Boring Times”…
I drove to the Seattle airport way too long before the recommended check in time. The reason was simple, there were road closures, and I didn’t want to be late. I returned the rental car and went to the terminal. After a couple of hours I boarded the plane back to Beijing. It was a Boeing 767. Immediately my mind took me just a few hours earlier to the Boeing plant just outside Seattle, where I visited the world’s largest airplane factory.
 It’s exactly a week since the visit and the following flight, and truthfully, it’s been on my mind for the entire week, I just had no idea how to write in down. The few hours of visiting the Boeing plant outside Seattle, where the manufacturing of the 747-8, 767, and the brand new 787 Dream Liner happens. We arrived at the plant early in the morning. Approaching the plant, the tour guide started to point out the huge buildings, the manufacturing plant, the three airfields, the museum. And amazingly, the presence of Boeing can be felt everywhere. The manufacturing plant is the largest building in the world. This building, by the way contains quite a few world records. The largest doors, the largest painting on a door, and a few more. When asked, the tour guide said that the building is not air conditioned. Amazingly, he said, during the winter the building is heated with 1 million light bulbs, body heat of the thousands of staff, and the heat generated by the tools they used. During the mild summer, the windows around the ceiling are opened, to get the air moving. The building maintains a stable temperature of about 75 F.
Then we walked through a three quarters mile service tunnel and took elevators to the different viewing platforms for the different manufacturing lines. The first was the 747-8. There were three or four of them on the manufacturing line, I can’t remember as I was watching intently what was going on just below the level I was on. Each of them was in a different stage. It was amazing to see an airplane on the manufacturing line.
But on a personal note, flying with El Al, Israel Airlines, who use the 767 on their Tel Aviv Beijing line, I was absolutely sure that this airplane was decommissioned years ago. During this trip I learned that not only other airlines are using newer, better maintained 767 planes. I learned that they are still being manufactured… Well done Delta Airlines! Flying the Beijing Seattle line on your 767s was actually and surprisingly a pleasure.
Lastly, we saw the brand new member of this amazing pack. The Boeing 787 Dream Liner. First of all, admitting my own ignorance, I was surprised to see how small the airplane was. I was expecting something monstrous like the Airbus A-380. Instead, I saw a relatively small airliner, which can serve anywhere between 210-290 passengers. I then realized the difference between the Airbus strategy – carry more passengers (525 to 853 in a single class configuration) across hubs, saving costs based on moving more passengers across hubs, vs. the Boeing strategy – eliminate hubs based on carrying more passengers directly to their destination. The Boeing 787 Dream Liner is cost effective, as it weighs 20% less and needs 20% less fuel. In addition, the manufacturing of the 787 takes place in multiple places, and complete assemblies are flown into the Seattle plant. (They are flown using a very funny looking modified 747 cargo airplanes, whose entire nose moves on hinges to accommodate the large, very large pre-assembled parts). The assembly of a brand new 787 takes, please have a seat, three (3) days only. Outstanding.
Given the published number of firm orders (236 for A-380, 821 for the 787), I guess one of the strategies has already won. Given a personal friend testimony on flying on an A-380 (overcrowded, too long boarding and disembarkation processes, little leg room), it seems that the Dream Liner, despite its delays and problems, has already won.
But there was another point. The Project Manager or Program Manager viewpoint. I have been in software development my entire career. I ran projects and I ran programs. I must say, visiting the Boeing plant made everything I was ever part of dwarf into oblivion. The magnitude of the task is colossal. Three million parts, dozens of miles of cable, engines, wing and tail assemblies, etc. Ordering, supply, transportation, must be one amazing task, or rather list of tasks… I stood there in awe, admiring what I have just seen. And then, at the end, did what every proud American would do: rushed to the gift store and purchased some stuff: a T shirt, a baseball cap, and two sets of playing cards with the 787 print…
I strongly suggest, take it back, I highly recommend, if you are in the Seattle area, seeing the Boeing museum “Future of Flight”, and taking the manufacturing line tour is an absolute must. If you’re a project manager, a program manager, or anything to do with development of anything, this tour is mandatory!
In Seattle? Absolutely. Just went for a couple of hours, visited Hamilton Viewpoint Park and Pike Place Market. Frasier, and Sleepless In Seatlle did indeed cross my mind… (Thanks Bamdad!)
No matter how you look at it, whether you’re an Apple fan or not, whether you have to have the latest iPod, iPhone, iPad, iMac, iWhatever or not, today, August 24, 2011, is a sad day for everyone who’s been involved in the computer industry. Steve Jobs resigning from Apple marks an end of an era. I must admit that I was just about to say the Steve Jobs is one of a kind. But I have half an ear tuned to CNN, and Leigh Gallagher, an editor at Fortune Magazine chose a better word: “Singular”. She said Steve Jobs is singular and that there will never be another Steve Jobs. I always thought that Singular is used in Math, Astronomy or Religion. Well, coming to think about it, being one of a kind super star, who some elevated to a level of Deity…, I guess all three still hold for Steve Jobs.
The sad part is that he is not leaving out of choice.
I wish Steve Jobs a long and healthy life, and let him know (I’m sure he does), that he was, is and always will be an inspiration to many.
 I am visiting in Bellevue Washington, USA these days meeting with colleagues at Microsoft. I always get excited when something out of the ordinary happens. Seeing a shooting star makes me feel good and fortunate in a way, as it doesn’t happen very often. Nothing exciting in things that happen daily. Anyhow, I saw a Delorean the other day. A Delorean. Now how rare is that? About 12000 were ever made and the approximate number of cars running today is about 6500 (most likely a lot less than that). For those who remember the movie series of “Back to the Future” (actually one real movie of Back to the Future and two not particularly good sequels), the rime machine car was a Delorean. I was fortunate enough to have seen the original car (I believe there were at least a couple) at Universal Studios in the mid eighties – all shiny and centrally located. I was fortunate again to have seen it last summer at Universal studios, much less shiny and placed in a much less central location.
Just to put things in perspective. There are maybe 6500 Delorean still running according to Wikipedia. I seriously doubt it, but lets assume so for a minute. There were over 35 million Toyota Corolla sold up to 2007 (the number is probably doubled by now).
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