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Just row

By Dave English

The siren birds look cool, flying around free in the sky. Odysseus is the hero we hear about tied to the mast, getting to listen to their siren song. But better to be the oarsmen. Heads down, doing the work, no distractions. Sometimes we have to ignore the sights and sounds out the window, or in our head, and just row! The vase is an Attic red-figure stamnos from Vulci c. 480-450 BCE depicting the myth of Odysseus tied to his ship’s mast in order to resist the enchanting song of the Sirens. It’s in the British Museum collection. The … Continue reading Just row

Screwdriver meet screw

By Dave English

This Gary Larson Far Side cartoon is good for a giggle. But some of us don’t see a school for the mechanically declined. We see a masterclass. The best coaches, leading the best players, winning the biggest trophies, taught this way. Back to basics meets beginner’s mind. Vince Lombardi is considered by many the greatest coach in football history. Won the first two Super Bowls, never had a losing season in the NFL, had a 90% winning percentage in the postseason. In the book When Pride Still Mattered: A Life Of Vince Lombardi we’re taken to the start of his … Continue reading Screwdriver meet screw

Put your eyes here

By Dave English

Overheard from my third-grader’s zoom classroom — “Put your eye’s here Alex”. Very clear directions from an experienced elementary school teacher. A teacher who knows if you’re not looking at the words, you’re not reading the assignment. So simple. But very powerful for him, and me. Because last night I read in the excellent 2019 book Controlling Risk: Thirty Techniques for Operating Excellence, by five-time Shuttle commander Jim Wetherbee, of the same idea. When he was a Navy A-7 pilot there were several crashes caused by computer limitations that forced pilots to manually enter navigation coordinates while flying close to … Continue reading Put your eyes here

Flying fatigued, from 1890

By Dave English

On 12 July 1890, in Eastleigh, England, the London & South Western Railway had a collision that resulted in one fatality. A light engine ran some stop signals at North Junction and then crashed into the rear of a freight train. The accident report cited the cause as the engine driver and stoker failing to “keep a proper look-out”. Pilot error you might say. However, it was speculated in the report that both men were “asleep, or nearly so”, having been on duty for over sixteen hours. So while the driver was the immediate cause of the crash, the deeper, … Continue reading Flying fatigued, from 1890