Wrong Airport: Not Pilot Error

Occasionally, pilots will mistaken one airport for another, and even land at the wrong airport.

Today, though, an air traffic controller mistook another airplane for mine. It's an honest mistake by the controller and it was never a safety issue.

You can hear us discuss which airport I'm looking at in this two minute audio clip. (I compressed seven minutes of audio down to a couple of minutes by removing dead air and conversations with other aircraft.)

Here's what's happening in this audio clip from this morning...
(My call sign is "Skylane November Niner Three Bravo Zulu," sometimes shortened to "Three Bravo Zulu"):

1. I check-in with the tower controller at Palomar Airport in Carlsbad by letting him know that I'm 4,500' off the coast of Encinitas, south of the airport (heading north) and I ask for landing instructions.

2. He tells me to make "left traffic" (left turns) to runway 24 (two four), which makes sense based on my position.

3. About six seconds later, the controller changes his mind and tells me to continue north, up the coast, past the airport. He tells me that I'll be making "right traffic" (right turns) to the runway which makes sense since I'll be north of the airport. He clarifies that he'll tell me when it's time to turn in to the airport. This procedure isn't uncommon if there's other traffic that would be an issue.

4. The controller tells me to turn right when I'm over the (Carlsbad) power plant.

5. The controller then tells me to turn right a minute or two later, which I do.

6. The controller then tells me that it looks like I'm heading to the wrong airport (Oceanside Airport).

7. I tell him that I'm looking at Palomar Airport and he tells me that I'm looking at Oceanside Airport.

8. I tell him that I'm lined up perfectly with the runway's centerline. At this point, I'm only a couple miles from the correct airport in Carlsbad (Palomar).

9. He asks me to "ident" which means he wants me to press a button on my airplane's transponder to send out a signal that will flash on his radar screen.

10. He sees my ident and realizes his mistake by saying, "Roger," and tells me to continue flying the traffic pattern I'm flying. He briefly asks me to maintain my current altitude before letting me descend. He points out some other traffic which he wants me to follow into the airport and then clears me to land.

Tah-dah! That was my Sunday morning. All's well.

Seven Weeks of Solitude

It's been more than seven weeks since I last left my home for any reason. (Technically, I did venture a few feet into the street to put out the trash.)

As bad as it seems to be cooped up for several weeks, it pales in comparison to spending a year out at sea. But, I can’t really complain since I have everything I could need or desire in my home and yard.

So, it was time for me to finally venture out. There's only so much sun I can get on my hammock.

Operation: Grocery (Prime Now vs Instacart)

I haven't left my home in more than four weeks. I can count on one hand the number of people I've interacted with, in real life. All of my face-to-face interactions have one thing in common, they bring me food, groceries, and other things to eat.

For me, it's not as bad as it sounds. I have gone days without seeing daylight, while under the ocean in a submarine. Plus, I spent a year out at sea and I've gone many weeks without standing on land or venturing more than 200' from my bed. So, I can sit still. I can be a human being instead of a human doing.

Since I work from home, I see my coworkers everyday in face to face meetings, online. And, like many others, I attend online happy hours with friends and coworkers on most days of the week.

Amazon Prime Now vs Instacart

The only thing I need, from time to time, is food. My best option is to have it delivered which has been working well with Amazon Prime Now and InstaCart. I've noticed a couple key differences between these two services.

I've been using Prime Now for several years. Amazon always seems to know what they have in stock, so what I order is delivered when I place my grocery order. However, it's been a couple weeks since I've been able to get a delivery window with Prime Now. So, I moved to an alternative, Instacart.

I've had a couple deliveries through Instacart. They don't always know what they'll have in stock, a couple days out. But they have a shopper who alerts me when they start shopping. Through the Instacart app, I can chat with my personal shopper regarding replacements. It works very nicely, albeit, Instacart is more expensive than Prime Now. 

The best part is that I can continue to add items to my Instacart order up until the moment my shopper begins filling the cart. That's come in very handy as I've realized that I've forgotten items in the days leading up to the delivery. More expensive, but more personal. That works for me.

Are You or Your Clients New to Working From Home? (Eye contact)

Click to see "Working Virtually Part 1"

Is your company new to working-from-home via teleconferencing?

One important point I can't stress enough, to set the tone for a close culture while apart, is to insist on using video.

I'm surprised how many people go out of their way to not use video. Look people in the eye. There's a lot more value than people realize.

Before entering a crosswalk, you'll look at a driver in the approaching car to make eye contact. The silent conversation goes something like this.

"Do you see me?" asks the pedestrian.

"Yes, I see you," answers the car driver.

"Great. Now I'm stepping out into the crosswalk in front of your car. Please don't run me over."

That entire conversation takes place with a momentary glance. That value also translates to teleconferencing. Do it via video.

We spend a lot of time looking at e-mail, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, computer code, etc. People are a company's most important asset, so don't forget to look at them, too.

Moderating a Panel

Moderating a panel of crowdfunding entrepreneurs.

Over the years, I've moderated and spoken on dozens of panels on entrepreneurship and tech. As a moderator, I've learned a few key points to make a panel run smoothly.

Do

1. Advocacy
For starters, the moderator is an advocate for audience. Don't be afraid to dig a little if it'll benefit the audience. You are the voice of the audience.

2. Questions
Hold audience questions until the end.

3. Panel Prep Process
Prep your panelists with basic guidelines by telling them:
a. Be succinct with answers.
b. Do not repeat another panelist's answers

Me, being introduced as panel moderator by Jerry Sanders,
CEO of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce and
former San Diego mayor and chief of police.

Don't

1. Don't moderate from a podium. A panel moderator should be seated with the panel.

2. Don't speak for a panelist. A good panel moderator can ask a question, even though they may already know the answer. The moderator should not show off how smart they. 

3. No PowerPoint during a panel unless it's virtual (online).

COVID-19 Soundtrack

The purpose of a soundtrack is to pair the mood to events through music. My favorite composer of the late 20th century is Philip Glass. His compositions arouse deep, longing emotions. When listening, I envision a great hero reaching for the heavens but falling painfully short.

Until the number of active cases dramatically decreases, this will get worse before it gets better. What gets me through each day is the knowledge that there's absolutely no doubt this first wave will end by summer. At one point, either enough people have contracted COVID-19 so there are no new hosts to infect, or we contain it through isolation and quarantine. Regardless, each day puts us one day closer to the peak and one day closer to resuming social activities.

COVID-19 Soundtrack

Looking back at how much better off we were last week elicits Opening:
http://mobile.joemoreno.com/Opening.mp3

Thinking about this current week evokes Facades:
http://mobile.joemoreno.com/Facades.mp3

Wondering about next week feels like Closing: http://mobile.joemoreno.com/Closing.mp3



Here are all three compositions, just shy of 20 minutes, in a single track:
http://mobile.joemoreno.com/CovidSoundtrack.m4a

Good Digital Hygiene

In the past ten days, nearly the entire knowledge workforce has moved into a virtual environment. Now is the time to begin practicing good digital hygiene. 

I'm lucky to work for a small data analytics firm where our workforce of two dozen people work from home. We have no corporate office. How good are we at working virtually? World class. Earlier this week we attended our annual offsite retreat. Originally planned for Pennsylvania, we moved, at the last minute, to cyberspace without skipping a beat. We even had a virtual happy hour at the end of each day.

Digital hygiene goes beyond cybersecurity. Security is a subset of safety that deals with protection from a conscious attack. Safety deals with more. It deals with protection from anything and everything – it's about being safe from harm.

Single Points of Failure

With many Stay at Home orders going into effect, it's important to recognize and think about options for newly emerging single points of failure which had previously been redundant.

What if my Internet goes down or my wireless router breaks? I no longer have an option to go to a cafe or coffee shop.

What if my computer breaks? I no longer have the option of going to the library.

What if my phone breaks? I can't schedule an appointment at the Genius Bar. 

Take care of your technology so it can take care of you.

Happy Hour

Happy hour with friends, lovers, and coworkers. 

Getting the Message Across

The New Yorker published an article, yesterday about convincing Boomer parents to take the coronavirus serious.

I've had conversations with my octogenarian mother, but it's not really sinking in. My cousin and I have been discussing the same issue that our other cousins are facing with their parent's. It's the same response we're hearing from our parents, "We can't just stay at home. We need to go out" and "We get stir crazy if we sit home too long."

A number of memes have begun circulating to address this.

We're not asking you storm the beach on D-Day. We're just asking you to stay home and sit on the couch.

Do you really need to go out to buy such-and-such? Would you go out to get it in the middle of a hurricane? Would you go out to get it in the middle of a blizzard? We're in a blizzard right now where the snow is invisible and it can kill you.

For anyone to go in public either means infecting others or getting infected themselves.

I told my mother that, if she wants to be alive at the end of this summer, she needs to stay inside.
Secretly, though, I fear it's too late for her. Last night, I had a Last Supper of sorts with my mother. The COVID-19 cases we see reported, today, in real-time, are actually from a about week ago since the virus takes four to 14 days to incubate. 

This past weekend, Italy updated their medical protocols so that people over 80 years old do not get a ventilator; instead, they get morphine. There simply aren't enough ventilators and there's no reason why that can't happen here once we run out.

What is Germany Doing Differently?

What is Germany doing differently with COVID-19?

If you know (and I mean know, not speculation), then tell me at on Twitter @JoeMoreno.

Germany: 7,272 confirmed cases with only 17 deaths.

France: 6,650 confirm cases with 148 deaths.

United States: 4,287 confirmed cases with 74 deaths.

Is Germany under reporting? Are they providing a different protocol for treatment? Or, are they simply a statistical anomaly?

Click to enlarge.

China has reported single digit new cases for the past few days. Their seemingly draconian solution was lockdown. As of this moment, I am only aware of one municipality that's done this in the U.S., which is San Francisco with a shelter-in-place order effective at midnight. The New Jersey governor is encouraging a statewide curfew going into effect 8 PM – 5 AM.