Firing up your plasma cutting system might be a fitting tribute to the momentous event that happened 40 years ago today. Here's why.

When Neil Armstrong planted the first lunar footprint, the world was watching with an excitement most famously seen in our recently departed Walter Cronkite, who removed his glasses, shook his head, and chuckled in amazement. He could hardly contain his excitement. The country's most trusted newsman was speechless.

That amazement has waned over the decades, as stated in the numerous opinion columns that dot mainstream media today. Back then we had a wide-eyed optimism of what humans could accomplish, and, of course, we had a "bad guy"—the Soviet Union—to beat. After we spent billions and found that astronauts walking on the moon did not make for exciting television, Americans tuned out. While TV science fiction took us at warp speed to a new adventure every week, real space travel seemed slow, laborious, tedious, and expensive. Space travel lost its romance.

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If any state could use some good news, it's Michigan, which is on track to reach an unwelcomed milestone: 10 consecutive years—a full decade—of job losses. The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that of the 49 metropolitan areas with a population of one million or more, Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., has the highest unemployment rate at 10.6 percent, 3.4 percent higher than the 7.2 percent national rate.

In last night's State of the State address, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm said, "I will not sugarcoat the severity of the crisis we face. This past year has been brutal." Before launching into the list of actions her administration is taking to improve conditions, Granholm warned that things likely will get worse before they get better, but they will get better.

Efforts to improve conditions received a shot in the arm yesterday when Gov. Granholm announced that the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) is helping 10 companies grow in Michigan and is backing four brownfield redevelopment projects. Now that's good news.

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When watching your satellite TV or talking on your cell phone, do you ever think about all the satellites that circle the earth? Do you ever wonder how many there are? Which country has the most? What would happen if they began to fall back to earth?

To tell the truth, I never gave it much thought, until I read a news account about today's Atlantis space shuttle landing that said, "NASA wanted Atlantis back as soon as possible to clear the way for the Navy to shoot down a dying spy satellite on the verge of smashing into Earth with a load of toxic fuel. The missile could be launched as early as Wednesday night from a warship in the Pacific."

I have to say, those two sentences captured my attention, and I wanted to learn more.

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On Sunday, after the Thanksgiving guests departed, with enough turkey leftovers to last for the next few millennia or so, and with my wife and 9-month-old daughter out at a brunch, I had a quiet moment to sit.

Yes, sit. And as any parent knows, sitting is not something somebody with a 9-month-old takes for granted.

For one blissful hour, it was just my paper and me. Paging through the business section, I saw the usual company profile the paper runs on Sunday. This week it was on a health care firm specializing in case management. Other Sundays have featured debt collection agencies, payroll service firms, information technology firms, more IT firms, health care services, health care services, and did I mention health care services?

Not often do you find a manufacturing firm, and judging by the attendees at the FABTECH International & AWS Welding Show earlier this month, I can honestly say our newspaper is missing out on some insightful stories.

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It’s refreshing to hear someone speak frankly about a subject without business jargon or feel-good mumbo jumbo sprinkled throughout the conversation. They are speaking off-the-cuff and obviously have enough confidence in themselves or their support structure to not think twice about being candid.

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Last week Chew Choon Seng hosted a symbolic event in aviation history. The CEO of Singapore Airlines threw a party more than 30,000 feet in the air, where he strolled the aisles in his company’s new crown jewel: the Airbus A380. After years of delays, the thing is finally airborne.

From Singapore’s Changi Airport direct to Sydney, Australia, the inaugural voyage lasted seven and a half hours. The flying behemoth has a wingspan of more than 260 feet, about 50 ft. wider than Boeing’s 747-400. Technologically, it’s an engineering marvel.

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