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(Being a pilot first, I'm kind of embarrassed to ask this question but...) I have to make a presentation next month at my MAJCOM for a project that I actually believe in and helped get off the ground. This project has awesome potential to save them hundreds of millions a year (not exaggerating for OPR purposes) without just pawning off all of the work and complexity on my fellow aircrew or really even support agencies. This concept is more a combination of a culture shift and integration of commercially available technology. I believe this presentation is the perfect opportunity to make an impression. By doing so, we can avoid months, possibly years of SSS and paperwork if we can get people with authority to champion the idea at the HQ level. We will have the numbers and the data to back up our plan. Now I know everyone just does the standard, boring Power Point presentation. But I've been to professional conferences and seen speakers give much more impressive presentations with flash-type diagrams and displays to make their point. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to use to make more impressive presentations? Just to clarify, I'm not looking for cheesy, fly-in PowerPoint effects or annoying transitions. This is for actual animations and or add-ons that might really be the difference between someone just glossing over another CGO/FGO type brief and remembering it for the right reasons. Thanks for any help in advance. And save flames for my PM box, I promise I'll read them and respond with similar fervor and cynicism!

M2, That has to be the most typical pass the buck answer that is given daily around the military. It gave me a flash back to base inprocessing! hehe

Prepare for a story... My wife was in a car accident this weekend in CA while I'm at Altus. Some bastard slammed into her car from behind while she was sitting at a light. Fortunately, she was uninjured. However her 2 year old car was not so lucky. Aditionally, when she called 911, they stated that the cops would not come out unless someone was injured. The guy who did hit her had insurance but we couldn't get in touch with a rep at their company on the weekend. We called USAA and they said that this guys insurance company was pretty crappy to deal with, set us up with a repair location, car rental and said for us to pay the deductable while they went after the other guy's insurance. At the repair shop, we learned that the total repairs would be about $7000 using aftermarket parts (which USAA requires if possible). To total the car, USAA uses the fair market value of the car using their KBB ($13,700) and it must exceed 60% of the cars value or $8,100. However, when I looked at Kelly Blue Book.com, I get a fair market value of $10,800. They said they use a different book. The bottom line is that there is substantial damage to the car. Right now it looks like crap (its about 6 inches shorter due to crumpling) and drives like crap. I want them to total it because I know from experience that repaired cars never drive the same. The car was only 2 years old and its not like my wife caused the accident. Plus there could easily be other issues that pop up after the initial repair that could drive the cost higher. Additionally, the car will be worth significantly less when we sell it because its been in an accident. I'm curious what I can do to encourage them to total the car. It's pretty close to being totaled even at their value. Plus I don't think I could've ever gotten the value they are talking about anyways. I think the whole KBB issue is a little odd especially for USAA. Just wondering if any of you guys/girls have any insight or advice...possibly even been through this situation before. Thanks

Sparky, congrats on a opening up the place. It sounds like you had a business opportunity and you took advantage of it! Best of luck!

If "Cock-PIT" doesn't work, what about THE PITstop?

Check out this website called http://www.Householdhacker.com They show you how to make an iPOD charger with an onion and gatorade. You can also power a TV with a AAA battery! I'm going to save the world with a thimble, a piece of floss and an egg. Jeff

That's a pretty pessimistic view! You might be right but I still thought the article was cool!

Saw this on DrudgeReport. Pretty awesome stuff that the Brits have revealed publicly. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...in_page_id=1811 Fair Use Excerpt: New technology that can make tanks invisible has been unveiled by the Ministry of Defence. In secret trials last week, the Army said it had made a vehicle completely disappear and predicted that an invisible tank would be ready for service by 2012. The new technology uses cameras and projectors to beam images of the surrounding landscape onto a tank.

Haha, thanks. I have a buddy who shall remain nameless that is very heavily involved in real-estate and he is still recognized as an awesome pilot and good at his "additional duty" similar to the one mentioned above. I think at the end of the day its about getting the AF job done while also taking care of yourself/family.

I put up half of the money for AimHigherJets.com to get it started with my dad. I also helped build the website. He now does all of the ordering and shipping. I don't really consider it a job though. I just help him out when I get the chance (which isn't very often). The store is actually doing really well. We're starting to do custom squadron models (instead of those lame generic tailflashes) for about the same price as the BX models as long as you order in groups of 15 or more. He's having a blast and I didn't mind helping him build a successful business that he loves doing.

Check out my site. We sell all kinds of models and can order almost any mahogany model for you made by Pacific Aircraft. Even if Pacific doesn't make that model, we can make a completely custom model with your name, tailflash, weapon load, etc. for pretty competitive prices. We offer prices that are cheaper than the BX and other stores on the internet. We even have specials for both UPT aircraft for $200. Our site is Aim Higher Jets Thanks for the look! Jeff and Jim www.AimHigherJets.com