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So I think this is a first, a UPS blog entry set to Katy Perry’s pop chart topper, Last Friday Night. Only this entry is about this Friday night, Sept. 7, when you should turn on CNBC at 9 p.m. to watch the Ultimate Factories episode featuring Worldport, our international air express hub.

I had the opportunity to work on that show, along with colleagues Jackie Blair and Dan McMackin, and I can tell you it’s really good – probably better than the lyrics below:

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This was not my first close encounter with a wild Alaskan bear. Each meeting was a visceral experience, evoking wonder, awe and fear. The beasts were ever breathtaking, yet deadly. All sinew, fur and teeth, these were nature’s most ruthless hunting machines.

The beast before me was a polar bear. Ursus maritimus, the lethal arctic ghost. My mind raced, my pulse quickened. What to do? Fight or flight? Play dead? No, there could be only choice: the baby bottle.

Alright, I’m no Steve Irwin. Or Jim Fowler. I’m not even Marlin Perkins, who sat in the Wild Kingdom TV studio while Jim did all the dangerous stuff in the field. My previous Alaska bear encounters were in a hotel parking lot and behind a fence at a wildlife refuge. But I did see them, they were close, and the legends will continue to grow!

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Could a pricing gun be wielded as a weapon? When I was a poor college student, I thought so every semester at book-buying time.

I knew $60 for the new edition of the medieval history textbook was a ripoff. As an honors student, I was pretty sure medieval history hadn’t changed in, like, a thousand years.

Then there was the business class where we had to buy a $50 textbook at the beginning of the semester – just to tide us over until the professor’s own text came out at mid-term, at another $50. The good news is, both books said pretty much the same thing, so at least our professor knew what he was talking about!

After tuition and living expenses, textbooks are often the single largest cost for college students. Hundreds of dollars a semester are the norm. One former Iowa State University student, Aayush Phumbrha, was so unhappy with the high cost of textbooks that he decided to do something about it. He launched a business.

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Want to see a shooting star every two minutes? Come out to Louisville International Airport (SDF) around midnight. When you peer into the night sky, its deep blackness is perforated by twinkling points of light stretching to the horizon.

Then you’ll notice something — the lights are moving, rapidly coming right at you. What is this astrological phenomenon? A close encounter? Some kind of cometpallooza? Nope, it’s the nightly arrival of the UPS air fleet at Worldport.

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Sometimes, business decisions are painful. This is the case as UPS Airlines begins furloughing pilots this week.

We understand the impact of furloughs on our employees and their families, which is why we spent the past year working exhaustively with the pilots’ union on voluntary alternatives to save jobs, such as short-and long-term leaves of absences and job sharing.

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I have been guilty of bombast. But sometimes, I just can’t help it. When your topic is larger than life, it’s easy to get a little overblown. Worldport, our all-points international air hub, is definitely one of those subjects.

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It’s a must-see television event, a sweeping tale showcasing man’s epic struggle against nature, high-tech gadgetry, international big business and a nation’s army on the move.

Sounds like pretty good TV, huh? What is it, you ask? The latest blockbuster from Jerry Bruckheimer? A two-hour “McGyver?” A very special episode of “Blossom?”

Actually, it’s the latest installment of the History Channel’s excellent series, “Modern Marvels,” and it features Worldport, UPS’s international air hub. Starting tonight, the show will air on cable and it might be worth your while to watch.

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“One good turn deserves another.”  I’m sure you are familiar with that old proverb. Well, at UPS, we have recycled that old saying: “One right turn deserves another … and another … and another.”

We’ve proven that three right turns are often more fuel-efficient than one left, and we’ve reengineered our entire delivery network around this green idea.

We also believe strongly in multiple right (or good) turns through our charitable activities, with the environment being one of our primary areas of focus.

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In the 1970 stop-motion Christmas classic “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” Kris Kingle saves the day by singing the song “One Foot In Front of the Other” and saving Sombertown from the evil Winter Warlock and Burgermeister Meisterburger. Quite literally, that song is music to the ears of Zappos, the e-retailer best known for selling shoes on the Internet. Read More »