Leisure … more than a word, it's a lifestyle

It is with great sadness that we learned today of the death of Zig Ziglar after a short battle with pneumonia.

Zig was born on 6th November 1926 in Gary, Indiana, to parents John Silas Ziglar and Viola Ziglar. He was the tenth of twelve children.

In 1931, when Zig was five years old, his father took a management position at a Mississippi farm, and his family moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi, where he spent most of his early childhood. In 1932, his father died of a stroke and his younger sister died two days later. Zig served in the Navy during World War II and he was in the Navy V-12 Navy College Training Program attending the University of South Carolina.

In 1944 he met his wife, Jean, who he lovingly called the “redhead” in Jackson, Mississippi when he was seventeen and she was sixteen. They married in late 1946 and on Monday 26th November 2012 they celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary.

Ziglar later worked as a salesman in a succession of companies and in 1968 he became a vice president and training director for the Automotive Performance company, moving to Dallas, Texas.

Outside the Convention Center

With the political convention circuit in full swing, the very sight of the word convention is usually enough to send me running to the hills … except that I live here in Orlando. Rapidly on it’s way to becoming the convention capital of the world, Orlando is currently, #4 behind Chicago,  Las Vegas and Washington, DC (metro area), it is the perfect choice if you want to encourage people who put families first to attend your event. It is a little know fact that Orlando has the second largest convention center in the US behind Chicago.

This huge banner was available for everyone to take their picture against

The huge AT-AT in the lobby

It is not surprising that the variety of conventions here in Orlando run from the sublime to ridiculous and all points in between.

Chalk drawing promoting The Clone Wars that took 4 days to complete

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the 4-day Celebration VI … a convention devoted to all things Star Wars and attended by over 35,000 people. That’s pretty close to the size of the RNC in Tampa if you are looking for a comparison.

Some of the lines for panels were huge

Star Wars fans from all over the world flocked, or would that be jetted into Orlando, to enjoy this bi-annual event. It was also attended by most of the major stars from each of the 6 movies including Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, as well as a special unannounced visit from creator George Lucas himself.

Fan made costume of Chewbacca, the guy really was that tall

This convention had so many events and panels and activities that it needed its own App as well as a 90 page souvenir program and a handy dandy 46 page “Insider’s Guide.”

Without these guides or the App you would be left bewildered by scale of the event.

The amazing thing about Star Wars is the appeal. No movie franchise in history has shown the longevity, fanaticism, cross global and ageless appeal as well as the financial muscle from it’s merchandising.

Decked out in convention merchandise

I saw the movies when they were first released and I consider myself a fan, but not a FAN.  I attended this convention with my 8-year-old son who of course, wasn’t old enough when any of these movies were released to get caught up in the hype, but somehow, without any prompting from me gravitated to them at an early age and now is what I call a FAN. Ask him about everything from the original trilogy to the current Clone Wars cartoon and he will wax lyrical for hours. Proof of the  power of this event for children is that he attended for 3 of the 4 days and never once complained about all the walking, waiting, and of course the endless requests from me and complete strangers for him to pose for photos.

Posing in his Savage Oppress costume

He even attracted his own fan club. Star Wars fans are all ages.

We attended a sneak premiere of the Season 5 opener of The Clone Wars that will air on Sepetmber 29^th, complete with complimentary popcorn and drinks; watched a parade of home-made R2-D2s; marveled at fan made replica set pieces from all over the world; stopped several times in the specially appointed family rooms and Lego build areas; posed for pictures with various costumed Star Wars characters (Star Wars fans are by far the best cosplayers in the universe. Their attention to detail and love of the characters are astounding. Look up 501st Legion if you want an example); and in the evening I attended a spectacular themed party event from Moshi-Moshi Productions called THE DARKSIDE GROTTO STRIKES BACK where guests and performers fully embraced the Star Wars universe.

R2-D2 in fancy dress

The red carpet event for The Clone Wars premiere

Boys will be Jedis

There was so much to do and so many freebies given away (I was so glad I brought a backpack), that we never even scratched the surface, of course that could be because we spent so much time shopping the booths which included heavy hitters like Disney, Hasbro and Lego … in fact, for every $50 we spent with Lego we got a free pass to Legoland (we now have 4). One of the top shopping attractions was to have yourself frozen in carbonite by Disney’s D-Tech division. You are photographed in 3-D and then created in a statue replicating the famous Han Solo scene from Episodes V and VI

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Lego building provided a break for me

The family room provided crafts for the children

Daddy gets to party at The Darkside

We didn’t spend any time at all waiting for autographs or to meet the celebrities, just because there was so much else to do and we didn’t feel we missed out by not doing it.

This is the second time in a row that Celebration has come to Orlando, but given the passion and attendance numbers, it would surprise me if it didn’t return again in 2014 after next year’s visit to Germany.

Special replica scenes were set up all over

Han Solo in carbonite

Jabba's Palace

This snowspeeder was built by a Belgian fan group and shipped over for photo ops

Orlando is definitely one place to vacation if you are a Star Wars fan … with Star Tours and The Jedi Academy permanently based at Disney’s Hollywood Studios along with May’s Star Wars Weekends and the possibility of CelebrationVII returning there is something for even the most hardcore of fans … and after all your exertions fighting the Darkside or attending any convention, you will find no better way to relax and unwind than in one of our Boutique Vacation Homes … get home, stretch out, jump in the pool and get ready for the next day when you can do it all again.

There were many toys ... vintage and new available

So that's how R2 worked

Meeting artists and authors was a big thrill. This personalized book is a great read for Fathers and Sons

Wait a minute. I feel a disruption. Something big is heading this way. Watch this space.

The Custom Car show featured the levels of devotion that Star Wars garners

Devotion to your character ... these stilts were very uncomfortable

May the Force be with Us.

It’s not often on this blog that we get involved in governmental issues but we recently learned of one ridiculous example of property rights being trampled on by officials in The State of Oregon.

In the vacation home rental business, we are somewhat used to government getting involved and telling property owners what they can and cannot do with their own property. Property they pay taxes on. In a quite incredible case in Oregon, a 64 year old man has just been sent to jail for collecting rain and snow run off water on his own land.

Gary Harrington, of Eagle Point, was found guilty two weeks ago for violating a 1925 law which says all water is publicly owned. Gary was convicted of nine misdemeanors and received a $1,500 fine in addition to a 30 day jail term.

To us, that is quite clearly another example of government treading on a property owners rights and we want to help Gary fight back. So far, his quest for justice has cost him over $200,000. He has set up an online petition so you can register your support and we would encourage all vacation home owners throughout the USA and the world to sign the petition that not only supports Gary but also says they want government to recognize property owner rights.

Here’s the link to the petition:

 http://www.empowerthejury.org/index.html

And here’s an offer to Gary:

Upon release from jail, Florida Leisure Vacation Homes would be pleased to house you and your family for a one week stay in one of our Orlando vacation rental homes just minutes from all the major attraction parks, shopping malls, great restaurants and other local activities. We believe you have earned a break from Government bureaucracy and it is our way of saying “Thank You” for standing up and saying that a property owner has the right to do what they want with their property.

Tourists were taken aback and traffic came to a grinding halt as a horde of Zombies marched along International Drive.

The event was staged today as a tribute to the late Bill Hinzman who created one of the most iconic zombies with his performance in Night of the Living Dead to kick off the May-Hem weekend.  Make up experts, Post Mortem FX and the infamous Dr. Skull teamed up again to bring death to life and pack the streets with zombies!

A portion of the proceeds will benefit Vitas Hospice, Bill Hinzman’s charity of choice.

May-Hem is running throughout the weekend at the Wyndham Resort on Sandlake Rd/International Drive.

Details can be found at www.spookyempire.com and on our earlier post at http://www.floridaleisureblog.com/are-you-ready-for-some-may-hem

Robert Sherman, creator of such tunes as “It’s A Small World” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, has died in London at age 86. He was half of a sibling partnership that specialised in creating scores for many of the most poular musical films we love today.

With his brother Richard Sherman, the pair created some of the best known songs that were incorporated into movies and animations such as Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, The Aristocats,  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and the The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Perhaps one of the best known, and in my opinion, the most annoying was the theme park song of “It’s a Small World.”

Sherman’s agent, Stella Richards, said that Sherman died peacefully in London on Monday.

Son Jeffrey Sherman paid tribute to his father on Facebook, saying he “wanted to bring happiness to the world and, unquestionably, he succeeded. His love and his prayers, his philosophy and his poetry will live on forever. Forever his songs and his genius will bring hope, joy and love to this small, small world.”

The Sherman Brothers’ career was long and prolific. It was also one full of awards as they won two Academy Awards for Walt Disney’s 1964 smash “Mary Poppins” — best score and best song, “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” They also picked up a Grammy for best movie or TV score.

Their hundreds of credits as joint lyricist and composer also include  ”The Slipper and the Rose,” ”Snoopy Come Home,” ”Charlotte’s Web” and “The Magic of Lassie.” Their Broadway musicals included 1974′s “Over Here!” and stagings of “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in the mid-2000s.

“Something good happens when we sit down together and work,” Richard Sherman said in a 2005  interview. “We’ve been doing it all our lives. Practically since college we’ve been working together.”

The brothers’ awards included 23 gold and platinum albums and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They became the only Americans ever to win First Prize at the Moscow Film Festival for “Tom Sawyer” in 1973 and were inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 2005.

President George W. Bush awarded them the National Medal of Arts in 2008, commended for music that “has helped bring joy to millions.”

Robert Bernard Sherman was born in New York on Dec. 19, 1925, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California.

The brothers credited their father, composer Al Sherman, with challenging them to write songs and for their love of lyrics. His legacy of songs includes “You Gotta Be a Football Hero,” ”(What Do We Do On a) Dew-Dew-Dewy Day” and “On the Beach at Bali-Bali.”

Robert Sherman’s affection for Britain was nurtured during his service with the U.S. Army in World War II. Wounded in Germany in 1945, he recovered in hospitals in England, developing a fondness and familiarity with the country that stuck with him. He wrote for British characters in “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” and spent the last years of his life in London.

After the war, the brothers started writing songs together. They began a decade-long partnership with Disney during the 1960s after having written hit pop songs like “Tall Paul” for ex-Mouseketeer Annette Funicello and “You’re Sixteen,” later recorded by Ringo Starr.

They wrote over 150 songs at Disney, including the soundtracks for such films as “The Sword and the Stone,” ”The Parent Trap,” ”Bedknobs and Broomsticks,” ”The Jungle Book,” ”The Aristocrats” and “The Tigger Movie.”

Quite a life….and yes, I’ll forgive him for “It’s A Small World” even though I once got trapped on the damn ride for 45 minutes.

In the wake of the 2012 Mecum Kissimmee auction, the list of shattered records continues to grow. The Florida auction kicked off Mecum’s 25th year and a staggering 2,158 vehicles crossed the block, the most in company history. The six-day event, held at Osceola Heritage Park on January 24-29, 2012, achieved a 30% increase in attendance over last year. Hammer price sales for the week-long auction totaled $55,397,462, and factoring in Buyer’s premium, total gross sales are reaching close to $60,000,000 as Bid Goes On sales continue to rise. Mecum sold an amazing 1,548 vehicles with a 73% sell-through rate.

Mecum Auctions president Dana Mecum (pictured above) said, “Kissimmee kicked off the 2012 auction season and Mecum’s 25th year in business, and I can’t think of a better way to begin celebrating our Silver Anniversary than with a record-breaking auction. Company records were smashed in nearly every category including number of vehicles offered, vehicles sold, total sales, attendance, and number of registered bidders.”

Top Ten sellers at the auction covered a wide swath in enthusiasts dream sheets. With nearly 300 Corvettes offered during the Kissimmee auction, quite a few were in the Top Ten, but sitting on top of the list was a 1963 Shelby Cobra Dragon Snake (Lot S220 -pictured at top of this post), which sold for $850,000.

The remaining nine vehicles were (all sales reflect hammer prices):
2. 1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible (Lot F199) at $610,000
3. 1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Coupe (Lot S103) at $270,000
4. 1963 Chevrolet Corvette RestoMod (Lot S226) at $255,000
5. 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (Lot T188) at $227,500
6. 1930 Packard 745 Waterhouse (Lot S83) at $225,000
7. 1941 Packard Darrin 180 Convertible Victoria (Lot S122) at $220,000
8. 1970 Plymouth Superbird (Lot K56) at $200,000
9. 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible (Lot S163) at $200,000
10. 1957 Ford Thunderbird F-Bird (Lot S129) at $200,000

Dana Mecum observed, “We have a heavyweight title bout going on within our own organization for the title of World’s Largest Collector Car Auction. With the great success from this auction, Kissimmee 2012 has captured the crown from Indy 2011 as the World’s Largest. Stay tuned for ‘Indy in May’ as it works to regain the crown as the World’s Largest.”

Overall, the event was very successful and I think NASCAR Champion, Ken Schrader, (pictured above with me) who visited the auction on Saturday to sign autographs, summed it up best when he remarked that he had no idea how you actually selected a vehicle to buy because there were so many of them on the auction block!

Complete auction results are available to Mecum InfoNet members, which is free to join at www.Mecum.com.

Air Force One touched down at Orlando International Airport at 11:36 a.m., four minutes early, and  the president was greeted by a crowd of about 75 supporters. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who had been in Washington at the National Conference of Mayors, and Commerce Secretary Jon Bryson flew with Obama before they then set off for the “Happiest Place on Earth”, Walt Disney World.

Ruben Perez, a Cuban-American restaurateur who operates the Zsa Zsa Café at Orlando International Airport and Yayas in Orlando opened proceedings at Magic Kingdom before introducing the President and he said: “Anything that increases travel to Orlando is good for all our businesses.”

The President took the stage at 12.40pm and by 12.53pm it was all over as he amplified an executive order that he had issued earlier in the day. Available here… 2012visitor.eo.rel

The order was really as much an appeal to Brazilians and their dollars as it was to Florida voters and their jobs. With Cinderella’s Castle rising in the background, the president’s speech touched on procedures to speed up the issuance of tourist visas to citizens of Brazil and China, who currently wait months to get permission to travel to the United States.

“People want to come here. And China and Brazil are two of the countries with the biggest backlogs,” he said. “So this is what it’s all about – telling the world that America is open for business,” he added.

The executive order mandates a 40 percent increase in personnel to Brazil and China over the next 12 months and requires that that 80 percent of “nonimmigrant visa” applicants be interviewed within three weeks. The plan, as explained by the White House, would dispatch more than 100 additional State Department employees to Brazil and China, and more broadly expand a program that allows “low-risk” international visitors to get through airports more smoothly.

Obama assured the “invitees only” 220 strong crowd that the United States would continue to “protect our borders” even as it fosters a more welcoming environment for tourists.

There was room for some brevity as Obama started his comments by recognizing Mickey Mouse as he quipped: “It’s always nice to meet someone who has bigger ears than me,”

The speech was simulcast at the Hall of Presidents in Liberty visitors for Disney visitors, who were kept away from the speech site, and in backstage areas so that Disney cast members could watch.

Central Florida’s unemployment rate, just less than 10 percent, still is worse than the national average. So a bigger flow of tourists and their money from Brazil, which has a relatively strong economy, means support for the region’s still dominant industry.

Obama is the fourth sitting president to visit a Walt Disney World park, the first since George H.W. Bush in 1991 and he was the first to visit the Magic Kingdom since Jimmy Carter in 1978.  He left with a message ringing in the ears of the travel industry “I want the United States to be the top tourist destination in the world.”

So what do we make of it all?

Well, while any message that is pro tourism is to be welcomed, it really felt a very staged managed affair with only select dignitaries invited to hear a very well rehearsed message. OK, so we’re going to make it easier for people in certain parts of the world to enter the United States but if you ask any British visitor who has to meet the ESTA requirements, they’ll say it is still too cumbersome an affair and essentially this will be the program that will be rolled out on a wider scale.

Further, there are still many issues at immigration that need to be resolved as visitors often have long lines to encounter after a long and tiring journey. Do the people who currently visit really feel welcomed the moment they touch down on US soil? Not from what I hear.

And then, here’s another question… how does any of this help domestic tourism? No mention of how he and his administration are actually helping everyday people to be able to afford vacations and to keep the money flowing around.

At the end of the day, I can’t help but think it was a rather pointless exercise. Was it really necessary to take a trip to Orlando just to spend 13 minutes on stage talking about tourism? Surely that could have been done without leaving his desk in Washington?

Further, I pour scorn on any stage managed event of this nature anyway. Apart from one restaurant owner, how many other people who actually own and run tourism businesses were actually invited? It’s all very well inviting chosen dignitaries who claim to represent the industry but ultimately they’re not the people on the shop floor interacting with the visitors and guests.

Au revoir Mr. President. Can’t wait for your next visit.

We’ll be bringing you updates throughout the day on President Obama’s visit to Magic Kingdom today but we have secured a copy of what he is going to say ahead of time from the Press Secretary as below.

Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2012

This morning, President Obama will sign an Executive Order and announce new initiatives to significantly increase travel and tourism in the United States. The U.S. tourism and travel industry is a substantial component of U.S. GDP and employment, representing 2.7% of GDP and 7.5 million jobs in 2010 – with international travel to the United States supporting 1.2 million jobs alone. The travel and tourism industry projects that more than 1 million American jobs could be created over the next decade if the U.S. increased its share of the international travel market. Today’s announcement offers important steps to bolster job creation through a range of steps to better promote the United States as a tourism destination and improve secure visa processing. This is the most recent of a series of executive actions the President has announced to put Americans back to work and strengthen the U.S. economy.

“Every year, tens of millions of tourists from all over the world come and visit America. And the more folks who visit America, the more Americans we get back to work. We need to help businesses all across the country grow and create jobs; compete and win. That’s how we’re going to rebuild an economy where hard work pays off, where responsibility is rewarded, and where anyone can make it if they try,” said President Obama.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, international travel resulted in $134 billion in U.S. exports in 2010 and is the nation’s largest service export industry, with 7% of total exports and 24% of service exports. The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that every additional 65 international visitors to the United States can generate enough exports to support an additional travel and tourism-related job. According to the travel industry and Bureau of Economic Analysis, international travel is particularly important as overseas or “long-haul” travelers spend on average $4,000 on each visit.

Today’s announcement calls for a national strategy to make the United States the world’s top travel and tourism destination, as part of a comprehensive effort to spur job creation. The number of travelers from emerging economies with growing middle classes – such as China, Brazil, and India – is projected to grow by 135%, 274%, and 50% respectively by 2016 when compared to 2010.  Nationals from these three countries contributed approximately $15 billion dollars and thousands of jobs to the U.S. economy in 2010.  In addition, Chinese and Brazilian tourists currently spend more than $6,000 and $5,000 respectively each, per trip, according to the Department of Commerce. The Department of State has made tremendous progress in processing non-immigrant visas from these key markets, allowing them to issue more than 7.5 million visas in the last fiscal year, a 17% increase from the previous fiscal year. In the 2011 fiscal year, consular officers adjudicated more than a million visa applications in China and more than 800,000 in Brazil, representing 34 % growth in China and 42% growth in Brazil. Improving visa processing capacity for China and Brazil is particularly important because of this growth.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

Today’s Executive Order charges several agencies to take part in efforts to increase travel and tourism in the United States:
•         The Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior will be charged with:
o   Co-leading an interagency task force to develop recommendations for a National Travel & Tourism Strategy to promote domestic and international travel opportunities throughout the United States, thereby expanding job creation. This Task Force will coordinate with the Corporation for Travel Promotion (currently doing business as BrandUSA), a non-profit corporation established by Congress through the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 to promote travel to the United States, and the Tourism Policy Council to ensure private sector participation and cross-agency coordination.
o   A particular focus of the Task Force will be on strategies for increasing tourism and recreation jobs by promoting visits to our national treasures. The Department of the Interior manages iconic destinations in our national parks, wildlife refuges, cultural and historic sites, monuments and other public lands that attract travelers from around the country and the globe. In 2010, more than 400 million visits were made by American and international travelers to these lands, contributing nearly $50 billion in economic activity and 400,000 jobs. Eco-tourism and outdoor recreation also have an outsize impact on rural economies, particularly in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.
•         The Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security will be charged with:
o   Increasing non-immigrant visa processing capacity in China and Brazil by 40% in 2012.
o   Ensuring that 80% of non-immigrant visa applicants are interviewed within three weeks of receipt of application.
o   Increasing efforts to expand the Visa Waiver Program and travel by nationals eligible to participate in the Visa Waiver Program, and expanding reciprocal trusted travel programs for expedited travel (such as the Global Entry program).
•         The Department of Commerce will be charged with:
o   Establishing and maintaining a publicly available website with key information and statistics from across the Federal Government to assist industry and travelers in understanding visa processes in key travel and tourism markets, and entry times into the United States.

Additional initiatives announced today include:
•         New Pilot Program and Rule Change for Visa Processing in China and Brazil:
o   Today, the Departments of State and Homeland Security announced a pilot program to simplify and speed up the non-immigrant visa process for certain applicants, including the ability to waive interviews for some very low-risk applicants, such as individuals from any country renewing non-immigrant visas, or, in Brazil, younger or older first-time applicants. Link to fact sheet HERE for more information.
•         Final Rule to Expand and Make the Global Entry Program Permanent:
o   Global Entry is a program within the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection that was created as a pilot in 2008 to facilitate expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. Through a final rule, the Administration will expand and make the Global Entry program permanent. Due in part to innovative public-private partnerships, the Global Entry program now has more than 246,000 members, more than one million trusted travelers have Global Entry benefits, and efforts are underway to expand enrollment even further. There are currently 131 Global Entry kiosks at 20 airports and since launching, members have used Global Entry kiosks over 1.7 million times, saving CBP officers over 36,450 inspection hours—staff hours that CBP has then re-allocated to expedite regular passenger queues. This final rule will allow the program to be expanded to an additional 4 airports in Minneapolis, Charlotte, Denver and Phoenix, making the Global Entry program and expedited clearance available in airports that service approximately 97% of international travelers.
•         Appoint new members to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board:
o   A new membership of 32 private sector CEOs have been appointed by Commerce Secretary Bryson to serve on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. The Advisory Board will build upon the work undertaken by the past Board addressing travel facilitation, visa policy, improving the international travel entry experience, aviation security, energy security, crisis communications and research and data, among other issues. This Board consists of corporate executives across the nation, representing all aspects of the travel and tourism industry, who are appointed to a two-year term to advise the Secretary of Commerce on policies affecting the travel and tourism industry. See the full list of new members HERE.
•         Nomination of Taiwan to Visa Waiver Program:
o   Currently, more than 60% of international tourists do not require a U.S. visa, in most cases because they travel under the Visa Waiver Program.  The Secretary of State has formally requested that the Secretary of Homeland Security consider Taiwan for the Visa Waiver Program. Over the past year, Taiwan has undertaken significant efforts to improve its law enforcement and document security standards to meet the strict requirements for Visa Waiver Program eligibility. Under the Visa Waiver Program, participating nationals can travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. The program was established to promote travel and tourism with our foreign partners, stimulate the tourism industry, and permit the Department of State to focus consular resources in other areas. Since November 2008, the Department of Homeland Security has added nine countries to the Visa Waiver Program, bringing the program total to 36 countries.

The EXECUTIVE ORDER – ESTABLISHING VISA AND FOREIGN VISITOR PROCESSING GOALS AND THE TASK FORCE ON TRAVEL AND COMPETITIVENESS is available here. 2012visitor.eo.rel

A nuke-powered rover the size of a family size compact car will start its journey to Mars this morning.

The Curiosity, NASA’s $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory, is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at exactly 10:02 a.m. this morning and it hopes to answer the question: Can the Red Planet sustain life?

The rover will be carried 354 million miles to the planet on an unmanned rocket known as the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5. The perilous trek will take 81/2 months, meaning Curiosity is expected to touch down in August 2012.

“This is the most complicated mission we have attempted on the surface of Mars,” said Peter Theisinger, Mars Science Lab project manager with NASA’s prime contractor, Lockheed Martin.

Curiosity weighs 1 ton and has a 7-foot arm that was retrofitted with a jackhammer and a laser so that it can puncture the Martian rock. Scientists say what makes the rover truly unique is its ability to analyze rocks and soil with never-before-seen accuracy.

Curiosity can’t actually detect the presence of living organisms. Instead, the rover will be on the lookout for organic, carbon-containing compounds. In that way, scientists hope to discover whether the planet has — or has ever had — what it takes to nurture life.

Ten feet long, 9 feet wide and 7 feet tall, Curiosity is about twice the size of previous rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. In a space first, Curiosity will be lowered to Mars using a jet pack and a tether system. Curiosity will be “the largest and most complex piece of equipment ever placed on the surface of another planet,” said Doug McCusition, director of NASA’s Mars exploration program.

The journey to Mars is tricky and often proves to be too much for space explorers to complete. More than three dozen missions have attempted to reach the most Earth-like planet in the solar system, but fewer than half have made it. Only one of those — Opportunity — is still working on the barren planet.

More than 13,000 guests are expected at the launch, which will be complicated by the fact the rover is run by 10.6 pounds of plutonium. The plutonium is encased in protective layers in case of an accident, and radiation detectors are expected to take air samples during the launch.

Today is Small Business Saturday. An American shopping holiday created by American Express that was first celebrated on November 27, 2010 and it is a counterpart to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which feature big box retailers and e-commerce stores respectfully.  The idea being, that by contrast,  holiday shoppers are encouraged to patronize brick and mortar businesses that are both small and local.

Small business is an important cog in the economy and Florida Leisure Vacation Homes is proud to be classed as a small business that helps families enjoy great vacations in Orlando.

In the US, small business (less than 500 employees) accounts for around half the GDP and more than half the employment. Regarding small business, the top job provider is those with fewer than 10 employees and those with 10 or more but fewer than 20 employees come in as the second, and those with 20 or more but fewer than 100 employees come in as the third. The most recent data shows firms with less than 20 employees account for slightly more than 18% of the employment and according to “The Family Business Review,” there are approximately 17 million sole-proprietorships in the US. It can be argued that a sole-proprietorship (an unincorporated business owned by a single person) is a type of family business” and “there are 22 million small businesses  in the US and approximately 14,000 big businesses.” Also, it has been found that small businesses created the most new jobs in communities.

We’re proud to be classed as a small business as small business is very often able to deliver a better product, service and experience to the customer. Small business is more flexible and can bring new ideas to the table far quicker than it’s cumbersome counterpart, big business… and we only have to look at the role big business has played in the current economy to know that big isn’t better.

To all small businesses around the country, we salute you.