Northern Apex

This is the Alaska Travel Industry Association's new Alaska Before You Die ad campaign which appears to be creating a fair amount of buzz in the advertising industry. The $180,000 campaign placed 11 billboards in three key markets (Seattle, Minneapolis and Los Angeles) in the lower 48 chosen for their easy access to an airport. The billboards stayed up for the month of October which research has shown to be the month folks start planning their next year's vacation.

The concept of having a list of things to do before we die has now became mainstream enough to be commonplace. If you google "before you die" you will find there are lists for just about anything, from 20 Hamburgers To Eat Before You Die to 50 Places You Have To Play Golf Before You Die and everything in between. It would be an interesting exercise for someone to write down a list when they were 10 years old and then every ten years after that, to see how priorities have shifted and goals have grown. When I read other people's lists and contemplate what mine would be, the temptation is strong to put cool things on the list that you've already done, so you can check them off - like Hike Down To The Colorado River From The South Rim Of The Grand Canyon or Get Married On An Un-named Beach In Hawaii. Maybe there should be two lists - 100 Things I've DONE Before I Died and 100 Things Still To Do Before I Die.

It's fascinating to look at other people's lists and mentally check off items you've accomplished - it really makes you thing in new ways. One list had the idea of Make An Enemy For Life because in the words of Schopenhauer, "We can come to look upon the deaths of our enemies with as much regret as we feel for those of our friends, namely, when we miss their existence as witnesses to our success." As a perhaps too kind-hearted individual, the idea of fostering an enemy and mourning their passing is truly a novel idea. Some lists you can check off things you have done and see how you are doing - I scored a 33 on this list.

Anyways, it's a beautiful Saturday, crisp and clean and full of promise. I have a million things to do and with the wife in Seattle and one daughter on a sleep-over, I need to get started and take advantage of the quiet. I may someday post a list on here of things to do before I die, or more likely two lists of things I've done and things yet to do. I hope everyone is having a great weekend and enjoying their journey!