My thoughts are with the victims

If you haven't already heard, most of my time lately has been spent tracking the situation with Virgin Galactic.

Last Thursday in California, Scaled Composites (the company that's designing and building the spacecraft for Virgin Galactic) had a serious explosion during testing. Three engineers were killed and three others seriously injured. More news can be found here.

For those of you that would like to contribute to the Support Fund for the Victim's families (the men that died were aged 38, 45, and 33) can contribute here.

Everyone in the Virgin family of companies is thinking about these men and their families. While Virgin is known for our pioneering into new industries, these men exemplified the word "pioneer," breaking new ground for human-kind. Their efforts will not be in vain; we'll find the problems, fix them, and give humanity an opportunity to experience space for themselves.

Nice little profile of yours truly

So a little Yank publications (Businessweek) did a little summary of my Virgin empire. Fairly well done, but no real substance.

What they did get right were the pictures. They got me in drag (for Virgin Brides), in running kit, dressed as a soda can, and a whole lot more. You can check out the article at:

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jul2007/sb20070725_507406.htm

Sorry it's been a few days without posting here. But one, I didn't think many of you would notice and two, I've been in my bunker trying to build Virgin Drains, to save England by draining all of this rain back into the sea where it belongs. The engineers are having some difficulty, so I've got to keep mum for now. Watch this space for more announcements!

London beaten by s**t weather

If you haven't seen the news about London (which if you aren't in the UK is likely), us Londoners experienced flooding of a biblical nature today. Streets and trains are both flooded out. That's Virgin weather, edgy and stylish. (Though Virgin always provides better service than this latest storm.)

Am I just talking out of my arse? No!

This is all happening because of global warming and the climate crisis. Just ask my buddy Al Gore! He made a brilliant film about it. (Which reminds me... why don't I start Virgin Film Studios? Great synergies with the record label and the rest of the Virgin brand. Hmmmm.... watch this space.) That's why I've started Virgin Fuels, and have been an industry pioneer in reducing the fuel costs for Virgin Atlantic. Plus, it costs the company less. That's win-win, Virgin-style!

So watch Al's film and DO something. Before the water reaches my front door, if you would.

Saving the Earth... Virgin style

So if you haven't already heard of it, I decided to lead a revolution in the fuels industry and started Virgin Fuels. I was kicking back with my kids, and they were like "So dad, what are YOU doing about climate change? I mean, don't your airlines burn lots of it and kill polar bears or something?"

With my trusty advisors feeding me info, I boldly stepped forward to start a new environmentally-friendly oil company. Sure, you may laugh, but remember you're talking about Sir Dick here. (And it's really an investment company, anyway.)

Virgin Fuels has announced that we're investing in gevo, some fancy company that tells us they're going to turn s**t into fuel, or something like that. (My advisors tell me the science is sound.) Once again, I'm building another business, except this one is going to help save the world - from ourselves.

Happy Birthday to me!

Yes, today I turn 57. Happy Birthday to me!

To the nay-sayers that say you lose your edge when you get old... BOLLOCKS! I've started more businesses in the past year than most "entrepreneurs" start in their lifetime. You know why? It's FUN! Yeah!

Getting ready

Big day tomorrow... Sir Dick turns 57!

They're trying to keep it quiet, but I've heard the kids are planning a surprise party for me. But nothing escapes my visionary instincts.

The years keep on getting better and better for me and the rest of the family. By the time I turn 60 I'll be an astronaut, courtesy of Virgin Galactic.

Blogging... Virgin style

Well, my kids tell me that all their friends are blogging, so I realised that this the newest business I need to revolutionise with a vibrant, "Virgin" edge.

I'm not a man of a whole lot of words (well, except for here, here, and here), and I don't like typing, so I'll wrap this up here. Watch this space for more from me!