Posted on 03/07/2008 4:48:43 PM PST by WFTR
That's a fun trick. Of course, the trick is more fun for me to hear you tell than it would be for you to hear the ghetto blaster in the middle of the night.
I guess the biggest item on my list is to work long enough to get enough time for retirement and then have something of a second career. I'd like to be able to work part time for a while so that I could feel productive while having plenty of time for fun. I'd also like to teach at the college level. I don't have a PhD, so I'd likely have to teach at a junior college and teach mostly freshman and sophomore level courses. Still, my industry experience and two master's degrees would make me a pretty good choice as an instructor.
I'd sorta like to travel again someday, but I really have little desire to see anything outside the United States. I don't fly anymore, and I really never had that much interest in the rest of the world. I like vacations where I go to national parks and do day hiking and photography.
Finding the right young lady to spend time with me would be nice, but that sort of thing isn't what people typically put on a bucket list.
I would sorta like to write a book someday. At this point, I'm not sure what kind of book I'd like. I've played with some fiction, and maybe I'd write a fiction book. I've also considered trying to write something about my field of engineering. I've done some travel in the United States, and I've considered some kind of travelogue or travel guide. Another possibility would be something about the care of reptiles.
Bill
Perhasps I will. AFTER I get some other things done—that would enable me to afford it(like my invention or such.)
I personally think that cold fusion is one of those ideas that WILL (or at least COULD) be made to work, and be the ULTIMATE energy source for the planet’s needs.
And fuel cells (especially those that accept non pure hydrogen sources, like methanol, without reformation) are DEFINITELY the answer for the automotive and small-energy plant needs. I have LONG been intrigued with them, and REALLY feel that had the apollo program gone ahead as planned—then fuel-cell technology would have advanced WAY beyond the current state it it in now. Perhaps—it would be “road ready” today. After all—the ONLY thing preventing an electric car from being a REAL substitute for oil power(gas and diesel) is storage. Fuel cells would take care of that problem nicely.
I WAS somewhat fearful of that. Nearly ALL of the “signs” that the Bible describes apply to him.
BUT—he has stumbled BADLY lately. An while he is FAR from out—the “shine” has begun to wear off of him, so to speak. that press conference where he stomped out like a child, the defeat Tuesday night, and the in-fighting between him and the dyke are starting to HURT his image a LOT. He was seen as "unbeatable” and “untouchable” and now— a LOT of his OWN people are wondering if it was all just “fluff”.
So he COULD still be—but maybe not THIS round.
I'd love to see Maine...Bar Harbor I hear is really nice. National Parks of course are a must...especially Yellowstone-I want to see Old Faithful! And I want to see the Grand Canyon. I love history so I'd like to explore places I've read about in some of the US History classes I've taken. I've been to some Civil War battlefields but not all-never been to Gettysburg! So of course I need to go there someday. I've not been very far west so I'd like to see a real rodeo...maybe go to a dude ranch. I like the idea of taking some back road (like Route 66) and just stopping at the various diners along the way-meeting people from different parts of the country and tasting regional cuisines. Oh, and I'd like to take a riverboat down the Mississippi to New Orleans. There-I guess that's a good start!
I've never really seen the Northeast, so I can't comment about Maine. I went to school at Penn State and once visited a roommate's home in New Jersey. I later took a class in New Jersey for a week. That's the extent of my travels in that direction.
Yellowstone is nice. I saw Old Faithful. I did some light hiking in Yellowstone when I was there. Would you try to hike or would you mostly hit the overlooks?
Would you hike into the Grand Canyon or mostly see the overlooks. I was in shape to hike into the canyon when I went, but I couldn't do much down there right now. They had a place in the bottom where I could spend the night even though I didn't have real camping gear.
I've never been to any of the major battlefields. I've seen some smaller ones, but they don't intrigue me quite as much.
When I lived in Oklahoma City, I used to bicycle a bit on the old Route 66. I forget whether the part that I rode was still considered part of Route 66, but the old concrete road was still there and easy to recognize.
It is called “A taste of Tribulation”. I did a “cover page” for it back when I thought (had the dream that inspired it )it up, but went no farther. I think the reason was that I spoke of it here on FR and and several people lampooned it so badly,(calling me things like "troglodyte" whatever THAT means) I just let it go.
Yesterday, though Laurie did my hair, and one thing she asked me was if I had “any other book ideas”.(I gave her a disk copy of my original screenplay for her to view and see how she liked it). I am going to run it by her soon—and see if she thinks it is “worth pursuing”.
I also had another dream about the same time frame, maybe a couple of months earlier( I know it was before , because I wrote the cover page on my CC laptop—which I lost when I lost that job in Dec ‘04) and came up with a novel idea for it called “MIRVS fall over Missouri”. I expect you know what a MIRV is—the basic idea was that a load of 4, 100 KT W-76 RV’s was being smuggled out of a decommissioning facility, by Muslims, and under the guise of a coffin with a diplomat, flown to Iraq. An unforseen airborne disaster causes the coffin containing the RV’s to be blown out of the plane and land in the driveway of a Missouri man. he then has to keep them safe, until the DOD can retrieve them, and out of the hands of the terrorists who seek them—and will stop at NOTHING to get them back.
The Black Hills would be a fun place to live. Unfortunately for me, they don't put refineries or petrochemical plants in those kinds of places. I've done Harney Peak a couple of times in the past, and I once took a day-long climbing course based there at Sylvan Lake. I think I've done one or two other hikes in the area, but I don't immediately remember them. I've been to Badlands N.P. a couple of times and went to Theodore Roosevelt N.P. in 1993. I loved TRNP, but that's a bit of a drive for you.
If you're serious about photography, you should look into a digital SLR. They function exactly as the old "real cameras" function, but they capture the image on a digital file. I still haven't taken the plunge because I'm cheap and because I haven't had the time to do much serious photography in the past several years. From what I've learned by reading about some of the cameras, the good digital SLR cameras are as good as the old 35 mm film cameras. There are a few things that I could do with my old Nikon that I don't think I could do with a digital SLR, but for most shooting that you'd be doing, a digital SLR should do the job. As fewer people use film cameras, finding good places to have film processed will be harder and more expensive. Plenty of places offer camera classes, and some of them might even have good teachers. I used to love photography.
Yep, I own both snakes and lizards. I've always found them fascinating, and I decided a few years ago to pursue a lifelong dream of owning them as pets. In a sense, owning these animals is the fulfillment of a bucket list desire. They have special needs, and meeting those needs requires some technical expertise. I'd like to write a book reviewing all of the stuff that is sold or made for proper reptile husbandry and helping new people in the hobby understand how to care for their animals. The big problem with this desire is that most people in the industry are only interested in the opinions of those who have been big-time breeders. I may not be able to find any market for good advice from a smart guy who has looked at much of what's available to use.
I never really worked out the technical details of how the warheads survived the fall, but in the dream, the coffin somehow protected them till impact, and it busted open on the driveway. It WAS a somewhat rural area, and the homeowner was awakened by what he thought was a car crash, only to find the shattered remains of a coffin lying next to his driveway, and 3 conical-shaped things with the “radioactive” symbol on them, and one partially broken open showing the physics package. The man figured out what he had—and then attempted to get the authorities to do something—but no one would believe him. as the day went on, he hears of a “nuclear incident” involving 4 “misplaced warheads” and that terrorists may be involved. He then KNOWS he MUST hide them and ends up playing “cat and mouse” and “shell game”, basically trying to drive the RV's’ around and hide them in different places -to keep one step ahead of the terrorists, til he can get SOMEONE in the military to believe him,- as the terrorists begin scouting the area, looking for the warheads—and are willing to kill EVERYONE in the neighborhood—in order to get them back-if necessary.
That is as far as I went with the idea.
One day, this man wakes up, and it is in a DIFERENT world. it is 50 years in the future—and the Antichrist is in power. The mark, in the form of a passive RFID chip, is in everyone's hand. The man finds himself in a compound—as a “political prisoner”, having been placed there, for “not believing” in the AC and his "plan" However--most peolpe are NOT aware of the AC's true plans or evil.
Wondering what the heck is going on, the man, asks another man there, where he is and all—and the man tells him” It is the year 2055. Since you are such a nonbeliever and have mocked God for so long, he has decided to show you just what WILL be coming, in the future. You have a little job to do, if you ever want to get back to your time(2005). You must go to the AntiChrist’s headquarters and show a video, that he has speaking about his “real plan” for America—and air this as to expose him for what he is. If you do this, you will be able to go back home, even if you fail. Once back—you will be a believer—and a witness as to the true horrors to come. Otherwise you are STUCK here—with all of the horror that entails.” the man then disappears in front of him.
This man(whom I never named) then goes to the AC headquarters, and successfully broadcasts the plan of the AC, including forcing everyone to worship him and kill all Christians, and his total devotion to his father , Satan.
That is as far as I got with that tone.
Sorry to respond so late; I have been working on an article that was accepted for a journal. I take a little time off for some Friday evening tv or FReeping and then back to work.
I think the first food festival I’d go to would be a mustard festival I read about in Wisconsin (kinda close). I love mustards of all types.
If there hadn’t been snow on the ground since December, and it is still piled high, I would love to take one of those walks. My campus is divided by a river and my building is right by it. I could take a beautiful walk by the river if I ever thought about it being there. Alas, when I come to work, I come to work and never think about going outside. I should change that. I could use a mid-day break.
It is a weird thing with community colleges - they like people w/industry experience, but they are also hiring more PhDs. It can be a very competitive market. But if you live in a small town or rural environment, the schools may not have many takers for faculty positions and would be happy to have you.
I don’t have a written list, but my goals are to see Alaska and Israel and to write something that gets published. As far as the pet question yes my dog has been EXCEPTIONAL the last two days. He’s very old and very large and generally a couch potato. The last two days I’ve been puppy sitting two chihuahuas and my dog has been playing like a pup. It’s amazing to watch this huge sedentary dog try to jump on the bed! He loves his two little buddies!
Oh, I'd definitely do some hiking...but I'm not sure I have the stamina anymore to hike into the Grand Canyon...but I wouldn't rule it completely out either. A lot would depend on how old I am and what kind of shape I'm in when I finally do make it out that way!
Penn State, eh? When I think engineering, I think Purdue...of course I'm a bit biased as that's my alma mater. When I think Penn State, I think Joe Paterno!
The first is to find a lady who is not afraid of a relationship with someone in my situation. (I am currently cancer-free.) After that comes the easy part -- go places I've never been, or haven't been to in a long time.
It was close to home for me, too, Dolly; but I think that the positive, take-control attitude was very important for people in that situation. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.
In my earlier post I mentioned that my list included going places I've never seen, and Hawaii is one. (Alaska is another.) It would be most interesting if we could be there at the same time and hook up.
I've been ti Italy (a small portion) and Switzerland, and would like to go back; Ireland is on my list of places to see for the first time.
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