There are no more great adventures to be had. Been there, done that, seen it, ho hum …right?
Wrong.
Away From Work
Someone Has to Live Here
Last week my wife and I went driving to see the fall colors. I thought you’d like to see what the trees look like in the Colorado mountains at about the time the first snow dusts the top of the San Juan mountains.
Hours of Boredom Punctuated by
Moments of Sheer Terror
It was one of those cases of serendipitous timing, and why I find EMS so interesting as an avocation. This morning, I jumped out of bed to help a helicopter land on the highway.
Curiosity: the Mars Science Laboratory
My writing time this week was interrupted: I only started in the late evening, because I had my satellite TV tuned in to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where they were monitoring the landing of the latest rover on Mars, Curiosity (the best-named science craft ever); the mission itself is called the Mars Science Laboratory — accurate, if not as inspiring.
The Risks of Emergency Responses
I sometimes write about my fantastic experiences as a volunteer medic. Yet sometimes the experience isn’t so fantastic.
All emergency responders put themselves at great risk whenever they go on a call. This is a story of not beating the odds (but it could have been a lot worse).
Dinner with Neil Armstrong
My wife and I had the opportunity to “have dinner with” the first man to set foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong. It happened to be almost exactly* 43 years after that spectacular event. Like many kids who grew up in the 60s and watched that history being made, Armstrong was a hero to me, so when I got the opportunity to do this, I of course leapt at it.
Working In An Unusual Environment
This is being written in an unusual location. Not my office, not home, not even sitting in the passenger seat while Kit drives. Someone else is driving on our trip to Reno for the Mensa “Annual Gathering” (read: national convention), where Kit and I are speaking. We’re on the California Zephyr — a train (yeah, in the United States!)
My Highest Recommendation
Now and then I mention interesting books I’m reading, or TV shows I’m watching. I’ve found two related TV specials that are so good, I ended up saving them and showing them to my wife, who is also finding them fascinating.
Christmas Blues
Today I’m working while listening to my collection of “weird Christmas music,” which I’ve compiled over the years. Things like the “Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth” mashup duet — by Bing Crosby and David Bowie in 1977. Yeah, really.
Dah-Dit Dah-Dit, Dah-Dah Di-Dah
Now and then I mention ham radio. I’ve been an “amateur radio operator” (the more formal title) for [gasp] a third of a century now; I’m K0RCC. You’d think, with the Internet creating instant, “free,” worldwide communications, that ham radio would be dwindling away, with just a few old-timers (heck: even older than me!) grasping at the straws of “No! Don’t change!”
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
It was Labor Day in the U.S. on Monday, and I was laboring. Not just to get the Premium edition out, but I put it together sitting at the Labor Day rodeo here in Ridgway, Colorado.
A Steve Wozniak Joke
This story was originally published on my Jumbo Joke site, which is no longer online, so I’m transferring it here for posterity.
Bonfire of the Gravities
I don’t tell many stories about the ambulance calls I run on as a volunteer medic here in rural Ouray County, Colorado, but this one is worth telling.
At 12:51 a.m. this past Saturday morning, my pager went off for an injured 16-year-old female, just a few miles from my house. It was in an odd location for a middle-of-the-night rescue, and as my wife and I got dressed, I was a bit confused.
There’s No Such Thing as Writer’s Block
A friend of mine asked me for some advice last week. He’s preparing to leave the military, and thought writing might be his next career. Did I have any pearls of wisdom?
I gave him two main pieces of advice. The second one: he must understand that there’s no such thing as “writer’s block.”
Watching Out For My Peeps
As with every Sunday, I “had to” work on Easter — it’s when I write the stories for True (and edit the ones that come in from the Contributing writers). I pull together 10 or more stories each Sunday (11 yesterday, as it happens, plus one that I’ll be adding to the blog later since it must include a photo).
Psychic Pay
I write True to make a living, yes, and it’s gratifying that enough people support the publication to make that happen. But there’s another reason, too: I want to change the world just a little bit, on both a micro and a macro scale.
Everyone Talks About the Weather
Everyone talks about the weather, but I only write about it when it’s really weird!
Independence Day
It’s Independence Day weekend in the U.S., and I thought I’d share a couple of photos I took yesterday in the “real” Rural America.
Facebook Protest
OK, I’m a crank: I really don’t like Facebook. But one of the things I hate about it is how all up-in-arms people get about nothing.
The Life You Save May Be…
A special “extra” story this week. I’ve pulled it out separately because it doesn’t “really” fit in with True’s theme. While it is a bit weird, it’s certainly not about someone doing something stupid.