#-on phoenix and any of the robots sharing experiences on coming back to life again. i think they would believe him no questions asked

[the-valiant-valkyrie]

UMM okay I have a question for. You: if prism was in some perilous situation and her robots were present, do you think they'd actually do what she says and leave her to die? How would they feel about the whole thing?

i think they would be incredibly hesitant, but ultimately i don't think they would have much of a choice. as lifelike as they are, they are robots, and they follow prism's instructions to a tee when she gives them any. in a best case scenario, they might find someone else who would be able to help prism for them.

i think they would feel very guilty regardless of whether or not prism survives a circumstance like that. for entities who can essentially reanimate as many times as they need to- so long as they have back ups of themselves- losing someone permanently has got to be a very unexpected and traumatizing ordeal for them.

... though, now that i think about it. if prism did die, i think that would be the equivalent of striking a hornet's nest with a baseball bat. canonically, the robots care for her very deeply, and canonically they're physically capable of getting very, very mad. and without prism to tell them to hold themselves back or flee, i don't think its out of the question that they might want to avenge her- even at the expense of some of their lives.

[mvsicbookfrxndom]

I’m back

Okay lovely people, especially the soccer fandom that has stayed with me...

Before I even say a single word, I need to address this. My inbox currently contains 99+ messages. Yes, you heard that right. So if I have not responded to your message in literally months, that is the reason. I deeply, deeply apologize, and I want to stress that I will try to make time for everything and maximize my  time management skills in the future. I have detailed the other reasons for my disappearance below as well.

Now that finals are almost over and I have adjusted more to my new school, I am able to pay more attention and put more effort into my account. These past few months I haven’t been on tumblr at all, and lately I’ve only been liking posts instead of reblogging them or even *gasp* creating my own posts. But I have arisen out of the ashes like a phoenix to say that I will now try to put as much effort into maintaining this blog as I can! I am determined to make it work and balance out my schoolwork, extracurriculars, and social media accounts!

To give you all a glimpse into my life and my responsibilities...

I go to a VERY difficult school with a ton of schoolwork.

I spend most of my time after school participating in a variety of extracurriculars.

It’s a residential school, and the WiFi goes off at 11:30...and I don’t have a hotspot.

Did I mention the workload??!

Not only that! I have other social medias that need maintaining as well.

Facebook (for school)

Instagram (basically to keep up with soccer & Habesha cultural stuff)

Snapchat (to keep up with news of people in my school)

This account (for obvious reasons)

Wattpad (I’ve barely logged on in so long)

Reddit (I LOVE REDDIT OKAY)

Quora (gotta help people get them answers amirite)

Quotev (which is hella dead)

Pinterest (gotta look at them pics)

Imgur (refer to parentheses above)

AO3 (which is basically dead because I haven’t found time to write fanfiction AT ALL)

A fucking DEAD Discord account that to be fair I never use anymore

etc.

My typical day looks like this:

Wake up, go to school, etc.

Call my mother for at least 15 minutes a day. If my sister is able to call me, that’s basically an hour out of my schedule right there.

Finish homework due the next day.

Check texts to see if my parents/in person friends have texted me.

Check Facebook and Messenger to stay in touch with school things.

Watch Snapchat and Instagram stories for the latest topical news.

Usually, by the time all that has been finished, it is already 11:30 and my time is completely gone. It makes me so mad.

After doing all that, I start working on homework due the next day. The grind pretty much never stops. I’m pretty sure it will only stop after finals, and even then only temporarily. However, I am so willing to grind my ass off in order to reclaim my life.

I’m so profoundly upset and saddened by the number of online friends I have lost due to the mental, physical, and psychological stresses that have been put on me ever since I entered school. They think the reason I have disappeared is because I don’t care about them, but that is not it at all whatsoever. I love them far more than I could ever love myself. My love for them is so deep and I wish I could cut out my heart from my chest so they could see it bleed for them. I hope they know who they are as they read this, if they read this. It has been such a difficult adjustment in my life for me that I’ve basically cut off all ties just so I can stay successful. My grades have been slipping and I’m so terrified that I won’t be able to pay for my college education because I can’t get scholarships with Bs on my transcript because of the astronomical amount of competition. In general, I’m just...really scared.

My mental health has severely deteriorated ever since an incident occurred to me over the summer, close after the end of school. I think that is why the World Cup and soccer had such an effect on me - I was so lost, and needed something in my life that would make me happy and make life worth living again, and that was soccer, right there in its beautiful glory for me to fall in love with and feel love again. However, I am determined not to let the darkness win. I HAVE to fight back. It is the only way I can reclaim everything I have lost.

Here are my goals for the future. I want to share them with you all. So that they’re out there in the world and I have no choice but to commit.

Finish ALL my homework and STUDY.

Start a YouTube channel containing my song covers.

I put these in bullet points because these are running goals, so they’re in progress.

Send my sister all of her photos. I’m an asshole for making her wait this long. I’m an asshole for making all of you wait this long.

Respond to all 99+ inbox messages I’ve received. (I’m so sorry, all of you. I will reply, I swear. Just give me time. I know you already have.)

Respond to all my Wattpad messages.

Respond to all my emails on all of my accounts and clean up all of my email accounts, especially when it comes to writing emails to my business card people plaguing my phone!

Organize all of my photos and upload them to either my Drive or Google Photos so I can blissfully mass delete them and gain a sense of purpose, fulfillment, and indescribable joy.

Eliminate all of the open incognito tabs on my phone.

Organize both of my Google Drives, especially their folders and individual docs.

Clean up my Spotify ffs!!!

Finish my Very Long Fanfic Project.

Write other fanfics that I’ve been planning to write for such a long time, before I either lose inspiration or forget about them altogether. Making sure they are oneshots and not Very Long Fanfic Projects so they’ll, like, actually get written finished.

Reorganize and revolutionize my tumblr page so it is more clean with better tags. Also maybe change its HTML/CSS up so it’s more lit.

Fix all of my old Wattpad accounts, the ones that weren’t my main account. I feel like some people were counting on those.

Finish all of my old fanfics. Every single one that I started and never quite completed (on AO3 AND Wattpad).

Resurrect my Quora, Quotev, and Reddit accounts from the internet grave. They are pretty much my ultimate failed experiments.

Begin doing research on internships, colleges, and career choices, as well as interests and hobbies or stuff you’d like to learn how to do.

Start writing my own original works - including, but not limited to - books, short stories, poems, songs, raps, editorial articles, essays, and film scripts.

Finish Mr. Robot, Hannibal, and Sherlock.

Watch SKAM Austin.

Start watching movies.

As you can see, this is a very long ass list. I know it will take a long time. I know it will not be easy. But sometimes, writing things down and realizing how difficult they will be to accomplish is the first step in actually fixing them. I hope I can.

thanks for coming to my ted talk everyone. please dm me if you have any questions with what i said above. i love you all.

[beyblader-observations]

Reasons to watch Bakuten Shoot Beyblade (updated)

I want to take some time to recommend one of my favorite anime to everyone: Bakuten Shoot Beyblade! Most people don’t know it’s an anime, or even more than a toy franchise. Yes, it did start as a toy, but there is more to it than that. This is a wonderful anime, and I believe more people will like it if they give it a shot. Main Characters: 1. Tyson Granger/ Takao Kinomiya
Tyson is your typical, lovable main character. As with most shounen heroes, he wants to be the best. In his case, he wants to be the best Beyblader. He is excessively confident, energetic, charismatic, and cares deeply for his friends. He can be annoying and rude, but that just adds to his boyish charm. 2. Kai Hiwatari
Kai is the character who any fan of this show loves and hates at the same time. He’s an immensely powerful Beyblader who hates the world and everyone in it. Striving for perfection, he will crush anyone in his way to achieve it. He’s a multi-faceted character on the border between good and evil. 3. Max Tate / Max Mizuhara
Max is the adorable little puppy-like member of the group. Incredibly bubbly and optimistic, he’s the one you can always trust to cheer up his friends. He loves tackle-hugging everyone. 4. Ray Kon / Rei Kon
Ray is the cool and collected member or of the group. He comes from a Chinese clan of cat-people, so many aspects of his personality resemble a feline. He is the most polite, charming member of the group. Cultural Diversity If you think the four characters I just named are the only important ones, you are mistaken! There are 100s of important characters in this series (in addition to a bunch of unimportant characters)! They all have their own unique personalities and significance to the plot! One thing I love about this large array of characters is their cultural differences. As the main characters travel to Beyblade tournaments, they meet characters from all over the world! They fight teams from all different countries. As they travel to tournament sites, we get little glimpses of life in these countries! Even the main four were raised in different countries. Japan, USA, China, and Russia. Relationships
As if the characters weren’t great enough on their own, their connections with each other make them all the more lovable! The characters share strong bonds. Everyone has a unique way of interacting with one another due to their personality, upbringing, or personal opinion towards the other characters. 
As a shounen sports manga, teamwork is very important. Watching these characters work together is inspiring and admirable. Emotions 
The gamut of different emotions can be surprising. At first glance it just seems like kids playing a game, but there is more than that. In their world, Beyblading is the most popular sport. While watching this show, we see the “athlete’s” lives as they go through obstacles to win these competitions. The story is portrayed dramatically in a way that can take you from laughter to tears. Variety in animation style One fun fact about Beyblade is that if you don’t like the art style of one series, you might like the next. The original Beyblade series is separated into 3 parts: Beyblade, Beyblade V Force, and Beyblade G Revolution. Each of these have very different animation and artistic styles.
 Comedy This anime is hilarious! They throw in jokes and slang all the time. The Canadian dub makes it great because they even add characters that didn’t exist in the Japanese version just to make it more funny and entertaining to a Western audience! It’s even funny when it isn’t necessarily supposed to be… Action Of course, this show has action! It’s not your typical man to man fighting. It’s with spinning tops. But it’s portrayed in a way to make you feel like the Beyblader is in the battle. In some cases, this is actually true. This can get violent. The Beyblades get hurt often. They have living beasts inside them, and when they get damaged it hurts these spirits! But the frightening part is when the Beyblader actually gets injured during battle! Some Beybladers go to extreme measures to win, creating really dangerous Beyblades! They aren’t afraid to slice up their opponent with their blades! Some characters die or nearly die in the process. 
Dark Side This anime can get surprisingly dark. There are underground organizations torturing children and turning them into Beyblade killing machines! If the child soldiers don’t obey their orders, they are taken away and locked in dungeons! Children are experimented on to the point that they are almost no longer human, all for the sake of dominating the world through conquering the sport of Beyblading! And this is all just in the first season! Backstories Each character has their own unique backstory, which makes them feel very real. They've all had very different experiences that shaped who they are, why they Beybattle, and how they interact with others. Their roots and upbringings are all so diverse. The one thing that bonds all of these different characters together is their common interest in Beyblading. Like real people, some of them have led pretty carefree lives, while others have past trauma that really took a toll on them. Despite being a generally light hearted show, the characters' pasts can get rather depressing. A lot of the characters’ pasts involve either death of or separation from a parental figure. In the case of some characters, it involves being trapped in one of the Beyblade dungeons mentioned above. Some characters suffer from abandonment issues, loneliness, and a fear of loss or rejection. Also, the characters' stories leave room for interpretation and headcanons. Dynamic characters There is so much to these characters! They're very dimensional to the point that they feel like real people. Once you think you know a character, you'll learn something new about them that makes you view them in an entirely different light. The characters change drastically from the beginning to the end of the story. Characters who were thought to be bad guys were really just misguided. Characters switch sides at the flip of a dime, so it's hard to tell who is going to be an enemy and who will be a friend. The characters were so well thought out that I ended up loving all the characters that I hated in the beginning. With so many great characters, you are bound to find someone you can relate to. Romance If you look for romance in an anime as I often do, you won’t be disappointed. Although most isn't explicitly stated, there is certainly room for shipping in this series. The strong relationships lend well for imagining more. There is at least one canonical couple. The others are mostly up to interpretation. Often a character will say or do something that points to a possible romantic interest in another character. The vagueness of the relationships make it fun to try to figure out who likes who. A lot of characters have strong bonds that could be viewed in many different ways. Mythology The Beyblades are not spinning tops. They contain living spirits of ancient beasts! These beasts are from real Asian mythology going back centuries and were not made up specifically for this show. The four main Bitbeasts are Dragoon, Dranzer, Driger, and Draciel. These are a dragon, Phoenix, white tiger, and turtle-chimera. These creatures are from ancient mythology, symbolizing the four cardinal directions. More information here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Symbols_(China) Other characters have beasts that are based on mythology from other parts of the world, for instance Greek mythology and medieval European mythology. There are a lot of supernatural events in this series. So don't be surprised if a Beyblade blasts the roof off of a stadium or if someone is transported to another dimension. There's also sci-fi stuff like robots and androids. Music The music in this anime is amazing! Both the English and Japanese soundtracks are great! I listen to them again and again! If the less than perfect animation ever gets too rough on your eyes, or if you don’t feel like watching the Beyblades spinning during a battle, I encourage you to close your eyes and listen to the music. The dub’s 90s rock music is so fun and catchy! And the Japanese songs are very pretty! The music is made specifically for the anime, with Beyblade-related lyrics! Motivational After speaking to other fans of Beyblade, I have to emphasize that this series is extremely motivational and inspirational. The characters have to push through so many struggles to follow their dreams to become great Beybladers. Perseverance is a big theme of the series. It emphasizes the importance of sticking to your beliefs and aspirations and never giving up. Seeing the characters get pushed down so many times to see them get back up and fight with even more confidence is really encouraging. The story emphasizes to have confidence in your own ability. A lot of advice from the series can be taken out of context to be applicable to real life. It shows that you can find friends in unlikely places, and that friends can help you overcome the toughest of times. Strength in this series comes not from physical ability, but from the heart. The Beybladers learn over and over that if they have the right mindset and believe in themselves, they can accomplish their goals. Another theme is that it's possible to change for the better. Throughout the series, Tyson/Takao helps people find the good in their own hearts. The characters who were going down the wrong path learn that they can change if they just believe in their own abilities. After talking to many Beyblade fans, I've learned that this series changes lives to the point that people wouldn't be who they are today if it wasn't for Beyblade. Refreshing So if for no other reason, I encourage you to watch this show simply because it’s a nice breathe of fresh air. It’s different from most other anime out there these days. If you want something with a lot of depth that leaves you with a cheerful and uplifting feeling, this anime is highly recommended.

[kansascityhappenings]

Mars getting 1st US visitor in years, a 3-legged geologist

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Mars is about to get its first U.S. visitor in years: a three-legged, one-armed geologist to dig deep and listen for quakes.

NASA’s InSight makes its grand entrance through the rose-tinted Martian skies on Monday, after a six-month, 300 million-mile (480 million-kilometer) journey. It will be the first American spacecraft to land since the Curiosity rover in 2012 and the first dedicated to exploring underground.

NASA is going with a tried-and-true method to get this mechanical miner to the surface of the red planet. Engine firings will slow its final descent and the spacecraft will plop down on its rigid legs, mimicking the landings of earlier successful missions.

That’s where old school ends on this $1 billion U.S.-European effort .

Once flight controllers in California determine the coast is clear at the landing site — fairly flat and rock free — InSight’s 6-foot (1.8-meter) arm will remove the two main science experiments from the lander’s deck and place them directly on the Martian surface.

No spacecraft has attempted anything like that before.

The firsts don’t stop there.

One experiment will attempt to penetrate 16 feet (5 meters) into Mars, using a self-hammering nail with heat sensors to gauge the planet’s internal temperature. That would shatter the out-of-this-world depth record of 8 feet (2 ½ meters) drilled by the Apollo moonwalkers nearly a half-century ago for lunar heat measurements.

The astronauts also left behind instruments to measure moonquakes. InSight carries the first seismometers to monitor for marsquakes — if they exist. Yet another experiment will calculate Mars’ wobble, providing clues about the planet’s core.

It won’t be looking for signs of life, past or present. No life detectors are on board.

The spacecraft is like a self-sufficient robot, said lead scientist Bruce Banerdt of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“It’s got its own brain. It’s got an arm that can manipulate things around. It can listen with its seismometer. It can feel things with the pressure sensors and the temperature sensors. It pulls its own power out of the sun,” he said.

By scoping out the insides of Mars, scientists could learn how our neighbor — and other rocky worlds, including the Earth and moon — formed and transformed over billions of years. Mars is much less geologically active than Earth, and so its interior is closer to being in its original state — a tantalizing time capsule.

InSight stands to “revolutionize the way we think about the inside of the planet,” said NASA’s science mission chief, Thomas Zurbuchen.

But first, the 800-pound (360-kilogram) vehicle needs to get safely to the Martian surface. This time, there won’t be a ball bouncing down with the spacecraft tucked inside, like there were for the Spirit and Opportunity rovers in 2004. And there won’t be a sky crane to lower the lander like there was for the six-wheeled Curiosity during its dramatic “seven minutes of terror.”

“That was crazy,” acknowledged InSight’s project manager, Tom Hoffman. But he noted, “Any time you’re trying to land on Mars, it’s crazy, frankly. I don’t think there’s a sane way to do it.”

No matter how it’s done, getting to Mars and landing there is hard — and unforgiving.

Earth’s success rate at Mars is a mere 40 percent. That includes planetary flybys dating back to the early 1960s, as well as orbiters and landers.

While it’s had its share of flops, the U.S. has by far the best track record. No one else has managed to land and operate a spacecraft on Mars. Two years ago, a European lander came in so fast, its descent system askew, that it carved out a crater on impact.

This time, NASA is borrowing a page from the 1976 twin Vikings and the 2008 Phoenix, which also were stationary and three-legged.

“But you never know what Mars is going to do,” Hoffman said. “Just because we’ve done it before doesn’t mean we’re not nervous and excited about doing it again.”

Wind gusts could send the spacecraft into a dangerous tumble during descent, or the parachute could get tangled. A dust storm like the one that enveloped Mars this past summer could hamper InSight’s ability to generate solar power. A leg could buckle. The arm could jam.

The tensest time for flight controllers in Pasadena, California: the six minutes from the time the spacecraft hits Mars’ atmosphere and touchdown. They’ll have jars of peanuts on hand — a good-luck tradition dating back to 1964’s successful Ranger 7 moon mission.

InSight will enter Mars’ atmosphere at a supersonic 12,300 mph (19,800 kph), relying on its white nylon parachute and a series of engine firings to slow down enough for a soft upright landing on Mars’ Elysium Planitia, a sizable equatorial plain.

Hoffman hopes it’s “like a Walmart parking lot in Kansas.”

The flatter the better so the lander doesn’t tip over, ending the mission, and so the robotic arm can set the science instruments down.

InSight — short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport — will rest close to the ground, its top deck barely a yard, or meter, above the surface. Once its twin circular solar panels open, the lander will occupy the space of a large car.

If NASA gets lucky, a pair of briefcase-size satellites trailing InSight since their joint May liftoff could provide near-live updates during the lander’s descent. There’s an eight-minute lag in communications between Earth and Mars.

The experimental CubeSats, dubbed WALL-E and EVE from the 2008 animated movie, will zoom past Mars and remain in perpetual orbit around the sun, their technology demonstration complete.

If WALL-E and EVE are mute, landing news will come from NASA orbiters at Mars, just not as quickly.

The first pictures of the landing site should start flowing shortly after touchdown. It will be at least 10 weeks before the science instruments are deployed. Add another several weeks for the heat probe to bury into Mars.

The mission is designed to last one full Martian year, the equivalent of two Earth years.

With landing day so close to Thanksgiving, many of the flight controllers will be eating turkey at their desks on the holiday.

Hoffman expects his team will wait until Monday to give full and proper thanks.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2018/11/20/mars-getting-1st-us-visitor-in-years-a-3-legged-geologist/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2018/11/20/mars-getting-1st-us-visitor-in-years-a-3-legged-geologist/

[perpetualmover-blog]

Adding timeline info

I had hoped to include a timeline in my blog, but have not found a way to include one other than to try to incorporate this file.  I will provide some background here and try to expand the comments on the pictures.

My family moved a lot when I was young and by the time I finished college, I had attended eighteen schools in five states.  At that time, I had visited ten states.

After beginning my career, I took every opportunity to find work in new and exciting places, moving from state to state.  Within four years, we had lived in five states.

In 1962, we drove from Orlando to Seattle for the World's Fair, then down the coast to LA and back by Death Valley and the Grand Canyon.  We spent three weeks and covered 9000 miles as well as nearly all the western states, ducking across the border at El Paso, to get my first foreign country.

In 1963, we went on a cruise to the Bahamas, adding another country to the list, then I took a job in Fairbanks, Alaska, adding Canada on the way to Fairbanks, up the Alaskan ferry. The satellite program I was working on had problems after two months, so they sent us back to Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.  I drove the entire length of the Alcan Highway and most of the Queen's Highway across Canada.  Wonderful trip through the Yukon, across the Rockies and the prairies.  I drove alone and the family flew.  Much more comfortable that way.  My boys started kindergarden in Fairbanks, finished it in Maryland and started first grade in Florida.  Melbourne, Florida, was a great place to live and remains on my all time list of memories.

During that year, I had covered most of Canada and was creeping up on nearly all the US states.  Several years ago, I completed my sweep and have now visited every State, as well as nearly every US city of any size and have driven almost every Interstate and freeway in the country.

When Montreal hosted Expo 67 in 1967, we made another road trip through all the eastern states and all the eastern provinces of Canada, except Labrador and Newfoundland, all the way out the Gaspe' peninsula to Prince Edward Island and back by Nova Scotia.  (Still haven't made it to Labrador and Nove Scotia.) We saw many wonderful and exciting sights, driving 7500 miles or so.

I took a team of design engineers to Long Island in the summer of 1968 and we explored the NYC area in great detail while living out on the island.

In 1972, I took a job in California.  I had wanted to have the opportunity to explore the west more thoroughly, after our taste of it ten years earlier.  I traveled there fairly often, but rarely had time to explore.  I wanted to see Yosemite and the rest of the Sierras as well as continuing to explore San Francisco, LA and San Diego.

In 1974, I began several years of short term consulting assignments, which took me to Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Akron, West Palm Beach, Binghampton, NY, Laguna Beach, Cucamonga, CA, and various other places.

My new wife and I loved to travel, so I would accept consulting contracts of four to six months, then we would take one to three months off to travel.  In 1979, Delta offered an unlimited ticket for 30 days to anywhere they flew, for $600.  The only limitation was that you could not fly out of the same airport twice.  Also, all reservations had to be made at the time the ticket was purchased and could not be changed.  We were living in West Palm Beach at the time, so we sat in the ticket office and planned a marathon trip.  I arranged to be able to work ten hour days with flexible scheduling, so I could work eight days and take off six.  We did that twice, traveling constantly for the six days.  There were enough airports in South Florida to allow us to comply with the “one flight from each” requirement,  We hit nearly every major airport west of the Mississippi, as well as all those in South Florida.  It was a wonderful experience.

During that period in my life, we went coast to coast 22 times, in total.  Sometimes flying, sometimes driving a 24-28 foot moving van with a tow car behind and just about every combination in between.

In 1984, I found myself alone again.  I quit my job and formed a company to develop controls for robotics and factory automation.  I figured I could make it two or three months on what l little savings I had.  Somehow, I managed to string it out for 32 year.s.  I moved that company from Tustin, CA, to San Diego, Carlsbad, Cardiff by the Sea, Santa Ana, Riverside and Rome, GA, in the first few years, then went intercontinental.

I had tried several times to find a way to find work overseas, but nothing worked out.  I took a job as a Nuclear Physicist with the Army Corps of engineers in 1959, to go to the South Pacific as part of the test team.  Before I could get to Ft. Belvoir, VA, for training, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed and my dreams of sun washed beaches and palm trees were dashed.  So were the promises of bonuses, travel pay and fast promotions.  Oh, well.

On two occasions, I thought I had a lock on jobs in Germany.  In one case, there was a miscommunication that took the job off the table and in the other case, the financial arrangements were too spooky, so I turned it down.  My other attempt at intercontinental relocation was for a job in Ecuador.  I was very excited about the possibility until I learned that one in four Americans who go to Ecuador contract meningitis.  As there were four of us, I calculated the odds and withdrew.

My first trip to Europe finally happened in 1987 when I attended a trade symposium in Munich, then called on customers in other parts of Germany, as well as France and England.  This was a dream come true for me.  I bought a Eurail pass that allowed unlimited travel for three weeks and took off.  During those three weeks, I covered nearly all of Europe.  If I wanted to see the countryside, I would stay in a hotel overnight so I could travel by day.  If I merely wanted to get somewhere and had already seen the area I would be traveling through, I would sleep on the train.

I kissed the Blarney Stone, I was mesmerized by the fjords in Norway and the view from the Eiffel Tower.  I walked where Queen Elizabeth I had carried out her affairs and shivered through a past life flashback when walking into the Coliseum in Rome.

My first trip to Europe was for three weeks.  Every time I went, I wound up staying a week longer than the previous trip, making the pilgrimage three times a year.  The thousands of pictures I took on film are in storage, with only a few available to me now, that I scanned.

In 1991, I moved, lock, stock and barrel to Germany, shipping 55 boxes and bags because I had no idea what I would need.  I shipped records and record players, my VCR and boxes of videos I had recorded from cable.

During the next three years, I covered Europe like the dew.  My friends and I went everywhere together, skiing on the Austrian glacier, hiking in the Alps, pub crawling in Germany, to a friend's Polterabend (bachelor party where they smash crockery to scare off the evil spirits) and museums, street fairs, birthday parties (you throw your own party in Germany--and pay for it).  When the gang did not have plans, I took off on my own.  One summer, I took three weeks and drove the periphery of France, visiting Paris, Normandy, Le Mans, Bordeaux, the Riviera, the central mountain range and back to the Alps at Geneva.

I crisscrossed Switzerland, completely fulfilling my bucket list wish to see it before checking out.  The Germans did not appreciate my noting that Switzerland is only twice as large as LA.

One Sunday afternoon, with nothing else to do, I got in my car and drove to Lichtenstein, across a portion of Austria, then the length of Switzerland and a portion of France before returning home.

After receiving a very expensive speeding ticket in Denmark, I came to realize that if I had been caught driving across Czechoslovakia at the speeds which I had experienced when there, they would have confiscated my car--and it was a leased car.  Oops!

When on the train returning from the fjords, across what I thought of as the “roof of the world” because it was so stark that there were no colors, I had a marvelous experience.  Everything that could be seen from the train was either pitch black or snow white.  There was nothing else.  A nice couple allowed me to share their table in the dining car.  We had a very enjoyable conversation, during which they made me feel very much at ease.  At the end of the meal, I learned that they were members of the British royal family, from the island of Guernsey.  Oops!  Just an old country boy from Bitter Branch, here. Scuse me, Duke.

In 1992, Lufthansa offered an unlimited ticket, somewhat similar to the one we had used years before with Delta.  Since it was 15 years later and prices had increased a bit, plus the fact that Lufthansa has a more extensive travel map than Delta, tickets were $1500.  Similar restrictions applied.  All reservations to be made before leaving and travel must always be in the same direction.

I opted to head west, stopping in the Atlanta area to visit friends and family, then on to California for more of the same, then to Tahiti, with a side trip to Bora Bora, New Zealand for Christmas Day, Sydney for Boxing Day, Canberra, Singapore and return to Frankfurt, spread over three weeks.

All of this for $1500.  Not much more than Delta's price from Huntsville to Atlanta.

As in Lucerne, Switzerland, I took so many pictures in Sydney that I finally left my camera in the hotel room because I couldn't stop snapping pictures and film was expensive.  Digital cameras were still years away and those pictures are in the storage box.  I only have two that I scanned.

For the next bunch of years, I lived in Germany or the US, depending on various factors, traveling back and forth about three times a year, regardless of which side of the pond I was living on.  Nearly all of my customers were in Europe, so my travel was a legitimate business expense

After returning to the US in 1995, I moved my company around as I wished. When your company has only one employee, it is easier to move it wherever you like.  Several months were spent working with friends in Colorado, near Boulder.  Back to Alabama for several months, then California again.

By 1998, I could no longer tolerate the political climate in California and came back east, to Rome, GA.  I learned to love Rome when I was in college and have wound up living there about as much as any other town along the way.  California has my personal record for number of years (21), but Rome is the winner in terms of length of time in one city (about seven).

I returned to Germany in 2002, just as the euro was becoming a standard currency.  It simplified travel enormously.  In my previous travels, it had been a real irritant to have to maintain at least some cash in half a dozen currencies. I could get on a train in the morning with a pocket full of cash in five different currencies and by noon would not be able to buy lunch. At the same time, they were doing away with passport controls at the country borders, so it was no longer necessary to make sure I had my passport if we bopped over the Rhine for a meal in Alsace (yummmyummm).

In 2002, digital cameras were beginning to compete with film in terms of resolution and blew them away in terms of cost and convenience.  I have most of the thousands of pictures I have taken since then.  They fit on a memory stick.  These are the ones I draw on for my blog posts.

As of now, I have visited 48 countries, although a couple were only refueling stops during the night, with no outside view.  (Singapore and Brazil)  Fiji was only a refueling stop, but at least it was daylight.  I have lived in 19 states, making it hard to explain to people here when they ask where I am from.

I decided to retire last April.  Since then, I have lived in Ireland, France and Croatia, with visits to Germany, Bulgaria and Slovenia.  I plan to stay in Croatia until December, then may go to the Azores or Cape Verde or the Canary Islands for the Winter, or might go back to Ireland for the cheap rent.

The pictures on my blog are nearly all newer than 2002, with a few exceptions.  I will begin trying to remember to identify each picture posted with country and year info. I am also happy to respond to questions.

At the moment, I am beginning to plan where to spend Christmas.  I like to spend Christmas and birthdays in memorable places.  So far, I have Christmased in the US, Germany, Ireland, Paris, Tunisia and New Zealand, perhaps more.  This year I added Bulgaria to my list of birthday sites.  For this year, I am thinking about spending Christmas on the Island of Guadeloupe, in the Caribbean.  Did you know that you can rent a furnished apartment on Guadeloupe for less than $500 per month? http://www.longtermlettings.com/r/rent/tav_6323082/

You can also fly there from Paris for as little as $175.  

https://vols.aircaraibes.com/plnext/aircaraibesB2C/FlexPricerAvailabilityDispatcherPui.action;jsessionid=hLjsEru5iLxo3fRzMf1t83WCnAVc80nUvw_BfocLU_pu_US5VnuP!543641853!-146662806

You don't have to be rich if you are cunning and cheap.