My failures:  note: more such thoughts at my rants page

among the stuff I always wanted to be able to do and simply haven't are:
 
 . . . many of those goals I'll never do - I used to feel like a loser for not having managed a bunch of that stuff and many other things.  I guess my big goal is to be a good person, raise good kids, and battle ignorance..  I'll be happy enough to do that, and I can't complain, because I have had the following experiences to cherish:
 
pedaled across Iowa 3 times
mastered a number of computer languages
have been independently employed for about 10 years
walked around the Annapurna mountain range in Nepal
been lucky to have traveled in Europe 3 times
seen 3 of my child be born and mostly grown up
having been a public speaker at schools, churches,
public meetings and businesses on many subjects.
ran in 10 marathons and 3 triathlons
appeared twice on television
written an article for skeptical inquirer
done rappelling and free style rock climbing
took a leading role in 4 2 hour plays
went to Philmont scout ranch
--those were in no particular order and many are repeated in:
http://www.phact.org/e/timeline.html

Done the following forms of human locomotion:

  crawling, staggering, race walking, running, sprinting, swimming, ice skating, cross country skiing, down hill skiing, diving,  biking (recumbant-mountain-regular), canoeing, spelunking, back packing, roller blading, skate boarding, race walking, canoeing,


done following sports:

trap shooting, boxing, diving, football, soccer, baseball, golf, video games, wrestling, motorcycle racing, bush whacking, canoe racing, foot racing, bike polo, paint ball
 
was privileged enough to travel to these countries( in order of my favorites):
 Nepal, Germany, Austria, Holland, Switzerland, Canada, England, Belgium, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, Liechtenstein, India, France, Luxembourg,


been fortunate to spot the following critters out in the wild:

deer, raccoon, fisher, fox, bear, tiger, opossum, porcupine, elk, moose, alligator, skunk, beaver, rhino


I've talked to

geniuses, crazy people, preachers, artists, communists, criminals, company presidents, politicians, police, people under 1 and over 100, famous people, closet gays, bums, many people now deceased, 3rd world tribal people, monks, retarded people, pathological liars, drunken morons, street people, ex cons
I've slept :
out of doors, in a farm, on boats, in a monastery, in youth hostels, in a $300 night french  hotel, B&B's, a tent in below 0 weather, cabins, garages, trains, buses, on mountain tops, beside creeks, in huts.  I estimate I've slept in over 100 houses, 300 tent sites, 100 cabins and at least 100 hotels.
I've traveled by:
rickshaw, motor boat, gondola, barge, cruise ship,  light air craft, 747's, elephant, horse,
I've feared for my life in:
ghettos, climbing cliffs, on roof tops, working with high voltage, while sick, in  car close calls, on a motor cycle, swimming in cold water, winter backpacking,
I've been sad to have the following people die:
cyber-friends, a grade school friend, a fraternity buddy, my mother, a grandfather, a grandmother, 4 great uncles, a great grand mother, 4 great aunts, many in laws, and many public figures I've loved (including JFK, Buckminster Fuller, John Lennon, Mother Teresa, Lady DI, Jimi Hendrix, Sam Kinison, Gilda Radnor, Graham Chapham)
I've participated in human rituals of:
weddings, funerals, fist fights, support groups, revival meetings, society meetings, drunken beer parties, foot ball games, fraternity bashes, boy scout meetings, dating, bible studies, cult recruitment drives, con man pitches, ROTC war games, crack pot schemes, baptism
for more of the mind of Eric - check out his rants page  at:
http://www.phact.org/e/rants.htm

built additions onto my home,

Most people want freedom FROM choice, I truly like freedom
of choice

other rants:

money is wasted - literally. Look at our money - other than identification of our nation, a plug for founders and unit of currency - it's wasted space.  The goal is identify currency and reduce counterfeiting.  Other nations have poets, faces some art work, 19th century greek revival architecture, etc. I propose the laws of physics and major laws of behavior (people don't know how to act

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rant "are all people born with love?"

This seems to me to be the a seminal liberal fallacy.  It's
an important question because much of ones politics and
philosophy are based on this question. I feel ones answer is
largely a function of brain serotonin level.