Would You? Could You...???????

I haven't been here in awhile and I apologize to those of you out there that were reading me on a regular basis.

Inexcusable - I can't say it won't happen again but I will try my best Not to let it.

I have been sick, physically and dare I say mentally.  I won't get into detail as some of it you can gather from other things you have seen and read on this blog.  I will tell you it hasn't been fun - not all of it.

As for the Mentally, well, in my opinion if you ain't a little nuts who is going to listen.

But enough of that already -- I am not ready to get into full detail on it.  Maybe someday I will write a post about it here, then again maybe not.  Who Knows for sure?  Not I.

I will say this I will do my best not to go AWOL (Absent With Out Leave (military term if you haven't heard it before) Again.


But that is not why I am writing today.

Today I am writing about the Title of this post.
and
Yes, to those that have read me before I am doing this my old way -- All in one sit, just writing it as it comes and listening to 80's music while doing it.

Would You? Could You...???????

Dreams,
Hopes,
Wants,
Desires,
Wishes,
Fantasies,

A Dream that becomes a Hope that becomes a Want that becomes a Desire that becomes a Wish that becomes a Fantasy of a Lifetime!
(to be DHWDWF here on to shorten writing and reading :) )

All things that every single person has.  Every SINGLE ONE of us has these things.

Not all of them are received or achieved.
Some require Hard work, diligence, patience and even then they don't always bare fruit (most of the time they Don't).

I have had my share of both achievement and failure in those things:
a few of these follow:

1. I Never became an Astronaut  - had that one since I was 7 or 8 yrs old.
2. I Did get married to a beautiful Woman that stole my Heart and I didn't know it until it was done.
3. I Never Made it "Big Time" in anything I did -- Just did as good as I could and made as little as it paid.  LOL
4. I Have two beautiful, intelligent (sometimes they make me see I am getting slower (happening more and more often)), gifted Daughters that make me Proud to say "They are Mine!"

those are just a few.

Now this part I am going to get vague but give you enough to understand the concept.

I have had this DHWDWF for years (at least 17 yrs maybe a bit more).
One of those things that sits there on the cusp of becoming reality.
So Near you can Smell it and Taste it on your tongue.
Something I have in a weird way Needed and on occasion got Lucky enough to sample.
but
Never gotten to "Have"

In its own right it has become a drug (no, not the kind people abuse) but by the effect the "samples" and nearness of the DHWDWF have caused.

This Thing, this...... Thing (with the way I am writing this that will have to do) is so close I Can touch it yet not.

Well, Today with out my asking for it, it was offered to me.

FREAKING A!
Chance of a LIFETIME!
You have got to be kidding me?!?!?!?!
Every Form of Vocal Jubilation you want can be inserted here.

If it were you -- How long would it take you to accept it?

It took me all of maybe 20 seconds............

Colliding Worlds -- an AWESOME sight

.......... to say NO!

You read that right..... NO!


A Dream
A Hope
A Want
A Desire
A Wish
A Fantasy come to fruition and I said NO!

Not because I didn't want it.
God Knows that I would cherish and relish it for the remainder of my days!

The way it was offered presented to me left no doubt in my mind........
it would have ruined everything in my life had I accepted at that moment.

By No Monetary Means am I a RICH man (on most scales would prob. fall in the Poor category).
I am Definitely NOT the Healthiest Man in the world.
Mentally, well....., sometimes I do question myself as of late, but I haven't answered yet.
I have NOT been Good all the time and some things take a LOOONG time to fix or set right.
This, Thank God, was not one of those times.

For what it is, I LOVE my Life the way it is.

Sort of FUCKED up isn't it?

Would this have made me Rich?  NO.
Would this have Cured my emphysema?  NO.
Would it have stopped me questioning myself?  Hmmmmmm Maybe, Maybe Not.
Was the offer Good for me?  For me? Yes....... For ME?  NO.
Would it have trashed, ruined everything GOOD in my life at this time?  YES.

To my knowledge I only know one person and the person that presented (one of my longest held DHWDWFs) this to me that knows what it is.

Some of you may want to know, Some of you might try and Guess but to no avail.

Will I get this chance again?  Who knows?  I sure as hell don't.

I could go on but I don't want to totally bore you to death today.

I would like to know:


Would You?  Could You turn down something you have wanted and dreamed of for such a long time?

Imagine My Surprise!!!

Anything at Anytime is writing this..... well....., I just had to write this tonight as Something Really (in my opinion), Really Neat, Cool, Awesome, Fantastic happened just a little while ago.

I have been sort of bummed out lately for a few reasons: One you all know of or will if you read back a couple of posts, Two - My Cornhuskers lost the Big 12 Championship game last week to my Dad's Sooners, and then the Resulting Bowl in California puts my Huskers out of my Reach.  (Was trying to get my folks to get me a ticket for the Alamo Bowl if the Cornhuskers went to that one but fate says otherwise and sends them to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl.  Bummer!)

However, about 20 minutes ago or around 8:45 PM MT as you read this, I just got a Pick Me Up of Pick Me Ups!

No, I did not win a Million Dollars!  So don't ask for money.  (I'm so tight you could put a piece of coal where the sun don't shine and in about a week maybe two: there be diamonds :), but I can't even afford the coal :( !!!)

As several of you out there know I like space, anything to do with space, I just love thinking of and dreaming of What Else is out there or as in my title "Ever Wonder...... What's Next?" (I know I haven't done a space thing in awhile so I need to do one.)

Well, one of the many things that I think got me interested in Space was a Book my Parents got me when I was 7 or 8 and I loved it but then I found something even better --- Star Trek!

Yes, I am a Trekkie but not a Trekkie that has every episode memorized (personally I think that takes away from the show - knowing every word/action/event -).  Yeah there are parts you remember, but not enough to take away from the show.

WOW!!! A LIGHT BULB moment even just as I type this.

Did you know that Gene Roddenberry was Born here in El Paso!  The creator of Star Trek was born in this city that I live in now and to have happen today what happened -- Well, it is a Fantastic thing (to me).

I know I hit one of those moments of "Where is he going with this?" again.

OK.

Now, Imagine My Surprise when I saw this in my e-mail:

That's right it says William Shatner.  The William Shatner that Played/Is Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek.

Just to make sure I wasn't seeing things I of course opened the e-mail to see what/who it was (Really) and I saw this:

One of the People that helped "Light Up" my interest in Space is following me..... Little ole me - on twitter.

How Freaking Awesome is that.  A Grown man and I am all giddy like a school kid because one of my Role Models for what I wanted to be is now Following me on Twitter.


*****

I am at a point in My life that some dreams, I know, are beyond My Reach, but I can still dream them!

This just helps keep the "Dream" Alive, Reality says "NO" but there are No confines on "Dreams" unless you allow them, and I for one - am one that says "To Hell with those Rules!"


Let the "Dream" Live On!


What a Pick Me Up!


P.S. - as for clarification on the "Light Bulb Moment" - Gene Roddenberry, El Paso and William Shatner, it all just hit at the same time.  Just one of those moments we don't see often enough.

Mars Colony? Is it Possible?

Anything at Anytime (I) has/have been Thinking.

Yeah, that is probably why most of you have been smelling wood or rubber burning.  Haha (I beat you all to the Punch! :P )

I am a Sci-Fi fan, Space Enthusiast (Dreamer), that believes the future of Man/Woman is Out Beyond where we are today.  It is in our nature to go look from the top of the next hill and see what is past our field of view.  We (as a People) move faster and further at a frenetic pace, constantly expanding our horizons in order to satisfy our innate curiosity.

Towards the End of President Bush's Term and at the beginning of President Obama's term, We as Americans and We as a People (World Wide) were informed of the End of a Bright Spot (my opinion) of Space Exploration and Scientific awakening.  We were informed of the End of the Space Shuttle Program for a newer Further Reaching Program called the Constellation Program.
(A bit about the Transition Process from NASA)

Great and Fantastic!  If we DO it???????

They - NASA will be stopping all Shuttle Flights in the near future and then Scrapping the Shuttle Program all together.  Sending the Shuttles we have to various Museums.

By now you are wondering where I am going so......

Last week doing my usual perusal of various Web news places I ran into a few articles about a few Scientist expressing their opinions about manned missions to Mars.  They had (again in my opinion a unique and realistic) idea about how we should go about it.  Their suggestion is talking about sending People to Mars with the knowledge that they would STAY on Mars.  (Here is a link to One of the better, well written articles about the proposal.)

I have been thinking about it a bit since I ran into the articles.  The type of thinker I am, I tend to think about how I would do it........ the hows, the whats, all of that stuff.  Again I am a Sci-Fi Nut and a Space Enthusiast but that does not mean in something like this (which is well within Our Capabilities NOW!) that I am not a Realist,  I am a Realist!

Before I go Further I would say this -- The Shuttle Program should not be Scrapped but Down Sized!  It (they, the shuttles) will be needed in this.  Shuttles would not play a major role in the beginning of a Mars Colonization Program but would be of use later.

What would we do with the Shuttles in the mean time?  That's the easy part.

First,  Perform a complete refit of all Shuttles - make sure all wiring, tiles, computers, tubing, Everything was in Perfect working order.

Second,  Launch them to the International Space Station (ISS from here on) and Turn them into Maintenance Vehicles and "Life Boats".

A few things that that accomplishes - Having the Shuttles as permanent "Life Boats" on the ISS allows a means for the crew of the ISS to secure themselves in another Safe sealed Environment if something should happen that makes the ISS incapable of providing Life Support.  If, if it can not be fixed then it provides the Crew the means to Return to Earth quickly without Delay.

Not using them as a "Life Boat" they could still be used as additional Crew Space.  More Scientist in Space to research and find whatever Great Minds find when Placed in Unique Environments for prolonged periods of time.

The Shuttles from the ISS could easily act as Maintenance Ships (like the USS Sierra AD-18 I served on in the Navy) to repair Satellites quickly with minimal delay and scheduling.  (How much Money would that save by itself?)  NASA could even Charge Civilian Companies that are in need of the Satellite Maintenance Services at a cheaper cost than it would be for those same Companies to have to replace those satellites.
Savings for the Companies means (or should mean) cheaper costs for Us.  Charging those Companies for the Services also means Additional funds for NASA.
I think you get where I am going with that.

One of the biggest questions that I see here - Fuel for the Shuttles, where would it be stored?
Well, I thought about that as well.  Fuel could be stored in a Balloon Storage that was "Tethered" to the ISS.  As I do not have all of the Technical Data, I can not be certain but I imagine that a unit like that could be "Tethered" at a safe distance and still be "Functional".

This keeps the Shuttles in Service and available for any other "Things" that could be seen as "Needing" those capabilities.  There is so much more that the Shuttles are Capable of that a capsule is not.

Back to the Mars Colonization:


I do not know how far the Scientist that suggested this went with the thought; however, I have been thinking about if a good bit.  In the above link to one of the articles, the article talks about sending supplies prior and building a stockpile.  That is definitely a must.  There is No way that the supplies needed would be able to be taken in "One Shot".

They Mention two missions of two people in order to get started - NOT ENOUGH!!!!!
The odds of finding a total of 4 people with the skills required is NUTS to say the least (and that is being kind).  Four people are not going to be able to do all that is required to insure success of the task.

To start with (Basics just to give you a Good Chance):

- Medical Personnel - 2 Doctors (knowledgeable in All aspects of Medicine) and 2 Nurses - in case any surgeries are required and One of the Doctors is the one sick or even Died.

- Engineers 2 or 3 insuring that the best plan of construction is taken and multiple projects worked on at one time.

- Horticulture 2 people well knowledgeable in, in order to provide fresh vegetables and food.

- Electricians 2 - with the amount of things that require electricity - this is a No Brainer

- General Laborers (preferably "Jacks-of-All-Trades") - Minimum of 6 - and all of the above not performing the assigned duties to double up and work as laborers to get projects accomplished in a timely fashion.

That totals 17 initial "Pioneers" so round that figure up to 20 needed in an initial Base Colony.
All Volunteers, KNOWING that there would be NO return Home.
Trying to think of the Ideal Beginning Colonist group - "Sea Bees" and Marines are the First ones that come to mind that would be able accept the hardships and overcome the obstacles that could and would arise in an endeavor such as this.

Facilities such as a Horticulture station, living quarters, water recycling facility and Solar Electrical station would all have to be the First things accomplished.
The next thing -- well maybe not the next thing but one I would suggest as a Minor Priority - a Runway and Launch rail.

Runway and Launch Rail?  Yes, as with a Runway flights from Shuttles could come in and land and bring additional supplies and materials to move on to the next step.  Additional People!
In the time it takes for the Colonist to get these facilities up and running the Shuttles could be retrofitted with a magnetic rail attachment that would interact with a Launch rail (Similar to the Magnetic rails working around the world today) so that once the shuttles have landed they could take off again coming back to Earth.

FYI -- the Shuttles can glide in our atmosphere but can not take off as they are bulky odd things; however, in an atmosphere that is much much thinner than ours and the escape velocity of Mars is so much weaker than here on earth  (Earth Escape Velocity = @ 11km/s, Mars Escape Velocity = 5km/s ) it would be an easy task to relaunch from the surface.

I have more.  Much, Much more on this topic and could make a living with this if I had only Finished my Degrees.

OH, and if you would like to know - If my daughters were in their 20s, I would be The First to Volunteer for a mission like this.

Imagine the Legacy that would leave!?!

Just a few thoughts on the matter.

Meant to Do and I Took Part

Anything at Anytime's 100th Post! 


I Wanted to set this up with bells, whistles, fireworks and the whole shebang.

I decided to keep it rather simple and put two post together one short discussion and a 3 month I Took Part in That (haven't done one of those in awhile and you all should see where we are).

So on with the first bit.

Last night I was surfing the channels as usual and ran into one of my Favorite movies just as it was starting, perfect timing.  The Rookie starring Dennis Quaid as John Morris.  It is a Baseball Movie and has some good bits in it for young and old alike.  It seems every single time I see it I find something new that makes me think about how that could pertain to my life or what is going on with me and mine.

Well, last night was no different.  Now, I am not going to tell you the whole story and this and that of the entire movie because you have to see it for yourself and it is based on a True Event.  Anyway, to set up what got me thinking last night, John (Dennis Quaid) has had issues with his father in the past but an event is taking place in John's life that has him questioning his options.  John goes to visit his father and get his opinion (which in itself is a big step).  His father says this:  "Your grandfather once told me: "It's OK to think about what you want to do until it is time to do what you were MEANT to Do."  I know that may not be what you were wanting to hear."

So it got me to thinking about me and my situation.  I have always been the Dreamer type and always have tried to be a realist optimist (prepare for the worst and always hope for the best).  Maybe, just maybe, I was meant to write.  Who knows?  I don't know.  I just know that I have been at this consistently for three months now and it I am not at a point of stopping.  I just want to keep going and drawing more people to read and think about what I have to put out there/here.  Some may think I am nuts, others might find it funny and yet others may find something to expound upon.  Maybe I was put in the position/situation that I am because that is where I was Meant to be?


Part II of today's Post

I Took Part in That  -- 3 Month total and Map

As You can see by the map it is filling out nicely from the beginning.  Looking at the Map you see El Paso with the Largest Number and you see the total visits at 2,204.  If I have done my figures right I would say that between 270 - 300 visits have been by me when I go in and make post on other sites like Facebook and Google.  So I will go with the larger Number of 300 from the initial 2,204 and that leaves a total of 1,904 visits from 54 countries and 447 cities.  I hope that by the end of the year I can have that total close to or beyond 3,000 (would love to see that kind of traffic in a month, but small steps.)

Thanks to all of you that stop by and read what I have put up.  We all made that map look like that together.

Deja Vu and Choices

Yes, Anything at Anytime is going there.

Deja Vu moments - Have you ever had them?

You know those times where you are doing something, anything, and right in the middle of it you are hit with that feeling...."I've done this already!"

Personally, I have them every now and again.  I will have them at the weirdest of moments and sometimes I will have them at those "Turning Point" moments.

 The times it happens at the weird moments I just sit back and watch it happen.  It almost seems as if I am watching a re-run of a show I like on TV.  The sad part is they are over far to soon.  (They could at least have the decency to be as long as a 30 minute sitcom without the commercials!)

The Turning Point" Deja Vues, now those....

Those......

Well, those are the ones we all should really pay attention to because they are the ones that "MEAN" something.  They are the ones that shout out to us - "You better have paid attention!", "The MOMENT is Here!", "We told you.  Now, What are You Going to DO!?!?"

The problem with "Turning Point" Deja Vues is that you only know the moment it happens, the situation.  You have NO clue as to what is next.
Do you DO IT? or Do you Not?
Turn Left or Turn Right?
Do you Stop or Keep Going?
Do you Hit the Jerk or Just totally immasculate him and make him look like the Total Fool and Jerk that he is in front of his friends and peers? (OK, this last one I think you know what I did!)
All the while knowing in your gut that no matter the choce somehow, someway you have just set yourself to a specific path.

We are confronted with these types of choices every single day.  We just don't have the luxoury of Deja Vu all of the time to let us know that we are THERE.

It is nice to have those moments.  The foreknowledge that you are at one of those Moments that you know you are faced with a changing choice.

Where do I go from here?  Where do We go from here?  I don't know Deja Vu left me at that title.
I will say this:  Sometimes Dreams are more than just a "dream", they can have real substance that helps us work out what is going on in our lives.  I believe that Dreams create Deja Vu moments by pulling everything from our everyday lives and sub-conciousness and putting them all together in "if this, then that" scenerios and the Deja Vues are when we "hit the nail on the head" and everything played out just like in the Dream(s).

Deja Vu is ourselves telling us that this is where we are headed.  This is what will happen as a result of this!
Our Choices are what creates the things for our minds to work around and put together with how we normally react to situations and thus the result is a dream one night and a Deja Vu the next week.

So, What is Your Choice?

Continue on?
Or

Turn the Page?

Dare to Dream

Where to start?

Anything
at Anytime....... Hummppphhh...?

I guess the place to start would be when we start to dream.  For me it was when I was about eight.  That year for my birthday I received as a gift a book about space and astronauts.

My "Dream" started there and then, to this day I still dream that dream even knowing it no longer exist as a reality for me.  I have dreamt of flying in space and exploring, discovering things and worlds that "Others" could only  dream of. 

I still "Dream" that dream but have moved my reality dream, that dream that could still become reality, to something that fits with the here and the now.  A Dream that has been there but on the back burner of life and wanting that first dream so much more.  Reality tells me today that the first dream is just that now, only a dream that can not be.  The back burner Dream fits so well with my current reality.

The dream that fits today's reality is simple and so much more possible. 
This dream is one that I am doing now, have done for the last two months. 
I have dreamt that I could write.  Write something that people read.  Put to words things that would make people think about who and what we are.  Give them a work that will transport them/you to a place that allows you the freedom from today's burdens, or allows you to look at something from another perspective.

Write a book (or in this case - a blog) that would express multiple desires and dreams.  Do something to show my children that no matter what happens in your life you can keep your dreams alive as long as you keep getting up or give your best effort.  You may need to change course a few times, maybe even turn around completely and backtrack a little, but striving to achieve something, Anything that you have wanted.

Life is not always kind nor is it even easy or fair.  It will give you one thing and take another.  There is always a price. 

Sometimes we are given a choice and with that choice we know that whichever we choose the other is lost forever.  Some will regret those choices, decisions but in reality you should regret them not at all but learn and direct yourself back to the path you feel is right for yourself.

Never regret your past, contemplate over what you have done and choose to do as you are doing or to change the path you are following , but never regret! 

Regret leads to despair!
Despair is Death of Hope!
Despair is Death of the Dream!
Dreams should never Die!!!!

Dreams are Life and as long as You Dream, Life goes on even into Infinity.

So Read on..... Today, Tomorrow, or even the next day, read on and find a Dream.

Read on and Find YOUR DREAM(S)!

My Anything at Anytime Dreams!?!?

Anything at Anytime goes OUT THERE!  Dreams!?!?

You see, I have had this dream.



Over and Over this dream plays around in my head at night.  Nine (9) out of the last thirteen (13) nights I have had this same dream or very similar variations. 
What is so Weird, Odd, or just plain "Nuts" is that the dream(s) revolve around this blog Anything at Anytime (yes, this blog you are reading right now).

Anything at Anytime, is not a major traffic draw blog.  It is a relatively new blog out there in the infinite space of the Internet and a bare fraction of a fractions fraction (if that) knows of its existence.

If you notice, in the column to the right of the body here you will see a "followers" tab that shows 51 followers.  In my opinion for being up and running for about a month and a half that's Pretty Damn Good.  Not great by any means, but a good start! 

Maybe it is wishful thinking, and with all that has happened in my life and our family life it very well could be just that.  A Dream that has latched on to a sub-conscious desire and has gotten stuck on the same track like an old record player needle stuck in a groove. 

OK, enough preamble and baloney! (besides I like my baloney with mayo and mustard on white bread)

The dream as I have said has repeated many times in the last two weeks. 
Basically it rolls around the the issue of followers and visits to the site.  The dream has me waking up to find a flood of comments and new followers.  I never see the numbers but my reaction is totally "WOW!"

Now, this site is not a money generator.  Yes, it does have advertisements and a click or two on occasion would be nice and maybe make a small contribution into the family funds, but the site wasn't started for that. 
I originally got into doing this blog to help my wife with a project for one of her continuing education classes.  I then figured "What the hell, keep it up." and maybe I might eventually get to where my writing becomes good enough to really interest people.

From the looks of it, it is starting to get a few people interested and I like what I am doing. 

But the Dream is still there and has been for two weeks now.  Am I missing something?  Am I overlooking that "Golden Link"?  Why is this Dream being so persistent?

Dreams have Power!  Dreams are what keep us going when things often seem the worst. 
They keep us striving to reach that goal, that one thing that we have always wanted to do, or have, or be!

Some Dreams are static, meaning they stay the same no matter what happens in our life, those dreams we build as a child and keep to our Dieing day; like being a Fireman, Police Officer, (or mine) an Astronaut.
Those we keep with us always and forever even though we reach a point that we know in reality it is not happening. 

Some Dreams change and change frequently.  Dreams like, hoping our child is born with no problems, hoping we provide for our families as we grow older.  They adjust as things change in our lives from day to day.  Where would we be without Dreams?

This Dream of many followers and visits all the time might just be fantasy, but then again it might be myself telling myself that I have found a "Niche" that I fit into and is right for me. 

Maybe, just maybe it is the Dragons tail and I have stumbled upon it and it does not know I am there.  If that is the case so be it.  I will grab that Dragons tail and hold on for Dear Life as I slowly crawl my way up to its back and can ride it through the never ending vastness of the Internet!

Sometimes Dreams can lead us to failure from misinterpretation and Sometimes Dreams can lead to Great and Wondrous things.  I would rather risk the failure in order to achieve the later.

Even if this is a repeating "Pipe Dream", I will still Dream.  Dreaming is for everyone, ALWAYS!

So Dream your Dreams and follow the ones you wish, because they are Your Dreams, not mine, not his, not hers, But YOURS!!!!

Keep Dreaming the Dream!  

Who knows....... it just Might come True!?!