Booklet Ideas to Consider

I would like to write and publish informative booklets. I believe I have skills in taking complex material and summarizing in a clear and understandable manner. Here is an initial listing of possible booklets topics - 100 or fewer pages. (E = need to write with an expert) ( ** = these could be written by me with too much research):

1. 50 (?) easy projects (photography, gardening, sewing, knitting, crocheting, publishing, scapbooking pages, woodworking, music, etc.) E
2. acupuncture overview plus anecdotal E (Leon)
3. aging brain care E
4. aroma therapy (see 95 below) E (Alexi)
5. astrology basics - predictive value? E
6. basic electrical repairs E
7. basic plumbing repairs E
8. basic sewing E
9. basic woodworking (does this include carpentry?) E
10. budgeting (personal, business, etc.)
11. building a Koi fish pond with bridge E (Wayne)
12. cat care and grooming E
13. charitable foundations (private and public)
14. chinese brush painting E
15. comparative religions
16. computer printing basics
17. computer security issues (mainly for the home)
18. conflict resolution - psychological approach E (Leigh & Margo)
19. copywriting basics
20. cosmetic tattooing E (Ursula)
21. creating and caring for a bonsai arrangement E
22. creating a comprehensive compensation and benefits plan E (MSI)
23. creating a zen garden E (David)
24. creative writing (Leslie)
25. debunking alternative health products and services
26. Depreciation **
27. diabetic meal planning E (Marie)
28. digital collages
29. digital photography
30. digital videos E (Scott)
31. dog care and grooming E (Marian & Dr K)
32. e-baying basic E
33. effective writing E (Leslie)
34. e-mail for seniors
35. estate planning **
36. eye care for the aging eyes E (Miura & Edwards)
37. english as a second language host programs E (Shannon)
38. Feng Shui - western approach (also add the traditional approaches?) E
39. financial planning for retirement (MSI)
40. freelance writing
41. furniture repairs E
42. genealogy
43. general ledger accounting (QuickBook, PeachTree, etc. - a booklet per software package)
44. group astrology possibilities (Jigsaw)
45. hawaiian flora and fauna E (Bernadette)
46. herbology E (Leon)
47. history (US, european, 19th century, 20th century)
48. insurance overview (life, casualty, etc.) E (MSI)
49. IRAs, etc. E
50. japanese calligraphy E
51. jewelry design E (Alexi)
52. Korean TV Dramas - consider a by-series approach - these would be mini booklets E
53. landscaping basics E (David)
54. languages - japanese, korean, french, italian E
55. linux E (knoppix CD)
56. literature - (world, american, european, english)
57. magazine article writing
58. massage therapy E (Michael & Ron)
59. math (algebra I & II, geometry, trigonometry)
60. Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook, Access, PowerPoint) - booklet per software?
61. mild head injuries plus rehab
62. MLMs E
63. money making ideas
64. newsletter publishing
65. no talent businesses you can start (try to think up 99)
66. note taking
67. numerology E
68. organizing your ___________
69. photo collages
70. photo restoration E
71. physical training with a personal trainer E (Ron)
72. picking the right hairstyles, clothing, colors, etc. E (Deb)
73. poetry E (Jacqueline)
74. presentation skills E (Pam)
75. QEEG - biofeedback for brain stimulation E (Ramos)
76. Quicken or other check writing program
77. repairing your credit E (Elton)
78. reverse mortgages E (Sherry)
79. saving for retirement **
80. saving to purchase a home **
81. science (earth, biochemistry, physics, social, life)
82. scrapbooking E (Cheryl)
83. self-publishing
84. singing tips E (Fred)
85. skin care E (Tony)
86. social security and medicare
87. song writing E
88. sprinkler system installation (for the lawn) E
89. sprinkler system installation (for the house) E (Garry)
90. starting a small business (perhaps a business-by-type approach) **
91. surfing E (body, boogie boarding, etc.)
92. switching from a PC to a Mac E
93. Tai Chi E (Umar)
94. tax return preparation - business (3 booklets - sch c, 1120, 1065) **
95. tax return preparation - individual - only federal ( plus there's a potential of > 50 state mini booklets) **
96. teeth care E (dentists)
97. travel writing
98. throwing a luau E
99. understanding financial statements **
100. Vitamins & Minerals **
101. waxing E (Shannon)
102. Windows (maybe)
103. windows registry clean up E
104. working outside the USA - income tax implications **
105. working with databases (Access and other specialized databases - movies, books, pictures, and music)
106. writing basics - grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, etc.
107. writing screenplays
108. year end tax planning for business **
109. year end tax planning for individuals **
110. Young's Essential Oils E - focus on recipies (Alexi)

Need to keep developing this list. I have to locate another hard copy listing that I have worked on. DONE. The handwritten list did not have viable ideas. This list is becoming unwieldy. Maybe I'll export to excel, sort and then copy back here. I'll do that later tonight. Just finished the alpha sort. DONE. Now, all I have to do is to try to keep the list sorted as I add new ideas.

Lara Nalle story - about 1,500 words

Lara Nalle insisted on meeting me. I was anxious. After all, she was a well-known journalist, and yet she wanted to interview me. Hmmm, had I done something wrong, somewhere? Was she going to ambush me in this interview? Was I being too paranoid? Since her call yesterday, my anxieties have been growing exponentially.

“This is ridiculous," I told myself. “You have never done anything criminal. What in the world are you so nervous about?”

The doorbell rang. This was it. She entered the room, shook my hand and sat down facing me. Not a hair was out of place. Impeccable. Her suit looked newly pressed.

“Call me Lara. Now, let me get right to the point,” she said. “I want to hire you to reinvent me.”

“Huh?” I said intelligently. “Um, how can I do that for you?”

“Well, I have heard that you have helped many people find their true path in life. I am not sure how you do it, but my contacts say that you have special listening skills which allow you to really hear what people are saying under all their surface words. Please, reinvent me,” she asked again.

I didn’t know what to say. I’d never considered that what I did in any way helped a person reinvent themselves. How can I explain to her that I am never sure if the extra information will be there for me? What would happen if we talked for a while and no extra information came through? Would she be upset and feel betrayed? I have never been in a situation where I had to produce information-on-demand.

Trying to buy myself some time to think about my response, I asked Lara, “Tell me more about yourself and why you want to reinvent yourself.”

“I have been a journalist since graduating from college. My sole goal has always been to uncover illegal secrets and disclose them to the public. I believe that evil cannot survive in the light-of-day or under public scrutiny. Evil can only flourish in the dark and when people are unaware. After 35 years, I am tired. I have spent my whole career looking at the underside of life. I want to start seeing the upper side of life!” she exclaimed.

A little light started to glimmer in the back recesses of my mind. Maybe, Lara just needed to pull back and look at things in totality, verses one-dimensionally. Maybe, this wouldn’t be too hard after all…

“Lara, I’m not sure that you need to reinvent yourself. In your career, you focused your vision microscopically on this country’s “wrong-doers”. However, I suspect, your vision has always been more expansive than you allowed it to be.”

“No! No, no, no!” Lara vehemently interjected. “I mean, you’re right, my vision is, essentially, microscopic. However, I gotta disagree that there are more settings to my vision. When I try to pull back to get another perspective, I just get confused and lose my focus. My stories meander and lose their punch. I can’t get back to my main premise. Plus, my editor then slashes everything I write. Sometimes, they won’t even buy the article. I write better if I can just stay focused on the issues at hand.”

“Better?” I queried. “Or, are you forced to write stories that your editor thinks will sell verses the real story behind the supposed wrong-doing?”

“Supposed?" Lara yelled. “Are you saying that I’m making up my stories? I would never do that! I have a lot of journalistic integrity. I know there have been a lot of scandals recently about reporters making up their stories. I have never done that. I would never do that!”

“Lara, please calm down.” I said, trying to sound reasonable. “I'm simply trying to understand your writing process. I worry when you said that you get confused and lose your focus when trying to obtain another perspective. That says to me that something about your main premise is unable to remain coherent under analysis.

Let’s try an experiment. Interview me as though you thought I was a crook who just defrauded an elderly lady of her life savings. Here are the supposed facts. An elderly woman has brought charges against me. She told the police that she came here with $50,000 in cash. When she left, she did not have all of the money she thought she came with. She could only find $500. She says that I must have drugged her with the tea because she cannot recollect what happened in my apartment.”

I jotted some notes on a piece of paper and put the paper in the desk drawer. I faced Lara. She had a hard, steely look in her eyes. I felt a shiver of anxiety. Why did she look a little out of focus? She seemed way too intent, and I was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable.

“Well, what happened here? Why did she come here with $50,000 in the first place?” Lara demanded to know. “Why does this woman not remember what happened in your apartment? What kind of tea did you serve her?”

“Actually, the woman came here with 500 one dollar bills. The bills were stuffed in a bank bag. She left with the bag intact. When she arrived, she announced that she had $50,000 and offered..." I started to say, but quickly Lara cut me off.

"Ah Ha! So you were like one of those gypsies offering to do some outrageous service for the $50,000. Tell me, what did you promised to do for the $50,000?" she asked but also managed it as a sneer.

"Well, no actually, she arrived without an appointment. I had not been expecting her..." I tried to explain. I was starting to worry about the outcome of this exercise.

“Why don’t you just come clean? You stole the money and are trying to cover it up. People like you are a plague on society and someone should do something to get you off the streets! It is my duty as a reporter to put the community on notice that a snake like you is living and flourishing in their midst” Lara spewed out at me.

“Lara, Lara! Do you remember that this is just a made-up exercise? You came here asking to be reinvented…”!

“Don’t try to distract me with irrelevant information! I now know what you are. I shall make sure that you don’t get away with it. What was the old lady’s name? No wait, you would probably only lie to me. I shall get it off the police report. I don’t need to talk to you anymore.” Lara said as she rushed from the room.

I was completely flummoxed.

I sat in the chair wondering what had just happened. Was she for real? Good grief, was she on the way to the police station? What had I stirred up? Lara Nalle must be a certifiable nutcase. How could she work at the Daily News? Actually, she did not really seem like a reporter. She seemed able to invent news on-the-spot. What about her claims that she wanted to be reinvented? Was this some sort of horrible practical joke?

The doorbell rang. I opened the door and Lara and a somber and serious looking police officer were standing in the doorway. I let them into the living room. Lara glared at me. The police officer opened his little black book and leaned toward me.

“Ms. Nalle reported a crime perpetrated in your apartment. She stated that you embezzled $49,500 from an elderly woman. We need the woman’s name since we have no police report on file. Please assist us in this investigation and I’ll be able to put a good word in for you” the police officer said. As he looked around the apartment, he kept making little notations in his little black book.

I went to the desk and retrieved the paper I had jotted notes on before starting the exercise with Lara. I handed the paper to the police officer.

Lara: The woman withdrew the money from the bank and the bank teller actually
stole $49,500 by giving her 500 one dollar bills (instead of 500 one hundred
dollar bills). If you look at the whole picture, you should be able to ferret
out the facts. Do not assume anything. By the way, she did not have tea with me.

The police officer looked confused and handed the paper to Lara who paled as she read it.

“Ohh, I am so sorry. I now remember. This really was just an exercise between us. I am so embarrassed! How could this have happened? My god! I must need help!” Lara cried out as she slumped to the sofa.

I walked the police officer to the door after assuring him that I was not planning on any actions against Lara or the station. After closing the door, I turned to face Lara.

What could I say to her? Should I ask her to just leave? We started the exercise so that I could better understand her writing process. She seemed more like a candidate for a creative writing class instead of an investigative reporter.

Bingo!

“Lara, have you ever considered changing careers? How about writing fiction? I know an excellent Creative Writing class just starting…” I told her.

Japanese Poems - final version

Tanka -5-7-5 – 7-7 - with title

Max's Life

Max prances proudly

blue leash bright 'gainst his white fur

head and tail held tall
.
He knows the secrets of life
eat, sleep, and have a good job

Lantern 1- 2- 3 -4 -1 - Title

Life Path
.
life
serves as
a doorway to
time

Haiku 5-7-5 Nature

leaves dance in the wind
like cacophonous geese herds
all talking at once

Senryu – 5-7-5 – people

selling newspapers
on the busy street corner
for fumes and quarters

Popcorn poem

Popcorn

The smells of popcorn bring back memories

of working at the Vermont Drive-In Theater

during the summer of 1965

Bags and bags and bags of pre-popped popcorn
Empty popcorn tubs waiting to be filled
Huge cardboard boxes filled with the empty popcorn tubs

Rip open a popcorn bag and fill the cardboard box to the brim
Stack the cardboard box in the popcorn warmer

Repeat
Repeat
Repeat

Butter warmer filled with melted butter flavor
Fill each warmer to the brim before the snack bar opens

Repeat
Repeat
Repeat

Take the customer’s order.
Drink? Small, Medium, or Large?
Popcorn? Small, Medium, or Large?

Repeat
Repeat
Repeat

My popcorn was free.
Ate so much popcorn.

Repeat
Repeat
Repeat

Don’t like popcorn anymore.

sensory short - glass jar

I feel a glass jar inside the bag. It has a tightly shut metal screwed-on lid. When shaken, nothing stirs inside. It feels like it is vacuum-sealed.

When I remove the bottle, I see that it is labeled, One Wish. Can this be the magic wishing bottle I have heard the Old Folks talk about? They say that the bottle will grant your One Wish. Can it be true?

What should I wish for? How about, “I wish all my wishes to come true”. What it this bit of cleverness causes me to lose the One Wish? Maybe, I should just make the One Wish and stop trying to be piggy about the wish.

One Wish.

World Peace? Unlimited Riches? Perfect Health? I am not sure what to do. Also, how do I trigger the wish? Do I open the bottle? Do I just hold it and concentrate on my wish? What should I do? What if I mess it up? What if it doesn’t work.

Then, it came to me … I wish I knew the best answers to any questions that I seriously ask.

And, I lived happily ever after.

One Hit Wonders

One-Hit Wonders

Why does having a hit create the expectation of future hits?
Why are we considered failures if future hits do not materialize?
What is wrong with achieving only one-hit?
Why are we pressed to keep striving for more and more of the gold?
What is the goal of a life spent chasing after success?
Why is one-hit not enough?

Many go through life never experiencing a hit.
Many do not even try to achieve a hit.
They are interested in achieving other things.

Life is a like meandering road.
Some find meaning in every nook and cranny of the road.
Some only notice the highs and lows points on the road.
Everyone chooses what parts of the road they notice.

Accept Life.

When did we become an unsatisfied people?

POV the victim

Crash! Bang! Thunk! Sounds of screeching brakes all around. Smells of burning rubber. Smoke in the car.

What happened?

Am I alive? I am alone in a vacuum-like space. There is a stillness which surrounds me. I can’t get my breath. My chest feels broken. Am I going to die? I keep seeing the television pictures of Princess Di as she sat in the car. Am I bleeding internally too? Am I dying? Why can’t I breathe? I can’t move my fingers. There are smashed cars all around the intersection.

What happened?

People come running up to the car. They are talking to me. I cannot understand what they are saying. I manage to gasp that I can’t breathe. I can’t get out of the car. My chest feels like it is caught in an ever-tightening vise. Someone says that ambulances are coming.

I try to remember the last moments before the impact, but the memory remains elusive. The airbags must have exploded, but my eyes were too slow to catch the airbags’ movement. I look around. There are cars strewn all through the intersection. People are milling about the various cars.

A lady is trying to calm me down. She says I am going into shock. I am trying to catch my breath. Tears are welling up in my eyes. My thoughts are racing away from me. Is this what it is like to die? Are these my last moments? I can’t breath. Every little breath tears at my chest.

What happened?

Halloween Story

Today is my anniversary. Twenty-one years ago on Halloween, we closed escrow on our home and moved in. I remember standing in our new living room surrounded by more than 100 big boxes that the movers’ had just dropped off. My god, how would we find homes for all our stuff?

I started packing for the move, certain that I was going to be organized. I dutifully marked each box for its ultimate destination (kitchen, living room, bedroom #1, etc.). However, after the twentieth box, I started to panic. The movers were due within a couple of hours and we were not even close to being finished. I just started to fill boxes in a rushed manner. I put them in different locations. I planned to mark each box after all the packing was done.

HA! That plan failed miserably because the movers showed up early. Fortunately, the movers helped me to tape each box shut. Then they loaded the truck while we continued to fill other boxes. When we arrived at the new house, all unmarked boxes had to be put in the living room.

The current crisis was because the date was Halloween and it was 4 PM. I worried about the Halloween trick-or-treaters. I bought some candy, but could not remember which box I had packed them in. My husband said that we should just hand out quarters. Not a bad idea, but we did not have many coins between us. What should we do? I did not want to start out in a new neighborhood as the tightwad who did not hand out candy.

Maybe, I should just dim the light and pretend no one was there.

At 5:30 PM, we decided to go for a long, leisurely dinner. When we got home, all the trick-or-treaters had gone home.

POV the witness

Stop! The jeep is not going to make it! The intersection is too big! The other cars can’t see the jeep!

I saw the white car hit the tail-end of a jeep filled with young people. They seemed to be coming from the beach. The jeep spun out and hit an SUV in the lane next to the white car. The car behind the SUV could not stop in time and ran into the SUV’s back.

What a mess! I called 911 and asked for multiple ambulances because there were many so people who appeared injured and unable to get out of their cars. The location was the intersection of Kahala Ave and Kaalawai Place. The 911 personnel asked me approximately how many people appeared injured. I guessed and said that I could see 8 injured, 4 in the jeep, 1 in the white car and 3 in the SUV. The people in the other car did not seem to be hurt. They’d already exited the car and were standing unaided.

By this time, there were many people milling around the intersection. Most were pedestrians stopping to offer aid and assistance. Some of the accident victims were stumbling out of their smashed cars. The kids in the jeep looked badly injured and were unable to get out of their car. The lady in the white car was not moving. I could see a lady trying to talk to her and probably attempt to keep calm.

Two fire trucks sped into the intersection. Suddenly, there were many firemen descending on all the cars. I could see the firemen trying to talk to all the accident victims. Many of the injured remained in their cars. They must be waiting for the ambulances.

I could hear more sirens approaching the intersection. Police cars began to pull up. Immediately, officers took control of the traffic backed up on Kahala Ave. They closed off the intersection and
expertly directed the blocked traffic away from the crash sites. Ambulances arrived. There were 3. Quickly, each ambulance was filled with 2 to 3 of the injured. They rushed away, sirens blaring.

Other officers interviewed the non-injured accident victims (only 2 were left) and the numerous witnesses. Finally, an officer asked me what I saw. I told him that it was clear to me that the jeep caused the accident by trying to cross Kahala Avenue when it did not have the right of way. Unfortunately, because Kaalawai Place is so much lower than Kahala Avenue, the other drivers could not see the jeep entering the intersection. What a mess.

POV change to person at fault

She’s still coming! Doesn’t she see me? Stop! Stop! Jam the brakes or gun it? Gun it! Gotta make it through the intersection! Made it! Oh no…she hit my backside. Watch out! We’re spinning. The other car next to her, I’m gonna hit it. Jam on the brakes!

Wow! There’re cars all over the intersection! Hey, is everybody okay? No one is answering me. My brother looks bad. My friends in the backseat look shaken. I can’t see any blood. Everyone looks hurt, though. People outside the car are saying that ambulances are on the way.

Here’re the fire trucks. Gosh, there are two of them. I hear sirens in the distance. People seem hurt in the other cars. The lady in the white car looks bad. Oh-oh. I think I am gonna be in big trouble. She should have stopped when she saw me. What’s her problem! Why didn’t she stop?

The fireman is talking to everyone in the car. I get out of the car. I seem okay. The cops show up. People are pointing at me. Why are they doing that? I was just trying to get across the intersection. The lady in the white car should have stopped.

Jeez, I should have paid for the auto insurance!

Just a description of a stranger

Her blond loosely tied ponytail streams behind her as she skates along the sidewalk. Her movements are smooth and flow as if she is gliding on ice instead of cement. She skates in large circular patterns and sometimes, in a figure-eight. As she glides, she sometimes leans into the curves with closed eyes.

She wears a pink polka-dotted halter top with blue denim shorts. The halter top is trimmed with five rows of silver sequin beads. Her pink inline skates are laced high. Her neck is adorned by two thin gold necklaces, each with a pendant (a diamond and a heart-shaped moonstone). She wears pierced diamond studs and a thick gold ring on her right middle finger. Her nails are short, clean and unpolished.

Her muscles though sleek are well-defined. Her neck is long and holds her head erect. She is evenly tanned. She wears no make-up and her rosy complexion glistens. Her hazel eyes sparkle when her lips open wide with upturned corners.

Tree Hugging story

Tree Hugging

I lightly hugged the Banyan tree and noticed that the bark felt life-like. I softly stroked the rough bark and a vision of an old man with gnarled and knotted hands permeated my mind. I could sense his skin was dry and scaly with age.

Eyes closed, I gently pressed my cheek to the bark of the tree. The vision quickly vanished. The tree ceased to live. The tree suddenly seemed cold, distant and completely removed from human concerns.

Intellectually, I knew the tree was alive, but was unable to feel its life force. I felt left out by nature. I felt diminished by my inability to commune with nature. People often talk about their love of and connection with nature. Why was I suddenly disconnected from this tree?

A blade of grass felt more alive than that tree. Why was there a difference? It was as though the thick bark pressed against my cheek severed my connection to the tree. The tree’s thick, rough skin was a barrier I could not overcome.

What did this mean? Could this reflect a life pattern for me? Do I withdraw in the face of roughness, harshness and unpleasantness? Or is the simple truth I don’t like rough, hard and unpleasant things?

Wal-Mart Poem

Wal-mart Outlaws Christmas


Today, Wal-Mart decreed there shall be no Christmas in their stores
They are busily slashing the “C” word from their aisles
Removing all traces of the disagreeable “C” word from their advertisements
Employees are instructed to greet customers with
“Have a Happy Holiday”
instead of
“Have a Merry Christmas”

Wal-Mart is afraid of offending the non-Christians in America

This is odd

About 10 percent of Americans are religious, but non-Christians
Their opinions must count for a lot to Wal-Mart

About 11 percent of Americans are non-religious
They probably have no opinion on the “C” word

Wal-Mart is not concerned about offending the 79 percent of Americans who consider themselves Christians

Where will this end?
I want to have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday!
I know, I’ll go to K-Mart

My First Poem

She was removed from class tonight

I can still see her smiling face and the way her eyes sparkled
when talking to the other students
She sat unaware of the controversy she stirred up
She stopped smiling when the police came to talk to her
Her look was puzzled, but her action cooperative

She ought to be beautiful
But, she created anxiety when she spoke
I do not know how to understand her or not be frightened when she talks

Even when she takes her meds

My heart hurts for her
I wish for her the bright future that was her birthright
What caused the bright light to dim?

I shall never know
She has rights, but so do I
How do I draw the line between her right to be
And my right to feel safe

Political Rants from 2003

I am so angry. The growing anti-war and anti-America sentiment is driving me into an unreasoning rage. Tonight (I am giving in to all my Isolationist tendencies), this is what I want to do:

1. -- Finish the Iraq situation. Remove Hussein and his Guard from power. Locate the WMD's by offering Iraqi $$$. Destroy them. Use the Iraqi Oil money to build a viable Iraqi democracy and to rebuild their infrastructure. Fully publicize all the atrocities committed against the Iraqi people.

2. -- Remove all US troops and bases from Germany. Setup more mobile troops and smaller bases in the countries of New Europe that request our presence.

3. -- Withdraw from Nato and the UN. Ask the UN to leave American shores. The UN can move to France or Germany, it is none of our business.

4. -- Close all US embassies except in England, Australia, and in our few other friends. Cancel all US treaties and agreements. Set a deadline for replacement treaties and agreements. If agreement cannot be made, forego the treaty or agreement. We shall be as strangers. Do not allow the embassies to handle visa or passport issues. All passports and entry visas need to be handled by mail or in America. All visitors will be fingerprinted when entering and leaving the country using the fingerprint technology in use in our federal prisons. This would include visitors from Canada and Mexico. In addition, once anyone enters our prison system, their fingerprints will be added to the national database and remain there. This database would be accessible to federal, state and local authorities.

5. -- Remove the 37,000 US soldiers from South Korea and station them within the US borders. Their primary responsibility will be border patrol and to protect the country from Terrorists (from within and without). Offer academic and technology training to these soldiers with an emphasis on skill building and working in the private sector.

6. -- Americans need to understand that the world is a dangerous place and if they choose to do business and live outside our borders, then they have to look to their host country for basic protection. There will rarely be a US embassy in a host country.

7. -- Remove all tax incentives for working abroad. Also, US business will be taxed as though they were expatriating their profits back to America. There shall be NO tax incentive for making any kind of investment in foreign lands.

8. -- Forget about the International Space Station. We go it alone. Patent everything we discover in space. Have the government award contracts to scientific think tanks for commercial applications of our space discoveries. License US companies to develop these applications. The US should receive royalties from these products. Begin charging patent fees to all users of our new technology. US taxpayers can obtain credits for these fees paid, but not the royalties. Use all of these fees to fund Education, Social Security and Medicare.

9. -- Convince the American public that we must stop relying on fossil fuels by adding a $2 to $3 tax per gallon of gas. Add taxes to the manufacturers of cars using fossil fuels. Add heavy additional taxes on the fuels used by industry and the utilities. Use this tax to find serious research into Solar power, wind power, tidal power, etc. Aviation fuel will be spared this extra tax for a while. There needs to be big tax incentives aircraft manufacturers to use alternative energies for the jets. Encourage homeowners to get off the energy grid by offering generous tax credits and subsidies for buying solar cells. Penalize utilities that do not invest heavily in alternative energy R&D (not to include nuclear power). While the country is in the change over crisis period (from fossil fuels to alternative energies), continue massive federal deficits. Consider the deficit spending as an investment in our country's future, a future free from Oil Tyranny. As these new technologies become commercially viable, offer the products priced reasonably, to the rest of the world.

10.-- Establish the World Trade Center (WTC) funded by dues and other revenue raising steps to be determined.. This would be a close affiliation of trade and defense partners (US, UK, etc). To join the WTC, a country needs to actively participate in the War on Terrorism and pledge support of the overall aims of the WTC (established in the WTC charter). There would be a strong separation of Church and State. There would be no religious overtones of the WTC. The WTC would maintain a peacekeeper force comprised of soldiers from ALL member countries. This peacekeeping force would be used to defend all member countries from attack. In addition, each country has to actively fight terrorism at home.The trade relations would be on the best terms available with no trade restrictions. Trade with countries outside the WTC group, would be at higher rates, have quotas, etc.

11. -- Offer the Israeli's land to resettle as a new country (somewhere in America, Australia, wherever, etc.). If they choose to remain in Israel, surrounded by their enemies, there might not be much that the US or the WTC can do to help. I am unclear if Israel would join the WTC. The WTC cannot expend all their energies protecting a member who refuses to take steps to protect themselves. This is a hard nut to crack. Anyway, got all of that off my chest.

Obviously, the plan is too simplistic to work in real life, but this is a blog.

The Columbis Space Shuttle

The Columbia Space Shuttle with all crew was lost today.

I am bewildered by my emotional response to this disaster. When the Challenger was lost 17 years ago, I was devastated and cried for days. I was glued to the TV set and could not focus on anything else.

This morning, I grieved for the families of the 7 brave astronauts. It hurt to imagine the pain they were suffering over such a public tragedy. I watched the speeding smoke and fire plumes repeatedly on TV. Finally, I left the house and went to see a movie.

Callous? Uncaring? No, I don't think so. I am sorry the disaster happened. I wish there was a way to undo it. There is none. At least, the crew was able to spent 16 wonder-filled days in space. They experienced sights that very few humans will ever call their own. I feel that all 7 would consider their last 16 days to be one of their greatest achievements in life. I wish they were alive and telling their families and friends about their trip. They are not.

I feel a little more distant from this disaster. Why? There is a greater acceptance on my part that terrible things happen in this world. As I learned with the 9/11 catastrophe, life does go on. In fact, life must go on in order to validate the ultimate sacrifices made. I cannot hide from the ugly side of life. I cannot pretend that bad or evil things do not happen. I will be strong and resolute in the face of disaster.

Have the events of 9/11 made me colder? Have I become desensitized to pain? Or have the events cost me my innocence and naiveté about the future? Am I becoming a warrior in the War on Terror?

Or, am I simply 17 years older?