Yesterday's blog was called on account of rain. Okay, well, actually, it was lightening.
My prior computer turned wonky after a lightening strike surged in through my Internet connection, but then continued working just well enough to prove frustrating. Consequently, I now always unplug all connections to my new machine whenever the weather threatens. May this be a warning.
While the above certainly qualifies as a random musing, such is not the intent of this blog. Ultimately, this is to serve as a mini 'virtual vacation,' a travelogue, with pictures, of a lengthy road trip I currently lack the wherewithal to take. Speaking of which, perhaps I should get on the phone and try to nail down some funding.
File this as an exercise in frustration, if not futility.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Day 4 - Off Road
"You dig 16 tons and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt."
These old song lyrics, courtesy of Tennessee Ernie Ford's 1950s classic, just popped unwanted into my head. If you're old enough, you may remember this next bit as well:
"St. Peter don't you call me, 'cause I can't go,
I owe my soul to the company store."
Ahhh, humor. Yes, for some inexplicable reason, I find these largely relevant lyrics rather uplifting. Perhaps dire straits seem less ominous when set to a catchy melody. In any event, ever optimistic, I now head off for another meeting with a potential funder of my company's intriguing green energy technology. And so it goes...
Another day older and deeper in debt."
These old song lyrics, courtesy of Tennessee Ernie Ford's 1950s classic, just popped unwanted into my head. If you're old enough, you may remember this next bit as well:
"St. Peter don't you call me, 'cause I can't go,
I owe my soul to the company store."
Ahhh, humor. Yes, for some inexplicable reason, I find these largely relevant lyrics rather uplifting. Perhaps dire straits seem less ominous when set to a catchy melody. In any event, ever optimistic, I now head off for another meeting with a potential funder of my company's intriguing green energy technology. And so it goes...
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Day 3 - Off Road
Well, finally! Progress (of sorts).
After 8 months of effort, I've finally had a meeting with someone who can help secure the $120,000 that my employer needs in order for us to verify the science behind our transformative energy technology. I'm hoping a by-product of his efforts will be getting me the $10K I need for hitting the road.
During yesterday's blog, I remembered a recent conversation I had with a New York Investment Banker. Bit of a wanker, actually, and always pessimistic. After that lengthy (and fruitless) conversation, I remember thinking the following:
People with money can afford to be pessimistic. This is a luxury that the financially pinched do not have. For the poor, the only sensible choices are to be optimistic... or dead.
That said, let's do hope it doesn't come down to the second option...
After 8 months of effort, I've finally had a meeting with someone who can help secure the $120,000 that my employer needs in order for us to verify the science behind our transformative energy technology. I'm hoping a by-product of his efforts will be getting me the $10K I need for hitting the road.
During yesterday's blog, I remembered a recent conversation I had with a New York Investment Banker. Bit of a wanker, actually, and always pessimistic. After that lengthy (and fruitless) conversation, I remember thinking the following:
People with money can afford to be pessimistic. This is a luxury that the financially pinched do not have. For the poor, the only sensible choices are to be optimistic... or dead.
That said, let's do hope it doesn't come down to the second option...
Monday, October 5, 2009
Day 2 - Off Road
In which, gentle reader, we once again find me contemplating my navel. To clarify, this is a somewhat archaic way of saying I'm entertaining philosophical thoughts about my existence.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the funds I've been seeking to finance a protracted trip through the hinterlands did not mysteriously appear overnight. Well, no one said it would be easy. But perhaps there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Tomorrow I'm scheduled to meet with a man who allegedly has $40,000,000 in the bank.
Granted, the meeting concerns his possible investment in a company I represent - a company that may just possibly have the solution to our planet's need for a source of non-polluting, renewable energy. And wouldn't that be nice?
However, I'm hoping that a few crumbs fall my way. Perhaps he will be intrigued by my plans for more or less running away for a month, although nothing about his circumstances suggests that I should expect him to fell sympatico with the concept of escaping the work-a-day world. Still, one can dream.
And so it goes... (I mean that figuratively, of course, as at present I'm not going anywhere in a literal sense.)
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the funds I've been seeking to finance a protracted trip through the hinterlands did not mysteriously appear overnight. Well, no one said it would be easy. But perhaps there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Tomorrow I'm scheduled to meet with a man who allegedly has $40,000,000 in the bank.
Granted, the meeting concerns his possible investment in a company I represent - a company that may just possibly have the solution to our planet's need for a source of non-polluting, renewable energy. And wouldn't that be nice?
However, I'm hoping that a few crumbs fall my way. Perhaps he will be intrigued by my plans for more or less running away for a month, although nothing about his circumstances suggests that I should expect him to fell sympatico with the concept of escaping the work-a-day world. Still, one can dream.
And so it goes... (I mean that figuratively, of course, as at present I'm not going anywhere in a literal sense.)
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Day One - Off Road
Right. Well, I had thought it would be amusing to start my month-long Western Swing road trip today - 10/4. But just as CB radios and their lingo have fallen out of general favor, so too have my finances declined below the point of viability.
Now the clock is seriously ticking. Night time temperatures are falling into the 30s now across much of the Northwest, and it probably won't be long before some of the tortuous scenic back highway routes I've plotted will begin to be encumbered by snow. This would certainly take much of the fun out of tearing along them in a light-weight sports car.
Tree leaves are also turning against me, with forests transforming into increasingly vibrant cascades of fall colors while I sit here in KC, my cameras idle. And so, I shall continue to strive to raise the necessary funds to get the heck out of town. This situation is definately not 10/4.
Tick tock, indeed.
Now the clock is seriously ticking. Night time temperatures are falling into the 30s now across much of the Northwest, and it probably won't be long before some of the tortuous scenic back highway routes I've plotted will begin to be encumbered by snow. This would certainly take much of the fun out of tearing along them in a light-weight sports car.
Tree leaves are also turning against me, with forests transforming into increasingly vibrant cascades of fall colors while I sit here in KC, my cameras idle. And so, I shall continue to strive to raise the necessary funds to get the heck out of town. This situation is definately not 10/4.
Tick tock, indeed.
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