10 Questions Answered

1. How many times have you seen the time as exactly 8:18 am/pm in your life?

Almost never. If I did I did not take note of it. 11:11 I always remember as well as 3:33. The middle of the night where all the horror movies have things happen is said to be 3:15am - you have no idea how many times I’ve woken up at 3:15am and looked at my phone.

2. What have you lived long enough to see?

The list is rather long, but I’ll try to keep it short. Computers went from filling a room bigger than my apartment, to fitting in our pockets. When I worked in data entry, the entire building was using a 1GB drive that was the size of a stove. Now my 512GB micro SD card is smaller than a fingernail.

Medical treatments like Stem Cells are not giving life back to people who would have died when I was younger. Medication I’m on did not exist 15 years ago, and it’s keeping me alive. All manner of medical wonders.

Personal space travel. This was fiction when I was young, and now it’s happening.

Then there is unsettling political trends that are starting to spread around the world, and after knowing the history of how this ended before, I have to wonder of the sanity of humanity at this point - I NEVER thought this could happen.

3. Would you rather be an inventor or a billionaire? Why?

Billionaire. If I had billions of dollars hanging around, I could start funds that would help thousands of people a month, and help start up other organizations to help disadvantaged people turn their life around. I could give money to educate brilliant minds that would never have the chance to be in higher learning situations. I could feed hungry children and put clothing on their backs. I could fund research that is relatively ignored by other benefactors. I could also speak out and be heard by millions and not just 20 or 30 people. Unmeasurable good could come of it and I could still live like a King and have anything I want.

4. Would you like to make $10K a month after taxes?

Yes I could live very well on that. A heck of a lot better than I am now, and I could invest money each month for the purpose of giving to charity.

5. What would you do if you were given $2500 in cash right now?

I’d pay off my credit card ($680). I’d put $1000 on my Amazon account. $500 on my phone bill to pay it for 4 months and a bit. Spend $200 on some fun things I want. Finally $120 to the animal shelter.

6. What is it like living as a nudist?

I find it very comfortable and it’s given me a long standing love for my own body image. I’m not bothered by the fact I have large scars, a lumpy gut that hangs down or anything about how I look. People who tend to be uncomfortable in the nude in a social setting also tend to not like how they look I find - they are often insecure with their body image. Also the vast majority of people I know who are nudists don’t sexualize the human body like people who stay covered up tend to do - we realize it’s just another body part the vast majority of the time. I also find nudists to be extremely accepting of others for the most part, I’ve rarely met a nudist who has hang ups on other peoples lifestyle, sexuality, gender identity and so on.

7. What is worse than death?

Being in terrible and uncontrolled pain for a very long time. Not being able to do anything for yourself anymore. Dementia, Alzheimer's, and a number of similar fates. Being lost to sever mental illness and not being able to have it controlled by medication. I think in any of these situations we deserve the right to chose if we are terminated or not. For me, I’d rather be dead in these instances. But it should ALWAYS be the persons personal choice.

8. How has modern technology made a simple task more difficult?

I used to be able to phone a number and a human would answer the phone and talk to me about what I needed. Now I need to press all kinds of buttons, or worse say words the machine often does not understand when I say them. Instead of getting my medication refilled in 5 minutes, it now take 12 minutes. Instead of being on the phone to the government for 20 minutes, I’m now on the phone for 3 hours, because they fired 90% of the call center people in favor of a complicated machine and I am on hold way longer.

9. If you had one wish, what would you wish for? Why?

For the human race to instantly obtain the enlightenment needed to live the Star Trek like utopian society. Because it would end 99% of human suffering, and everyone would be treated like they deserve to be. We could very rapidly advance our science and technology this way. Perhaps we could solve a hell of a lot of issues that are putting us in danger of extinction or being tossed back into the dark ages.

10. What was the most challenging decade of your life?

This one. My health took a dive big time, and I’m a heck of a lot more poor than I used to be. I’m also bothered by the possibility of a future government cutting social spending and driving people like me onto the street to literally die.