Are there any stupid questions?
Is that a stupid question?
Why didn’t I think of that?
They say that imitation is the best form of flattery. When I was a youth, I wrote several stories about superhuman soldier ants who lived in a boy’s closet. I called them "G.I. Ants." Years later, DreamWorks produced the movied "Antz," and Pixar released "A Bug’s Life." Both computer-generated animated features were commercially successful. I still have a nagging feeling I should have published those stories (maybe someday I will). Who knows what might have happened.
In January 2002, as I stood before the Citadel of Qaitbay in Alexandria, Egypt, trying to imagine what Pharos Lighthouse, one of the Seven Worlds of the Ancient World, looked like when it stood on the same site until an earthquake destroyed it in 1323. I suddenly thought of founding a travel agency that takes tours to ancient sites and uses technology to recreate what those sites would have looked like. I envisioned using 3-D technology to recreate imagery of the ancient world. Each tourist would wear a pair of goggles that would allow them to see images of ancient sites recreated for them. The technology would marry cinematography with the real world, allowing travelers to view either the present-day site or a reconstructed image of what it would have looked like when it was new. Today, I realize that my idea is one step closer to reality.
Researchers at the University of Virginia and other institutions built a simulation of ancient Rome called Rome Reborn 1.0. It is most amazing! While the project began before my revelation in Egypt, I think I am still ahead of the team who built Rome Reborn by envisioning future applications and business opportunities for such a wonderous technology. Imagine visiting the Pyramids at Giza, Egypt, viewing them as they looked four-thousand years ago. While the technology is not yet ready to accommodate this vision, this project brings it one step closer to reality. You read it here first. While this is one dream I don’t plan to pursue to fruition, other ideas are struck in my mind, waiting to come to life. I just need to unleash them before someone else does.
Empty nest
Dear Reader, my family left for China to visit family for a few weeks. Fortunately, they made it to China without incident. They were in transit for about 21 hours from Washington, D.C. to Shanghai via Chicago. Although taking a trip to China right before heading to South America isn’t ideal, it’s better than flying from Paraguay to China, a 31-hour nightmare journey via Los Angeles. The 14-hour flight trans-Pacific flight from Chicago to Shanghai is the longest my wife and son have ever taken. My wife said that they were tired but that they both made it none the worse for wear. Relatives in China are happy to see them. My son did very well considering the long flight; he rotated his time between watching children’s DVDs, reading books, sleeping, and wandering the airplane. He loves airplanes and was happy when I told him that he would fly on the "white" airplane versus the "blue" or "grey" ones. I asked him whether he would rather fly back to Seoul to see his friends, and he responded that no, he would rather go visit family. That’s quite a change in attitude–my little boy is really growing up!
In the meantime, I am an empty nester. Several friends have told me to enjoy temporary "bachelorhood." OK. I do appreciate the peace and quiet, although it feels too quiet, and it feels strange having no one else around. So far, I’ve been a homebody. I ran some errands in anticipation of our trip after I dropped my family off at the airport, but I’ve stayed home for the last day and a half brushing up on my French. (I will retake my French exam on Thursday to get my score on the books; I hope to improve my score from 1/1 to 1+/1+.) I worked out a system where I write dialogues. Microsoft Word automatically corrects the grammar because it recognizes French. If I don’t know the vocabulary word, I look it up using an online dictionary and then add it to my language database. I’ve also been looking up the same German and Portugese words and adding them as well; German, because I will retest in German at the end of the month, and Portugese, because I will study Portugese next year. Improving my language scores to 1+/1+ in French and German and testing in Portugese next year will allow me to qualify in the future for jobs in French-, German-, and Portugese-designated assignments.
It’s not too exciting, I know that. I might sneak away and catch "Pirates of the Caribbean" at the cinema later this week.