JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 36: Possible Ancient Astronaut, indeed

Life changes inspired before the arrival of COVID-19, beginning with leaving Fitzgerald to apply for position that has been my life-long dream and far beyond the confines of CCSD.

MP3 Version: https://jbbsfinalthoughts.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/jbbsfinalthoughts_e036_possible-ancient-astronaut_indeed.mp3

Enjoy and please subscribe to my YouTube channel or subscribe to all of my blog posts (scroll to the bottom of this page, click the red FOLLOW button in the “Follow blog via email” box).

Please Subscribe:

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Resources:

• music: Social Blindness – 22K by Smart Sound Music
• All images and screen grabs by Joe Bustillos ©2020 except where noted
• CBS News Coverage: Apollo 11, screenshot 2019-07-16
• Empty Las Vegas by Josh Metz, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2932568266766674&set=pcb.2932568556766645&type=3&theater, retrieved 2020-04-08
• Gemini-Titan (GT)-6 – Gemini 6 of 7 – Space Photography – Outer Space. Full resolution (URL): images-assets.nasa.gov/image/S65-63194/S65-63194~orig.jpg. NASA ID: S65-63194. Date Created: 1965-12-17
• Astronaut Edward White during first EVA performed during Gemini 4 flight, Full resolution (URL): images-assets.nasa.gov/image/S65-34635/S65-34635~orig.jpg. NASA ID: S65-34635. Date Created: 1965-06-03
• PORTRAIT – GEMINI 12 PRIME CREW. Full resolution (URL): images-assets.nasa.gov/image/s66-46952/s66-46952~orig.jpg. NASA ID: s66-46952. Date Created: 1966-01-01
• JobsUSA, NASA Astronaut Candidate application, screenshot 2020-03-31
• Neil Armstrong, X15 Pilot, NASA Archives
• Franklin Chang Diaz, NASA Astronaut, NASA Archives
• Ronald E. McNair, NASA Astronaut, NASA Archives
• The battle of Gilgamesh and Enkidu with the Heaven Bull by Oleg Kuzmin, https://www.artstation.com/artwork/EgbOe, retrieved 2020-04-08

Episode Notes/Script:

Joe Bustillos, here.

1969-07-16 Apollo 11 Launch – 50th Anniversary CBS News Coverage

I can’t believe that the last time I recorded a podcast it was well past 100 outside and I was still all caught up in the post-Apollo 11 moon landing 50th anniversary nostalgia. I mean, it’s only been a 9-month gap, it’s not like I’m pod-fading or anything. It’s an interesting observation that, except for last school year (2018-2019), my capacity to produce podcasts (or even blog!) pretty much evaporates as soon as school is in session, beginning with when I started working for Full Sail Labs in the summer of 2015. Damn. So, the reasons that I’m making the effort to produce this podcast episode is many-fold.

“Empty Vegas” by Josh Metz

You might have heard, the world has changed over the past month, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I have more time on my hands, even though this week is the beginning of the fourth week of Nevada’s work-from-home/remote teaching policy. The first week was disorienting, but you have to remember that I taught fully online for six-years before coming here. So my mind immediately went to how are we going to convert our superficially technological teaching practices to something that can work for most of our students. During week two I set up a Slack channel so that my fellow teachers could post questions and suggests over a common channel instead of trying to manage this via email chains. I also began trying to nail down student email accounts so that communication could be something more efficient than playing phone-tag. I ran into more than a few snags but my partner who teaches music was able to get over eighty students to check in, which is pretty good considering how many families from my school have no technology at home, no Internet and no access to even smartphones. I’ll be spending part of my Spring Break continuing to try to bridge the communication gap. So, that’s something that I never anticipated the last time I posted a podcast.

2020-03-04 STEAM Lab: student stop-motion animation

Another thing I didn’t anticipate when last we spoke was deciding that it was time for me to leave Fitzgerald and find another school better suited for my skills or perhaps another career entirely. It’s complicated, but suffice it to say that most of my teaching positions have average three to four years before I found myself updating my resume. It also turned out that one organization looking for new recruits is an organization that I’ve dreamed about being a part of since I was a little kid. During the month of March NASA was accepting applications for the next group of astronauts. My fandom is pretty self-evident to anyone who has spent time with me, beginning with the posters in my classroom, the theme of several lessons I’ve taught over the  years and Kennedy Space Center being a frequent destination when I lived in Florida. The question was what I might have to offer as an astronaut candidate given my academic and career history and some what “older age.”

2019-08-15 STEAM Lab: Documenting Your Journey bulletin-board

I looked over the application materials and immediately had serious doubts about my qualifications and the incredibly small possibility that I might catch any positive attention with my application. I had already been engaged in looking at teaching positions primarily in Las Vegas, but kept channels open for other possibilities outside of CCSD. Then we went on lock-down and that made me more cautious about whether it was worth the effort of filing out the NASA application. Change is hard. I should know, I keep doing it every couple years. And here I am, at a time when many of my “vintage” are looking to slow things down, for an “escape clause,” or some excuse to devote more time to napping on the couch.

I got down to the last couple days before the close date and decided that if I didn’t try than I would hate myself for not at least giving it a go. The application process itself was pretty much like all the other applications I’ve been filling out for the past couple of months. The first part of the application wasn’t too much of a challenge. But then there was a section of the application that began,

“Please describe any other skills you possess or activities you participate in that provide additional support to your application to become an astronaut candidate. Examples might include scuba diving, sports, music, languages, computer software/hardware tools, machinery, volunteer work, etc.”

So, I wrote,

“Communication: I have a degree in journalism and enjoy listening to and writing about others’ stories and journeys. I have a passion for photography and videography, always looking for the best way to tell a story. I’ve played guitar and written music my whole life and over the past four years started doing more open mic sessions in Las Vegas. I’ve spent the last five years teaching robotics to kindergarten through middle school students, building, designing, programming and competing.”

2019-03-06 STEAM Lab: Fitzgerald EV3 club

I don’t know if I should have gone into more depth or not. These things are hard to judge.

So, having filled out my work and academic history there was a more specific academic/career questionnaire that confused me a bit. It read:

“All applicants must meet at least ONE of the Basic Education requirements in question 1 to be considered for this position. Qualifying international Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is allowed so long as you submit proof of appropriate foreign education equivalency. Applicants may also fulfill this requirement by having completed a nationally or internationally recognized Test Pilot School program or by current enrollment in such a program if completed by June 2021… While a bachelor’s degree (or less) is not qualifying alone, you must submit ALL STEM related transcripts with your application.

“Note:  The following degree fields, while related to engineering and the sciences, are NOT considered qualifying:

Degrees in Technology (Engineering Technology, Aviation Technology, Medical Technology, etc.)

Degrees in Psychology (except for Clinical Psychology, Physiological Psychology, or Experimental Psychology, which are qualifying)

Degrees in Nursing

Degrees in Exercise Physiology or similar fields

Degrees in Social Sciences (Geography, Anthropology, Archaeology, etc.)

Degrees in Aviation, Aviation Management, or similar fields

Do you meet at least ONE of the education requirements below?”

Okay, I have a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology and over 36 semester hours towards a Doctorate in Educational Technology. Does that work? Because it seems like except for degrees in Computer Science, a technology degree isn’t applicable. I answered,  “C. No, my education is not reflected above.” If anything, that probably knocked me out of the running. Damn.

Earlier in the process I ran into the challenge of writing a cover letter, explaining my qualifications, which I wasn’t entirely too sure about to begin with. So, given my expertise as a writer, I began with a hint of my doubts. Here’s what I wrote:

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing concerning the NASA astronaut position.

Like many kids growing up in the United States in the 1960s and 70s I was a devout follower of all things NASA, building models and waking up my family to watch the launches on TV. While I enjoyed my drafting-engineering and architecture courses in high school, I saw myself more artist and less engineer and earned a bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies in 1981 and a second one in Journalism in 1991. I had kept my hand in technology working 15-years as a Communications-Technician for Pacific Bell, but left to begin my career as an elementary school educator after I got my teaching credential in 1994. Growing up with the test-pilot model of NASA astronaut, I thought that my poor eyesight and lack of military experience would probably disqualify me to become part of the NASA team.

Neil Armstrong – x15-pilot

This past year, my 25th as an educator, fourth year teaching STEAM to Kindergarten through 5th grade, mostly Black and Latino students in North Las Vegas, I shared with them the biographies of astronauts Franklin Chang Diaz and Ronald E. McNair, with the theme to not let circumstances dictate working to accomplish their life-long dreams. Current world issues aside, being a positive beacon of hope for these kids wasn’t entirely successful, perhaps because I hadn’t or wasn’t following my own advice. All of which leads me to write these words at a time in my life when most of my contemporaries are looking to slow down and find a comfy couch to nap in, I find myself pushing forward beginning with this application and cover letter.

My expertise is understanding the world of troubleshooting and science, the importance of giving adequate focus and time to this process and how it is perfectly human to always look for shortcuts and easy answers to our problems. We begin our learning journey loving what we’re good at or what we get praise for, and tend to lack people in our lives who can constructively push us to realize our potential. I learned technology so that I could be better at communicating, at writing, at photography and videography. I used technology because my students reacted more viscerally looking at 8-foot images of Enkidu and Gilgamesh when we read the Epic of Gilgamesh versus simply listening to my words. I used technology because having students program their LEGO WeDo robots was much more impactful than any video or story I could tell them. My whole teaching career has had some technology embedded in it, but I don’t love technology. I love when technology enables my students to begin to realize their potential, their success.

All of this began for me as a child when I watched men and women do the impossible and ride dangerous rockets of flame into space. It may not be my time to participate on that level, but if I could find a way with my gifts to enable others to contribute their expertise and passion to the missions to put humanity beyond this planet and better serve this planet, than I would say it was worth the effort. Thank you for the opportunity to share my story.

And when I pressed the send button I can say that I successfully applied to become a NASA astronaut, whether I ever get the call or not. I can say that I raised my hand when the offer was made. I’m probably too to be considered (though no upper age limit is listed), and it’s more likely that my lack of a hard-science/engineering degree is problematic. Too bad, it would have been cool to have become an ancient astronaut.

2016-06-11 astronaut joe on mars

Speaking of filling out applications… if you haven’t done so, please subscribe to either my blog or to my YouTube channel. If you’re watching this on FaceBook, click the link to my blog, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Follow” button, enter your email address and whenever I post another podcast you’ll get a message in your email. Because I recently moved my videos to a new YouTube account, I have very few subscribers. So feel free to go to my channel click the subscribe button and the little bell icon, so that you get an email whenever I post a new video podcast to my channel. Alas, thanks to FaceBook’s precious algorithm, it’s not enough to be my friend on FaceBook, if you’re interested in getting these podcasts… it works better if you either subscribe to my blog or my YouTube channel (or both!). Enjoy.

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 35: What Have These Eyes Seen in the Past 61-Years

After my 61st birthday and while immersed in Apollo 11 nostalgia I comment about events that I’ve experienced over the course of my 60-plus years life, things ranging from Space to Music to Religion, to Technology to Family. What events have your experienced that you haven’t reflected on lately.

MP3 Version: https://jbbsfinalthoughts.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/jbbsfinalthoughts_e035_what-have-these-eyes-seen-in-the-past-61-years.mp3

Enjoy and please subscribe to my YouTube channel or subscribe to all of my blog posts (scroll to the bottom of this page, click the red FOLLOW button in the “Follow blog via email” box).

Please Subscribe:

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• Twitter Account
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• Via Soundcloud
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• Past JBB’s Final Thoughts Podcast Episodes

Resources:

• music: Social Blindness – 22K by Smart Sound Music
• All images and screen grabs by Joe Bustillos ©2019 except where noted
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Flyer
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-1
• https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/classroom-copes-columbia-disaster
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster?wprov=sfti1
• Vatican II engraving, http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/index.htm
• Wright Brothers in Flight (2009). EngineersClubDayton, Published on Jun 9, 2009. ©2009 Martel Art. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3beVhDiyio
• Gemini video: NASA Remembers Astronaut John Young, Moonwalker and First Shuttle Commander. Original size video (URL): images-assets.nasa.gov/video/NHQ_2018_0106_NASA Remembers Astronaut John Young, Moonwalker and First Shuttle Commander/NHQ_2018_0106_NASA Remembers Astronaut John Young, Moonwalker and First Shuttle Commander~orig.mp4. Date Created: 2018-01-06
• Gemini-Titan (GT)-6 – Gemini 6 of 7 – Space Photography – Outer Space. Full resolution (URL): images-assets.nasa.gov/image/S65-63194/S65-63194~orig.jpg. NASA ID: S65-63194. Date Created: 1965-12-17
• Astronaut Edward White during first EVA performed during Gemini 4 flight, Full resolution (URL): images-assets.nasa.gov/image/S65-34635/S65-34635~orig.jpg. NASA ID: S65-34635. Date Created: 1965-06-03
• PORTRAIT – GEMINI 12 PRIME CREW. Full resolution (URL): images-assets.nasa.gov/image/s66-46952/s66-46952~orig.jpg. NASA ID: s66-46952. Date Created: 1966-01-01
• Cross on the Beach “IMG_0770.jpg”by jramspott is licensed under CC BY 2.0
• Manual Typewriter “bike build 168”by fixedgear is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
• AVID Cinema Macintosh, https://www.macintoshrepository.org/16435-avid-cinema
• Challenger Disaster “έκρηξη : explosion via NASA”by dullhunk is licensed under CC BY 2.0
• Starfire Optical Range Photo “Starfire Optical Range Photo”by jrtnatnov is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
• The Beatles on Stage “The Beatles on stage”by azaar94 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
• Introducing the Beatles “Introducing…The Beatles Front Cover”by cloud2013 is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Episode Notes:

Birthday (61) recently and current NASA/Apollo nostalgia… comment by Neil Armstrong that only 60-years had passed from first powered-flights by the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk to the Apollo program, inspired me to list the things that I’ve seen or experienced in my 61 years being here.

• SPACE:
  • Early NASA launches (on TV) mercury, Gemini and Apollo… some “missions” were launched and done within the same day through the 1960s and early 1970s
  • Launch and landing of the first Space Shuttle (Columbia) in 1980 (on TV)
  • Destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger (on TV) in 1986 and Columbia in 2003.
  • Launch of the last Space Shuttle missions from STS-126 (2008) though STS-135 (2011) live in Florida.
• MUSIC/BEATLES:
  • Saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan live (1964), didn’t remember that they played three-weeks in a row…
  • “Performing” Beatles songs for disbelieving aunts and uncles on grandma’s front porch in San Gabriel (circa 1965)
  • Late night Pre-MTV Don Kirshner’s Rock Show and the Midnight Special music variety show in the 1970s and 1980s
  • Staying up late watching MTV on friend’s cable the night before getting married.
• RELIGION:
  • Raised in a conservative Catholic home in the 1960s (Vatican II reforms), Dad raised Protestant put his religion on the back burner for the sake of family unity… early experiences that dads don’t go to church…
  • Hippy/Jesus-movement in Southern California in the early 1970s
  • The Catholic Charismatic Movement in Southern California in the 1970s
  • The Contemporary Christian music scene/Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa Saturday night concerts (performed as opening act once circa 1982)
  • Became Agnostic after my divorce in the late 1980s, revisited my faith in the troublesome 2000s, and walked away again in the late 2000s.
• TECHNOLOGY:
  • Learning to type on manual typewriter in 1972 during 7th grade summer school (strong fingers would be helpful playing guitar and giving neck/shoulder rubs many, many years later)
  • 1970s 8mm film editing, analog video (VHS) editing 1980s-1990s, digital video editing on early Macs and iMacs from the 1990s to now.
  • Using technology to create curriculum materials (booklets, posters, quizzes) in the 1990s to literally teaching university courses online in the late 2000s.
• FAMILY:
  • The birth of my granddaughter, Elena, in 2005.
  • My dad  being amazingly healthy in his mid-70s, then the quick decline and death in his early 80s due to respiratory issues.
  • My “force of nature” older sister rapid decline, in part to suffering several years from untreated symptoms similar to my CIDP illness .
  • Things left undone by the passing of several talented family members and friends inspiring me to refocus my energies on things that I continually say that I want to do and trying to have a more realistic view of what to do in the time I have left.

Most of us are so busy dealing with unending demands of life from day to day, moment to moment that it’s difficult to have any sense of accomplishment or even peace about the how we’ve lived our lives… I’m certain that family and friends who are no longer here were just going through the motions right up to the last moment with no thought beyond the moment. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just that, given the truckload of opportunities that I see that I’ve been lucky enough to have, I would want this life to mean more than skidding sideways to my final destination and lamenting, “Well, that didn’t go as planned.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m well aware that I’m damn lucky to be here at this point in human history, living in this very flawed country with incredible possibility springing forth on a daily/hourly basis. For that reason and the others listed above, I’m still looking for and engaged in my life’s mission beyond Margaritaville and this thing called retirement. That said, I’m not anticipating chasing disruptive 5-year-olds or explaining myself to arrogant pre-teens who believe that they’re all that for the rest of my life. I think I’ve earn some respite from that…

What about you, what “escape” plan are you hatching for yourself and your loved ones? What wonders have you seen over your many years that you haven’t thought about lately because you’re too damn busy to be bothered?

Speaking of bothered, if you haven’t done so, please subscribe to either my blog or to my YouTube channel. If you’re watching this on FaceBook, click the link to my blog, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Follow” button, enter your email address and whenever I post another podcast you’ll get a message in your email. Because I recently moved my videos to a new YouTube account, I have very few subscribers. So feel free to go to my channel click the subscribe button and the little bell icon, so that you get an email whenever I post a new video podcast to my channel. Alas, thanks to FaceBook’s precious algorithm, it’s not enough to be my friend on FaceBook, if you’re interested in getting these podcasts… it works better if you either subscribe to my blog or my YouTube channel (or both!). Enjoy.

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 34: Maybe I’m Not As Done As I Thought

I thought I had a pretty good idea where I was going to want to focus my energies to get to the next level of my life’s journey. Then I talked to fellow-Full Sail University refugee, Mel, and I’m not so sure anymore about those plans and my role as an educator. Great.

MP3 Version: https://jbbsfinalthoughts.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/jbbsfinalthoughts_e034_maybe-im-not-as-done-as-i-thought.mp3

Enjoy and please subscribe to my YouTube channel or subscribe to all of my blog posts (scroll to the bottom of this page, click the red FOLLOW button in the “Follow blog via email” box).

Please Subscribe:

• YouTube Channel
• Twitter Account
• Apple Podcasts/iTunes
• RSS Reader
• Past JBB’s Final Thoughts Podcast Episodes

Resources:

• music: Social Blindness – 22K by Smart Sound Music
• All images and screen grabs by Joe Bustillos ©2019 except where noted
• JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 33: Zen As “F” (about future plans)
• Amazon associate link: Zen as F*ck by Monica Sweeney

Transcript:

Joe Bustillos here.

Last podcast I thought I had an idea about what I wanted to do and what I wanted to focus my energies on so that I might get to the next level in my personal journey. There’s no saying that those thoughts weren’t on the mark, but then I had a good conversation with my fellow Full Sail refugee, Mel, and it really got me thinking, “maybe I’m not really done yet.” “Done” as in “I’ve put in my time as an educator, and it’s nearing time for me to find the non-education next chapter.” Yeah, all that surprised me too. Granted, while I thought I had a one-year runway to explore things (having committed to the upcoming school year), my confidence in that plan was also challenged by the news that my teachers’ union is talking about having a strike at the beginning of said school year. So much for my one-year runway… more like three-month runway. Damn.

My friend Mel moved out here to Las Vegas looking for her next chapter also. We talked about what we learned working with Full Sail University’s emdt (Education, Media, Design & Technology) online programs, some of the great things that really seemed to work, things that may not be in-play any longer because management didn’t or doesn’t quite understand what the “secret sauce” behind a successful online educational experience might be. But after I got laid off in 2014 in the aftermath of the bad economy and my inability to get rehired somewhere else, even with my working knowledge of good online practices, I was left with the impression that I seem to have an expertise that no one seems to value. Listening to some of the horror stories Mel has experienced with her collection of online teaching gigs, I’m amazed at how good I had it at Full Sail, teaching only one course that switch out every 30-days, and where I generally never had classes over 60-students to deal with. We had remarkable freedom to craft our courses and continually iterate as we needed. Alas, the university’s inability to get credentialing that worked with public school educators looking to bump up their pay column, spelled the end of that online masters program and eventually the loss of what we had created.

So, why should this effect my plans for the next year or years? Full Sail let the program die, none of what I’ve been doing for the past five-years has been in the online education field, I should just let it go. Let someone else die on that hill, someone with an advanced degree and probably another source of income so that they can fight the good fight without worrying that they could be bankrupted by any career change. But, at the same time, if the past three-years has taught me anything, it’s that our assumption that applying technological solutions will fix everything is sorely wrong headed. The world has changed and no one seems to be speaking the right language(s) to make it work. And a lot of what I’ve been doing over the past few years has been a surprising example of how wrong we can get because we’re working old problems that didn’t work before technology and not-too-surprisingly doesn’t work with technology.

I wish I could tell you what the simple solution for all of this confusion in the educational spheres is, but then why would you hire me? If I just gave it to you on a podcast that virtually no one listens to… That wouldn’t be very smart (also the problem is much bigger that a single answer that could be communicated in a single podcast episode… but I do have idea [smile]). In fact, putting those ideas together would be worthy of a dissertation… damn. Here I thought I’d figured out that I wasn’t going to go down this path and that if another advanced degree was in my future, it would come from ongoing work and not before getting said work. Crap. Yeah, I don’t think I’m done with what I used to call my academic paper-chase. Guess I’ll be calling my local university to explore these thoughts. [sigh]

Let me ask you, are you as bad as me, getting all the way through your adult working life but still trying to figure out what you want to be when  you “grow up”? Or did you always know what you wanted to do or be? How many of you meandered through or into your career with no real plan? Please, let me know what you think or what you experienced in the comments below.

[Break]

[Zen as “F” Segment]

Thank you for spending this time with me at JBB’s Final Thoughts. If you want to continue to participate in my outer monologue you can subscribe to my blog at http://jbbsfinalthoughts.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, click on the FOLLOW button where it says “Follow Blog via Email” and enter your email address. You can also subscribe directly to my YouTube channel, just search for JBB’s Final Thoughts (and make sure it doesn’t auto-correct to “jobs final thoughts”… damn auto-correct!). Catch you later, enjoy.

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 33: Zen as “F”

Busy last weeks of the school year filled with events and conferences from Rockabilly, to tech training, to podcaster hangouts, to live music events, to writers conferences. It looks like I currently have a one-year path to figure out what I’m going to do in the next three to five-years. Fun.

MP3 Version: https://jbbsfinalthoughts.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/jbbsfinalthoughts_e33_zen-as-f.mp3

Enjoy and please subscribe to my YouTube channel or subscribe to all of my blog posts (scroll to the bottom of this page, click the red FOLLOW button in the “Follow blog via email” box).

Please Subscribe:

• YouTube Channel
• Twitter Account
• Apple Podcasts/iTunes
• RSS Reader
• Past JBB’s Final Thoughts Podcast Episodes

Resources:

• music: Social Blindness – 22K by Smart Sound Music
• All images and screen grabs by Joe Bustillos ©2019
• JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 25: The Power of “No” (about Essentialism)
• Amazon associate link: Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Thank you for spending this time with me at JBB’s Final Thoughts. If you want to continue to participate in my outer monologue you can subscribe to my blog at http://jbbsfinalthoughts.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, click on the FOLLOW button where it says “Follow Blog via Email” and enter your email address. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel, just search for JBB’s Final Thoughts (and make sure it doesn’t auto-correct to “jobs final thoughts”… damn auto-correct!). Catch you later, enjoy.

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 32: Three Odd Encounters with Contentment

Five weeks left in the current school year and it’s been a real challenge. I’m left half-way contemplating the things I want to change, and what I really need to focus on to have more of a sustainable/constructive year versus what has felt much more like running from emergency to emergency. That said, I found myself earlier in the month have several odd sensations that I could scarcely identify. I think I was experiencing quiet moments of bliss.

MP3 Version: https://jbbsfinalthoughts.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/jbbsfinalthoughts_e32_three-odd-encounters-with-contentment.mp3

Enjoy and please subscribe to my YouTube channel or subscribe to all of my blog posts (scroll to the bottom of this page, click the red FOLLOW button in the “Follow blog via email” box).

Please Subscribe:

• YouTube Channel
• Twitter Account
• Apple Podcasts/iTunes
• RSS Reader
• Past JBB’s Final Thoughts Podcast Episodes

Resources:

• music: Social Blindness – 22K by Smart Sound Music
• All images and screen grabs by Joe Bustillos ©2019

Show Notes:

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 32: Three Odd Encounters with Contentment

Joe Bustillos, here. Five weeks left in the current school year and it’s been a real challenge. I’m left half-way contemplating the things I want to change, and what I really need to focus on to have more of a sustainable/constructive year versus what has felt much more like running from emergency to emergency. That said, I found myself earlier in the month have several odd sensations that I could scarcely identify. I think I was experiencing quiet moments of bliss.

This podcast is going to be a bit different from my usual monologue, primarily because I sought to capture this odd sense of bliss or contentment and the following three short videos are the result. The first video, recorded on March 27th, was the first time I slowed down just enough to notice something was different.

Video 1: Bliss?

Video 2: LEGOs

While I’ve been a tech-guy for decades, it’s been mostly of the web-based/media-based variety (though I began this journey with a Phillips screwdriver building my own PC-clones before going all-mac in 2008). Block programming and robotics was added to my repertoire in 2015 during the intense Full Sail Labs experience. Then at the beginning of this school year something changed when I was with my team at a student training and found that my students were getting bored, so I broke out the EV3 kits that I brought to have them tinker while listening to the lectures. But several of our robots were missing the third-wheel ball, so I looked at what we had in our kits and MacGyvered a third-wheel from the available parts. I was taking other’s plans and adapting them based on parts on hand and I’ve been at it all year. The following video highlights something that’s become an obsession for me: LEGO, robots and LEGO robots.

Video 3: Music – Some Assembly Required Band

In the Fall I joined the Some Assembly Required Band, which does the music for our monthly Sunday Assembly meeting. I don’t know why I waited so long to participate, but working with the guys has been great and a good challenge to attend to my musical gifts.

Closing: Sustainable Focus

I’m going to turn 61 in a couple of months and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. I absolutely love working with the kids, but the year has been enough of a drain and confidence-killer that I do wonder if my gifts and skills could be better put to use in a different venue. I hope that writing and media is a bigger part of that chapter. And even though it wreaks havoc on my fingernails which effects my guitar finger-picking, there’s a definite therapy that’s good for maintaining my finger-strength when I’m working with the tiny LEGO pieces. Like a child, like my students, I see possibilities when I’m working with the LEGOs.

Thank you for spending this time with me at JBB’s Final Thoughts. If you want to continue to participate in my outer monologue you can subscribe to my blog at http://jbbsfinalthoughts.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, click on the FOLLOW button where it says “Follow Blog via Email” and enter your email address. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel, just search for JBB’s Final Thoughts (and make sure it doesn’t auto-correct to “jobs final thoughts”… damn auto-correct!). Catch you later, enjoy.

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 31: Bad UI & How It’s Hurting Tech Usage in the Classroom

Two examples of bad user-interface design that can easily derail tech usage in the classroom. You thinks it’s “meh,” now multiply the pain by 25 unhappy and vocal students on an hourly basis and let’s see how “meh” you feel by the end of the day.

MP3 Version: https://jbbsfinalthoughts.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/jbbsfinalthoughts_e31_bad-ui-and-how-its-hurting-tech-usage-in-the-classroom.mp3

Enjoy and please subscribe to my YouTube channel or subscribe to all of my blog posts (scroll to the bottom of this page, click the red FOLLOW button in the “Follow blog via email” box).

Please Subscribe:

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Resources:

• music: Social Blindness – 22K by Smart Sound Music
• All images and screen grabs by Joe Bustillos ©2019

Show Notes:

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 31: Bad UI & How It’s Hurting Tech Usage in the Classroom

Joe Bustillos, here. When I starting teaching over 20-years ago no one had to coax me into using technology, first to manage my classrooms, then to create curriculum and learning experiences that wouldn’t be possible without the technology. But I was and still am resistant to the dog & pony show use of tech because it might be a good demo but contributes nil to actual learning. I’ve been doing this for a while and sometimes I cannot believe the choices some software developers make that are just flat out user hostile and totally get in the way, such that it “encourages” teachers to not use the technology.

I’ve been using Learning Management Systems, LMSs, since they’ve been available. An LMS is basically a website where I can post curriculum and where students can go to do the assignments. My belief in LMSs began with the notion that by putting the whole assignment on a website, students could interact with the material without having to wait for the slowest person in the classroom and could work as quickly as they might want. That was the theory at least. Alas, it tends to be a hell of a lot more complicated than anticipated and it doesn’t help when the software developers do some of the following things that I’m going to demonstrate. Speaking of which, because of the following demos, as much as I love that some of you might be downloading the audio version of this podcast, I would suggest viewing the video version on my website or via my YouTube channel.

How Many Steps to Upload a File… (tech demo)

Et Tu, Google Docs? (tech demo)

Thank you for spending this time with me at JBB’s Final Thoughts. If you want to continue to participate in my outer monologue you can subscribe to my blog at http://jbbsfinalthoughts.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, click on the FOLLOW button where it says “Follow Blog via Email” and enter your email address. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel, just search for JBB’s Final Thoughts (and make sure it doesn’t auto-correct to “jobs final thoughts”… damn auto-correct!). Catch you later, enjoy.

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 30: Better Online/Better Face-to-Face – Successful Online Dating Stories with Jocelyn & David

This interview was originally recorded Spring 2016. Orlando friends, Jocelyn and David talk about online dating and how it worked out for them. This interview is much longer than my normal five-minute monologue, but it’s worth the effort.

MP3 Version: https://jbbsfinalthoughts.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/jbbsfinalthoughts_e030_better-online-better-f2f_online-dating-jocelyn-david.mp3

Enjoy and please subscribe to my YouTube channel or subscribe to all of my blog posts (scroll to the bottom of this page, click the red FOLLOW button in the “Follow blog via email” box).

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Resources:

• music: Social Blindness – 22K by Smart Sound Music
• All images and screen grabs by Joe Bustillos ©2019

Show Notes:

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 30: Better Online/Better Face-to-Face – Successful Online Dating Stories with Jocelyn & David

(Intro blurb)

Joe Bustillos, here.

I think there might be an unintended theme starting this year of 2019. The following is an interview/conversation that I had with my friends, Jocelyn and David, in the Spring of 2016 when I was still living in Orlando just before leaving for Las Vegas. This is one of two interviews that I did when I was looking into the theme: “Better Online/Better Face-to-Face,” a theme that I find even more interesting now as social networks like FaceBook come under fire for its unintended or unanticipated consequences in this nation’s political life. Thanks for tuning into…

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 30:  Better Online/Better Face-to-Face – Successful Online Dating Stories with Jocelyn and David

(Interview with Jocelyn and David)

Outro:

2019 Joe Bustillos, here.  Happily I can report the continued marital bliss between Jocelyn and David and I should restrain myself from any further commentary about the interview or their continued success, given my own less-than-stellar relationship record. But, let me make one observation, which is this: their shared humanist or atheist activism, living in the Bible-belt speaks to a level of commitment in the face of public opposition that also works in personal relationships. In other words, it helps to have a shared mission. I think the Christians would call that being “evenly yoked” (a Neolithic agrarian metaphor).

If it is your desire, may you find yourself blissfully “evenly yoked” going forward this year.

Thank you for spending this time with me at JBB’s Final Thoughts. If you want to continue to participate in my outer monologue you can subscribe to my blog at http://jbbsfinalthoughts.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, click on the FOLLOW button where it says “Follow Blog via Email” and enter your email address. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel, just search for JBB’s Final Thoughts (and make sure it doesn’t auto-correct to “jobs final thoughts”… damn auto-correct!). Catch you later, enjoy.

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 29: An Unlikely Refuge in a Time of Madness

New Year and remembering a previous way that I handled out of control love.

MP3 Version: https://jbbsfinalthoughts.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/jbbsfinalthoughts_episode-29_an-unlikely-refuge.mp3

Enjoy and please subscribe to my YouTube channel or subscribe to all of my blog posts (scroll to the bottom of this page, click the red FOLLOW button in the “Follow blog via email” box).

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Resources:

• music: Social Blindness – 22K by Smart Sound Music
• All images and screen grabs by Joe Bustillos ©2019

Images used in podcast:

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 29: An Unlikely Refuge in a Time of Madness

There was a time, not very long ago, when I loved someone with every fiber of my being who wasn’t in the position to really return the favor. There was just enough encouragement for me to entertain that our stolen afternoons making out in our cars would some day become an actual “real” relationship. Thus, I insanely kept at it for more than a few seasons, trying to make this love real, even as it became clear that once she was free of her then-relationship that she was not going to be at all interested in making a commitment to being with me. I call this time my period of insanity. I am ever thankful for the two friends whom I routinely unloaded my pent-up frustrations. One of them no longer talks to me. Ugh. The other I seem to have brief flings with about every 10-years. Odd. But one unforeseen refuge during all of this was my binge watching of the Star Trek series, Deep Space Nine. What? Yeah, not anyone’s first choice.

I already loved the series, given its grittier feel, with none of the main characters really getting along in the first couple of seasons. Given that the series couldn’t really resort to the “alien of the week” scenarios of other Star Trek series, more emphasis fell on the interactions of the main characters and the evolving relationships that developed. Then in the last couple of seasons an unrequited love scenario was explored, just as I was helplessly pining for my own love, and I found myself crying my eyes out as the characters confessed their love and then sacrificed it for higher purposes. I really couldn’t stand it, that they got a taste of what I longed for, and then let it go because they needed to attend to higher callings. Damn it. That was unexpected and difficult to watch. Granted, this was at a time when all it took was a beautiful California sunset to reduce me to tears as I drove home… alone.

Eventually I ran out of episodes, the characters moved on and I hung in there a few more years hoping that our elicit kisses would become something more… Yeah, I was that insane. The reason I’m bringing all of this up is that I was reminded of all of this when I finished binge watching the series again a few weeks ago. I don’t know what insanity the series creators were going through but it really spoke to my unsatisfied passions. Actually, this recent rewatching brought me back to those extended moments of insanity and unrealized desire. Usually I watch sci-fi to escape the pressures of my real life (as an educator), but this was a case where this fictional world tapped into the part of my real life that was completely killing me and I never got what I so desperately longed for. I knew that it wasn’t going to end well for me, but just like the characters in the series, I was going to be okay in this unexpected new reality. I didn’t end up with the girl, but I was going to be okay and there was no saying that the future wouldn’t be even more amazing than what had just happened. Somehow I needed to integrate these experiences into who I was, learn whatever I could from the experience(s) and still work toward my better self. I might not be part wormhole alien running an orbital city in a far distant region of space, but I have to respect the gifts I’ve been given, honor the precious connections I’ve had with my fellow travelers, and share my narrative with other fellow travelers to help them on their own journeys. I was an insane babbling idiot who now babbles a bit less these days. Thank you Deep Space Nine for speaking to my babbling heart and helping me through my period of insanity.

Thank you for spending this time with me at JBB’s Final Thoughts. If you want to continue to participate in my outer monologue you can subscribe to my blog at http://jbbsfinalthoughts.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, click on the FOLLOW button where it says “Follow Blog via Email” and enter your email address. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel, just search for JBB’s Final Thoughts (and make sure it doesn’t auto-correct to “jobs final thoughts”… damn auto-correct!). Catch you later, enjoy.

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 28: Mr. Quinby’s Final Lesson: Perspective

Four paragraphs, the passing of a family member and this fellow educator’s final lesson: perspective.

MP3 Version: https://jbbsfinalthoughts.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/jbbsfinalthoughts_episode-28_mr-quinbys-final-lesson_perspective.mp3

Enjoy and please subscribe to my YouTube channel or subscribe to all of my blog posts (scroll to the bottom of this page, click the red FOLLOW button in the “Follow blog via email” box).

Please Subscribe:

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Resources:

• music: Social Blindness – 22K by Smart Sound Music
• All images and screen grabs by Joe Bustillos ©2018 and ©2019
• music: Angelique Kidjo clip by Paul Quinby, May 5, 2018

Images used in podcast:

Show Script:

JBB’s Final Thoughts, episode28: Mr. Quinby’s Final Lesson: Perspective

Joe Bustillos here.

A week ago, following a very long battle with a respiratory illness my brother-in-law, Paul Quinby, passed away. He had been on a transplant list at UCLA but his illness lessened the chances of a good outcome and he was dropped from the program. He ended up in the ICU just before Thanksgiving. Over the following couple weeks he was visited by family and friends and was able to witness the wedding of his youngest daughter. I didn’t realize how little time he had left. He was moved to a comfort care facility and passed that night, December 8th at 9pm.

On December 4th he made a most amazing Facebook post titled, “Paul Quinby’s Circling the Drain Farewell Tour,”  briefly explaining the circumstances and then saying his goodbyes. Quote:

“I have not always been easy to understand or get along with. I have been often brusque and self-centered. If I have hurt you, I am truly sorry. For those with whom I have not gotten along, I hold no grudge or judgement. That would be a waste of time and energy, when time is short.”

Paul’s classroom was one of the places I did my pre-teacher observations when I began my teaching career (where he noted my need to balance my enthusiasm with classroom control!). So the following passage hits very close to home. Quote:

“If you had a seat as a student in my class, thank you. I hope you sometimes felt the thrill of understanding new things and exploring the world while you were part of our class’s learning family, and that you took that sense of wonder with you. And you should know that you have been my teachers, too, when I remembered to listen.”

When I first heard of Paul’s passing I commented that it was going to take me some time to process this, and apologies to anyone offended by this discussion, but this is one of the ways I think things though, online. I have to laugh, in that I was a real annoyance at times with my constant camera at family gatherings and online posting. That’s one area where I butted heads with Paul, so apologies… truthfully, I’m not sure why I’m always doing the photography thing, etc.

One of the things that I recognized in Paul’s final post is the resolve one may have when one can see the end. While my illness from 2012 to 2014 never reached anything close to a final stage, things were going downhill so quickly that I had to consider what was next as I lost the ability to walk. I don’t doubt that Paul went through all of the stages of anger and sadness and depression over and over again. When I faced my possible curtain call I cried and expressed my appreciation to my then-girlfriend, that if this was where my road was going to end, then it was a pretty good place to go. I was lucky. I got the treatment I needed. But I resolved to learn whatever it was that I could learn from this experience.

One thing that really amazed me about Paul’s post was that he encapsulated his farewell in four short paragraphs. That, my friends is having laser focus on the point of all of this. In the end, what are the important things, and more importantly how do we express them in our daily lives? We can say (and post) all kinds of things, but how do we actually conduct our lives both when we are alone and when we are working with our neighbors? How do we deal with the needs of the moment and experience any sense of the long view.

Growing up religious, one would think that it’s all about the long view, all about the final reward. Alas, my memories as a young Catholic and later Evangelical was mostly feeling all twisted up inside because my flawed humanity crushed me on a daily basis. I may have been forgiven and honestly wanted to do “better,” but there wasn’t a moment when I didn’t seem to be in some failure mode. That didn’t work. It was difficult to appreciate anything when I rarely had the sense of not being a failure. And lest it sound like I’ve gotten over all of that, I was just thinking how I’ve been so overwhelmed these past months by my own expectations for what should be happening in my classroom to the point of illness and exhaustion and how silly that would have seemed to Paul from his perspective. When you care about the day-to-day it can be too easy to see everything as day-to-day and begin to miss the point of it all. I’ve certainly had that experience this school year.

Paul’s passing reminds me of all the things we say are important and generally fail to have enough time for… But then who decides what “enough time” really is? It is what is what it is, and if you are lucky enough to have experienced long hugs from a loved one, the smile of another human briefly connecting with you, the tears of exhaustion and perseverance, and good conversation and a great beer with friends and strangers, what else is there?

Paul said, “So I think it’s time to reflect on the blessing of having spent an incredibly warm, fulfilling and exciting life, with much loved family and friends. You have enriched my life, and I am grateful to you all.”

Paul, I will miss the heated verbal battles, the honest confrontations, the shared meals, beers, and tequila shots and the sense of human connection.

And to you, my dear family, friends and passing online strangers, however you’ve had this in your life, for however much time you’ve had… that’s the point… that’s the perspective that we often lose in the day-to-day grind.

Happy holidays, tell those around you how much you love them. It’s important.

Thank you for spending this time with me at JBB’s Final Thoughts. If you want to continue to participate in my outer monologue you can subscribe to my blog at http://joebustillos.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, click on the FOLLOW button where it says “Follow Blog via Email” and enter your email address. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel, just search for JBB’s Final Thoughts (and make sure it doesn’t auto-correct to “jobs final thoughts”… damn auto-correct!). Catch you later, enjoy.

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 27: Better Online/Better Face-to-Face – Career Networking with Craig Kirk

This podcast explores the value and focus of creating or maintaining a career related social network with LinkedIn advocate, Craig Kirk.

MP3 Version: https://jbbsfinalthoughts.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/jbbsfinalthoughts_episode-27_better-online-better-f2f_career-networking-craig-kirk.mp3

Enjoy and please subscribe to my YouTube channel or subscribe to all of my blog posts (scroll to the bottom of this page, click the red FOLLOW button in the “Follow blog via email” box).

Please Subscribe:

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Resources:

• music: Social Blindness – 22K by Smart Sound Music
• All images and screen grabs by Joe Bustillos ©2018 and ©2019

Show Notes:

JBB’s Final Thoughts, episode27: Better Online/Better Face-to-Face – Career Networking with Craig Kirk

Intro blurb:
Joe Bustillos, here.

The following is an interview/conversation that I had with LinkedIn Advocate and friend, Craig Kirk, in the Spring of 2016 when I was still living in Orlando just before leaving for Las Vegas. This is one of two interviews that I did when I was looking into the theme: “Better Online/Better Face-to-Face,” a theme that I find even more interesting now as social networks like FaceBook come under fire for its unintended or unanticipated consequences in this nation’s political life. Thanks for tuning into…

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 27: Better Online/Better Face-to-Face – Career Networking with Craig Kirk

(Interview with Craig Kirk)

Outro:

2018 Joe Bustillos, here. Thank you for spending this time with me at JBB’s Final Thoughts. If you want to continue to participate in my outer monologue you can subscribe to my blog at http://joebustillos.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, click on the FOLLOW button where it says “Follow Blog via Email” and enter your email address. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel, just search for JBB’s Final Thoughts (and make sure it doesn’t auto-correct to “jobs final thoughts”… damn auto-correct!). Catch you later, enjoy.

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 26: Better Online/Better Face-to-Face – The American Railroad Error

Episode 26: Better Online/Better Face-to-Face – The American Railroad Error. This podcast explores the question: Are online connections valid compared to face-to-face connections?

MP3 Version: https://jbbsfinalthoughts.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/jbbsfinalthoughts_episode-26_better-online-better-f2f_the-american-railroad-error.mp3

Enjoy and please subscribe to my YouTube channel or subscribe to all of my blog posts (scroll to the bottom of this page, click the red FOLLOW button in the “Follow blog via email” box).

Please Subscribe:

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Resources:

• music: Social Blindness – 22K by Smart Sound Music
• All images and screen grabs by Joe Bustillos ©2018 and ©2019
• William Gibson quote, http://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/01/24/future-has-arrived/
• Boy and girl in SLSF waiting room, ca. 1899 (image) by trialsanderrors, https://flic.kr/p/5fKYih

Show Notes:

JBB’s Final Thoughts, episode26: Better Online/Better Face-to-Face – The American Railroad Error

The origin of this episode goes all the way back to when I was still living in Orlando, in the Spring of 2016, contemplating my experiences making and trying to maintain online connections with my friends. And here we are in the Fall of 2018 and I’m finally getting around to creating a new version and posting this episode. I also made two other recordings in the Spring of 2016, interviewing friends about specific aspects of the question about “Better Online/Better Face-to-Face. I’ll post the two other interviews later.

JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 26: Better Online/Better Face-to-Face – The American Railroad Error

I’m reminded on the William Gibson quote, “The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed.” Tell me about it. After I moved from Orlando I asked my friends, the Oak Hill Drifters, if they could just open a Facebook Live session at their next gig so that I could get over my separation anxiety. It didn’t happen. There was one short sideways video but no “you are there” experience. As much as there’s the possibility of having real ongoing visual relationships via technology, the choice still tends to be “too much hassle, sorry,” and life lumbers on.

I have to face facts. I know I’m the weirdo who has maintained meaningful relationships pretty much purely online for the past 15-years. Thus, I reject the notion that it’s not real because it isn’t face-to-face. I’m reminded of the American Railroad system of the first part of the 20th century which made the mistake of saying they were in the railroad business instead of the transportation business and suffered a fatal decline as a result. Connection is connection, whether it’s face-to-face over a cup of tea, or via a morning text message saying, “hey, I was thinking about you.” Humans are capable of wonderful levels of connection regardless of the mode of communication. I understand that some modes can seem to be more meaningful than others. I remember spending hours working on personal birthday cards for family and friends, but I stopped doing that when my dad unfolded one of my cards, looking for something else, and it was clear that something bought from Hallmark with very little time spent was more meaningful to him then the card I spent hours to make. And the same seems to be true when the message is sent online versus face-to-face.

Yes, if we all lived in the same small village where we saw each other on a daily basis, it would be great to get that daily greeting, or birthday greeting or whatever greeting face-to-face, but for most of us that isn’t the reality we live in. Should we now make the assumption that the limits of our locality should also be the limit to our concern or care? No, I cannot tell you how much time and emotional effort I put into my political discourses the past two-years… (sigh). A conservative friend correctly bailed out because it was so draining to have these heated discussions/arguments that were purely online. But were they meaningless? Not for me and my opponent. I mean, the emotional drain of the back-and-forth quips should be evidence enough that this was “real to us.” It’s the “American railroad mistake” to assume it’s not real because it isn’t face-to-face. It’s more a matter of how much you really care to keep the communication open by whatever means is available to you versus bitching about never spending time together and rejecting anything that isn’t face-to-face. Frankly it’s illogical to say that a phone call is more meaningful than a handwritten letter than an email than a Facebook post than a text message. Goddam it, someone took the effort to say, “I thought about you today,” and you’re going to object because it wasn’t done with a fucking candle-wax seal? A human smile is a human smile, however it’s transmitted. If you cannot value that small attempt at communication, I’m sorry for you and your inability to bridge the gap to see the smile directed at you.

I learned as a online student and then as an online educator that we could turn this business of not having a face-to-face requirement into an experience that we can have 24/7/365 because our educational efforts weren’t limited to a specific three-hour lecture once a week at some lecture hall in some city. But we could look at our assignments and interact with our classmates at anytime throughout the week, to build our understanding and learning without the limitations to a specific time or place. Would that we could maintain our relationships taking advantage of our possible connections. Do we bitch and reject possible connections because they aren’t perfect? Since when has any human endeavor been perfect? Or do we take advantage of the opportunities to connect? I have a watch that can send my actual heartbeats to someone as a way to say that I’m here and I’m thinking about you. No, it’s not the same or can ever possibly replace a real embrace. But are we in the railroad business or are we in the transportation business?

Are we going to honor the attempt to communicate and remain connected or are we going to piss it away because it’s not perfect? I wish it were better, I wish I had developed better habits to communicate with family and friends when I lived in Orlando and FaceTimed or Skyped more, but we didn’t. And I’m sad to say that I haven’t made too much of an effort to establish those kinds of communication events with my Orlando friends, now that I live in Las Vegas. But I’m hopeful. I’m hopeful that I can enjoy their smiles and conversations just like we did when we sat at the Eden Bar or Stardust Video and Coffee. Time is time and human connection is human connection. If we really wanted to, we could still share in each others world(s) despite no longer living in the same city. I would like to think that in 2018 I can have as energetic and meaningful video chats as my political reparte has been over the past two-years. That would seem to be much more valuable and healthy than all the political punches we threw and caught in that time.

Thank you for spending this time with me at JBB’s Final Thoughts. If you want to continue to participate in my outer monologue you can subscribe to my blog at http://joebustillos.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, click on the FOLLOW button where it says “Follow Blog via Email” and enter your email address. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel, just search for JBB’s Final Thoughts (and make sure it doesn’t auto-correct to “jobs final thoughts”… damn auto-correct!). Catch you later, enjoy.

Resources:

• William Gibson quote, http://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/01/24/future-has-arrived/
• 2017-06-30 Route 46 (Sanford FL) with OHD, Swami & Tristen (image) by Joe Bustillos
• 2016-09-23_OHD-at-Smiling-Bison-by-Tristen (video) by Tristen Spears
• 2002-07-12 Pepperdine OMAET CadreBleu Backrow Best Friends (image) by Joe Bustillos
• Boy and girl in SLSF waiting room, ca. 1899 by trialsanderrors, https://flic.kr/p/5fKYih
• 1999-02-14 Birthday Card from JBB to mom (image) by Joe Bustillos
• 2015-12-20_FB-We-are-all-muslim (image) by Joe Bustillos
• 2013-10-20 Living Room Office Panorama (image) by Joe Bustillos
• 2008-06-14 Family Going Away Party (image) by Joe Bustillos
• 2016-07-09 stardust with Sonya (image) by Joe Bustillos
• 2016-08-05 going away party at Eden Bar (image) by Joe Bustillos