I first flew model rockets when I was in elementary school, but didn’t have opportunity to advance to more powerful machines until much later in life. When I joined the Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA) thirty years later I was surprised and excited to learn how hobby rocketry had advanced during my hiatus. I began building … Continue reading FORUM: Level-1
Category: Paul “Plan-it” Yarnold
FORUM: My First Wahoo
I was living my dream to be an angler aboard a long-range, stand-up, ten-day, deep-sea fishing trip departing in October from America’s Cup Harbor in San Diego. I’d been preparing for two years for this trip while recuperating from a cardiac arrest, reading everything I could find and mail-ordering equipment I’d need on the trip. … Continue reading FORUM: My First Wahoo
FORUM: Friends and Enemies
A second-year graduate student at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), I was working on completing most of my remaining mandatory coursework, and compiling the literature needed to write my proposal for a Master of Arts degree in academic health psychology. At that time literature reviews were conducted manually in the library—there was no … Continue reading FORUM: Friends and Enemies
FORUM: Joyful Surprise
I was born in the dawn of the space race, 15 months before the USSR launched the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, into an elliptical low Earth orbit. The excitement of the ensuing space race—what it required of and discovered for humanity, influenced the course of my life until today. My parents said, though … Continue reading FORUM: Joyful Surprise
FORUM: Monkey Island
Ross and I were on our second trip to Panama for another week of in-shore angling. The weather was calm so we did a bit of exploring in-between fishing stops. A guide spoke of a near-by place called “Monkey Island.” He said he could take us on a short skiff ride to a small island … Continue reading FORUM: Monkey Island
FORUM: Interviewing
Assessing the Authenticity of an Interviewee In a 2014 Auto Bild interview, Elon Musk revealed he assesses the authenticity of an interviewee’s claimed experience by asking for a detailed description of the most difficult problem(s) the interviewee previously worked on and solved. According to Musk, “The people who really solved the problem know exactly how they solved … Continue reading FORUM: Interviewing
FORUM: My First Cow
I was on my first 11-day trip. Leaving from San Diego in December, we were heading for traditional “big-tuna” water in which large yellowfin tuna (YFT) were caught in the past. Mature YFT are among the most powerful, fastest-swimming fish species that stand-up anglers can realistically hope to catch using a traditional “under the arm” … Continue reading FORUM: My First Cow
FORUM: Predicting Sea-Level Rise
An accumulation of current research hypothesizes that if global warming continues at the current pace then sea-level rise will probably surpass the most extreme projections. Consideration of two incontrovertible observations magnifies the veracity of this proclamation. First, the assumption that the increase in future global warming will continue at the current pace is invalid. Warming … Continue reading FORUM: Predicting Sea-Level Rise
FORUM: Exercise on Deck
Half a century of learning and practicing transformed me into an excellent big-game fisherman. Well-trained and equipped, and highly-experienced, my hand and foot reflexes were fast, my technique was classic, and I was strong and flexible. I had good endurance, hiking seven miles daily in Point Loma—locally called “Tunaville.” In the mornings when the overnight … Continue reading FORUM: Exercise on Deck
FORUM: Preventing Seasickness
As a young teenager in the early 1970s I sailed on three different half-day fishing trips departing from Art’s Landing in Newport Beach, California. I sought Pacific bonito—a staple component of my family’s diet: fresh we loved it grilled, otherwise it was delicious smoked. Affectionately nicknamed Boneheads—perhaps in tribute to their appreciation of bait, bonito … Continue reading FORUM: Preventing Seasickness
FORUM: Making Your Facemask Fit Perfectly
People who’ve operated a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine are probably at least somewhat familiar with an air filter, if for no other reason than it is periodically replaced in standard maintenance. Air filters are also essential components in heating and cooling, electronic, and mass transportation systems, to name a few. Clean particle-free … Continue reading FORUM: Making Your Facemask Fit Perfectly
FORUM: Swimming
My friend and next-door neighbor in Virginia was an accomplished competitive Junior High swimmer. I didn’t aspire to compete because I realized that I didn’t possess the physical characteristics required to become a champion swimmer. Regardless, I enjoyed swimming pools and swam the overhand crawl sufficiently to challenge friends in informal short-distance sprints. My back … Continue reading FORUM: Swimming
FORUM: Beach Safety Tips
In my third and fourth decades I lived in Chicago where there are many things to love, and many things to endure. Epitomizing this duality is the beautiful but unforgiving Lake Michigan, which during storms can behave as though it were an angry ocean. Freshwater lakes and rivers are crucial in facilitating evolution of vast … Continue reading FORUM: Beach Safety Tips
FORUM: Sonoran Desert
I was in grade school in the 1960’s, living with my family in Sierra Vista, Arizona, about twenty miles from the Mexican border. A chain-link fence “separated” our backyard from the Sonoran Desert. We kept a Japanese Fighting Hen in the backyard to repel venomous snakes. Our hen reflexively attacked any unrecognized living creature with … Continue reading FORUM: Sonoran Desert
FORUM: Discrimination
My Mother’s family was captured by KGB in the first week of WWII. Her dad, my beloved Grandfather, was an estate owner and Officer in the Polish Cavalry. The eldest of three children, Mom was in third grade when two soldiers armed with machine guns entered her classroom and announced her name. Standing at attention … Continue reading FORUM: Discrimination
FORUM: Solos
Thus far my only solo conducting performance, which I don’t personally recall, occurred in Chicago when I was in my fourth year. Mom, my younger sister Suzy and I were sitting on a blanket on the lawn near the stage of the outdoor amphitheater where the Philharmonic Orchestra was performing on a beautiful summer day. … Continue reading FORUM: Solos
FORUM: First Time Treating
Friends in graduate school, Head, Grauton, Rayton and I lived by Lake Michigan on Chicago’s north side. School was done and we were working—some of us part-time. Still single, we enjoyed hanging out together when our schedules allowed. I was teaching part-time at University of Illinois, financially scraping by. I’d interviewed for a position as … Continue reading FORUM: First Time Treating
FORUM: Alternative Therapies
The choices I made in my initial 30 years of life exposed my right shoulder to chronic over-use and sporadic injury trauma resulting from my participation in sports (archery, baseball, tennis, bowling, volleyball, golf, mountain biking); job activities (restocking shelves, pressure-cooking chicken, moving to a new residence); sustenance fishing (pier, jetty, boat); and accidents (rafting, … Continue reading FORUM: Alternative Therapies
FORUM: Fishing Submarine
I was a plebe long-range fisherman leaving from San Diego on an October 10-day trip. We were heading south into Mexican water to fish for pelagic species along “the ridge,” a very long, narrow highpoint which parallels the coast and rapidly disappears into water thousands of feet deep. Perhaps because it is the time of … Continue reading FORUM: Fishing Submarine
FORUM: Pandemic Updates
Linked news articles cover ontogenesis of Pandemic microbes, prevention and mitigation efforts, and substantive repercussions. Some of the linked articles cite topically-relevant scientific publications. Posts are ordered from most (top) to least (bottom) current. (4/12/2021): New polypeptide could provide universal protection against coronaviruses: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210411/New-polypeptide-could-provide-universal-protection-against-coronaviruses.aspx (4/1/2021): Continuing vaccine manufacturing errors are bizarre--are quality assurance engineers "working … Continue reading FORUM: Pandemic Updates
