2020-06-27 — Down By The River Side

Happy end of my work week!!!!!!!!

Perhaps y’all out there will be proud of me. Why? Well… because I cut out early today and said, “Nope. No more jobs today” (even though people were calling and wanted my help. I called it. I was just done today (that was probably about 3:30 ish. I still worked probably until about 5 ish, mostly just getting my tech set up on his last job of the day.

Then what did I do?

I went to my favorite little river spot on the Roaring River in the middle of the Mark Twain National Forest over east of Seligman, MO with a buddy of mine for the rest of the day–skipping rocks, talking about life, talking about personal development (one of my favorite things in the world to talk about and challenge myself and others on), playing my guitar…

So peaceful. So relaxing. So… nice.😊

Proud of me? 😇

Anyway, you know what else? I went on my run this morning, so I don’t even have exercise to do right now 😎, just… well… I have nothing I have to do right now (aside from the laundry list of the billion things on my to-do list, ranging from the extremely important to the not-really-important at all. But… meh… my list can take a hike right now–even the super important things. I need a sanity break 😁.)

Non sequitur… I’ve had my passion for changing the spelling of the English language stirred up again by comments made by a couple of you today on yesterday’s post. For those who don’t know, I’ve spent hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours over the better part of the last decade working on a plan to modernize American English spelling to be a fully phonetic, a one sound = one symbol language, friendly to everyone, including people with dyslexia and/or a host of other reading challenges.

Finding out that I have a nephew who’s an app-making guru, I’m feeling the tug to dust off all the old research and development I spent sooooooo much time on and to finally make something happen with it.

I haven’t approached him (my nephew), just sent a message to my sister wondering if she thought he might be interested. I’m not really in it to make money, though, and I’m sure he needs an income. This would probably be a multi-billion dollar industry if I wanted to go that route with it instead of making it free… but free might change the world faster. I want to help change the world, and this is one avenue I’ve worked on for a long time now. We have the technology to make the change over night, no joke. No hyperbole. People have tried for centuries to modernize our American English and make it a phonetic language, but now is the first time that we’ve really had the technology to reasonably do it.

With the system I’ve developed (though it’s not done yet, lots of work to go), we could re-purpose literally hundreds of billions of work hours a year toward learning other things instead of trying to learn how to read and write a far too complicated spelling structure. We could re-purpose hundreds of billions of dollars toward other things–medical research, new clean technologies, etc. We’d save about 20% in ink costs. 20% in printed paper costs and trees cut down. We’d all be faster typers (once we learned the new keyboard, because phonetic English uses about 20% fewer characters for the same words. That’s all massive!!!

Can you tell I’m passionate about this?!?!?! 😁

We can level the worldwide playing field much quicker by making English a much easier language for people all over the world to learn, allowing them to compete in the broader global market quicker, allowing people in less developed countries, as well as those in our own country with reading challenges to lift themselves higher much faster.

It’s a win win win win win!

Anyway, I’ve tentatively titled the transliterated alphabet Modern American. I’ve chosen symbols. I’ve actually reduced the overall number of symbols a person needs to learn while still accounting for the 40+ sounds that make up the general American pronunciation base. I’ve already figured out how to overcome obstacles that people often throw out for why going phonetic wouldn’t work, and… I just need tech help!!!

We can do this people! Lift the world. Help lift people financially. Help people improve their quality of life so much quicker. I mean, I can teach an illiterate person, using my Modern American transliteration of English, to read any book ever written in a matter of hours. Sure, I can’t increase vocabulary. That’s still the same speed, but the part of literacy that is knowing how to read?

Just a few hours.

Hours!!!! Not years, months, or even days. Hours.

No… I’m not passionate about this at all.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to hearing from my sister/nephew and perhaps talking to my nephew. I’ve got tech requirements all laid out (and have had for years now). I just need the help. Maybe it’s finally time to add that to the list of areas we can work to lift the world.

I’ve gotta get out of this car-fixing thing and get going.

Ugh… the recurring dilemma. Self-provided financial foundation to keep me going forward doing these kinds of things for the rest of my life, or surviving off donations?

Oh, my lovelies, my heart wants so much to be unleashed and free of fear and free of the required necessities of being a mortal human creature on this earth.

Well… not much else to do about it tonight. It’s late now, almost one o’clock, and though I was ready to go to bed a lot earlier last night, I didn’t make it until after 2 🙃.

Oops.

I will await my sister’s response patiently, and for now, I’ll close with these lovely little gratitude nuggets, the writing of which (the gratitude portion of my daily journal) I think might help me have a happier, more positive outlook on life.

#1. I’m grateful to have had the disposition today to say, “Nope, I’m done for the day. Moving on.” It was really nice to be down by the flowing river, having just “let go” of my business for a little while. I actually was able to, as well. I didn’t really think about it at all while we were out there. It was soooooooo nice to be free of it for a little while. 😊

#2. I’m grateful for the beautiful river. The way the light reflected off the river with the green forest towering on either side while the sun was going down… It was gorgeous, soul filling. I’d attach a picture, but… it’s so time consuming to add pictures. Maybe I’ll find an easier way. I wish it were as easy as sending a picture via text message–just plop it in there.

#3. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to sleep tonight for as long as I want. Phone off. And just… zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

#4. I’m grateful that the hot weather this summer, even though it is plenty hot, has not bothered me as much as I remember it bothering me last year (granted, it’s only June, and in Arkansas June, July, August, and even September are hot hot. I always think each year that September cools off, and I always am reminded, as September goes along, that in Arkansas, Septembers are still hot. Anyway, I’m grateful that it’s not hitting me so hard these days.

#5. I’m grateful for easily-prepared foods that only take minutes, that can be thrown in the car and eaten on site (yes, I know I’m a broken record, but my pb&jb’s are so convenient. I mean, the bread is already smashed. Can’t ruin it! 😁

All right all you wonderful people you (think The Great Race), loves and hugs to every. single. one. of. you.

Lift the World.

~ stephen