Everything Does Not Happen For a Reason - Biotechnology Creates Changes

I have a strong faith. And very few things shake it.back to the dream. Had only one child (as if that
One thing I do remember shaking it and shaking itwere not enough) been shot in West Virginia, 911
hard was waking up the morning of April 16, 2007,would have been immediately alerted, hence the
and turning on the television only to see a "specialpossibility of others being shot could have been
news report". There was some kind of shooting (indiverted. Even if the one shot had not been wearing
progress) happening at W. Va. Tech but details werethe device, it would have raised the one wearing its
"still sketchy". As always, I tried to think the best,blood pressure and heart rate fast enough to wear
and perhaps this was some kind of hostage situation,the device would auto-dial 911 with the location of
and everyone would be fine. It was not to be. Itthe emergency. If you remember, there was a lot of
turned out, of course, to be the deadliest shootingconfusion and it took police too long to get there,
rampage by a single gunman in U.S. history, on or offhence giving the killer time to do his deed.
a school campus. In a flash, the foundation of myI woke up and took notes. Oddly enough, I found
faith had been shaken. I try not to question God. Formyself illustrating the device. I downloaded the
so long I held onto that tired-old philosophy (thatpatent paperwork from the US Patent office and
now I often feel is cliché' outdated at best)received my provisionary patent. I put up a website
that is, "Everything happens for a reason". I found noand began raising funds to have it built. That is not an
reason for this. I found it senseless, and, if I held oneasy thing, only about .001% at most seed inventions
to that notion "everything happens for a reason", toget any money at all from investors. An investor
me, it is the lazy person's excuse.contacted me, not vice versa. He put up enough for
I sat at my home office desk for the next few daysme to contract with an engineering firm to start
unable to focus or concentrate. I felt similarly to howdevelopment on the device. Two powerpoint
I felt after 9/11, and, which oddly enough, my firstpresentations were made.
memory of such "questioning the universe" was inAt the time, "Bluetooth" was the best satellite
my teens, watching the body bags coming homecommunications protocol for such devices, but today,
from Viet Nam, and, upon entering college, actuallythere are more advanced ways to communicate with
losing friends in that war. It was, like, even today,satellites. So I did some major amending on the
watching the news and hearing of body bags ofdesign, but left the old way up, just in case someone
young people in Iraq, I have decided to stop the sillydecided to copy it. Good for them. They would have
notion of using the term, or at least using it as rarelysunk tens of thousands in a device that would have
as possible "everything happens for a reason". It toobarely worked. I never said all dreams were fully
easily makes me a nonparticipant in the world ininstructional. I was lucky to have a good friend who
which I live. It give me an excuse not to write about,has several PhD s, one if physics and one in electrical
talk about it, try an open-ended democraticengineering, a senior engineer at IBM. We have been
discussion about it, and praying the right words fallclose long enough to know, I could confide in him. I
into the hands of the right person, who can put awas still careful. I told him that I would tell him of my
stop to this "reasoning". I still feel, at age fifty four,new invention, if he would give me a quote for my
that as long as I am alive and kicking, in a freewebsite. That would be enough protection for me, I
country such as this, it is unreasonable not to speakfelt, if he accidentally told a fellow associate at IBM. I
out, work, think, and try to find ways to make theknew he would never steal the idea. He gave me a
world a better place for everyone. All life is valuableglowing report, and it remains on the front page of
to me, and I value the ingenious democracy ofmy website.
America more than anyone will ever know, in whichFor several months, I had to pull back on the project,
someone is able to question, to challenge, that notionsince technology changed so much, and I knew I
of "everything happening for a reason".was going to have to hark on 2-3 years of
A few nights after the tragic West Virginia event, Idevelopment even after raising the monies to build
had a dream. I tend to keep a pen and pad by mythe prototype, then license it out to a larger
bed, as, being in cartooning and e-commerce, I feelcorporation for mass production and distribution.
that a lot of my best ideas come to me in my sleep,Still struggling with some minor health problems
when my consciousness is as open and free as it will(which are fixable), I will be starting back that
ever be.process of finding investors, licensees, etc. to make
Suddenly in the dream, I was instructed to invent athe project work.
product that had never been invented (or much lessIt will work in downtown New York or atop the
even dreamed about). It would be a life savingHimalayas, I know this from my experience from
product. It would require high tech, knowledge ofworking in the largest independent satellite news
biotechnology, physics, etc., all of which I had nofeed production house in Washington in the late
training (my training was in Internet Technology)1980's and from talking to my friend at IBM.
which would be rather useless in this product, exceptHopefully, the right investor(s) will come. I do know
for the marketing of it.where to look and make presentations if they do
It was an odd dream. I was in a science lab, withnot.
some other scientists, and we were watching a largeIf you read Dr. Beiller's comment, he generously called
screen tv. The funny tv commercial of "Life Alert",my work "ingenious". It may or may not be, but I
the woman "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up". Onedon't consider myself a genius as much as I do "a
of the scientists instructed me that this usually doesrelentless street hustler with a late-in-life education".
not happen. When serious emergencies happen, moreTo me, everyone has some form of genius in them,
often than not, the victim is either unconscious orand it is up to them to figure out what it is and then
too disoriented to push a button and cry for help.use it, so, that the next thing "something happens
What was needed was a fully-automatedfor a reason", they too can say (if it is a tragedy),
computerized bracelet, that would constantly monitor"but it is not going to happen again if I can help it!"
vital signs (even oxygen proximity), store medicalYou may not be a writer, a cartoonist, an inventor,
records, and actually "dial and text message" theor the things that I prefer to do to expose my
nearest 911 or emergency center with a full"genius", but trust me you have it. (I was considered
explanation of person's name, medical history,a "slow learner", and proven to be right. But that was
location, etc.academia, this is life.)
In the dream, I was given a "crash course" inThe article may sound a bit like "bragging rights", it is
biotechnology and designed the device. I even namednot. It is to drive home my point, and perhaps
it "Insert Alert" in my dream, even though it is notchange the cliché' "Yes, everything happens
actually inserted into the body, it is noninvasive andfor a reason, but if happens, and we don't want it to
has sensors which can "read" one's insides.happen again, let's fix it and say that happened for a
It even monitors blood pressure, which brings mereason too".