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Part bragging rights part watch for events in the West Pacific region.

Shinobi

Well-known
So the bragging rights part comes from the third picture down in the article. The young man in the middle just right of the young lady is my son. He is a GT alumni and was contacted by GT to go to Taipei because of his influence with a lot of tech stuff, schools, businesses and new development in tech to go to Taipei and represent his old alma matter. Not to shabby for an old redneck swamp trekker. Along side this there is a satellite in space with his name in it that he was instrumental in its design as well as he sits on the board of directors for three high tech start ups. As far as he has gotten at the young age 35 his closest friend from GT is presently working at Lockheed Skunkworks. I have no idea what things he is working on because he can't talk about it but boy would I love to know.

Anyway what struck me about this little venture to Taipei and the reason for it is that it seems as best as I can tell. Taiwan is moving forward somewhat cautiously in spite of having to deal with a possible take over attempt by China. It seems that Taiwan is looking to upgrade a good amount of the tech infrastructure for the purposes of modernization. This would be great for China if it happens and they wait to move in after all the work is done but, it also may pose problems for them if this also produces defensive measures. I will not likely find out much till this coming weekend when we do our monthly Skype video call. Hopefully I can get more info about where things are and where they are headed with more clarity.

I find it interest this happened at this time with the up tick in Russia and China encroaching into waters and air space of not only Taiwan but also Japan and now South Korea. Not sure how much is muscle flexing and how much is intelligence gathering. Seems to be a lot of it going on more regularly than in past times which would lead me to believe there is more intelligence gathering at this time. I am praying that a shooting war is not gonna come anytime soon.

 
Congratulations to your son! I can tell you're very proud and you have very right to be. Outstanding!
Yeah he got the smarts. When he was in high school I got him to test for Mensa. With in two days of getting the test back for grading they called him up and asked him to join. He did. Only he never let me spring for an official IQ test. He thinks maybe 155-160. I suspect he may well be 175-185. I have watched him closely from an early age and he always showed signs of very high intelligence. He is a fast learner and can hold onto what he learns better and longer than I can. He and his best friends both graduated GT with Highest Honors which is their version of the Suma Cum Laude honors given in most schools the highest level of all. I still get a kick out of what his English honors course teacher wrote in his senior year book. She said he was the only kid who could do his math and science homework in her class and still get an A for the course. He also graduated High School with honors as well but then so did his sister and she graduated college with honors as well just not as high. Their Mom and I are still trying to figure out where it came from because it did not come from either of us. I am thinking maybe they were swapped by aliens in the nursery. At least that is what I like to tell them. Always good for the stink eye look from them both.

Funny part is he is not a geek per se. He was big in sports and played soccer and was a top notch player often scoring 3 or more times in each game. Boy done got some good talent but best of all he is humble. He does not hold his skills and abilities over anyone. In fact he did a good amount of tutoring in high school and helped a lot of kids struggling in math and science as well as a couple struggling in English. I am so happy he never forgets his humble beginnings and is respectful to pretty much everyone but Dad. But then Dad is a clown so it is understandable.
 
So, it seems this apple fell far from the tree... you seem to be pretty intelligent yerself, though you might be pullin' the wool over our eyes.
I am not a rock but I am not anywhere in the league of my son. I do have things I have a deep interest in, math, science, aviation, weather, radios, as well old ways like weather watching for dangers, some basic chemistry especially if it involves things that go boom(should have been a military engineer for that one). I am all over the place but limits. He is spread good but barely any limits. He also has one capability I would love to have and he speaks two languages fluently so that he does not translate but thinks in the language he is speaking. He did an intern program at Tokyo University when he was still an undergrad. At the end they had to do a presentation on what they were working on. He gave the presentation in both Japanese as well as English as there were a lot of foreign attendees in the audience. When it got to the Q&A at the end a Japanese professor asked where he got his PhD assuming he had learned one of his two languages in college and was extremely knowledgeable in what he was pesenting. This stumped my son and forced him to him and haw a bit and explain he was not a PhD person but still and undergrad about to get his degree in aerospace engineering. That surprised a lot of people but paid off for him because when he was to leave there was a storm going through Tokyo and a lot of flights were cancelled. At the airport a man in the audience at the time some professor from Qatar recognized him and realized he was finding a different route out of Japan where he would not have to wait. So he goes up and introduces himself to my son and commends him on the excellent presentation. He then asked if my son was looking for and alternative route. My son said yes he would train down to Osaka as it was open and flights were going no problem. The man from Qatar was in a bit of a hurry so he told my son if he got them both to Osaka he, the man from Qatar would cover the cost. They went to Osaka and my son got his flight and was about to go to the gate when the man from Qatar saw him and called him over explaining he was having trouble figuring out the flights. My son got him onto a nice one stop flight back to Qatar and then took my son over to the ticket counter and paid for an up grade to business class and gave him a book the man from Qatar wrote and signed it. He was well blessed on that trip and most others he takes now.

It has been a joy to see him spread his wings and soar as much as he has. The fact that he sits on the board of directors for 3 different companies, his babies as I call them and one of them going gang buster now some 8 years after start up keeps him in the loop on so much stuff. But funny part is he still has a bit of Dad's craziness in him such that his boss says the next time I am in Tokyo I have to meet his boss. I guess there is enough of the crazy American in him that belies his ability to look and act like someone born and raised in Japan and yet keep it all straight. That boggles his bosses mind for some reason. I get it because I know how he managed to be where he is now and much of that has to do with his Mom finding a school in the US that had only Saturday classes based on the Tokyo school system which he graduated from along side the American school and in the International Baccalaureate progam and graduate with honors in both schools. My only contribution was to support what ever he did from sports to school work and encourage him to never see a hurdle only see challenges to be beaten and it seems to have worked.
 
I don't have to translate Spanish and used to dream in it, but since I don't use it anymore I'm a little rusty but still don't translate.
My Mom started in Spanish and did not do English till 1st grade. She spoke Spanish in the home and English with friends. When I came along many years later she had pretty much dropped using Spanish and always complained she had lost. No she hadn't because as soon as she was with either sister they were going a mile a minute. This is why my wife and I were adamant about our children growing up bilingual. It has served both of them very well. They speak Japanese to their Mom and English to me and mix between themselves depending on who is in the room with them. If it is Mom then Japanese. If it is me then English and if both they flip flop more to the English side because my wife's English is way better than my Japanese. I was always jealous of people who speak 2 or more languages. I have met people who speak 4 or 5 and I stand in awe of them because not only can they converse with more people they also have a better understanding of several cultures as much of language is cultural based. I think that is awesome to know cultures like that. I wish I could but, to old to get multiples under my belt. Even now I am trying to get back the little Japanese I lost when I left Japan for when I go back. Sadly I will have to do most of my talking in English. Fortunately the majority of the people I know wanted to learn and speak English so I abide to help them rather than force them to help me learn Japanese.
 
Once you're fluent in a couple of languages it's a lot easier to learn more. I think the right parts of the brain might get connected when you're learning that 2nd language. I learned French very quickly as a third language but then never used it so lost it. Since I was immersed in Spanish and it was a language I spoke exclusively for about 2 years, I still have it, albeit in a rusty state, after decades of not using it.
 
Once you're fluent in a couple of languages it's a lot easier to learn more. I think the right parts of the brain might get connected when you're learning that 2nd language. I learned French very quickly as a third language but then never used it so lost it. Since I was immersed in Spanish and it was a language I spoke exclusively for about 2 years, I still have it, albeit in a rusty state, after decades of not using it.
Wastching my Mom over the years I think it is the old bicycle thing. You don't really lose it but get rusty till you jump back on and get moving and then it all comes back.
 
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