It wasn't until Congress went into recess without passing HR 5734 that I realized how obsessed I've been on defeating the "Bell the Hybrid Act." Two 750 mile trips, one to DC and one to HybridFest; about $500 in mailing costs; about $300 in keyfobs and a development kit, and; well over 200 hours of labor. The only thing worse would have been for this terrible legislation to pass. Fortunately, I have only two remaining tasks and hopefully this will put it to bed. I'm mostly unhappy that this effort was necessary because it delayed so many more interesting investigations (and often made me poor company.) My only I regret was not being more effective. For example, I should have had a press package when I went to DC and some of my mailings could have been more effective. Still I have learned lessons on how the legislative system works, which is nothing I would wish on anyone. I want to thank everyone who helped along the way. The petitions, letters to Congress, newspapers and every independent action helped. No one person can affect the course of legislation, it takes a team. But our greatest ally was the truth, the facts and data, and Dr. Christopher Hogan was invaluable for assembling them. Thank you everyone for your help! Bob Wilson
This isn't much of a rant. I can give you some pointers about ranting, or if you want to learn from a pro, you can talk to my wife. On the other hand, thanks for all of your work fighting this ridiculous piece of legislation. Tom
Or: listen to Molly Wood on the "Buzz Out Loud" podcast. Now, THERE's a ranter par excellence! Google "mollyrant" or look it up in Wikipedia.
I have a second property - the "hobby farm" I keep talking about - where I try to spend as much time as possible. I like to tinker, weld, and last year started to get into woodworking. I'm hopeful I can build a wood model of a Hummer and a steam engine train, though it might take me 1-2 years to patiently finish it My job requires travel all over the world, and this is something I now wish I hadn't agreed to. I'm at the stage of my life where I would prefer hanging around the house.
