As I type this, Atlantis is travelling over 15,000 miles an hour at the 8-minute mark of the historic last flight of the Space Shuttle program. The space shuttle engine just cut off – and will never fire again. I view this launch with mixed feelings, as I am sure most of America and the world does as well. I grew up with the space shuttle program and it was the NASA I knew and understood. I...
I’m an optimist. I’ve come to realize this over the past few years, much to the surprise of many. I always hope for the best but am afraid of the worst. Maybe I’m a little more manic about my fears and concerns now that I have faced cancer, but I am essentially an optimist. It’s been very hard to remain optimistic this past year, and now that I am on the cusp of my...
Set your way-back machine to early 1986. I was sixteen-years-old and I had mononucleosis. I was a skinny runt of a kid who lost way too much weight from his sickness. My mom went up to the local video store, 16,000 Movies, and spent an hour telling the owner about her son. About how great he was and how he wanted to work there so badly (I did – all the hot girls worked there) and how I...
This blog post marks my 200th post on BinaryBiker.com. You, my faithful readers, have been with me as I shamelessly share my thoughts, ideas, and feelings for the world to see. You read about my transition into single life. You celebrated my children’s accomplishments. You were there as I ranted and raged against the universe. You experienced the earth moving love that developed between...
I’d like to tell you that I’m a laid back kind of guy, but I would be lying. I’m not laid back. I am passionate, quick to judge at times, and have been battling anger issues for my entire life. I am just not the paragon of cool and acceptance that most of you think I am. That’s not to say I don’t try. Especially since I met and fell in love with my beautiful wife...
Sometimes you despise a person. Yes, I said the word “despise.” It’s usually limited to people who once held your trust and respect. For some reason or another, though, they lost that trust and respect. And not just by letting you down, but by betraying you in a most humiliating and spectacular fashion. For abusing you time and time again. For breaking massive promises and...
I’ve been asked quite often how I feel about abortion. Should a woman have a right to choose? At what point does a fetus become a human and when is it morally acceptable to terminate a pregnancy? I am inevitably asked because the person asking is looking for support for their position. They are rarely pleased with my answer, because I never answer exactly as they would expect. Pro...
I had a hell of a time getting home this weekend. I flew up to Washington, DC on Monday of last week and was scheduled to come home on Friday. You’d think that was a simple task. You buy a ticket, you check in, you endure a bunch of worthless security measures, you board your plane, and you fly home. Apparently, it’s not that easy. It started at 4:30am on Friday; the day I was...
Eighteen months ago I was diagnosed with cancer; so began a whirlwind of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Throughout it all my motorcycle sat unused, unloved, and untouched in the driveway. That motorcycle sat, and sat, and sat in the driveway. Never moving. Never getting started. Never getting the attention it needed to stay in running condition. While I was recovering from surgery, my...
I am Ron Sparks. The guy in the picture to the right. That’s me. I own my name legally. I own the website, . I own the Twitter name @RonSparks. I am RonSparks on LinkedIn. On Facebook I am Ron.Sparks. On YouTube I am RonESparks. My many and varied email addresses are all RonSparks derivatives. I have been Ron Sparks for fifty years. My father has been Ron Sparks for over 70 years. ...
Ron Sparks is a technology professional, science fiction and fantasy author and poet living in Zurich, Switzerland. His latest book "ONI: Satellite Earth Series Book 1" is available on Amazon.com.