Most of my life, I've worked as a registered Medical Laboratory Technologist or "Med Tech" as we call ourselves.   I analyzed blood and other body fluids (yuck!) to save lives and stamp out disease...  Actually, I do it for the money.  I've worked in hospitals, private labs and medical research.  My favorite area to work in the lab is bacteriology.   In medical bacteriology, you culture body fluids (such as urine) to look for bacteria that might be causing an infection.  Once you isolate the bacteria, you then have to determine which antibiotic will kill it.

Here's a link I found on the Net which explains some of the tests that are performed in medical laboratories.  When you access the link, you will see several options for learning about specific tests or diseases and tests used to diagnose them. Click on any laboratory test you want to know more about.  It's quite possible that the Web site will change, and the link will not work, or it will have moved. If you're interested in finding lab test explanations on the Net, there are lots, so just search.

More recently, during a mid-life crisis, I went back to school with the determination to change fields.  I decided to get a master's in Instructional Technology because I figured it would bring me up to speed with computer technology.  I had always enjoyed an academic environment, so a degree in education seemed like the right move for me.  I graduated exactly two years after I started with an MEd in Instructional Technology.   The degree prepared me to teach people, such as other teachers, how to use computer technology and the Internet to deliver education in the classroom.

Shortly after I graduated, I got a part-time, temporary job in the Distance Learning Center at a local university.  I worked 32-hour weekends (Saturday and Sunday 6 am -11 PM) at the hospital and 20-hour weeks at the university for almost a year just in case the job at the school didn't pan out.  I was quite fortunate, though.  I was eventually hired on full-time at the school.  My goal had been realized.

I now work for the Center for Online Learning where we develop online courses. My areas of expertise are online technology and online teaching and learning strategies (pedagogy). We use a program called Desire2Learn (branded "Folio" for Georgia Southern) to put classes online. Folio is a virtual classroom where students can access assignments, and interact with the teacher and each other by using several communication tools such as e-mail, discussion areas, and even in real time. It's not all about technology, though. The insturctor needs to know how to engage students in a virtual environment, which is one of the reasons the Center for Online Learning exists. The way education is delivered has changed dramatically over the last few years; we've gone from face-to-face to online teaching and learning. It is both challenging and rewarding to be in the educational arena these days.

I've always been sort of a adventurer, too.  When I was about 16, I wanted to learn how to fly a plane.  I thought my parents would be against it at first, but to my amazement, they agreed!  That summer I saved enough money from a job to start lessons.  It took 10 lessons (hours) to "solo", that is, fly the plane with no one else in it.  That means that I was licensed to fly and to kill myself, but not passengers!  You have to have approximately 40 more hours before you can kill passengers.  I flew a little after that, but I never pursued the private pilot license.  I've flown a Piper Cub, Cessna 150 and Piper Cherokee 150.  The summer ended, I went back to school, and life went on that year.  I've often considered doing it again, maybe even an ultralite just for fun.

I also like to explore "ideas."  I like to consider myself an armchair philosopher.  It really hasn't gotten me very far in terms of monetary profit, but it doesn't cost very much.  My father once affectionately referred to me as an "educated idiot" (?...still pondering that one...).  Ok, I love a good conversation or argument.

Along those same lines come other people's ideas, which come in many flavors.  One flavor I discovered while in Mexico was Diego Rivera.  He was a muralist who painted murals all over the place!

His art was as bold as what he was saying through the art.   He "painted what he saw."  I won't say any more.  Look at his work for yourself.  Be sure to click on the Murals section of the Web page. One of my favorite paintings he did was The Flower Seller.

My favorite books: Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) by Antoine de Saint Exupéry and Grendle by John Gardner. I get goose bumps when I read them. I won't expound here because reality is different for each of us, i.e., "some folks don't do like other folks." And you know what? ...That's what makes life interesting.

Well, that's it folks.  Thanks for stopping by.  If you'd like to leave me a message, you can send me an email at raleighway@gmail.com. If anyone has an ultralight and would like to invite me to come play with them, I'd love to! By the way, you can also visit my Georgia Southern University staff page.