University of Useless Information:

When I graduated from High School I knew that I had to work with my hands. University would only lead to a desk job as an Engineer or Architect. I felt like College was going to be a waste of time and money because I believed that I had already developed skills beyond what I would have learned there. So I took a different route. I did a lot of research and hunted the city for the best Jack of all Trades and found Tony MacDonald who runs a shop in the West Toronto Junction. He has a warehouse with an extensive metal fabrication and machine shop. I wrote an application to apprentice there by stating that a lathe is a tool that can be built from simple hand tools and be used to fabricate a better and more refined Lathe frome which can be made an even better one. The Lathe is a machine that can duplicate and improve itself. I boldly challenged Mr. MacDonald that 'For the price of a college tuition let me take over your shop and I will build three Lathes. Each better than the previous....

In the early fall of 2010 when I was eighteen I was scheduled for surgery. I had grown a bit since my fall from outer space. All the titanium screws and plates hadn’t grown with me and they were naturally causing me pain. They were no longer needed and had to be removed. I’d be off my feet again for a little bit and the doctors said that if all went well, I’d be fine but should wear sturdy boots or braces for a while. My mother looked me up and down the day before the surgery and dragged me, limping, up to the attic. “I kept a couple of things for you from your Father. I never figured out a good time to give them to you until now.” she said as she pulled a nondescript carton off a shelf and blew the dust from it. Coughing on the dust cloud, we opened the carton and looked inside. There were a pair of Military style Paratrooper boots that lace all the way up to the knee. They looked almost brand new. “You look to be about the same size as your Father, so maybe these will fit. Your Grand...