Gray Divorce I read two articles this morning with very different and noteworthy perspectives. One was from CNN on the topic of the trend among Baby Boomers towards choosing to live alone in later life. The other was from The Economist about happiness and how they have determined that happiness continues to rise, on a very steady upward curve, as we age. Since happiness is closely connected to relationships and being around people as well…
A Walk Through the Uncanny Valley We cannot go a day without encountering artificial intelligence in some quadrant of our lives. I have explained already that as a university professor during the last academic year, the first year of the full appearance of ChatGPT and its use by my students in preparing and submitting their graded papers on ethics, I can honestly say that I have looked at the AI beast in the eye, and…
Hanging By a Thread I am sitting here doing what we have all done so much in the past seven or so years, I am watching a “Breaking News” chiron on MSNBC. I understand that many people think that MSNBC is a strongly liberal-biased cable news channel in the same way that they think that Fox News is a strongly conservatively-biased cable news channel. The viewership numbers favor Fox News based on Nielsen data with…
Disclaimer I am waiting for the arrival of a long-since seen old Bankers Trust buddy and his wife, who are coming to stay for a night. August is proving to be a busy visitor month for us out here on the hilltop. That’s wonderful for us. We had my daughter and her family with us for the bulk of July and will end up hosting four different sets of guests in August with the guest…
Resetting the Compass I’m sure that some of you are tired of hearing me talk about turning 70 in a few months, but to say that it is on my mind is an understatement. I have referenced a piece once done thirty years ago by Harry Reasoner of 60 Minutes fame, where he talked about turning 60 and why it was so profound for him because he finally felt that he had an ability to…
Medicare Wellness When I moved here almost four years ago, I found a primary physician in one of the larger medical groups in San Diego (actually affiliated with the top university here). When we started together I was just 65, so I was on Medicare. I know how this works and I knew that after one look at me and my size (I have been characterized medically as morbidly obese forever, since a BMI of…
American Racist I just heard on the news that there was a shark attack on Rockaway Beach in New York City. My daughter and granddaughters go to my ex-wife’s beach club on Atlantic Beach at this time of year for some fun in the sun and at the beach. Atlantic Beach is a beautiful stretch of Long Island sandbar that happens to look right across the inlet to Rockaway Beach. Naturally, I couldn’t help myself…
Stretch-U Not so long ago I threw in the towel on The Perfect Workout, which Kim had been doing and convinced me to do. It is a 20-minute high-intensity weight machine workout that takes you through approximately six weight stations with repetition until muscle failure. The theory is that this is the most efficient form of weight training that is also very time-effective. The problems I had with it were varied. First of all, it…
Riding Into the Sunset Today I decided to take a Sunday ride since Kim is not home and my dance card was wide open. The weather was just about as perfect as it can be, and I took full advantage of it by heading out at 7:30am to catch the best of the clear morning sunshine and cool temperatures. I had a minor snafu in that my BMW R1250 GSA came up with a low…
Barbie That’s right, I went to go see Barbie and I did it all by myself. Gary & Oswaldo recommended it, but the real reason I went had nothing to do with the recommendation, or all the chatter or any sense that I would somehow be left behind at social gatherings where it would be discussed. I went mostly because I couldn’t think of anything else to do today, and that’s a bit of a…