I’ve heard a lot of doomsday talk lately. While our current challenges are significant, I don’t think we are looking at human extinction.

Pandemics

Given the number of people for whom COVID-19 is not deadly even without treatment, that’s not going to kill us off. If another, more deadly virus comes along, we will probably ban all travel quickly and impose much stricter mask and socializing rules. We will survive as a species.

Climate Change

There’s one that could send a lot of us to early graves. Whether it’s from cold or heat, diminishing food supplies, massive storms, living through it all could be problematic but not impossible. Some people would survive. …

I accidentally read an article by a Carla Herbstreet that had some strong things to say about women and their opinions. I only read it because of the title, which misinformed me about what I would encounter therein. I expected it to detail the many societal benefits of manly anger, but that was not her intent at all.

Indeed, she thinks that women should have opinions!

I find myself conflicted when my wife expresses an opinion. Of course, I am annoyed that she dare HAVE an opinion, but when I see that her arguments make sense and have changed my manly estimation of some matter, I am utterly confused. …

I have set Siri to respond to a number of commands. “Hey Siri, Dinnertime” turns on several lights, “Candles on” and “Branches on” turns on decorative lights and so on. Other things happen automatically: the porch light turns on at sunset, decorative candles and things follow soon after.

At night, “Bedtime” turns off all the living room lights, all the candles and other decorative accents, and all the outside lights. It turns on a small light in our bedroom. When I finally get off my butt and replace our thermostat with a Homekit capable version, it will turn down the heat as well. I don’t think I will every put in electronic door locks, but if I ever do decide to trust them, “Bedtime” would make sure we are locked in. Were I not so lazy, there are other lights I would like to add to Homekit’s domain. …

My parents took my children, my wife, and my sister to Disneyland in 1978. I had to work, so I did not go. Oddly, I was working for my father that year, so that does seem odd, doesn’t it?

Yesterday I cleaned out an old pile of stuff and came across a small box marked Disneyland Slides. Holding a few up to the light, I could see that most were not from that trip, but there were several dozen that were.

I also found two slide viewers. Neither worked; when I opened them up, I found that batteries had been left inside and everything was ruined by corrosion. …

My oldest sister has always been an animal lover. For years she has sometimes regaled our family and her Facebook friends with occasional stories and pictures about her animal friends.

…

I read Jessica Valenti’s post about how helping older parents can add yet another job to women who may already be struggling. It hit a chord for me.

My wife and I are in our seventies and are still quite capable of handling our daily lives. However, I have had to call upon my daughter to help with some things now and then. I feel very guilty whenever that happens.

A Winter Coat

For example, yesterday my wife asked me to help her order a new winter coat. Usually, that might mean she is having trouble with some poorly designed web interface, so I went to help. But it turned out that the actual problem was deciding which of several styles to order. …