And authors are already feeling the bite… — My long-time readers know that my loyalty to them extends to the platform they read my articles on — Medium. Having been around for over eight years, both as content consumer and creator, I have seen things change a good few times. Change, while humans tend to have an aversion…

God damn it, Peter Thiel and company. God damn it, best buddies of right wing fanatic Elon Musk! God damn it all to hell! I can’t even. I can’t even. I will try though, even though I can’t even. I will begin with this guy. His name is David Sacks…

The next stage of capitalism is being determined by the rise of silicon minds. Silicon minds are the stage above AI, and describe a computer capable of replicating human-level thought. They will direct the robots who do all the work; there will be no jobs that provide wages for humans. …

He kindly passed me by — You know how you sometimes swallow something that’s a little too big and you have to relax and wait for it to make its way along your throat? That just happened to me. I sent a little coffee in after it to help it slide down. …

Advice from my century When I first published this, my Dad had turned 102; my grandson is two. Exactly a hundred years separated my father from his great-grandson. My father has today turned 103. While the observations below are substantially the same as they were last year, he wanted me…

It’s time to bring the magic back to Medium — I’m sure many of you have noticed that Medium has been having some issues lately. Like many other social networks, our platform has been plagued by bots and spammers for months, and it’s become increasingly difficult to find stories that are worth reading. I’ve spent the past few days looking…

“I’m the one who loves you,” and other lessons from the dementia journey — Dave shuffled toward the microphone, leaning into a cane that supported his slow, measured steps. I expected the frailties inflicted by age to weaken his voice, so I edged forward. But he spoke with strength and passion about caring for his wife of 55 years. After her descent into dementia…

Wizarding is best left to the wizards — I was lounging away the effects of a long evening at the Crying Man when Darvyn knocked on my bedchamber door. As I review a long, misspent life and all the times I’ve almost died horribly — and there have been a shocking number, considering my lifelong commitment to self-preservation…

Based on my entirely subjective, but reliable good taste — Not long after Medium introduced lists back in 2021, I started one called ‘The Best Stories on Medium.’ It was my way of saving the really exceptional stories someplace I could easily find them again. I left the list public so writers could see when I added their story to…

My 102-year-old father was in the park today with his two-year-old great-grandson. He was anxious that a more supportive society is needed to deal with today’s twin crises. I embellish his thoughts with links, for the modern Medium reader. As yet another hurricane — Rosyln — heads for landfall, my…

Why I will not rake my leaves — Not much bigger than a quarter, she sleeps now. There beneath the decomposing leaves that blanket the roots of the trees, beneath the surface of the cold earth, beneath the oncoming layers of snow, in a bed chamber unfit for the lowliest among us, she slumbers. Her tireless work has…

Get up — Resistance is futile, but it’s so easy. Quitting is a kind of resistance. It’s also a bad habit. That’s why I only quit drinking and smoking once. I didn’t want to chase my tail around until I got dizzy. I said, adios, boozy smokey. My ability to quit is great…

Dying is hard, sad, and difficult to watch — We had three difficult days in the bird room watching Blue succumb to death. It was not sudden nor totally unexpected as he had been exhibiting signs of increasing frailty for months. His balance was questionable; he often tumbled from perches. …

From an involved source: A guest post from Cerberus, the world’s mightiest puppy: My esteemed chronicler and confidant, Mr. Perlmutter, has deemed it necessary that I speak to you personally regarding this ridiculous made up holiday designed to make you humans continue to feel better about the sub-par treatment you…

Wanna get real about publications and what they do for your success? Alright. Let’s do it. Let’s get real… — Let’s cut the crap and look at where the real value of publications lies. Some claim they’re worthless, while many assume they’re the one sure golden fairy-dusted ticket to fame. The former is a very ignorant view, the latter is an incredibly naive one. …

A daydream promised this story will cause epiphanies — The rich man stood on the edge of the deepest hole in history. His sneakers gleamed. The toes of his sneakers, an inch over the edge and angling down, caused onlookers to moan with dread and excitement.

An odd, but sweet, pair. — These two are inseparable. Last night, as I walked by her bedroom, I noticed them sleeping in her bed…together. They are 16 and best friends. Yes, I knew he was sleeping over. I’m still a little uneasy about it. But we all love him and I trust both of them…

Turns out one of the most vocal groups opposing digital accessibility, are writers… — The more time I spend dealing with digital accessibility, the more I find pockets of unexpected groups who oppose it. You’d think it’s common sense by now that we don’t want to discriminate against people, and especially not based on disability. I mean, one of the infamous people who did…

Never waste your vote again. Independent voters rejoice. — I can hardly restrain myself. I’m so excited about the results of the special election for a vacant seat in the House of Representatives for the State of Alaska, I’m about to explode. I’m glad that Democrat and native Alaskan, Mary Peltola, won that seat based on a campaign of…