Lap 68!!!

 

OUCH!  68 Years???  Who’d a thunk it?

Getting old sure isn’t for the timid!

Happy New Year!  As is my custom, submitted for your consideration (ala Rod Serling) are my thoughts and observations upon beginning my 68^th lap around the Sun.  They are in no particular order, but just a stream of consciousness. 

 

Am I the only person who is sick to death of hearing about COVID and all of its variants? Its probably a rhetorical question…

 

So, just a few mornings ago, I was watching a group of students waiting on the school bus, just across the street from my home.  There was a parent or two waiting with them.  I noted that the young men were wearing shorts, tennis shoes, and hoodie sweatshirts. I also noted that the outside temperature was 33 degrees and that it was drizzling. 

                ARE YOU CRAZY???  

    Come to think of it, I see grown men, whom one would think had more sense, everywhere in our wonderful Southwestern PA weather, dressed the same way. 

                Should I repeat the question? 

                Oh, I forgot to mention that most of these same individuals were wearing masks…

 

                As a society, we still spend too much time on social media, and the social media business is booming.  I am the last person to advocate for any regulatory control of Facebook/Meta, Twitter, etc.  If we really want to put them in their places, there are two things that need to happen:  the first, Congress should eliminate their regulatory protection from liability by amending their legal status as “platforms” to that of “publishers”.  Platforms simply provide a forum to everyone.  Publishers choose their content.   Does any rational person believe that social media doesn’t choose their content?   Publishers can be sued.

                The second thing that must occur doesn’t require legislation.   Log off.  Close the browser window, maybe even delete the app from your phone.  Go talk to people, give them a call, drop them an email, or better yet write and mail a letter.   Sheesh, it isn’t rocket science!

                Technology is pretty cool, if it works!  

                My wife and I recently bought a new car.  It's a product of a well known manufacturer with a well deserved reputation for safety and durability.  Among its other features is a driver recognition system that identifies the driver, and adjusts the seat, mirrors, etc. for that person, once those settings are input.  Only two people drive the car, but it does not "recognize" me half of the time, and my wife less than that.  The dealer says that you have to hold your head a certain way while its identifying you.  Doesn't work.  

                I have a pellet grill from a higher end manufacturer that can be controlled from a phone app.  Makes it nice and convenient to monitor dinner's progress.  When it works, that is.  It has been known to simply drop off my hone wi-fi network in the middle of cooking a meal.  Connecting it again is a royal pain.  

                First, you have to make sure that your home network is a 2.5 ghz network (most homes these days are dual band, both 2.5 and 5.0 ghz, which involves a process to separate the one network into two. Then, a multistep process to get the grill's controller online.  I won't go into the rest of the process, it would take up too much of your attention.  Suffice it to say it is absurd, and probably won't work the first time.

                Bottom line:  Manufacturers, please don't put out technological wonders that don't work the first time, and every time after, or apps/operating systems that need updates every week or two. DON'T PUT IT OUT IF IT DOESN'T WORK!!!!! 

 

                If you are waiting for ANY politician, on either side of the ideological divide, to be your salvation, you will be disappointed. They are human beings.  Sorry. 

                Speaking of politicians, in my 68 years, I have lived under 12 Presidents.  I can’t count the number of times that party control of Congress has changed. My life went on no matter who occupied the White House or worked in the Capitol, and it has turned out pretty well in the long run.  Now that I think of it, if looking at things in the long run is a good strategy for investing, why not for life itself?

                It’s another rhetorical question, I think.

                I don’t discuss politics with my friends, or anyone else. Its like this; if you are talking with someone who disagrees with you, you will both get angry.   If you are talking with someone on “your side”, you’ll get angry that the other side is so stupid that they can’t see it your way. Life is too short to waste any of it in anger. Righteous anger, maybe, but we don’t seem to have much of that.

 

                I am actually a bit sad to take down Christmas decorations this year.  Guess I am beginning to grasp the true meaning of the season...  

 

                Grand kids are wonderful!  My wife and I have 7; 3 boys and 4 girls, ages 4 months to 12 years.  The Bible says, in Proverbs, that “Grand children are the crown of old men” … (17:6, NASB 1995).  I have to agree.  I cannot imagine that it is any different for women.

 

                In the past year, I dropped 50 pounds.  Now I have to work at dropping off the 10 I gained back over the holidays…but, you have to enjoy life, with full recognition that there might be a price to pay.  Back to basics, hi protein, no fat or sugar, lots of water and exercise.   I want to stick around long enough to see one of my grandkids pilot a jet, or board a spacecraft bound for Mars.

 

                The World’s Noisiest Housecat (ours) is showing her age.  I’m told that 15-17 years is about average life span for a cat.  She still regards my wife and I as her “staff”, so I guess she will be around a bit longer, if only to keep us humble.

 

                A reader asked if I was proud of my family.  Aside from what the Bible says about pride, I would rather say that I am humbled by the gift they have been, are, and will be.  When asked “How are you?”, radio host and financial guru Dave Ramsey always replies, “Better than I deserve.”  It’s a good answer, and one I could use when asked about my family.

 

                Did I tell you about how wonderful grandkids are?

               

                It is 26 degrees in Pittsburgh as I write this.  Looking out the window, I just saw a middle-aged man walking his dog, wearing shorts, tennis shoes and a hoodie…go figure!

                “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you”.   (Numbers 6:24, NASB 1995)

              Have a blessed, prosperous and healthy New Year!