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Since my wife died, I think about dying a lot. Not all the time anymore, but most days. I am more aware of life, aging, deterioration and signs of death. I notice when elderly neighbors and people I see regularly show signs of decline. I pay more attention to famous people’s obituaries and am curious…

“Unprecedented” levels of depression, loneliness, anxiety, family estrangement, political partisanship, intolerance, difficulty finding a mate, etc. are discussed constantly in the news, podcasts, books, movies, and media. I’m not so sure this is true. I think perhaps humans have always had these issues. We just didn’t talk about it so much. Human nature doesn’t change…

“Give homeless people a home.”* This answer seems glaringly obvious and yet it is not what we do. I’d like to take credit for the line but I cannot. It was said on this podcast by Dr. Margot Kushel, Director of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. The rest of this post is my slightly…

The Internet is full of incendiary trolls who make everything worse by dragging politics into discussions, picking fights and starting arguments. And I know why. Because in real life, we avoid these people who act like this. We all know someone who is an antagonizer, who picks a fight at family gatherings, who spews negativity,…

The most immediate impact of AI since the public release of ChatGPT in 2023, has been the “dumbing down” of the Internet. I am not surprised. I saw this coming a year ago. This month, Google began displaying AI generated responses to searches instead of linking to websites. This is great if you want a…

I heard much about Ozempic (and other GLP-1 inhibitor drugs) during the past year. As someone who struggled with weight for much of my life, I have some opinions based on my experience. Still, I’m certainly no expert so you should consider this when weighing my opinions. Recently on a podcast, I heard Johann Hari…

I am reading a book called “STFU: The Power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut in an Endlessly Noisy World“. It begins with the author describing himself as a “talkaholic”. He then writes about research into overtalkers, provides a self-assessment test and details discussions he had with academics about his issue. His issue is not my…

I don’t like to spend money. To avoid buying something only to regret my purchase later, I have a system that works well for me. I’ll put the item on a wish list on Amazon or I’ll make a note about it in my daily log (diary). Then I’ll think about it for a few…

Two houses on my street are being renovated. Exteriors have been power washed, landscaped, repaired and painted. Interiors have been cleaned out. New carpets and floors have been installed. Entire living areas have been repainted. Kitchens and baths have been refreshed. Repairmen and contractors have been working on these houses for weeks. One house was…

A friend who recently went on a river cruise through Europe was telling me about her trip. She talked about how clean Amsterdam was – with no air pollution, many bicycle riders and walkers, and groups of ordinary people who picked up litter from the streets and canals to keep them clean. She talked about…