Daily Report
It's a very breezy, warm afternoon here at Adams Pond. I've watered the garden since we had a slight problem with the hose on the automatic timer for Sandy's garden soaker hoses. I've fixed that. Heck, I'm almost feeling as if I've crossed into handyman territory, except I was never very good at stuff like that. I used to say I understood how to do things, but that knowledge never traveled down my arms to my hands. Maybe they just didn't want to do it. However, most of the time my nephew Timmy does stuff like tightening things and moving heavy objects and well--we try not to wear him out. I've run three loads of laundry so far and have one running to be replaced by the final load of the day, and dinner is thawing on the island. I've reviewed call center phone calls for Sandy, sent the folks there a training lesson to be completed by next Monday, and I've got dishes washing. The dogs are worn out from following me all over the place.
I'd say it's time for a nap, but I've got a chapter to complete on my novel, and I've yet to develop a timeline for it.
My new phone arrived today. The FedEx guy was about to leave a sticker on the door when he attracted the attention of the dogs. I saw his shadow through the front door's stained-glass window, so I caught him before he jetted away.
Now, on to what's happening elsewhere.
Going on a Cruise
One of my friends on Facebook is also an old friend from my working days back in Oklahoma. She heard me mention we were going on a cruise to Alaska soon, and she said she'd always wanted to go on one but couldn't afford it. Sandy and I try to take one a year. The getting on and getting off process can be a headache, but we always enjoy going off to visit new places and meet people we'd never meet in any other way. My sister goes on a lot of cruises, and she helped us get started. At any rate, I told my friend it was possible to make payments so it's not such a huge expense. I also recommended checking out a website called Vacations to Go. Pull it up on Google. It has lots of bargains and suggestions.
Clarence Thomas
As if Clarence Thomas hasn't been a mess since he was nominated and placed on the Supreme Court, now he's blundered into more problems than declaring his private parts were incredibly long or sexual harassment. Now he's been caught with his pants down (without a view of the aforesaid private parts). He's been accepting free trips from a highly conservative billionaire amounting to over $500,000, and that same "friend" purchased his mother's house and renovated it. He never declared these "gifts," and he sees no problem with them. Naturally, the GOP has no problem with any of it either. After all, it's not unusual for folks to get $500,000 in free vacations. They'll argue this all around and forget that his wife was strongly involved in the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Ethics? "We don't need no stinkin' ethics."
Speeding Along
When I was in New Mexico, I had to take a safe driver's course online each year so I could drive a State Car. The chart I've included here is one of the takeaways I had from that course. I've found it to be both informative and a bit frightening. I've driven in a lot of places where the speed limit is an accepted starting place for how fast you will drive. When I was taught to drive, I was taught to allow one car length for every ten miles per hour I was driving. Six car lengths if I was driving 60. If you do anything like that in many places, four or five cars will slide into the space you've so nicely provided. They may actually use that space so they can cross two or three lanes of traffic. Note the statement at the top left of this chart: "For every 10 miles per hour over 50 mph, the risk of death in a traffic collision is doubled." So, if you're driving 70, your risk is 4 times higher. At 80, it's 8 times higher. Here in Texas, I have seen people racing along at much higher speeds. This chart also highlights the fact that faster speeds don't really equate to getting somewhere significantly sooner. Slow down. Be safe. Treat the other drivers on the road with respect.
The Bobiverse
German scientists are currently working on ways to reverse death and resurrect human beings. While this has traditionally been the baliwick of science fiction and horror (think Frankenstein), this is a real thing (as reported recently by Popular Mechanics). Here's a quote: "A few of these people just want their brain preserved, thinking their future selves may prefer a new 3D-printed body... or maybe not even a body at all." Scary stuff? Maybe turning people into computer programs will keep the world from over-population...wait, that could be an interesting science fiction story. Don't steal it.
Sandy and I have read a really interesting science fiction series about a fellow named "Bob" who has his brain frozen after death. He awakens a couple of hundred years later to discover he's a computer program. He eventually creates all sorts of replicas (they all act and sound like him, but personalities diverge over time and replication). The stories are entertaining. I highly recommend reading the books. The first in the series is called "We Are Legion, We Are Bob." The author is Dennis E. Taylor. If you do Audible, the performer for the books is outstanding.
That's enough for today.
Take care and be safe.
cma
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