birdguy

I agree! I'm just finishing up my second year at the warehouse and I love it here. I seldom go out and am considering selling my car and using the Peachtree Retirement Community bus to take me to appointments. There are lots of activities they have for us and I take advantage of all of them. Especially the Friday afternoon socials with music so I get to dance (really shuffle) with old ladies. Last week we celebrated the 102nd birthday for Hildred. She still gets around with her walker. Noel

Nude flight attendents dancing naked in the rest room to United's caterer at SFO shorting the aircraft meals to almost daily news items of unruly passengers and/or cabin crew members to this: https://viewfromthewing.com/delta-delays-flight-8-hours-sends-200-passengers-to-a-hotel-with-just-13-rooms-then-ditches-everyone-in-the-parking-lot/ Even with late arrivals Amtrak looks better and better. Noel

When I see all the commercials on television these day I wonder how I got to be as old as I am without ever having access to a single one. It doesn't matter what ails you, there is a pill you can buy for it. I'm not knocking drugs people need. I take five pills a day plus a couple of eyedrops for glaucoma that have been prescribed for me by the doctors I see. My GP is also a pharmacologist and before I'd buy ANY unprescribed medication or pill I'd check it out with him first. Even the vitamin pills I buy. And every time I have an appointment I ask the doctor if I still need to be taking any of them. And sometimes they say no and take me off of it. I also think we are over-prescribed society too. When I go to the dining room for breakfast in the morning I see some of the old ladies at my table pull out a half dozen pills to take with their coffee and they tell me they take that many three times a day. Of course we are living longer now; perhaps due to the medications we take. A few afternoons ago we celebrated a lady who had just turned 102 years old. We have three ladies here over 100. The longest any man has lived here was 97. I hope to break that record without having half my diet consisting of medications. Noel

Back when I was still alive I would drive from Denver to the east coast on vacation and I would go 150 to 200 miles before I had to stop for a 'Betty Break.' By myself 300 miles before I would stop to refill the coffee cup and buy a fresh bag of chips. Noel

You're right of course Martin. I emptied the vitals and ate at my refueling stops. But how many recharging stops would I have to make today for 1300 miles? Safety and tiredness are not considerations when you're young and full of pee and vinegar and think you're indestructible. While I still drive I would not even consider a 100 mile drive at my age. In fact I haven't driven out of town in 4 years. I have a 2019 Toyota Prius and have just over 5,000 miles on it. No typo...five thousand miles. I'll have to stop driving in the not too distant future and will expect a premium price when I have to sell it. Noel

Anyone in the western US is used to long distance driving. I one drove from San Francisco to Denver (over 1300 miles) stopping only for gasoline....twice. Where I live in Roswell I am a bit over 200 miles from Albuquerque if I want to shop in a big city store (Like REI when I was still backpacking). Range might not be that important in Europe or even in the eastern United States. But out here in the wide open west it is very important. If I drive north or east out of Roswell it is 100 miles to the next town with virtually nothing in between except sage brush. Noel

What kind of range did the Model T Ford have and how many gas stations were around in those days? I'll never own an electric car. I have a hybrid that should last me until I lose my license due to eyesight. I need a vision report from an eye doctor to bring to DMV when I go in for my annual driver's license renewal. But back to the Model T and the range improvement and gas station growth. Range comparable with ICEs and competing charging stations across the street from each other every few blocks in the city and a couple in every small town in the country isn't far off. Especially when big name manufacturers begin building more and more electrics and phasing out ICEs. Noel

In 1946 I was about 12 years old. I probably would not have understood the movies listed above. But there is one movie made in 1940 that I do have clear memories of. Walt Disney's Fantasia. Most of all I remember The Sorcerer's Apprentice segment and the music of Night on Bald Mountain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasia_(1940_film) Noel

This is all very interesting, but I have a question that I think I have asked before. Eventually one side of the AI robotic peopless weaponry is going to win. What happens to the country that loses? Do they just let the winning country take them over? Or does the losing country defend itself against being taken over by the winning country by using more conventional weapons in the hands of it's citizens? Perhaps the National Guards dip into their armories for conventional weapons to drive out the invaders that won the AI robot war. Noel

If they weren't Calicos would be breed instead of a mutation. Noel

I once had a male calico cat. I got it from our local animal shelter. Only after I got it did I discover that only 1 in 3,000 calicos are male. Noel

Here at the old folks warehouse there are about 60 residents. Three of us are former pilots. The other two are women. Noel

One thing brilliant people, and even geniuses, share with cats is avid curiosity. What does that tell you about cats? Noel

Falling, drowning, getting lost, and other dangers usually befall people who have no experience in the environment they are visiting. In this case they probably wanted to look straight down over the edge. For the inexperienced dizziness and/or vertigo makes them lose their balance. I've done it myself. But I have never had a fear of heights and, before I got old, excellent balance. It's not an infrequent occurance in our western national parks. But you have to make sure the ground is solid before attempting it. My brother once took a picture of me standing on the edge of a cliff in Canyonlands. Noel

Here ya go Martin! Let's hear it for Mirage! https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/cat-survives-nearly-400-foot-fall-utah-national-park-killed-2-owners-rcna204831 Noel