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Down Among the Double Helix

I turned 49 twelve days ago. A few weeks before that, I experienced something new: Talking about my genetics, with professionals. As friends and regular readers of the blog know, my dad has been dead for a long time. He died in 1997 at the age of 52 from pancreatic cancer. Not a good way to go. Ever since then, I've been doing a sort of mortal arithmetic in my head. Even at his funeral, as I was sitting there watching the American flag being folded and then handed to my father's widow and their 2-year-old son, the thought was being tossed around in my mind of how, 'Okay, I'm 21. Dad was 52 when he died. That means I could have another 31 years left? Maybe?' At the time, 31 years sounded like a good, long while. I'm here to tell you that it went by quickly. And so, as I continued to near the age where my dad received his diagnosis (he was 51), I began talking with my primary care physician (PCP) about whether or not I should have some kind of genetic testing don...
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My 20 favorite books of all time

Posted without comment. By publication date.
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Best of the Century (so far)

We're on the last day of 2024 and, in addition to that, we're also closing-out the first quarter of the 21st century. Twenty-five years (2000-2024) in the can. They've certainly been.... interesting. If there's one thing we can say about the 21st century so far, it's that it hasn't been boring. Personally, I could stand a little boredom for awhile, but ah well. The music of this century has also not been boring. I decided to choose my Top 25 songs of the first 25 years of the century so far, and it wasn't easy. I had to whittle-away a lot, having decided to include only one song per artist, and to exclude instrumental tracks (of which, I like several). Here, then, in alphabetical order, are my 25 favorite songs of the 21st century. Because I don't feel like writing essays about each song, I'm only going to leave them with one word or sentence. It could be about why I like the track, or it could just be a favorite quote from the lyrics. Ok, here we go...
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The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

            Entertainment pundit John Campea recently posted a video lamenting the increasing cost of going to the movies (ticket prices, concessions, etc.). He worries that it will mean fewer people going to the cinema. The guys over at CarEdge have long been disappointed in the rising costs of car purchases, with similar concerns that Campea has about moviegoing, that higher automobile costs will mean a decrease in sales. That situation may be resolving itself soon, though. Meanwhile, CNBC recently did a report about how Disney may be pricing some families out of visiting its theme parks.      The aforementioned folks lay out the mathematics of how the economy is supposed to work, that lower prices for goods often means more people purchasing them. A surfeit of consumers means an increase in sales which, depending on the margins, often means an increase in profit. In short, a business should always be looking to expand its customer...
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First as Friends

As some of you know, I've been working on a shorty story collection of love stories. A few have been published here and, well, here's another. Someday, maybe the whole book will come out!
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The Way We Talk Now

You may not have heard, but there was a US presidential debate earlier this week. Kamala Harris (current vice-president) vs. Donald Trump (former president). I couldn't stomach to watch it, but of course I read news articles about it afterward, talked with a couple of people in-person the next morning who'd seen it, and of course there was the barrage of social media friends who were commenting on it. It's that last part I wanted to talk about. First, I'm obviously not against someone's debate performance being analyzed. Heck, there are classes in public schools that are all about debate. So, that isn't the issue. What bothers me is how the performances are analyzed. Like, yeah, sure, have a poll asking folks what they thought of the debate, and who they thought did better. That's fine. It's the reactions I've been seeing primarily on social media that are concerning. It's like I'm back in school. Except, these are adults (at least in chron...
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I Was So Much Older Then, But I'm Younger Than That Now

Last night I saw an advanced screening of the new movie, My Old Ass . Terrible title, excellent film. It had an affect on me, which I wanted to write about. Be forewarned: there will be some spoilers to follow, so if you think you'll watch the movie at some point, perhaps it would be wise to stop reading now and come back to this later.
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