Dig this exchange of commenters on a review of Apple’s new Vision Pro.
The Earlies are all a flutter. Meanwhile the Lates are loading their empty Bic pins with spit balls and taking dead aim at them.
As an investor, I’m heartened by the Earlies’ enthusiasm; but more personally, I’m down with the Lates’s cynicism.
One group of friends doesn’t know and doesn’t care. They have a wonderfully whacky Super Bowl tradition that appeals greatly to the nonconformist in me. Each year they compete to see who can go the longest without knowing the outcome. Especially in a year like this one where I don’t have a rooting interest and the Dad and Daughters Club has committed February 11th to watching “Killers Of The Flower Moon.”
Truthfully, I am too plugged in to do very well. I mean, it’s kind of hard to find out who won the golf tournament without stumbling upon the Super Bowl winner.
Alison says when she doesn’t want to know the score of a Chelsea women’s game, she goes “full Amish”. That is prob what it takes. Who is in with me?
May the most Amish among us win.
I listened to Ezra Klein talk to Gloria Marks about her book,“Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness, and Productivity”. Marks is a professor at UC Irvine.
I probably wasn’t paying close enough attention, but I was underwhelmed by Marks who confirmed Klein’s view that we’re easily distracted these days and how helpful walks in nature are to our paying attention and well-being more generally. Despite Klein’s borderline annoying earnestness, Mark’s came across as “All hat and no cattle.”
And let’s not rule out the very real possibility that I’m just jelly that I don’t have a remotely similar platform for my own peabrain ideas.
Maybe if I did a deeper dive into Mark’s work, I’d be more impressed, but having been around the academic block a few times, I suspect her academic profile is the result of two things—focusing exclusively on a highly relevant topic and mastering the art of self promotion. Do note the slick personal website.
Often, there’s a weak correlation between the intelligence and importance of a person’s writing/speaking and their relative popularity. It’s rarely, if ever, what you see is what you get.
I prefer more original writers/thinkers that cast wider nets, blur the lines between disciplines, and challenge my preconceived assumptions about things.
Philadelphia Attorney Tells Lawmakers How He Nearly Fell Victim to AI Scam.
How to stem the tide when high tech thieves have no exposure?
Who am I now that I’m not working? That’s the question Stephen Kreider Yoder, 66, and Karen Kreider Yoder, 67, reflect on in this Wall Street Journal essay.
Karen writes:
“I no longer have the career that was the dominant part of my identity. Instead, I have a many-faceted identity.
Sure, there are mornings when I feel melancholy, often when the coming day feels unstructured or without purpose. On rare occasions, I stay in my pajamas all morning and wish I were back to my routine of setting off before dawn by bike to the ferry, across the San Francisco Bay and back on the bike for the last leg to the university. It was an invigorating commute, and I had heady work building a department that made an impact in the community.
But the pressure and the stress? The sleepless nights preparing for meetings and classes? I am happy to have left that behind, and the place it had in my identity. Now, if I’m not satisfied with my day, it’s my own fault.”
I wonder though, is it her own fault?
I’m struck by the limited opportunities for retired peeps to share their unique skills and work/life experiences, insights, and wisdom. A cynical view would be that “society” just doesn’t care. That it has an ageist, “thank you for coming”, perspective.
Sure, retired people can volunteer for any number of non-profits, and some create “encore” careers, but for the vast majority it’s not easy to find the right fit. To be able to make similar contributions as they did when working, just in significantly less time, and with less stress.
I wonder if I happened onto a large part of the answer when I entered the crib last Saturday afternoon. The GalPal had just finished tutoring a recently retired lawyer-friend who is learning Spanish. Afterwards, she said she felt a sense of purpose that is decidedly more elusive in her post-teaching life.
I wonder. If for retired people struggling with their new, post paid work identities, the answer may be informal small groups where each participant contributes a unique skill.
Which leaves me wondering. How might we facilitate more grass roots, retirement, purpose making?
No, no, no, not me. But many others. I visited Tampa regularly for 30 years which was okay in November, December, and January. Even in the winter though, I would not want to live there.
You, on the other hand, may like the peninsula. Especially if you belong to the NRA, dig amphibians and reptiles, long for Norman Rockwell’s America, and don’t climb well on your bike.
A few days ago I was cycling southbound on the Chehalis Western Trail (CWT), a gem of Thurston County public infrastructure. And thanks to attentive parents, I successfully dodged a few 3 year-oldish riders on those amazingly small bikes that darn near enable babies to ride home from the hospital under their own power.
And I wondered what would it be like to be three years-old, to live through the 21st Century and check out sometime in the 2100’s? On the surface, probably pretty great since technology and medical advances continue to amaze and you don’t have to go the Department of Motor Vehicles in person anymore. And some of us don’t have to go to gas stations. And global poverty is way down. And despite Fox News propaganda, crime is down. And despite serious income inequality and low savings rates, people can find jobs and the economy is resilient.
And yet.
I wouldn’t want to be my tiny CWT cycling friends because if I had to capture the current zeitgeist in one word it’s “sad”. Despite continuing substantive improvements to our quality of life, a critical mass of people in the (dis)United States seem, for lack of a better term, sad. Why is that?
And why don’t I know the answers to that. Does my multi-layered privilege blind me? Short answer, of course.
I don’t think I’ll beat myself up for not knowing, because as I tell my students, “It’s okay to not be okay. And it’s okay to be okay.” Still, I would like to better understand why you are sad or why people you know well are sad. Is it as simple as the rent is too damn high or is it climate anxiety or is the answer more abstract, philosophical, even spiritual?
If you accept my premise, that we’re in the grips of a wave of sadness that shows no signs of abating, please enlighten me as to why. Thank you in advance.
I knew there was real downside wading into the vax debate, but I didn’t expect a PressingPauser to spring into action with a reasoned rebuttal.
A decidedly non-knuckle head Pressing Pauser wrote to me, “This material cut and pasted below is from NPR on how long the protection lasts. You seem to have addressed only the mild symptom category, not the risk of severe responses. I see no suggestion that anyone should or would get this shot ‘every 2 months.’ As a renowned blogger with tremendous influence over many many readers (well, maybe a few), you should consider the fact that you and your ‘non-knucklehead recently retired doctor friend’ may have cherry picked a bit.
From NPR—How long will protection last?
“You’ll get a boost in immunity within about two weeks after getting the shot that could reduce your risk of coming down with COVID – and that protection will likely last for a few months. It should also make you more likely to get a more mild case if you do get sick.
The boost in protection against severe disease – the kind of scary symptoms that can send you to the hospital – should last a lot longer. Exactly how long depends on a variety of factors including your immune system, your health, your age and your prior exposures to both the vaccines and infections. But for many people, the hope is the COVID shots can be annual, like flu shots.
“It will markedly increase your protection against getting very sick for about a year or so,” says Dr. Robert Wachter, professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco.”
The point is so well taken, I will in all likelihood get the new jab. Thanks to the reader for taking the time to deepen the discussion. That said, comparing me to Kyrie Irving was totally uncalled for. Except for the ball handling skills.
Some of my knucklehead friends think they’re world renowned epidemiologists. I’m going to continue to ignore their opposing theories and advice in favor of my non-knucklehead, recently retired doctor friend, who recently texted me this:
“The original vaccine was extremely effective. It prevented infection 94% of the time. However, the virus mutated, and it no longer prevents infection, and only mildly effective at preventing severe illness , and then for only a short time.
I believe in vaccines. I have gotten all my covid vaccines early, if anything, but the data no longer supports the vaccine.
Many colds are caused by different coronaviruses, and we’ve tried for years to make a cold vaccine. It’s never worked. The coronavirus mutates too quickly. Even the newest booster is outdated before it is being released. That strain disappeared months ago. We are 2 to 3 versions past that strain. One of the new strains has over 30 new mutations. It is unlikely to respond well to the new booster for the few 2 months you get mild protection against severe illness. Are you going to get a new booster every 2 months for minimal protection?”
I am not.
Pressing Pause 