The leaves are pretty much done falling now on this last day of November- I’ve blown them off or raked them thrice already with one more effort to go. Until two days ago we had vacant lots on both sides of the house to dispose of leaves, etc., but we’re now down to one vacant Continue reading
Activities
Could be part time work, volunteer work, golf, running/walking, other hobbies
#93 – America’s “Best Idea”
I normally avoid anything that hints of politics in this blog…unless it promotes a wholly positive perspective. In this case I may have stumbled across such a source. Tell me if I’m wrong. Antonette Bowman, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD.org) posted an article titled, “The Surprising National Security Role Continue reading
#91 – Landscaping
This is one of those subjects for which you have a passion….or not. I am not a landscape expert, but after 40 plus years of yard care experience, I’ve made more than my share of mistakes and have learned at least a small handful of lessons. Besides, one of the purposes of this blog is Continue reading
#90 – Lifelong Learning: Initial Thoughts
My son is closing in on completing his formal, school-centric education after 25 consecutive years in the classroom and/or research lab. I anticipate that from now on his lifetime learning trajectory will be fueled primarily through less formal means during his workforce years and beyond (not that the informal learning was lacking during these past Continue reading
#89 – Untitled
One thing I learned these first few years of retirement (notwithstanding the occasional return to full-time work) is that changes have occurred in the things that bring me joy. OK, that may sound obvious, but these changes can come as a surprise- even if you had thought through what was going to fill your days Continue reading
#86 – Ever Heard of “Blue Zones”?
“Blue Zones” are specific geographic locations where the human population has a significantly longer life expectancy than the global average. It’s a non-scientific term which is steadily gaining attention since the early 2000s. A 2004 Science Direct report on age research highlighted results indicating a specific area on the Italian island of Sardinia that had Continue reading
#85 – Happiness According to ChatGPT
OK, here’s an experiment. The below was not written by me, but rather by the Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform known as ChatGPT. The sole purpose of this post is to introduce you to one minor experiment about what this platform can do. I asked it to draft me a 300-400 word paper on Happiness- it Continue reading
#81 – A Great Fall Trip
A couple of weeks ago Beth and I headed up north on a 10 day trip up to the DC area which we knew would be enjoyable, but ended up being a whole lot better than expected. I’d like to say this is one of those typical retirement life trips, but it included a full Continue reading
#76 – Visitors and Travel
Later today we’ll be headed for the Nashville Airport to pick up our daughter and granddaughter for the weekend- their first visit to our TN home. The excitement level around here’s pretty high right now. Then Monday evening brother Doug shows up for a day with his new golf clubs to test out our mountain Continue reading
#72 – More Travel
Awaiting a possible return to full time work (see previous post), I’m squeezing in some previously planned trips, although I still find it a challenge to spend the money. With Social Security now turned on, we’re back to a positive monthly cash flow. That solves a couple of psychological issues. Now if we could only Continue reading