Jim & Alice

Thanks, Kirk! I didn't even know that site existed. Like I mentioned, it is a slow read... every few pages, gotta stop and absorb... and think... What the review doesn't get into is how impoverished the average 'Roman citizen' was. The level of daily living detail is not the focus, but it does come out quite starkly.

No, if anything, one can see the drift into Feudalism... the powerful consolidated their regional power by force of arms, and the poorer became even more poor and bound to the local Lord.

Just about to finish " The Ruin of the Roman Empire", by Classical Historian James O'Connell, about the slow dissolution of the Roman Empire in the 6th Century, and the emergence & rise of ISLAM. Kind of a slow read... gotta stop & think every couple pages. Not sure what comes next, but I got a $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble...

Derek, sorry to hear this... thanks for sharing. Hope you continue to get better. Will be thinking and praying for your full recovery.

My wife and I are currently in our shared (daughter & family) Western Michigan home, attending personal medical needs and helping our daughter with her pregnancy. We both have been fully vaccinated, college student son (living with us) the same, daughter 1 of two doses. We have Relatives & Friends & Neighbors (Michigan, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona) that have died from covid, vax status unknown but likely not vaccinated. Alice and I routinely practice standard CDC recommendations, but living in the same house as grandchildren... there is risk. I am getting a slowly built-up anger at those that deny covid seriousness. Just don't know what else to do...

Thanks for a good, "Big Picture" perspective, Randy. Much to think about.

Yes, absolutely.

Thanks, Derek.

Thanks, Derek. Something to be watching for...

2X, agreed.

Michigan. Back home for some family time... and my wife & I just took a roadtrip up to the 'tip' of Michigan, the Mackinaw City area. While there, we experienced some of the worst roads (in Emmet County) that we have ever seen in all our driving days. Fortunately, we were driving our toad. I am sure the roads we experienced were all County roads, but the potholes were continuous, very deep, and not just rough, but dangerous. We found ourselves driving at ~ 25-35mph for miles & miles... all the while twisting & turning to avoid blowing a tire.

I think Mr. Camper has some excellent camping & timing advice. I would add for things to go see... the Northwest part of Michigan (Emmet County) from the Bridge down to Good Hart. I would mention places like Mackinac Island, Mackinaw City, Cross Village, and Good Hart as areas to investigate. There is an old fort at Mackinaw City of historical interest, St. Ignatius Church (early Mission Church) close to Good Hart, McGulpin Point Museum close to Mackinaw City, and Mill Creek Park. The colors should be just beginning to 'happen', and the beaches of Lake Michigan gorgeous, but a little 'cool'. Enjoy!

Just finished "New Earth", Science Fiction by Ben Bova, about a 1st Interstellar flight... great suspense and surprise ending! And Mr. Bova's usual mix of hard space science and excellent story telling. Just started " The Ruin of the Roman Empire", by Classical Historian James O'Connell, about the slow dissolution of the Roman Empire in the 6th Century, and the emergence & rise of ISLAM.

We've had good success with Alliant Credit Union over our last 8 years of Full-timing. We've also kept our long-time local Credit Union as a 2nd one, mainly to handle local expenses of our house that we kept.

Ouch!... again. Derek, I bow to your very excellent knowledge of today's computer technology. Seriously! We all have our slot in time on things like this... emerging & advancing technology... and your's is still going. I appreciate your sharing of your knowledge. I enjoyed IT tech from back in the early 70's up to retirement time in the 2012 timeframe but now it's just retirement stories. But I do enjoy talking to younger folks about IT and mentioning... "Before the Internet..."... The looks on their face is precious - BEFORE the internet... they can't conceive of!

I wouldn't argue too much, Derek. I go back to the punched card days as a Mainframe systems programmer/manager... pre Internet... pre dialup... Seen more than my share of emerging & applied technology. My biggest challenge & achievement was to recognize, and accept, the technology to prepare for the Internet. I managed a large Hospital IBM Network at the time... (SNA)... went to a tech conference in Chicago... and realized the half million $$$ we had just spent to extend coax cabling on campus was the wrong stuff. Came back, wrote up a white paper, submitted to upper management... and got soundly rejected & beat up. Then a year later... we had a need to interconnect some regionally dispersed IBM AIX systems... that could network with TCP/IP... and that became impetus to start the migration from SNA to TCP/IP. Oh well, great memories. Anyway, I would still like to see "Warp Sped 1"

Good article, Derek - Thanks. Yeah... I think I was born 300 years too early... 🙂

Just had morning coffee with a highly-qualified candidate for state level office (Election filling vacancy). Amazing, that he supports vaccines, he is vaccinated, but feels it is an individual 'personal Freedom' decision as to whether or not to be vaccinated. He supports a Bill in Michigan to prevent "requiring vaccination for activities/involvement". I pointed out that "Public Health concerns" should supercede viewpoints of what constitutes "Personal Freedoms". I think I saw a flash of agreement... but then political reality set in. I have hopes for him.

It includes those people, but far more... people one would never believe could be anti-science/vaccine. I would have to go into 'politics' to carry on any further, so I guess I'll go get another cup of coffee! Thanks.

I am Back in West Michigan for a few months... I am amazed at the organized resistance to vaccines. This observed thru extended family get togethers, church, social media. I would say more, but that would steer into political observations. I find it unbelievable.

Yup again!

Hi, Derek! Yes, I did mean 5G, not G5. Chalk it off to gittin' old! What I see is that (5G+AI+ miniaturization) is going to produce some interesting 'networking' technology & applications in the coming years. And I do agree with the privacy issues... Question is, "How do we control/manage the technology"? And if I get in your region, for sure I would love to stop in and visit some more. Always enjoy your company and thoughts. We are in Michigan right now, probably until late Fall... new grandchild coming. Come Winter, back to Arizona, then in Spring we resume travels again, Good Lord willing. And Derek, I enjoy your advice and info on the site... Thank You for what you do.

Just a thought on this... I have seen this topic posted (FB) in West Michigan, by a respectable termed-out state-level politician that appears to be positioning for another run for office. The focus of the comment was "infringement of privacy" and "Big Brotherism". This issue could go political very fast... As for my thoughts? I managed Tech Support for a couple large organizations for many years, including Security. This is worrisome - but Amazon is no novice to these issues. I think we need more information before judging. And... with G5 (network speeds) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology rapid advances, the issues of 'personal' and 'hyper' inter-networking are only going to become more pronounced over time. Interesting times we live in!

I just wanted to take a moment to echo your commendation of Kirk. He helped my wife and I immensely over 8 years ago when we made a 'cold turkey' decision to become Fulltimers... His advice (and others) made a tremendous difference for our success. We're still here, and quite happy with the Fulltime years. Kirk was extremely helpful, patient, and encouraging. And as you pointed out, Will, Kirk's help for others is 'all the time'. Thank You, Will B, for letting me comment on your dime, and on your excellent comment.

Great little town!