Backroads

I already hear this has been a good career boost for her, and I'm happy for her.

Looks like @Jamie123 only reads General Discussion. We should go to the other forums and talk about him. He'll never know.

I’ve noticed that many blogs have become less active.  
Social media and technology will continue to evolve.
Texting is so yesterday.
Have you tried holographic group rooms or AI surrogates, how about the OASIS?

I’m wondering who did his mission physical exam.
I do my own children missionary H&Ps and one of my boys had a fast heart rate.  I sent him to get a cardiology consult.

I need to get this darn kid I grew up with to stop fighting the town chicken request. I can't rely on the illegal chicken owners forever.

I am of the opinion that few things of this life are as they appear.  I had a younger brother that grew up mostly after I had left home (and moved far away from my family).  I only knew him while he was a child.  He died in an accident a few months after he returned home from his mission.  His death was particularly hard on my parents. 
During my younger brother’s funeral, I had an experience that is somewhat difficult to explain.  My brother came to me and communicated with me – it was a profound spiritual experience for me.  I learned that our mortal existence has what I would best describe as presets.  One of the major presets is the time of our death.  On rare occasions there can be an extension or contraction concerning our time of death pending on circumstances. 
Many sorrowed for my brother thinking that his time on earth had been shortened.  I learned that his time had been extended to serve a mission.  I inquired why my brother came to me rather than my parents or other family members.  I learned that the reason was because our parents and other family members were too stricken with grief and my brother could not connect with them.  I was to let them know that my brother was blessed to fulfill a mission.  Also, that he was about a good work and would not be denied any blessings and should not be mourned for dying young.   It took several years for my parents to be comforted.
Like the song “Come Come Ye Saints”, And if we die before our journey {seems} through – Happy Day, all is well.
 
The Traveler

Food Maxx is our new store.
Found T-bone steak $6.99 lb
Butter 4.99 lb
Eggs  6.99 for 18
Need to get a chicken coop…

I haven't the foggiest idea what we're doing, and I'm sure my two-income household is a fraction of your income. No shade, just know a few doctors. Um, we still have a bunch of meat from the last cow we bought. Bulk eggs are cheap. Taking the time to drive half-way across town to the cheap grocery store is totally worth it.  My daughter's medication order the first week of January took out the deductible for the entire family with the medication company footing the entire bill, so most health care for the rest of the year ought to be free/cheap. 

Republicans are not so bright.  Trump may be the darling of most stanch republicans, but he is not attractive to the general populace of America.  It is obviously true that the democrats have and continue to screw up everything they touch prompting republicans to think they have (according to stacked pooling) an easy ride to success.  Then on election day they get blown away at the ballot box.
I believe that the bumpy ride of the electoral process is nothing compared to what will come after the election.  It appears to me that political types are more worried with what happened in the last or some previous election than what is coming next (both foreign and domestic).  I learned from white water rafting that there is no reason to think about anything that has happened on the river – regardless of whatever tole was taken to get through any previous hydrologic.  The only thing that matters or is important is to face down the river and prepare for what is coming next.
 
The Traveler

It seems to me that the natural course of diversity is not a good thing - ever.  If that which is diverse is each left to its own, there is no other possibility other than for the various dominate elements of that diversity to turn on each other as rivals.  The only possible good to come from diversity is when a singularity (a good singularity) that is more important than the sum total of all the diversity, is able to unite the members.
There is a very good example of what I am attempting to espouse in Moroni chapter 10 beginning with verse 6 that explains the unification that Christ brings to the divergent gifts of the spirit.
If there is no overarching unity for that which is diverse – the only possible result is chaos.  If there is a counter example for this – I would be most interested to learn of it.
 
The Traveler

I've often extolled the virtues of privilege with woke folk when we're discussing the world's issues.  It's not about getting rid of privilege, it's about making sure as many folks have access to it that I do.   Hooray privilege!   (You say this out loud to their faces, and then come back here and report how they responded.)
They've taught me their language.  Heterosexual has to do with who you're attracted to.  A boy likes girls, a girl likes boys.  Cisgender is the traditional gender to which you adhere which matches your gender expression.  You're a boy who looks and acts and thinks they are a boy, regardless of whether you like boys or girls.  You obviously need more DEI training.

That's because privilege is invisible to you. 

If they are adults who live on their own, it is too late to do something directly.  The time for that has passed.  So, do the indirect route.
Continue to show the good example of what being a faithful Saint means.  And you can fast and pray for him.
I wish you the best of luck.

...but what about second sign of the apocalypse?
The next periodical emergence of the 13-year and 17-year cicada broods is happening in 2024. The last time these insects co-emerged was in 1803, while Thomas Jefferson was president.
Periodical cicadas - Wikipedia

 
 
 
 
"Hello, I'd like to talk to you about your car's home warranty?"

My knee jerk was to say "Stop putting words in my mouth"  
But, I'll be forward.  I don't believe in "taxation is theft". (Not saying you're making that claim necessarily, but that logic often goes there).

And what I was calling for was SPECIFICALLY NOT THAT.  My Statement of the balance being tricky is literally a response to the idea of what you said. You HAVE to incentivize work through some sort of gain or the very wealthy will stop working at a point, as you said.  But I am not against diminishing returns when you have more money than a vast majority of the population, or even entire nations. 

I'm sorry, I don't believe any one man should have 60+ billion dollars while nations are dying of hunger.  But it's also not a sin to be well off.  Thus, it's a balance (and a hard one to find), and to a degree, things ARE relative.  I am very wealthy compared to others, many even.  Which is why I'm talking about very high level things, not personally roughing up Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos in an alley.
And to be VERY clear, I'm not talking about some utopian vision of equality, I don't believe that will happen in this life.  But I am saying taking SOME away from the top and helping everyone.  You can make someone's burden lighter without removing their need to do anything.  I don't believe in Communism, or some idea that all work is equal in value with regards to payment.  I think a doctor should make more than a janitor.  But I very much think the CEO shouldn't make more in a year than I will in multiple lifetimes.  According to AFL CIO (summarized by Bing)
Based on the realized compensation, the average pay of a Fortune 500 CEO in 2022 was $16.7 million, according to a report by the AFL-CIO.  This was a 30% increase from the previous year, and 351 times the pay of the average worker.
Yeah, I have a problem with that.  We need to work towards change.   It's pretty bad when I can quote Weird Al with only mild sarcasm. "Don't take away money, from artists just like me, how else can I afford another solid gold Humvee.  And diamond studded swimming pools?  The things don't grow on trees."

The welfare state in the US has gone on for so many generations now that I fear it's no longer this simple; that people born and raised in this world literally have no idea how to get out of it, let alone any understanding of why they would want to.  The devolution of government welfare in this country is the very definition of a tragedy.

My daughter wrote a note to God wanting to know an answer to her prayer. She was disappointed when He did not write back. Now I know what to get her for her birthday so she can get that answer!

I believe it was the film version of "What Dreams May Come" where it was commended that work and jobs existed in heaven. 
And one of my favorite quotes from "Bruce Almighty":

... yes. 
(I actually love dandelions).

I have become the sort who, post-Christmas, is already thinking springtime. I'd like to see even the most fluffy column on seeds or something.

For those who don't know, we're having a total eclipse next year. It'll be in early April, not long after Easter. 
The town I live in will be in the path of totality. 
A few months ago, one of my brothers confirmed that he was wanting to come down with his family in order to see it in person. He's normally got everything together, and so more than likely has already reserved a hotel room (no, no more rooms are available within several *hours* of where I live). I don't have an office at the newspaper, and so I have to do all of my typing from home. This means I'll still have a few hours at night or in the early morning in which I can work. 
Well, I literally just now found out that my second brother is also wanting to come up with his family, but that he likely didn't get a room. That means staying with us unless they can make other plans, and that means someone camping out in the family office as that's where we have a spare mattress set up. 
This means I now have to get my annual Easter column, and at least two additional columns, knocked out ASAP to compensate. 
So... what are some topics you'd like to see explored in print? Keep in mind that it's a family of secular local-level newspapers, so I can't go deep into anything. I just need some ideas for things I can slap together quickly.
Thanks.

My husband, who is not yet forty, literally does the cow threat. Or attempts to. We don't know anyone nearby with cows.
But the kids hear a lot of "way back in the 90s I had to get up at 4 am to milk the cows and it builds character!"

I believe it was the film version of "What Dreams May Come" where it was commended that work and jobs existed in heaven. 
And one of my favorite quotes from "Bruce Almighty":

My husband, who is not yet forty, literally does the cow threat. Or attempts to. We don't know anyone nearby with cows.
But the kids hear a lot of "way back in the 90s I had to get up at 4 am to milk the cows and it builds character!"