I’ve read a lot of Ed Ziron’s anti-AI essays, and found his arguments interesting. Maybe not compelling, but interesting. I had noticed that he seems angrier than a good technology analyst should be, but that didn’t invalidate some of the points he made. But after reading this, I won’t waste time on Zitron any more. His posts/essays tend to be looooong, and as it turns out they’re not accurate. I’ve seen him on TV quite a bit lately, and his short-term fame is/was probably the entire goal. He’s monetized his anger and found an audience, now an audience minus one.

Today is a travel day, taking my favorite route east – SAN to DEN, then DEN to SDF. Weather looks fine, so it should be an easy travel day. I’ve done a lot of thinking lately about my post-work life and travel schedule. I tend to focus on the downsides of a dual-home life, a long list. Constant exposure to viruses during travel. No good way to have a dog, with life in two places 2000 miles apart. The rather extreme expense of maintaining two residences and commuting between them. Some non-trivial issues with healthcare and health insurance across two very different states. No way to have a weekly get-together with golf buddies, a book club, or pretty much any regular social activity, as I’m gone half the time. The occasional trip from hell, which can really wear you down physically and mentally.

But there are some pluses. I don’t get stuck in a rut as much as I might, because every 2-3 weeks I reset by changing home bases. Then there’s the core reason for the travel, being close to family in KY – that outweighs pretty much every other factor. Being a material part of the grandsons’ life is a very high priority for me. The joy I get in just being somewhere with rain and dense greenery. The time for thinking/reflection while flying. The fact that getting up and going somewhere every 2-3 weeks keeps me active, gives me another good reason to stay in good shape, good health.

I mention all this because I’ve come to enjoy the travel days, weirdly. It’s not reasonable to like spending a bunch of money to shuffle through TSA security, wedge myself into a packed Southwest flight, and pay stupid prices for bad airport food. But I do enjoy these days, for the most part. I guess you can get used to anything. But I’ll still buy the occasional lottery ticket in hope of being able to fly private and take my still-aspirational dog everywhere.