About Online Dating

Let me tell you something about the internet: Sometimes people become so dependent on it that they don't realize but there is another person on the other end that is just as real as they are.

It's just so easy to turn off a computer when things get rough. And this is why when it comes to relationships reality should be the norm.

You can't turn off life. And you can't just pretend that the person that you're talking to doesn't have feelings or a heart that can be broken.

What the internet does is offer distance. It offers time. It facilitates in healing because of this. It should be used like the message machines on a telephone, not as a way to party with friends. It doesn't offer memorable moments that can only be gotten by 2 people who are sitting face-to-face talking to one another and spending time in conversation and laughter. Touch is an integral part of building relationships.

Studies have proven that babies are more likely to die when they are not touched lovingly by their parents. So the internet does not offer pats on the back or hugs when you need it. Emoticons just don't do the trick.And if you can't look someone in the eye and tell them what you want to say, then even the most friendly relationships are superficial at best--something you can just turn off when you're tired.

As for me, I want real. I want to be able to reach out and touch someone's hand. I want to say hello with a hug. I want to look you in the eye when I tell you I love you. And, I want to spend time with my friend and build memories. I want more than just a message that says, 'Hello, I think you're special!"

Long distance relationships of any kind are difficult to maintain.

I do not do computer dating. And I'm not going to do deep friendships over the computer either. Because if you only live 5 or 10 miles away, there is no excuse for not making time for somebody you say you care about.

As always, it is a choice, and it is yours. And, I love you, anyway!

Computers vs. Humanity: Star Trek, Our Country, and Social Security

Oh, yes. We have come so far.

Watching Star Trek has inspired me to ask my computer questions and expect an answer.

Last night, a man who represented the Convention of the States came into the restaurant. He first talked to some customers who were already eating who had noticed his T-shirt (If my flag offends you I will help you pack).

Then, two other gentlemen came in. He wandered over to their table and spoke with them. I heard him telling one of them about how we need to act in order to preserve our heritage and what we stand for as a nation. The man in front of him said, "But, isn't that why we elected Donald Trump?"

I couldn't help myself. I exclaimed, "Donald Trump is not the end all be all. I mean what is going to happen in 8 years when he is no longer president? We need to stay vigilant."

The man in the flag T-shirt then said, "I TOTALLY Agree with you. That is why..." and he went on to explain things to the man and his friend...

Anyway, I was sitting here thinking about all this as I was watching Star Trek. Somehow I began to think about Social Security and how we are in danger of losing that. What is going to happen to us when there are is no more money in Social Security for our retirement.

Then, I found myself saying, "Computer: who was the first person ever to receive a social security check?"

I checked myself, then went to google and typed the same question:

According to SSA historians, Ernest Ackerman was the first recipient of Social Security benefits -- 17 cents, paid to him in January 1937. The first person to receive monthly benefits was Ida May Fuller from Vermont, who retired in November 1939 and started collecting benefits in January 1940 at age 65.

This was the answer I got.

Star Trek...

I was talking to a customer the other night. He asked the question: "Do you realize all the stuff that was in those shows that are reality now?"

I said yeah.

He said, "It makes you wonder..."

I said, "You mean, is all that stuff here because of the inspiration of the shows, or because it was already here and they used the shows to help us get used to the idea?"

He said, "Yeah, exactly."

Computer: How much further, technologically, can we advance and still remain "human"?

"The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers" -- Sydney J. Harris