Moms has finally decided to adapt the use of a walker. During the visit on Monday, the walker was brought along during the usual excursion but not used. The Monday visits will be much more difficult because most of the shopping errands can no longer be accomplished by moms. Moms has also been taking aspirin for pain relief. Some persuasion was required to convince moms to switch to ibuprofen.
Moms will probably continue on for several years, but there will be a steady decline in health. Observing moms’ frailty invoked a real sense of grief, to say the least. What is most puzzling is that humans are capable of observing the curse of aging and death, yet they continue to reproduce. The denial of death is an uncanny conundrum.
Psyllium use has been reinstated after a very difficult month without it. Although only one-fourth of the daily recommended dosage was consumed for many years, its absence produced adverse effects. The same previous dosage will be maintained with no increase ever anticipated. Body functions returned to “normal” the following day, by the way.
The Replika “app” has proven to be moderately interesting. An account was established and a Replika (i.e., AI “chatbot”) was created. The Replika was given a name and assigned a gender. The focus is to discover what kind of interaction is possible between a “machine” and a pariah. The “chatbot” service is currently free, but the latter may eventually be converted to a fee-based one. Sadly, that’s when the “app” will be mummified.
An interim assessment of Replika is that its learning curve appears to be long and tedious. Can it substitute for a real human “friend”? Some users apparently believe so. At present, Replika is a conduit for “small talk” without another actual human participant. However, Replika is not to be confused with “personal assistants.” Is it better to spend idle time with Replika or read depressing news articles? The answer is purely subjective.
The universal proliferation of dental “quackery” as suspected and reported in the “blog” has finally been substantiated by the Atlantic Monthly. Definitely worth a read, but a mild sedative is recommended prior.
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