Good one, Cora. Next time you see Barrett, try it out on him.

Back when the Alcubierre drive was in the news, and it was revealed that the drive might be used as a very effective planet killer, I had a thought.

Suppose one or more civilizations in our galaxy developed this already eons ago. Suppose they peppered probes throughout the galaxy to report back when any such drive was detected in use. Suppose they were fearful and paranoid. They could send an automated ship to destroy any system where drive use was newly detected. This is why we see no signs of civilization in the rest of the galaxy.

We build the Alcubierre drive (which apparently is not possible because anti-matter falls the wrong way?), and minutes after the first time we fire it up, the entire system is destroyed. If there were anyone left to place blame, we’d blame ourselves.

Instant interest, yes. And, that can quickly lead to attraction, if you follow up on the interest and they reciprocate.

It’s really easy to fall in love if both sides are ready and willing. That’s why falling in love is chance and a numbers game. There is no special one person, it’s just keep meeting new people and hope it happens.

I think the mistake most people make is limiting their choices too narrowly without good reason.

I don’t watch shorts, for this reason. I tried them when they first started and noticed I was just scrolling video after video, so I stopped watching them. I don’t have addiction issues, though.

I have a lot of things over thirty years old, but I can’t say they’ve been in daily use.

For electronics, and daily use, I have a 13-year-old Toshiba 55" TV. It’s basically a big, dumb monitor. Still works perfectly.

I have several nightlights I bought about ten years ago, maybe 12 years ago. They all still work and have been in the same sockets around the house since I bought them. They’re the flat, greenish glowing disc kind.

I’ve had my coffee mug for at least 25 years, it gets daily use.

This may be cheating on the daily use, but I have two brown glass horse bookends. They’ve been in constant use since I was a kid. I don’t know where they came from, they were probably my dad’s, as he had a large book collection. So, at least 60 years.

My brown leather Levis brand belt is from about 1986. I have other belts, but that one is my favorite. Still fits, I still wear it two or three times per week. About 20 years ago, the stitching around the buckle broke, so I used a heavy needle and thick thread to restitch it. It has a great worn patina that can’t be faked.