Migration to Michigan

Here in Texas, we have had a hot summer.  Whenever I wanted to do something outside on the weekends like sailboat maintenance, I had to get out there at dawn to beat the heat.  I expect that future summers will be even hotter.

I started thinking about climate migration again.  I learned that the Great Lakes Region is a climate haven.  Many of my family members and friends are already up there, some having moved within just the last few years.

In my search for a new home, I saw that Michigan came up repeatedly as a future refuge.  Compared to Texas, Michigan is cold but like everywhere else, it is trending warmer.  In a number of decades, it could be quite pleasant.

I also saw that the Cryonics Institute is in Michigan.  I am a twenty-plus-year member of the cryonics organization Alcor located near Phoenix, Arizona where it gets unbearably hot.  A few days ago I became a Life Member of the Cryonics Institute located near Detroit, Michigan where it does not.

Some counties in Michigan have laws that are friendlier toward cryonics than others.  Macomb County, home of the Cryonics Institute, has better laws than some adjacent counties.  It also has good public schools.

Macomb County prides itself on being Boat Town, U.S.A.  It borders Lake Saint Clair which is part of the Great Loop.  They have many yacht clubs, marine businesses, and Coast Guard stations in that area.

As a first step toward my migration to Michigan, I am selling my sailboat and slip here in Dallas.  I will buy another boat after I make the move.  I look forward to sailing up there with other members of the Cryonics Community.

Ensign Croft

Congratulations to my son Thomas Edward Croft on completing his initial training in the United States military.  Ensign Croft is a fourth generation United States military officer.  Our family history includes Air Force, Army, Navy, and now Coast Guard.

Thomas is stationed at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) where he is training to become a medical doctor.  USU is in Bethesda, Maryland just outside of Washington, D.C.  I look forward to seeing where his career takes him next.

Digital Tidying

Recently I finished reading a library copy of The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Story by Marie Kondo.  The author explains her approach to minessentialism in somewhat mystical terms but you can often figure out a practical rationale for each of the rules that she teaches.  I found this graphic novel to be a quick easy read and now my family members are enjoying it.

I have recently decided that I need to start digital tidying on a periodic basis.  I think I will start alternating my daily practice of cleaning my physical space with cleaning my virtual space.  My digital maintenance could include uploading all of my files to the cloud and then deleting them off of old laptops, sorting the contents of my cloud folders so that I can find the files that I am looking for when I need them, deleting files that are no longer needed, and making offline backups of my cloud data.

UU Humanist

I recently attended a Zoom presentation hosted by the Unitarian Universalist Humanist Association (UUHA).  Rabbi Adam Chalom gave a talk on "Imagine There's No Heaven: A Humanist Approach to Mortality and Memorial".  The UUHA just launched a new YouTube channel so the talk might be archived there soon.

While he was speaking, I was thinking of how an Optihumanist memorial service might differ, especially for someone who was in cryonic suspension.  Like a Humanist service, it would not offer comforting words to the grieving survivors that they might meet again in a supernatural afterlife.  Unlike a Humanist service, however, there would be some hope for a reunion in a different kind of afterlife, either physical or virtual, via some future medical technology.

Croft-Cotton

Congratulations to my daughter Ada Beth Croft and my new son-in-law Coleman Anthony Cotton on their marriage earlier this month.

Safest Commute

I telecommute from my home office so I like to get out of the house when I can.  On weekends, I frequently hang out with the other sailing enthusiasts at the Dallas Corinthian Yacht Club.  Since I work from home, you might say that my third place is actually my second place.

In addition to messing about in boats at the Club, I also enjoy the commute to and from.  It takes about an hour to get there from my home in Far North Dallas so I like to listen to audiobooks and technical podcasts while I drive.  It is usually a peaceful excursion.

Last year while returning from the Club, however, I did get rear-ended while I was waiting at a stoplight.  The road was still slick from a heavy rain so I suspect the car started hydroplaning when the driver applied the brakes.  The damage was minimal so we did not even bother to report it.

The jolt was a reminder to me just how dangerous driving can be.  While the probability of dying in a vehicle accident on any one trip is very low, the probability of dying in a vehicle accident over a lifetime is over one percent.  Until self-driving car technology becomes consistently safer than human driving, motor vehicle crashes will continue to be a leading cause of death.

I am not too worried about my weekend jaunts since I am passing through two of the five safest cities in the United States with particularly low vehicular mortality rates.  If I had to commute for work in the opposite direction toward downtown Dallas during rush hour traffic, however, I would be worried.  The safest commute is the telecommute.

World Pulses Day

One of the many things that I have learned from the Church of Perpetual Life is that eating legumes is good for you.  The next thing that I learned was what legumes are: beans, lentils, and peas.  More recently I learned that pulses are the edible seeds of legumes.

The United Nations promotes the consumption of pulses by observing World Pulses Day.  They point out that pulses are better for the consumer, the economy, and the environment.  I would add World Pulses Day to my list of Optihumanist Holidays except that it is too close to Darwin Day.

In addition to skipping supper, one of the other changes that I have made to my diet recently is to eat canned beans for breakfast.  I avoid baked beans because of the sugar.  My children do not eat beans but I am hoping to ease them into it.

Skip Supper

Today I added a section to Papa's Anthology of Paternal Advice (PAPA) about meals:

Eat dinner at midday and skip supper.

I have been practicing this for many months now and it has been effective at eliminating my middle of the night heartburn.  I have also been losing weight without having to spend as much time on the treadmill.  I have read that there are numerous other additional health benefits.

This practice is described in the scientific studies as early Time-Restricted Eating (eTRE) or early Time-Restricted Feeding (eTRF) and is considered to be a type of intermittent fasting.