Fuzzies and Techies

     In general I resist dividing the world into two distinct and opposite parts -- the rich and poor, the black and white, even the male and female -- because for the most part it's simply not true. Most of the world does not live in rich or poor countries; they live in middle-income countries. Many people, perhaps even most people, are mixed race. And as we've learned in the past couple of decades, the behavior and instincts of men and women are more similar than we once thought, and overlap more than they differ.

     Nevertheless, I do believe in one distinction. The world is indeed divided into "fuzzy" and "techie." Fuzzy people study the humanities and social sciences and they read books and go to the theater. Techies pursue math and the physical sciences, and they love numbers and tinker with machines and other hard bits.

     Today in the land of blog we have both fuzzies and techies.

     On The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide Rita R. Robison, consumer journalist, crunches numbers on the latest airline quality ratings. For 2018, she reports, Delta Airlines is No. 1, and JetBlue is No. 2. Delta improved on several metrics: involuntary denied boardings, mishandled bags and consumer complaints. Airlines whose scores declined in 2018 were Alaska, American and Frontier.

     As a side note: I just booked a flight on American, only because if you want to fly from Philadelphia out west, you pretty much have to go American. Wish me luck!

     Getting even more geeky, Jennifer on Unfold and Begin wrote a post for Wordpress bloggers who are dreading the changeover to the new Gutenberg platform. In Ack! I'm Using the New WP Editor Jennifer shares how she decided to turn off the Classic Editor plug-in and learn something new. Her entire post was written using the Gutenberg Editor and she learned as she went, much like the first time she ever wrote a blog post.

     And so, as a "fuzzy" myself, can anybody tell me why they use the more complicated WordPress instead of Google's simple, easy-to-use Blogger? I don't get it.

     Meanwhile, Meryl Baer reminds us that if flying and dealing with blogging mechanics can be numbing experiences, so can driving -- whether as a driver or passenger. So the experienced traveler who blogs at Six Decades and Counting says she sometimes passes time on the road by staring out the window. In A Skyscraper Catches My Eye she couldn't help but notice a new building soaring skyward in Philadelphia.

     Laura Lee Carter is going in the opposite direction. She just returned from a birthday bash "up north," and now she shares a few observations in A Trip Up North to the Land of Cities from one who has lived in cities, but now lives in the Colorado countryside.

Colorado

     Carol Cassara reminds us that emotions are infinitely more important than infrastructure. One truth is that grief is universal. We all experience it, eventually, and how it manifests itself is different for everyone. Many who experience loss find it difficult territory and seek resources to help lend perspective to their feelings. And so on A Healing Spirit she offers a list of books that help guide you through grief.

     In Malibu Seafood Rebecca Olkowski with Babyboomer.com escaped to the beach this week to cleanse away her allergies. On a Thursday afternoon she had lunch at a seafood market in Malibu across the street from the Pacific ocean. Just one of the fun things you can do, she points out, when you're retired or working for yourself.

Malibu

     Finally, to put it all in perspective, we have Kathy Gottberg who reminds us in Redefining Success and Happiness in the 21st Century. that we should never be afraid to scrutinize our habits and make changes when necessary. If we aren't mindful of our own thoughts, we too often become comfortably numb to the routines that make up our lives. Central to the thought is that we can't think of success as something that can be easily measured by who or what makes the most money, gets the most "likes" on Facebook, or is most popular.

     So what is true success. What makes us happy in retirement? It's not something that can be put into numbers, or ranked in a top 10 list. It's following our own path, whether it leads us to the city or the country, the mountains or the beach . . . down the road of fuzzies or techies, or perhaps a little bit of both.