My 4 year psychological survival plan for my wife and I. added - THANK YOU All. I am stunned!

[highplainsdem]

89. You have a very good plan for yourself, Craig! Especially with a new grandson to enjoy. Kids grow so fast,

and you'll want to enjoy every stage. One of my brothers had been dreaming of retiring to Florida's Emerald Coast, where we lived when very young, but his grandkids, the youngest living less than a mile away, changed those plans.

As for me... I've already cut way back on how much news I watch, since the election. I subscribed to five more streaming services with Black Friday deals, so far have watched almost nothing on them, but probably will.

I will be putting more time into writing and music again, though with what AI is doing to the arts, I won't stop pointing out its harms and also trying to encourage those artists thinking of quitting (as some have been, in particular since a Labour government announcement in the UK, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/15/artificial-intelligence-ai-labour-creative-industries ) to not give up completely. So I'll keep posting on DU and other, larger platforms.

Your mentioning watercolor art reminded me of art supplies I bought years ago and then stored away somewhere, because the cat I had then wouldn't keep out of them. Time to find them again, or buy more.

And I'll keep taking good care of myself, even if thinking of Trump as president again sometimes makes drinking myself into oblivion seem like a good idea.

Unlike most DUers, I'm as worried about AI and the tech bros behind it as I am about Trump. With AI, there's no hiatus till the midterms or the next presidential election. Elon Musk has his own AI, Grok AI, which he'd like to have become the most widely used AI - and he has X and might get TikTok. Zuckerberg is focused on AI, as are the other tech bros. As Mark Cuban and others have pointed out, there's a great power struggle going on. While Trump can have some influence on it - which is why we've seen these transparent bribes - much of it is worldwide and beyond his control...and it's changing rapidly. There are very active debates about this on other platforms, with people at the forefront of the AI debates and developments posting online. I can't ignore those, because they affect too many people I know and care about.

But I will keep a balance, and I will remember there are still reasons to feel joy and share it with others. That balance is necessary.