Brian Gongol
Life is better than ever
It's never been easier to find long-lost friends. Almost anything you've ever missed on radio, television, or at the movies is now available at low cost. You will probably know your complete genome sequence before the Obama sisters go to college. No time in history has seen better access to news and information from around the world. Your cell phone has more computing power than virtually any computer on the planet from 25 years ago. We are living longer than ever before, meaning you'll have a better chance to meet your grandkids and great-grandkids than anyone ever. Your car is many times safer than anything you rode in as a child. Digital cameras let you document and remember any event for no marginal cost. Your access to any slice of knowledge from all human history is nearly unfettered and completely without precedent. Our water and air are held to higher standards of quality than at any time in modern history. The world has never been more democratic. Travel has never been safer. Any time you need a laugh, one is no more than a moment away on the Internet. It costs nothing to write, call, or even video-chat with friends overseas.
Don't forward "Amber Alert" e-mails
Too many are either out of date or are nothing but hoaxes anyway. Much better to look at Amber Alert websites occasionally, and perhaps follow their RSS feeds
If you discover a long-lost species of bird, don't have it for dinner
Flood recovery continues, almost a year later
