The first, and most sobering, discovery upon returning to planet Earth, vis-à-vis, coming home after five weeks in Europe, involves my body. At 71, things aren’t what they used to be. I got on the exercycle for the first time in five weeks and collided rather forcefully with physiology. My legs are stiff. My stamina depleted. It’s going to be an uphill road. And then there is the stuff. Five weeks of unopened mail. Several square yards of urban agriculture in disarray. And all the things I thought Read more [...]

When I look down at my wheelchair control, I can see a periodic jittering. Now and then the control arm shudders. There’s a rhythm to it. And although I can piece together what it is, what astounds me is how it works. Or that it works. To get the best explanation, I should really go down to deck 2 and get a good look at the Queen Mary II. The ship has small wings near the bow. They rotate up and down like the aileron of an aircraft. These little winglets are actually stabilizers. Sensors anticipate Read more [...]