Life offers so many choices! And what about deciding whether to jump or not? Let’s start this posting right there.

USA Today, 'I can't believe that': Watch hundreds of baby emperor penguins jump off huge ice cliff

Whew!!

It’s an obvious truism that the internet has both pluses and minuses, just like anything else. As for myself, I greatly appreciate having communication with friends and family and many others all around the world, but I’ve also suffered grievous uncompensated financial losses after the theft from my bank account last year, made possible only via the internet.

A balloon and flowers, delivered last Sunday for my 86th birthday, are still up almost a week later.

Monday, April 8, was solar eclipse day here in Washington, DC, though our eclipse did not completely block out the sun. The new moon began crossing the face of the sun right after 2:00 pm., with the sun obscured at almost 90% by 3:20 pm. The entire eclipse ended at 4:32. It was worth watching in our area, but not really spectacular, rather like a big cloud passing over. Our last partial eclipse occurred in Aug. 2017 and the next one won’t come to North America for almost 9 years, mostly visible in northern Alaska, so even if I’m still around then, I won’t be traveling there to see it.

A friend in Vermont just reported: Barbara, we experienced the total eclipse. A few friends/a cousin joined us for the event from our home’s deck. I especially loved the beautiful sunset that came in the last stages just before the eclipse.

Women’s college basketball has certainly been having a moment. Now South Carolina's NCAA basketball phenom, Kamilla Cardoso, is giving Iowa’s 6 ft. Kaitlin Clark, a serious run for her money. At age 22 and 6’7”, Kamilla started out playing soccer in her native Brazil.

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, I’ve started wearing one of the t-shirts we used to sell to support orphans living all year-round there in boarding schools.

Countries and jurisdictions currently losing population and with a growing proportion of aging residents might consider following Sweden’s lead by offering families with children more financial and social support. No one wants to return to the bad old days of Malthus, but media and entertainment can help spread the message about the importance and rewarding challenges of parenthood. Adults also need to keep in mind that they themselves once were children, undergoing a necessary formative stage of life under the care of other adults who were not “child-free.” And they might also set out to do a better job than their own parents. Parent-child is a lifelong relationship. No one lives forever, so what better legacy to leave behind than the next generation?

California especially has lost population as folks have begun moving out because of the high cost of living while birthrates there have also plummeted. With our southern border now closed, new immigrants can no longer make up that state’s shortfall. Who would have predicted that in just a generation, population decline could replace population growth as a serious concern for so many developed countries? Human heterosexual relations and those of most mammals have produced offspring ever since time immemorial, a totally natural, completely logical, and fully expected occurrence. It might even be said that reproduction is the intended purpose of male-female sex. So to view a developing human fetus as an interloper, an anomaly, an unwanted incursion subject to eradication under the guise of a “right” doesn’t seem logical to me, so I’ve never supported “reproductive rights.” Nor do I support Biden’s now vociferous support for “the right to choose,” a position not advocated earlier in his political career.

Is engaging in heterosexual relations without unwanted consequences really a “human right,” worthy of being enshrined in law and in the Constitution under the rubric of “reproductive rights,” as some have advocated? Is even having sex a right? Is having an abortion a right? All that seems a stretch.

Our country and many other nations actually need even more babies. I’ve mentioned this before, but since the issue has surged again during this election year, it’s time to reiterate it.

Donald Trump, in an appeal to both red and blue state voters, has advocated for “states’ rights” on abortion policy while Joe Biden’s perceived efforts to impose “prochoice” across the nation ends up alienating those voters who are opposed.

Where is the a transition point when a living human entity is considered worthy of protection? Once a newborn takes a first breath, those in the Biden camp instantly regard him or her to no longer be a non-entity or an invader whose destruction is considered a “right” to suddenly becoming a fully human person deserving of full protection, nourishment, and care. Parents have been found guilty of actions by minor children even when those children have been away from immediate parental control, such at school or out playing.

As birthrates, here in the US and some other countries plummet, is a societal correction already underway? The anti-abortion movement in the US and the implementation of family support measures in Scandinavia may represent such a corrective trend. Subsequently, as more women actually become mothers, social approval and support may grow apace. Awkward pejorative terminology such as “anti-choice supporters” and “abortion-rights opponents” may then turn once again to the simple term “prolife advocates.”

Due perhaps to faulty radio reception, my poor hearing, or just my lack of support for him, President Biden doesn’t seem to always enunciate words clearly, often sounding rather mushy-mouthed.

On another topic, self-driving vehicles lacking human drivers subject to fatigue, distraction, or aggressive driving, usually means fewer accidents, but their systems might also be vulnerable to hacking. Self-driving vehicles probably do best on major highways and not as well on busy streets with children outside playing and pedestrians often crossing.

Off-shore call centers have been mentioned before on these pages. I do know some English-speakers in Honduras working for them, staying on the phone all day, every day, fielding calls. Now there is another wrinkle: Mexican scammers speaking fluent English have infiltrated some call centers, tricking some American callers into losing lots of cash.

Water is obviously essential to life. I have often not found potable water and never hot water coming from a faucet in many parts of the world, something taken for granted in this country. I’ve taken many a cold shower or poured water from an outdoor pila over my body.

When traveling outside the US, I take dollar bills of various denominations in a money belt worn next to my body. I even sleep with it.

Moving on to quite another issue, I feel that Mr. Biden could and should be doing more to curb Israel’s war actions and to educate Americans on that conflict. Do I therefore plan to vote for Donald Trump? Of course not! I may simply decide to sit out the presidential vote altogether. The Gaza war is not over yet, but opinions everywhere have begun changing.

Wash. Post, I’m Jewish, and I’ve covered wars. I know war crimes when I see them. Israel, a nation created in the wake of the Holocaust, has no right to commit war crimes in self-defense.

Wash. Post, Leaders of Jordan, France and Egypt: Cease fire now in Gaza

There is some logic behind Israel’s apparent attempt to wipe out the entire Gaza population, as no clear dividing line exists between civilians and militants. Fighters emerge from the very civilian population now supporting and relying on them for protection, just as Americans here rely on and support our own military in times of war and conflict. Yet the longer the Gaza war continues, the more people will be killed and injured on both sides, with grievances mounting. Consider Europe’s more than 100-year war, 1337-1453.

Israel has recently begun attacking Gaza at a somewhat lower intensity, perhaps because of a combination of US pressure, world opinion, perceived victory, and sheer fatigue. The best way to stop a war is simply to stop fighting and to declare that the war is over. An acceptable reason to stop or to declare victory can then be articulated afterward. Otherwise, a war can keep on going, as each side retaliates against the other. It’s high time to take the next step in Gaza: to stop the destructive fighting and senseless losses and sit down at the bargaining table. This war has been going nowhere, resulting in just more deaths, injury, suffering, destruction, and grievances. Over 33,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed at last count, according to authorities there, mostly non-combatant women and children.

AP, An Israeli airstrike in Gaza kills 3 sons and 4 grandchildren of Hamas' top leader

His name is Ismail Haniyeh and he received that news via a phone call. Any human being hit with such a grievous loss might understandably seek retaliation and revenge or he may now be finally ready to talk about implementing a ceasefire.