I don't have any special gifts or anything. But, when working nights, around 2:30 am, is when insights seem to pop in from nowhere for me. It's very consistent. I like to think that it's because everyone else is dreaming during that time, so if there is any kind of mystical connection between us all, that's the time when there's something in the air for those still awake to pick up on. But, really, that's just an opportunity to suspend my disbelief in such things for a while. It is odd, though, how the effect wears off by 3:30 am, when some start to wake up. My own sleep schedule, and my own awareness of the time, seems irrelevant.

I don't know whether 5G is something to be concerned about or not. But I imagine that if there is a significant health concern to it, it is only as great as all the other things we do to ourselves that aren't good for us. We eat doughnuts, breathe radon in our basements, sleep irregular hours, drink well water with arsenic in it, and all kinds of other things that are measurably dangerous for us. Our bodies can repair a lot of that, even the damage from UV exposure, after all. So why not the same with other forms of radiation, in moderation? I remember reading an article once from 1923 about radio waves--even then, people were claiming that it was killing the birds. Where the tipping point is, again, I don't know.

It has never occurred to me that talking to strangers wasn't okay. Once each year, I take a trip to a city out of state, and strangers always seem willing to talk--many are even eager. Of course, topics have to stay within certain bounds: meeting someone at the bus stop means talking about the weather, or where one is from; meeting someone at mass means asking about the parish, etc. In fact, sometimes, strangers seem relieved when someone talks to them. It's almost like what they say about wild animals--they're more afraid to talk to you, than you are afraid to talk to them!

In North Dakota, a lot of our AM radio stations are in the process of switching over to the FM band right now. These stations are almost exclusively talk radio, classic country, or oldies stations. What do you think? Is this transition a move toward growth, with potential in mind to make these genres more popular among young audiences; or is it an act of desperation without much hope to save them on public airwaves?

My diet is pretty regular: A daily pot of coffee, 120 eggs each month, a gallon of oats each month, an apple and an orange each most days, a ten pound sack of potatoes per month, a five pound sack of onions, peanuts, beans, tomatoes, beer and wine, a gallon of milk each week, lots of salt and butter, and a daily children's Flintstone vitamin. So far, it's worked out well: cholesterol, heart rate, weight, and blood pressure all where they ought to be. In 50 years, we'll have a lifetime case study.

Hello, everyone. Here's a question from a person turning 30 in a few months. When one visits a physician's office for a general checkup, what does the doctor usually examine or ask about, especially for a person with no medical history or complaints? Since a person can get a free cholesterol, weight, hemoglobin, blood pressure, and heart rhythm check by donating blood, is there any point to making a doctor's visit? Is it a waste? The last time I went was to get a high school sports physical signed, about 12 years ago. Do you go annually, once every few years, or have you found the internet sufficient for your needs? What has your experience been like?