I understand that the term "latchkey kid" is generally associated with gen x and not the boomers, but the term is older, and was in some quarters associated with them. The term was created a couple generations earlier with the interbellum generation between WWI and WWII. It showed up in print in the 1940s because dad was off to war and mom was working in a factory so the kids had to fend for themselves.
There's a reason why one of the stories of the boomer generation is almost always "at 16 I moved out of my parents home".
Once dad came home, even in the postwar boom many of those fathers were home every day, the scars of the war remained and those fathers (and sometimes the mothers for different reasons) would be emotionally distant but authoritarian at home, having come of age in an environment like modernist mass conscription in a world war.
Later generations were branded as such, but the term already existed to explain a phenomena that was already in existence.
There's a reason why one of the stories of the boomer generation is almost always "at 16 I moved out of my parents home".
Once dad came home, even in the postwar boom many of those fathers were home every day, the scars of the war remained and those fathers (and sometimes the mothers for different reasons) would be emotionally distant but authoritarian at home, having come of age in an environment like modernist mass conscription in a world war.
Later generations were branded as such, but the term already existed to explain a phenomena that was already in existence.
My last book, Future Sepsis, wasn't a romance, but it did have a romantic element to one of the arcs.
I was pleased with myself how I handled it. The male character's whole thing is he's highly moral and sees the world through an old fashioned lens, and so while they were in this traumatic situation and the woman POV character starts falling for him, he goes "Call me old-fashioned. But not here. Not now. We’re going to get off this island, and when we do, I’m going to ask you something, and let’s see where things go from there", and she accepts that for the moment because it's consistent with his character, who has slowly won her over through his insistence on giving her special consideration as a woman, something she initially was extremely hostile about.
My understanding is that such a move, as well as the lead-up to it, are sort of unusual in fiction in 2025. Morality is painted as a sort of vague general "be nice", not as a set of rules that sometimes prevents two people who want something from just going for it.
I was pleased with myself how I handled it. The male character's whole thing is he's highly moral and sees the world through an old fashioned lens, and so while they were in this traumatic situation and the woman POV character starts falling for him, he goes "Call me old-fashioned. But not here. Not now. We’re going to get off this island, and when we do, I’m going to ask you something, and let’s see where things go from there", and she accepts that for the moment because it's consistent with his character, who has slowly won her over through his insistence on giving her special consideration as a woman, something she initially was extremely hostile about.
My understanding is that such a move, as well as the lead-up to it, are sort of unusual in fiction in 2025. Morality is painted as a sort of vague general "be nice", not as a set of rules that sometimes prevents two people who want something from just going for it.
I saw a video recently about Gen Alpha kids and the mistakes their parents are making raising that generation.
One of the arguments is that the parents of Gen Alpha were abused and had nasty parents and so they're overcomensating.
Is it really that way, though?
Gen Alpha is largely raised by the millennials and a few early zoomers. They in turn were raised by the boomers. The boomers were actually raised by parents who weren't very good on account of the modern era's ending through the depression and the world wars basically traumatizing generations of people.
As a result, the boomers often raised the millennials with a very gentle, permissive, and protective style in contrast with the authoritarian and often abusive and neglectful childhoods they had. The boomers were, after all, the "latchkey kids" but also the generation to get the belt, and they are the ones who changed that.
The boomers get a lot of flack, but in some ways they've seen a whole change in the world. Yes, they grew up in the postwar boom, but they came of age just as that age was ending. They've been living in basically a world that has never stopped decaying around them. Early on when they were doing their basic childcare, many of them still had some benefits from the dead age before them, but their kids did not.
So what the millennials and early zoomers brought to the table would be this higher level of parenthood based in the postmodern era that rejected the modernist methods of raising children, paired with a lack of resources to implement that higher level of parenthood. This explains why they'd take shortcuts like using tablets or even buying adult makeup for children and pre-teens, because they don't have enough resources in terms of time, attention, or money to provide the boomer parent style upbringing.
One of the arguments is that the parents of Gen Alpha were abused and had nasty parents and so they're overcomensating.
Is it really that way, though?
Gen Alpha is largely raised by the millennials and a few early zoomers. They in turn were raised by the boomers. The boomers were actually raised by parents who weren't very good on account of the modern era's ending through the depression and the world wars basically traumatizing generations of people.
As a result, the boomers often raised the millennials with a very gentle, permissive, and protective style in contrast with the authoritarian and often abusive and neglectful childhoods they had. The boomers were, after all, the "latchkey kids" but also the generation to get the belt, and they are the ones who changed that.
The boomers get a lot of flack, but in some ways they've seen a whole change in the world. Yes, they grew up in the postwar boom, but they came of age just as that age was ending. They've been living in basically a world that has never stopped decaying around them. Early on when they were doing their basic childcare, many of them still had some benefits from the dead age before them, but their kids did not.
So what the millennials and early zoomers brought to the table would be this higher level of parenthood based in the postmodern era that rejected the modernist methods of raising children, paired with a lack of resources to implement that higher level of parenthood. This explains why they'd take shortcuts like using tablets or even buying adult makeup for children and pre-teens, because they don't have enough resources in terms of time, attention, or money to provide the boomer parent style upbringing.
I have transcended my corporeal body. Now I will play Xbox. No bloody 360, no bloody one, no bloody series s, no bloody series x.
(Checks my character sheet)
I don't think I have "racial immunity to influenza". Increased resistance to laser weapons, but not to influenza.
I don't think I have "racial immunity to influenza". Increased resistance to laser weapons, but not to influenza.
One of the most interesting ideas about post-apocalypse is the idea that it doesn't mean the end of the world. Humans will always rebuild community, because without it we die. So the question becomes, "What does community look like after this civilization ends?"
Such an unrefined culture. They don't even know that "If the van is a-rockin' don't come a-knockin'."
The iraqi information minister for the EU.
"There is no censorship in Europe. Never!!"
"There is no censorship in Europe. Never!!"
I picked up a kiln a few years ago for just that sort of thing. I think it's a really cool idea.
The little guy loves blowing out candles, so I got a large candle, but it's obviously a bit unstable, so I made a candle holder out of PLA. Here you can see the two parts. I started with a stock half sphere, and took away a cylinder from the center. I added a bit of a bevel to the cylinder with a slider.
(Is this fireproof? Not at all. You better believe it needs to never be allowed to burn that low)
(Is this fireproof? Not at all. You better believe it needs to never be allowed to burn that low)
My second vehicle was a '92 F250 Turbodiesel Extended cab longbox with a manual transmission.
Really useful vehicle to have, but driving in the city was a little Hell. I know exactly what you mean.
Really useful vehicle to have, but driving in the city was a little Hell. I know exactly what you mean.
People think it's a bad idea, but when I was early in my career, I really wanted a daihatsu copen -- lovely little (and I do mean little) sports coupe. Not great for a family or anything, but for a single guy who wants a cheap sports car that sips gas, it was a great moment.
That's one of the plot threads in my last book. "No that's definitely wrong" oh ok thanks ChatGPT
Except LLMs are epistemically conservative and only know what they were trained on.
Except LLMs are epistemically conservative and only know what they were trained on.
I bet it ends up being Ukraine and it's because all the men were shelled by Putin, though I'm sure Russia itself isn't doing much better.
"youth unemployment" is something near and dear to my heart because I know how hard it is to take off if there's no available runway.
I came of age during a recession (the 2001 recession right after the dot com bubble burst. It caused my rust belt town to finally get massive layoffs at the local factory), and to me, youth unemployment meant losing a year of earning because all the people laid off from the town's factory ended up working menial jobs to keep the lights on. It had big effects on my health because I basically surfed the internet in my parents basement for a year, and also kept me from going to college for much longer than I would have liked because I wasn't able to save enough for college.
Ironically, I did eventually end up getting a full-time job, and it was at a job that paid significantly less than minimum wage. In spite of the illegal wage, I was happy to have it because at least I could save money for college.
I came of age during a recession (the 2001 recession right after the dot com bubble burst. It caused my rust belt town to finally get massive layoffs at the local factory), and to me, youth unemployment meant losing a year of earning because all the people laid off from the town's factory ended up working menial jobs to keep the lights on. It had big effects on my health because I basically surfed the internet in my parents basement for a year, and also kept me from going to college for much longer than I would have liked because I wasn't able to save enough for college.
Ironically, I did eventually end up getting a full-time job, and it was at a job that paid significantly less than minimum wage. In spite of the illegal wage, I was happy to have it because at least I could save money for college.
The Roman Catholic Church literally has its own country. They can accept unlimited unvetted immigrants if they like, put them up in those giant golden towers at the Vatican.
A haiku about the lives of pets:
Cherry blossoms fall
our pets brief lights touch our days
time then lays them down
Cherry blossoms fall
our pets brief lights touch our days
time then lays them down
He can take some of our "trades workers" who have no business working in Canada. The ones who weren't trained in Canada.