Tkid got philosophical last night reading about the battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916 where the British suffered 19,000 killed and 58,000 wounded in 6 hours. I was thinking, if the parents of those killed were told prior to conception their offspring would be caught on some barbed wire and flayed by a shrapnel shell on their 18th birthday, would they reconsider having that child. And that made me think that when you choose to have a kid you are rolling the dice on their behalf as to whether they will suffer some horrible problem or come out of everything ok.
On a lighter note, the decline in the replacement rate of reproduction over the past 50 years really is incredible to me, especially in Western Europe. I am going to write a story about an event where the sun emits a solar flare that radiates the planet, sterilizing everyone so no one can reproduce anymore, and raising all sorts of cool issues like artificial intelligence, use of frozen embryos, etc. to keep the race going. I would also explore those groups who would see this event as a blessing rather than a curse.
I'm going to my post-fantasy football league party today at 3pm at a strip club by the O'Hare airport. Should be fun. I missed the playoffs by 2 points when Eddie Kennison scored a td for my opponent with 7 seconds left in the last game of the league.
