well, there is Some truth to the assertion that we have, perhaps, gone a bit soft. we've gotten soft in the middle for one thing. And, I would say thatparents have gotten a bit soft on their kids. But then, what do I know  about that. I have no kids of my own to speak of. Anyhow, here I am, trapped in this box. I'm surrounded by nature, and yet engulfed by technology, but at the the same time constrained by the past. And, so, on with my day.