 |
| 8:24 |
 |
| 9:15 |
It's 9:00 — technically 8:00 — and we're both up. I've been awake for an hour, working through the newspapers. It's 39° outside, though it should climb into the 50s later once the sun comes out.
Saturday was a decent day — some sun, a high of 70° around mid-afternoon. We still look forward to Saturdays as if they were the weekend, which is a little crazy when you think about it. The morning followed its usual rhythm, though I somehow forgot to eat breakfast. Neither of us was in any rush, but by 9:30 I was ready to move.
 |
| Tom's Point Trail |
 |
| View From Tip Of Tom's Point |
First, I filled the bird feeders. We'd put them away because of the squirrels, but I set one up in the front window and two off the kitchen window. The birds found the front window feeder around 3:00 and have yet to discover the ones in the kitchen. After that, I decided to hike out to Tom's Point, which turned out to be a good choice — a few puddles and snowdrifts aside. There's something about a blue sky that makes any hike feel worthwhile. Twenty minutes out, a few photos, twenty minutes back to the car.
 |
| Selfie |
 |
| Trail |
 |
| Bridge Over Chautauqua Lake |
When I got home, the kitchen smelled of pot roast slow-cooking in the oven — we'd both been craving one, so Evie had put it together while I was out. She also had the trash ready, so I made a quick run to the Transfer Station at noon, which was mercifully uncrowded.
 |
| Bald Eagles |
Lunch was simple: leftover stir fry with rice and my show. The afternoon had no particular agenda — reading, television, napping, the large leisure of an unscheduled day. The highlight was spotting a pair of bald eagles just off Long Point, picking at a meal on the ice.
Wine at 5:00. Pot roast and mashed potatoes at 6:00. Then we settled in to watch Train Dreams — a film we'd been meaning to see and ended up loving. I'd read the novel about a month ago and was curious how it would translate. It's exactly the kind of film we're drawn to: quiet, unhurried, a moving portrait of a logger and his hardscrabble life — no sensationalism, no politics, no gratuitous violence, just a man and his world in the first half of the twentieth century. Afterward, Evie went up to bed and I watched another episode of my series, then read until I fell asleep.
According to a 2025 study by Microsoft Research, the 40 jobs least likely to be affected by current AI tools tend to involve hands-on physical work, human care, or operating machinery in real environments—things AI and robots still struggle to do.
40 Jobs Least Likely to Be Replaced by AI (for now)
Phlebotomists
Nursing assistants
Hazardous materials removal workers
Helpers—painters, plasterers
Embalmers
Plant and system operators
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons
Automotive glass installers and repairers
Ship engineers
Tire repairers and changers
Prosthodontists
Helpers—production workers
Highway maintenance workers
Medical equipment preparers
Packaging and filling machine operators
Machine feeders and offbearers
Dishwashers
Cement masons and concrete finishers
Supervisors of firefighters
Industrial truck and tractor operators
Ophthalmic medical technicians
Massage therapists
Surgical assistants
Tire builders
Helpers—roofers
Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators
Roofers
Roustabouts (oil and gas)
Maids and housekeeping cleaners
Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators
Logging equipment operators
Motorboat operators
Orderlies
Floor sanders and finishers
Pile driver operators
Rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators
Foundry mold and coremakers
Water treatment plant and system operators
Bridge and lock tenders
Dredge operators
The big takeaway
The study found a counter-intuitive pattern:
White-collar “knowledge jobs” (writing, research, customer support, analysis) are more exposed to AI.
Blue-collar and hands-on jobs are safer for now because they require physical skill, presence, and human interaction.
In other words, AI threatens office work sooner than plumbing, construction, or caregiving.
No comments:
Post a Comment