I promised an announcement and here it is. I just started working on another book. I have three chapters done and am rolling along. The working title is, “Confessions of an Oligarch’s Sorcerer.” More details later.

Also, I want to solicit my readers to tell me what they would like me to rant about. Not that I’m ever going to run out of targets, but maybe there is something digging you in the craw that you would like someone to rant about. Send them to me in the comments section or go to my contact page to email me directly. Thank you all for your support!

Now down to business. I’m not going to rant about the religious part of this holiday, but I do have something to say about the secular side. Easter is the time the lilies come out, the Easter bunny hides brightly colored eggs in your yard or in the park and people scour the pet shops and countryside for cute little fuzzy ducklings or rabbits. Why, you may ask? The kids. They need something to cuddle after such a cold and long winter. Well, that’s the skinny of it.

The problem is that some of those little beings get treated poorly. One moment of inattention by a supervising adult and that little fuzzball can be squished severely injuring or even killing it. Another problem is feeding and caring for it which fewer and fewer people know how to do. The last problem is the mess they make with their poo or pee. It can be a pain in the posterior to clean up and get these little creatures trained on where and when to go. Whew! Let’s put a stop to that.

Thankfully they IT guys have come up with a solution to all of these problems. They have developed a cute, cuddly, lifelike little robot bunny (I’m sure a duckling is on the way) and also a little puppy that is likewise cute, cuddly, and lifelike. No poo. No pee. No worries about feeding it too much, too little or the wrong food. What could be better?

Both the bunny and the puppy are terminally cute and hop and walk around just like the real thing. They run on rechargeable, long-lasting batteries for hours of playtime with the kids. The kids might cry when the batteries do run out, but they will learn that when their pet dies, it can be plugged into the wall to be recharged and given a new life. What a life lesson they will learn! Make sure the children understand that when the real cat is napping, it doesn’t need to be plugged into the wall.

Through robo bunnies and robo puppies, children will learn to love inanimate objects even more than they might love living ones. Won’t that be fascinating?

I sensed that there was more to this story. I found the number of the company that makes these robots and gave them a call. After an hour of wading through the mud of robo messages and menus, a lady with a sweet voice said she would answer any questions I had about their products.

“Are you developing a human baby robot?” I asked.

“Why we already have one we are working on. The main problem seems to be how we will approach marketing. There are plenty of advantages to a robo baby. Some people get tired of babies crying, but with our robo baby the volume can be turned down or off as you please. Also, no diapers will be needed cutting the cost of having a baby. It won’t have to be fed either and you won’t get arrested for leaving the baby in the car on a hot day in the Walmart parking lot. Also, one of the biggest problems with babies is they grow up and lose their cutes. That will never happen with these robo babies.”

“Sounds like a winner,” I said rather unenthusiastically.

“Oh yes. Our test moms love their robo babies.”

I thanked her for the information and hung up. What’s this world coming to? Love will not be between two people, but between a person and a robot. Speaking of that person, with love on the ropes, it’s likely that the person we are talking about would have several bionic parts and implants. Perhaps they could live forever as cyborgs. That’s where we’re headed folks. The multiple piercings, tattoos all over, the “I’m feeling like I’m in the wrong body,” with all these sex changes are all going in the same direction.

Another thing to chew on until my next rant: Not all 7 billion of us will be changed to cyborgs. There are not enough materials on earth or enough money to do that. Also, robots are quickly taking over our jobs. They can do almost anything. This means the rest of us are useless eaters. I’ll let you come to your own conclusion on that.