I Am Outpacing & Out Climbing All Of My Garmin Peers, Again. (SMILE).
>The key here is that this is for my (rather advanced) age group, i.e., 65-69 (as you can see at the top). Garmin does NOT give us any clues as to how big (or more to the point, small) this group might be. For all I know there might just be a handful of us in this bracket — in which case this metric is pretty useless.
I am also mature enough to realize that there will be a larger population of non-Garmin users who walk more STEPS than I do. However, unless they happen to be a professional Sherpa in the Himalayas or a tour guide in the Alps, I doubt there are too many who climb as many floors/day as I do. And in case you are wondering, it averaged 56 floors/day over the last month. That is 560′ elevation gain each day.
As for steps, it was 15,260 steps/day over the last month. Not bad considering that half of that was in February with snow/ice on the ground and rather frigid temps.
It still makes me smile and that alone is reward enough. SMILE.
Related Posts:
Search ‘Garmin‘.
Pope Francis Makes A Dramatic Change To The Tenure Of The Dean Of The ‘College Of Cardinals’.

Click to ENLARGE and read here. From the Vatican @ http://www.vatican.va
With this December 21, 2019, motu proprio (a personal (unilateral) papal edict at the pope’s behest) Pope Francis has finally wrested control over the tenure of the Dean of the ‘College of Cardinals‘).
Prior to this, the Dean, once elected (by his fellow Cardinal Bishops (albeit, this as of, 1965)) — and then approved by the pope — had tenure for life or until he opted to resign (or, as is claimed in the case of Angelo Sodano, forced to resign). This has meant, as can be seen from image #2, that there have been some Deans that held sway well past their 80th year — though this, as of 1971, precluded them from participating in a conclave.
Francis’ goal is to try and have younger Deans — though this is not a given.
Making the tenure 5-years — with the pope reserving the right to renew the term — makes a lot of sense.
This goes, quite nicely, hand-in-hand, with the pope creating irregular Cardinal Bishops in 2018 — again in the hope of having under 80 cardinal bishops if there were to be a conclave.
What the pope is REALLY hoping is that the cardinal bishops will now elect a YOUNG Dean — which means that it will have to be an irregular. More on this in a later post.
Related posts:
Check Category ‘religion’.
Search ‘cardinals‘, ‘consistory‘ & ‘pope‘.
The New Camerlengo — U.S. Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, The 1st Non-European Camerlengo.
What is MOST significant with Kevin Joseph Farrell’s appointment is that he is a non-European. A first, and as such, of course, the first American Camerlengo.
Do not read too much into this appointment. It does not indicate that a conclave is around the corner. Having a Camerlengo, on tap, is more normal than not having one. The 7-month gap, though possibly a tad long, is not exceptional. Popes like to wait awhile before they fill this post. Not having a Camerlengo, if the pope was to die, is not the end of the world. It happened when Pius XII died in 1958. The Dean of the College of Cardinals deputized on day 1 and then they elected a cardinal to act as the temporary Camerlengo.
We have had non-Italian Camerlenghi. The last Camerlengo, Jean-Louis Tauran, was French. So was Jean Villot, the iconic Camerlengo of the 1970s. We have also had a Spaniard, Eduardo Martínez Somalo, 1993 to 2007. So, these are the recent non-Italians. But, there was also a spate of French ones in the 14th century during the Avignon Papacy.
Choosing Farrell makes sense. At 71 he is of the right age, though one a few years younger would have made more sense. He is also a curialist; i.e., he works at the Vatican. That is a prerequisite. The Camerlengo has to reside in Rome.
So, this is all good.
Just don’t assume that a conclave is around the corner. Just revel in that he is non-European. A most welcome departure from what had been a 2,000-year custom.
Related posts:
Check Category ‘religion’.
Search ‘cardinals‘, ‘consistory‘ & ‘pope‘.