Electronic war and middle life crisis…

OK, that sounds a bit gloomy. The weather is quite dismal as well, so I’ll try not to be too pessimistic. The news I am referring to are not personal but general.

The first piece of news I heard that is quite interesting / frightening / worrying is related to Stuxnet. For those of you that do not know that name (it’s not a very nice name anyway). Stuxnet is a worm, a virus that runs through Computers. What is very worrying about this malware is that it can affect hardware; it can take over systems that control the inner workings of industrial plants! It was designed specifically to attack the Siemens-designed working system of Iran’s new Nuclear Power Plant. That power plant is not yet active, but will be soon.
We are talking about a bloody Nuclear Plant!!!!


If you really think about it, this new form of electronic war can take tremendous proportions. Imagine the scenario of a security system of a plant (eg nuclear) being deactivated, an oil plant pipeline opening to the sea or a water treatment facility contaminating clean water.

This story reminds me of apocalyptic movies where technological related incidents happen with affects on millions of lives across the globe.

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The other, less (?) terrifying news I read today, is about mid-life crisis beginning in 30s!

I quote from BBC news:

“Work and relationship pressures make the mid-30s the start of many British people's unhappiest decade, a survey suggests.
Of those questioned, more people aged 35 to 44 said that they felt lonely or depressed than in other age groups.

Working long hours, arguments, proper division of household chores and poor sex were cited equally by men and women as the most common sources of problems.”



The first thing that came into my mind was the fact that the survey might talk mostly of straight, many years married, with children, people. Then, I started wondering whether it makes any difference or I am just playing with stereotypes.

I always thought that the 30s are one of the best decades in a man’s life. That finally he can put his promiscuous years behind him, know what he wants and how to get it. OK, maybe that approach is a bit naïve but still, I can’t believe that middle life crisis can hit someone as early as 34! Maybe they need to change the name. People do live longer now and certainly work until their 60s or 70s. (I don’t really believe my generation will peacefully retire anyway)…

So, to compare a straight and a gay man’s life, I think that the process of accepting that you are gay and the difficulties of forming or sustaining a long term relationship take time, making (some) gay people grow older before they finally settle down. Also, some women’s need to have children and form a family early in their life leads some straight couples to earlier tight the knot and procreate. This might mean (according to my very reliable calculations of course) that the average age of settling down, forming a family, for straight men is smaller than a gay’s man.


This idea implies that the earlier you form a family, settle down, the quicker you fall into a trend, an every day ‘misery’ that will eventually lead you in a middle life crisis. That idea is of course flawed, but I am not sure how far from the truth it is. Forming a family and having children in a very young age increases the chances of that marriage falling apart. You can’t always expect your high school sweetheart to be your happy husband till death do you part…

OK, I think that’s enough. I’m taking this too far. I know people who are happily partnered decades after they met. Feeling depressed at any age is sad and can easily happen. I am just playing with stereotypes…