  This is a written version of the closing talk at the 22nd Los Alamos Stellar
pulsation conference on wide field variability surveys. It comments on some of
the issues which arise from the meeting. These include the need for attention
to photometric standardization (especially in the infrared) and the somewhat
controversial problem of statistical bias in the use of parallaxes (and other
methods of distance determination). Some major advances in the use of pulsating
variables to study Galactic structure are mentioned. The paper includes a
clarification of apparently conflicting results from classical Cepheids and RR
Lyrae stars in the inner Galaxy and bulge. The importance of understanding
non-periodic phenomena in variable stars,particularly AGB variables and RCB
stars is stressed, especially for its relevance to mass-loss, in which
pulsation may only play a minor role.
