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I hope everyone was able to enjoy the long weekend. Lan and I have been home, working in the garden on our ongoing rehab/replacement of the plants clobbered by the overly cold winter. We're starting to see some progress. Several opportunities to be grill master this weekend. I'm no...

As always, my to-do list overwhelms my bandwidth to get tasks done. I'm a week or so behind schedule starting this thread. The purpose of the trip was to do some charitable work and, of course, play tourist. I've posted the charity-related activities in another thread (link); this one is for...

Protectionism is unfortunately an argument in both leftwing and rightwing populism. The Democrats are no longer the party of Clinton on global trade. Neither is the GOP the party of Reagan on the subject. Protectionism has shown to be bad policy for centuries - depriving people of wealth and...

With a socialist now the mayor of NYC and promising more rent control, it will be interesting to see if that happens. Of course, NY already has rent control and is just leads to housing shortages, poor quality, and higher prices. Oddly, the rent control favors those with more money and hurts...

Took a four-day vacation to the Binghampton area to visit my wife's former professor, classmate, first boss, first preceptor, etc. after she emigrated to the US. We also visited her old schools - Broome CC and SUNY-Binghampton, where she got her degrees in nursing, The main focus of the trip...

Just talked to my wife, and she said she was pulled offer by the police earlier this morning for rolling through a stop sign. When asked to produce her license, registration, and proof of insurance, Lan refused. She screamed, “I know my rights!” rapidly dozens of times. After about...

I recently got back from a long-planned trip to Thailand where I provided a four-year college scholarship to a young lady who will now attend nursing school. The kids involved are desperately poor members of rural, tribal communities that, without assistance, would receive minimal/no education...

This will perhaps be the last major enhancement to my house, but I'm starting to have second thoughts. I'll be talking to several contractors, but the first estimate I received was over $40k. Even with a tax credit (IIRC about $12k), it would still take about 10 years of $0 power bills to...

I was talking to my wife about the bunker buster bombs used against Iran, and she said she thought that a Vietnamese woman led in their creation. I did some research, and while Nguyet Anh Duong did not create the bunker buster, she is the engineer that created the thermobaric bomb. Pretty...

Yesterday was my 20th wedding anniversary. Today is the 23rd anniversary of our first date. I've received more than I've deserved for a long time. 🥰

So, I've mentioned before that my mom has dementia and is in an assisted living community. I'll be moving her to a now place this weekend. Her behavior has become progressively worse recently. Her core personality trait of being pointlessly stubborn has intensified - won't willingly take her...

So, my path on the penultimate street to my building was blocked by two sheriff's cars. I take the detour to circle around to find another roadblock in front of the gate to my building. The deputy tells me there is a bear sighting. I asked him if it is the friendly Yogi-kind or the dangerous...

I've been out of pocket a couple of weeks because my wife has been away on a medical mission, so I've had to pick up the slack caring for my MIL and running our side business. Anyway, just wanted to give a tip of the cap to my wife and her colleagues for the great volunteer work they do. They...

Just finishing up Lily's Spring Break. I took the past week off and spent the first half of last week with the family in Naples, the Everglades, and Miami. The highlight was a couple of airboat tours.

Car used to mow down pedestrians. Seems to be a theme. :mad: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/13/europe/munich-car-hits-people-intl/index.html

Oddly and sadly, not that satirical. :LOL::p:cool:

My family has had a tradition for the last 20+ years (since my wife and I started dating) of participating in Wreaths Across America. We started doing this at Arlington National Cemetery when we lived in the DC area, and we've continued to do this at the Jacksonville National Cemetary. It's...

Ok, so I’ve talked a bit about the charity work my wife and I do. As we have largely secured our financial future, we have turned greater attention to various causes we believe in. Here is something I’ve been working on for a while and am now fully engaged in. Some background: A...

Yesterday ended the fourth quarter of FY24, which is an orgy of flushing taxpayer money - even more so than the rest of the fiscal year - before the clock strikes midnight on 30 September. Curiously, how much would you spend for a set adjustable metal shelves that look something like this...

Lan and I have been working on this for a while ... It looks like we are going back to Honduras next July for another medical mission. Same organization. Orthopedic surgeries. In addition to Lily, a few kids of friends of ours are interested in going. They are all in late high school or...