That's very odd. There should be a small "x" or a small down arrow in the upper right corner of the solicitation. Also "Close" to altogether get rid of the solicitation window. . Usually clicking on one or more of these will at least minimize, if not get rid of entirely, the Guardian donation asks. What browser do you use @amanda ?

Blasts from the past: https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/1114615/1.html https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/542170/croatian-rhapsody.html

Doug would do well with the chics if he had that.

said in 3 hours and 42 minutes: said in 3 hours and 42 minutes: @ShiroKuro And it's not only their pretense of caring (and thanking you for you alleged patience), but their ALWAYS claiming call volume just happens to be extra high that day! OK, here's another circumstance invented in hell: when you finally get a CS person on the line (with faulty English) only to be disconnected and unable to get back to them because of the call center's incapability of making outgoing calls. Not only do you have start all over with the wait, but your complex issue has to be explained from scratch (not infrequently RIGHT when you were on the verge of resolving your problem!)

Bernard, This is the emerald version Prince Albert designed. https://www.sothebys.com/en/digital-catalogues/power-image-royal-aristocratic-tiaras/an-historically-important-emerald-and-diamond-diadem-joseph-kitching-1845

My hair started falling out and I remember the moment I was looking in the mirror and noticed it. I shaved my head after that and never looked back. Four years later I moved to Hawaii where almost every man shaved his head. Lol. Now twenty years on in Florida and over 55 nobody gives AF if you shave your head. Of course, I'm an "average Joe" and not a "world leader" so I guess I have more freedom. So dumb. Shave your head and move on with your life.

That looks like a fairy land! Stunning.

@wtg Tin Can Knits does excellent patterns!

Dinner tonight. It’s just too easy to be this good. Chicken and bean chili. No recipe, Sharon made it up. Sweat mirepoix in a big pot with a sliced green chili and a couple of cloves of garlic. Melt a block of cream cheese on top of it. Add one can each of white beans, black beans, pinto beans, corn, and diced tomatoes. Add shredded Costco rotisserie chicken. Heat up. Season to taste - cumin, coriander, paprika, salt, pepper. It’s way better than it should be with those ingredients. Even for a no UPF warrior with a Mediterranean diet mindset it’s hard to fault it other than maybe too much cream cheese

They are good for small areas. I kept my insulated tack room above freezing in the barn in Maine. We have one near the desk at the gallery (plus several others that blow air) since the rooms in the lower level of our building have no heat. I like that they don’t make noise, and are so much safer than the ones that get red hot. They are easy to move around too. Just don’t get a cheap one. Our cheap one from Walmart quit working after the first winter.

Finally, a Peace Prize. Trump wins his peace prize from Fifa – any chance of a VAR review? At a gaudy and gauche World Cup draw, Gianni Infantino went all out to flatter the world’s most precious ego https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/05/trump-peace-prize-fifa-world-cup

@DougG said in The end of an era: wow, you must be really old. But congratulations. I have really enjoyed retirement the two or three times I’ve done it. Yeah, I get it. As an emeritus professor I still plan on doing stuff, just not in the classroom. I might even see if there is any need for an old curmudgeon in consulting!