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@Daniel said: Well, I think Ukraine will go back to being Ukraine and Russia will go back to being Russia. No matter how or why it started, it won't last forever. That is essentially predicting a Ukrainian victory. Those are their war goals.

I was an audiophile. I bought used (lol). I attempted to build a system. I had chosen and bought the amps. Then life happened. I sold my amps for what I paid. I didn't get to the point of choosing a source or speakers. This is a close variant of my amps- https://tmraudio.com/products/cary-audio-cad-300-se-signature-tube-mono-power-amplifier?srsltid=AU7gw4Uu_QuenUZ6qplc-lj8VDcO-nqGaJNIUzYkr_85PI_DlnUSUnvj Mine had a black not silver face. The silver is distracting. JMHO. Art. I kind of wish I had them today although I couldn't do anything with them at the moment but display them (and I'd be good with that) and (the real reason it would have been impossible to keep them) because I led a nomadic life moving back and forth from Hawaii Island to Maui over the better part of 20 years (yes, going where the jobs were, as a person did to be able to live out there) and they weighed a ton. There's no way I could have kept them. I just learned that Cary made (or makes?) a version of SET with integrated pre-amp. Um, yes, please. Lol. My current system (and I like it a lot) is sub- $100 monitor speakers I connect to my phone with bluetooth. It's quite amazing actually. The only problem (and it's kind of a big one in music listening terms) is I don't want them to be anywhere except my bedroom. So they are on each side of my desk. I can't face them unless I'm sitting at my desk. I never sit at my desk to concentrate on music. I have $99 Grado headphones with the largest ear covers they offer ($$ but highly recommend) if I really want to immerse myself in music listening. I don't have much of an audiophile quality system (the Grado headphones are an exception) but I get what I want with both the little monitor speakers and the headphones- a spectrum that is not "weighted". It's even. This is my overriding criterion. I couldn't listen to classical music or Delta blues any other way. Not only that, but anything but an even spectrum makes my ears bleed.

just yesterday I signed up for a voucher program that our local transportation agency offers to seniors/geezers. if you are over 65 you can get a $60 monthly credit for any Uber rides starting and ending in our city. OK, not totally life-changing money, but it makes my monthly round-trip to the airport free and that’s kind of fun.

Grimm

Yeah, good on Leslie Stahl. And Bari Weiss? Urgh.

Yes, they were aristocrats, weren't they?

Indeed.

Thank you all for your concern! I’ll get the knee taken care of as soon as I can.

I’ve never had coconut crabs but from what I hear they itch like hell.

@AndyD / It certainly is.

Welcome to the club! I go through phases with my regular coffee making process and switch every few months from Aeropress to Pour Over. I always start the day with a double espresso.

I haven't cared much about keys for an unusual amount of time. I had the key to my old place and would... well I'm not going to want to remember it in detail... Suffice it to say I locked the place when I left. I've told the story about the electricity being shut off. So, yeah. This was in winter. Just a fact. It stayed off in the spring. It stayed off in the fall. It stayed off a 2nd winter. It stayed off in the spring. It stayed off a 2nd summer. Then I moved the 2nd week of last August this year. There were countless nights the back door and porch door stayed open all night because of the heat. There were countless days both these doors were left open all day. So day and night. Dying of heat stroke didn't seem like an option. It was dangerous. Being born here, I know how dangerous it was.... Then x, y, and z happened, and I don't have doors or windows left open. Everything is kept on lock down 24 hrs a day and if I am working outside (and this is often), I'm always aware of what doors are open or shut, and if they are or are not locked. I like my new locks and deadbolt. I like my new keys. They have an oval shaped top. You inset the key, and then turn it with your thumb and/or index finger. Your fingers have a place on the key where you can turn the key and apply pressure at the same time. One set of keys is on my old lanyard and it's somewhere inside where I know where it is at all times. I like my old landward keychain. It's Stitch merchandise from Disney. This set is waterproof. I'll point out one impractical thing about it. The attached charm (Stitch's face) gets in the way of using the door key. This is a distraction and wastes time you want to be using to unlock the door. But NBD. I bought a second keychain with a clip. I might later but haven't used the clip. The keys are in this keychain. Also linked through this keychain is a second one that's big enough to fit in the hand and heavy enough to balance the house and car key. I like my new keychain. It's a disc and the disc hangs between two "arms". It can be spun around 360°. The disk is an LED flashlight. You turn it on- high, low, flashing red, and finally off with a button in the center. I'll post a link to an image. https://photos.app.goo.gl/67fk6VWpzBasFsYy5 I don't know why the picture has what looks like a plastic pull tab with an arrow. It doesn't exist IRL. I had the locksmith take the aftermarket key fob receiver that was creating havoc with my electrical system out of my car and threw the fobs away. So my keys are just old fashioned keys. BTW, I strongly advise not adding aftermarket key fobs to older cars. This is asking for trouble.

We're all so full of "forever chemicals" (another fun word combination) that if these chemicals trip the balance between health and disease or between life or death nobody will be the wiser

Interesting. I remember that girl and I'm sure I could Google her. Whoever put her up to it and profited from it is a con artist. I say con artist but it was no doubt many people operating together. I can't tell you how many 3rd rate artists made fortunes in Hawaii selling on Front St. In Lahaina until the art market cooled and the town burned to the ground a few years later.

A polity is a paradox. It's real. It's artificial. It's meaningful. It's meaningless. Etc. They say time flies. They could as well say maps change. And the Prime Minister is against it? Knock me over with a feather.

I was on another Delta flight to LGA this morning , no such announcement this time.