@Piano-Dad said in My "final exam" for piano class this semester: Glad you're continuing to play! Yep! Sometimes I can barely get 15 minutes to practice, but those 15 minutes make it possible to continue, and then when I have, I can actually make meaningful progress. You know, I remember a very long thread on PW about that Croatian Rhapsody and all of its variants many moons ago! You have an excellent memory! I’m pretty sure I started that, and it was probably 20 years ago now! I think I sent some people physical copies of the piece in the mail even?? But I never got the piece playable, so even thought there are still some rough patches, it’s nice to be able to play it now.

Thanks, Bernard! Yes, Prince Albert was something of a genius at designing jewelry. I love the sapphire circlet very much. It's one of my favorite jewels. It got passed down to a daughter and then after almost disappeared from public view. As luck would have it the V &A has it now. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/queen-victorias-sapphire-and-diamond-coronet#:~:text=Queen Victoria's sapphire and diamond,the Nation and the Commonwealth. Thanks, again!

@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!

I'll have one of those, please.

I like our oil-filled heater but it just doesn’t get hot enough.

Good for them! It always bothers me that CEOs of the big tech companies don't allow their own children access to the internet, phones, games until they're no longer children per se. Clearly, they know the hazards of their product for immature brains. https://www.google.com/search?q=what+CEO's+of+big+Tech+forbid+their+children+access+until+they're+older&oq=what+CEO's+of+big+Tech+forbid+their+children+access+until+they're+older&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRiPAtIBCTE5MDc1ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

@kluurs said in It appeared in the feed at another site: HOAs frequently have rules about the number and placement of Dougs within the community. probably because they’re so rare and valuable. No one wants to be Doug-less.

Fool.

He built art works. I love his buildings. RIP

Can tai chi help insomnia? Recent study published in the BMJ says it might. https://san.com/cc/tai-chi-and-the-art-of-getting-a-good-nights-sleep/?utm_placement=newsletter&user_id=66c4c06e5d78644b3aab4472 The study: https://www.bmj.com/content/391/bmj-2025-084320

Stephanie and Philip (Chateau Diaries) went to see it at Christie's and included footage in today's video. For anyone so interested. Link to video

I put up our tree shortly after Remembrance Day here - we have a half day off for lieu time for parent teacher conferences on the third Friday of November, so I generally spend that afternoon getting the tree up and decorated. We don’t do much more than that, but I really enjoy the extra light at this time of year!

I looked it up in on a map. I've been to Syracuse so it's possible I've been to Utica but I doubt it.

Not sure how representative it is. Young college students in the rural county they describe and then Charlotte which was Kamala +33 in 2024. Sorry to be a buzz kill.