I bought a collar shirt, good New England quality (now made overseas of course). A basic polo shirt. I chose white and M. It was huge! I didn't know this company's clothing ran large. I'll try a different company later. I bought 3 t-shirts and 2 pair of shorts that were $$. I baby them. They'll do the job. I'll probably have time to buy another shirt with a collar, a better fitting pair of pants (I bought pants from a different company, and I could wear them, but not to a business meeting.; Again, they're too big and don't approximate a tailored look). I suppose I should get some colored socks. I'd love to own a pair of shoes. I found a company in Bolivia that handcrafts them all at about the 200-250 $ price point. I have a narrow foot and predictively narrow isn't an option. But considering the price of shoes, so what. I'd like to buy a couple button down linen shirts with collars but they're $$$. I got tired of having 3 pairs of shorts to wear (other than now my 2 good ones that sit in my closet) so I bought 3 pairs of dark brown chino looking color, but 100% cotton, relaxed, not tailored fit, shorts for $25. I love them! I've decided to wear them every day. I'm soaking them for a 4th time. It wanted to be done but the chemicals are toxic. That's what you get with 3 for $25. I never used to be interested in clothes, but I am now, and I'm trying my best to sensibly coordinate my wardrobe. It's become a hobby, although in truth it's challenging to be, choosing what to buy and what to wear with what. My main problem seems to be getting them to fit. I don't have one of those 6' clothes hanger bodies. It hasn't hindered me, and it's not a choice, but it would make clothes shopping a whole lot easier. I can still remember, and my mother taking me to shop for clothes, a "main street" with a tailor, a cobbler, a watchmaker, and a small department store. I could use a tailor but couldn't afford one in today's world.

@Mark said: not too bad. I'll say! That was beautiful, Mark. Very nice.

Reported here, too-- Link to video Background is: he, in error, is operating under the assumption that China and Korea ? tested nuclear weapons, when they only tested weapons capable of delivering them; then he ordered (as yet not happened, planning stage) nuclear tests to be done on American soil. So, all things considered, when he asked for the nuclear codes, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (if I understood correctly) allegedly flat out said, "No."

New Artemis II astronaut iPhone video reveals new Earthset view ‘Like watching sunset at the beach from the most foreign seat in the cosmos.’ [image: new-earthset.png?quality=85&w=1536] https://www.popsci.com/science/artemis-ii-video/

I hear you.

@Mark thank you!! I would love to hear your Chopin!!

Some of our "Social protection" category is paid with dedicated taxes in trust funds. The % shown is abysmal, not withstanding. I'm surprised the "Defense" category is such a low %, when the defense budget was 1 trillion and was recently (during Trump II, year 1, passed and signed) raised to 1 1/2 trillion. I'm not sure why a 50% increase was deemed necessary. To add to this category, I believe but could be wrong that the budget for some or all of the intelligence agencies is kept secret. The politicians have a fainting couch on hand when it comes to domestic spending, but it seems the sky is the limit for debt creation vis a vis defense spending, including, of course, foreign wars, and decades of tax cuts.

@AndyD Ooohh...you could set Mrs A loose on @adagiom 's website: https://pdxknitterati.com/ Some truly amazing stuff there!

Looks great. After having to cancel trips to Japan in September and April we are going to Denmark, Oslo, and Stockholm in June.

Tomorrow we hit 75. I'm going golfing in the afternoon.

@Axtremus The early LED lamps were prone to “singing” when used with certain dimmers or dimmed down very low. Sometimes it could get pretty loud. The problem seems to have gone away with newer lamps. Or maybe not. Maybe they just sing very softly now and your hearing is sensitive enough to pick it up.

True story. My Doc of eight years had a receptionist with a bigotry problem and she didn't hide it. Well, one day she was upset about something, and followed me into the examination room, as if that was her business. The RN (I've known the whole time) being above her, bosses her. She said, "Get out!" I looked right at her, and with the same tone and volume, said, "Get out!" She never messed with me after that.

I haven't paid much attention to this American Pope to be honest. I'll find out more about him one day. The Pope, head of the Catholic Church, and secular head of state of Vatican City always interested me. The friction between HH and Trump doesn't surprise me. Is there anyone Trump gets along with who isn't a sycophant except Netanyahu who's in a category by himself?

We've destroyed or better to say badly damaged UNESCO sites. Does UNESCO condemn these acts stemming from a war of aggression? No. UNESCO issues tepid statements about its "concern." UNESCO has, in effect, abandoned its remit. It's yet one more example of the troubles the West's institutions seem to be having these days. I knew this would happen. It happened in Iraq. Who knows how much more destruction of historically and culturally significant significant sites and objects will occur. Iran (It's Persia, actually-- "Iran" is a word the British made up) is a target rich environment. This happened in Gaza (Gaza City). The amount of damage of centuries old sites at an ancient crossroads of civilizations will take decades for historians to recount on paper only for some record to survive for the future.

I finally figured out what I needed in a pen. Ballpoint, not gel, fine (.7?), black ink, not retractable, the cover fits on the top (to not get lost). I had to pay almost $4 for it. I have retractable colored gel pens. A basic set of colors. I got rid of the yellow because the ink was almost invisible. I got rid of the purple because I knew I wouldn't use it. I have orange, red, blue, and green. I have enough #2 pencils to last the rest of my life. I'm rotating two and keeping one sharp at all times. The weak link in my system is the fact that my pencil sharpener is plastic, little, and cheap. I'm getting bored of these colors. I'll add more at some point. I'll definitely buy a duplicate to my black pen even though it's refillable. All of my pens are Pentel brand. I recommend them. They are well made and ergonomic. The black one and the colored ones are different product lines as you'd expect but each pen has an indented rubber grip for your thumb and index finger. This collection was completed recently when I bought my black pen. I started off eight year ago buying boxes of Bic pens. They were uncomfortable to use. Sometimes they would write and sometimes the same pen wouldn't do anything but scratch holes in the paper.

21! 21+2+7= 30 years this has been a hobby of mine.

@andyd We only equaled you during the Gilded Age. We were only able to do it for two reasons. We had your (and other) history to simulate, and our industrialists had the wealth to travel Europe and buy everything related to furnishing a house, including architectural details, furniture, and art, at bargain prices. Link to video