@Daniel Not just in the US. Canada has a similar housing crisis. I bought our house in 2011 for $150,000. The (conservative) estimated value today is $450,000. Nothing about our neighbourhood has changed. No new services or anything that would have increased the property value. My kid and his girlfriend pay $2400 a month to rent a small two bedroom apartment in a nearby small city/large town. That’s almost twice my mortgage payment, yet even if they could save up enough for a down payment (while also paying that ridiculous amount in rent), they would never be approved for a mortgage because paying rent does nothing for your credit score.

Mary Bruce from ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/trump-saudi-crown-prince-murder-jamal-khashoggi-127650855

@Daniel

Great! Thanks so much!

More on the pasta tariff. https://www.arlnow.com/2025/11/17/italian-store-aims-to-hold-pasta-prices-steady-amid-107-tariff-threat/

We watched the first hour of last night's episode this morning while we were having breakfast. Good stuff.

Good links, wtg. I copied them to my email.

Knew a florist who said she sold more roses on the full moon to men with apologies to make.

@ShiroKuro said in Virtual staging: The line between presenting possibilities ("look how nice it would be if you did this!") and deception is tricky, but this one is too close to deception IMO. Yes indeed. But I understand the appeal of virtual staging in a nice home whose furniture has been removed. Staging a home with real furniture adds thousands to the cost of selling your home while putting virtual furniture in place costs a few hundred.

Wow! Talk about taking "pay it forward" to heart!!

@wtg said in Biocomputers: The computers that run on human brain cells It's just a matter of time before we're all connected into the Matrix, I guess.

Very interesting. In Hawaii, part of Maui (a large piece of land, actually) is a sanctuary for native plants and animals. There are experts who have catalogued every type of bird to the point they know when there are only a few of one type left and when a type (species?-- I'm not sure) goes extinct. It's very intense.

Maybe they still call it “beer” merely for marketing; something like this may not “stand out” at all if it’s marketed as mere “hard liquor.”

@Steve-Miller said in US missing people with 'certain talents': Seems to me Melania came over on an H1B visa. Not sure what her skills might be. Melanie came over to the U.S. first with a tourist visa, then later she obtained an H1-B visa, then later an E1-B visa before she became a U.S. citizen. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-43256318

Like this one. https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/kitchen-sink-cookies/ Or maybe just salt like this one: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019152-salted-chocolate-chunk-shortbread-cookies?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share Or this one https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/salty-sweet-butter-pecan-cookies-recipe

I keep mine in my small sling/ belly bag but I need something else too. I've lost three phones in six months. It's hell when it happens.

@Steve-Miller That is a Grand Grill (not an upright)