@pique said in Christmas tree?: I usually leave the christmas decor up until we get longer daylight hours. It is very dark here, and the lights alleviate that. I can imagine! I love the soft white Christmas lights, they make everything feel twinkly and warm. @Bernard and @AdagioM Jan. 6th is always my take-down day, but this year the 6th is a Monday and I have a ton of meetings on that day -_- so I planned to undecorate early this year. If we had outdoor lights, I’d want them out longer. @RealPlayer want do you mean by “real parlor grand”? Is that a length thing, or something else? Maybe I should just call mine a “dining room grand” since it’s in the room that’s supposed to be the dining room.

His story is pretty tragic. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/las-vegas-cybertruck-bombing-matthew-livelsberger-letter-mental-health-crisis/ While the photo with the Musk/Trump caption is funny in one respect, I'm regretting a bit that I posted it because after reading his story I can't stop thinking of him dying in the vehicle. :

I stand corrected. The spelling is quatrefoil.

I would feel claustrophobic.

Let's see... Trump owned by Russia and Musk owned by China... what could go wrong??

@RealPlayer said in Non Sequitur Thread: Some dinosaurs were no bigger than chickens. I feel compelled to note that I saw this factoid in an early MAD magazine satirizing newspaper layouts, where short sentences were used to fill out blank space in newspaper columns.

There's nothing wrong with usury laws. A strong network of state usury laws was one reason out of many for the high watermark of American middle and working class wealth in the mid-century.

Does anybody just play dominoes any more?

Honda is one of them though. I wish the powers that be would let Americans decide with their money which vehicles they'd like to buy or not buy from Japan and Germany. This video link is an extreme example but there have been too many to count. Link to video If they're good enough for the EU than why aren't they good enough for the US?

@Steve-Miller said in Mr. Jodi made the NYT (sort of) : What happened? We're becoming the next Jackson Hole. People are being driven out of their homes because taxes increased astronomically because of the increase of home valuations. Young people can't live here or raise their families here. Businesses can't find workers because the rents are so far beyond the ability of working people to pay. In 1992, I paid $500/mo for a 3 BR, 2 bath duplex apartment here. Today, that unit would easily rent for $3,000/mo. We could easily rent out our current home for $5k/mo.--2,000 square feet. People are spending the winter living in uninsulated campers. The RV campgrounds are full. In winter! My doctor and my physical therapist have lost their staff because they moved away to more affordable states. Even the hot springs resort near Jodi had to close to day users--you have to stay in the hotel to swim there--because they can't find employees. This affects everyone. Except of course the ultra wealthy whose Montana trophy homes sit empty most of the year. And don't get me started on the corporate landlords who have snatched up what used to be affordable housing by paying full cash and outcompeting local buyers. Then turn that housing stock into AirBnBs, or jack up the rents to astronomical levels the current tenants cannot pay. Late stage capitalism isn't pretty.

Another gpod religion gone bad. :}

RIP

They are a real blight.

Bah. I always think of it as a cloud, but it's really a speech bubble icon, I guess. In any event, looks like we're good...

I have a couple of bottles of olive oil from Costco too. I should try that! I appreciate that they state the harvest date on the label. They should all do that.