Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: STILL Here

 ...but not for long. Hopefully leaving Michigan tonight or tomorrow. I am missing our friends, family and life in Colorado.

    I've been schlepping The Mama to various family activities, doing some jobs (including working in the garage, wrapping birthday and Christmas presents), and catching up a bit here and there. 

     The Brick has been fixing the trailer brakes. Turns out that if we'd had an accident and the fifth-wheel separated, we would have had no way to stop it from moving -- the emergency brakes were completely shot. The Brick has repacked the grease, changed out the magnets and pretty much reworked everything. (I'm speaking a foreign language here, Gentle Readers, so should be more specific -- he did try to explain everything to me.)

     What I do know is that, after days of patiently working, watching Youtube videos, running for parts, etc., the brakes are almost done -- and should be ready for use tonight. The Brick saved us hundreds of dollars by doing it himself. And he did it in almost paralyzing heat and humidity. We both got used to permanent lines of sweat droplets decorating ourselves...but I could go inside. He couldn't. 

     What a wonderful guy. 

Ruby and Charles think so, too.

Meanwhile:

How Financial Samurai successfully started his blog. I can always use tips -- you can too, probably.

Top regrets of the dying -- how should you adjust your life to avoid this?  (From Budgets Are Sexy)

Life isn't always fair -- get used to the idea, says Financial Samurai. Tell that to...

The Superman impersonator who tried to stop a bus...and got hit by it, instead. (He's ok. What an idiot.)

Rep. Omar didn't really mean to equate Israel and the U.S. with Hamas and the Taliban. So there you go. Now Hamas is griping at being lumped in with the U.S. Ya just can't get no respect, Rep. Omar...

"What if we all retired at 38?"  A self-described sort-of frugal dinosaur gives his opinion on the FIRE system. I'm not completely sure what he's griping about -- people who earn a lot of money? people who don't? -- but it's worth reading, nonetheless.

Did this guy really get swallowed by a whale?

Some verrry interesting jokes in movie credits. (Including revenge!)

A painting found in a thrift shop...by a painter who knew Van Gogh in his final days.  Also: links to a nosegay of related Van Gogh articles.

Gratitude quotes. (I needed these, last week.)

Envy -- caught on camera. A visual gallery.

Ten celebrity stalkings...including by a mime?!?  (From Listverse)

Now that April 1 has come and gone...have you paid your overdue rent? Or are you banking on the 'Keep Your Rent' movement? The landlord viewpoint -- and that of the renters, too.  (From Millenial Revolution)

Ten unusual UFO 'abductees,' from Listverse, including Buck Nelson, who got to take his dog Ted along to Mars. (Nelson also said he met a 300-pound Martian dog named Bo.) 

After returning to his home planet, Nelson promised the aliens that he would tell everybody about his travels. He spoke to the media about his experiences and was supposedly questioned by the armed forces. At his farm conventions, Nelson sold pieces of Bo’s hair to back up his story. Skeptics noted that the Venusian dog hair was similar to the kind found on Earth dogs. He told them, “Dawgs is dawgs. Don’t matter what planet they’re from.”

Also  -- Ten Ways People Died -- by getting stuck!  And another odd one: Ten People Who Died in Unconventional Ways -- including getting pecked to death!

Millionaire interview 254. This latest-from-the-series is cheeky and refreshing, including his description of raising two toddlers:   Like raising two heavily caffeinated chimpanzees who are allergic to sleep.

His best money tip: 

Don’t try to spend less money. Instead, seek to spend lavishly on things you value, and then ruthlessly cut costs or eliminate spending on things you don’t. (From ESI Money)

Some of the silliest (and funniest) commercials out there -- stop when you've had enough.

                       Limu Emu and Doug (from Liberty Mutual)

Long-lived celebrity friendships. Including Ian McKellen...and Patrick Stewart! (Shakespeare brought them together.)

Ten entertainers who died on stage during a performance. Including musician David Olney, whose last song included the words "This pride... this freedom is going to take me to my grave."

    Soon after... it did.

I've shown you this before, but I really needed it this past week:

Benedict Cumberbatch dancing to Bruno Mars' wonderful Uptown Funk.

Thanks, I feel better. (Hopefully, you do, too.) Have a great week.