Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Life Hasn't Been Easy,...

 On the other hand, when IS life easy??

Valentine's Day alternately threatened snow and ice, so instead of going out, we ate grilled elk steak from the freezer. We watched The Scarlet Pimpernel:   Just as romantic as P.S. I Love You-- but more swashing and buckling. The Brick enjoys calling him "The Scarlet Pimple." Booger.

Sigh...

    This week, I continue on reports (some are overdue -- finish 'em off, Cindy!), and head to Trinidad to do another big appraisal. Two friends are coming with, and we'll have lunch at a great Chinese restaurant there. Maybe even find a thrift shop -- who knows. 

     Thursday is my darling Brick's birthday. We've got a stop at Hooper's hot springs planned, and supper out. This is one of the Brick's 'decade birthdays,' and I want to celebrate it! 

Also, in the spirit of a favorite blogger, Katy the Non-Consumer Advocate, I didn't spend 60 million on luxury hotels for illegals. This week.

     Nor did I pretend to be 100 or older, like some people in the U.S. have been doing. Some, of course -- but more than 20 MILLION?? And more than a million saying they're older than that?? (I do have to give kudos to the person with cojones, who claims to be 360.) 

    Fortunately, Social Security says they already knew about 18.4 million of these -- and 'almost none' were claiming benefits. (In other words, the SS's database is badly outdated and needs to be cleaned up.) Oh yeah, about 44,000 ARE claiming benefits, including 13 people older than 112. (How many 100-plus people still living in the U.S.? At most, it's thought to be about 86,000, according to the Census Bureau. The oldest documented man in the U.S. died at age 112 back in 2013.) 

"The same inspector general’s office found in a March 2015 audit that 6.5 million people with Social Security numbers but no death information were over 112 years old — despite just 35 people on the planet having reached that ripe old age."

Doesn't that make you feel better, knowing those illegal payments should stop? It obviously didn't to the head of SS -- she abruptly resigned today.

Go get 'em, Elon!  Presidents everywhere, including Obama and Biden, are urging you on. 

Meanwhile:

 If you're going to make accusations about waste, DOGE, you'd better have statistics and receipts to back yourself up. (So they did.)

Americans are finding it harder to pay off debt...not surprising when you hear who the top culprits are: auto loans and credit cards.

Unusual things crows do. This is by far our most common bird here, along with ravens. And they are SMART. 

  A lady squashes some bread, is chased down and arrested. (Value of the bread: $1.20. Weird. Thanks, Mavis of One Hundred Dollars A Month, for the tip.)

How to make crispy, crunchy fried cornmeal mush.  (From The Frugal Girl)

An ex-FEMA employee's defense: "Hey, it's okay -- we avoided pro-Trump homes in other states, too, like North Carolina. Everybody does it."

Interesting -- and some incredibly brave -- facts about various people in history. Plus...

Historical finds that somehow survived... in spite of -----.

A dozen archealogical discoveries scientists are still having trouble explaining. 

Buffy Sainte-Marie loses a Canadian medal of honor, for lying about her Native American heritage. She says she's innoceent.  Am I the only person in the universe, thinking that a DNA test would resolve this??

 Remember the supposedly innocent Chinese spy balloon that was shot down? (Yes, the one that the Chinese said was accidentally let loose, and drifting on its own. Except it suddenly changed direction to 'drift' over another military installation.) The balloon contained US-made technology...available online.

Have a great week. Take a chance on love.