I 'hired' our great-nephews and nieces to look for cash in The Mama's house. (She had a habit of squirreling money in cans and caches all over. Fortunately, she told me about it -- several times -- before she died.) They found more than $100 before we gave up looking The kids each got $5 for their trouble; the rest of the cash went into the estate.
I have wondered if this will have any influence on their longterm careers and/or hobby choices... like finding a megalodon tooth!
(More here, thanks to Bored Panda. This very funny site is one of my favorite stops, especially during dark and/or discouraging days.)
I have pretty much given up on New Year's resolutions. For one thing, I don't always follow through. For another, Things Happen that prevent them. And I have enough misses, procrastination and failures to feel bad about, already. But I do make plans and reminders and note them in my appointment book -- especially on month-end notes. This helps keep me on track. For example: renew Brickworks' LLC before it expires, and send in my recertification to keep my AQS credentials current. But I mention deadlines like this at least 1-2 months ahead. Maybe these are actually resolutions -- but they're doable that way.
Boy, try to spend a peaceful, quiet week at home -- and all hell breaks loose. (And Michigan lost in theFiesta Bowl!) Arguments and fistfightsin the House. A football player whose heart suddenly stopped -- from a hit that didn't look any different than usual. (Thankfully, he's doing better.) President Biden finally decides to visit the border. (I truly hope that it wasn't tidied up for his arrival -- but the cynical part of me knows full well it was.) Add to this our usual fervid mix of illegal immigrants, government spending, accusations about this and that -- and bad weather. Yep, the world is just a fun place to be in right now.
I would like to say we did Exciting Stuff last week. But other than a trip to town for the Brick, we stayed home. It was nice. But cold.
Back to work this week.
P.S. If you get Paramount Plus, be sure to take some time to watch 1883. We are loving this pioneer-era miniseries, even though the female narrator sometimes has rude things to say about the Mean and Inhospitable West. But she's slowly changing her mind.
The episodes of 1923 (so far) are good, too. But we both thought Yellowstone, the final part of the series, implied that only the rich and entitled know what's best for us 'little people.' If you know Westerners at all, this kind of arrogance is an easy way to piss us off. After all, a lot of people emigrated just to get away from Eastern attitudes like this. But don't let that stop you from watching the 'older' two series.
Meanwhile:
Colorado's esteemed Governor Polis announced that migrants bussed to Denver would be sent on to places he said they really wanted to go. Like Chicago and New York City. Those mayors protested -- and Polis backed down. The weenie.
"One time we had to deal with Republican governors sending migrants to New York. Now we’re dealing with Democratic governors sending migrants to New York," Adams [NYC's mayor] said Wednesday.
Boo dee hoo hoo. Those poor delicate mayors. At least they added requests for the government to 'step up' and do its job. Now what's Governor Polis going to do??
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And now for a step up on the soapbox for a moment:
A professor is fired -- for showing a 14th century portrait of Mohammed to her students. (No, I am not making this up. Apparently it was done with proper respect, but some Muslims believe that seeing any pictures of Mohammed might induce them to start worshipping the portrait, instead. The professor even warned her class ahead of time that she planned to do this -- including just before class started. One student didn't protest then -- but she did, later on. And BOOM -- the professor is out.
Incredible. Don't university presidents have ANY courage? Doesn't anyone else's 'academic freedoms' matter??
I am amazed at the petty incidents and innuendos trotted out to prove how poor ol' Prince Harry (not to mention his saintly wife) has been treated so mmeeaan. Kudos to Prince William, HIS saintly wife and King Charles for maintaining a dignified silence. I'm sure it's not easy. Blaming them for the actions of the media -- or at least suggesting it's their fault because, by not being silent, 'they could make them stop.'
Harry then made this statement: "I love my father. I love my brother. I love my family. I all...will always do. Nothing of what I've done in this book or otherwise has ever been to, uh, any intention to harm them or hurt them."
Pope Benedict XVI's funeral happened this past week. He had asked for a simple funeral -- but world leaders and clergy attended, along with many, many followers packed into St. Peter's Square. Benedict's plain wood coffin, no flowers, was simply placed on the stage.
A self-proclaimed 'mammoth expert' says that up to 500,000 mastodon tusks were dumped in NYC's East River during the Forties. By mistake...but dumped. According to this guy, the bones were dumped at an old landfill site off the river near 65th Street. My question: if there were that many, shouldn't they have been found in quantity in this area for decades?? (Let me know if you find anything.)
I have been answering questions on Quora for years. Currently I make a few cents now and then on the site, thanks to a new 'monitization' program. (In three months of steady answers, I've made a blazing $4.30.) I doubt I'll be making millions off it -- but I do get paid. A little.
If you're curious, use this link to stop by. You'll help me a little -- and give yourself a lot of entertainment. (Just don't take everything seriously. Some questions are definitely real -- some rmade up for shock effect. You can tell.)
