Book Board Chat

I hope my appearance did not shock people into silence! Full moon Wed, Passover Thur, Good Friday, Easter - all in the middle of Ramadan which my new neighbors celebrate. I was reminded that it was Passover yesterday when I was out in the neighborhood.

Diane I have thought of you and many others over the years. The last name of Ludwig was somewhat common where I grew up in western PA. When I went to the regional Catholic HS, there were two girls in my class with the name of Ludwig, cousins. Also, where we have a family reunion every summer is at a man-made lake at a state park near my childhood home. The cabins were we stay are off Ludwig Rd in the Park!

June Your state & others have really been hit with high winds. BTW was it you who once posted the recipe for cleaning the green off siding (vinegar & dishwashing) soap? If so, I saved it! Now that the weather is nice I need to remember to clean one side (North, of course), but it has been a case of out of sight, out of mind.

Jane @mysteryhorse - Thanks. testing...

Jim @danisjg - I could not believe how long it has been since I last posted. Time Flies!

As some may recall, my son collected Tom Swift books hence the nickname given to him by a bookman. He sold his collection to finance his diet of Raman Noodles when he was working on his first start-up which he later sold.

@mysteryhorse - Oh, it is great to see you too! Yes, I miss the 'boys' a lot, Covid was tough in not seeing them for a long time. Hope all is well with you. Is it possible to correct typos on here?

@dramlin - ah, Australia. Where Swifty visited & ended up meeting the grown children of an old college friend. They just happened to be there at the same time. The children of our college friend were there for a wedding of a Swedish cousin (their mom came to America in her 20s). Amazing, half-way around the world and they met up.

He was several friends in Australia who joined him in Bali on his recent trip. Kids today jet around like we used to bike around! lol

Hello old friends! It has been a very, very long time. We are doing so-so as we try to age gracefully. Both of my sons long ago flew the coup. As Swifty put it, "I can't wait to get out of this h*llhhole!" I said, "What, you mean your home?" "Thankfully, he said "No, Harrisburg." LOL

Swifty lived for about 10 years in NYC where he has a studio apt overlooking the river, but now he also has a condo in West Palm Beach. He has traveled worldwide several times, including a couple of time to South America. He is a co-founder of Firstleaf, a wine club, which is responsible for nearly 100 jobs created. Firstleaf is connencted with a group called "Wine to Water" which gets clean water to 3rd world countries. Swifty recently went to the DR where he made filtration pots.

LLB lives in Southern CA (Orange county). Prior to his job change (high tech security), he lived in San Fran for about 10 years after college.

Thanks for letting me have a proud mother moment.

carol (bookdelle) ~ Oh my goodness re: Suzanne! So my DD emails me and ”warns” me that Caberet is very sexual and may have nudity. Shocking! That is the funniest thing I have read in a long, long time!! What generation does she think you are from? LOL And you, no less. one of the flower children of San Francisco!

A link for your DD.

How Hair's Nude Hippies Changed Broadway Forever

http://www.broadway.com/buzz/5771/how-hairs-nude-hippies-changed-broadway-forever/

She asks me why, I'm just a hairy guy
I'm hairy noon and night, hair that's a fright
I'm hairy high and low, don't ask me why, don't know
It's not for lack of bread, like the Greatful Dead, darlin'

Give me a head with hair, long beautiful hair
Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen
Give me down to there, hair, shoulder length or longer
Here baby, there, momma, everywhere, daddy, daddy

Hair, flow it, show it
Long as God can grow, my hair

Let it fly in the breeze and get caught in the trees
Give a home to the fleas, in my hair
A home for fleas, a hive for the buzzing bees
A nest for birds, there ain't no words
For the beauty, splendor, the wonder of my hair

Flow it, show it
Long as God can grow, my hair

I want long, straight, curly, fuzzy, snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty
Oily, greasy, fleecy, shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen
Knotted, polka dotted, twisted, beaded, braided
Powered, flowered and confettied
Bangled, tangled, spangled and spahettied

Oh say, can you see my eyes if you can
Then my hair's too short
Down with here, down to there
Down till there, down to where it's stuck by itself

They'll be ga-ga at the go-go, when they see me in my toga
My toga made of blond, brilliantined, biblical hair
My hair like Jesus wore it, Hallelujah I adore it
Hallelujah Mary loved her son, why don't my mother love me?

Hair, flow it, show it
Long as God can grow
My hair, flow it, show it
Long as God can grow
My hair, flow it, show it
Long as God can grow
My hair

The other day I had posted on the BB and used the device that sends an email to Irene (lovetohike) and Curt (Webmaster) asking if they were ok. I received an email from Irene and they are fine but it has been a heck of a time. I'll let her tell you more when she can post. Part of her email did say that their house was safe but houses and conditions around there were very bad. She also said that they had received about 17 inches and 21 inches in less than a week and that was more than what they usually got in a year. Maybe when things are not in a crisis mode there she will post about the experience - or not.

stamphick (David) ~ My aunt wasn't home but in talking to my uncle he said that he would go get it next week or next month...of course he brought up that fact that it doesn't protect 100% and I countered with the milder case if you do get it. Then I told about the Merck plan that I got mine under and he said pharmacies charge $200 in Dallas. Finally I told him that since he is now covered by Medicare it is free. He didn't know that since until fairly recently it was not. Now that might spur him on! LOL He was so funny when he said, "I'm not afraid of shots." hahaha The man was a surgeon (including in Viet Nam). However, just because you are a surgeon doesn't always mean that you are not afraid of getting cut open yourself.

More later on my 'theory' about the genetics of getting shingles and who is more likely to get them.

diane (furtima) I have read the same. In the case of my mother, she already was seriously ill. In the case of my aunt, they did find something else but not sure if her immune system was depleted. She ended up in the hospital with a TIA and they found something else. As she said at the time, "You go in for one thing and find out there are 20 more." Not that they found 20 things, just her sense of humor. In the case of my younger cousin, there was nothing else.

The point is that as we all grow older we are more likely to have things go wrong and getting the shingles vaccine ahead of that time doesn't hurt - well my arm was sore for a couple of days! I couldn't figure out why it hurt and then I remembered, oh yeah, that is where I got the shot! duh. Both DH and I have been seriously ill and it is something that could come back. Or something else might get us.

The doctor did say that while the shingles vaccine is not 100% effective in preventing it, studies have shown that those who have had the vaccine get much milder cases. Also in my reading about shingles, there is a high rate of re-occurance and some people even get it a third time. I tried to find if my aunt getting it now would help in the future. I think she said that her doctor said that she has to wait for a certain time period to pass where she is free of all of it before she could get it.

I haven't checked in with her lately and need to call. We usually talk on a weekly basis. Since I am thinking of her now, it would be a good time. We often find that we are thinking of each other when we call each other!

bookbase/Sandy I know you work in a pharmaceutical related area and I want to tell you how delighted I am with Merck. I have been wanting to get the shingles vaccine ever since I turned 60 (which was the recommened age at that time). I saw what my mother went through when she was dying of breast cancer. But our insurance did not pay for it and I put it off. My doctor had said that instead of her giving it to check to see if it was cheaper at the pharmacy. It was but not by much so I didn't do it. This year my aunt got a horrible case just like my mother had (sisters). When I went for a check up in July I asked about cost again since I could not remember how much it was or if maybe the price had come down. It turned out that Merck was running a special program this year!! The doctor charged $250 BUT Merck picked up $140 of the cost! The thing that was so amazing is how fast I received the check from Merck. I thought it would be one of those things that I would have to wait months for and instead in a matter of 2 weeks I had it.

Those on Medicare can get it for free. My aunt wishes he would have had it and she can't believe that after what her husband (retired doctor) has seen her go through that he still has not gone for his. I can't get DH to go either. He says that he will wait until it is either 'free' [covered under insurance] or he is covered by Medicare. I wasn't waiting that long no matter what I had to pay. Just talking to my aunt was painful. She has it for months and months. DH was funny when he was reading about it and said that I could have given him chicken pox! hahaha he still doesn't believe that he had a very mild case when both the sons came down with chicken pox! It didn't help that the doctor at the time had told him that if he had not said about the children having chicken pox he would not have thought that the couple of red bumps he had had on his chest were chicken pox. I told him that now this proves he had chicken pox since he was exposed to me and didn't get a case (I knew that if he had not had it he could get it, but I knew he did).

Although the doctor said that it is not a thing that runs in family, I have to wonder if some people are more inclined to get it based on their genetic make-up. Not only my mom and her sister but there is another close family member who had it but at a young age. Even the nurse agreed with me - both her grandfater and her dad (when he was in his 30s) got it.

Although I usually don't mention my illnesses, colds, bumps, boo-boos, as long as I am on the topic, boy did I take a tumble yesterday. I am all black and blue on my one side and it is quite painful. DH and I were trying to get two stinkbugs at the top of a blind. He was sticking in our stinkbug stick from the one end and I was to get them with a tissue as he poked them out. As I was climbing up on a cedar hope chest that had been my father's mother, I lost my balance and fell. I hit the edge of a laundry basket on the way down. And there you have my tale of my boo-boo - boo hoo. Might have bug bite tales to tell after the camping trip! LOL

Merck’s Shingles Vaccine Not Reaching Enough U.S. Adults

Too few American adults have been vaccinated for shingles, the painful sibling to chicken pox, according to research that calls for efforts to increase the U.S.-recommended inoculation.

Fewer than 2 of 10 Americans ages 60 and older have been vaccinated, while the rate is less than half that for those in their 50s, according to a study presented today at the annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Denver.

Almost one-third of Americans will get shingles in their lifetime, with about 1 million cases in the U.S. each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The vaccine Zostavax, from Merck & Co. (MRK), was cleared for sale in 2006 for people 60 and older, and for use by those in their 50s in 2011. Still, too few people take advantage of it, doctors said.

“It’s a good idea if you’re older than 50 to go to your doctor and have that discussion about when you should receive your vaccine,” Melissa Johnson, an associate professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, said today in a presentation at the conference. “This is a conversation we should all be having with our family members.”

Shingles is caused by the same virus as chicken pox; it can remain in the body after a chicken pox infection and become active again years later. It’s characterized by a painful rash that generally clears within a month and can be accompanied by fever, stomach ache and chills.

A more problematic lasting side effect is postherpetic neuralgia, a burning nerve pain that can be severe enough to disrupt sleep and affect appetite, according to the Mayo Clinic. Good treatments for the pain don’t exist, Johnson said.

Shingles costs the U.S. health system at least $1 billion each year, through a combination of doctor visits, medications and missed work, she said.

“This is a potential area where we can do cost avoidance,” Johnson said. Patients can “get Zostavax as part of routine coverage.”

Shingles becomes more prevalent with age; about half of infections occur in those 60 and older, according to the CDC. Yet just 16 percent of Americans in that age group had been vaccinated in 2011, the study of almost 30,000 people found. That compares with 4.3 percent of U.S. adults in their 50s.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine in the younger set after research showed it helped reduce the risk of shingles by 70 percent compared with placebo, according to an agency statement.

Rest of article: http://tinyurl.com/ovby669

In World News . . .

The other night DH and I watched a program about the salvage operation that was underway of the Costa Concordia. I think it was on 60 Minutes. What a massive undertaking just to get to the point to where they would be able to start the operation of getting it upright which was completed early yesterday morning.

Both of the links below have time-lapsed footage of it being righted, the first link is longer with the crew celebrating etc. Second link is just the ship being uprighted. It was something never done on this scale before. Engineers from around the world worked together to accomplish it.

Massive salvage operation to set Costa Concordia cruise liner upright

Salvage crews completed setting the wreck of the Costa Concordia upright early Tuesday after a 19-hour-long operation off the Italian island of Giglio, where the huge cruise liner capsized 20 months ago.

Perhaps the most complex and expensive maritime salvage operation ever attempted saw the 114,500-ton ship pulled upright by a series of huge jacks and cables and set on artificial platforms drilled into the rocky sea bed.

After a salvage operation estimated to have cost more than 600 million euros ($800 million), the hulk will remain in place for months more while it is stabilized and refloated before being towed away to be broken up for scrap.

"The rotation happened the way we thought it would happen and the way we hoped it would happen," said Franco Porcellacchia, leader of Costa Cruise's technical team, according to Reuters. "It was a perfect operation, I would say."

The daring attempt to pull the shipwrecked ocean liner upright began early Monday.

Full article with longer video: http://tinyurl.com/mb4wfaq

Shorter Version:

Time-lapse footage shows the wreckage of the Costa Concordia cruise ship being pulled completely upright during a complicated, 19-hour operation.

http://www.usatoday.com/media/cinematic/video/2824783/

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Greetings from Penn Woods on the morning of the Harvest Moon night.

Harvest Moon 2013: What You Need to Know

Get ready for the Harvest Moon. Depending on where you live on the planet, it’s either Wednesday or Thursday of this week.

“In traditional skylore, the Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox,” EarthSky reports, “and depending on the year, [it] can come anywhere from two weeks before to two weeks after the autumnal equinox.” For 2013, that changing of the seasons happens on September 22 — just a few days from now. [sometimes the autumnal equinox is on my birthday, the 23rd. So this year the first full day of autumn is my birthday, other years it is the changing of the guard.]

Unlike the Blue Moon we covered back in August, the Harvest Moon behaves differently than a typical full moon. “Throughout the year, the moon rises, on average, about 50 minutes later each day,” according to NASA Science News. “But near the autumnal equinox … the day-to-day difference in the local time of moonrise is only 30 minutes.” Why does that matter? Simply put, agriculture.

“In the days before electric lights, farmers depended on bright moonlight to extend the workday beyond sunset,” wrote NASA’s Dr. Tony Phillips. “It was the only way they could gather their ripening crops in time for market. The full moon closest to the autumnal equinox became the Harvest Moon, and it was always a welcome sight.”

Back in 2010, there was a Super Harvest Moon — the first one in two decades and the last until 2029 — when the seasonal lunar event happened on the night of the autumnal equinox, offering what Phillips describes as “maximum illumination.”

So, when should you try to catch a glimpse of the Harvest moon? “Although the moon will appear full all night long — from dusk till dawn — astronomers define full moon as that instant when the moon lies most directly opposite the sun for the month,” according to EarthSky. That moment will occur at 7:13 a.m. on Thursday ET (that’s 11:13 Universal Time). But isn’t that morning, you ask? Yep, the moon will be full after sunrise for the eastern United States, but other time zones should have more luck.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/lyyw53p

Musician Neil Young has a slightly more romantic take on this moon, about dancing in its glowing light:

Harvest Moon
Neil Young

Come a little bit closer
Hear what I have to say
Just like children sleepin'
We could dream this night away

But there's a full moon risin'
Let's go dancin' in the light
We know where the music's playin'
Let's go out and feel the night

Because I'm still in love with you
I wanna see you dance again
Because I'm still in love with you
On this harvest moon

When we were strangers
I watched you from afar
Then when we were lovers
I loved you with all my heart

But now it's gettin' late
And the moon is climbin' high
I want to celebrate
See it shinin' in your eye

Because I'm still in love with you
I wanna see you dance again
Because I'm still in love with you
On this harvest moon

Because I'm still in love with you
I wanna see you dance again
Because I'm still in love with you
On this harvest moon

.

And another musician who sees the light of the moon as a time to dance and keep things light...

Dancing In The Moonlight
Van Morrison

We get it almost every night
And when that moon gets big and bright
It's supernatural delight
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Everybody here is out of sight
They don't bark and they don't bite
They keep things loose, they keep things light
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feelin' warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

We like our fun and we never fight
You can't dance and stay uptight
It's supernatural delight
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feelin' warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

Everybody here is out of sight
They don't bark and they don't bite
They keep things loose, they keep things light
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Everybody's dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feelin' warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

.

Good Afternoon from Penn's Woods,

Finally got the food and camping stuff list done and sent to my two brothers and cousin. We are going camping (cabins by a lake) "back home" and will be having a picnic one of the afternoons with a number of our uncles, aunts and a couple of cousins joining us. Hope it warms up a little. Nights have been really cool recently. The cabins are heated but rain or very cold would really put a damper on things, especially cooking on an open fire! It will be so nice to see some of the relatives. Last August was the last time that almost everyone of the 80+ were together but that was for a funeral of my oldest uncle. It is going to be so hard losing more (Mom was oldest of 10). So this mini-reunion will be fun to talk about old times and to create new memories.

jude51 & Jim(dainisjg) We also watch the TV shows on On Demand. Nice to be able to fast forward.

jude51 Both DH and I LOL while watching Big Bang and we all know that laughter is the best medicine. For us, there is something special when we both laugh at the same time.

Jim(dainisjg) DH watches Breaking Bad. He suggested it to me but I didn't think that I would like it. Maybe I'll have to see if the first ones are still on and see if it is something that I would like to watch more of. You must have caught a 'bad' episode of The Big Bang Theory when you first watched it as you discovered when you watched more. Most of the ones that I have seen, and I have watched many of them, were not as you described in the initial one that you saw, but it has been on for 6 seasons so either it was different writers that week or the writers were having a bad week! September 26 starts the 7th season so they must be doing something right. I've been amazed that the quality has stayed as good imo as it has over so many seasons. Hard to believe they keep coming up with new story lines.

Bob Newhart will be appearing in more episodes this season. Nice to hear that he received an Emmy for it. I agree about being a bit disappointed in his performance, but it was still great to see him back on the screen. The ending to his show when he was the Innkeeper in Vermont ranks right up there with Carol Burnett coming down the stairs with the drapery rod still attached to the drapes!

I forgot to mention yesterday that two of the actors in "Newsroom" are Jane Fonda, who owns the network (shades of Ted Turner) and the Sam Waterstone, who played the head Asst DA on Law & Order, and he is the head honco of the Newsroom. Excellent actors all around in the series.

Oh and one of the BBC shows that I have been wanting to mention for awhile in addition to the ones that I listed yesterday is "Monarch of the Glen" We have watched quite a few seasons of it but recently slacked off. The later seasons are not as good as the first ones. A lot of the original characters are gone and it doesn't have the zip it once did, but we plan on watching more when nothing else is one. It is a light comedy and is another one that DH and I would LOL together so it is a good one to watch esp from the beginning if you like to be amused and entertained. All the episodes are available on DVD.

From Wikipedia:

" Monarch of the Glen is a British drama television series produced by Ecosse Films for BBC Scotland and broadcast on BBC One for seven series between 2000 and 2005.

The Monarch of the Glen television series is loosely based on Sir Compton Mackenzie's Highland Novels, which are set in the same location but in the 1930s and 1940s. The first book in that series is called The Monarch of the Glen which was a reference to the famous painting by Landseer. The first five series of Monarch of the Glen told the story of young restaurateur, Archie MacDonald, trying to restore his childhood home in the Scottish Highlands, starring Alastair Mackenzie, Richard Briers, Susan Hampshire, and Dawn Steele, whilst the final two series of the show focused on new Laird Paul Bowman trying to modernise the estate, primarily starring Lloyd Owen, Tom Baker, Alexander Morton, and Susan Hampshire."

It is interesting that they don't list Julian Fellowes in that list of actors. He not only played a great part but he is the creator of Downton Abby Interesting that the Wiki page gave about the same review as I did with the first 5 seasons bringing in high ratings but then dropping as actors left (better offers or lousy contract?). It does appear that it will be worth watching it to the end however as they bring some of the originals back. DH and I thought they were trying to let the show die a slow death as they kept getting rid of some of the best. We have noticed that on some other BBC shows. The best actors leave either killed off or moving while the American shows keep running until everyone is sick to death of watching them! LOL

In looking up Monarch of the Glen, I found out that the Highland estate made famous in the TV series goes on the market for the first time in 200 years for £7 million. It is not the one where the Monarch of the Glen lived but rather the one where the character that Julian Fellows lived. These estates are huge, the one that is for sale has 7,000 acres and the one where the Monarch lived was said to have 20,000 at least in the story it did.

Below is the article with pixs of both homes/castles as well as the owners of the one for sale and the characters in front of the one on the program.

Considering what people pay in Beverly Hills and other parts of the US, this seems to be a great deal!

http://tinyurl.com/k3t429l

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2390235/Highland-estate-famous-Monarch-Glen-goes-market-7m.html

June/Dupo ~ LOL re: Ice Road Truckers made it feel cooler in the house, which was a good thing since the program aired during the summer months As I mentioned the BBC Broadchurch is very good but both DH and I have a very hard time understanding some of the dialogue-some of it seems to be dialect and some that it is mumbled. We turn up the sound and use playback but still...now we just figure we will catch up with the bit missed as things develop. As far as POs, ours was closed the other day. Just had a sign there was an emergency. Makes one wonder why everyone in the building would be gone on the emergency. And here it is 6 PM and our mail still has not been picked up or delivered. They changed our letter carriers recently and now mail is anywhere from 11 AM to 6:30, and sometimes I think they just quit before they are done.

Jude That was a very scary thing to happen. Glad that it was nothing more. Yeah, they better rewind that film for what you paid! LOL BTW did you notice that on your MyEbay page the Free listings showed up even before the email was received. At least that is what happened to us. I looked at MyEbay page and saw that the block for all these free listings but didn't get an email until much, much later. When I followed the link to make sure that we really did have free listings, it said that you will be noticed by Myebay and email. I like that the Myebay showed up so early.

diane (furtima) All of the ones that you mentioned are not my cup of tea either, except for Undercover Boss. I do like Antiques Roadshow and will watch Pawn Shop. I learn a lot from both of those. There have been a number of times that we have picked up books on some painter whose painting was on Antiques Roadshow. Antiques Roadshow has expanded our knowledge about fine arts, furniture, and knick-nacks. While we were not dumb about all fine arts, esp DH and furniture (he used to be a furniture maker); we have made money off of what we have learned just by buying books on the subject matter. Sometimes we will already have a book on such and such and then Antiques Roadshow will cover the topic and that night or the next day the book will sell! So that show and similar piques people's interest and helps ebay sellers with the right goods.

My brother and his wife went to Antiques Roadshow with a vase that had been my mother's. The guy evaluating it keep trying to get the attention of the cameramen. My brother is funny in telling the story of how the expert keep saying the same thing over and over and louder and louder trying to capture the attention of the camera crew. They didn't get on TV but did learn a lot about the vase and that it was worth a couple of hundred.

I know several people here like watching Pickers for similar reasons. Learning something new, esp. if you are an ebay seller. I watched it in the beginning but now flip the channel usually.

Sandy (bookbase) ~ ah, another Walton repeat fan! LOL I recently saw an episode that I had missed. I had wondered how they did the transition from "old John boy" to the actor who took his place. I thought it was very well done by using the news article about him being found after being MIA in WW 2 and as the family is reading the article the camera goes to the newspaper they are holdand and there is a pix of the new actor! Very smooth.

I remember there were several Survivor fans on board and the topic would come up often. I think of mainelady often - Survivor ads, football games, ice skating on TV all bring her to mind. I still miss her and am so glad I had the opportunity to met her when we went to Maine. She was such a kind and sensible lady.

Speaking of 60 Minutes, it is amazing how long lasting that show has been and all the copy cats. It started in
1968 and in 2002 it was ranked #6 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. "The Newsroom" show that I mentioned in an earlier post reminds me of a cross between it and CNN. What is unique about "The Newsroom" is that all the news events that are portrayed really did happen. Sometimes the time sequence is out of step of when it did happen but they use "real news events". The creator and principal writer, Aaron Sorkin, insists that it be that way. Sorkin was the creator and writer of The West Wing, which I thought was a great show.

The other day I said that I was going to tell a 'funny' when I was writing a book description. When we go to book sales I make slips with place and date that I stick in the box of the books from each sale. As I finish the listing description, I stick the narrow slips into each book. It is a way to keep track of inventory on the shelf (also note it in turbo lister in the note section). As I was looking on completed ebay, I came across one. (Limited Edition, signed and numbered). I went back to writing my description and flipped to the back of the book to see what the limitation number was - it was the same number as the one that had just sold at the end of August!! I couldn't believe it. The seller was from the state of Washington and it sold August 26 and we had already picked it up at a book sale in Sept!

I got really curious as to who the buyer was so went to the seller's FB and what do I find but DH had bought it under his ID! LOL I had forgotten that he had told me about it when he placed it on the bookcase next to my computer. The LEC sold within days for twice the amount and is headed back to the state of Washington!

While some people have said they never watch "reality shows" and toss them all in the same garage bin, I enjoy watching Shark Tank, Top Chef, and Undercover Boss. The last one is especially heart-warming because of what the CEO does for those employees with whom he had worked while undercover. While the aim of the CEO going undercover and working with regular line workers be it flipping hamburgers or packing boxes is to find out more about how the company is running at that level, he asks his " co-workers" about their personal lives and many are in dire need. In the end he steps up to the plate and helps them in someway - sometimes giving enough cash for a used car to an employee who rides a bus an hour one way and other times to help a family with a special needs child. And many times it is to give scholarship money to deserving young employees or to send a family on a 'dream vacation.' It is always neat to see the follow-up they do at the end of what the employees are doing. Of course, the undercover boss sometimes finds employees who are less than desirable in their performance and treatment of co-workers (usually a supervisor who doesn't pitch in when needed but sits in the break room instead). He gives them another chance and sometimes they do change and other times they leave.

Greetings,

DH and I are already done with watching the 'current season' of Foyle’s War. We are usually one step ahead with the BBC shows.

I think that we only get the cream of crop of British TV and that is the cream of BBC. If we had only British TV to watch I am sure that there would be people who would say that it 'stinks.'

Much of American TV is geared to certain demographics and usually people our age are not part of that demographic. We are not the "spenders" that younger viewers are. I never watched Friends or Seinfield except for a couple of times. Not only wasn't it my cup of tea but I was smart enough to know that the I wasn't part of the demographics they were aiming for.

It is interesting that the BBC now has a Law & Order but set in London.

I recently read that the demographic for the Big Bang Theory was up to 65, yet one of the actors said that he met an 80 year old who just loved the show. The man had been a rocket scientist and could identify with the characters who reminded him of not only himself but friends and people he had worked with.

Couple of American shows that I enjoy watching are The Newsroom (HBO). The finale of the second season was just on but we haven't watched it. We usually watch the little TV we watch by "on demand." I also like The Good Wife and Mad Men.

I remember how much mainelady enjoyed The Survivor, but it wasn't something I ever watched beyond a few minutes. I would never tell her that I thought all American TV stinks, just like I would have never told her that watching the sports that she so loved was "crap." It may not be something that I like but to denigrate all American TV because I don't watch much of it or because I fit the demographics it not worth saying. I still watch 60 Minutes and some of the other news shows like Dateline - depends on the subject matter if I stick with the entire show.

I also enjoy Criminal Minds and while I did at one time I have grown a bit tired of Law and Order and NCIS (the original), but I'll still watch them if I happen to tune in at the right time.

That said we have been enjoying the new season of Cooper (BBC America) and The White Queen [British television drama series in ten parts, based on Philippa Gregory's bestselling historical novel series The Cousins' War, (The White Queen, The Red Queen and The Kingmaker's Daughter). The first episode was broadcast on BBC One on 16 June 2013. It was broadcast in the United States on Starz on 9 August 2013.]

Another one that we have been enjoying is Broadchurch (BBC). Of all the British shows the dialect is the hardest to understand. Another BBC one that we had watched and are waiting for the next season is Top of the Lake which is set in New Zealand. Interestingly the female lead character who plays a detective is "Peggy" from Mad Men!

When you read some lousy books you usually don't use a broad tar brush and say that every book "stinks" or if you end up reading books aimed at a younger audience, you are smart enough to figure out that the books are not aimed at your age group. Some people like romance novels, some like mystery novels, some like this or that. Via la difference!

And boy that Betty White is still a hoot even at her age. She was funny when she was young and still remains that way. That is growing old gracefully in my book.

Greetings from Penn's Woods where fall is really in the air! Acorns crunching under foot.

Trading stamps were a very large part of our family, with 4 kids and my dad owning his own business money was tight, esp when farmers had bad years. He extended credit and got burnt when some farmers just couldn't pay him. You could tell what kind of year it had been at Christmas time. Not that my parents were ever the type to buy us tons of toys and putting toys on lay-away just wasn't done, but some years besides the PJs, underwear, and maybe a sweater, there would only be one or two things that I could consider "not a neccesity." One year it was a pair for ice skates - one for my oldest brother and one for me. That was it except for the clothes. Of course, by that time we were getting older too and toys were for the younger two but even then since they had an older brother who handed down toys, they didn't get a lot of new stuff either! Sorta like my poor younger son! LOL No wonder he is such a fashion plate now. He got tired of all those worn out T-shirts and jeans! Christmas here is pretty much in the tradition of our families. Maybe a few more toys and games then when we were growing up, but not a huge pile like I've seen at some homes.

As far as trading stamps, we had both the S&H green stamps and the plaid. The plaid were given out by A&P where my grandmother liked to shop. When my mother took her shopping then she would also buy stuff and come home with the plaid, but it was the S&H that filled the books quickly in our household. My mother and grandmother were so funny. My mother liked the one grocery store better than the one that her mother liked. My mother used Tide and my grandmother like Cheer. Mom bought Hellman's and grandmother bought Miracle Whip. LOL My grandmother had 10 kids with the oldest being my mom and the youngest an uncle who is only a year or two older than I am so money was always tight in their household. But that is the way it was for many people. I didn't even realize that we were not "middle class" until I was much older. We were not poor and not low-income enough to get any help or needs-based money for college but not the middle class that I saw when we went to Michagan to visit family friends and relatives. Swimming pools and more! LOL

I remember two items that my mother got with S&H green stamps. One was a set of luggage for going away to college. I think it was only 1 large green suitcase and a "train case" - remember train cases and hat boxes? Later I did have a medium size green suitcase but I don't think it was part of the set, just matched sort of. Anyway what was so funny about my going to college suitcase is that my best friend from HS who was going to the same college ended up with the same set! Her mother also had traded in the stamps for college luggage. I wonder how many kids went away to college in the late '60s and early '70s with luggage from the S&H green stamp store! LOL I had that luggage until fairly recently. We did buy new luggage in the mid-1990s when we went to Ireland but it took a long time even after that for me to let go of them. I'm going to have to ask my oldest brother what luggage he took to college! Wonder if his came from the green stamp store too.

The other item I remember my mother getting me for Christmas when I was in HS was a guitar. Never learned to play it very well beyond a few chords. I took it to college and a friend borrowed it. She left it against the radiator in her dorm room...well it warped of course. How dumb do you have to be to put something like that against heat?! I was very upset. Not so much because I didn't have a guitar to play anymore but the thought that this gift that my parents had been able to give me only because of those stamps was now ruined.

While my mother did paste in the green stamps, I mostly remember my father doing it for her in the evenings. Too many stamps and too little time with 4 kids to sit and paste in stamps! Later I took over doing it in the household but liked doing the Plaid the best. Also pasted in the stamps for my grandmother.

Until about the late 1970s or early 1980s, there was a green stamp store here (back home you had to drive an hour to one). DH and I went there right before it closed with the books that we had. Didn't have many since most stores no longer gave them. Can't even remember what we got, but I remember so well what was given to me by my parents due to those stamps.

Instead of stamps, I guess grocery stores now give the "bonus buys" where if you sign up with them you get the item for less. Between the bonus buys and coupons, you can reduce your bill by a nice amount but I doubt if anyone goes home and takes the money "saved" and "saves" it for buying Christmas or Birthday gifts.

David LOL about what happens with your Christmas club money! But OTOH, you have a nice chunk ready to pay that insurance and taxes.

Good evening from Penn's Woods where after a couple of days with evening thunderstorms the heat and humidity have moved on. DH and I were at a book sale today. Lovely day for a drive.

I have a funny story to tell on myself about writing a book description but that can wait for now.

Irene @lovetohike and Curt @admin ~ Are you safe and dry? Is it flooding where you are? BTW Curt, the fix worked again for me yesterday but no such luck today. However, I realize with all the rain you are getting you may have much more important things on your mind right now.

Penny @oceanabooks ~ Have you heard from Kathy/rockymthigh? I didn't find her listed as a member of this board but she might be under another ID which I don't remember off the top of my head. You can email me privately if you prefer.

mysteryhorse After I posted I remembered about lay-away and that might be what the ads were for. I even forgot about layaway until one year emilabooks had posted she was doing some for Christmas gifts for the children.

June Kamm (dupo) I remember Christmas Clubs too. My dad had my brothers and I do them. An important first step for a child in learning to save and delayed gratification. I don't recall how much it was per month, but I know it wasn't even a dollar as the total amount after 11 months or whatever would have been A LOT. I am thinking that maybe we saved at a rate of .50 a month or who knows it could have been a quarter! I just remember the satisfaction of having my own money that I had saved to buy gifts from my parents and brothers.

In reading the Wikipedia entry (not the article below) I learned that the first known Christmas club started in 1909, when Merkel Landis, treasurer of the Carlisle (Pennsylvania) Trust Company, introduced the first Christmas savings fund. Carlisle is about 20 miles from where I live.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_club

Christmas Clubs still exist. Credit unions seem to have them more than banks, but some banks still do have them.

Are Christmas club accounts still a good idea?

Your mother probably had a Christmas club account at a local bank or credit union. You might remember her faithfully depositing $5 or $10 a week all year long to save up money for the holidays.

But is this simple method of saving for the holidays -- which reached their height of popularity in the 1970s -- still relevant today?

A Christmas club account -- which is not really a "club" at all -- is simply a special short-term savings account set up by a financial institution to encourage nest-egg building for the holidays. Most can be opened with a nominal deposit.

But there are few financial perks to be gained from Christmas clubs: The return on these accounts is negligible, and you usually cannot take the money out until the start of the holiday season, usually around Nov. 1.

The point, of course, is not to make a killing on compound interest, but to safeguard your money -- from yourself -- so you have enough funds to spend for gifts or even travel during the holidays. And it helps prevent a pile of credit card debt in January.

While some banks still offer Christmas club accounts, credit unions, by far, are still the champions of this type of savings vehicle. According to the Credit Union National Association, or CUNA, nearly 72 percent of credit unions run Christmas clubs, and consumer interest in these clubs is holding steady.

"These kinds of accounts, small as they may be, are important because they encourage saving; this small step could lead to better saving habits," says Patrick Keefe, spokesman for CUNA.

At TruStone Financial Federal Credit Union in Plymouth, Minn., there's been a slight uptick in its "Holiday Helper" account this year, says Katie Grindeland, marketing manager for the credit union.

"Now, I must confess, this number is up by less than 1 percent (over last year-BUT THE ARTICLE IS NOT DATED!!) but an increase nonetheless," she says. Balances are slightly down over last year.

Grindeland notes that while the original intent of Christmas clubs was to target savers, the appeal of other financial products such as money market accounts, rewards programs for credit and debit cards, and certificates of deposit have taken the shine off Christmas club accounts. But that may be changing because of the belt-tightening that has taken hold among American consumers: "The allure to budget and save is back," she says. "A revival and/or a customization of (the Christmas club account) may be what is needed."

Rest of article:

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/personal-finance/christmas-club-accounts-1.aspx

mysteryhorse Oh say it isn't so! Labor Day was just last week. It used to be that Thanksgiving the ads would start...in the very old day. Then it became right after Halloween and then right before Halloween. The leaves have not even turned yet!

And other Opps. Got confused with the change of date in Mass on their Patriots Day and the 9/11 Patriots Day - apostrophe be darn in this case. I know one is in the spring and the other is in the Fall! LOL

bookbase/Sandy I've been meaning to mention that I was glad to read that you enjoyed The Butler. DH offered to take me but it was one of those days that I didn't feel like it - hair a mess, old clothes on, etc. Now that I have some new clothes I'll have to get dolled up and go out to the movies! Of course, if I want to wear them I will have to wait for much cooler weather! LOL

Opps and to pic a nic of my own it is the British MEMORIAL Garden, at least that is what was the "working title" of the Garden and is still called by locals but then that changed and later it was renamed. However, what the "working title" is what stuck for many of the locals as well as on many internet sites.

Originally the Garden was dedicated to only the British victims of 9/11. But Canada and other commonwealth countries protested and wanted to be included so it was renamed in a rededication ceremony a couple of years later. And it was to also the unity between GB and USA.

Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Inscribed with names of Counties of England

The Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden is located in Hanover Square in downtown Manhattan. It commemorates the 67 British victims of the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on July 6, 2010.[1]

Originally planned as The British Memorial Garden, it was officially named The British Garden at Hanover Square by Prince Harry of Wales on May 29, 2009.[2] On May 2, 2012, it was renamed as 'Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden' at a rededication ceremony led by the Dean of Westminster Abbey. This was to include victims of other Commonwealth countries who died in the September 11, 2001 attacks.[3] [4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_II_September_11th_Garden

History of British Memorial Garden at Hanover Square, NY (New York)- 9/11 Living Memorial

Purpose: . . .

Reason site was selected: After September 11th, Hellman visited sites all over New York City in search of an appropriate location for a garden. Although Battery Park was suggested, Hellman felt that this area was already quite full of memorials to various events and groups. She discovered Hanover Square in Wall Street and found the space to be enclosed and appropriate, only later learning of the rich British and American Heritage that this site held. It was named Hanover Square during British colonial times, as inspired by London's Hanover Square. It became a residential, publishing, and retail center of Manhattan in the 18th century.

http://voicesofseptember11.org/dev/memorials.php?mem_id=4

Images for british memorial garden nyc

http://tinyurl.com/nnvbyjc

What I found interesting is that the East River has never flooded past the point of where the Garden is located. Swifty did some research and in all the years of record-keeping it never gets beyond there. Even in the horrible hurricane Sandy, the river reached up to the edge of the garden and didn't go beyond that point. All the land in front of it is fill. Swifty's building is on the first solid ground there is and ground that has been there reaching back in time. Very interesting looking at maps that are hundreds and hundreds of years old. Reminds me of learning that the Back Bay of Boston was built on fill.

Back from a shopping trip for some clothes, not my favorite thing! We then has lunch at Red Lobster which is some place we have not been for ages. I should have ordered the coconut shrimp with pina colada sauce instead of what I did. The lobster was ok, the scallops were good, but I couldn't even eat the shrimp.

Hi David, Are you nit picking about the apostrophe and S? LOL As well as the change in date? You must be really bored or having nothing better to do or the whole change of date from under President Bush to what it is under this President now must have "got your goat." 😉 It is not like it was a long-established tradition and it made more sense to me to remember 9/11 in the same manner that the battle cry of "Remember Pearl Harbor" (Dec. 7) I didn't check that date so that might be another nit you can pick! LOL

Yes, I know about Patriots' Day in Massachusetts and Wisconsin and Patriot's Day in Maine. [note the apostrophe before the S in that case!] My BIL has lived in Boston since the late 1970s so I've long been aware of their state holiday.

The Boston Marathon is always held on Patriots' Day, which is the the third Monday of April. Nothing wrong with adding that it is a Day of Remembrance in my book. Helps to clarify what Patriots were are talking about. Of course, I am old enough to remember when Nov. 11 was Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day)and then it turned into Veterans Day. Names may change but the intent to honor remains in all cases and in fact had now become even more inclusive.

In Boston this year the annual rite to commemorate the 206 Massachusetts victims of 9/11 will also include the four dead and more than 260 injured in the Boston Marathon. A moment of silence for those victims will be included by the State house and there also will be tributes to the first responders.

Boston Marathon Bombing Victims Share In September 11 Observances

The families of 9/11 victims came together with survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings Wednesday in a special ceremony at the State House.

The annual Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery was presented to Carlos Arredondo, who rushed in after the April 15 bombings to rescue Jeff Bauman, who lost both legs in the blast.

Sweeney was a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, the first of two jetliners that were hijacked from Logan Airport and flown into World Trade Center’s twin towers.

Bauman was in the audience for Wednesday’s presentation, along with the family of MIT police officer Sean Collier, who was shot and killed during the manhunt for the two suspects back in April.

“I smile when I see Jeff Bauman and other survivors. They are getting healthy and they are very beautiful,” said Arredondo, who embraced Bauman as he accepted the award.

Sweeney was just doing her job 12 years ago, Arredondo said, and “I was just doing my duty as a human being,” after the bombings.

“I knew (by) the size of the explosion that it really hurt a lot of people. That’s why I rushed into action and helped out,” he told reporters after the ceremony.

Bill Richard, the father of the youngest marathon bombing victim Martin Richard, also delivered a brief message.

Observances of the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks began Wednesday in Boston with a wreath-laying ceremony at the 9/11 memorial in the Public Garden.

It was followed by a reading at the State House of the names of the more than 200 people with direct ties to Massachusetts who died in the attacks on September 11, 2001.

Rest of article: http://tinyurl.com/q9ljdvy

I will have to remember to ask Swifty what it was like in his neighborhood today. He not only lives in the Financial District but right in front of his building is the British Garden which commemorates the citizens of Great Britain and of the commonwealth nations who died or where injured in the 9/11 attack. He doesn't live that far from the WTC. We pass by it each time we leave the city. Someday we will visit.

Yes, I think Day of Remembrance is very appropriate to cover both 9/11 and the Boston Marathon.

Greetings from Penn's Woods where summer lingers . . .

For those who forgot and for those who remembered that today is "Patriot's Day" - named to honor of those who died or were injured on 9/11 - a poem repeat. It sums it it so well, rather like The Wall in DC. In a proclamation today, our governor referenced Penn's Woods role in the attack.

"Whereas the first battle in our War on Terror took place in the skies over Somerset County Pennsylvania, where 40 brave passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 rose up against their captors and prevented a strike on the nation’s capital, at the sacrifice of their own lives;"

The Names
by Billy Collins

Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
Then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
As droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
Among thousands of flowers
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
And each had a name --
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
And stitched into the cloth of the day.
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.
Monogram on a torn shirt,
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city.
I say the syllables as I turn a corner --
Kelly and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor.
When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden
As in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
Or cried out behind a door.
Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
In the evening -- weakening light, the last swallows.
A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds --
Vanacore and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z.
Names etched on the head of a pin.
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in a green field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.

.

Billy Collins was the U.S. poet laureate at the time of the 9/11 attacks. A year later, he wrote "The Names" in honor of the victims.

.

Greetings from Penn’s Woods where I seriously doubt that my sons called their grandmother yesterday and that is fine with me and I know with her. On Mother’s Day they do call and send flowers to their grandmother and they also call her for New York and California to chat now and then. And of course when they are home they visit her. They call and send flowers for her birthday and honor her in many ways. My MIL is funny about the whole ”Mother’s Day” holiday anyway. She has said that it is nothing more than a made-up holiday for Hallmark to sell cards! LOL She is not big on birthdays anymore either! I saw a reference to the day recently but wasn't sometime I was going to remind the sons that they should call. Better they just call when they feel like it than out of some sense of obligation to do so. Their grandmother would be incredulous there was even such a day.

I always sent cards to my grandparents on Mother’s and Father’s Day. Yeah, I know that technically they are not my parents but that was when grandparents were recognized in the ’old days’ before some made-up holiday came along. I remember standing in the store buying cards for my 2 parents and 3 grandparents and DH's 2 parents and one grandmother and totaling up the cost (money was tight at the time) and then I hit myself on the head and said to myself, "The day will come where you will wish that you were able to buy these cards." And yep, within 7 years I had lost all parents and grandparents and now we are down to just DH's mom.

Wonder if the phone, card and flower industry sees an increase in sales for Grandparents Day. I know Mother’s Day is at the top or near the top of the number of he phone calls made over all other holidays.

Maybe if stores started having sales for Grandparents’ Day, more people would be aware of it! Then you would have some people complaining about how retail took over and turned the sacred holiday into a day of nothing more than being about money, money, money!

How many people called or sent a card or flowers to their children and grandchildren this year? It is a much, much older ’holiday’ than Grandparents Day. In the United States it is on the Second Sunday of June. This year it was June 9, 2013 and next year it will be June 8, 2014 – so don’t forget this forgotten holiday!

”Children’s Day is recognized on various days in many places around the world, to honor children globally. It was first proclaimed by the World Conference for the Well-being of Children in 1925 and then established universally in 1954 to protect an ”appropriate” day.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children’s_Day

”Americans recognize Mother’s Day, Father’s Day… so why not a national Children’s Day? A day that revives, celebrates, and commits to our children and their future. Commitments cards; along with local, state, and national recognition are all part of this day… a day that has deep historical roots in America.”

Children’s Day . . . by giving faith, hope, love, and commitment to our children.

http://www.nationalchildrensday.us/

Jim and David I laughed at both of your grandchildren comments.

David A child’s birthday is very important and it was kind of her to remind you that her’s was coming up! She knew you would feel terrible if you forgot! LOL

Jim I am going to have to remember to check with my oldest brother if he has done his duty on that matter with his 3 young grandchildren-it will be perfect for him with 2 grandsons and 1 granddaughter.

.

.

Looking for new books to read?

Fall Books Preview: 22 Notable New Releases
Pack your reading list with big names and new voices in both fiction and non-fiction alike.

As we move into the back-to-school months of autumn, the always-appealing smell of new books is about to reach peak irresistibility. This fall has already brought a handful of talked-about reads in fiction (Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam ), in nonfiction (David Epstein's The Sports Gene ), and even in nonfiction about fiction writers (David Shields and Shane Salerno's Salinger ), and the remaining months of 2013 offer more promising picks. Whether they're big releases from best-selling authors or works by lesser-known writers poised to delight or enlighten, here are 22 books we're looking forward to.

Click below to see the list and a description of each book.

http://tinyurl.com/kezs2jj

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Webmaster/Curt The fix worked for me. Was able to log in on first try.

lookwhatbobfound LOL

June Kamm (dupo) I was getting the same message each time I tried to sign back in. On the second try it would work.

If you don't log out (sign out), then you don't get the message because you are already logged in/signed in and able to post. So the solution if it happens again is to never sign out! LOL

Now to see if clearing the cache as Curt suggested enables me to sign back in on the first try.

Nope didn't work on the first try. But as usual, I was permitted to log back in on the second try.

Good Afternoon from Penn's Woods where it has been a beautiful day.

June Kamm (dupo) What Nyad did is an incredible feat for anyone let alone someone 64 years old. I have a lot of respect for her - the same as I do for someone who makes it to the Olympics. They don't even have to win a medal, just getting there is a lot of hard work, skill and talent. Someone once asked me if I would ever want to climb Mt. Everest and I said no. It was a dream of his but it wasn't something up my alley but for him climbing Mt. Everest was something he wanted to do because it was there.

I think Nyad summed up her swim quite well in this, both as to what it meant to her and as an inspiration to others. Might not be something I would want to do but I am no about to knock what she accomplished. She made her dream come true and not all of us can say we did that. I like the message she has in doing it . . .

"It's been a thrilling journey,'' Nyad said, urging fellow Baby Boomers that it's never too late to pursue personal goals and dreams. "The truth is, we're just coming into our own. I wanted this swim not to just be about an athletic record, but a lesson to live life fully engaged, to be alert and alive every day."

In October she is going to swim for 48 hours in a specially built Italian lap pool in New York City's Times Square to raise money for victims of Hurricane Sandy.

carol (bookdelle) hahaha! Don't worry there are still young people who know what Labor Day is about as well as what unions gave us in terms of 8 hour work days and 40 hour weeks. If Swifty didn't learn about strikebreakers and the horrors in school, I know he would have in reading the many, many biographies and history books of captains of industry.

Like many others here when I went to school we started school after Labor Day but by the time I had reached HS, school started that Thursday or Friday before Labor Day. The main reason for starting a couple of days before Labor Day seemed to be in order to give out free tickets to the County Fair.

Schools here begin with week before Labor Day and the teachers start the week prior to that. However, the city school district changed their calendar last year and now start mid-August. This year they started Aug 12. and the change was made in order to allow more time to prepare for the state standardized testing in the spring. The earlier start allows for the schools to be closed for more time during the winter which is supposed to save money during the heating season. In PA, the older schools do not have AC.

Like many others here I remember the days of when everything had to ironed because perma-press was not a common feature in clothes. My mother had a Mangle Iron Machine which was great for sheets, table cloths, napkins etc.

I found out how great perma-press was in the mid-1960s when I wore a school uniform to HS and was responsible by that age for taking care of it. When the entrance exam was administered was when you also ordered the uniform and it was suggested that you get at least 2 navy serge uniforms and 5 white blouses. The only choice you had was all cotton blouses or perma-press. I ordered 3 of one and 2 of the other or maybe it was vice versa. Anyway those perma-press blouses came out of the dryer ready to wear but the cotton ones needed touch-up ironing, but since the uniform covered almost all of the blouse except for the collar, short sleeves, and a narrow strip down the front. Those wide lapels hide so much that all you had to do with the cotton ones was iron the collar, sleeves, and the strip down the front! LOL

The person to thank for wash-and-wear clothing is Ruth R. Benerito. In 1953, Brooks Brothers manufactured wash-and-wear shirts using a blend of Dacron, polyester, and cotton that was invented by Ruth R. Benerito, which they called "Brooksweave".

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ruth Mary Rogan Benerito (born January 12, 1916) is an American scientist and inventor known for her work related to the textile industry, including the development of wash-and-wear cotton. She holds 55 patents.

Personal life

Ruth Rogan was born and raised in New Orleans. In an age when girls did not usually go on to higher education, her father made sure his daughters received the same education available to boys. She completed high school at age 14 and entered Sophie Newcomb College, Tulane University, at age 15, to study chemistry. She graduated during the Great Depression and hoped to do research, but jobs were not enough and for a time had to teach at local schools in Jefferson Parish, west of New Orleans, before making her name as a research chemist.

Her further studies took her to Bryn Mawr, and back to Newcomb where she taught chemistry while researching advanced quantitative analysis and physical chemistry, organic chemistry, kinetics, and thermodynamics. While working as a teacher, Benerito took night classes to earn her master's degree from Tulane University. During World War II she taught college classes, and she earned her doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Chicago after the war. She married Frank Benerito in 1950 and went to work at the USDA Southern Regional Research Center of the US Department of Agriculture in New Orleans, where she spent most of her career.

In later years, while she was researching cotton fibers, Benerito taught classes part-time at Tulane University and at the University of New Orleans. She retired from the USDA in 1986 but continued to teach part-time at Tulane and the University of New Orleans.

Invention of wrinkle-free fiber

Ruth Benerito is most famous for her work relating to the use of mono-basic acid chlorides in the production of cotton, with which she has 55 patents, which allows for more wrinkle-free and durable clothing. She invented these wash-and-wear cotton fabrics while working at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) laboratories in New Orleans in the 1950s.[1] Before this innovation, a family needed considerable time to iron clothes. Benerito found a way to chemically treat the surface of cotton that led not only to wrinkle-resistant fabric but also to stain- and flame-resistant fabrics. The invention was said to have "saved the cotton industry."[2]

The secret of the invention is the use of a process called crosslinking. Cotton is composed of a material called cellulose. Like synthetic nylon and polyester fibers, cellulose is a polymer; that is, its molecules are shaped like long chains containing many thousands of atoms. The long, chainlike shape of the molecules is what makes cellulose, like nylon and polyester, a good fiber. She discovered a way to treat cotton fibers so that the chainlike cellulose molecules were joined together chemically. This procedure is known as crosslinking, and it makes cotton resistant to wrinkling.

It was first thought that crosslinking was making the cotton fabric wrinkle resistant by strengthening its fibers, but the amount of crosslinking used in her treatment is small and does not add much strength. She developed a new theory on how crosslinking works. It is known that cellulose molecules can stick to each other by means of the weak hydrogen bonds between molecules. She proposed that one side effect of her crosslinking process was the strengthening of the hydrogen bonds, which made the material resistant to wrinkling.

Method feeding seriously wounded soldiers

Besides her contribution to textile industry, during the Korean War, she developed a way to give fat intravenously to patients who were too sick to eat—a method used to feed seriously wounded soldiers, helping thousands of people.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_R._Benerito#Contributions
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Good Morning from Penn's Woods on this Labor Day holiday.

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Few Americans know what Labor Day is about: Labor Pains
by Mat Catastrophe, Charleston City Paper, South Carolina, August 28, 2013

Monday is Labor Day, and, like most American holidays, it comes with the usual prepackaged ad campaigns designed to get you out of the house and shopping on this long weekend. In this respect, the day that Americans set aside to celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of the working class is no different from many of our secular holidays. What's different, though, is what's missing from our national celebration of Labor Day, and that is any real notion of what it means to be a 21st-century American worker.

Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Presidents' Day, Independence Day, and even Martin Luther King Jr. Day are now all used to sell us cars and shoes, mattresses and appliances, hot dogs and beer. While these holidays rely heavily on the iconography of their origins, on Labor Day there is precious little mention of the men and women who built this nation during times of war and peace. It is a holiday that exists without any mention of its reason for existing.

While some people today continue to insist that organized labor is a socialist threat, it is important to note that organized labor in America took steps early in the 20th century to distance itself from the more radical, and properly socialist, movements for workers' rights elsewhere in the world. So successful was this distancing that we are left with a holiday without any real context and, more importantly, a working class with no real connection to themselves or each other.

We are constantly reminded in schools, in advertisements, and on bumper stickers to remember those who gave their lives in defense of our nation, but we are not taught about those who died fighting for better wages or better treatment in the workplace. We don't even talk about those who were maimed or killed while going about their daily work. Scholastic Publishing, for instance, has "teaching themes" available for Constitution Day, President's Day, and World War II, among other topics, but the topic of working people is nowhere mentioned. So even though we have a day set aside to celebrate "labor," we still are not taught very much about it.

We are not taught about the deaths of women and children in Ludlow, Colo. in 1913. We are not taught about striking miners shot in the back by strikebreakers. We are not taught about the harassment, torture, and murder of labor activists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and we are certainly not taught about how much of this violence was state-sanctioned, either implicitly through nonexistent investigations and show trials or explicitly through the use of law enforcement and the National Guard.

Sadly, today we remain blind to our labor history in America. Just as millions of Americans will use the long Labor Day weekend to go shopping — those cashiers are not getting the day off — thousands of fast food workers across America are continuing to organize strikes against their perpetual low-wage and non-full time status. If you can say that you think it is OK for the CEO of a fast food company to make twice as much in a day as the average fast food worker does in a year, then you should reconsider what Labor Day means for you.

The net effect of this blindness both to history and to the modern struggle of workers is that it insulates most working people from feeling any sense of class consciousness. We take for granted the idea of the 8-hour workday and the 5-day work week — so much so that both of those ideas are more or less meaningless in an era when so many of us work multiple part-time jobs or we're tied to our full-time jobs by our laptops and smart phones even when we are at home.

Increasingly, it seems, young people leave high school or college happy they won't be stuck at a single job for their whole lives like their grandparents, but they ignore the fact that this so-called freedom means that there is no steady paycheck, no benefits, no paid time off, and no retirement fund outside of whatever money gets funneled away into a 401(k) plan used to prop up Wall Street's continued economic insanities. We take so much for granted, in fact, that Newt Gingrich was not only allowed to insinuate that children should be put to work again, but he was actually applauded for saying it.

Labor Day, more than almost any other American holiday, is the one in which the largest number of Americans should feel deeply invested. However, until we decide to educate ourselves, and more importantly our children, about the history behind the holiday and the sad state of workers' rights in our country today, it will just be another long shopping holiday designed to sell us not only useless consumer goods but a useless mythology.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/m42xpcn
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Greetings from Penn's Woods on this first day of September,

This past month in book sales has been great! It was the third highest month of the year. Just a surprise in the dog days of summer when our book sales are usually at the lowest. August topped June and July. July had topped Jan and Feb.

This month we did really well in selling Swifty's Tom Swift books. It seems that collector's must have finally found us. We also sold a good number of Easton Press books for nice amounts. Heritage Press was ok - those sales ranged from $12-18.

For those who go to book sales, here is a hint about not turning your nose up at International Collectors Library Editions (reprints, similar to Easton and Franklin but much earlier and cheaper in many ways). These are the bonded leather with paper that turns brown and brittle. Usually they don't sell or if they do, not for much so stay away from them which I suspect many of the booksellers here already know. HOWEVER, over these many years I have found one that I have sold more times than I can count and that is the GONE WITH THE WIND. Those GWTW collector's are willing to buy them. There are two kinds, one has the top edge gilt and the other not. I consistently get $24.99 for the former and $19.99 for the latter. I am down to my last one, no teg, but it has 'problems' so may have to lower the price from the inital $17.99 after the next batch of 10% sales ends on the literature category. DH did pick up a Canterbury Tales illustrated by Rockwell Kent and that only sold for $10.00.

Top 5 Book Sales

Joan MIRO ENGRAVER Original Woodcuts Ltd Ed Vol I Etchings Catalogue 1928-1960 - $134.99

WADDESDON MANOR England Architecture & Panelling Catalogue James de Rothschild - $53.99

TOM SWIFT AND HIS PLANET STONE First Edition G&D 1935 Sr #38 1st Ed Nat Falk - $49.99

VOLVO 122S P1800 1962-1968 Service Repair Handbook Clymer Manual Automobile Car - $39.99

GILDED METALS Gold Silver Bronze Technology Care Conservation Techniques History - $39.99

Top 8 Cookbook Sales, with one a duplicate With such an ethnic diversity of the top selling cookbooks, I decided to list the top 8 (one is a duplicate with one signed and the other is not signed)

PA DUTCH Cookbook SIGNED Florence Shunk Sweet Things Pennsylvania German Ethnic - $29.99 (plus another copy unsigned for $24.99)

JEWISH COOKBOOK Soviet Union Immigrants of New York City Russian Ethnic Recipes - $24.99

BETTY CROCKER'S New Cookbook 3-RING BINDER HC Sealed - $22.49

LITHUANIAN Cookbook Knights of Anthracite Council 144 Pennsylvania Ethnic Recipe - $22.49

JEWISH COMMUNITY Cookbook Temple Oheb Sholom Sisterhood Reading PA Ethnic VTG - $19.99

Italian Cookbook SONS OF ITALY Recipes Lodge #528 York Pennsylvania Ethnic Food - $19.99

RUSSIAN Cookbook Ethnic Recipes From SITKA ALASKA Russia Cookery Cuisine Vintage - $17.99

And DH no longer laughs at my cookbooks - he now looks for them when I am not along!

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The passing of a literary legend . . .

Seamus Heaney, Acclaimed Irish Poet, Dies at 74
New York Times, August 30

Seamus Heaney, a widely celebrated Irish poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995, died at a hospital in Dublin on Friday after a short illness, according to a statement issued on behalf of his family. He was 74.

Mr. Heaney, who was born in Northern Ireland but moved to Dublin in his later years, is recognized as one of the major poets of the 20th century. His fellow poet Robert Lowell described Mr. Heaney as the “most important Irish poet since Yeats.”

In a statement, Faber & Faber, which published his work for nearly 50 years, called him “one of the world’s greatest writers. His impact on literary culture is immeasurable.”

Born April 13, 1939, on a farm near Toomebridge in Co. Derry, Mr. Heaney gained prominence in the 1960s after his debut with the “Death of a Naturalist.” His volumes of poetry include “The Spirit Level,” “District and Circle” and “Bog Poems.”

Under constant pressure to write favorably about the goals of his fellow Catholics, many of whom wanted a Northern Ireland free of British control, his work often dwelt on the sectarian violence in the British province of Ulster.

But he saw both sides of the conflict and never wrote polemics to support the violent campaign of the Irish Republican Army. He resented and attacked British oppression, but admired much in British culture and English literature. He was rare among modern poets in that not only the vast majority of critics and academics praised him, but millions of readers also bought him. By some estimates he was the best-read living poet in the world at in recent decades.

The accessibility of his work helped. It had references to Greek and Celtic legend, but was usually clear, often dazzling with images of nature, epiphanies of the soul. He wrote about bogs and rocks and streams and transformed them into the settings for the moral problems in a way that seemed to reach not only agnostic intellectuals, but also believing Catholics.

In “Digging,” the first poem in his first collection, “The Death of a Naturalist,” he exposed his method:

“The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I’ve no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I’ll dig with it.”

The Irish Times said in an editorial after he won the Nobel Prize: “Book sales may not mean much in the areas of fiction or biography, but for a poet to sell in the thousands is remarkable proof to his ability to speak in his poems to what are inadequately called ‘ordinary people.’ Yet the popularity of his work should not be allowed to obscure the fact that this deep, at times profound poetry, forged through hard thinking and an attentive, always tender openness to the world, especially the natural world.”

Writing in a collection of his lectures in 1995, “The Redress of Poetry, Mr. Heaney said: “It is in the space between the farmhouse and the playhouse that one discovers what I’ve called ‘the frontier of writing,’ the line that divides the actual conditions of our daily lives from the imaginative representations of those conditions in literature.”

In the 1984 collection, “Station Island,” he wrote: “The main thing is to write for the joy of it. Cultivate a work-lust that imagines its haven like your hands at night, dreaming the sun in the sunspot of a breast. You are fasted now, light-headed, dangerous. Take off from here. And don’t be so earnest.”

Source: http://tinyurl.com/o48lpmw

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Beth (Bethofvt) ~ Well I don't sit around doing nothing when I am on hold either. I usually read the news or this board! LOL

Beth (Bethofvt) and TreasureMomz (Sam) Ever since last year when we realized the amount we also have been retaining some of it. While we know that people don't always read the ME page, we have a statement there to the effect that in order to receive the full shipping discount, one payment must be received.

Lately DH has not bothered to keep a bit extra since we have had a number of repeat buyers for muliple Tom Swift books. He would rather keep them coming back then get the nickles and dimes so he just uses the .50 for them.

TreasureMomz (Sam) Please don't be offended but when I told DH about calling he did the math and said now how long will you be on hold to get .29 or .39! Too bad you can't just call in once a quarter and say, Hey, I had these 20 sales that I need to have the FVF refunded.

Got it! TreasureMomz (Sam) and now that clears up the case of the lost $100! LOL

TreasureMomz (Sam) Thanks! Remembered the same about those fees that are not refunded and posted before I saw your post. I'll have to tell DH that if we call...hahaha WE, right it will be me on hold for who knows how long!

Seriously I do appreciate the very helpful information and may just give it a try the next time it happens.

Learn something new everyday...

DH took his mother to the casino or I would ask him again. However, it did occur to me that ebay takes a percent of the shipping fee and so does Paypal. I have never examined out statements closely but I am fairly sure that ebay does not give you that percent back when you refund shipping. I don't think Paypal doesn't either so you would be losing money in the ebay and Paypal fees that are paid on excess shipping. For someone who only has the occasional buyer who buys multiple items and pays for each one, it wouldn't matter much but if you have a lot of sales like that it would add up over a year. The amount may be small on each one but it would add up and then one would have all those nickles and dimes of fees to account for if one wanted to expense them out come tax season.

Beth (Bethofvt) That is what I thought must have happened with my buyer when he said he was charged for a refund. I was shocked when he said it but I was more interested in getting the sale of 5 books completed than in inquiring more. Most likely had inexperienced sellers who didn't know how to refund properly. I am not exactly sure what my DH meant when he said that we lost $100.00 on refunds last year. I know that he knows full well how Paypal works as well as refunds. We have been around the block more than once or twice in over a decade. When he explained it to me, I understood but not sure now. I know he did say that Paypal doesn't take money from us when doing a refund, it was something else which resulted in the loss.

jude51 Or it could be that that since you are doing the relists via ebay that is what triggers it. I wonder if someone who doesn't use any listing program but directly lists to ebay gets the message no matter what type of shipping they use.

I had a heck of time with the buyer of the five books. Not him peronally, but it took a lot of emails as well as a phone call for him to finally be able to buy all the books. He said that the shopping cart would not work. I know there is a button that allows you to proceed shopping without paying right away. He was an experienced ebay but said he said that he couldn't get beyond the Paypal page for payment in order to buy the other books. He said it wouldn't even allow him to close the window which I do find hard to believe. Finally after talking to him on the phone, we decided the best course of action would be for me to end all the listings except for one. On that one I then changed the title to Lot of 5 books and changed the price to total the five books with the shipping and use free shipping. It was easier to include the shipping in the book lot price than to pull them all and weigh them and then change the shipping weight, if that was even possible.

I am hoping that he either just ran into a glitch over several hours of trying or just didn't see the button that allows you to continue to shop. I have a couple of unpaid books right now but they are all single buys so this better not be what happens with buyers who purchase more than one. However, just the week before I had sold 4 books to another buyer and that went off without a hitch. But he is a frequent repeat buyer from a Canadian musuem who always waits for us to send the combined invoice. We now 'scout' for him! Always keeping our eyes out for a book that would fit into what he buys.

We refund buyers who pay for each book also, but from what my first buyer said he has had to pay money on refunds. I didn't think the buyer would. I know we lost over $100 last year because of Paypal refund fees when we refunded for multiple purchases that were paid for one at a time. I suspect that is why I am seeing more and more in other people's listings the request that if the buyer is buying more than one item to wait until the seller sends the combined invoice.

jude51 I don't get that notice when listing via Turbolister. The only place we have anything about "multiple purchases save on shipping" is right in our listing template. DH did look into it when it was announced this spring. What he found was that since we don't use flat rate shipping it really doesn't suit our needs. We use calculated shipping and add .50 for each additional book. If we used flat rate shipping then we could set it to add .50 for each, but with calculated shipping ebay adds all the weights entered together and then you are to give what the discount would be. For example, you might say discount $1.00 to account for the fact that you don't have to use two boxes.

It just didn't work for us not to know what the total shipping would be, esp in cases like I recently had where a person buy 5 books. I suspect the buyer would end up paying way more than the .50 per book that we charge. I suppose we could put the discount in as $3.50 or something like that. That way might work but ebay's method with the discount on calculated shipping just didn't seem to be the best way of doing it to us.

Diane Interesting story about the couple. hahah about camping in the front lawn! Close to the bathroom. Interesting slideshow. When they said it was a quick one, they were not kidding. Barely had time to look at the pix and read the caption and it was on to the next one. (complain, complain, complain, lol). So many times slideshows are sooo slow. The photo with the snow surprised me when I saw it was in AZ. I know it snows in the higher elevations but when I first saw snow, my first thought was not AZ!

DH and his college roommate did a bicycle trip in Europe the summer after graduation. I think they started in Amsterdam then onto Germany, Austria, and France. My cousin did a bicycle trip around Ireland and one of Swifty's friends from high school did a bicycle trip across the USA, from the East Coast to the West. I think his trip was some type of fundraiser for medical research.

Opps, better correct that before someone else does. Amsterdam is not A country, but it is an A city! hahaha!

Bill (itsagas) How kind of you to pop in and correct me. Don't think you have ever commented on any of my posts before.

Austria, Australia, Amsterdam, America, and the list goes on with A countries. Much ado about nothing if one was following the conversation.

Diane Opps. Had Australia on the brain given that the conversation of people from other countries had been kicked off by my comment on the Aussies my son talked to.

Opps, got a bit confused with the hectors and acres in the last two lines to Diane. Her 17 acres would have been over 3 per person compared to Australia.

It is ironic that Diane was nice enough to let them camp on her land and then he keeps telling her what she can do with the fallow land! lol Of course, it may have just been his way of making conversation .

Greetings from sunny and cool Penn's Woods,

Helen ~ ah yes, the vastness of the place . How many European countries would fit into the US? LOL Americans are always knocked for not being fluent in a second language but there are plenty of Euoperans who are fluent in only one and they have the advantage of being able to visit countries near-by and immerse themselves in another language and culture. For them driving to the next country is often on-par with us driving to the next state.

June Kamm (dupo) ~ That is a great story! It also illustrates that while many Americans are often knocked for not knowing much geography of other countries, the same is true with the flip of a coin. I have to admit that I have been trying to figure out if they could do the 3 sites in 3 days - only way is stay in the airplane and look out the window!

Diane I am surprised about the comments by that couple who were from Australia, which is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. I would have told him that it is a good farming practice to let land lay fallow. I know Australia, like the US, has a lot of land that is not arable but I didn't realize how little arable land they had. According to a World Bank report, arable land (% of land area) in Australia was 6.14 in 2009. Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Permanent cropland (% of land area) in Australia is only .1 and arable land (hectares per person) in Australia is 2.1 (5 acres) Your 17 acres (6 hectors) of arable land wasn't far off the mark of what was for one person in his country.

bookbase/Sandy Oh these last weeks of summer are such a delightful time to be oceanside. DH and I were thinking of taking a trip to Ocean City Md next month but the best week to do it would be next week already! After that it is a week with book sales and then a down week but that following week will be going in the opposite direction for a camp-out with my two brothers and a couple of cousins. Instead of tent camping this year, we rented several cute new cabins with porches overlooking the lake. Some of my aunts and uncles who live in the area will then be coming over for a mini-reunion cookout.

Beth Wow, what a great price your son pays for medical coverage and bookbase/Sandy , the $200 isn't bad compared to what Swifty pays for his Cobra. When he was doing his budget prior to leaving his job, he used a Cobra calculator that gave an estimate of $293 which he didn't think was too bad, but when he got the first bill is was for $363! Yes, it may have only been an estimate but one would think it would be been a bit closer. The other co-founder gets his coverage as a cohabitant under his girlfriend's plan and it is also several hundred dollars. I am blown away by what he would have to pay if not for the cobra and when that runs out even the reduced rates that are to take effect are still high.

Health insurance in New York is more expensive than in much of the rest of the country and there are 2.7 million uninsured people in New York. IMO not only is more affordable health care a good thing but with the new law care (aka Obamacare) pre-existing conditions are covered. And I don't care if my tax dollars have to be used to support the plan - in the end we always pay one way or another for the health care for those who can not afford it. Be it higher hospital and doctor bills to cover those who can't pay and in turn pass those higher costs on to the insurers who then raise our premiums and co-pays. Or those who can't afford to go to the doctor end up getting sicker and sicker until they are in the hospital needing more expensive treatment. Other examples too such as work force productively.

I looked up the Howard Dean re: Ted Cruz 'Doesn't Know Anything About Health Care'. One of the comments left was that Dean was being nice to limit that comment to the health care!

There are 2.7 million uninsured people in New York.

Obamacare To Cut Cost Of Health Coverage By Half For Many New Yorkers

. . .

The average premium of the most comprehensive health insurance plans in New York, known as "platinum" and "gold" plans, will fall 53 percent, the date released by Cuomo showed. The figure is based on rates approved for plans from 17 insurers, including the nation's largest, like UnitedHealth Group Inc. and WellPoint Inc.

When compared with the other less-expensive plans, such as the "silver" and "bronze" plans expected to make up most of the exchange market nationwide, the average decline in price from current rates in the individual market is even higher.

New York's future pricing is largely influenced by its current market for individual plans, with health insurance more expensive than in much of the rest of the country. Only about 17,000 people buy insurance in New York's direct-pay market, a New York Department of Financial Services spokesman said.

That number is expected to grow by 615,000 over the next few years and more than half are expected to receive government subsidies, according to Donna Frescatore, executive director of the New York Health Benefit Exchange. Another 450,000 people are expected to sign up for insurance on the exchange through small businesses, she said.

There are 2.7 million uninsured people in New York.

Starting in 2014, average premium prices for a mid-tier "silver" plan will range from $359 per month to $691 per month in New York City, according to information on the governor's website. Currently, premiums for individual health insurance in the city run from about $1,000 to $1,500 a month, according to the state insurance website.

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Source and rest of article:

http://tinyurl.com/n7rmbwm

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Oh and now I remember what was the difference between having to pay a lot of money to keep Swifty covered under our medical plan and this younger brother. By the time his younger brother graduated from college, children could be kept on the parents plan until they turned 26. Swifty said that in New York, children can be kept on the parents plan until they are 29.

Helen Thank you for the kind words. It was a fast visit home, but I'll take what I can get. He is back on the road again over hill and dale to see his grandmother and then it is off to the train station for the final leg of his journey home. He said that he slept a lot better in his own bed last night than he had for awhile, with the exception of the hotel bed in New Orleans! LOL He also found it strange to hear the "sounds of home" again with crickets and train whistles while he was falling asleep. His dad told him that we could make him a tape and he could listen to the "Sounds of Nighttime at Home" as he falls asleep in NYC.

A few more tales from Swifty't trip he related this morning:

When they are in Vegas waiting to cross the street a couple of Aussies said to them, "We were apprehensive about coming to the United States because of the things that we had read, but we are finding the people to be very nice." Swifty said most likely the only places they had been so far were California and Vegas!

On another note, he said that the rest stops in the South much nicer than the ones along our interstates. However, he said that it did come as a bit of a surprise to see signs at the entrance to the building which said, "No guns allowed beyond this point."

SCROLL ALERT: Long post about Swifty’s Cross-Country Trip so some may just want to scroll on by.

Greetings from the middle of the night in Penn’s Woods,

Did the usual of early to bed and early to rise!

Swifty is home, safe and sound. He arrived just in time for supper! I had called him earlier in the day to find out what time he was arriving. DH had asked me if I had heard from him and since I had not, I put in a call. Had to leave a message and DH burst out laughing as he listened to me. ”Hi Swifty, your dad wants to know where you are. You know how he makes me make the phone calls.” hahaha! Yep, mom didn’t care, it was your dad forcing me to call! He called back and said he was in Salem and I asked what state. He replied, ”Massachusetts, we got lost.” ahahaha!

When he arrived home the first thing that I noticed was that he had lost weight. He has always been tall and thin but after years of living the high life in NYC where he ate out often he had gained a few. But now that he is a co-founder of a fledging start-up, money is tight and he has had to tighten his belt. He said that supper now is a question of ”Should I have rice or should I have ramen noodles?” and that instead of taking the subway to work, he now walks the 3 miles. He also said that he weighed even less before his trip and that after a diet of meals at Denny’s and Waffle House for the last 2 weeks, he and his friend were so hungry for a salad! Didn’t have a salad with dinner but we did have fresh sweet corn which he enjoyed.

Speaking of corn, LLB mentioned the other week that the corn we have in PA is so much better than what he can get in California. We were surprised about that, or maybe it is just that he is not near where it is grown and freshly picked. On Tuesday we are going to get corn that is picked while you wait. A friend of ours lives near some Amish or maybe they are Mennonites who have a road-side stand. Now not only do they sell corn and other fresh picked veggies, they have a sign which says if you are willing to wait they will go out to the corn field and pick it right then! Shades of growing up when we just went to our garden and picked corn for supper.

In New Orleans, Swifty and his friend stayed a very nice hotel for a great price (W for $90). In New Orleans, his friend was impressed that when he called the front desk to check-out, the front desk answered with, ”What may we do for you Mr. so-and-so.” And this kid comes from a well-off family so it is not like it is his first time around the block in staying in nice hotels. Oh and that reminds me, Swifty said that the friend of his friend who they helped move in LA must come from a very sheltered background (i.e. very monied) and that an example of it was that the friend just couldn’t understand why it was better for the server to receive a cash tip instead of placing it on a credit card. Guess it was his day for learning something new.

One of the funniest parts of the trip had to be after they left New Orleans and planned on staying overnight in Bristol, Tennessee. When they arrived they found it was NASCAR week and they cheapest place they could find was a Motel 6 for $200!! They decided to keep driving and driving and driving and finally found a motel for $80. Nothing like the place they had stayed the night before! This place had as my son said, ”Some good ole boys sitting outside at 3 AM with a case of beer.” When they pulled in, one of them asked to drive my son’s friend car which is a Mini. The guy said, ”I’m not drunk, promise.” They said no to the request. He also said that based on the sign at this motel, ”Internet Free” must mean ”Free of the Internet” not as they thought that you could get the internet for free since they couldn't get it!

The trip in the Mini was quite a trip from the very start. They had to make several trips to UPS just to take the boxes that were to be shipped back. It was packed to the gills and they couldn’t put the roof down because there was so much stuff in it and something might go flying out.

Swifty and his friend decided that if either of them ever does a cross-country trip again they would schedule more time so that they could take more scenic routes instead of interstates. He said the only time they knew they were in another state is when they would get off the interstate for gas or a meal and hear the accents and all the ya'lls. LOL LOL

So now Swifty has been to all the states in the continental US except for one; or in other words there are three states he has not been to: Alaska, Hawaii, and Arkansas. He said that he has no plans of ever going to Arkansas and that state can forever remain the odd man out.

Today he will visit his grandmother and then take the early train home where he has a lot of work waiting for him. He is still doing consulting work for his former employer as well as picking up new consulting work. Helps to buys food, pay the electric, bills and other things such as the Cobra while still being able to work on the start-up.

One of the best pieces of advice he ever received was from Win from Chicago and who used to post on the old ebay book board in the very early days. Swifty was 16 and had just gotten his first job at a bank doing networking and Win told him to start a Vanguard account or similar for his retirement. It is advice that the younger son took also. Although we would have advised both the sons about starting retirement funds, firs job at 16 would have been earlier than what we most likely would have done. We most likely would have waited for the first offical job after college but the early start got them into a good habit. hmmm wonder if Win would like to invest in the start-up – right up his alley! LOL

Things are so different for younger people now. The days of having a job with full medical benefits and fully funded employer retirement are long gone. Now medical coverage is often lousy and/or employees have to pay a large part and the same with retirement. ”It’s not your father’s Oldmobile” any longer. Even teachers and state workers no longer have the benefits and perks they once had when DH and I started out. I recently read that UPS is eliminating medical coverage for spouses who are insured under another job. Sounds ok on the surface unless that coverage is lousy. I once took at job and gave up medical coverage in favor of more money, but DH’s medical coverage was much better than what I would have been getting with the new job. I know at one time if you had to use it, your plan would kick in first and what wasn’t covered by the first plan, then the spouse’s plan would kick in. hmmmm I wonder how it will work with UPS and children…would they expect the children to be covered up the spouse’s plan or will they still provide that? And then the question would be which plan is best to cover the children?

I know when Swifty first graduated from college and before he went to NYC, his job had such crappy medical coverage that we paid out of pocket to keep him on our plan. At the time it as a lot more than what we later paid for the younger one. Something had changed but I forget what that resulted in the bill for the second son being less than the first.

stamphick/David Swifty said that New Orleans was rocking with music and places were open. He said the humidity wasn’t bad especially when compared with sitting in the Vegas traffic jam for 3 hours in 117 degree heat. He and his friend thought it was cool how you could just walk around with a drink in hand. They did wonder if that was permitted just on Bourbon St or if that was permitted in other parts of the city.

SCROLL ALERT: Long post about Swifty’s Trip so some may just want to scroll on by.

Greetings from sunny and cool Penn's Woods,

Expecting Swifty home tonight. Wonder if I will still be awake when he arrives!

diane (furtima) ~ Thanks for your review. Glad you liked it. I really need to put it on my "must do" list.

I read several reviews including one that did a side-by-side comparsion of what was factual and what was fiction. For example the one son who joined the Black Panthers was fiction - that second son didn't even exist. When I see movies like this I don't expect every detail to be true; otherwise it would be billed as a documentary. Similar to reading historical novels where some of the characters existed but others did not. I see those type of books and movies as something that might spur someone's interest into reading non-fiction about the era. That is what I would hope this movie would do for younger generations who were not alive at the time. While it is good that much of that era no longer happens, it still does for some and in a number of ways. The Civil Rights era is something people need to know about in order to better understand the past and not repeat it.

"Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it"
from Reason in Common Sense by George Santayana (1863, Madrid–1952, Rome), who was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. A lifelong Spanish citizen, Santayana was raised and educated in the United States, wrote in English and is generally considered an American man of letters.

I read that the VFW is calling for a boycott of the movie because Jane Fonda is playing Nancy Reagan. While there are many vets (at least they say they are vets) who are supporting the boycott and say some very nasty things about her in comment sections, there are other vets (at least they say they are Viet Nam vets) who praise her and say she at least gave a darn about getting them home.

One said: "I'm a Life Member of the VFW and an infantry combat veteran of the Vietnam War. I will gladly go see this movie.

I applaud Jane Fonda for her activities in the very necessary anti-war movement. The war was wrong and 58,000+ Americans were wasted for a totally BS reason."

The The funniest comment was,

"I actually met Jane Fonda in about 1971 in Okinawa. (I was in the USAF.) They were doing a USO-type show called "FTA" (Free the Army).

Not one of us gave a hoot about the politics of the thing - we all just wanted to see Barbarella in person."

hahaha!

VFW to Jane Fonda Foes: Don't See 'Butler'

Article: http://tinyurl.com/mtpbjuw

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Good Morning from Penn's Wood where the morning showers have passed. The last couple of days have been warmer than the beautiful days of the last two weeks but a return to cooler weather is expected by this weekend.

diane (furtima) I am looking forward to hearing what you thought about "The Butler." We rarely go to the movies (last time was "The Help") but "The Butler" is one that I would like to see in theater. I think it would be worth the price of the ticket unlike so many others.

diane (furtima) Speaking of Fried Green Tomatoes, my mother-in-law ate her first ones ever today! Two giant and heavy green tomatoes had broken from the plant. She thought they were still attached and wanted my DH to prop them up, but as it turned out they were just resting on the vines below. He told her how much I liked them and suggested she give them a try and told her to make them just like she would fried zuchinni. She called after her lunch of fresh corn and fried green tomatoes and said she like them and would be making more.

I was shocked when the book and movie came out and all of a sudden Fried Green Tomatoes were being hailed as a "Southern Dish!" I grew up eating them in the 1950s! My mother and I loved them. Not sure if her mother made them or not. In any case, we did not make ours with cornmeal which I know that is the way they are made in the South. I have ordered the batter on-line and while it is good, cheaper to just keep making them with flour, egg, and breadcrumbs. I'm not sure but my mother may have just floured them and fried. I remember coyotegal once said she never liked them until she made some without the cornmeal and then thought they were great.

This is a very interesting article for those interested in the myth behind the "Southern" Fried Green Tomatoes. . . I tend more to belive what the author of article found in his research then those who try to debunk him with their opinions in the comment section-Southerns who don't like this being taken away from them! LOL

Everyone may have an opinion but I give more weight to those who have done their homework and researched the subject vs those who are talking out of their hat. Not every opinion should be given equal weight is my opinion! LOL

The Fried Green Tomato Swindle
by Robert F. Moss, who is a food writer and culinary historian from Charleston, South Carolina. He reviews restaurants for the Charleston City Paper and is the author of Barbecue: The History of an American Institution and Going Lardcore: Adventures in New Southern Dining.

http://www.robertfmoss.com/2007/08/fried-green-tomato-swindle.html

Greetings from sunny Penn's Woods,

diane (furtima) ~ The description of where you lived in Texas sounds wonderful. Now that is a place I wouldn't mind living in Texas. It sounds as if you had a great day yesterday. So happy for you. We all deserve those special days, but right now you really need them.

TreasureMomz (Sam) So true about the ups and downs of any large city...small ones too! Very true about finding the great places by those in the know. The last time he was in LA was a quick trip and most of his time was spent on the freeway driving to a friend from back here who lived in Orange County. That time it was the freeway driving that got to him! He is a New Yorker now who either walks or takes the subway, or a taxi now and then. I'm sure if the 'right opportunity' presented itself he might consider LA, but I think if he moved to the West Coast his goal is San Francisco and not because that is where his brother is but that doesn't hurt.

stamphick (David) I emailed Swifty your comments but didn't expect it to have much of an impact in his itinerary but at least he has a heads-up as to what to expect. Neither he nor his friend have been to New Orleans. One time when he was planning one of his cross-country train trips he did consider taking that route but went instead the northern route. After New Orleans, they will head north and be home by the weekend. Anyway in reply to my email with your comments, he said:

"Can't be that much worse than the 112 degree weather that was Vegas or the 100 degree and smog/humidity that was LA. Plus there is nothing else nearby."

Now don't tell me about that "dry heat" in Vegas. I've experienced the over 100 degree "dry heat" of the Vegas and at the Grand Canyon. It is still hot, hot, hot! We camped at the the Grand Canyon.

bookdelle/Carol I thought you and Suzanne might be interested in this New York Times article about Leonard Cohen. It is rather sweet. I emailed it to shibadiva who liked his songs too.

My Night With Leonard Cohen

If that link breaks or doesn't work, try this one:

http://tinyurl.com/mfyfx3g

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Jude Wish I had read your post about all of free auction listings. I’ve been listing more of Swifty’s Tom Swift books, this time the Senior ones. Ones that I listed last week in the store have received a fair number of views but most of the ones I put up for auction last night have not even had one look. And these are not only First Edition but the highest number ones, which most of know that in a book series, the last ones were not published as often or even more than once. The early ones in a series get reprinted over and over.

I know it is the ’dog days’ of ebay and sales are slow this time of year but wow, right now I think we are either invisible to buyers or buried under a ton of other listings. I think everyone and his brother decided to list Tom Swift books last night – over 2 pages of ”newly listed” this morning (both Sr & Jr and both auction & BIN). Saving grace of yesterday in sales was a cookbook buyer who bought 5 cookbooks, and one of them was an over $20 one!

Well it turns out that I overestimated where Swifty would be. Thought he would be on his way to New Orleans today but he hasn’t reached Austin yet. His reply email gave his dad and me a LOL - literally.

”Middle of nowhere Texas. Literally not a trace of civilization in sight.”

Diane I am sure that you will appreciate the latter part of what Swifty said in a later email as to why they are behind schedule. I had asked if the reason they were not yet in Austin was if they ended up spending days and days in Las Vegas.

”We are only about 3 or 4 hours behind schedule mostly due to 2 hours in Vegas traffic and Texas being too big.”

haha don’t you love it – Texas being too big is why they are behind schedule! I remember my trip there when my oldest brother got married in Dallas and then we drove to San Angelo where my aunt lived. Thought we would never get there! Of course that is so true in other parts of the country when one is driving coast to coast. As my sons call much it, ”fly-over country.”

He did spend time in LA helping his friend’s law school friends move. He also said,

”Hollywood is pretty crappy. Horrible town in general Imo. We did have a nice drive on CA route 2 instead of just sitting in gridlock. Then got to Vegas, stayed for 2 nights and almost made it to El Paso last night.”

This is his second trip to LA and between the traffic and Hollywood, I don’t see it as a place that he aspires to move.

Greetings from Penn's Woods where the weather has been gorgeous and the corn has never been better and the same with the tomatoes. The cantaloupes are so sweet too. Farmers have said that just the right amount of rain has been falling. Tomorrow it is back to the Farmer's Market for more of both. While we will stick to eating it as corn on the cob, my MIL wants plenty so that she can freeze some.

Haven't had time to read the board lately but am sorry to see about salmegal's break-in.

A number of people on this board have dealt with breast cancer or are dealing with it. Way too common. Sorry to hear that another person has been stricken with it.

This week my sons have been playing the "Where in the world you are" game. Swifty flew out to San Diego last Wednesday to drive back home with his friend who finished law school there. They were supposed to go to San Francisco since his friend had never been there and they would stay with LLB. As it turned out Swifty's friend recently did make a road trip with another friend to SF so they cut out that part of the trip. Just as well because by the time they would have arrived, LLB would be back in Vancouver for his once a month weekly visit. So it was off to Las Vegas after a visit to one of the law school friends in Los Angeles. After Las Vegas it was on to Austin, TX where the brother of Swifty's friend lives. Actually the brother the same age as Swifty and was first his friend and then the younger brother became a friend too. After Austin, it is on to New Orleans. I think that is where they are headed today. Just emailed Swifty for an update of "where in the world are you." I can't wait to hear about his trip and esp. New Orleans.

Recently watched part of one of those dumb reality shows. The conversation consisted of mostly one person calling a former friend, "two-faced" and another calling another "hypocrite" . In both cases I thought the labels were very apt. Oh and when one or more would get caught in a lie, they would say "well at least I own it." shessh why lie in the first place? Oh yeah, must be either to make themselves look good or for ratings. Or maybe that is just they way they operate on a regular basis.

Anyway the word, two-faced got me thinking about the etymology. Not surprising it is thought to come from Janus of ancient Roman religion and myth, who is usually depicted as having two faces. Janus presided over the beginning and ending of conflict, and hence war and peace. He also looked to the future and to the past. The Romans named the month of January (Ianuarius) in his honor. But of course, today's use of two-faced is very different.

Good Morning from Penn's Woods,

salemegal Hello! You should stop by more often! I always enjoyed seeing photos of your place and the area, especially when winter was here. Made me feel warm! LOL

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Wednesday is usually our slowest day in sales but right after I said it to DH we sold 7 books in the morning and then 2 more books that evening. Also usually July and August are our slowest months but this July surpassed Jan as well as Feb.

An interesting book that I sold which did not quite make it into the top 5 was a 1923 Bridal Book. For The Bride: Helpful Hints Practical Suggestions and Valuable Records by Mrs. Ida Bailey Allen. It addition to the hints it contained recipes, menus, record pages for recording special events with headings such as "Our Marriage," "Our Honeymoon," "Wedding Guests," "Our New Home," "Our First Birthdays," "Our First Christmas," "Our First Anniversary," "Our First Vacation," etc. A very interesting look at what was expected of brides in the 1920's - sort of a "On Monday we wash our clothes" but this was laid out hour-by-hour what the bride should be doing during the day, including rest time and getting ready for the husband to come home from work.

Although it had recipes and menus it wasn't entirely a cookbook so I put it in Americana. Sold for $35.99. What was interesting is that the book has ads specific to my city. I imagine this "bride book" which was generic in content was sold to establishments in different cities and then ads sold to those businesses. Maybe it was promotional book given to the bride brought her gown or something. DH and I even recognized a couple of the businesses, which are no lonoger around.

I found the author to be very interesting, pioneer in spot advertising and first female food host on TV, and added this book to her Wikipedia entry.

Ida Cogswell Bailey Allen, (1885 - 1973) once popularly known as "The Nation's Homemaker" was the author of over 50 cookbooks. She was described as "The original domestic goddess" by antique cookbook experts Patricia Edwards and Peter Peckham.

In 1924 she was food editor of the Sunday New York American. By 1928 she was hosting a regular daytime radio show which expanded to two hours the following year. She not only performed on the show, she also produced and sold her own advertising; she was a pioneer in selling spot advertising rather than having a single company sponsor a show. The program ended in 1932, at which time she began a syndicated cooking show on Columbia Network. She became television" first female food host on "Mrs. Allen and the Chef." She was an editor of Good Housekeeping, writing the Three Meals a Day column, as well as Home Economics Editor of Pictorial Review and Woman's World. She was President and founder of the National Radio Home-Makers Club. During World War II, Allen's talents were drafted by the US Food Administrator as lecturer. She once lived atop 400 Madison Ave., New York City where visitors were able to see the "latest developments in homemaking", and could watch her staff develop and test new recipes for cooking. A 1932 promotional book she wrote for Coca-Cola, When You Entertain, was so popular 375,000 copies were sold in under six months.

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Top 5 Book Sales:

THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND Jules Verne Illus N C WYETH 1st Ed - $64.99

J R R TOLKIEN 3 Vol Slipcase LORD OF THE RINGS - $58.49

RUSSIAN IMPERIAL PORCELAIN EASTER EGGS Slipcase - $49.99

Paradise Lost: The Poem & Its Illustrators - $39.99

Portrait of a Town: Portage, Pennsylvania 1890-1990 - $39.99
(my childhood neck of the woods & it went back to area)

Top 5 Heritage Press:

1001 ARABIAN NIGHTS Illus Valenti Angelo 3 Vol (w/ Sandglass but NO Slipcase) - $39.99

LEWIS AND CLARK Journals of Expedition 2 Vol Slipcase - $29.99

FRANKENSTEIN Mary Shelley Slipcase - $24.99

UNCLE TOM'S CABIN H B Stowe Slipcase - $17.99 (went to France)

SALOME Oscar Wilde Slipcase - $17.99

Top 5 Cookbooks:

Italian American Recipes: American Committee On Italian Migration - $39.99

BETTY CROCKER Cookbook RED PIE COVER - $35.99

Treasury Of Italian Recipes: Ladies Auxiliary of Hershey Italian Lodge - $29.99

OYSTER FESTIVAL Cookbook York Pennsylvania - $22.49

Lancaster County Amish Cookbook: Over One Thousand Recipes - $16.19

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Diane ~ {{{Hugs}}}

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Gone From My Sight
by Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933)

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,
spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts
for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone"

Gone where?

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,
hull and spar as she was when she left my side.
And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.
And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone,"
there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices
ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"

And that is dying...

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diane (furtima) Prayers and strength for you and your family in this time.

Peace my heart...
~Rabindranath Tagore

Peace, my heart, let the time for the parting be sweet.
Let it not be a death but completeness.
Let love melt into memory and pain into songs.
Let the flight through the sky end in the folding of the wings over the nest.
Let the last touch of your hands be gentle like the flower of the night.
Stand still, O Beautiful End, for a moment, and say your last words in silence.
I bow to you and hold up my lamp to light you on your way.

Last evening 60 Minutes had a rerun but it is not one that I had seen before. It was called Bill Gates 2.0. In it he speaks of many things including his friendly rivalry with Steve Jobs. The part with him talking about Jobs is quite moving. In one part Gates father was with him and he gave him all the credit for telling him to give his money away and he credits his wife for being the driving force behind the foundation which employs 1,100 people. And as many may know Warren Buffet has entrusted him with his fortune.

One of the first things Gates wants to do is to provide the polio vaccine, malaria vaccine, and other vaccines to children and adults n Africa and elsewhere in the world. One of the challenges that was faced was that the vaccine has to be kept cool and where there is no electric for refrigeration and where ice would melt within no time. A new "super thermos" which used the same technology that protects spacecraft from extreme heat was developed. With only a a single batch of ice, it can keep vaccines cold for 50 days. He is also working on a new typle of toilet. A competition was held and the top 5 designs were picked. This inventing a better toilet will also be used in third world countries were drinking water is foul and rivers filled with waste.

As many know Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and while one could see many bookshelves filled with books, what was most striking were the shelves filled with DVDs of science series. He also carries around a L.L. Beane tote bag filled with books. He makes notes in them as he reads them and then uploads his comments etc on-line and others can read them. Another segment focused on his owning the DaVinci notebooks which are all under glass. He paid $30.8 million for a 500-year-old manuscript.

He said the document stands for one man's unquenchable thirst for knowledge — something that continuously inspires him. "It's an inspiration, that one person off on their own with no positive feedback, that he kept pushing himself . . . found knowledge in itself to be a beautiful thing," Gates tells Charlie Rose.

For Bill Gates, technology is still the solution. He shows Charlie Rose some inventions he's working on to help heal the world.

You probably know Bill Gates as the founder of Microsoft, the hard-driving tech executive whose software fueled the personal computer revolution.

You might also know him as the long-time richest man in the world who left Microsoft five years ago so he could work fulltime, giving his money away.

As we first reported last spring, we had the chance to witness "Bill Gates 2.0," the man you don't know. He is driven as much as anyone we have ever met to make the world a better place.

Gates told us why he thinks inventions are the key to success, and just what he intends to accomplish with his time, intellect and $67 billion fortune, starting with his plans to knock out some of the world's deadliest diseases.

Transcript and Video

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57595805/bill-gates-2.0/

I admit that I can be a bit of a Luddite due to laziness on my part to learn how to operate some of the new technology but I don't smash new technology either literally or figuratively. Nor do I think that people who use the latest inventions have brains of mush. Each invention takes us one step closer to the next and many, many of those inventions are life-saving when in the right hands.

Ever hear the one about the buggy whipmaker who said about the car, "It is just a passing fancy and will never replace the horse."

Etymology of the Day

Luddites

The Luddites were 19th-century English textile artisans who protested against newly developed labour-saving machinery from 1811 to 1817. The stocking frames, spinning frames and power looms introduced during the Industrial Revolution threatened to replace the artisans with less-skilled, low-wage labourers, leaving them without work.

Although the origin of the name Luddite is uncertain, a popular theory is that the movement was named after Ned Ludd, a youth who allegedly smashed two stocking frames in 1779, and whose name had become emblematic of machine destroyers. The name evolved into the imaginary General Ludd or King Ludd, a figure who, like Robin Hood, was reputed to live in Sherwood Forest.

In modern usage, "Luddite" is a term describing those opposed to, or slow to adopt or incorporate into their lifestyle, industrialization, automation, computerization or new technologies in general.

Come to think of it, Swifty started reading the newspaper as soon as he could read. It was a daily habit of his. Not all children grow up in a home where a newspaper was always on-hand. and now there will be fewer and fewer. LLB stuck with reading cereal boxes a bit longer! LOL If a newspaper isn't in the house then children don't get exposed to it except at school, esp. during the week that a unit is done on "Newspapers in Education." I know when we would go on vacation we had the option of either getting all the old newspapers delivered when we returned or we could 'earmark' that week of our subscription to go towards the donation of newspapers to schools.

It is similar with books. If children are growing up in a home with no books or magazines and not taken to the library, it is the school that tries to make up the short fall at home.

While the 6 and 11 newscasts have been on since many of us were young, in recent years there is the 24/7 cable news network that people tune into. Young people also get their news from the on-line articles - more far-reaching than just the local paper. From Boston to LA, one can read a variety of articles all on the same event and some (unless they are running the AP news) give a slightly diffferent slant to things.

I have read that a lot of young people get their news from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Colbert Report, both on Comedy Central. It is amazing the people who come onto the Daily Show - Supreme Court justices, generals, more. And the Cobert Report is a real hoot!

re: young people not reading newspapers. After my youngest son visited with my oldest brother the other summer, he called him "a walking Wall Street Journal" LOL Swifty reads newspapers on-line too. Seldom do I ever find some article that may interest them that they haven't already read. They both pay and download technical articles for their Kindles also.

Swifty says that when you find yourself reading the comments that people leave after the article, you know it is time to move on. I told him that least newspapers like the New York Times have more intelligent people leaving comments than what this city's paper does. He thinks the people who leave comments on the NYT are only slightly more intelligent than the ones here. Most likely just leaving comments makes him think the person isn't too bright...I better not tell him that I have been known to leave a comment now and then on our local paper site.

Another capital city that has never had a great section on covering legislative matters. DH and I do read it on-line. No ads on-line. Quit subscribing about a year ago but his mother still gets it so we still get the coupons. Think it was in January of this year when instead of it being a daily, it went to 3 times a week.

casinokat Forgot to say recently Congrats to Jake on going to Perimeter Institute. I looked it up and it sounds as if it is right up his alley. Is the whole family moving with him or just his Dad?

Diane Good to hear that you have some plans. It will be important to be able to be with friends and family later. . .

Thanks Beth ! I can always count on you to know what you are talking about on ebay matters. You and Jude I consider my 'go-to' people! LOL . DH said he thought it might be something like that but didn't think that the discount applied to international standard postage. He said that he saw where one could do that but didn't want to give it a try and have ebay mess up something as in undercharging!

Good Afternoon from Penn's Woods where the weather this week has been picture perfect. Sunny days, cool nights, and temperatures in the low 80s. It doesn't get any better than this! Too bad that rain is forecast for the week-end but as the line from a poem says, "Into each life some rain must fall."

On that note, sadly my aunt was admitted to the hospital yesterday. She couldn't move her left side - sounds like something with the heart. I did talk to her last evening and her speech is fine. Actually she sounded better than she did a couple of days ago when I talked to her - stressed at the time with trying to get things done at one of her DD's house (having in painters etc.). My cousin is a single Mom and my aunt watches the children and does a lot of running around with them. We laughed that between the tranquiller and the rest she had already received is why she sounded so good. She has been like a mother to me since my own mother died and I count her as one of my best friends. Today they are running tests. For those who think kindly of me, please keep my aunt in your good thoughts and prayers.

Diane It is so hard what you are dealing with. I smiled when you said that after doing some things that you felt better. My mother used to tell me that if I was feeling down, go scrub a floor! Well I just scrubbed the bathtub and I feel great! LOL I continue to keep you in my good thoughts and prayers. It is a tough time for you.

grano & mysteryhorse Loved the pics of the children!

grano That one of the girls at the wedding is stunning - one worth framing imo.

QUESTION: For those who ship internationally and use Standard mail: we have noticed that ebay is charging anywhere from $3-5 more than what the actual cost is. We, of course, have been refunding the overage but it is discouraging that international customers are seeing higher amounts, esp. given how expensive it is anyway. We have checked and doubled-checked and don't know why ebay is adding extra to the postage.

Oh and David It has nothing to do with people who think that Zimmerman acted lawfully or not. It has to do with the constant repetition of TM's past misdeeds. It is not like he killed anyone in his past . . .

BTW Zimmerman was no saint either but I don't recall seeing anyone mention his violent streak and the charges brought against him that were later dropped.

David I have seen at least two people bring up Trayvon's past misdeeds. Both times it reads as if Trayvon must have been up to no good when Zimmerman followed him and then shot and killed him. What TM did in the past has no bearing on what happened but it keeps coming up as if it does and that he must have been a no good kid.

As I said, it is like there are people who believe that women are raped because of what they are wearing...or because of where they are ...

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On a Literary Note . . .

Jane Austen to grace England's 10-pound note
by Danica Kirka, AP July 24, 2013

LONDON (AP) — Jane Austen will become the new face on England's 10-pound notes — a sign that there is plenty of pride and little prejudice against women on the country's currency.

The Bank of England chose the chronicler of 18th century English country life as the new face of the note, bowing to critics who complained that the venerable institution was ignoring women on their currency.

"Jane Austen certainly merits a place in the select group of historical figures to appear on our banknotes," the bank's new governor Mark Carney said Wednesday in a statement.

"Her novels have an enduring and universal appeal and she is recognized as one of the greatest writers in English literature."

Carney elevated the creator of Mr. Darcy's to the 10 pound (about $15) note within weeks of his taking over the helm of the UK's central bank.

The controversy began earlier this year when the bank announced it would replace the 19th-century social reformer Elizabeth Fry with wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill on the 5-pound note. Though Churchill is still revered for his World War II leadership, the change led to protests because no other woman — besides Queen Elizabeth II — would be represented on Britain's currency.

Though few quibble with the hard work the monarch has done for Britain, women's rights advocates fiercely argued that counting the head of state among the luminaries sent the wrong message to young women. This, they said, suggested that the only way for women to get ahead was to be born into the right family.

Tens of thousands signed a petition. Lawmakers asked for reflection. Some argued that equality laws might be violated.

The outgoing governor, Mervyn King, was forced to reassure lawmakers in one of his final public appearances that their concerns were unfounded and that Austen was quietly waiting in the wings for her chance to appear.

Austen, whose novels include "Emma" and "Sense and Sensibility," is one of Britain's best-loved authors. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of "Pride and Prejudice," which was celebrated across the country with costume parties and other events.

The Austen note will be issued within a year of the Churchill note, which is targeted for release during 2016. The present face of the 10-pound note, Charles Darwin, will become extinct.

The recognition can't help but be sweet for the legion of fans devoted to an author whose observations on money and fortune remain biting two centuries after they were first published. This, after all, is the author who noted in Mansfield Park that "a large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of."

Rebecca Smith, a teaching fellow in English and creative writing at the University of Southampton, believes Austen would appreciate the recognition — even though she kept a very private profile as a novelist.

"I do think she would have been amused or even delighted to know that she would appear on a bank note 200 years after her novels were published," Smith said in an e-mail.

"We know from her letters that she took great pleasure in finally having an income and money of her own."

Source: USA Today
http://tinyurl.com/kx9jf2f
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Once again I fell asleep way too early and then woke up and got to work. I did take advantage of my waking up at a little after midnight east coast time to call my son on the west coast! We rarely talk during the week since by the time he gets home from work and gets around to calling I am already asleep.

I don't watch the TV reality program called "Big Brother" but I have read some articles on the current season. It will be very interesting when some of those people come out of the bubble they have been living in and find themselves without jobs and the subject of much scorn (well, I guess there are always those who think like them and will think they were great for using racist terms.) Interestingly that this is all taking place at the same time Paula Deen has been losing her sponsors and not just for a word that she used. In her case it goes much, much deeper.

This article is a week or two old. I haven't checked to see what has happened since then. I do know that the host, Julie Chong, said she found it very hurtful and that it took her back to when she was a child and called names...

Big Brother: Hate Speech In House Sparks Fervent Reaction (the reality tv program)

A handful of Big Brother houseguests are in hot water – and not just those up for eviction this week.

Since moving in to the house less than two weeks ago, contestants Aaryn Gries, GinaMarie Zimmerman, Spencer Clawson and others have been documented using racial, homophobic and misogynistic slurs on the 24-hour live feeds online.

The hate speech – which has reportedly been directed towards the women, African-Americans, Asians and gays in the house – has sparked a fervent reaction from both fans and former contestants of the CBS reality show.

As a result of the documented slurs, Gries, 22, has been dropped by her modeling agency in Texas and Zimmerman, 32, has been fired from her employer East Coast Pageant, Inc.,

Source: http://tinyurl.com/qjh2b5x

In a statement, East Coast USA Pageant said they were in fact "thankful that this show let us see GinaMarie for who she truly is" having "never known this side of GinaMarie or have ever witnessed such acts of racism in the past." They added, "In a business where we are surrounded by beauty every day we are saddened to see something so ugly come from someone we put on a very high pedestal."

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/pvbaccb

In Aaryn Gries show bio, she states her biggest fear: “People with evil or absent minds that hurt or deceive others.”

How ironic.

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lookwhatbobfound ~ You say, "let’s not go down that road again," Yet you then make 4 posts about the subject. You might want to think about this quote, "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." as well as allowing people to say what they want to say instead of telling them in so many words to shut up.

Chris (cwc2337) Technically, it was not murder but there is no doubt that GZ killed TM. Why some people think that someone who has been in some trouble deserve to be shot and killed by a self-appointed wannabe is beyond me. As my grandmother said, "the road to he!! is paved with good intentions" and one might say that is what happened with GM walking around with a loaded gun and looking for anyone who he deemed not to look right in some shape or form.

So as far a murder Chris , no, not in the legal and technical. Interestingly the 6th commandant that most people have known for a very long time as "Thou shalt not kill" is now being rendered "Thou shalt not murder." The Hebrew word so translated does not refer to killing in general but to malicious and unlawful killing.

On the reverse side of the coin, you have Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet"

"O, be some other name! What's in a name? that which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet;"

Meaning: What matters is what something is, not what it is called.

From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, 1600:

JULIET:
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.

Bottom line: Trevor Martin is dead and there are those who will never change their minds that he deserved to die for his past actions; otherwise they wouldn't keep bringing up his juvenile past. Reminds me of people who think women deserve to be rape because of their past. That is why in rape cases a woman's past is not allowed to be brought up. Heck, you still have people who think it is all about how a woman dresses or that she shouldn't have been in a certain place at a certain time...

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rev-rev posted on the ebay BookSeller Board a couple of times.

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In the learn something new everyday department . . .

Several inventions, including the taser, have been directly inspired by the fictional inventions of Tom Swift. "TASER" is an acronym for "Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle." John H. "Jack" Cover, one of the brains behind the invention, named the Taser. Cover is also a former chief scientist of North American Aerospace's Apollo Moon Landing Program. Cover added the "A" to Tom Swift's name. The original character did not have a middle name.

I mentioned this to DH and he said that he already knew since Swifty had told him. Guess my email entitled "Who knew?" will have a return reply of "I did." Those sons of mine are always one step (or more LOL) ahead of me!

And if someone were following me on a dark rainy night, I might get paranoid even clean and sober as the phrase goes.

“Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you”
Joseph Heller, Catch-22

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lookwhatbobfound ~ And I think if someone wants a discussion to end that person should start with himself instead of telling others what to do. Never understood people who would post their opinion and also tell others no more discussion and drop the subject.

I remember someone from the very old BB used to do that. Post very late at night and say now, hush up about it, it is the start of a new day. Never understood why the person thought he/she always got to have the last word about something.

If you really want the topic to be dropped, you could have started with yourself instead of continuing it.

Diane Thanks! Another learned something new today. In looking it up I see that Mary Kay and Johnny were a " real-life married couple." I wonder if that had anything to do with it and why later shows in the 50s and 60s still had the twin beds for the actors not married to each other. hmmm I can't remember what the bedroom of "I Love Lucy" looked like if they ever showed it.

Also learned that "Mary Kay and Johnny" was the "first television series to show a woman's pregnancy on television.[1] In 1948, Mary Kay became pregnant. After unsuccessfully trying to hide it, the show's producers wrote her pregnancy into the show. On December 31, 1948, the Stearnses' son Christopher, less than one month old, appeared on the show and became a character."

And here I thought the "I Love Lucy" held the distinction of being the first television series to show a woman's pregnancy on television.

Well that is what happens when things are either before one's time or not a "scholar" of such matters. Reminds me of how often the media would refer to Sarah Palin as the "First Woman to Run for VP" - hey, do some fact-checking Geraldine Ferraro first female vice presidential candidate representing a major American political party (1984). She also was the only Italian American to be a major-party national nominee). Twenty-four years later Sarah Palin became the SECOND female vice presidential candidate representing a major American political party; but she was a first for the Republican party (2008).

Wow, nearly a quarter century between the two and that is it - as far the two major political parties.

lookwhatbobfound ~ If you would have bothered to read that article that I posted, you would have learned that he did NOT have enough THC in his system to affect him at all. THC stays in the system for weeks but the person isn't high or paranoid during that time. No doubt there are many here you will tell you that is true in their experience. The THC was a red herring to make it look like he was agressive because of it (which pot does NOT do, more likely to put you to sleep) and therefore deserved to be shot and killed. Just like some believe that his past actions warranted him being killed by Zimmerman.

All I know is that I am thankful that it was not one of my sons visiting friends in that neighborhood and wearing a hoodie as he came back with snacks from a 7-11.

Irene (lovetohike) ~ It's not that I am not a pet person. We had them (dogs, rabbits, pony) growing up. I would have liked a dog but DH didn't want one. I often wonder if was because the death of his dog hit him hard. Just when I think I would like a kitty or puppy someone loses one on the BB and then I don't...

And another Happy Birthday to Rose @memoriesofyesterdays !

June Kamm (dupo) ~ Didn't mean to 'step' on your post about the number of jurors but didn't see it until after I had posted.

diane (furtima) re: ". . . provide a fair possibility for obtaining a cross-section of the community.” It is interesting to note that the "6 man jury" were all women. Not exactly a 'cross-section' even in the broadest terms but I suspect there is some ruling about not being allowed to consider gender in the cross-section of 6!

carol (bookdelle) I've read the same about the current ”mary jane” being stronger than what was around in the 60’s, 70’s. I've always thought that meant "less is more" as in you only need a puff or two now vs more puffs in the old days. I would think it would apply to making brownies too - either you reduce the amount put in or you only nibble on a very small piece. Most likely given the way every thing else has gone up in price since the 1970s, reducing the amount put in the brownie or cookie mix would be the way to go.

In any case Carl Hart, MD, PhD (author of the article I posted), the neuropsychopharmacologist who spent 15 years studying the neurophysiological, psychological and behavioral effects of marijuana would have been studying the effects of 'stronger tea'. He received undergraduate degree in the early 1990s and his graduate and post graduate in the late 1990s.

No doubt you remember the cult following of the 1930s film "Reefer Madness". What a hoot that film was! In finding that article by Dr. Hart, I came across the info that an off-Broadway musical satire premiered in 2001 and in 2006 a film was made of the musical. DH is going to see if he can find the latter. hmmmm I should see if I have ebozo addy handy. Bet he would enjoy the musical!

From Wikipedia:

Reefer Madness (originally released as Tell Your Children and sometimes titled as The Burning Question, Dope Addict, Doped Youth and Love Madness) is a 1936 American propaganda exploitation film revolving around the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try marijuana — from a hit and run accident, to manslaughter, suicide, attempted rape, and descent into madness. The film was directed by Louis Gasnier and starred a cast composed of mostly unknown bit actors.

Originally financed by a church group under the title Tell Your Children, the film was intended to be shown to parents as a morality tale attempting to teach them about the dangers of cannabis use.[1] However, soon after the film was shot, it was purchased by producer Dwain Esper, who re-cut the film for distribution on the exploitation film circuit.[1] The film did not gain an audience until it was rediscovered in the 1970s and gained new life as a piece of unintentional comedy among advocates of cannabis policy reform.[1][2] Today, it is in the public domain in the United States and is considered a cult film.[2] It inspired a musical satire, which premiered off-Broadway in 2001, and a film based on the musical in 2005.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reefer_Madness

Oh and the young couple who sell the Mary Jane are "living in sin" BUT they of course are shown sleeping in separate beds - just like all married couples that era and into the 1950s and 1960s. I always thought it was so odd that on the Dick Van Dyke show they had separate beds...but by that time so did my one set of grandparents.

Now what I once knew but forgot - Which couple was the first to be shown on TV sleeping in the same bed. I am thinking Bob Newhart (w/ Emily) but that seems rather late.

diane (furtima) & Patsy (grano9) Thanks for the info!

When I was on a jury of 12 we had one lone holdout that finally came around. She should have never been on the jury in the first place. The first words out of her mouth when we went into the jury room indicated she had her mind made up even before she was seated as a juror. And after the trial she freaked out that someone 🙂 had talked to the press about the case.

June Kamm (dupo) ~ I agree re: call 911 and that is it. While he was found not guilty that does not mean that he is innocent of killing someone. Who knows but Tevor Martin might have claimed self-defense if he were still alive. I do feel sorry for Zimmerman in that he has to live with the fact that he killed the teenager.

When the jury asked for more info on the manslaughter charge they must have been considering it. Like you I don't know enough about Florida law but it did surprise me that it was a 6 person jury instead of 12. Easier to get agreement from 6 than it would have been from 12, which could have resulted in a hung jury.

It was interesting that in an interview with Fox TV, Zimmerman had said that he had never heard of the "stand your ground" doctrine that Florida has, yet on the stand the teacher of one of the criminal justice courses that it had been covered in the course and that Zimmerman had received an A. Also in one of the inteviews, Zimmerman said that he "forgot" he was carrying a gun... Yikes! Scary that this guy walked around loaded for bear but forgets he is packing. On another program people who do carry guns said they found it unbelieveable - that one never forgets that one is carrying a gun. Yeah, I would think that would be the most basic of gun safety - remembering that you are carrying and realizing that someone could end up dead because you have a gun on you - might be the other person, might be a loved one, might be you.

Again scary that this guy wanted to be a law enforcement officer but forgets he is carrying a gun.

What I wonder is does he still have a gun license...

As I said in some respects I feel sorry for him. If it were me I would change my name, move far away, and oh yeah, try to make amends and seek forgiveness of Martin's family. But the latter will never happen if the lawyers have anything to do with it since his seeking forgiveness of the family might impact on whatever cases he is going to bring or are brought against him.

Hard to believe that people in this day and age still fall for the old "reefer madness" but flipping channels I saw that Elizabeth Hasselback (now of Fox TV) on the program "The View" tried to tarnish Trevor with the reefer madness myth but Barbra Walters quickly stepped in an gave the facts about the THC levels found in Trevor and that pot doesn't cause agression, in fact quite the opposite as I am sure a number of people here know first hand. 🙂

Reefer Madness, an Unfortunate Redux
By CARL L. HART, OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR, New York Times, July 11, 2013

Was Trayvon Martin aggressive and paranoid from smoking marijuana, and did that lead him to attack George Zimmerman? That’s what lawyers for Mr. Zimmerman are arguing. He is on trial for killing Mr. Martin, but claims he acted in self-defense, and the judge in the racially charged, nationally followed case decided earlier this week that the jury could be presented with Mr. Martin’s toxicology report, which shows that he had marijuana in his system.

As a neuropsychopharmacologist who has spent 15 years studying the neurophysiological, psychological and behavioral effects of marijuana, I find this line of reasoning laughable. The toxicology exam, which was conducted the morning after Mr. Martin was killed, found a mere 1.5 nanograms per milliliter of blood of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, in his body. This strongly suggests he had not ingested marijuana for at least 24 hours. This is also far below the THC levels that I have found necessary, in my experimental research on dozens of subjects, to induce intoxication: between 40 and 400 nanograms per milliliter. In fact, his THC levels were significantly lower than the sober, baseline levels of about 14 nanograms per milliliter of many of my patients, who are daily users. Mr. Martin could not have been intoxicated with marijuana at the time of the shooting; the amount of THC found in his system was too low for it to have had any meaningful effect on him.

Some observers of the case note that the toxicology test also found 7.3 nanograms per milliliter of THC-COOH, one of the main metabolic byproducts formed as the liver breaks down THC. But these metabolites of marijuana have no psychoactive properties, and they have no effect on behavior. They can also remain in the body, like THC itself, for up to four weeks. This is why their presence does not reveal when — or exactly how much of — the drug was used.

For argument’s sake, though, suppose that the tiny amount of THC found in Mr. Martin’s blood somehow managed to mildly intoxicate him that night. The scientific studies, including my own research, on the short-term effects of the drug on cognitive functioning show how unlikely it is that marijuana could have caused him to behave erratically or have difficulty following instructions.

Granted, the drug can temporarily slow people down in completing familiar tasks that involve memory or abstract reasoning, and it can lower a person’s level of vigilance or focus. But research subjects in my studies have shown that they can make plans, exhibit self-control and cooperate closely with others even under heavy influence of marijuana — never mind when only slightly affected, as Mr. Martin could, at most, have been.

There is a broader point to be made, though. Regardless of how intoxicated Mr. Martin was, the research tells us that aggression and violence are highly unlikely outcomes of marijuana use. Based on my own work, during which I have administered thousands of doses of marijuana, I can say that its main effects are contentment, relaxation, sedation, euphoria and increased hunger, all peaking within 5 to 10 minutes after smoking and lasting for about two hours. It is true that very high THC concentrations — far beyond Mr. Martin’s levels — can cause mild hallucinations and paranoia, but even these effects are rare and usually seen only in very inexperienced users.

If anything, it is marijuana withdrawal that can increase aggression. But it, too, is rare and is mainly seen after abrupt cessation of heavy, almost daily use of the drug. We have seen no evidence to suggest that Mr. Martin was this kind of user, making it unlikely that marijuana withdrawal could have made him act aggressively toward Mr. Zimmerman. Remember, too, that Mr. Martin calmly purchased iced tea and candy from a 7-Eleven store shortly before his encounter with Mr. Zimmerman, which contradicts the notion that he was uncontrollably aggressive or at all paranoid at the time, whether from marijuana use, withdrawal or anything else.

There was a time, back in the 1930s, when scientific data on marijuana was thin on the ground. This left us vulnerable to exaggerated anecdotal accounts of its harms, especially its supposed tendency to induce aggression or even insanity. Newspapers and magazines routinely ran stories drawing a connection between marijuana use and heinous crimes, and some people even claimed it was a cause of matricide. These fables contributed to its de facto criminalization in 1937, through the Marijuana Tax Act. During Congressional hearings that year concerning the act, Harry J. Anslinger, commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (predecessor of the Drug Enforcement Administration) declared, “Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind.”

Seven decades and hundreds of studies later, we no longer have an excuse for indulging the myth of “reefer madness.” It has no place in our courts — which means Mr. Martin’s toxicology report doesn’t, either.

Carl L. Hart, an associate professor of psychology at Columbia University, is the author of “High Price: A Neuroscientist’s Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know about Drugs and Society.”

http://tinyurl.com/krykxsg

Helen I would think that while your store is on hidden vacation the days of the markdown sale feature will still be ticking away, which is good for you. You could check your Markdown Manager to see the sale end date, if you don't know off-hand, and then when you get back check it again to see if the date is still the same. I just don't see ebay as having things programed that the clock stops ticking on hidden vacation sale items. It would be good for you if the sale continued while you were having a hidden vacation. A little bit of a work-around that you can't end the sale. I would be interested in knowing if that is the case when you come back - ending date the same now and later.

correction: there = their. I do know the difference, unlike in that article re: bring food to children which in that case should be "take food to children." Seems that mix-up of bring and take has become more and more common.

LLB called last evening while waiting at the San Francisco airport for a flight back to Canada. He will be there for a week. His road trip from Vancouver with his Canadian friends sounded wonderful! They went to Crater Lake in Oregon which looks beautiful! "Crater Lake is known to be the deepest lake in the United States and the seventh deepest in the world." He said they also went to some gorge which was filled with huge ferns, I think he called it the Valley of Ferns but I forget if it was in Washington or Oregon. I think the former but could be wrong. Also saw some incredible waterfalls. They took the coastal route of 101 and went to the Redwood Forest. He had to work for a couple of days so his friends toured parts of San Francisco and then he was able to show them around on the 4th of July as well as part of that Friday. He took them to a spot to see the fireworks and they were blown away. It was someplace where you could see fire works all around you as towns and cities were setting them off.

I would love to visit Crater Lake. So many incredible things to see that I never will. Glad I have seen at least a few.

http://tinyurl.com/owzq6br

His friends' flight on that Sat was an hour before that plane crashed so they were not stuck in the airport. So many tragedies lately with planes and trains to say nothing of other things. That Canadian train that consisted of oil tankers that crashed into that town was beyond belief. Just horrible and 40 people are still missing and most likely will never be found . . .

Speaking of French fries, my mother had one of those devices where you put the potato in and then pressed down the lever and out came cut fries. She would then soak them in salt water until it was time to put them in the deep frier. Didn't have fried food a lot but when you are making fries for 6 people that device came in handy since even the older kids didn't mind making the fries! LOL Amazon has a number of French fry cutters for sale ranging from $15 to $20 plus a very expensive one.

A couple of years ago DH started making french fries by the two step method. Again, we don't have them often but when we do, they are made with the double step. He hand-cuts his fries.

Last year I tried buffalo steaks for the first time and now even the most expensive steaks don't hold a candle to them. Swifty had sent them to us a couple of times. My oldest brother sent us Omaha Steaks several times for Christmas which were very good. Last year we sent LLB Hearst steaks (grass fed). We were surprised when he called because in addition to the steaks we had ordered, several pounds of hamburger were sent. Guess it is a marketing technique. Buy the steaks and we'll send you free hamburger so that you can taste and order it next time too! Or they were overstocked in hamburger! LOL

Simply amazing! A couple of months ago I mentioned that I had sold 3 or 4 different editions of GULLIVER'S TRAVELS within 2 weeks. I said that if you see any copy at all pick it up because for whatever reason it was hot, hot, hot. At a book sale that DH and I attended on Thursday we picked up a "leatherette" Franklin Library GULLIVER'S TRAVELS. Listed it today and within and hour it sold! As I said when all of those first ones sold a couple of months ago, I could find no reason why GULLIVER'S TRAVELS had suddenly become so hot (no anniversary of birth, death, first publication, or movie) but there seems to be no signs of abatement.

Helen Don't forget there are two ways of putting your store on vacation. One where your store items are not visible and no one can buy while you are away and the other still lets people buy but adds a tag at the top that you are away and there may be a delay in shipping. If you chose the second, be aware that ebay still holds you to the next day shipping if you opted into that. As I mentioned last summer the second is what we used last year for a week long vacation but ebay had said nothing about still be required to ship within one day. We sold a ton that week and then ended up losing some 'status' which in turn caused us to lose the 20% discount. Got it back in about 3 months but it ticked me off at the time that ebay said nothing how it would work and still expected you to ship within a day even when on vacation. Of course there reasoning was that people misuse the on vacation feature and if they were to change it to what made sense, those people would take advantage and use to give themselves extra days to ship.

Helen ~ You can not. I read it in the Markdown Manager info. I do not have a link handy. I also just checked "the answer center" where someone had asked the question: "How do I cancel a markdown manager sale?" The reply was as I said, you can't and the person replying gave the same suggestion as I did to you about changing the price or changing something in the description. Changing the ebay title might work too, but I am not sure about that.

Speaking of food which has been the subject for the last couple of days, I recently read this article and thought what a wonderful idea. I knew of the backpacks sent with food on weekends during the school year and that schools and churches had also set up summer food programs, but those programs depended on the children getting to the location.

In the article there is a Photo Gallery of 25 pixs with the first 14 showing kids at the food bus or running to it. Other photos show the area and families. All the photos have short descriptions. This is page 1 of a 4-page article from the "Washington Post" which tends to do more in-depth articles. Well worth reading the entire article and looking at the photos.

I am blessed that I have more than enough food to eat and my children never went hungry.

In rural Tennessee, a new way to help hungry children: A bus turned bread truck

In parts of rural Tennessee, children depend on a free lunch program to offer what is for many of them the only reliable meal of the day.

It was the first day of summer in a place where summers had become hazardous to a child’s health, so the school bus rolled out of the parking lot on its newest emergency route. It passed by the church steeples of downtown and curved into the blue hills of Appalachia. The highway became two lanes. The two lanes turned to red dirt and gravel. On the dashboard of the bus, the driver had posted an aphorism. “Hunger is hidden,” it read, and this bus had been dispatched to find it.

The bus was empty except for a box of plastic silverware and three oversize coolers that sat on green vinyl seats. Inside each cooler were 25 sack lunches, and inside each sack was what the federal government had selected on this day as the antidote to a growing epidemic of childhood hunger — 2 ounces of celery sticks, 4 ounces of canned oranges, chocolate milk and a bologna sandwich, each meal bought with $3.47 in taxpayer money.

On the outside of the bus, the familiar yellow-and-black design had been modified with the bold lettering of the U.S. economy in 2013: “Kids Eat FREE!”

Here, in the rural hills of Tennessee, is the latest fallout of a recession that officially ended in 2009 but remains without end for so many. More than 1 in 4 children now depend on government food assistance, a record level of need that has increased the federal budget and changed the nature of childhood for the nation’s poor.

First, schools became the country’s biggest soup kitchens, as free and reduced-price lunch programs expanded to include free breakfast, then free snacks and then free backpacks of canned goods sent home for weekends. Now those programs are extending into summer, even though classes stop, in order for children to have a dependable source of food. Some elementary school buildings stay open year-round so cafeterias can serve low-income students. High schools begin summer programs earlier to offer free breakfast.

And late last month came the newest iteration: a school bus retrofitted into a bread truck bouncing along a potholed road near the Blue Ridge Mountains. It parked in a valley of 30 single-wide trailers — some rotting in the sun, others swallowed by weeds and mosquitoes alongside the Nolichucky River. The driver opened his window and listened to the utter silence. “It feels like a ghost town,” he said.

A 5-year-old girl saw the dust trail of the bus and pedaled toward it on a red tricycle. Three teenage boys came barefoot in swimsuits. A young mother walked over from her trailer with an infant daughter in one arm and a lit cigarette in the other. “Any chance there will be leftover food for adults?” she asked.

It was almost 1 p.m. For some, this would be the first meal of the day. For others, the last.

The driver opened the bus door and made the announcement he would repeat at six more trailer parks on this day.

“Lunch is served,” he said.

The driver’s name was Rick Bible, and his 66-mile route through the hills of Greene County marked the government’s latest attempt to solve a rise in childhood hunger that had been worsening for seven consecutive years.

Congress had tried to address it mostly by spending a record $15 billion each year to feed 21 million low-income children in their schools, but that left out the summer, so the U.S. Department of Agriculture agreed to spend $400 million more on that. Governors came together to form a task force. Michelle Obama suggested items for a menu. Food banks opened thousands of summer cafes, and still only about 15 percent of eligible children received regular summer meals.

So, earlier this year, a food bank in Tennessee came up with a plan to reverse the model. Instead of relying on children to find their own transportation to summer meal sites, it would bring food to children. The food bank bought four used school buses for $4,000 each and designed routes that snake through some of the most destitute land in the country, where poverty rates have almost doubled since 2009 and two-thirds of children qualify for free meals.

Rest of article: http://tinyurl.com/qbr4jdc

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Irene (lovetohike) ~ I bet you did find them interesting!! In the way watching a train wreck is! hahaha! Well, at least you had some nighttime reading while tending your cat. Hope the cat is on the mend or if no, then not in any pain.

Speaking of Swifty, I'll soon be listing his Tom Swift Sr. books with some of them going up for auction. Of the Jr. that sold so far, they paid for one month of his Cobra. His former employer had some consulting work for him and that brought in enough for another month's Cobra payment. I am hoping that his Sr. books bring in at least two Cobra payments.

Carol/bookdelle Yesterday evening we had another thunderstorm and the heat and humidity broke a bit, but started to rise again. We are supposed to get hit with heavy rain and high winds later today from a storm moving in from the west. Pittsburgh had flash flooding.

As I have mentioned before I grew up in the mountains of western PA. High temps and high humidity never hung around long. Maybe a week in July and then it would break and then another week in August and then it would break. DH kids me that even after 35 plus years of living here I am still not used to it living in a valley.

Usually we always went to New England for summer vacation but one summer decided to go south. Don't know what we were thinking. The first part of the trip was great. We had a cabin in the mountains, Skyline Drive and it was very nice, but then we went down the mountain and oh, my it was unbearable! What a difference altitude made!

TreasureMomz (Sam) & Irene (lovetohike) ~ That is not the one that people are worried about others reading. Many of the people on this board were also on that board. Someplace to go in time of need . . .and to post recipes! LOL

I left the other board some people are worried that others can read after my son was brought into a personal attack on me. And that is enough on that.

Had an interesting thing happen this morning. Sold a book with the address listed as Canada. Sent the invoice as flat rate envelope at the Canadian price. Thought it was an odd book to not only sell to Canada since it was about a town in Tennesee but odder still was that the name of the buyer was Asian. When the Paypal payment came in the book was going to South Korea!! DH and I debated sending another invoice for the additional $5 to send it to South Korea especially since the book was only $15 and that $5.00 really eats into the 'profit.' But after looking at how long the book had been sitting on the shelf decided that $10 in hand was better than taking the chance that the buyer would ask to cancel the transaction. When we checked the shipping address again on ebay it had been changed to South Korea also. By the looks of the address it might be a doctor who is thinking of accepting a position in the town and wants to read the 100+ history of the area.

Speaking of doctors going into small rural areas reminded me to the doctor who delivered both my sons. We were both at the wedding of the son of mutual friends. He retired a number of years ago from practice here but makes trips to rural areas in Georgia to deliver babies.

Another interesting buyer that I have had twice is one who uses an ID in Italy and then emails and asks if I will ship to China. As many know, China is now on the list of approx 9-12 countries that can not longer buy books and other media items on ebay. He must have a friend in Italy who lets him his ID to buy.

carol (bookdelle) ~ If what we are getting is any indication, the heat and humidity will continue for awhile. Our forecast has it continuing all this week with daily thunderstorms. I had high hopes there would be a break when June Kamm (dupo) spoke of cooler temps the other week and that it would come this way.

Yep, now I remember that casinokat said last year that the date was wrong for her birthday.

@casinokat ~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hope you have a great one!

Can a Company Demand My Social Security Number?
It's legal, and some will deny you service if you refuse

AARP BULLETIN

An excerpt:

The bottom line: You should ask most companies requesting your SSN why it's needed, how it will be used and the consequences if you decline.

If you do decide to provide the number, it's a good idea to request that the company not use it as an identifier for you in their files, but substitute something less sensitive, such as your driver's license number.

But there are certain times when you do have to give your number. They include when you:

http://tinyurl.com/kzcrh4e

Beth (Bethofvt) ~ I did remember that after I posted you do give your SS number to employers, but you are not required to give them a birth certificate or tell them where you were born. The latter was one of the questions that I was asked. True about how many more places started to ask for the SS number. I am thinking back to when I first started working and the number was not to be given or used by any one except for employers and then it seemed that everyone and his brother was asking for it.

David True about going into the SS office and having them bypass the Experian questions for you. One of the things that I was taught was you are are not to give out your SS number. In fact the info that I posted from the SS site makes it very clear that they do not share SS numbers with Experian. So even if you go into the SS office to set up the "my SS account page" they are not going to give the SS number to Experian. They, of course, may ask you for their own identification purposes for it but it is not something that Experian wants or needs or will ask. Same with the birth certificate info. That is stuff that SS wants in order to match; experian wants other info to match their records. I would be very leery of any company wanting my SS info and birth certificate except for SS.

This whole new thing makes me wonder if SS had a security breach or SS decided they needed help in providing that extra layer of security and the easiest and fastest way was to outsource it to a company which would already have information on you.

diane (furtima) As I said, I did not have to answer those questions because I was not setting up a "My SS Account" page. Those questions have nothing to do with collecting SS but they do have to do with the sub-contractor being able to verify that you are who you say you are in order to set up the "My SS Account page" which I did not bother setting up.

SS already has the info that you suggest and Experian has other info on you. Social Sercuity and Experian are working hand-in-hand on the matter of the "My SS Account page" Between the info that SS has on you and the info that Experian is asking for and already has on you, this is what provides that extra layer of security that Beth mentioned early on. See my post with the details at: Wednesday, Jul 3, 2013, 6:27am EDT; 10 hours, 19 minutes ago

It could very well be that what Beth said was the source of the problem between her and Experian is the case. The info that they have on her car loans that she paid off early is now incorrect and since she had two loans for two cars, she doesn't even know which one they would be asking about.

I now understand what Beth was talking about yesterday. She was working on something that has SS interconnected with Experian whereas my application to collect benefits was all SS and nary a word about car loans, education, employers was asked. Beth ran into a glitch in the new system and she isn't the first and won't be the last. Anyone who wants to set up the account that she is setting up is could run into the same problems. Just think someone who lied about education level 25 years ago to get a car loan might end up giving the true answer when trying to set up this "my SS account" page and run into the same problem or lied about employers years ago and now is putting the correct info in. Or told the truth years ago but now forgot an employer and it doesn't match the credit report.

I think people are advised to check their credit reports at least once a year to make sure the info on it is correct.

homechick My husband had and still does have a serious illness and now I do too. He retired early from a job he was not keen about - best thing for him because the state was changing the health benefits and if he would have waited he would have received less in health benefits right in time for when we needed them the most. As for me, I've been self-employed for nearly 30 years. Mostly part-time but about a decade or more full time (not counting ebay). I don't have an employer sponsored retirement fund, only what I socked away on my own and that took a hit. I don't see either of us living into our 80s or more. I just pray that we make it out of our 60s.

diane (furtima) The car loan question has nothing to do with collecting SS benefits or even applying for them or filling out the application.

The car loan question had to do with an entirely different matter - the setting up of a "My SS account" page to see what one's earnings are, change an address, etc.

Beth and I were doing two different things. I was filling out the application for benefits and she was filling out info for the "My SS account." The questions that they asked her are commonly asked by credit agencies to ascertain that who you are. They already have that info on file from when you applied for a loan before.

Helen I did a quick look about ending sales and couldn't find anything. The info on "editing" sale items says that you can not change the end date. Best suggestion is to do as you mentioned, contact ebay. You could also go to the ebay stores discussion board and start a new top re: Markdown Manager Problem. No doubt there are people there who are eager to help and might have a fix for you. Here is the link

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/forum/Ebay-Stores/21

The only way I know to get the sale to end before its end date is to go in to each and every listing and revise something - even changing a comma in your description or something like that will result in it ending the sale. BUT I know if you have hundreds of items listed that is not a very practical solution. However, you could first start with items you really don't want on sale - top priority ones.

If ebay can't do anything and there is no alternative but to let the sale run its course, console yourself with the fact that July (and August) is usually the slowest time of the year for sales, at least it is for me with books. People on vacation, busy outside, etc. I hope that this inital error in Markdown Manager does not cause you to never give it a try again.

June Kamm (dupo) On the SS Benefit Application form that I printed out, it says "If we determine that you qualify for benefits as a spouse, we may need proof of your marriage. We will contact you if we need the document. [emphasis mine]. Just wanted to let you know.

I went back to the SS site and nosed around a bit and found out that I will be receiving my check on the 4th Wed of the month. If your date of birth is 1st-10th of the month: 2nd Wed; 11th-20th of the month: 3rd Wed; 21st-31st of the month: 4th Wed.

I also came across "my Social Security– Sign In Or Create An Account" and one selects a username/password IF one wants an on-line account. I did not. It is NOT where one goes to apply for retirement benfits. I linked to that place on the SS site in an earlier post. think this "my social security account" is in place of the PIN numbers that were once sent out to people so that I could access account info on-line. They do say it is NEW. As I mentioned my DH never bothered with it. Not sure if he didn't bother with applying for the PIN number or got it but never used it to check SS stuff on-line. You can use the account for changing your address or direct deposit, getting earning records and estimates of what you paid into SS, etc.

The "my social security-sign in or Create An Account" has a section called "How We Verify And Protect Your Identity" The SS site is not being run by Experian, but they do help SS verify your identity for the purposes of being able to the "my SS account". I could be wrong, but I don't think that Experian has anything to do with the application process itself, only in this. At least that is the way it appears to me. Some of the info given about setting up this "My SS account"

Personal Information You Need To Provide

Name;
Social Security number;
Date of birth;
Residential address;
Phone number; and
E-mail address.

What We Will Do With Your Information

We may use an external authentication service provider, Experian, to help us verify your identity.

We verify your information against our records. Experian verifies your information against its records.

We will not share your Social Security number with Experian.

Experian will only keep the information we share for the period of time required by federal laws, regulations, or guidelines.

We will not keep the information that Experian provides us.

Experian may use information from your credit report to help verify your identity; this may result in what is known as a “soft inquiry” on your Experian credit report.

Your Experian credit report will show an inquiry by the Social Security Administration with our address and the date of the request.

Soft inquiries do not affect your credit score, and you do not incur any charges related to them.

Soft inquiries are displayed in the version of the credit profile viewable only to consumers and are not reported to lenders.

The soft inquiry will not appear on your credit report from Equifax or TransUnion, and generally will be removed from your Experian credit report after 25 months.

Once you have registered for an online account, you will not generate additional soft inquiries by logging in to access our services.

If You Cannot Or Do Not Want To Create An Account Online

You may be unable or unwilling to create an online account if you:

Have blocked all electronic access to your personal information with us;

Have recently moved or changed your name;

Have been the victim of domestic violence or identity theft; or

Are uncomfortable with or unable to use the online process for some other reason.

In these cases, you may still create an account in person by visiting your local Social Security office.

What Does It Mean When I See A Green Address Bar When I Am Asked To Enter Personal Information?

The green address bar at the top of your screen indicates the website has an extended validation certificate. This means the information you provide to Social Security will be encrypted and the owner of the website has been verified by a certification authority.

Extended validation certificates, and their green address bar indicators, provide assurance the website you are using is legitimate and safe, and not a phishing - or fake - site used to trick you into revealing personal information.

We recently added extended validation certificates to our secure websites that ask you to enter personal information. You should check for the green address bar and verify the website owner is Social Security before you enter any personal information.

.

And there is more info provided. But as I previously stated, this was not the application part of the site nor did I have to create this "my SS account" to fill out the application for benefits. That is a different 'tab' at the top of the page.

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount/

Beth (Bethofvt) Had a very long post done and after posting saw a correction I wanted to make. Deleted the post thinking that I had it on Notepad as I usually do but did not! I had typed each and every question on the SS form that was asked which would be all info that SS would need.

Suffice it to say that if you missed my very first post about applying for SS which kicked the conversation off, I applied LAST WEEK and there was 'no extra level of security' where the subcontractor was asking me about car loans, education level, or any of the questions you say you where asked in order to fill out the SS application. You tried to apply post Jan 2013 and I applied post Jan 2013 - within a couple of weeks of each other. And yes, I did scan that article that you linked to.

Maybe you just are not reading my posts that you don't realize that everything went smooth as silk for me last week and that I was not asked any of those questions. Sorry that you had problems but it was easy as pie for me and once again, this was last week.

After I was done with the quick and easy form, I printed it out as suggested. That is what I had typed out. All the questions that they do ask and not one was even remotely related to what you say you were asked. And as soon as I went to the SS site I was able to begin by entering my name and SS number, address, email, and then on to birth date, birth place etc.

Bob My reference to credit reports was that those questions sound more like something someone pulling your credit report would find out about you or that a credit report or data collection agency would either ask or know about you. Not a very high level of security imo. Asking your mother's maiden name would provide more security imo LOL.

Bethofvt I KNOW that I was NOT asked ANY of those questions. Those questions sound more like when one is trying to get a credit report. All of the questions that I was asked were ones that you would expect SS to be asking, birth date, town of birth, married or not, etc. SS doesn't even have to ask if you have had previous employers since they have that all in their records.

Wow beth Amazing. Everything seems to get subcontracted out anymore. I'll have to email my cousin asking abut it. He works for SS.

As far as Pin number etc. DH said there was something that he remembers about them saying that if he wanted to access his info later they would mail him one. But neither of us needed a PIN number in order to fill out the application. When I checked to see the status today, I entered the account/confirmation number that they gave me on line. It is something that one should copy because the print out that you do at the end does not have it. They also say that a SS employee will never ask for that number.

As I said, for me it was fast and easy. There is info about not staying on a page too long but I think they give you 25 minutes and the whole process didn't even take that long.

Helen Yikes about everything going on sale. I was afraid you might have that happen as it is easy to do the first time around. Good to hear that you found a fix for it.

Good Evening from sunny Penn's Woods,

Received an email this morning from LLB that he is 'safe and sound' in San Francisco. I always appreciate receiving those emails, texts, phone calls when the sons have been on the road. He said that he is looking forward to telling us all about the trip so it sounds like they had a good time. His friends are staying until Sat. From the sounds of it, he will be working and they will tour SF but he will hang out with them in the evenings and then on the 4th of July take them to the East Bay. He was suprised to arrive and find out about the transit strike.

Helen Happy to have been able to help. It usually takes about an hour for ebay to process. Also don't forget that if you go in to revise anything at all on an item on sale it voids the sale. I don't know if you use double categories for you store but I do. For instance I have the store category of Cookbooks and then one called Hobbies/Sports. When I list a cookbook, I list it in both. If I put the latter on sale, then all the cookbooks go on sale too. Another thing that I have recently started to do is to break my larger categories into two or three. Right now I have that with cookbooks and Fine Bindings/Leather. I have a large number of Heritage Press books: some are from late last summer and others are from this spring. When I run the sales I have them labeled as A and B. The A are the older ones and will go on a 15% discount before I put the B ones on 15%. Of course, you have to watch the date of when one is soon ending so that you can get the other sub-set on sale so that the two don't merge. I've found it very help also with the cookbooks.

carol (bookdelle) I am so glad that Suzanne found another position! I remember you saying that her contract was not renewed. It sounds as if she will be closer to you. Oh I just checked out the web site of the college. Looks great and I see that it is in the area where bancheebabe lives.

mysteryhorse & carol (bookdelle) hmmm it sounds as if I won't be getting my check until the 4th Wednesday of the month. My birthday is Sept. 23 and when I filed last Monday it said that I would be eligible on Oct 20.

I knew approx. how much I would be receiving based on the statement that everyone receives every other year (or is it every year?) but the site gives you the exact amount you will receive. Mine was a wee bit higher than I expected. I guess the COLA. It also tells you that after 5 days you can check the status. I checked this morning but it had not processed but to be fair, the site had said that Tuesday would be "Day 1" or something to that effect instead of the day I filled out the form. DH's birthday is Nov 3 and he got his first check the 2nd Wed of Jan.

The days of the government sending out checks on the first of the month to everyone must be long over. My MIL's birthday is on the 25th of the month but she started receiving SS decades ago. What with all the baby boomers applying, they must have started to stagger them. I remember the days when one avoided going to the bank on the 3rd of the month since retirees would have received their checks in the mail by that day.

bethofvt I agree with Bob SS runs its own site. "Experian's principal lines of business are credit services, marketing services, decision analytics and consumer services. The company collects information on people, businesses, motor vehicles and insurance. It also collects 'lifestyle' data from on- and off-line surveys."

Link to SS Home Page

http://www.ssa.gov/

Link on How To Apply Online For Social Security Retirement Benefits

http://www.ssa.gov/planners/about.htm

Link for Benefit Application

https://secure.ssa.gov/iCLM/rib

Helen Re: my original post below: once you get to the first page of "Markdown Manager" there most likely will be another link which says "Selectively putting items on sale is an excellent way to promote your listings and attract new buyers. Learn more about Markdown Manager." You click on that "learn more" and that is when it takes you to the create your sale page. Not sure if it will be the same.

What is nice is that on that first page of "Markdown Manager" it keeps a running list of sales that you have had and the start and end dates, percent as well as the number of items in that category, even the ones that are inactive (expired). Makes it very easy to know that it has been several months since you had a sale of a certain category. The way I handle mine is that when I do a new sale of a category that expired several months ago, I then delete the inactive one. Not sure how many sales the page will keep track of or for how long, but I do know that once in awhile very old ones will disappear.

Also when a sale is active you can click on the number (ones selected) next to the 'title/category' line and scroll to the bottom of the page where it will show the same number and also a lower number which had been part of the selected ones but sold.

A very, very early Good Morning from Penn's Woods where yesterday afternoon was free of thunderstorms. One of those evenings where I fell asleep very early and am now up working.

Last week I applied for my SS retirement benefits. Taking them early because who knows I might be dead by 66 1/2 or 70. DH and I have the same attitude about not waiting. We need the money now, not down the road when we may or may not still be around to collect. We know that all the 'financial planners' advise waiting as long as possible but it makes no sense to us. Even if you don't need the money at 62 or 66 1/2, wouldn't you do better taking the money and investing it yourself? Strange how when people talk about doing away with SS and letting people invest the money themselves (as if the people making little would have the spare cash or some would have the know-how) are often the same ones telling people to wait as long as possible to take the benefits. My grandfathers made out like bandits with SS. Paid in only part of their lives and then one lived to be 94 and the other 100! For those who don't know, SS DOES NOT send you any notification that you are eligible to apply. The earliest you can apply is 3 months before your 62nd birthday, but you won't get a check until more than a month after that birthday and it seems they are getting later and later in the dates that the checks are deposited. For example, my MIL check is promptly deposited on the first of the month whereas DH's is the 2nd Wed of the month. Hope mine is the same as his. We will be rich for one day! LOL! But who knows, mine could be pushed back even more than his.

Applying for SS was quick and easy. When DH applied he did have to go to the SS office with his paperwork since he was born in another country, but given that he has been here since he was two he does have a long work history! LOL Even his parents who came in their mid-20s had a very long work history. Funniest part of filling out the form on-line was when it came to the part asking for the town where I was married. We were married in a small church in the middle of corn fields out in the boondocks. We had no idea where we were even then! hahaha! Our college chaplin married us and it was the church he had moved on to after his stint at the college. Even through DH had filled his out last year, he didn't remember so it was down to the safe to get the marriage license.

David Sorry to hear about your oldest DD, but very glad that she is ok. Well, those temps are too hot for me to handle! I don't care what they say about "dry heat." I have been in the desert when temps soared. It is hot! Even here the other day we had very, very low humdidty but it was 99 degrees and too hot to be outside.

I have been meaning to ask for the longest time about Karen. What has she been up to since her return from Africa?

Helen I didn't check if you have an ebay store, but the Markdown Manager is for store owners. I don't know if your "My ebay" page is set up the same as mine, but here is how it works for me. First I go to "My ebay" page and then on the right hand side down near the bottom is "Manage My Store" and under that is "Markdown Manager". Click on that link and it will take you to "Markdown Manager: Create your sale." There is where you enter all the info such as how long, the percent, the title of your sale, etc. There is a drop down box that has a list of YOUR store categories and you select which ONE you want. You can click the box that says put them all on sale in that one category or not. If not, there is a page you then select which ones you want on sale. You can either offer a percentage off the original price or discount the original price by a set amount.

We did do a sale last year for 25% off. DH went in and selected not according to category but selected individual books that had been sitting on the shelf for years.

I put at least one category on sale each week, but now that summer is here and things are slow I have been doing two. One on Tuesday and one on Thursday or Friday. I always put a category on sale at the latter part of the week since not only do I think it stirs things up but the sale entices the weekend shoppers.

Took me forever to find the link to the tutorial.

http://tinyurl.com/cn42t2f

http://pages.ebay.com/stores/markdown-manager/tutorial/index.html

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I'll do my best to help.