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I'm expecting that I'll probably be getting a hip replacement within the next year. That doesn't concern me much, because it's a common procedure these days, but I wonder if anyone here has been able to resume running after ward? I've been a runner (maybe you'd just call me a jogger ;) ) since...

In the past week I visited two old friends (older than me, anyway). Both male, one is 83 and the other is 86. The 83-year-old has never been at all active physically. He has spent his life in academia and achieved great success there, but never participated in any physical activity beyond...

Came across an interesting paper that looked at state income taxes being an incentive for high earners to move out. Seems intuitive, but I liked how they studied it. Abstract from the paper: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pol.20210388

A particularly nasty new attack goes after your Apple ID and keeps popping up alerts asking you to reset your password. It can happen on almost any Apple device and you may be forced to click "Don't Allow" over 100 times before it quits. Stay safe out there! Warning: Apple Users Targeted in...

I recently came across this list, which I found useful since I can never remember which is which, and thought it might be interesting to see what our mix is here. I left the first and the last off the poll, since they are unlikely to be represented on the forum. Personally, I'm a Boomer, my...

We have a bell that was in use for decades at a family farm. It was cast in 1881 at a local bell foundry and was used as the dinner bell to summon the workers in from the fields. It's in very good condition, and I personally think it has a very pleasing tone when rung. But we would like to find...

Seriously considering the big Rocky Mountaineer train excursion in BC and Alberta. Has anyone here done that in recent years? I'd love to hear any tips, cautions, or advice about it.

About four years ago I upgraded my Kindle experience with the Oasis model. It was Amazon's top of the line unit at the time, and I've been happily using it on pretty much a daily basis. I almost always have at least half a dozen books going at once on it. The other day I told it to download a...

Madison Marsh is an active duty Air Force 2nd Lieutenant, an Academy graduate with a physics degree, a pilot, a grad student at the Harvard Kennedy school, and founder of a pancreatic cancer research fund. I just think it's so cool that we have moved on from "what does she look like in a...

A friend is asking for help getting a new computer, and since it's Windows-based, my Apple expertise is no help. I think Geek Squad handles things like this (but I don't know if it's more than they want to do). Since they're part of Best Buy, I imagine they could find a good machine at a good...

A very interesting study recently published in the NEJM: Global Effect of Modifiable Risk Factors on Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality A few takeaways: individual-level data from 112 cohort studies conducted in 34 countries and 8 geographic regions 1,518,028 participants (54.1% of whom were...

In the last few weeks I have made two online purchases in the UK on two different credit cards. Nothing substantial, both were in the neighborhood of £100 or so. The one on my Chase Sapphire card was at roughly 0.1% over the midmarket exchange rate for that day (according to XE.com). The one...

I had a credit card with BofA that I rarely used, so I was surprised last month when a fraudulent purchase showed on a statement. Called them and went through the routine of disputing it and getting a new card issued. They sent all the proper messages, applying a temporary credit for the amount...

For the veterans in the group, here is a great list of specials coming up for you on Saturday (and Friday in some cases). Some of them may surprise you: 2023 Veterans Day discounts and freebies (and thank you!)

Nice piece in the WSJ here. Paywalled, I'm sure, but the main takeaways: If you can make it past 90, genetics goes up from 25% of the solution to more like 50%. There are about 109,000 people in the US now over 100 years of age, up from 65,000 ten years ago. Despite the decline in overall...

Interesting article in the Economist about the "supercentenarian hotspots" (aka the famous "Blue Zones"). But a new study raises an important reason for skepticism. Paywalled, but a few points: Places claiming to be centenarian hotspots may just have bad data A correlating bit of evidence...

My father left a large number of coins that he had saved over the years. Nothing actually valuable, just your basic hoard. I've let them sit in a drawer ever since he died, quite a long time ago, and finally decided I should get rid of them. Having no experience, I wanted to try a test sale, so...

I walked into a Costco store today, not my usual one but where I am traveling and a young man approached me with the inevitable iPad (today's version of a clipboard). It seems Costco is running a promotion, and after answering a few questions (who is my carrier, how many lines, etc.) he offered...

We had an interesting discussion about this some years ago. I was surprised then at how well traveled some of us were, so I though it might be fun to update it as many of us are now getting back to traveling again after the pandemic times. For the purpose of this, we can use the "country"...

I've never looked at currency conversion rates closely before, but when in London last month I decided to check on how much the exchange offices actually charge. So I checked the offered rates at two places, one near Harrods and the other in Covent Garden. Averaging them and comparing with the...

Interesting item about how millions of cheap Android phones have malware installed on them before they even leave the factory. Millions of mobile phones come pre-infected with malware The major manufacturers of higher end phones seem to have this covered in most cases, but those looking for a...

I'll be in Jersey for a few days in June, and wonder if anyone has a particular "off the beaten path" recommendation. I think I have all the typical tourist spots scoped out for visiting.

DW has a friend who seems to be in the beginning stage of some sort of dementia. The servers at her favorite restaurant recently talked to her when she wrote a check and signed some strange, unknown name to it. That got her attention, and she started to realize that she is beginning to lose it...

If your skies are clear and you have a decent view toward the west, you may be able to see five planets just after sunset on Monday. Good binoculars strongly recommended. "On March 27, a planetary parade made up of Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Uranus will march across the sky." 5 planets...

I got an email recently from a charity we have donated to, and attached to it was an Invoice showing the Amount Due as the amount we gave them last year, and a Due Date of 30 days from now. The text said they "hope I will remain part of their community" but their hopes have now been dashed. I...