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These mega-cities are incredibly congested, all around the world. But they are unwilling to give up their grip on the businesses that force people to go into them. New York City is a wonderful place, but super crowded, as is Mexico City, Bogota, Amsterdam ... you name it. But businesses seem...

New Jersey gets a bad rep as an expensive state, and I guess it deserves it, EXCEPT that there are good tax breaks for seniors who make under certain limits (this year, I think $125,000 and I think it rises to $150,000 next year). My property taxes have been frozen for several years, plus I got...

Smack in the middle of the baby boomers! It's been interesting - witnessing the women's movement (I remember job classifieds separated by gender, and my first job at a fast food place with the boss telling me, "we're taking a chance on hiring a girl," and bird clubs that did not admit women as...

Single cook here, and I budget and spend about $375/month on groceries, including household items and cat food for 1 cat. That also includes eating out, which I do maybe once a month. Cooking is one of my hobbies, so, although I buy some high-priced ingredients, it balances out because I often...

ER had a thread like this from 8 years ago, so no point in resurrecting that. Plus, its conclusion was that the Caregiver's forums were generally very despressing. I have relatives with an elderly mother who is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with. Thankfully, money is not an issue...

I am 90% committed to a move out of state, nearer family, in the next couple of years. That sentence is ... scary to me. I have lived here 45 years. My friends are here, and my knowledge of the outdoors and birdwatching sites I frequent. However, I am single and past Medicare age. I have...

I have been testing some AI sites with a question about parking access for a long hiking trail that runs through my town. This information is publicly available, but it is scattered about on different websites. I can name at least 6 parking areas off the top of my head. Neither Copilot nor...

I'm watching the Turkish historical soap opera, "The Magnificent Century," free on Youtube (with weirdly-timed advertisements). This 4-year series covers the reign of the longest-serving Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, in the sixteenth century. It was apparently a smash hit in Turkey...

Leaving in a couple of weeks for a birding trip to Costa Rica. Another one planned for September, along the Amazon River, in Brazil. I need to start thinking about 2025!

In NJ, you are actually supposed to keep out of the middle lane as well (on a 3 lane road), but that is silly and dangerous on heavily merging roads, I think, and I keep to the center lane in such situations.

I don't notice cars very much, and seldom look at the brand. But I'd say generally that drivers of fast sports cars are the worst - that's what the cars are for, to stand out and be noticed. The "weavers" take serious risks moving in and out of lanes, but they want people to notice their cars.

Definitely way, way above my happiness level when I was w*rking! Actually, just yesterday, at the request of my old employer, I went in and changed the password of my retiree-status work email, and was briefly entertained, and then horrified, by the number of general notices and reminders from...

Parents who prioritized saving and my own good imagination. My parents were children of the Depression and had a horror of not having enough money. They were working class folks and always were careful with money - too conservative, actually - but they were never without savings. I had a...

YES! I (late 60s) have been fighting a growing fear of driving on interstates and limited access highways for years. I fear I am losing the battle. I go rigid, sweaty palms, light-headedness even when driving relatively flat stretches. Sometimes I pull over to the shoulder to compose myself...

Creole roux I made shrimp creole last night using a somewhat authentic recipe, but I was surprised at the thickness of the roux. I guess I'm vaguely aware that Creole cooking makes heavy use of browned roux, but this ended up being quite thick, almost an oatmeal or cream of wheat texture. Is...

That night, October 12-13, was epic in New Jersey. By far the biggest night of fall migration this year. This was "second wave" migration. Our summer residents have already largely departed. This was winter resident arrivals - white-throated sparrows, swamp sparrows, juncos, yellow-rumped...

Touch typist here. Definitely has been a life skill plus!! But, I did not master thumbing for the phone. I wonder if that is an age divide? I helped introduce general computer use into my university. I recall the difficulties in teaching senior administrators, all male, who had never typed a...

Thanks for this idea. I have been charring and freezing cherry tomatoes ever since, and have enough for replacement of cans of diced tomatoes all winter. They are still producing, but much less.

Faced a situation like this some time ago in my friends' circle. A couple of the guys defended him: "If he were Brad Pitt, no one would be complaining. He's just a friendly guy." Well, these guys were quickly disabused of that notion. However, as far as I know, none of us ever confronted...

Smooth, with only peanuts and salt. It needs to be available for inclusion in dishes as well as for snacking. And I primarily use it to make snack sandwiches for use in field birding, and I don't want to bother with dealing with peanut pieces.

Wordle 843 3/6* 🟨⬜🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟨🟩🟩🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 I haven't been playing Wordle regularly, or uploading my score when I do, but could not resist crowing a bit about my streak of 9 days, with one 4 and one 2, and having beaten the bot several times. Forgive me!

Am I right in saying that TNG never had a mirror universe episode? DS9 dove deep into it. As I've said before, while I like SNW, I don't like the focus on Spock's human side. I've read comments that "the writers can tell more stories this way," but I think it's just laziness. They want to...

I thought that chives lost flavor after freezing, but you are right, it's widely recommended. I froze more than a cup of chopped chives today.

I just charred and then froze some of my cherry tomatoes, with oil and herbs. Thanks for the suggestion!

I discovered that ST Deep Space Nine, and possibly some of the others, are free on Pluto TV (with annoying and ill-timed ads, but, hey). I thought that Paramount had reeled in all the older series into their for-pay site. But I'm enjoying some free DS9 on Pluto!