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Looks like his complex but attractive Social Security loophole is being closed down in a few months. We have determined that we are eligible and are going for it. The above link explains it better than I can. This could end up as a final benefit tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands...

Scott Burns on backing off the amount of medical care you want to receive after age 75. Food for thought.

Yikes. This kid is only 6 years old. Musically amazing.

Every so often a thread will appear on the board about the risks and benefits of various health screening tests. More testing is not necessarily better and in fact may be harmful. Here's a good article addressing some examples.

A trusted old friend left me forever last week. My 40 year-old stethoscope finally disintegrated into a heap of tubes, hardware and failed plastic ear buds. The cause of death was the snagging of a metal part as I carelessly opened my desk drawer. Ironically it had seen little use in recent...

The numbers are still intimidating but Scott Burns offers some guidance and reassurance: AssetBuilder - Will Nursing Care Take All Your Money? Maybe Not. - AssetBuilder Inc., Registered Investment Advisor

Time to upgrade my cell phone and am seeking advice. Android is my OS of choice. I am a bit clumsy with on-screen text entry and use swype for typing. I am on the sprint network. Anyone had hands-on experience with the Samsung Note 4, or Nexus 6, or Moto x (2nd gen)?

A week ago I signed on for certification as a mentor/tutor volunteer for teaching English as a second language ("ESL"]. This involves teaching a diverse group ranging from college students to professionals, under the supervision of an experienced ESL teacher. Mostly their native languages are...

Though I am almost never a fan of commercial annuity products, Lynn and I are on the verge of re-allocating some of our cash reserves to a Do-It-Yourself immediate annuity strategy. No insurance companies are involved. This "instrument" has been discussed here and elsewhere. Our goals are a)...

We should be closing within 10 days or so. Living as renters for the past 4 months while we searched for a house or condo quickly convinced us that we are better suited to ownership (a highly personalized preference to be sure). We're going for something new to us - a mid-rise building of about...

For those who may be tracking our 3000 mile cross-country move from Tampa to San Francisco, we got here safe and sound and are just now finishing our unpacking. This neighborhood is awesome with scores of restaurants (modest prices, family run, authentic), lots of walking routes, 25 min to SF by...

The house is in chaos with cartons everywhere, DW in a frenzy, and me just kind of in a numb state of mind. We wrap stuff up today, load the Allied truck tomorrow, and wish the driver well as he takes off with most of our worldly possessions. He will purportedly arrive at our new digs in San...

DW and I are moving to San Francisco to be near at least one set of grandchildren. My reading suggests that housing costs are as much as double the national average (hard figures to interpret but probably true and applicable in my case). As if that weren't enough, the non-housing COL is about...

I was very touched by numerous forum friends asking about my well-being and it's time to bring you up on my shenanigans. First of all (and I won't dwell on them here), I have developed several serious health issues, none of which will likely do me in but which certainly are slowing me down a...

I was all set to rebalance this month per my long-standing plans. I had the spreadsheet and assumptions all set to go, stocks and bonds neatly laid out; foreign, domestic, indexes, short and intermediate term, all just dying to be re-arranged. Huh? On looking at my uber-spreadsheet, things had...

Well, life moves on. After some down time tending to unexpected health issues, we've placed the house on the market and will pick up roughly where we left off. The housing situation is chaotic here in Tampa Bay, as it is in many areas. After a fairly good response things have quieted down but...

Scott has recently discovered our cherished Gulf Coast according to this recent blog entry. Then again, we locals knew all that. I'm an optimist looking for a decent Florida come-back soon.

Almost all our friends are out of town or have family in, so DW and I will be alone for the holiday. First time in years we won't ring in the New Year with the kids and grands. We decided to splurge at the fanciest restaurant in town for a 3+ hour epicurean feast. There are only 6 tables in the...

There is a group called the Osher Lfetime Learning Institute which sponsors "senior" educational courses and lectures often in conjunction with affiliated local university faculty. I've gotten fairly active with them, including taking courses in Chinese Civilization, Ted Bundy, Humanism, civil...

I've recently put myself (at DW's urging) on a therapeutic Yoga program for some low back pain. It's only been a few weeks so it is hard to tell if it is helping, but I find mysef liking the way it makes me feel in general. I'd like to expand the workout beyond the low back. So, can anyone...

On 8/17/11 we are off to Seattle where we'll take a 7 day cruise to Victoria, Alaska (Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, then back to Victoria) then back to Seattle where we tagged on an extra day or two to sight-see. We chose not to do serious inland excursions but may take a helicopter or float plane...

Sorry this excerpt is so long, but it is both interesting and important. Caution: do not read this before a meal... Bottom line: dogs can sniff out colon cancer. Quite well, it appears. Sonoda H, Kohnoe S, Yamazato T, et al. Colorectal cancer screening with odour material by canine scent...

At the inner city clinic where I volunteer a couple of times a month, in my last session, I saw... - A 47 year old woman with a breast mass the size of a lemon, hard as a rock, and other gory details I will spare you. At least 2 or 3 years in the making. - A 30-something man with more than...

To my great disappointment, we sold our 36 foot 2009 Wiinnebago Itaska motorhome yesterday. Family health problems progressively limited our ability to use and maintain it and made the fixed ownership costs hard to justify. After cutting our teeth on a Class B, then a trailer, we bought the...

I just learned from my DD (mother of our 8- and 6-year old g-kids) that schools in Columbia, MO no longer teach cursive writing. A signature may be the only exception. I was stunned but on reflection maybe that's OK. After all, nowadays it's all typing and filling out forms manually, right? Yet...