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Inspired by the thread on old vs. new Christmas cards, plus a TV segment DW told me about, I thought to start a thread on the worst gift you have ever received. "Worst" being defined as thoughtless, selfish, useless, junky, tacky, offensive, insulting, or whatever other pejorative term you can...

Like most of you, we've been ordering stuff online for many years. It's a rare week when one of us doesn't order something from a store online, whether it's clothes, tools, hobby stuff, products for home maintenance, and, well, just "stuff". At the moment and for the last week or so we haven't...

There is a tree (a neighbor says it's poplar, I have no idea) at the edge of the back yard that is becoming somewhat of a pain. The tree's roots have become exposed and are a hazard to the lawn mower blades and are already a trip hazard, and they're on a hill to boot. The tree was a "volunteer"...

Once again I come to the "well of knowledge" for enlightenment. I'm considering buying a rear tine tiller, preferably used, since I won't be tilling a larger garden, but rather smaller plots of grass where right now the grass just isn't growing. I know why it isn't growing - rocks - but once...

For example, when you know you already own an item, like a cooking utensil or tool, but you can't find it. So after a while you give it up for lost, buy a new one, and then the old one chooses to pop back into existence shortly after you buy the replacement. A few days ago I was looking for my...

We received yet another mailing today about a CCRC located mostly in PA, but has some facilities in MD, DE, and OH and I was looking through their website, impressed that the pricing was not hard to find. Most of these retirement community sites make pricing difficult to find if it is even...

Ha! I knew it! Grandma's insistence that "hard work never hurt anyone" is bad advice. A study by the United Nations out today found that: Now instead of doing yard work, I'm going to take a nap.:) https://news.yahoo.com/working-55-hours-week-increases-090630959.html

This is different from the thread on awful weather because depending on one's viewpoint winter weather can be nice even if that includes four feet of snow. Others (like me) hold that the only ice they want to see is in their drinks. So here's one forecast, albeit a rather dull one since it...

Flights to Nowhere. Who wants airline pajamas? You can have them! Whoohoo Wanna take some risks? "All-you-can-fly" deals And of course airline food delivered to home. I guess it beats starvation.... https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/flights-pajamas-airlines-survive-200904082630900.html

Okay, this is a bit "out there". Or more accurately, "old news". A neat interactive map that goes back 750 million years (and sooner if you like) will show where a given location was "way back then". Kinda cool, in a retrograde sort of way.... https://dinosaurpictures.org/ancient-earth#750...

Do you spend much time on the lawn, if you even have one? Do you fervently follow a lawn care schedule or content yourself to mow what comes up? Occasionally throw down some fertilizer or seed when the thought strikes? Ignore it until fined by the County for harboring a health hazard? A couple...

Every summer when the grass goes dormant/dead from lack of water I look wistfully at the creek behind the house and ponder the feasibility of pumping water from the creek up a rather steep hill, and a horizontal distance of ~80 yards or so, to water the grass and shrubbery. Then I go online and...

Many many decades ago as a young lad of perhaps 14, I remember my grandmother, who was partially disabled because of diabetes, complaining that she wasn't able to keep the house as clean as she would like. My grandfather did step up to the plate and help, but his efforts did not meet her...

A fellow who made daily life easier for virtually everyone who uses a computer has passed. Larry Tesler is credited with inventing the "cut", "copy", and "paste" functions. He made a difference to millions (billions?) of people...

A bit over thirty years ago when I bought a new-to-me house not long after my divorce I spotted a great deal on a set of kitchen knives in a wood block at the now-defunct Lord & Taylor store not far from me. I'm sure it was a "loss leader" for them at $25. I don't think they had anything else in...

I'm thinking hard about pulling the trigger on an airless paint sprayer, this one on Amazon. While I've used small size spray painting gear before (mostly for R/C airplanes) I'm thinking of this one for exterior house painting. I tried one of those yellow-colored HVLP painters with the...

That's what I said while standing in the grocery store peanut butter aisle today among the dizzying array of peanut butter possibilities there. A guy standing nearby just gave me a weird look and walked quickly away. Same to you, buddy. It seems we have a groundhog who has decided to take up...

Everyone's Mom has told them that money is dirty, as in "Get that coin out of your mouth! You don't know where it's been!" and later on you learn from various sources that paper money too, harbors not only germs but illicit drugs like cocaine as well. A new study indicates that the cashless...

A few days ago, idly perusing the Home Depot web site (yes, a bad idea I know) I stumbled across the Milwaukee tool line of battery powered tools, such as drills, impact wrenches, cordless saws, etc. I'm not sure if it's because everyone is now using impact drivers or impact wrenches on all...

I saw this one on another forum and just had to pass it on: A guy gets a series of text messages from stepson, two and a half hours away at college, car won't start. He gets to yes, it has a dead battery, yes they tried to boost it but can't, he's gathering tools, booster cables, and stuff that...

For those who follow such things regularly this is probably not news. But I had a bit of a flashback today when I saw a full page advertisement in the local paper for a zero percent down mortgage. Oh, boy! No skin in the game! Your home equity is an untapped piggy bank! If the house value...

After using our portable generator to keep the furnace running a week ago during a windstorm (no precipitation) I was just browsing around about home standby generator stuff and stumbled across this product, a tent for a generator, aptly called a GenTent. The idea is that supposedly you can use...

...okay, it was bad enough when I was getting junk mail for hearing aids starting a bit over ten years ago. ...now I'm getting junk mail for cemetery lots. This is not a good trend.

Winter is here, and for those of us living in areas where snow falls it either has already fallen or it will soon. While snow can create a beautiful scene, it can also be a royal PITA to remove from places where it is inconvenient to dangerous. And in spite of the huge number of machines...

Interesting article about the computerization of health care records and some unintended consequences. I've seen some of this myself during doctor visits, when the doctor is looking at the screen more than me. The system isn't ready for prime time yet. The article is a bit long but I think it...