That number makes sense. I had read that 18 million native people lived in North America at the time of Columbus. Most of those died through disease and starvation, of course, rather than bullets.

Was that the "bottleneck" they talk about when humans nearly went extinct? I read that about 15,000 homo sapiens (or whatever we were then) were left to repopulate the earth.

But it gets ridiculous when you hear people say things like "his dog went to the bathroom in the car."

You're so missing the point. It doesn't matter if the person is homeless on the street pushing a shopping cart or the Queen of England. You treat them and their property with respect. If somebody trusts you with their dwelling, you don't act like a swine slob and then shrug it off by assuming the person has big bucks.

You're a helluva cook! Chef... whatever. Your guests are lucky.

You can get those fascinating centrifugal force contraptions quite cheap at dollar stores or if you are not averse to venturing into a Wal or other mart —- it's well worth it because watery salad sucks (and don't skip this step because you're hungry —- I have gratefully washed away many an earwig, rock and other alien…

That's my viewpoint as well. If I needed the money to survive, then I would not loan it. If I can afford to loan it, then I can afford to lose it. That's just my POV. A friend is worth more than $$ and I wouldn't risk a friendship over money. When I had no money to loan, I helped my broke friends by writing resumes…

My girlfriend of forty + years of friendship has run into a bumpy spot in the financial road. Her once well-off husband is now in the nursing home. She made some admittedly awful financial decisions and lost their home to foreclosure. When I was out of work and broke and she was doing well, she had loaned me a couple…

He is saying that "we" enable obesity by giving such people clothes that are attractive and flattering. Monocolor muu-muus and style-less sacks are all right with him to hide nakedness, but making overweight people feel flattered and comfortable in their clothing will, he fears, prevent them from conforming to his own…

You're so right. I guess living only for what we look like to other people is warped itself. I never was very self-actualizing, but it sounds like you have that gift. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. I wish you good health and all it brings, and the pleasures in life, including muffins. (Ten pounds up is doing great…

They are, each and every one, magnificent triumphs of imagination. I'm going to just stare at them all for a couple of hours. But practically speaking, I can't imagine the logistics of plumbing and garbage disposal; the security and air quality issues; the mental effects on residents after long periods deprived of…

That reminds me of how obsessed I had been as a young mother (my daughter is 34 years old now!) I had her by natural childbirth, a relatively easy labor and delivery —- and while they were cleaning her up, I actually got out of bed and went to the nurses station to weigh myself. I had lost exactly 12 pounds of the 22…

About as hippie as SDN integration, sigh.

Spread the celery with those little 35-calorie Laughing Cow cheese triangles (pyramids?) All different flavors and almost no calories. Great for munching late at night and not damaging the waistline. "Bumps on a log" are celery with peanut butter within and raisins atop. If you want to shave down the calories a…

My two cents here: First of all, no matter how much you love your job, your resume should always be up-to-date and ready to roll. It's easier to keep your resume polished than to let it sit and grow mold until there's an emergency. Then, when you least want to, you have to start going back over years of projects,…

This is not a snarking opportunity. The organ and brain damage caused by this lethal poison will leave the bears in physical agony and unable to take care of their cubs —- or worse, poison their babies through tainted milk. I can't believe people are joking around here as if it's some kind of rehab jhumor. A bear is…