Social security is reasonably solid despite the propaganda of how it is eating our babies. In truth it is still pretty close to what you put in is what you get out. Medicare fucks up the math. It is a slow moving disaster that will require a complete overhaul of our healthcare system to fix.

This. The US is a huge tax haven because people need to park their money in a safe place where they can get it back. See also the UK, Luxembourg and Ireland. http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/2…

Libby is a tough sell and TBH she remains one throughout. She does start pushing herself, though.

Akron, technically. 🤖

Hello, friend! I am skulking around the far west suburbs wondering which coffee shops won't be a shitshow this week. I am guessing anything Rocky River and west should be ok. (Crosses fingers)

Boo, crush cancelled.

I think you just sussed out Canada's long con.

Huh. I might love her a little now.

I have had good luck with Torrid for work pants. You will have to sew the button right away and I've never seen a cheaper hooks and eyes in my life, but since they are work pants you probably have to have them altered anyhow so it won't cost much to replace the fittings upfront.

OMG good point. I was thinking it was out of 1600, which is what it was back in my day. 11xx would have been fine. Out of 2400, it is not a good score. That seems like a local commuter school score, no?

This. College is more competitive than it has ever been; even large state schools aren’t an automatic in if you have decent grades and decent SATs. This is crazy talk for us Olds.

When I lived in cheap apartments the rule was to patch all holes or lose the deposit. Now that I don’t live in a shithole the rule is to leave them open so maintenance can fix them properly when preparing it for the next tenant, and the deposit is not affected.

My mother and her friends have started to get interested in it. I was like “Whaaa? Aren’t they a racist shitpile?” But apparently the local chapter, at least, isn’t? I remain skeptical. Mom and her friends are retirement age.

My library has a poor ebook selection, and Overdrive has poor search/browse functionality. Both together mean that I read a lot of books I would otherwise pass the hell by. 🤓

Ancillary Justice is a marvel and a delight. Also consider Inheritance Trilogy by NK Jemison. Midnight Robber is rough but gorgeous.

Ugh, Baen, where terrible covers must be part of the corporate charter.

In which act does the dildo go off? 🙂

It is fascinating. I have never been exposed to a social structure devoted to encouraging and supporting lies like the North Koreans have built. I have met individuals who fix truths for themselves that fly in the face of facts, but the top-to -bottom devotion to falsehoods adopted by North Korea is stunning. There is…

This x 1 million. I am so susceptible to cover art. I try to be sensible, but I end up passing books by because of their pastel, saccharine covers.

Cold comfort, but no, not by a long shot. The Great Depression was made longer and deeper in America by voting for an austerity advocate (Hoover), for example. Voting poorly is a 250 year old tradition. The good news is that in a functional democracy you get to vote again and fix your mistakes.