My bedroom is exactly as you describe for walking up - through no fault of my own - ie., it came that way when I moved in.

I was always tempted to include an aggravation surcharge on my bills if a client was particularly obnoxious.

What exactly does “non-commissioned” mean in this context? Are auxiliary ships like oilers civilian rather than military?

I don’t think any gambler would consider 26% good odds, though. The WHO’s predictions are shamefully bad. Look, every year I come across articles lamenting how many million doses of the current vaccine went unused. Couldn’t they take the surplus and mix it it into the new batch to improve the chances that the next flu…

And if the recipient sends a return fax? How do they deal with that?

Honestly, with so many strains going around, why does the flu shot confine itself to only three our four guessed-at strains? Wouldn’t five or six (or eight or nine) improve the effectiveness, since it’s generally a crap shoot anyway?

Install on-demand water heaters in your bathroom and kitchen and get rid of the tank.

Hey, my dad had one of those recorders! I remember borrowing it from him a couple of times when I was a kid. No idea where he got it from, though.

Have any Hurricane Hunter planes ever been lost while flying through a storm?

When socking away money for the lean times, ALWAYS put away more than you think you’ll need. My business was nearly killed by unexpected increases in medical insurance premiums - they always seemed to hit during the leanest times. Assume you’ll be paying 20% more every 6 months and squirrel away accordingly. Health…

I wonder if keeping the tank painted could have helped keep chunks of foam from falling off and ultimately destroying the orbiter. Guess we'll never know.

Hah!

I figured that was the case, those guys with the extinguishers looked like they had their hands on the triggers. It probably happens quite a bit.

This depends on the agent you’re talking to. I once told an agent I was moving to Singapore and he asked me for the zip code so he could transfer my service.

I believe they carry SIGs in concealment holsters as well. That ceremonial armor offers plenty of places for concealment!

You forget that even though Francis is the head of the Catholic Church he doesn’t govern by fiat, much as we’d want him to. He has to contend with a bureaucracy that puts the U. S. federal bureaucracy to shame. The Vatican bureaucracy is rife with backbiting Cardinals and little power cliques that dig in their heels…

Took the bus from St. Louis to Houston and back again to deliver a talk my professor couldn’t be bothered to deliver at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Sheer hell. I honestly don’t know how I managed the presentation because I was a zombie for days afterward.

Hmm. . . proprietary charger tech? I sure hope not. If anything will kill the whole electric car concept each carmaker putting out its own charger system will do it. Porsche working only with Porsche chargers, Ford working only with For chargers... No, just no. Chargers need to be as standardized as gasoline pump…

I use ballpen springs to provide extra strain relief where the cable goes into the connector.

There was never a war against guns. Besides, if the war on drugs is any indication, a war on guns would only make things worse.