It used to be that if there was something my husband doesn’t want to do, he’d go off and do something else to make sure what he didn’t want to do didn’t get done. Or if he couldn’t pull that maneuver, he’d do the job so badly that it’s the same as if it didn’t get done. I think this comes from his father being a bully…

Aw man. I have an HP tablet. Even if they did take it for trade-in (they don’t) they’ll only give me a gift card to use on buying a Fire tablet. I already HAVE a Fire tablet. Thbft, Amazon.

My mom: Can you lend me some money?
Me: No.
My mom: Can’t you just put it on a credit card?

Well, speaking as a boomer (I’m 67) I can say that not all our generation had that view. But for the people who did (and do) it might be because our parents grew up during the Depression where not pinching every penny might mean literally life or death. There was a reaction to that kind of obsessive frugality in…

I took a look at what my parents did with money (buying what they felt entitled to, buying what “everybody who is anybody in Manhattan” had, spending money like they wished their income would cover, etc etc etc) and resolved never to do any of that. And I didn’t.

My mom was clueless about money. She kept buying things and not paying the bills. She got sued for nonpayment at one point. Her income consisted mostly of Social Security, which she applied for at 62 over my strenuous objections that she should wait till she was 65. She took out a loan with a worthless car as…

My son was born right about the time the first Star Wars movie was released. We had no money for movies (or much of anything beyond the bare necessities) so we didn’t go see it.

My parents are gone now. My dad did OK with money (and his third wife really put them on a comfortable footing) but my mom... well, let’s face it, she was a moocher. I had to say no to quite a few requests, and listen to a lot of pouting and (futile) attempts at guilt-tripping before she finally realized she wasnn’t…

I had enough service jobs where I had to clean up after people, that I always picked up after my kids. I have always tried to teach them that you don’t make a mess and walk away leaving it for someone else to deal with.

Slip joint pliers, the angled kind that open wide. Great for grabbing that stubborn foil that seals bottles and pulling ring-top carton seals.

My husband just retired. We went from having nothing when we married (1972) to having enough for a comfortable retirement if we keep watching our finances the way we’ve been doing. We went through some really, really stressful financial times along the way, especially when we first moved to California, but by knowing…

My son is 6'7" (2 meters). I’m 5'6" (1.68 meters). The top of my head doesn’t quite reach his shoulders.

I had one of those too. I was very sad when the digital conversion went through and that tv-sound radio no longer worked.

No, the best cartoon theme song ever was Underdog. This is pretty good, though.

Sounds delicious! Except the whiskey. We don’t drink liquor and I can’t see making enough of this to use up a whole bottle of hooch. I do keep sherry and vermouth around for cooking with. Would either of those do?

My kids had thumbs. :) At least they could never get lost.

The benefit is that you have a nice new lapotp to use for a couple weeks, and then you get your money back, probably well before your credit card bill comes due. Free laptops till they catch you.

I worked for Fry’s Electronics around the turn of the (current) century and they tracked returns even then. It’s how they caught several people who’d buy a laptop and then return it as “defective” just short of the 15 day deadline, and then go and buy another laptop and repeat the cycle.

My networked Brother laser printer (HL-L2340DW) keeps losing its mind. It will go into deep sleep and then forever after refuse to wake up or connect to the network. I fixed it temporarily with a Brother utility, but now it’s disconnected itself to the point where it doesn’t respond to anything. Yes, I’ve turned it…

That looks more like Michael Jackson than Marilyn Monroe.