Search found 535 matches

by denismurf
Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Your Best Mood Boosting Books (not self-help)
Replies: 29
Views: 3068

Re: Your Best Mood Boosting Books (not self-help)

About once every other year, I re-read Dakota, A Spiritual Geography, by Kathleen Norris. She has a way of transporting me to the Great Plains with just words; no pictures. I always feel calm and refreshed after reading just a few pages.

Norris is a poet, a teacher, a preacher, and an occasional resident of Benedictine monasteries. I am none of those and so need to tap the brake pedal few times before entering her world. It's always worth the effort.
by denismurf
Sat Aug 25, 2018 4:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712557

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Homo Deus, "A Brief History of Tomorrow," by Yuval Noah Harari.

I'm only on page 300 of almost 400, but already understand that Harari is speculating about what will replace the religion of humanism to provide guidance and inspiration to humans to convince them that they matter.

Among many quotable quotes is this one directed to people who still look to monotheistic religions for reasons to keep on living: "God is dead, but it's just taking a while to get rid of the body."

Harari is not ideologically against religion, but he believes religion as currently structured has nothing to offer humans in the future.

Pretty discouraging stuff, but I'm hoping to be encouraged by the next 100 pages.
by denismurf
Thu Jul 19, 2018 9:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Fake IRS calls - anybody care?
Replies: 62
Views: 4620

Fake IRS calls - anybody care?

I've had a recent wave of phone calls purporting to be from IRS, warning me of court actions unless I call their number now.

I know I'm not supposed to respond to such calls, but should I report them to any law enforcement office?
by denismurf
Sat Jun 09, 2018 2:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

The Death of Stalin had me and most of the theater audience laughing out loud most of the time.

I realized later that younger audience members tended not to understand what was going on and why it was funny.
by denismurf
Wed Feb 07, 2018 1:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Just finished watching Get Out on DVD. It starts out as a typical flick about a rich white chick who takes her black boyfriend home to meet her rich white parents without telling them about boyfriend's race. BUT,

Things start getting weird as the couple drives to the parents' mansion, and the surprises keep on coming right up to the movie's end. Anything more would be spoilers.

I give it 5/5; don't show it to kids under about 12, but grownups should be prepared to laugh.
by denismurf
Thu Jan 18, 2018 12:25 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

I just watched The Post at the neighborhood theater in Edmonds WA. I mention that because at the end,the audience applauded and cheered vocally. When's the last time you experienced that in a movie theater? Maybe that only happened in Edmonds WA. I completely agree with this sentiment.

Contrast with the latest Star Wars flick, where my son (age forty-something) fell asleep before the end. I at least stayed awake, if only to catch the special effects. In short, The Post was just magnificent in every respect, while Star Wars/Jedi was a waste of time and money for this grownup (i.e., me).

I've been trying to remember a movie appearing during the last 10 years that came even close to equalling The Post in any aspect. No luck.
by denismurf
Tue Dec 26, 2017 4:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

For me, this was a boring, long, unoriginal special effects fest with exactly one interesting piece. It comes toward the end, when the main young bad guy is fighting to the death the cute girl who learned everything she needed to know about The Force in about 24 hours. All of a sudden, the fight to the death changes into something else altogether for a minute or two. Many of the grownups in the theater laughed out loud, while most viewers younger than about 13 probably did not have a clue what was going on. This one scene almost made this movie worth my time and money. --- <<The Last Jedi; Just watched it a second time (with my daughter) Loved it. Emotional, and broke out of many of the traditional Star Wars tropes. Won't give any spoilers ...
by denismurf
Sun Oct 15, 2017 8:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Blade Runner 2049.

Waaay too long, regardless of everything else. I loved the original, but found this one boring and unfocused. They never figured out who the bad guys were. Was it the Harrison Ford character? The moods and sound effects were as good as in the first round, but not good enough to make up for the lack of a coherent story. Too bad.

The makers will probably screw up Arrival when they make a sequel to that too.The only advantage of seeing this movie in a theater was that you got to watch plenty of previews of movies to skip.
by denismurf
Tue Aug 08, 2017 1:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Las Vegas Slot Machine Strategy (maximize entertainment value)
Replies: 31
Views: 4695

Re: Las Vegas Slot Machine Strategy (maximize entertainment value)

With video poker, you have at least a modicum of control over the odds for that machine and the speed at which new hands are dealt. Most of my pleasure in casinos comes from just hanging out and chatting with other players in downtown Las Vegas. Video poker players tend to be grownups: Boglehead types with no illusions about what they are getting from the casino experience and how much it costs. Of course, the experience is greatly enhanced by the occasional "big" win, which is not that hard to come by if you play intelligently. The casinos probably don't make a lot of money off of video poker machines, so such machines will probably be extinct sooner rather than later. When that happens, I will probably stop going to casinos. I a...
by denismurf
Mon Aug 07, 2017 2:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much money do you want to retire?
Replies: 1367
Views: 207758

Re: How much money do you want to retire?

I'm 80 and living in a HCOL area; no longer married, but have grown kids and little grandkids.

I have enough net pension income to live comfortably and give generous gifts, plus about one million stashed and reinvested in money markets.

That one million is to ensure that my kids don't have to go broke paying for my care when I become physically and mentally challenged like almost all my contemporaries. Yes, I have to acknowledge that it might happen to me. Some day. No matter what a great guy I am.
by denismurf
Sat Aug 05, 2017 11:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

I saw Dunkirk at an IMAX theater the day it came out. It left me feeling empty, despondent, nauseated, and with one of those headaches that grinds away at the backs of your eyeballs.

After reading so many glowing reviews, I suspected there was something wrong with me, so decided on an impulse to watch it again last night. Same result.

Why? I don't know.
by denismurf
Mon Jul 10, 2017 3:07 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712557

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Here's another WWII book I have not seen mentioned: The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer. The author of this memoir was a teenager living in Alsace with his German and French parents when the German army rolled through and recruited young men like Sajer to enlist in the Wehrmacht. Sajer signed up, went into the infantry, and spent the next 4 years of his life as a grunt fighting on the eastern front. He wrote this memoir, so obviously survived, despite being involved on the ground with the savage fighting in the Soviet Union and the long road back into Germany.

His descriptions are as brutal and vivid as the ones by Sledge, but from a perspective unfamiliar to most Americans. This is not a book to read while eating.
by denismurf
Thu Jun 15, 2017 12:52 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: scary phone calls [phone scams]
Replies: 35
Views: 6204

scary phone calls [phone scams]

Recently I've been receiving 2 or 3 phone calls per day with recorded warnings that my accounts have been subjected to "security breaches" and that I should phone either 888-387-7218 or 877-220-3493.

Has anybody actually phoned these numbers? The results?

I never answer or return such calls, but I admit that I'm curious about them and would contact "the authorities" if I had any idea who "the authorities" are in this situation.

Suggestions?
by denismurf
Tue May 23, 2017 12:45 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to sell bonds?
Replies: 3
Views: 969

Re: How to sell bonds?

Unless you are desperate, hang onto those bonds until maturity rather sell them on the secondary market, where you not receive anything close to their listed fair market value.
by denismurf
Mon Apr 10, 2017 10:48 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Going In Style just plain did it for me, with lots of chuckles and out loud laughter. It probably helps to be an old geezer who truly believes that many seniors are getting the shaft these days.

The cast is super. No need to watch on a big screen.
by denismurf
Mon Mar 20, 2017 5:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712557

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

This morning, I finished reading The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Svejk During the World War : Book One by Jaroslav Hasek. The Good Soldier Svejk is a series of tales about an ordinary man's successful quest to survive and to enjoy life in the face of the endless absurdities imposed on him by the effects of the complex institutions of modern society that magnify the rational and moral shortcomings of individuals in direct proportion to their positions in the hierarchies of which they are a part. (Synopsis taken from my library's catalog record.) This is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of satirical writing. It's an acquired taste, however. At least it was for me. The author intended to follow up Book One with five more...
by denismurf
Thu Mar 16, 2017 4:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

[quote="LazyNihilist"]I've seen all the 2016 Oscar Best Picture Nominees.

Here's how I rate them.

Arrival - 9.25
Moonlight - 9
Manchester by the Sea - 9
La La Land - 8.75
Hidden Figures - 8.5
Fences - 8
Lion - 7.5
Hell or High Water - 6.75
Hacksaw Ridge - 6.5

I've seen your nos. 1, 3, 4, and 5. I'd stay with Arrival at #1, then put Hidden Figures at #2, with La La Land at dead last and Manchester just above it.

Different strokes, etc. Right?
by denismurf
Tue Mar 14, 2017 3:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

market timer wrote:Saw Manchester by the Sea. Didn't really do much for me. Kind of tired of the theme of working class self-destruction.
Ditto your overdose on the theme of working class self-destruction.

It's too much like recent books that try to elicit sympathy for losers whose lack of any sense of personal responsibility wreaks havoc on their loved ones and on society generally. I'm thinking of Hillbilly Elegy, for example. I can't think of a movie like Manchester, but set in rural Appalachia.
by denismurf
Fri Mar 10, 2017 12:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

I just watched 2001; A Space Odyssey for the umpteenth time, on a huge screen with a dynamite sound system. One of the world's many divisions is between people who are mesmerized by this movie and those who aren't. I am among the mesmerized, whose eyes still get a little moist when the bone tossed in the air becomes a space vehicle bound for the moon, accompanied by a Strauss waltz.

Message for the mesmerized: If 2001 returns to a big screen near you, go see it again. The magic is still there.
by denismurf
Wed Feb 01, 2017 12:54 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Another heartfelt vote for Hidden Figures. It manages to negotiate some nasty pieces of our (US) history without pulling punches or belaboring the nastinesses, a combination that produces a truly inspiring human story.

Unlike Arrival, another movie I loved, Hidden Figures would work just fine watched on a TV screen fed by a DVD player.
by denismurf
Fri Jan 06, 2017 2:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Now seen Arrival three times in theaters and still am wowed by the sound effects and presentation of the aliens and their ship.

But it is still a great science fiction story mixed with a slow, maudlin fantasy story that even Amy Adams can't rescue and that was so unnecessary to the science fiction plot.

Eventually it will come to the second run theaters, and I will probably see it again. Sigh.
by denismurf
Tue Dec 13, 2016 11:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

denismurf wrote:Another plug for Arrival, even though there were too many unnecessary implausibilities for my taste by the end.
I beg to differ with denismurf"s lukewarm assessment of Arrival.

I watched it again tonight, and its acting, effects, music, and suspense just blew me away. Strangely, knowing in advance what was going on made it possible for me to accept that this was a combination of science fiction and fantasy.

And what a brilliant combination! This one is definitely not for children. Again. be sure to see in a theater.
by denismurf
Fri Dec 02, 2016 1:56 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712557

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

I'm halfway through The Mauritius Command, volume 4 of a series of historical novels by Patrick O'Brian based on the naval conflicts between Great Britain and various coalitions at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. The heroes are Jack Aubrey, a rising officer in the navy, and Stephen Maturin, a doctor, philosopher, and scientist who travels with Aubrey as ship's doctor and Aubrey's only friend. I read and recommend these novels primarily because they are gritty, realistic entertainment, with a much more serious picture of the times than you get in HMS Pinafore or Horatio Hornblower novels, for example. Right now I'm pushing volume 3, HMS Surprise, as my favorite so far, thanks primarily to some comedy in the form of a...
by denismurf
Thu Dec 01, 2016 8:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Another plug for Arrival, even though there were too many unnecessary implausibilities for my taste by the end.

Even so, the suspense, the acting and special effects carried the day.

Best viewed in a theater.
by denismurf
Sat Sep 24, 2016 3:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000
Replies: 39
Views: 40298

Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Did anyone mention that Citibank has free ATM's at most 7-11 stores in WA and maybe elsewhere, unless that free policy has changed recently?

Also, I've had much better customer service at Citi branches in Florida (where I don't live) than in US bank branches in WA, where I do live.

Until recently I had accounts at both banks.
by denismurf
Mon Sep 19, 2016 8:28 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: apartment problems
Replies: 17
Views: 2798

Re: apartment problems

OP again.
The landlords are nice people. I suspect their own expectations of how many problems would plague a new building were unrealistic.

Despite how I sound, I also recognize that I have to lighten up a little.
by denismurf
Mon Sep 19, 2016 8:16 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

I saw Sully just to watch Tom Hanks and was not disappointed. Because of Hanks, the movie was fantastic, even if not quite factual.
by denismurf
Mon Sep 19, 2016 8:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IRS calling?
Replies: 7
Views: 1179

IRS calling?

Last 2 weeks I got 3 recorded calls purporting to be from IRS telling me to phone them because of pending lawsuit. The phone numbers the recordings told me to call were : 805-722-1462 and 323-434-2156. The calls were obvious fakes.

Anybody else get such calls? Anybody here from IRS recognize these numbers? I phoned the IRS fraud hotline last week and left a message, but heard nothing back.
by denismurf
Mon Sep 19, 2016 3:40 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: apartment problems
Replies: 17
Views: 2798

Re: apartment problems

OP here, in WA state. Maybe I was spoiled. After some 40 years of headaches as a homeowner, I decided to switch to renting apartments. This is the 4th one, brand new and the most expensive. All the others had shortcomings, but everything essential worked or got fixed. All had manuals to accompany appliances. All had emergency keys to unlock doors locked from inside by grandchildren. And most importantly, all the landlords reacted promptly and courteously when I told them about something that was missing or not working correctly. I can't imagine any of them reacting to a complaint about nonfunctioning electrical fixtures or low toilet flow by implying that I was stupid or unreasonable. In fact, all were insistent about wanting to know immedi...
by denismurf
Tue Sep 13, 2016 12:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: apartment problems
Replies: 17
Views: 2798

apartment problems

A couple of weeks ago I moved into a brand new apartment building, expecting everything to be in perfect shape since new. But, the toilets don't deliver enough water after flushing. Some electrical outlets are dead. A built in ceiling light fixture doesn't work. Some manuals for appliances are missing (matters when clothes washer or dryer fails to function); same for the built in air circulation system. Those pin-shaped keys that open locked interior doors in case of emergency are missing. There were a few other things that the onsite fixit guy was able to fix. For example, they forgot to turn on the water valve to the washing machine. I notified "management" of these problems a week ago. They claim that the toilet water problem i...
by denismurf
Wed Aug 31, 2016 11:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Has anyone bought a home with Redfin?
Replies: 35
Views: 7251

Re: Has anyone bought a home with Redfin?

[/quote]BTW, if you think you will just call the seller's agents yourself and save the commission, it doesn't really work that way. Also, they prefer working with other agents and many won't take you seriously.[/quote] In my most recent experience, if you phone the seller's agent and tell them you are working through Redfin, they might just hang up on you. They will certainly NOT agree to show you the house you're interested in seeing. I asked one Realtor if her client knew that she was refusing to show the client's house to a person not represented by another realtor. She answered that that was none of my business. We got the place we wanted, and Redfin handled all the paperwork just fine. However, I left with the perception that the escro...
by denismurf
Sat Aug 20, 2016 5:40 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

theunknowntech wrote:Marguerite, a luminously great French film now on disk. IMO it makes the most intensely moving use of Mozart's Figaro since the original. It's also quite funny.
Is this the same movie as Marguerite et Julien?
by denismurf
Sat Aug 13, 2016 10:34 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Florence Foster Jenkins:

Part comedy and part drama, so succeeds in neither. You might like this if you are really, really infatuated with Meryl Streep. Otherwise, probably not.
by denismurf
Tue Jul 12, 2016 1:21 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712557

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Zealot, the Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth.

Fascinating for an old ex-Catholic like me. Jesus, the zealot, is a lot more cool than the version I learned about in grade school.
by denismurf
Tue Jul 12, 2016 1:03 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What to do around Vegas during Winter?
Replies: 21
Views: 3203

Re: What to do around Vegas during Winter?

I make it a point to visit Red Rock Canyon every time I travel to or through Vegas, regardless of the season. It's close, free, and a total break from the casino scene, which is the only reason I go to Vegas at all.
by denismurf
Thu Jul 07, 2016 3:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

A senior residence I was visiting recently showed 4 For Texas in its rec room. It's kind of a pre-spaghetti western starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ursala Andress and Anita Eckberg.

Possibly the worst movie I've ever seen.
by denismurf
Thu Jul 07, 2016 2:01 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How long does TreasuryDirect take to convert paper I bonds?
Replies: 137
Views: 50801

Re: How long does TreasuryDirect take to convert paper I bonds?

Exactly one month ago, I mailed Treasury a form requesting them to replace some paper I bonds I lost with new ones in electronic form. I already have a Treasury Direct account.

Yesterday a Treasury employee phoned me, asked a few questions, and will mail me an extra form that needs completing. My submission had some errors. She was courteous, knowledgeable, patient, articulate, etc., totally preferable to what I usually get from "customer service" in the private sector if there are any unusual problems.

I also converted some paper I bonds to electronic about 4 years ago and got fast, error-free service.

If my experience is typical, you will get great service as quickly as possible.
by denismurf
Fri Jun 10, 2016 10:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Twelve O'clock High.; with Gregory Peck, Dean Jagger, Hugh Marlow, and Gary Merrill, among others.

This black-and-white movie about US bomber crews in WWII impressed me deeply when I first saw it as a middle school kid in the 50's. It is now a streaming movie on Netflix, so I watched it about a month ago. I was so impressed with the acting and the authenticity of the story that I watched it again last night.

In my experience, there's always a risk that a movie one really liked decades ago will fall flat when viewed again today. This was emphatically not the case with Twelve O'clock High.
by denismurf
Fri Jun 10, 2016 9:44 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Problems using Uber
Replies: 26
Views: 5455

Problems using Uber

Here are a couple of issues for Uber enthusiasts. Today I entered a request for UberX without an address for my destination since I didn't know the address. The app acknowledged my request and sent me the location, name and ID of the car to pick me up, A couple of minutes later I got a phone call from the driver wanting to know the location of my destination, which I described for him. Seconds later, Uber sent me a message saying no car was available for me. Out of desperation, I entered a new request, which somebody accepted right away. I told the second driver what happened, and he said some drivers simply do not accept requests for trips they think are too short, even though Uber rules prohibit such behavior by drivers. So, 1) How common...
by denismurf
Sun May 15, 2016 4:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

"A Beautiful Planet" -- way too short documentary on the view from the space station, with Imax and 3-D.

I could have watched these scenes all day long and never gotten tired, but all they give you for $10 is 50 minutes.
by denismurf
Sun May 15, 2016 1:32 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712557

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

I'm halfway through Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. Subtitle is "A Brief History of Humankind."

For me, this is slow going, but well worth the time and effort. Harari lays out stages of human development in ways I've never thought of before, particularly in describing the agricultural revolution and the spread of religion as an adjunct to empire building.

There's also just enough humor to bring one down to earth frequently. Did you know, for example, that wheat domesticated humans, not the other way around?

This is one of those books I'll probably have to read again to digest properly.
by denismurf
Mon Apr 25, 2016 11:18 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Stanley Kubrick's 2001 a space odyssey
Replies: 154
Views: 23927

Re: Stanley Kubrick's 2001 a space odyssey

The main thing I don't understand is why this movie is not re-run in full size theaters today. I would pay a premium to see it in a theater at least once a year. The first time I saw it, I thought it was kinda interesting. The second time, a few days later, I understood the ape sequence, the bone toss and its transition, and enough of the rest to be blown away. Ever since, I don't hesitate when somebody asks me what I think is the best movie of all time. Nothing else even comes close to 2001. Especially not 2010, which drained all the mystery and imagination out of 2001, leaving just a standard sci-fi hodge podge of hokey special effects and a story line I honestly can't remember a thing about. But that's just my opinion after just one view...
by denismurf
Mon Apr 18, 2016 12:07 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: baseball-based board games?
Replies: 11
Views: 1826

baseball-based board games?

My grandson and friends have great baseball skills, but can't decipher all those rules. Can anyone recommend a baseball based board game suitable for kids about 7 or 8 years old? When I was in grade school/middle school a few decades ago, we played a game called Red Barber Baseball. It was great fun, but did require a minimum knowledge of baseball rules, which we learned painlessly along the way and used when we played real baseball. I did a current online search, but no Red Barber game. There are plenty of others, but I can't tell which are the best, in the sense of fun and accessible to kids 7 - 8. The Red Barber game must have come out about 1950 and just used dice and cards to advance the game; very low tech; nothing electronic. Any rec...
by denismurf
Sat Mar 12, 2016 9:51 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

I think it's only on Netflix: The Heavy Water War Based on the historical fact that Germany was trying desperately to develop and deploy an atomic bomb before the Allies. To do this, they needed steady supplies of high quality heavy water manufactured in occupied Norway, not in Germany. This is actually several movies in one. The Norwegian plant managers vs the steely SS major in charge of security. The chief German nuclear scientist, Werner Heisenberg, vs his wife and his German military bosses who wanted a nuclear bomb to destroy London NOW. And finally, all of the above vs a team of Norwegian commandos who were going to be parachuted into Norway to blow up the heavy water plant, which was too heavily reinforced to be destroyed by bombs f...
by denismurf
Sun Mar 06, 2016 6:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New (for me) book
Replies: 1
Views: 440

New (for me) book

I just learned that a guy who teaches personal finance to adults at a local community college, Lewis Mandell, wrote a book on investing after retirement a couple of years ago. Title is What To Do When I Get Stupid. The title alone caused me to read the reviews on Amazon.

Has anyone here already read it? Appraisals?
by denismurf
Thu Mar 03, 2016 1:40 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: ZionsDirect bond auctions for little people going away
Replies: 0
Views: 386

ZionsDirect bond auctions for little people going away

Effective April 1, 2016, ZionsDirect bond auctions will no longer be open to non-institutional investors. I have a pretty big chunk of money in individual muni bonds that I've accumulated with them through their auctions over about 10 years.

Does any other broker offer bonds in 5 unit auction lots for us retail folks?
by denismurf
Tue Jan 05, 2016 3:01 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New bidding rules at Zions
Replies: 1
Views: 546

New bidding rules at Zions

I have been buying muni bonds at Zions Direct auctions for about 10 years, with stable rules. This week, a big rule suddenly changed with no notice, at least no notice that I saw. Let's say you see a list of 10 bond lots in auctions that close in a week, so you make a note to revisit the auction on the day it closes so you can bid on a bond that looks interesting. BUT, when you sign back in on the closing day, that bond has disappeared from the day's list of open auctions. When that happened to me today, I phoned Zions and asked the rep what happened to the bond I was interested in. He explained that some bonds were now being offered on auction only to institutional investors, not to retail investors like me. Therefore, the bond I wanted to...
by denismurf
Tue Jan 05, 2016 2:26 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Here's a vote for Ex Machina, even though I thought it was disturbing at the end. The older I get, the less I enjoy entertainment that's disturbing.

There were elements of A.I., Frankenstein, and even Stepford Wives. Maybe. A friend says I take things too seriously.
by denismurf
Thu Dec 31, 2015 1:24 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to learn a second language
Replies: 128
Views: 19205

Re: How to learn a second language

If you are young enough and in good physical shape and want to do something for both yourself and your country, visit a military recruiter and wangle an assignment to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA.

If there is a better language school anywhere, I'm not aware of it.

I learned Serbian there in1961, when it was known as the Army Language School, and can still hold my own when travelling to present-day Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro.
by denismurf
Fri Dec 18, 2015 6:46 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066320

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Van wrote:Spotlight. Very good. Will appeal to all secular logical thinkers.
This was a gut-wrencher for me, an ex-Catholic who also spent quite a lot of time in Boston as an adult in the 80's.The acting is spectacular and the film very well done. I cried with the victims and shared their rage at the system that bought them off and let the victimizers walk free.

This is not the best time of year to watch a movie like this. I left the theater feeling drained and sick at my stomach.