Search found 801 matches

by FreeAtLast
Sat Mar 16, 2024 9:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"Deadly Game", by Michael Caine (Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. 2023) When I picked up this book and glanced at the author's name, I didn't think twice about it. After all, if you searched a digital telephone directory for the entire United Kingdom, how many Michael Caines would you find in it? There was a very strong clue located on the front cover as to who this particular Michael Caine was, but it was obscured by the library's bar code label. When I started reading the book, I finally looked at the rear jacket photo and Voila!.....there he was, one of my all-time favorite thespians, SIR Michael Caine, CBE. Caine is a great actor who is a not particularly gifted novelist. However, I definitely did enjoy this thriller, especially wh...
by FreeAtLast
Sat Mar 16, 2024 6:54 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"Resurrection Walk", by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Co. 2023) The Lincoln Lawyer - Mickey Haller - is back and he is running his own version of the Innocence Project. He takes up cases where he believes innocent people were wrongly convicted and sent to prison. Retired detective (and half-brother) Harry Bosch drives him around, reviews potential cases, and in general runs interference for Mickey. Bosch has tagged a file in which a woman - Lucinda Sanz - has been convicted of murdering her husband, who had been a "hero" deputy sheriff. Haller decides to take the case and our boys are off to the races. They run into beaucoup roadblocks, which include Sanz's sleazy attorney, mendacious Sheriff's deputies, a prosecut...
by FreeAtLast
Fri Mar 08, 2024 8:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What would you have done differently if you could go back and restart your financial journey?
Replies: 68
Views: 5597

Re: What would you have done differently if you could go back and restart your financial journey?

I am not going to second guess myself on some of the investing "experiments" that I did when I was starting out. Like somebody else said above, it was a necessary learning experience. But one thing is for sure now that I am blessed with 20-20 hindsight: I would have started my investing career at least 3 years earlier.
by FreeAtLast
Wed Mar 06, 2024 1:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When have you stopped saving for retirement?
Replies: 40
Views: 3889

Re: When have you stopped saving for retirement?

OP-

The day I retired. Now I spend all those retirement accounts checks on myself. 8-)

Free
by FreeAtLast
Tue Mar 05, 2024 5:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Good Modern Science Fiction
Replies: 760
Views: 149455

Re: Good Modern Science Fiction

"Machine Vendetta", by Alistair Reynolds (Orbit - Hachette Book Group 2024) It was a very sad day when Iain M. Banks passed away. Not only because he was a highly intelligent and skilled human being, but also because we had to accept the fact of.....no more Culture Series novels! Fortunately, Alastair Reynolds is still alive and kicking and writing and has just published his latest effort concerning his Revelation Space universe. This novel is the final book of the Prefect Dreyfus Emergency trilogy. Yes, I recommend that you read Aurora Rising and Elysium Fire first before delving into this one. Dreyfus is a senior police officer of the Panoply. The latter organization is responsible for monitoring the safety of the Glitter Band. ...
by FreeAtLast
Tue Jan 16, 2024 2:12 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: RIP Jack Bogle (Jack died Jan. 16, 2019)
Replies: 27
Views: 2960

Re: RIP Jack Bogle (Jack died Jan. 16, 2019)

I am ten years into a wonderful retirement. Jack Bogle is a huge part of the reasons that I find myself in this situation. My gratitude to him knows no bounds.
by FreeAtLast
Mon Jan 01, 2024 12:35 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 2024 BOGLEHEAD CONTEST REGISTRATION
Replies: 579
Views: 37986

Re: 2024 BOGLEHEAD CONTEST REGISTRATION

Gotta do better than 518th place in 2024

5110
by FreeAtLast
Wed Dec 13, 2023 6:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Good Modern Science Fiction
Replies: 760
Views: 149455

Re: Good Modern Science Fiction

"System Collapse: The Murderbot Diaries", by Martha Wells (Tor Publishing Group 2023)

No need for a review here. If you are a Murderbot fan, you will read this latest release. Just one piece of advice.
Be Patient.
by FreeAtLast
Sat Nov 25, 2023 7:33 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"The Commanders: The Leadership Journeys Of George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, And Erwin Rommel", by Lloyd Clark (Atlantic Monthly Press 2022) Some of you may not want to start off learning about these 3 famous generals by diving into thick biographies, such as those written by Carlo D'Este (Patton), David Fraser (Rommel), or Nigel Hamilton (Montgomery). If so, "Commanders" is a good place to get your feet wet. Lloyd's portrayals are illuminating, concise and very well-researched. What was especially appealing to me - since I have read all of those thick biographies and more - is that he presents complete, honest pictures of his subjects' personalities. There is zero hero worship promoted here and all of the warts are le...
by FreeAtLast
Tue Nov 14, 2023 8:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"Malice: A Mystery", by Keigo Higashino (First published in Japan by Kodansha, 1996; English translation by Minotaur Books, 2014) Higashino is a very successful Japanese mystery/crime novelist who is popular not only in Japan, but also in China and across Asia (see Wikipedia). I have read about one-half of his books and have enjoyed them immensely. Not only does he write cracker jack plots that keep you guessing until the denouement, but the reader gets to enjoy the intriguing cultural differences that come along with the Japanese characters. He really deserves to be more well-known in the States. If you are going to begin reading Higashino, I strongly recommend that you start with "Malice". It's a tightly wound murder m...
by FreeAtLast
Mon Oct 02, 2023 10:24 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"A Random Walk Down Wall Street", by Burton G. Malkiel (W. W. Norton & Co. 2023) 50th Anniversary Edition Why, you say, should anybody bother recommending this book in this particular forum? Talk about carrying coals to Newcastle! "Random Walk" is such a wonderful reference for Bogleheads to keep on their bookshelves, right next to their copy of "Bogle On Mutual Funds". Malkiel is the clear-headed, no nonsense expositor of all things Wall Street and he simplifies abstruse subjects as well as Saint Jack ever did. Let's assume you know a person(s) who is just becoming interested in investing for their future. You can do no better than to lend them this book, or even better, to gift them a copy. It covers all ...
by FreeAtLast
Sat Sep 30, 2023 8:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Good Modern Science Fiction
Replies: 760
Views: 149455

Re: Good Modern Science Fiction

"The Never Wars", by David Pedreira (Blackstone Publishing 2023) Pedreira's first sci-fi novel was titled "Gunpowder Moon". In a review in this thread, I noted that he had avoided the implementation of Star Trek type inventions such as phasers, transporters, and warp drives while creating a very believable future drama. In "Wars", he has decided to throw that restraint right into a matter-antimatter mixing chamber. Spaceships are achieving FTL speeds with a "slip drive". That drive was created by super-intelligent AI's that often control the spaceships. The instrumentation on the ships include powerful lasers, rail guns, superconducting magnetosphere shields, thermal antimatter rockets, mimetic flexin...
by FreeAtLast
Sat Sep 09, 2023 9:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Good Modern Science Fiction
Replies: 760
Views: 149455

Re: Good Modern Science Fiction

re: Bester novels I recommend The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination . Most people consider his later novels to be a huge disappointment, and I agree with that opinion, but the first two were brilliant at the time and still hold up reasonably well. My name is Gully Foyle and Terra is my nation Deep space is my dwelling place The stars my destination I am going to be a little bit pedantic here. I misplaced my copy of The Stars My Destination (TSMD) many years ago, but my admittedly rickety memory tells me that the first two lines of the quatrain (from the book itself and not from any secondary source) should be: Gully Foyle is my name Terra is my nation I first read this book when I was 12 or 13, and in the vernacular of the time -...
by FreeAtLast
Thu Apr 20, 2023 10:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

spencer99 wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2023 6:16 pm
FreeAtLast wrote: Thu Nov 03, 2022 10:03 pm "The Writing Of The Gods", by Edward Dolnick (Scribner 2021)

This book is an account of the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone.
Boy. Thanks. Motivated by your interesting summary I picked this up at the library. Fascinating topic/book.

S
spencer99 -

So happy you enjoyed this book. What a story!

Free
by FreeAtLast
Wed Feb 08, 2023 12:12 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: WWII Non-Fiction Book Recs
Replies: 103
Views: 8043

Re: WWII Non-Fiction Book Recs

Len Deighton
Richard Overy
Carlo D'Este
William Shirer
James Holland
John Keegan
Robert Citino
Ian Kershaw
by FreeAtLast
Wed Jan 18, 2023 9:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Good Modern Science Fiction
Replies: 760
Views: 149455

Re: Good Modern Science Fiction

"The Best Of World SF, Volume Two", edited by Lavie Tidhar (Head of Zeus Ltd. 2022)

Twenty-nine short stories composed by authors from 24 countries, from Bahrain to Zimbabwe. Many of the stories are hard SF, but the rest veer into the realms of fantasy, mythology, and alternate futures. It is both entertaining and enlightening to discover how talented authors from around the globe imagine the possibilities of a science fiction tale. Some of the stories are quite emotionally affecting without being cloying; that's a sign of nuanced writing ability. Having been mightily inspired, I'm off to track down Volume One.
by FreeAtLast
Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:44 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: REGISTRATION FOR THE 2023 BOGLEHEAD CONTEST
Replies: 672
Views: 40236

Re: REGISTRATION FOR THE 2023 BOGLEHEAD CONTEST

3522.5

Another correction, although less unpleasant than 2022. :wink:

Free
by FreeAtLast
Sat Dec 31, 2022 7:12 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Official Registration For The 2022 Boglehead Contest
Replies: 733
Views: 41546

Re: Official Registration For The 2022 Boglehead Contest

Bogleheads -

20th place for me, best ever by far! And I am going to be bearish again for 2023. 8-)

Free
by FreeAtLast
Fri Nov 25, 2022 7:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"The Writing Of The Gods", by Edward Dolnick (Scribner 2021) This book is an account of the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone. The two principal investigators were Thomas Young and Jean-Francois Champollion. The former was a solemn British polymath who, among other scientific achievements, confirmed the wave theory of light. The latter was an emotional Frenchman who was a genius in linguistics. The Stone was discovered in rubble by French soldiers in Egypt in 1799 as they were rebuilding a broken down fort on the orders of Napoleon I . Its surface contained three different types of writing on it. After two decades of intensive study by both men, especially Champollion, the Stone was revealed to be an ancient Egyptian to Greek dict...
by FreeAtLast
Sun Nov 20, 2022 7:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Finally pushed too hard at work - RETIRING!
Replies: 284
Views: 24202

Re: Finally pushed too hard at work - RETIRING!

OP - Holy Cow, what a thread! Anyways..... Assume for the moment that your toxic co-worker never existed and your current work environment is pleasant. Why wouldn't you retire right now? You and your wife are in good shape financially and you are smart enough to manage your money in retirement. And either now or in a couple years you will be taking Social Security. Is your job that important to your self-esteem? Do you need to accumulate more savings before retirement? Are you concerned as to how you will occupy your time once you are retired? I think it is time for you to enter the third stage of your life. You have earned it! And never forget that at your age (and at mine - 67), unpleasant health news can strike at any time. Start to enjo...
by FreeAtLast
Tue Nov 08, 2022 8:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"How Fast Did T. Rex Run?", by David Hone (Princeton University Press 2022) (These great books about the paleontology of dinosaurs just keep popping up. I should have another one to review in a week or so.) Dr. Hone does his own book review in the first paragraph on page 175 of Chapter 13: Behavior. To wit: "One repeated theme of this book is the apparently contradictory situation that paleontologists know both a lot more and a lot less about dinosaurs than most people realize." What you learn from Hone is that a professional scientist must be very careful about the assumptions he/she might make concerning dinosaurs given the limited and sketchy physical evidence that has accumulated over the last century and a half. Eve...
by FreeAtLast
Thu Nov 03, 2022 11:24 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"The Fly In The Cathedral", by Brian Cathcart (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 2005) As an arrogant young pup, I once thought that no author could competently write a book about the history of science unless said author had earned at least a bachelor's degree with a major in science. Then Richard Rhodes came along with his superb "The Making Of The Atomic Bomb" in 1986 and slapped that dumb notion right out of my pointy little skull. Two decades later, Mr. Cathcart appeared out of nowhere to reinforce the lesson. He transports us back to the 20's and 30's to the world famous Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, England. The director Ernest Rutherford roams the lab while puffing on a smelly, volcanic pipe, alternately encouragin...
by FreeAtLast
Thu Nov 03, 2022 10:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"The Writing Of The Gods", by Edward Dolnick (Scribner 2021) This book is an account of the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone. The two principal investigators were Thomas Young and Jean-Francois Champollion. The former was a solemn British polymath who, among other scientific achievements, confirmed the wave theory of light. The latter was an emotional Frenchman who was a genius in linguistics. The Stone was discovered in rubble by French soldiers in Egypt in 1799 as they were rebuilding a broken down fort on the orders of Napoleon I . Its surface contained three different types of writing on it. After two decades of intensive study by both men, especially Champollion, the Stone was revealed to be an ancient Egyptian to Greek dicti...
by FreeAtLast
Sat Oct 29, 2022 10:39 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Looking for a good pill cutter. Which one do you recommend? Tell me your favorite one you use.
Replies: 22
Views: 3063

Re: Looking for a good pill cutter. Which one do you recommend? Tell me your favorite one you use.

I possess a excellent cutter from CVS Health that splits round pills perfectly, even if they are not pre-scored. I use it to split vitamin pills, as I do not take any medications at this time in my life.
by FreeAtLast
Tue Oct 25, 2022 12:19 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Has anyone donated large furniture to charity?
Replies: 41
Views: 3128

Re: Has anyone donated large furniture to charity?

Contact your local churches who should have contacts with families in need. I was able to donate a queen size bed and a almost new sofa from my father's house after he passed away. A volunteer from the church supplied the pick-up truck. The happy smile on the face of the particular family's father made my day. :D
by FreeAtLast
Fri Oct 07, 2022 7:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"Monster's Bones", by David K. Randall (W. W. Norton and Company 2022) Randall has written a very well-researched history of the discovery of the bones of Tyrannosaurus Rex. During the Gilded Age of the USA, a tremendous competition - known as the "Bone Wars" - existed to uncover dinosaur bones for museums. Ultra-rich backers of this race were names like Andrew Carnegie, Marshall Field, and J. P. Morgan. The paleontologist who hit the jackpot, finding the first T. Rex partial skeleton, was an extraordinary man named Barnum Brown. Brown was a searcher who harbored huge reserves of furious energy and an innate reckless courage. He flirted with death more than once during his worldly excursions. It has been said that the be...
by FreeAtLast
Tue Oct 04, 2022 8:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Good Modern Science Fiction
Replies: 760
Views: 149455

Re: Good Modern Science Fiction

"Not One Of Us", edited by Neil Clarke (Night Shade Books 2018) Ahhhh, nothing better than to curl up with a thick anthology of science fiction short stories and a delicious libation (or two)(maybe three). You will recognize at least some of the authors in this collection: Gregory Benford, Ken Liu, Ian McDonald, and Ted Chiang. They and the other authors are talking about aliens, that is, extraterrestrials found to be right here among us Homo Sapiens. I read every single tale all the way through, which is a much better record than the last anthology I reviewed in this thread. Two cautions. First, don't expect a "Star Trek Federation" type of universe where the Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, Ferengi, and Betazoids live in re...
by FreeAtLast
Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Good Modern Science Fiction
Replies: 760
Views: 149455

Re: Good Modern Science Fiction

"Eversion", by Alastair Reynolds (Orbit-Hachette Book Group 2022) Reynold's works are well-known in this thread, so I will skip the biographical info. We have a protagonist, Dr. Silas Coade, who finds himself shifting between "realities" in time and space. One time he is on a sailing ship off the coast of Norway in the 1800's as a member of a risky expedition. Then he wakes up to find himself on a similar expedition decades later in a paddle-steamer off the coast of Patagonia in South America. The next shift places him in a hydrogen dirigible exploring a deep fissure in Antarctica (this last reality has some of the classic Reynold's "steampunk" machinery in evidence). None of these experiences end well for him ...
by FreeAtLast
Wed Jul 27, 2022 10:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories", by Ian Rankin (Little Brown & Co. 2015) For those of you who are slavering in anticipation while waiting for the next novel about Scottish detective John Rebus to come out (October 2022?), here's an anthology of 31 short stories to assuage your hunger pains. After reading through all the long and complicated investigations in the novels, I found it a little disconcerting to have Rebus solve a tough case in, say, twenty pages. Another troublesome issue is that Rankin has Rebus appear to be annoyingly omniscient in many of the stories, which has the effect of driving colleagues Sergeant Brian Holmes and Inspector Siobhan Clarke around the bend more than once. Putting those concerns...
by FreeAtLast
Mon Jul 11, 2022 10:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Good Modern Science Fiction
Replies: 760
Views: 149455

Re: Good Modern Science Fiction

"The Very Best Of The Very Best", by Gardner Dozois (St. Martin's Press 2019) For 35 years, Dozois published an annual anthology of short Sci-Fi stories that he proclaimed as "The Year's Best Science Fiction". Sadly, he won't be continuing that run as he passed away in 2018. The 38 tales in this compilation run from 2002-17. Over the years, I have found that about 40% of the anthologies' stories I would rate as excellent, 40% as good, and 20% as "The Best? Are you kidding me?" There is no accounting for taste, and YMMV. This final volume seems to hold to my grading scheme. Obviously, I am not going to review all of the stories here. In the excellent category, Peter Watt's contribution "The Things" del...
by FreeAtLast
Tue Apr 12, 2022 9:28 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"Operation Chastise" by Max Hastings (HarperCollins Publishers 2020) The British in World War Two were sometimes pushed by desperation and Churchill's grandiose imagination to engage in extraordinary special operations, usually involving small Commando units. In one famous case, however, the RAF was involved and their effort was so fantastic in both planning and execution that, if you did not already know that it had actually occurred, you would not believe it. In short, the operation was to make a surprise attack on Germany's most important dams, especially one called the Mohne, in order to destroy major sources of electricity and water supply for the industrial Ruhr region. In order to do this, a new type of "skip bomb"...
by FreeAtLast
Tue Mar 29, 2022 9:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"Brothers In Arms", by James Holland (Atlantic Monthly Press 2021) Holland is a British military historian and he is again at the top of his game in this book. He has created a "Band of Brothers" story, but instead of a tale of US paratroopers, we are given an account of a WW2 British armoured regiment. This "Brothers" is a paean to the Sherwood Rangers, who were almost continuously at "the sharp end" in ferocious battles with the Wehrmacht from Normandy's Gold beach to V-E Day in Karlshofen, Germany. The Rangers earned more battle honors than any other British regiment, but they paid a terrible price for that achievement. The regiment's tankers - excluding the support personnel like medics, quarterma...
by FreeAtLast
Thu Mar 10, 2022 9:24 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Probably a scam, but want to be sure
Replies: 14
Views: 3358

Re: Probably a scam, but want to be sure

Yules -

You are obviously a logical person. You picked up on all the red flags quickly. Delete the text and move on with your life.

Free
by FreeAtLast
Sun Mar 06, 2022 7:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"Tony Hillerman: A Life", by James M. Morris (U. of Oklahoma Press 2021) OK, I probably use the term "must read" too often, but if you are are a dedicated fan of the fictional Navajo police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, well then, that phrase applies to this biography. Hillerman was a decorated infantry veteran of WW2 and journalist who fell in love with the Native American culture of the Southwest USA, especially the Navajo Nation. As a result of his affection, he produced a long sequence of police procedurals involving Leaphorn and Chee that became widely popular due to their interweaving of murder mysteries within the fascinating culture of the Navajo people. This biography was much more detailed than I original...
by FreeAtLast
Sun Feb 27, 2022 1:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What watch do you wear on a daily basis, or are you wearing today?
Replies: 382
Views: 33110

Re: What watch do you wear on a daily basis, or are you wearing today?

Casio Illuminator WR. 20 bucks at Walmart. Keeps perfect time for 5-6 years with no need to replace battery. Then I break the plastic wristband and have to buy a new one. :oops:
by FreeAtLast
Sat Feb 12, 2022 12:03 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: RIP Jack Bogle
Replies: 71
Views: 9094

Re: RIP Jack Bogle

Jack was The Best of The Best of The Best. Diogenes would have found him immediately. Thanks again, Mr. Bogle, for all you did for me and thousands of other small investors. You are missed.
by FreeAtLast
Mon Jan 24, 2022 8:19 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Happy 98th Birthday to Taylor Larimore 🎂🍰🎉🎊❤️🎁⭐️
Replies: 264
Views: 19413

Re: Happy 98th Birthday to Taylor Larimore 🎂🍰🎉🎊❤️🎁⭐️

Taylor -

Happy Birthday, Trooper!!!

I think you should call up the HQ of the 101st AB and see if they will take you up for a free jump. :D

Free
by FreeAtLast
Thu Jan 20, 2022 5:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How Do You Pay Taxes When Retired? Qrtly Or Once Every Year?
Replies: 69
Views: 6559

Re: How Do You Pay Taxes When Retired? Qrtly Or Once Every Year?

Hmmm......I believe that I am an outlier in this thread.....I calculate what I will owe in estimated taxes for the entire year and pay all of my obligations in the first quarter.....for both Federal and State returns. Then I don't have to think about it for the rest of the year. :beer So you don't mind giving the government free loan for a year? With interest rates as they are now it probably doesn't make much difference. But you might want to rethink this if they go up. Yes, the current interest rates are low enough that I don't care about making a loan to the government. However - once I start taking Social Security, I will have enough withheld out of my check that I will not be making estimated tax payments anymore to Uncle Sam. My stat...
by FreeAtLast
Thu Jan 20, 2022 12:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How Do You Pay Taxes When Retired? Qrtly Or Once Every Year?
Replies: 69
Views: 6559

Re: How Do You Pay Taxes When Retired? Qrtly Or Once Every Year?

Hmmm......I believe that I am an outlier in this thread.....I calculate what I will owe in estimated taxes for the entire year and pay all of my obligations in the first quarter.....for both Federal and State returns. Then I don't have to think about it for the rest of the year. :beer
by FreeAtLast
Mon Jan 17, 2022 5:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Good Modern Science Fiction
Replies: 760
Views: 149455

Re: Good Modern Science Fiction

"We Have Always Been Here", by Lena Nguyen (Daw Books Inc. 2021) This novel is Nguyen's first and it appears to me that her MFA in fiction from Cornell has really paid off. She writes a tight, compelling narrative that holds your attention even when she has to shuffle back and forth in time to provide background information on the main protagonist and two other important secondary characters. The storyline is Sci-Fi classic: a team of exploration specialists is rushed to a recently discovered, far away planet. Data had been received from the planet that, to put it mildly, did not make a lot of sense. In a short period of time after they make planetfall, things begin to go wrong. Some crew members begin to act so bizarrely that the...
by FreeAtLast
Thu Jan 13, 2022 3:18 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Landlord won't fix contaminated water in the apartment
Replies: 188
Views: 19505

Re: Landlord won't fix contaminated water in the apartment

yosemite_mountain wrote: Thu Jan 13, 2022 10:59 am Update:

I moved out of this apartment mid Oct and all my symptoms disappeared (nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain, folliculitis)

I have been happily living in my new apartment for 2.5 months with no issues whatsoever.
OP -

OK, good news!.....appreciate the update. :D

Free
by FreeAtLast
Sat Jan 08, 2022 8:01 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Why do you spend all your time on the Bogleheads forum?
Replies: 230
Views: 24944

Re: Why do you spend all your time on the Bogleheads forum?

A lot of smart, dedicated, and likable folks in this Forum. The control of the discourse by the Mods is excellent.
by FreeAtLast
Sat Jan 08, 2022 7:54 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"The Secret Of Life", by Howard Markel MD PhD (W. W. Norton & Co. 2021) This book is a tour de force in the history of molecular biology. It recapitulates in a protracted, literally "blow by blow" account how two scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick, unlocked the structure and function of DNA, the chemical agent of heredity. Also included in the story are the important personages Maurice Wilkins, Linus Pauling, and Rosalind Franklin. Wilkins shared in Watson and Crick's Nobel Prize in Medicine. Pauling, a Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, spurred Watson and Crick on a frenzied journey to discovery because they feared that the indefatigable Californian would beat them to it. As for Franklin, she won no Nobel Priz...
by FreeAtLast
Sun Jan 02, 2022 8:20 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Official Registration For The 2022 Boglehead Contest
Replies: 733
Views: 41546

Re: Official Registration For The 2022 Boglehead Contest

Every year in this contest I have been a Bear and every year the market then goes up.

SO, let's keep my streak going = 4040.66
by FreeAtLast
Sun Jan 02, 2022 8:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Good Modern Science Fiction
Replies: 760
Views: 149455

Re: Good Modern Science Fiction

"Shadows Of Eternity", by Gregory Benford (SAGA Press 2021) It has been a dry 3 months for me perusing the shelves of Barnes & Noble and my public library's "New Additions" section for any new and decent Sci-Fi story. Everything I bought or took out turned out to be mediocre garbage. And then - Voila! - Benford's name shone brightly at my discouraged eyes early last week at the library. Now here was a late Christmas gift to raise the spirits of an enervated old man! Needless to say, I wouldn't be writing this review if "Shadows" had turned out to be a disappointment. Benford is in top form and, as Jack McDevitt states in a cover blurb, the novel is a "wild ride". The tale starts out conservatively...
by FreeAtLast
Tue Dec 28, 2021 5:48 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Interviews with investment greats
Replies: 6
Views: 1006

Re: Interviews with investment greats

OK, I have now viewed all of the linked videos and they are all fascinating and tremendously educational. It would be nice if the top Finance posters to Bogleheads could also view them and comment on them. Also - could these videos be permanently linked to the Wiki?
by FreeAtLast
Fri Dec 24, 2021 10:18 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Interviews with investment greats
Replies: 6
Views: 1006

Re: Interviews with investment greats

The interview with Jack Bogle from 2018 is wonderful. I never ever get tired of listening to him. He raises my spirits every time.
by FreeAtLast
Wed Dec 08, 2021 9:37 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New to Mystery Reading: Which Authors?
Replies: 98
Views: 8503

Re: New to Mystery Reading: Which Authors?

I am half Italian, so I am prejudiced towards the Inspector Montalbano series of Andrea Camilleri.....he makes you laugh out loud on one page and cry on the next.
by FreeAtLast
Mon Dec 06, 2021 1:02 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: laser printer with low power-on surge
Replies: 53
Views: 5457

Re: laser printer with low power-on surge

I have a Brother HL 2270DW laser printer that I have had for years. I seldom turn it off unless we are going to be away for an extended period. I just turned mine off and on to see if there was any interruption on the circuit and there was not. I can say that when I do send a print that I can notice a blip on my desk lamp. I haven't considered this to be an issue and have not looked into the circuit or the breaker. If I were you I think I would take it back where you bought it and ask them to connect and power on and see if it does the same there. It sounds like it may be an issue with the printer and not your electric circuit/breaker. Good luck. I have the exact same printer as BIGal.....except that I turn it on and off on a regular basis...
by FreeAtLast
Sat Nov 13, 2021 8:54 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712863

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

"Robert E. Lee: A Life", by Allen Guelzo (Alfred A. Knopf 2021) It has been hard to get a handle on just what Robert E. Lee was "all about". The "Lost Cause" proponents of the South deified him for decades and this effort was exemplified by such writers as Douglas Southall Freeman and Clifford Dowdey. Then Thomas Connelly came along with a corrective attempt in 1977 with his book "The Marble Man" that engaged in some unprofessional psychiatric analysis of Lee and an ice-cold portrayal of him that was as unrealistic as those of the previous hagiographies. I have been waiting for a biography that revealed Lee as an actual human being, something on the order of James Robertson's tome on the life of Thoma...