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Last week there was celabraion at my house. Over 5 years ago Jo Ann hid a bunch of her jewlry when we went on vacation. Later she forgot where she hid the jewlry and we could not find it. Last week Jo Ann was doing clearing out things and found the jewlry. When I got home she was very excited.

01/27/23 04:32 PM

#27052

Lowell,

Yes, when a company buys another company for more than the purchased company's (accounting) book value, the difference is called goodwill. It looks like Progressive is now saying that they paid too much. I don't know if there is some sort of time limit as to when they have to declare.

Goodwill sounds goofy, but a going concern should always be worth more than its book value. Back in the 80s when interest rates were high, the economy was struggling, and a lot of companies were hurting, their market-to-book values plummeted, and many dropped below 1.0. (Of course, book value is always going to be different than liquidation value -- sometimes higher, sometimes lower.) There were lots of bottom feeders who bought companies in this situation with a mind to liquidating them piecemeal, i.e., the whole was worth less than the sum of the parts.

01/27/23 04:35 PM

#27053

https://www.survivornet.com/articles/breast-cancer-warrior-announces-the-early-retirement-of-her-breasts-in-a-heartfelt-essay-your-untimely-exit-comes-after-years-of-service/

A classmate asked me to post this page that relates to breast cancer.

01/27/23 09:00 PM

#27054

My sister, a breast cancer survivor for 25 years plus, just had to have a procedure to repair tissue connected to the augmentation. It was a success, so far.

25 years ago she chose a process which would give her, at that time they said, 25 years.

Very tough issue to deal with...

01/28/23 12:32 PM

#27055

Sounds like your sister has been pretty lucky, Lowell, altough maybe she doesn't feel very lucky.

Different topic --

I'm watching Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song on TCM. Not sure they could make it today. One irony in so-called cultural appropriation -- Juanita Hall, a light skinned African-American from New Jersey, plays a Chinese woman. She also played a Pacific Islander in South Pacific.

This is a great number, but very "binary". Nancy Kwan.

01/28/23 01:34 PM

#27056

I am watching the nationial stone skipping championship on ESPN2...It is amazing. They are getting 41 and 42 skips...(from Pennsylvania.)

They have both pro and amateur divisions.

At the moment, the Big 12 is kicking the SEC's ass...(in basketball.)

01/29/23 12:39 PM

#27057

Lowell,

Watch what you want. A friend of mine told me he is getting his rocks off on the porn channels.

I assume you are not watching Texas, TCU or Iowa State.

01/29/23 01:00 PM

#27058

Message to all: I am a friend of Steve, but not the one of whom he speaks!

Separately ---

I saw the 1971 newspaper page below on a Richardson site, and I forwarded it to Cyndy Powell. She replied to me, and I posted the following, with Cyndy's great anecdote, on the Richardson site.

"The photo in the lower left shows Van Cliburn with Patty Powell and Richardson Symphony conductor Chris Xeros. (The Powells, my parents, and several others were founders of the Richardson Symphony.) I forwarded this photo to Cyndy Powell (RHS '71) who was the Powells' oldest child (and mother of actor Glen Powell (Top Gun Maverick and others)). Here is Cyndy's response: 'David, Thank you for this! (And all these wonderful articles) I have NONE at all. I remember this night so well. He was over at our house and we had a litter of puppies. He laid his tails jacket on the fireplace hearth and one of the puppies proceeded to tinkle on it. He adopted the puppy the next day and Little Joy became a family member. We’d get Christmas cards from Van, his mom and Little Joy for years and years!'"

01/29/23 08:17 PM

#27059

KC Cinn I hate to see someone lose this g ame. This is about the best football I have seen...(well...lately...) These two QB have a lot of talent.

01/30/23 03:27 AM

#27060

A contractor I met pulled up on the job site in his new $70,000 pickup. His foreman came over and remarked about how nice the pickup was. The Contractor said " All you have to do is work 12 hours a day, forget taking vacations, Don't ask for any overtime and work seven days a week without asking for company benefits like insurance and workman's comp and you can enable me to get another one just like it next year."

01/30/23 03:41 AM

#27061

I guess you've noticed. I have come to realize there are a lot more Takers than Givers in this world.

A mother was cooking pancakes for her two young boys. The boys got in a huge argument over who was going to get the first pancake. It finally almost came to blows. The mother said, You boys need to follow Jesus's' example.. He said love your brother as much as yourself and so you should let your brother be first in all things. The older boy said, " Okay mom. He looked at his younger brother and said "Okay you get to be Jesus first."

01/30/23 11:01 AM

#27062

Several musings.

Have you noticed with our media they are reporting from the movie Casablanca"

Any time a crime is commited the police never look for the perpatrator they only look for suspects. The report goes something like this: This store was just robbed and the police are looking for suspects. Not the robber. Lets round up the usual suspects.

They should be looking for the robber and anyone they arrest are then suspected of being the robber.

01/30/23 03:52 PM

#27063

Hull Barbee

I met Van Cliburn several times when we lived in Kilgore . His Mother was one of our bank customers and the nicest lady you'd ever meet . Kilgore College had a performance hall named after him and he'd occasionally sneak in to town to see his Mom and perform in this small venue . If you were to shake his hand it would engulf yours . It was so large he could reach two octaves on the piano while playing Mozart or any other classical piece . He had a really good friend named Jimmy Culp who was the Organist and Choir Director of First Presbyterian Church in Kilgore . If Jimmy was giving a concert on our very famous Organ , he'd sneak in on the back row just to listen to it . It was voted one of the top 5 elite Organs in the US . Van was very shy about his life but very outgoing once he knew you , particularly if you were taking care of his Mom in any way. A truly remarkable man !!!!

01/31/23 05:06 PM

#27064

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

It appears "community organizers" have already taught the single men illegals staying in NYC how to organize a protest in front of the $300 per night NY hotel, along with supplying them with tents for sleeping on the sidewalk outside the hotel, as well as having supplied them with posterboard and markers, to make complaint signs to hang in front of the hotel. I'll bet the illegals were coached as to proper English words to use too.

You can't say the US isn't accommodating for our new future citizens, can you?

As we give these illegals everything a newcomer could wish for, we also are giving our armaments and loads of money to Ukraine with little to no accountability required, even though we see the Chinese gearing up to attack us, most probably, very soon.

So, will we be prepared to defend ourselves against our looming challenges and tribulations?

01/31/23 05:21 PM

#27065

Ron Knight

Totally Awesome Hull!!!

Great story.

02/01/23 09:51 AM

#27066

Bob Davidson

Janalu,

The American Thinker has an article today about where those Columbians and Venezuelans got the idea that they have a right to housing from the government. I found it interesting and likely true.

02/01/23 02:23 PM

#27067

I was just reading studies indicate that each year over 2 million times people use firearms for personal protection. Many times the mere presence of a gun stops a crime.

Also thr media rairly say what a "mass shooting" is defined. The defination the anti gun a media use is 4 or more people shot. They never say how many are either gang or drug related.

02/01/23 02:29 PM

#27068

Bob D; and others,

I have bought lots of videos from The Great Courses (many via Ebay) as a means of trying keep my mind sharp, or at least to reduce the speed of the decline. Anyway, partly due to my enjoyment of the Broadway show Hamilton, I bought a set of videos on The Federalist Papers, presented by a law professor from Indiana University. It is really quite interesting to hear Hamilton's and Madison's words and to realize how they are relevant in today's political environment.

One thing (among many) that I didn't know is that there were initially twelve amendments proposed, but only ten became the Bill of Rights. The first two were not approved. This clip explains what happened to the item that was supposed to be the second amendment.

02/01/23 02:58 PM

#27069

Ford Releases New Safety Feature Where Car Shuts Off If A Woman Gets In Driver's Seat

LIFE·Jan 28, 2023 · BabylonBee.com

DEARBORN, MI — Ford Motor Company is set to debut an innovative safety feature for all new models, where the vehicle will instantly shut off if a woman is detected in the driver's seat.

"Countless garage doors will be saved," said Ford CEO Jim Farley. "We believe this incredible technology will do more for car safety than seatbelts and airbags ever did."

Ford engineers have worked for decades adding countless features in a vain attempt to overcome women being awful drivers. "We made back-up cameras, bird's eye cameras - we even made sensors to warn women when they were about to smash into the garage door. All to no avail," said Rob Arnett, Director of Safety. "Then one day, the thought occurred to me - why have I been beating my head against the wall trying to make a car safe for women to drive, when I could just make it so women can't drive at all? Thus, the idea for our patented 'Woman-Lock' technology was born."

According to researchers at Ford, the addition of "Woman-Lock" will allow the removal of several now-unnecessary safety features such as collision prevention. "The cost-savings will be astronomical. We have also heard from State Farm that cars with 'Woman-Lock' will get a ninety-percent discount on insurance premiums," said Mr. Farley. "I personally can't wait to get it installed on my car. There's a curb on Jones Avenue that will be able to sleep a lot easier at night."

At publishing time, "Woman-Lock" was undergoing further testing after a vehicle failed to shut off when Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine got in the driver's seat.

02/01/23 03:52 PM

#27070

David,

Good posts. It did not mention the otheramendment that did not pass set the House of Reps at 1 member for each 30,000 number of residents, If it had been ratified there would be over 6000 members of the House. After the now 27th amendment was ratified the congress killed the possibility of the unratified amendment from being ratified.

The original first amendment (not ratified) read:

"After the first enumeration required by the first article of the Constitution, there shall be one Representative for every thirty thousand, until the number shall amount to one hundred, after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall be not less than one hundred Representatives, nor less than one Representative for every forty thousand persons, until the number of Representatives shall amount to two hundred; after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall not be less than two hundred Representatives, nor more than one Representative for every fifty thousand persons."

Had the amendment been ratified, the number of members of the House of Representatives could by now be over 6,000, compared to the present 435. As apportioned by the latest Census, each member of the House currently

02/01/23 04:41 PM

#27071

David. There was a dog barking, which interrupted my understanding of the amendments. Was that your pooch? Or was it the announcer's. It was hysterical. I had to answer the phone before i finished. Renewing a widow's home insurance....

Back to work...

02/01/23 08:43 PM

#27072

Lowell, that was Becky, the Little Black Dog. You may have heard Martha "shushing" her.

Anyway, I just thought it was a hoot how the amendment ended up being passed.

Hook 'em Horns!

02/01/23 09:25 PM

#27073

https://www.fastcompany.com/90839421/andi-google-alternative-chatgpt

Anyone know anything about this?

https://eogn.com/page-18080/13079543

https://andisearch.com/

02/02/23 11:11 AM

#27074

I got a call from Jimmy Baker yesterday. He called just to inquire how I was doing with no other agenda. It sure is nice to know there are people that really care about you. We talked for a least a half hour. We both agreed that at our age, possessions and self promotion should not be what defines who we are. We concluded that eleemosynary endeavors of time and money should define our waning habitation in the flesh on this planet.

02/02/23 11:29 AM

#27075