First thought: Superwash or the lovely really rough stuff?

We have 4 large plates, 4 small plates, and 4 glass plates that only get used when our friend that keeps kosher comes to visit. We also have about 12 bowls across 2 styles, which get used faster than the large plates.

Timeline check. Reagan Republicans in 2005?

(Legit not sure if you’re a fellow millennial that goofed how long ago twenty years ago was, or if Reagan Republicans stuck around longer than I thought. I didn’t start paying attention to politics until college.)

Well, back in my 20s a coworker forgave me for leaning Democrat because “if you’re a Republican in your 20s you have no heart. If you’re a Democrat in your 30s you have no brain.”

So, I’d say never. Reality matters at all ages. Well, until you have deep dementia. At that point, enjoy the invisible angels that help you use the restroom. You need all the help you can get. (Source: my mom on the occasions of caring for my grandmother)

It means I didn’t finish my thought. Oops. I’ll go back and edit.

Plastic recorders are great. They’re portable, durable, and most 5th graders have one. Only downside I see is your blow them through a gas mask.

Low quality ones are also wicked cheap. ($2 at my local dollar store)

Not true. I live in a state where we require a gun permit in order to purchase a gun. You have to that a gun safety class and fulfill other requirements. This is more a thing in blue states than in red states.

I personally don’t own a gun because someone in my household has a history of suicidal ideation.

I lost my dad 5 years ago this month. It doesn’t get easier, but it does get less “every day”. I still occasionally dream about him, but less often. I still sometimes have anxiety “can’t sleep” times, but less often.

I snuggle my dog and my teddy bear and that helps. I also sometimes take an as-needed anti-anxiety medication when I really need some help, and it both knocks the anxiety down and makes me sleepy.

I also listen to podcasts to help focus my mind and get me to sleep. One I used to use is “nothing much happens”. She tells a story with lots of detail but little of importance, like a trip to the market, the fruit she picked up, the smell of the apples. Then she tells the same story, in the same words, again, except slower.

Curse you, Mrs. Stovall, my 3rd grade teacher!

No need to shit on my grandmother’s recipe for galumpkis like that.

You’ve not actually linked to where the CDC reports those statistics, so I’m not doubting the CDC so much as I’m doubting your memory of the statistics. The closest I could find from the CDC was that among those 65 or older “about 37% of those who fall reported an injury that required medical treatment or restricted their activity for at least one day”

That’s a bit more nuanced than what you said, and isn’t limited to slipping on ice (which may be safer, on account of all the extra layers you’re wearing).

Is that 1/3 of all slip and falls, or 1/3 of slip and falls that were reported to the CDC? I ask because, while I do believe one can be seriously injured through slipping and falling on ice, I’ve done so at least 10 times and never reported it to anyone.

Am I just lucky, or is there some bias in which slip-and-falls are reported to the CDC?

Shout-out to my college laptop, a hand-me-down CF-27 Toughbook with a handle. It was a beast and sturdy AF. I could check email, take notes , play nethack, and ssh into my desktop if I needed anything more intense.

Shank’s mare

Ours has been going strong for maybe 15 years. It’s not fancy. We got it off pre-Amazon woot.com.

I’ve disliked it ever since an older man held the door open for me, but stood awkwardly in the doorway. He copped a feel as I tried to get past. Creepy.

The highlight of my corporate career was firmly pulling the door closed behind me, right in front of our security officer, who was following behind me.

I’m a public (state) employee. My name, title, and salary are posted publicly. I don’t see why ICE agents shouldn’t enjoy that same level of transparency.

I used to get them as a kid, trick or treating. I kind of miss them in a messed-up nostalgia way.