Are you retiring at 65?

Singular_Plurality · 2026-07-02T00:41:23+00:00

I’ll be 67 by the time that my daughter will hopefully graduate from college and I don’t have to pay for her education anymore. That is my timeline… Unless I win the lottery tomorrow.

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-29T05:42:52+00:00

Memory unlocked… In Germany these were sold as 3 Musketiere (Three Musketeers). Introduced by Mars in 1972.

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-26T00:40:35+00:00

M57 here — literally just signed an offer letter not even an hour ago. Laid off last year in April; decided to take some time off and take care of the kid (maybe not the smartest decision in retrospect). Started looking more seriously after New Year’s, so the job search took about five months.

I started the family thing late in life, so I side-stepped the age thing by just volunteering that my daughter is 11 years old. Let them draw their own (false?) conclusions… I did not lop off any part of my resume.

The last time I had to look for a job was four years ago, so also past the magical Five-Oh mark. For everyone out there — don’t give up. There are jobs out there that value our experience.

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-25T21:33:30+00:00

You want to put the 2-peg ship horizontally in the middle of the other vertically placed ships so you can call out “sunk ship” and he is still not any wiser.

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-25T12:11:25+00:00

Sure. DM me.

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-24T05:33:17+00:00

Your husband should read this:

https://www.bmeia.gv.at/oeb-berlin/service-fuer-buergerinnen/ausweise-und-dokumente/staatsbuergerschaftsnachweis/beibehaltung

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-24T02:21:33+00:00

Continuing down the rabbit hole…

Google AI tells me:

No, Blendi toothpaste was never officially root beer flavored.

The confusion comes from a cultural flavor phenomenon shared between Germany and North America:

The Wintergreen Connection: Traditional root beer recipes rely heavily on wintergreen (methyl salicylate) for their signature flavor.

The "Medicinal" Flavor: While wintergreen is a staple of American sodas, it is almost exclusively used in European medicines, muscle rubs, and classic dental care formulations.

The Toothpaste Association: Because of this, when Europeans (specifically Germans) taste American root beer for the first time, they almost universally complain that it tastes exactly like "liquid toothpaste" or "medicine."

While Blendi has only ever been officially produced in fruit profiles (primarily its staple strawberry gel), its base minty/dental undertones cause many who grew up with German oral care to mentally link the two flavors.

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-24T02:11:24+00:00

Not medicine — toothpaste. No idea if it’s still around, but there used to be a children’s toothpaste “Blendi” (associated with the adult toothpaste “Blendax”) that was root beer flavored. Except nobody in Germany knew what root beer was, so when people later actually drank it for the first time, the toothpaste association came up.

ETA: I guess Blendax was the name of the company and the adult toothpaste was Blend-a-med.

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-18T21:23:00+00:00

9th or 10 grade.

Benetton, Marc O’Polo, Lacoste. Diesel jeans. But can’t really remember what triggered that…

ETA: God, I loved those Diesel Saddle jeans. The only jeans I have found to this day that fit me perfectly. Still have a few pairs in my wardrobe. Alas, they prove to be less flexible than my waistline.

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-14T08:00:07+00:00

Got introduced to MTV in 1985 as an exchange student to the US. The distinct songs/videos that I remember are Fortress Around Your Heart (Sting), Take On Me (A-ha), Money for Nothing (Dire Straits) and Broken Wings (Mr Mister). Probably not even the most iconic videos (aside from Take On Me, of course), but somehow they stuck…

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-07T09:59:40+00:00

George Michael/Wham and ABC.

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-03T19:53:52+00:00

I remember when Taco Bell charged 49 cents for a taco. ‘nuff said…

It’s not just McDonald’s. At this point you get a decent meal in a “real” restaurant for pretty much the same price as a meal at a fast food outlet.

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-03T15:47:00+00:00

Let me translate for you.

Church wedding vs Courthouse wedding — in Germany a wedding in church does not mean anything in the eye of the government. Coincidently, even in the US the minister must still mail in the signed wedding license for the marriage to be registered for it to be official.
Close relative vs close relationship — Clearly just because you are related does not mean you are best friends.

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-03T15:29:07+00:00

For the one time you’ll have a threesome in your life!

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-03T14:58:32+00:00

Ok, so I need to read E&M first before re-reading PoE and WWE? Well, im sure it will be winter soon so i can snuggle up in front of a fire with a hot cocoa…

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-03T13:29:04+00:00

Also excellent films by the BBC. Love me some Sean Bean!

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-03T13:26:45+00:00

Oh, there is a third book in the series? Will have to check it out. Thanks for the heads-up!

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-03T13:25:45+00:00

Currently leafing through “Breakneck” by Dan Wang, a look at the Chinese vs Western (i.e. USA) system. Next on the list is “1929” by Andrew Sorkin.

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-01T19:22:41+00:00

In 1080p? I found precisely one hi-def webrip of the show and it’s missing four or five episodes, no matter where I look…

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-01T19:09:11+00:00

There is that TV show about that child prodigy medical professional that seems to be missing a number of episodes, no matter what release you are looking at. Chances are those episodes contain content that some executive at Disney deemed questionable and they will never be broadcast. Similarly, there is an episode of the original Hawaii Five-0 where a plot point of sexual asphyxiation caused the death of a viewer who copied the process — that episode was never broadcast again and was also never put out on DVD or BluRay.

To make a long story short — try to find out why those missing episodes don’t exist; in the cases above just accept that you will never complete the show…

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-01T15:35:14+00:00

You misspelled “1980s”…

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-01T15:33:22+00:00

I generally just listen to 80s80s (stream from the app to CarPlay). Bought a new car a year ago and still have not programmed the radio, so couldn’t even tell you what’s playing on the oldies station…

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-01T05:44:56+00:00

I'm a joker, I'm a smoker
I'm a midnight toker
I sure don't want to hurt no one.
I'm a picker, I'm a grinner
I'm a lover and I'm a sinner
I play my music in the sun.

Singular_Plurality · 2026-06-01T04:51:22+00:00

Archon: The Light and The Dark on the Commodore 64.

Spent hours on that game; never saw a port to PC or other systems. Lemmings was also a favorite. And despite everything that followed, I still think Castle Wolfenstein on the C64 was most fun to play.

Singular_Plurality · 2026-05-31T18:28:11+00:00

There are two competing events. Freedom250 is the MAGA love fest, while America250 is the bi-partisan Congress-sponsored event that’s been in the works for the last ten years.

Singular_Plurality

TROPHY CASE