Absolutely Anything Else

Got to love Jimmy
https://youtu.be/PMCVVBLR51k?si=UPS061ouDhRa2daMBut this is a worry https://youtu.be/u-86053iVNk?si=LCsOGvWzhZa4W8BX - @SimCityAT

Only if you are an American

My husband keeps saying he wants to move back to the US. I just do not get it, why when it is so messed up there right now.
Of course he talks a big talk so not packing up just yet!
I know we live cheap here in Hungary.
No way could we or anyone really afford dental care or much in the way of waste in the US right now.
We do not have a real budget but then again, my husband is the banker around here and only likes to pay cash.
When paying cash you usually think it over a few times before parting with your hard earned money.

Good news, my brother many go home in a couple of weeks, it has been nearly a year since his nightmare started;
He is using his new leg with a walker to get stronger; Only can do about an hour per day of walking; It is sore and the new leg is heavy. About 8 lbs which does not sound like allot but try lugging it around all day long. - @Marilyn Tassy
I dunno why anyone would want to go to the USA right now. What would be the point?
My 2nd eldest now lives and works just outside Toronto, Ontario and is very worried there will be a war between Canada and the USA. I doubt it'd ever come to that. I told her to stop reading the news or to do it selectively.

If you are going to have a problem, it might be with SS payments. Musk has his hands on the US Treasury. It'll be chaos for weeks if not months. .

Pleased to hear your bro is improving. And his muscles will improve to lug the 8lb/3 or 4kg leg around.

I wish Trump didn't have a leg to stand on. - @fluffy2560

My husband is 77 and is not worried about the future at all.

He says he did his part and that,s it.

Sounds a bit defeatist but he has a point.

Worked starting at age 14 in Hungary. Left for the US,worked hard, paid his taxes and played the game.

He is perfectly fine with nothing but the clothing on his back, so he says;

IDK, part of getting older is you realize nothing matters more then your mental happiness and peace;

Whatever does not give you peace, has to go.

I know exactly what he would do if not for me;Go to some remote Island and live like a local until his money runs out of life runs out.

IDK, part of getting older is you realize nothing matters more then your mental happiness and peace;
Whatever does not give you peace, has to go.
I know exactly what he would do if not for me;Go to some remote Island and live like a local until his money runs out of life runs out. - @Marilyn Tassy

That's hard to disagree with. Musk has a sackload of cash and a frown. I would be willing to bet his friends are people who like his money a lot more than they like him.

So no tariffs against Mexico for a month. But Mexico is going to supply 10,000 troops to protect the border. That wall worked out well didn't it? - @SimCityATWhy not simply (and calmly) invite them to a summit to discuss trade? Why get everyone all riled up? It's such an amateur way of behaving. But that's perhaps what they were expecting anyway. Just get on with talks as that's what they wanted anyway!I expect Mexico is only putting troops there to cover the influx of deportees.  - @fluffy2560 Why? Because it makes Trump look all-powerful (or all-caring, depending on what he's up to) to his public which is who he cares about, not you or me, or anybody else for that matter. He does everything in this way, always has, always will. - @Cynic

Everyone should be concerned about what Presidents Trump and Musk are up to.   It's not clear what is going on over there.

I'm seeing increasing approvals amongst my wider family for the US actions.  That's across the world - UAE, UK and wot not. That's seriously worrying for me.   They all seem to have forgotten what went before and the lessons of history.   The usual stuff they write about is immigration.   This morning there was a raft of postings in our private forums about how the population of the UK has ramped up by around 15-20 million over some period they select.  I wish they'd understand the lessons of history. 

So no tariffs against Mexico for a month. But Mexico is going to supply 10,000 troops to protect the border. That wall worked out well didn't it? - @SimCityAT
Why not simply (and calmly) invite them to a summit to discuss trade?
Why get everyone all riled up?

It's such an amateur way of behaving. But that's perhaps what they were expecting anyway. Just get on with talks as that's what they wanted anyway!

I expect Mexico is only putting troops there to cover the influx of deportees. - @fluffy2560

Why? Because it makes Trump look all-powerful (or all-caring, depending on what he's up to) to his public which is who he cares about, not you or me, or anybody else for that matter. He does everything in this way, always has, always will. - @Cynic
Everyone should be concerned about what Presidents Trump and Musk are up to. It's not clear what is going on over there.
I'm seeing increasing approvals amongst my wider family for these actions. That's seriously worrying for me. They all seem to have forgotten what went before and the lessons of history. The usual stuff they write about is immigration. This morning there was a raft of postings in our private forums about how the population of the UK has ramped up by around 15-20 million over some period they select. I wish they'd understand the lessons of history. - @fluffy2560

According to Sky News (link), the UK population is currently growing by migration, and forecast to be "494,000 more people a year on average over the next decade than the amount who leave, analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals."

If like current migration, 40% of them head to London, it's going to become a bit crowded down there, with no plan to expand NHS, or Education provision by 200,000 every year.

The current Government in the UK is a shambles.

Got to love Jimmy https://youtu.be/PMCVVBLR51k?si=UPS061ouDhRa2daMBut this is a worry https://youtu.be/u-86053iVNk?si=LCsOGvWzhZa4W8BX - @SimCityAT
I trust the left as much as th right when it comes to the truth. I trust both to lie in order to fill their pockets.
As for Musk, I'm having trouble thinking of a more dangerous man to put near secret information. I commented before about how I won't have starlink for the same reason.
What most are missing is what Isn't being said about USAID. I did a lot of research on thei activities in Indonesia, and there's something Trump is eaither unaware of, or has totally ignored. I suspect the delay in allowing Musk in was so they had tiime to delete critical natioanal security files. - @Fred

I know quite a lot about USAID because I have worked on their projects in the past.   It's tied aid meaning the money has to go to US companies and US citizens.  There are restrictions outside of that who can benefit.    Usually it's bilateral so only the beneficiary country nationals and US nationals can be involved.  Sometimes, 3CNs (Third Country Nationals) can be utilised (me in a few cases).  US businesses bid for USAID work and then hire people to achieve the work, monitored by USAID personnel or other US contractors.

So what they are doing is affecting US businesses directly as well as messing up many people elsewhere.  Most of these businesses are in Washington DC so there will be job losses there.  Some of those companies involved are very large with 10s of 1000s of employees and spread all over the world.

There was a story in the media that the USAID funded security guards on ISIS prisoners/camps in Syria were going to walk off the job.   I don't think Presidents Musk or Trump were expecting that.

The current Government in the UK is a shambles. - @Cynic

I know from experience in government that it's easy to be critical when outside and really difficult to be power and making the decisions.  Doesn't matter which government flavour either.   

But I tend to agree, there's no apparent plan to deal with the challenges.

On the other hand, places like Singapore managed to work it out and be successful (and yes, for years it was an democracy in name only, effectively an autocracy).

My husband is 77 and is not worried about the future at all.He says he did his part and that,s it.Sounds a bit defeatist but he has a point.Worked starting at age 14 in Hungary. Left for the US,worked hard, paid his taxes and played the game.He is perfectly fine with nothing but the clothing on his back, so he says;IDK, part of getting older is you realize nothing matters more then your mental happiness and peace;Whatever does not give you peace, has to go.I know exactly what he would do if not for me;Go to some remote Island and live like a local until his money runs out of life runs out. - @Marilyn Tassy

Can I come to the island as well?    I'm on your hubby's side.  No point in getting all worked up in older age. 

I'm 64 and the actuarial tables and statistics say my average life span is 77 but with modern medicine and half good genes I might get to 84.  My parents were long lived (90 and 99).   So I've got 20 years potentially.  When I discuss this with Mrs F we do wonder about it all.  When the kids hear, they get really upset but it's the reality of life.  I like to plan ahead.

Mrs F and I were talking about going on holiday for a week to somewhere like Gran Canaria or Tenerife.  Just to get away from the constant crap we hear in the news.  We'd just eat pizza, look at the beach, drive around to see stuff.  News would be banned for a week.  Mrs F says the kids have to come so we'll need to find an acceptable time when Uni and schools are off.    It's a weird thing here that no-one seems to know when the holidays are.  They announce them suddenly and without warning.  It's hard to plan!

I've started leaving my phone downstairs during the night.  It's a hard habit to break. All the upheavals and looking at the latest bulletins were affecting my sleep.  Not that  my sleep is that great anyway.  I used to be able to sleep for England in any number of locations - backs of trucks, laying in holes in the forest or even sitting in an office.  These days with my back and hips hurting, I tend to wake up a lot, get really tired and then I cannot get up and to my desk.  I still have stuff to do.

Last night my husband almost booked a flight to Thailand for 10 days.

I put a huge damper on it.

If I am flying that far away it has to be at least for a month or forget it.

I have other places I want to go to first actually.

With our luck it would be the rainy season!

My husband is the most stoic person I know; He must of been a Monk in another life.

He has a way of calming upset people down but God watch out if he is upset, no one can tell him a thing!

In an extreme emergency I think he would be a great person to have in your bunker.

He is a doer not a worry wart. At least he used to be, he does worry about our son and the mistakes he makes natural for parents to do that I suppose.

My Vegas friend is a huge worrier. I swear she was out of her mind with those airline crashes.

I think if you want to worry, it is easy to do, just talk with anyone or visit any hospital.

I told her the other day that I read in the 18th century they used to take stay dogs and cats as payment to enter the London zoo.

Food for the lions.

That put her over the edge.

I told her I am thinking of visiting the zoo here when the weather is nicer. Made sure to tell her I would pay the fee and not be on the look out for stray pets. I do not think she enjoys my humor!

Last night my husband almost booked a flight to Thailand for 10 days.I put a huge damper on it.If I am flying that far away it has to be at least for a month or forget it.I have other places I want to go to first actually.With our luck it would be the rainy season!My husband is the most stoic person I know; He must of been a Monk in another life.He has a way of calming upset people down but God watch out if he is upset, no one can tell him a thing!In an extreme emergency I think he would be a great person to have in your bunker.He is a doer not a worry wart. At least he used to be, he does worry about our son and the mistakes he makes natural for parents to do that I suppose.My Vegas friend is a huge worrier. I swear she was out of her mind with those airline crashes.I think if you want to worry, it is easy to do, just talk with anyone or visit any hospital.I told her the other day that I read in the 18th century they used to take stay dogs and cats as payment to enter the London zoo.Food for the lions.That put her over the edge.I told her I am thinking of visiting the zoo here when the weather is nicer. Made sure to tell her I would pay the fee and not be on the look out for stray pets. I do not think she enjoys my humor! - @Marilyn Tassy

I've been to Thailand many times.  It's certainly no paradise but many people like it.  There's a lot of strange stuff that goes on there, even involving the monks.  You see monks on mobiles and carrying briefcases and flying on planes. I think it's a kind of penance for some wrongdoing that they were found guilty of.  I think they call it a "wai" or similar.   So they do the penance and they are forgiven.  If only we all had a get out of jail card like that.  Shave your head, dress like a Hare Krishna and carry on as normal for 6 months.

Your friend shouldn't worry about the LGBT dwarves running ATC and the FAA.   She'll be safe with them.  Everyone knows dwarves are magic.  There are better things to worry about.  Like Musk and his interference in the Treasury. 

A decent payment system is vital to any economy these days.  For us over here, best to avoid any payments in USD for some time.  USD transactions have always had to go through the US Treasury and US banks.   So doing it all in EUR avoids that antiquated and now potentially unreliable system controlled by Musk.  In other words, steer well clear of USD and go via the ECB (European Central Bank).   They have a pretty good instant payments system for the Eurozone.  I recently sent Mrs Fluffy 10 EUR as a test and it was immediately there - within just a few seconds. 

I'm glad we don't take pets to the zoo.  I hope they tranqualised the animals before chucking them to the lions.

There's a lot of stray dogs in Bucharest.  Bridget Bardot was interfering with their controls when we were there for a bit. Packs of dogs roaming the streets and parks. It was a serious problem.  One of them killed a Japanese guy - bit him and he bled to death.

Maybe Trump can put Musk in charge of animal control.  Keep him under control as well.   He can fire them into space to join the other junk he's fired up there like his crappy Tesla roadster which people thought was a rogue asteroid in danger of colliding with earth!

@Marilyn Tassy

Uk banks started playing up a couple of days ago. I'm taking extra cash out to pay a few local bills so you are not that crazy

@anns

Barclays was Friday and lasted the weekend. Yesterday the Lloyds and Halifax app login and online banking were down. But soon, it was sorted out.

@anns
Barclays was Friday and lasted the weekend. Yesterday the Lloyds and Halifax app login and online banking were down. But soon, it was sorted out. - @SimCityAT

Yes it was Barclays Bank.   

I should say Barclays is the correspondent bank for some online banks like Revolut.   

Correspondent banks provide banking services to other banks. 

There may be some knock on effects elsewhere where Barclays is involved.  I read they cover 40% of all UK banks' payments.  I don't know how far that extends into Europe. Like all UK banks, they certainly are connected to SEPA (the Eurozone payments system) so international traffic will have had some hits probably.

@anns

It's always wise to have some extra cash in hand. I think you are a bit slow to catch on.

@anns
It's always wise to have some extra cash in hand. I think you are a bit slow to catch on. - @SimCityAT

Yes very true but not enough to pay a big big bill. But it is wise to invest elsewhere I suppose

@anns
It's always wise to have some extra cash in hand. I think you are a bit slow to catch on.  - @SimCityAT
Yes very true but not enough to pay a big big bill. But it is wise to invest elsewhere I suppose
- @anns

Don't do what Hungarians of the old school do and hide it in various stashes around their houses.  When they pass, no-one knows where any of it is.  And they definitely don't trust banks. 

My MIL passed in December 2024 and we're still wondering about her valuables and where they've gone.  She had no funeral plans/policies or anything like that.  We did find enough to pay for some of her funeral but there is probably more hidden here and there. 

They are definitely good at squirreling their nuts away and never telling anyone.

Word of advice, check out every single jar, bow and look into every pocket of clothing. Look behind cabinets for a secret hiding place.

I know, my husband let a mover take a old ugly jar that was hidden behind his step fathers bed. He was busy and not thinking clearly. Probably was where his step dad stashed his extra cash.

We brought some gold to HU years ago in the form of a coin , his step dad thought it was a gift; My husband did not want to insult him by saying it was not so he let it slide;

When his step dad died my husband s sister grabbed it for herself.

She dipped her sticky fingers into everything before my husband got back to Hungary;

Knowing her daughter, my MIL had a back account with my husband as the only beneficiary.

We had been sending her money for years and instead of spending it, she saved it for us.

We gave it to her to enjoy life with but she was never one to spend on herself.

When my mother passed, my sister took some of her things to give to the homeless.

My sister was not rolling in cash herself so when she looked into the zipper of moms handbag and found an emergency $100. bill she was thrilled; My mom used to cut holes in her closet walls and stash cash there too;

People who lived during the depression had different security systems then we do nowdays;

That would be bowl;even look inside the oven!

Word of advice, check out every single jar, bow and look into every pocket of clothing. Look behind cabinets for a secret hiding place.I know, my husband let a mover take a old ugly jar that was hidden behind his step fathers bed. He was busy and not thinking clearly. Probably was where his step dad stashed his extra cash.We brought some gold to HU years ago in the form of a coin , his step dad thought it was a gift; My husband did not want to insult him by saying it was not so he let it slide;When his step dad died my husband s sister grabbed it for herself.She dipped her sticky fingers into everything before my husband got back to Hungary;Knowing her daughter, my MIL had a back account with my husband as the only beneficiary.We had been sending her money for years and instead of spending it, she saved it for us.We gave it to her to enjoy life with but she was never one to spend on herself.When my mother passed, my sister took some of her things to give to the homeless.My sister was not rolling in cash herself so when she looked into the zipper of moms handbag and found an emergency $100. bill she was thrilled; My mom used to cut holes in her closet walls and stash cash there too;People who lived during the depression had different security systems then we do nowdays; - @Marilyn Tassy

There's a lot of nooks and crannies to get into.  We really do not know where anything is.  And it's a large house absolutely full of complete trash furniture no-one wants.  There must be over 1000 books as well, all of them look worthless.  That's because the MIL and FIL were both teachers.  Tools of their trade.   Mrs F thinks the books might be saleable but we'd have to look at each one and check through every page to make sure there's no cash in them.  There's also several outbuildings and another house as well.  All of these are full of junk too.

I've suggested we get some storage boxes, we go through each pile and triage into chuck, maybe and keep for further checks.  But this isn't getting a lot of traction with Mrs F and her brother.  I've already been over there doing repairs. I replaced a light switch in an unused room.  The floors there are covered in old tools, broken bits and just stupidly useless things like garden stuff.  It needs a major blitz.  And I think a lot has to go to the dump.  Mrs F's cousin is suggesting she'll come and help.  So that's positive.

Good idea to go through the books.

A relation in Poland asked for old winter coats after WW2.

She asked family in the US to send them if they had them but to not send anything new; She said the post would take new items for themselves; She also asked to send a $5.00 bill. To sew the bill into the lining of the coat.

Maybe some funds are hidden in a sewn pocket in an old rag?

Never know what some people consider and hiding place.

Sounds like a big horrible job to clear the house out.

Enjoy!!

Good idea to go through the books.A relation in Poland asked for old winter coats after WW2.She asked family in the US to send them if they had them but to not send anything new; She said the post would take new items for themselves; She also asked to send a $5.00 bill. To sew the bill into the lining of the coat.Maybe some funds are hidden in a sewn pocket in an old rag?Never know what some people consider and hiding place.Sounds like a big horrible job to clear the house out.Enjoy!! - @Marilyn Tassy

It's just really difficult to be involved as a 3rd party.  Really it's down to Mrs F and her brother.   And they seem so laid back on it, I begin to wonder if they could get any further horizontal.   In the absence of anything else to do, I'd be clearing it quickly as possible.  Seeing any progress is going to very difficult due to the sheer volume of junk.  It could possibly take 2 or 3 years to fully clear it.   It's become a thing I have to get used to that people here are not in a hurry to do anything.  I'd want to get on with the job right away to get it out of the way.

My FIL was a hoarder and he would collect anything he could think was vaguely useful.  It's still hard to explain why he had an electric air raid siren he salvaged from repair work on the roof of the local town hall.

I've also got a bee in my bonnet over people's unruly trees.  I've got a massive beef with my neighbours over their various trees dropping their leaves and pine cones in my garden and now, I'm fed up with them blocking our garden light.  I hope the trees fall on their houses during a storm!  It's that bad!   

Anyway, I mentioned that because at the MIL's, there are out of control trees there.  There are three of them but they only gave one a severe haircut.  Now the other two are in danger of damaging the house and a neighbouring building.