TBoneTX

I wish I'd found this site many years ago: www.smallpdf.com I use it often, for multiple purposes. It's great for file-reduction.

Good luck. It's hard to be patient, but you're almost there.

Here's another thoughtful piece. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Remembering the SS Edmund Fitzgerald Today marks the 50th anniversary of the wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior. It is not the anniversary of the song; shortly after the Nov. 10, 1975, tragedy, Gordon Lightfoot put pen to paper and took guitar in hand to write a song that continues to resonate even in 2025, but it would not be released until 1976. The song, of course, played a major role in immortalizing the disaster. Lightfoot created an honest, raw 20th-century folk song. Unlike Bob Dylan's interesting and admittedly catchy ramblings with their oddball imagery, or Bruce Springsteen's efforts to create a working-class mythology, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is a heartfelt tribute to the men who died. It is not a dirge, but a ballad in the truest sense of the word. It tells a real story, about real people. The melody, lyrics, structure, and Lightfoot's voice all come together to create a sense of loss, sorrow, and empathy. Even in 2025, the song still evokes feelings of grief and mourning for the 29 lost lives, sometimes among people who were not even born when the Edmund Fitzgerald took her crew to their graves. [...] https://pjmedia.com/lincolnbrown/2025/11/10/remembering-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-n4945826

bigxxxxxx, welcome to the forum! The original poster hasn't logged on to VJ since May, so a reply is unlikely. This thread is a little stale, so how about starting your own thread with your questions about your own situation?

Some story... ~~~~~~~~~~ Man arrested for smuggling 21 people in trailer filled with rotting papayas A man is facing federal smuggling charges after Border Patrol agents at the Sarita checkpoint found 21 people hidden behind a false wall in a tractor-trailer hauling moldy, rotting papayas. Rodolfo Hernandez-Perez is charged with using a vehicle to smuggle people in the country illegally. Hernandez was arrested Saturday at around 1:45 a.m. when he arrived in a blue Volvo tractor hauling a white trailer at the checkpoint. During an immigration inspection, Hernandez told a Border Patrol agent he was alone and that he was hauling papayas, according to a criminal complaint. [...] https://myrgv.com/local-news/2025/11/05/man-arrested-for-smuggling-21-people-in-trailer-filled-with-rotting-papayas/

After reading the article, do you consider this to be like the hysteria from anti-Trump celebrities? It sounds to me more like healthy concern, with the financial worries coming before the oppression part. I do find it ironic that Plano is courting people, given the massive Sharia complex being built nearby. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From Texas to Tel Aviv, invitations go out to Jews fleeing 'Mamdani's New York' Just hours after New York City's mayor election was called for Zohran Mamdani, a top Israeli official issued an invitation. "New York will never be the same again, especially not for its Jewish community," Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli tweeted. "I invite the Jews of New York to seriously consider making their new home in the Land of Israel." Chikli's call dovetailed with another appeal to Jewish New Yorkers made by a spokesman for the Jewish settlement in Hebron, Yishai Fleisher. "Indeed, it was a great run, and you were a blessing to NYC. But Jews will feel less and less comfortable in the Big Apple," tweeted Fleisher. "So do yourself a favor, buy real estate in the Land of Israel." The outreach from Israel sought to reach the majority of New York Jews who voted against Mamdani, many of whom saw his criticism of Israel as a warning sign for the safety of the city's Jewish communities under his leadership. [...] https://www.jta.org/2025/11/07/united-states/from-texas-to-tel-aviv-invitations-go-out-to-jews-fleeing-mamdanis-new-york?utm_source=NYJW_Iterable&utm_campaign=NYJW_Daily_Update&utm_medium=email

Scintillating Monday repartee, yawn man. ------- Thrilling Monday report, see man: Awoke before alarm, man. Colder than the North Pole outside, man. Dragged fasting carcass to blood lab, vampired we man. Erranded satisfactorily afterward, errand we man. Was back at casa by noon, usually about when we get started man. Lunch was TG, ingest we man. A nice siesta was taken thereafter, zzz we man. Labs came back promptly, see man: -- glucose the "lowest" too-high level in last Many readings, whee and glee man -- A1c down Many (2+1) -- si man, Many (2+1) -- decimal points, whee and glee man -- other stuff slightly improved or stably normal, whee and glee man We shall see what doc says on Thursday, see MD we man man. Smarmy roof/siding/windows appointment-setter banged on door, man. Of course he refused to give a business card and insisted on getting an appointment, man. He also wore so much cologne that he smelled like a cheap whorehouse, these sorts invariably do man. We very soon got disgusted with him and slam-doored him, man. We looked up his company on Yelp & Angie's List, research we man. They're apparently a major ripoff outfit, Surprise Sergeant Carter man. We did find several other siding/window outfits with whom we requested caucuses, find we man. Din-din was 2 bagels + margarine, ingest we man. Miu quiescent all day, however night is not over yet so famous last words man. No party with the rubias tonight, no cavort we man. Will probably spend Tuesday scheduling or rejecting contractors, ugh man. And that was/is our thrilling Monday, report we man.

Heck of an informative article about the incident.

https://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/collection-search?search_api_fulltext=titanic&publish_date_year=&publish_date_year_1=&title=&item_author=&field_has_audio=All&box=&item_id=&field_is_public_domain=All&sort_by=search_api_relevance

Now it's my turn not to have read carefully. I'd try what rbv_shard did -- photocopy all pages, in color. Perhaps even take photos of each page and combine into one document, if feasible, using a program such as smallpdf.com to reduce the bulk.

"...for you and your beneficiary" sounds completely clear. Your success throughout this process relies upon reading carefully, interpreting literally, and responding completely and accurately.

Scintillating Sunday repartee, yawn man. ----- Thrilling Sunday report, see man: Awoke too early*, truncated zzz man. *but beyond Bro G.'s Walmarting time, so there man Miu was outside our bedroom ready to intensely demand attention, all-day status for miu man man. Breakfast/lunch was 2 giant beef pot pies with r'br, ingest Two Guys man. The NFL game was watched, ghastly first half man. Mini-B. even adjourned upstairs for gaming, that bad man. Precisely at halftime, Mama T-B. called, distressed senior she man man. We & Mini-B. ended up visiting, calmer senior she man man. Finished watching NFL game in Mama T-B.'s room, miraculous and happy comeback man. It was only after Many (2+2) p.m. that we began our LLs, way-retarded timing man. Mini-B. did help us strip/clothe the beds, big save-timer man. Din-din for us was 2 ham-&-cheese sandwiches, ingest we man. Din-din for Mini-B. was onecan of Chef B. ABCs/12Manys + meatballs, ingest wee man man. Mini-B. also finished his lime cheaps and his remaining banana, neat wrap-up man. No Costco popcorn was consumed, good weekly tally already man. Ex-Mrs.-T-B. came at Many p.m. to retrieve Mini-B., end of Two Guys week man. She seems to have gained even more weight, sad to see man. She will go to Ecu for Many (2x2x2) days next Sunday, travel ex-she man man. No siesta was taken on Sunday, anathema and man. No party with the rubias tonight, no cavort we man. Final LL now baking and warsher newly dished, domestic we man. No plans for Monday except for pre-fizzicle-exam bloodwork, necessary man. Supposed to be horrendous wind-chill, we hate winter man. Fortunately, temperatures should recover by Wednesday, nick of time man. And that was/is our thrilling Sunday, report we man.

Sunday! Time for our Official Weekly VAWA-Thread Joke: =========================================== THE CATHOLIC HOSPITAL A man had a heart attack and underwent coronary artery bypass grafting. He awoke to find himself in the care of nuns at a Catholic hospital. During his recovery, a nun asked how he was going to pay the bill. He replied, in a raspy voice, "No health insurance." The nun asked if he had money in the bank. He replied, "No money in the bank." The nun asked, "Do you have a relative who could help you?" He said, "Just a spinster sister, who is a nun." The nun, slightly perturbed, said, "Nuns are not spinsters! Nuns are married to God." The patient replied, "Then send the bill to my brother-in-law."

We're Doomed. Omar Fateh Lost the Minneapolis Mayor's Race Because He Lost the Loyalty of Somali Clans [...] One of the most notable examples of a failure to assimilate was observed on Tuesday night in Minneapolis. The mayor's race in Minneapolis featured a soft-socialist who had gravely failed the city during the mostly peaceful George Floyd riots, that would be Jacob Frey, against a hardcore socialist who could've been an extra for the movie Captain Phillips, that would be Omar Fateh. Fateh won the Democrat convention through support of the same network of groups that sent Zohran Mamdani, but some very crude vote fraud caused the Democrats to pull their endorsement [...]. When the smoke cleared, Frey had prevailed 50-44 [...]. But the real story was that Minneapolis's Somali population that has sent fraudster and bigamist Ilhan Omar to Congress since 2018 did not unite behind Fateh because he belonged to the wrong clan. [...] https://redstate.com/streiff/2025/11/08/were-doomed-omar-fateh-lost-the-minneapolis-mayors-race-because-he-lost-the-loyalty-of-somali-clans-n2196011

UPS temporarily grounds part of its aircraft fleet after crash [...] Earlier Friday, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed more information about the crash, detailing the final moments in the cockpit of the UPS plane based on a review of the audio from the cockpit voice recorder. The plane crew tried to control the aircraft for about 25 seconds before it crashed, an NTSB official said, citing preliminary information. [...] https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/final-moments-ups-plane-crash-220951609.html

Quite readably written by a preeminent Constitutional scholar. We can hope... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Constitutional Turning Point? The Supreme Court began its November sitting this week in what is already shaping up to be a blockbuster term, both on the regular oral argument docket and the emergency docket. The latter has taken on huge significance as lower federal court trial judges in forum-shopped district courts have issued an unprecedented number of nationwide injunctions against President Trump's executive actions. I say "forum-shopped" because a large number of the roughly 400 cases that have been filed against the administration since January 20 have been brought in jurisdictions in which all (or nearly all) of the judges were appointed by Democratic presidents. All 11 of the sitting active judges on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, for example, were [...] https://americanmind.org/salvo/a-constitutional-turning-point/

I was unclear (my fault). Paste it here:

Thrilling Saturday non-GS/ES report, see man: We dragged our carcass out on the GS/ES trail at less than an hour before noon, slothful we man. Breakfast/lunch (at half-past 1 p.m.) was Subway*, ingest Two Guys man. *bought WUOC + gift card, F$WM Mini-B. was still sleeping when we awoke him for Two Guys lunch, zzz wee man man. Siesta'd at 2 p.m. for Many (2+1) hours, blessed zzz man. Ex-Mrs.-T-B. collected Mini-B. to construct a miu-house for mini-miu, well-housed mini-miu man. We and Mini-B. were still full from lunch by din-din time, sated Two Guys man. After brief deliberation, we chose for din-din lime potato cheaps + Aldi grapes, ingest Two Guys man. Two Better Call Saul episodes were watched during this feast, watch Two Guys man. Miu demanded and was administered thorough brushing, satisfied miu man. No party with the rubias tonight, no cavort we man. Weather supposed to begin deteriorating Sunday, wind and cold man. Mama T-B. worried about heater in her room, hopeful we and senior she man man. NFL game at noon, hopefully watch Two Guys man. Many (2+1) LLs to conquer, domestic we man man. And that was/is our thrilling Saturday, report we man.

Saturday GS/ES report, see man: We attended Many (2+1) GSs and both ESs, attend we man. The first 2 GSs were jokes, oh well man. The Many'rd GS was phantom, man. The 2nd ES was very far away and only half of the casa, and State Jail Felony man. The first ES yielded the take, see man: -- ~full bottle Vitamin D, onecan pork & beans = $2, steal man Total = $2

Pa$$ively raking in $Many,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 in POTS* commi$$ions, $o there man. *buy yours today, si man!

Congratulations, and thanks for your great report! Someone will be along to answer your question. If you'll be good enough, please copy your long paragraph about La Casa de B. and paste it into a reply post in the thread pinned atop this forum. It's valuable for others. If you feel comfortable adding how much you paid per night, even better; if not, that's also OK.

Then use the certified appraisal to establish the value. Maybe get two such appraisals.

Thrilling non-GS/ES Friday report, see man: Breakfasted/skoolbused Mini-B., groggy we and bye wee man man. Brushed demanding miu, Brush Me Daddy miu man. A post-above siesta was taken, moderately successful zzz we man. Gassed thirsty T-B.-mobile at Costco, gassy we man. Lunch was the Costco hot dog + Coke Zero at regular Costco, ingest F$WM man. Got new pack of Subway gift cards at Costco Business Center, F$WM. Hit GS & ESs, hit we man. Visited Mama T-B. on way back, visit senior she man we man man. Almost no yelling occurred, mirabile dictu man. Jolly nooser came in during visit, always a lift man. At casa, lunched/treated/brushed demanding miu, Where Exactly Were You Daddy miu man. Siesta was attempted, partial zzz because of shoulder pain man. Took Mini-B. to skool park to basketball with amigos, uneventful man. Din-din was Costco angusburgers + r'br, ingest traditional Friday fare Two Guys man. Movie night was one Better Call Saul episode, watch Two Guys man. Many (2+1) bowls of Costco popcorn were consumed, ingest Two Guys man. This tallies to Many (2x2x2x2 +2+2+1) for the week, impressive man. No party with the rubias tonight, no cavort we man. We shall itinerary up to Many (2+2+1) GSs and 2 ESs for Saturday, shall itinerary we man. Both ESs' addresses will be revealed "after Many a.m. Saturday," man. And that was/is our thrilling Friday, report we man.

Thread is moved to the Effects of Major Changes forum, where VAWA is discussed.

Addendum: Violent physical exercise has been known to help.