maryrose, I don't know how to say this kindly. I will not invest in organizations with corrupt leaders. This is for private companies, public companies, and ones of faith. Once the Catholics clean up their house, I'll consider it. There is much about their branch of the faith that I love.

amom and MM, I'd rejoice with the simple and complex Catholic denomination if the leadership merited it. It doesn't. Furtwängler, Beethoven #3, from 1944: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbHD189DAp0 It sounds OK even on the big Bevs.

So sorry, Steph. We have 3 critters over 15 years old, and the time is coming soon for one. Critters bring a lot of joy, but ending their lives, however merciful it is, just is tough.

Well, I share a birthday with Joe Biden! And Bo Derek and Sean Young, among more respectable sorts.

BTW, sorry to hear about the termination, lyle, but surely you can do better than where you were. That's almost anywhere, in my opinion, but what do I know.

No, lyle was with one of the most besmirched too-big-to-fail investment arms. I would have loved to do business with him, but not with that firm.

Isn't it possible to buy supplemental insurance to alleviate that Medicare problem? The supplementals limit how much you pay -- Medicare coverage has limits -- and does nothing for reimbursement for any doctor's visits or procedures.

On a lighter note, my former research advisor, who is in his mid 70s, told me today that he is engaged to be married. His late wife passed from a terrible neurological disease, and he has been looking for a companion thereafter. I am thrilled for him!

FWIW, where and when I grew up, elementary school was K-6, Junior High was 7-9, and High School was 10-12. But move around a bit locally and some of that changed.

OT: Has anyone here heard of the Progressive Party? Somehow I got on their email list, and they send me a constant stream of funding requests. They support Sanders and the usual litany of far-left causes. I've considered unsubscribing, but it is interesting in a strange way.

I read a few posts on the incident that TM describes. If the facts as presented are right -- and they might not be -- it seems like a gross overreaction from Ms. Flores. Yes, Biden should not do this sort of thing, but becoming incapacitated by this sort of thing? Really? Or am I just an insensitive male who needs reeducation?

You're welcomed, Jim! Glad I could help out modestly.

Jim, On UCLA and Cal, I see the biggest difference as their locations: LA/Westwood versus the San Francisco Bay Area/Berkeley. Both are UC's flagship schools. They feel very different, but a great education can be had at either. If your relative is spending out-of-state money to attend either, why not consider Stanford?

"How dare him!" deserves a prize for something, but I'm afraid I can't come up with what. :-) Remedial elementary school, so something similar. Long ago I've given up my grammar Nazi role, but I do strive to write properly and concisely. It is aggravating when others don't even know the basic rules.

CH, Heartiest congratulations to your son-in-law! He seemed like a great guy to me. Please keep him away from the Santa Cruz body politic!

I'm signing off. I've posted this earlier, but it is so good-natured that I just have to do it again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNWYHSbaFBs Tower of Power, Down to the Nightclub. Not even a Mic Gillette vehicle.

I don't claim that schizophrenia only harms the victim. The delightful and charming MrsJ's late husband was a schizophrenic who took his own life and gratefully no others. She did a great job cleaning up from it, but goodness what a mess he left. She is a very strong woman. She has to be, to put up with me!

Narciso, If you are in a Sibelius mood, look up his Symphony #2. The fourth movement in particular is sublime. I can give you some suggestions if you like.

My recent postings of Tower of Power (from Oakland!) brought to mind another great Oakland institution: Eli's Mile High Club. This was a blues bar in North Oakland that I used to visit with a roommate or two, and we were the only white people in the club. Food wasn't very good, the booze was overpriced, and the sound system wasn't that good either. But my God the music was great! https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/elis-mile-high-club-in-west-oakland-celebrates-its-blues-legacy-this-weekend/Content?oid=5307834 I knew it in the Troyce Key era. This may be somewhat obscure to most here, but daddy would have loved it.

Ok, Iggy, since you asked for it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exVwi9IhIik Classic Mick Gillette. I played these things back in the day.

Maybe later Iggy -- I'll give you Down to the Nightclub: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M5WAr3npgM

And now for something completely different. Tower Of Power, What Is Hip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1KCoX_dDBE Mick Gillette, may he RIP, is one of the great lead trumpet players of all time.

MM, Simply I cannot believe that I am paying rent to store this stuff. I'm posting my Keb' Mo' link again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlLoBqMP_pE Wonderful 12-bar blues. And joyous, which these days is very nice. I ought to mention that I heard the piece initially on a horn system (RAAL ribbon on top) that was outstanding. Direct-heat triodes and all that.

I've been cleaning up my office. I found tax returns and documentation for the late 70s and 80s. Ugh. They are gone.

JiB, I spent time in the Netherlands and Scandinavia when I was in high school. After a week or so, I could read the newspapers the in native language. The Germanic languages are very similar. Don't tell the Scandinavians. The Dutch don't like it much either.