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Note to members who joined Stories.Com: I was poking through the "Site News & Announcements"  and came across a notice of a Stories.Com hat for sale around the site's first anniversary. I was just wondering if anyone still has one of those hats, and perhaps still wears it? |
| I used to have one but alas, everything from back then is gone now. I had a bunch of stuff from one of the conventions, too. |
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| Rick Dean - Dinosaur - I've always felt like I missed out coming along several years after the conventions were held. |
Reply| JACE - Let's just say many of us are glad that the conventions existed before the proliferation of social media. Plausible deniability. |
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| There's a great question by one of our Newbies over at "Writing.Com General Discussion" that you should check out. "Reviewing Contest Entries" . I would be interested to read your comments. Check it out. |
The Indomitable Penny The last penny was stamped yesterday at the Philadelphia Mint where it was born 232 years ago. It was recently revealed that the production cost of one penny may have been as high as 4 1/2 cents, hence the move to stop making them. Here are some facts about the smallest portion of our cash system:  The penny was born in Philadelphia with the first batch minted in March 1793 using horse-power and, of course, manual labor. In 1836, a steam-powered press revolutionized the process. The earliest pennies were large and almost pure copper, featuring symbolic designs representing liberty. Lincoln didn't appear on the penny until 1909. Philadelphia began minting pennies using steel in 1943 for a short period to aid the war effort. Some steel pennies may be worth up to 15 cents each. Philadelphia was the only U.S. mint for almost 50 years. It took the discovery of gold to create mints at Denver and San Francisco. Coins from those mints were marked with a 'D' and 'S', respectively. Check your coins--those minted in Philadelphia have no 'P' except on those coins minted in 2017, the 225th anniversary of the Philadelphia mint. Another U.S. mint still exists at West Point, NY, though it is primarily used for minting bullion coins and stores a significant amount of gold, silver and platinum. Though production ended yesterday, pennies will be around for some time to come. It's estimated there are more than 130 billion pennies in circulation, and they won't expire. Stores are already trying to decide what to do in cases of penny shortages. The obvious solution is rounding up or down to the nearest nickel. Personal note: USAEUR (United States Army, Europe) did away with pennies for all transactions when I was stationed in Germany from 1978 to 1981, rounding to the nearest nickel. Lo, I survived ... and so will America. The above facts were gleaned from an article on Billypen.com, Philly and the penny have a history; here are 8 things you should know by Kevin Donahue, 12 Nov 2025. Honestly, there are so many interesting articles on the subject of pennies. Google facts about the penny. |
🌝 HuntersMoon  - Could be true, except... I heard that the cost of minting nickels was about US $0.14 each, so they could be next on the non-minting block. Meanwhile, my local grocery store has already implemented "Penny Rounding", and my favorite local fast food places have a "two-fer" going: Round up to the nearest dollar as a donation to an education fund for at-risk kids. The kids get some help and nobody has to mess with pennies. |
It's hard to celebrate Halloween living in the country with no close neighbors. No one comes to the door, and then my wife feels obligated to raid the candy bowl  . Ok, we both do. Tonight, our church has a Trunk and Treat event. That ought to be lots of fun. |
| I live in the country too and miss handing out candy to all the little costumed kiddos. Luckily I have my two grandkids living nearby, so I get to give them a bag of goodies. Also we will set up the karaoke machine outside, and in "monster" voice mode, hide around the corner and try to spook them with a low growly "Happy Halloween" when they come to the door. |
Ours was last night. All the condo kids gathered in the lounge area and made the trek through the buildings to owners who had signed up. Very organized, VERY noisy  , and it was fun. I had no idea there were that many kids who lived here.  Macy, my Westie, loved it. She ran into the mob and got pets and hugs. |
| I've added a new entry to my book, "From My Mind to...." : "Wal-Mart Plus: Boon or Bust" Is anyone else using the Wal-Mart Plus service? |
| By now, I'm certain everyone is aware that the East Wing of the White House no longer exists. Built in 1902 under Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, and expanded in 1942 under Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, it was demolished in 2025 under Pres. Donald Trump. Many have asked how such a thing could be done without proper oversight. The Washington Post explains that the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 exempted the White House “from the required reviews that other federal agencies must undergo when seeking to alter government property.” Congress never imagined such an extreme act might occur. I'M CURIOUS: Do you support the destruction of the East Wing and building of a 90,000 sq.ft. Ballroom? Yes No I'd welcome an emailed response if you don't wish to respond in this feed. Thanks. |
| Today Oreo maker Mondelez said it's going all AI with its marketing next year. "AI tool cuts ad production costs by 30% to 50%." I bet it does... but when AI does all the work, who is going to be buying the Oreos. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/oreo-maker-mondelez-use-new-gener... I know it's not your topic, but I just find so many other things in the news more disturbing and dystopian than what's happening at some other guy's house.  (Removed/Reposted for Typo cause some guy still won't let us edit replies.) |
| I've added a new entry to my book, "From My Mind to...." : "Day 3" Also, last night Jeanette and I enjoyed a meal with Jim  and his wife, Kathy, at Lambert's Cafe just south of Springfield (MO). We truly enjoyed visiting with you both over the past couple days, especially talking with you, Kathy, about showing Buddy at the ACA National Specialty - Akita Club of America. Your passion really showed. Safe journey to you both. |
| I've added a new entry to my book on this date, the 18th of October, "From My Mind to...." : "This Date in History" |
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