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Sunday Bulletin Board: Who could feel poor, with opera glasses and a pencil sharpener?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:14 GMT

The Permanent Family RecordTHE GRAM WITH A THOUSAND RULES writes: “Have you ever owned something that made you feel rich? We did. In fact, we had two somethings!“We were children of the Great Depression, but so were all our friends. They also wore cardboard in their shoes and lived in run-down rental houses, but we had two treasures that they didn’t have: Mother’s Opera Glasses and Dad’s Pencil Sharpener.“Now, I know neither of these items would qualify under GREGORY J.’s Dept. of Neat Stuff rules, but to us they were the neatest stuff ever! They made us feel rich.“No matter how many times we performed the chaotic exodus from a big house to a little house and back to a big house and down again to a little house (nine times by the time I was 14), those two items were never mislaid. At the last minute, Mother always made sure that those opera glasses were tucked safely in her purse while Dad unscrewed the pencil sharpener from the kitchen cupboard — and screwed it back in again ...

Literary pick for June 4: “Project Chrysalis” by Willard Joyce

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:14 GMT

There’s a new author in town — sort of. Willard Joyce, author of “Project Chrysalis,” is the pen name of Quinton Skinner making his first foray into science fiction with a fast-paced and scary novel about the generation who were born during or after a worldwide pandemic.Jenn is the elite of the elite in the Provisional Authority, an all-powerful organization that sprang up to quell chaos and violence during The Grip, a  malady that was killing thousands of people. Using technology, including eye and brain implants, Jenn has been trained since she was a child to move objects with her mind. She thought she was working for the good of humanity while living in luxury, but now she’s questioning her life:“What has been called God, she was taught, can also be visualized as a field of information, or a sentient program. There was truth to the idea that God shared the image of humans — that was a central mystery that was never explained to her satisf...

Literary calendar for week of June 4

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:14 GMT

ZAYNAB ABDI: Presents “Our Stories Carried Us Here: Voice for Refuge,” in conversation with Dana Mortenson, partnered with Green Card Voices. 7 p.m. Monday, June 5, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.DUROSE/TANGEDAL: Lisa DuRose and Ross Tangedal discuss “Michigan Salvage: The Fiction of Bonnie Jo Campbell,” with Michigan-based award-winning author Campbell. 7 p.m. Thursday, June 8, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.MARY LOGUE: Discusses “The Big Sugar,” her latest 19th-century mystery featuring Irish immigrant Brigid Reardon. 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 6, Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul.NATALIE WARREN: Presents “Hudson Bay Bound: Two Women, One Dog, Two Thousand Miles to the Arctic,” about Warren and Ann Raiho’s journey by paddle from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay, from the practicalities of planning a canoe expedition to the accomplishment of their adventure. 2 p.m. Sunday, June 11, Crea...

Minnesota’s new ‘right to repair’ law is the broadest one yet in U.S.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:14 GMT

Do-it-yourselfers and repair shops are celebrating a victory in Minnesota with the enactment of a new law that requires many manufacturers to share parts and information with tinkerers and small businesses.The so-called “right to repair” law will allow equipment owners and independent shops to more easily fix devices like phones, laptops, appliances and other equipment.Minnesota is the latest state to approve such a law, following Colorado earlier this year and New York last year. Massachusetts’ law covering vehicles was enacted in 2020. Do-it-yourselfers, farmers, handyman companies and small repair shops argue that without such laws, big tech companies make it almost impossible to get manufacturers’ parts and instructions.Manufacturers, however, argue that broadening access could pose dangers to would-be repairers and the equipment as well as compromise the safety and security of devices.As the bills make their way through the states, tech firms have succes...

21 Roots Farm grows jobs — and hope — for people with developmental disabilities

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:14 GMT

Amanda Athman helped pick up the mobile chicken coop at 21 Roots Farm in Grant last week and move it to a fresh patch of grass just south of the farm’s apple orchard.Athman knew just how fast to push the coop so that the squawking chickens could keep up. She then found a spot for the chickens’ “dust bath” — a blue plastic tub full of dirt. A regular dust bath, she explained, helps keep their feathers clean by controlling parasites and preventing oil buildup.Athman, 22, of Lino Lakes, is part of a pilot program this summer at 21 Roots, a nonprofit hobby farm that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She and five other interns — all of whom have been regular attendees of programs at the farm — have been tapped to be part of a 20-week work-experience program where they are being “trained to be trainers,” said Brittany Wiitala, one of the co-founders of the farm.Next year, they’ll help train others to work on the farm’s produce-su...

Skywatch: The ‘Z’ stars are a mouthful

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:14 GMT

On early evenings in June, just after twilight, look for a moderately bright star in the low southeast sky a little above the horizon. It has a decidedly ruddy hue to it. That’s Antares, the brightest star of the summer constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. It’s one of the few constellations that really looks like what it’s supposed to be. In the early evening, you can only see the three near vertically orientated, moderately bright stars in a nearly straight line just above Antares that outlines the scorpion’s head. Antares marks the heart of the beast. To see the tail and stinger of the celestial scorpion, you have to wait until well after 11 p.m. By then, all of Scorpius will be high enough above the southern horizon.(Mike Lynch)Just to the upper right of the three stars that make up Scorpius’s head is the faint constellation Libra the Scales. Unlike Scorpius, it looks nothing like what it’s supposed to be. It allegedly outlines the classic Roman scales of justice. Libra is ...

Ask Amy: The trouble with Mother’s (and Father’s) Day

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:14 GMT

Dear Amy: I’ve come to increasingly view Mother’s Day with sadness.Another of these days has come and gone, and my husband staunchly believes that he need not even do so much as say, “Happy Mother’s Day” to me.He also doesn’t remind our kids to acknowledge me, so for many years they have said nothing to me.It’s not that he forgets. We typically devote the day to visiting our own mothers. But when it comes to me, when I have asked him about his lack of acknowledgment, he shrugs and says, “You’re not my mother.”Our friends have pointed out, “She’s the mother of your children!” but he just brushes that off.I’m not after candy or flowers, but just hearing some words from him like, “Thanks for being such a great mom to our kids” would send my heart soaring. But it never happens.Even his mother usually sends me a card and gift, so she doesn’t subscribe to his philosophy.Am I being self-ce...

Horoscopes June 4, 2023: Angelina Jolie, anger won’t solve your differences

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:14 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Bar Refaeli, 38; Russell Brand, 48; Angelina Jolie, 48; Noah Wyle, 52.Russell Brand (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images) Happy Birthday: Keep an open mind, search for the best solution and make your voice heard. Question anyone who is pushy or talks down to you, and you’ll dodge interference and mistakes. Anger won’t solve your differences with others, but doing your own thing will bring peace of mind and benefits. Take the path that serves you well and helps you achieve your goals. Your numbers are 4, 13, 23, 29, 31, 39, 42.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take nothing for granted. Opportunity begins with you. Consider what you have to offer and what your time is worth, and forge ahead with fresh ideas and confidence that you can pitch what you have to offer and get what you deserve. 5 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Put everything in order. Reduce clutter, manage your time and share with the people you care about most. A positive change at ...

Word Game: June 4, 2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:14 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — NOCTURNAL (NOCTURNAL: nok-TUR-nal: Of, relating to or occurring in the night.)Average mark 45 wordsTime limit 60 minutesCan you find 60 or more words in NOCTURNAL?TODAY’S WORD — NOCTURNAL noun octal ocular oral orca outran cannot canon cant canto canton cantor carol cart carton clan clot clout coal coat cola colt conn contra coral corn count court cult curl curt taco talc talon tarn taro tonal torn toucan tour tuna turn ulna ultra unto rant roan rout runt acorn actor alto annul anon aunt auto loan loran lout lunarTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4....

Bridge: June 4, 2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:56:14 GMT

Players tend to view big hands through rose-colored glasses: with a pair that comes with magnifying lenses. Players visualize a triumph — bidding and making a slam — if their partner just has a useful card or two.But partners are unreliable, rarely having what you need them to; all too often, they will have nothing. It takes discipline to say no to the possibility of slam when a voice in your head urges you to take a flyer.Today’s South picked up a mammoth hand — 29 points — and bid as if he had more. All of North’s bids were forced; North promised nothing, but South launched into six hearts anyway.West led the jack of diamonds, and South won, drew trumps, cashed the ace of clubs and overtook his queen in dummy. He won a spade finesse with his queen, but East still got two spade tricks.“It was my partner’s fault,” South sighed. “If he’d held the king of spades instead of the king of clubs, I’d have been a heavy ...