A number of times at the gathering at the funeral home on the eve prior to a funeral, I've heard people say, "It seems to me that about the only times that our family gets together is for a wedding or a funeral, and that's a shame". I've told a number of them that our family (Dad's side), that immigrated 163 years ago, has held a family reunion for over 100 years, with usually about 110 attending on a Saturday in June. There's a potluck picnic "lunch", if you can call it that, for there's a great variety of food (and enough to feed about twice that number). We had over 400 come to the 100th anniversay, just over 10 years ago: what a celebration that was, that went on for two days! I'd recommend something like that for other families. Some have said that they thought that to be a good idea ... that they just might get something like that going. Mom's family started such a project about 1980 and meet every three years. Two summers ago we met at my retired brother's farm in Saskatchewan, and something around 75 spent a weekend there, with trailers, mobile homes, etc. Sister in law and a cousin arranged a tote bag, with a picture of a prairie village, including grain elevators, stitched to one side. One cousin has put together a family tree, including pictures of about 80% of the people, I think - it covered about half of one wall of brother's garage. I haven't written anything, but son has sat me down a couple of times to make a short recording of a couple of audio snapshots of my past. Such memories will probably be of less value in our situation than for many, as I have no grandkids - I'm getting near the end of the line, of our branch of the family tree, it seems. Dad's family printed a history, including family tree, on the hundredth anniversary of our immigration, and when I was president about 40 years ago, I plotted it all out on one sheet of paper. I thought that it had disappeared, but someone brought it to a picnic a few years back and there has been some effort made to update it. They did another history, including family tree, for the hundredth reunion a few years ago. When I saw the title of this thread, I thought, "Oh! Oh! ... What kind of mischief have I been up to, this time?". Some of you may recall one of my sayings around here - smile at half of the people that you meet on the street, etc. ... ... they'll wonder what you've been up to". I hope that you all have a great weekend. Drat! My computer's non-operational ... again. ole joyful

Depends..a lot... on what the fight was about...if it was a misunderstanding.. then maybe you can help (you are their friend)..if one of them slept with the other's husband, maybe it's best not to try to make peace. The one thing you may find is that some people think a true friend is one who will stand by them -- If you feel one of them really did do something wrong and you don't stick with or side with your friend who didn't, it may be telling a lot more about your friendship than you realize... If you choose not to decide... you still have made a choice.. If it's petty, you can't stay out of it... but if it's not petty, you may have some thinking to do...

If you love listening to music and cannot live without it, then you need a good Bluetooth speaker that you can take with you anywhere you go. The only problem is that trying to find the best Bluetooth speaker for your requirement from the bewildering number of options on the market can be quite a daunting task. You will also find cheap Bluetooth speakers that you might be tempted to buy due to the apparent cost savings. These are poorly built but often good-looking speakers that hardly perform well or may even stop working after a few uses. But that is why we bring to you one of the best and the most affordable Bluetooth speakers on the market, the Soundbot SB571, in our review below. Read on to find out more details or check our site to find more reviews. Features and Specs Ø 12W 40mm dual driver speakers for high-quality sound Ø Bluetooth range of up to 33 feet Ø 3.5mm aux cable port for wired playback Ø Built-in mic for hands-free calling Ø Long battery run time of 10 to 12 hours Ø Backed by a 1-year limited manufacturer’s warranty Why is the Soundbot SB571 the best Bluetooth speakers? No matter what mood you are in or what the occasion music can lift up your mood or add more fun to a lively moment. So, when you buy your Bluetooth speakers it is important to buy one that enhances your music listening experience through high-quality sound. Soundbot, though relatively a newcomer to the scene has created itself a niche as far as producing quality sound devices is concerned. The Soundbot SB571 is no exception to this and has all the hallmarks of a well-made Sound bot device. From a high-quality sound to wireless Bluetooth convenience to long playtimes to a durable construction to much more, the Soundbot SB571 is chock full of features. You will wonder how they were able to fit in so many features into such a small price tag. Below we will look into each of its features so that you can decide if it is the right one for your requirements. HD sound High-definition is not just limited to videos as you can now enjoy high-definition with the SB571. It has two 6W speakers that give you a total output of 12W for the most incredible sound experience from such a small device. Each speaker comes with dual 40mm drivers that together with a passive subwoofer gives you an overall sound that is rich and captivating. As if this wasn’t enough there is also a sizeable speaker groove that further enhances the sound quality. Even when you play at full volume there is no distortion in the sound and so the SB571 gives you a great sound experience for its size. It also has a signal to noise ratio of 80dB or more which further enhances the sound quality by reducing noise. Sound performance The sound quality is really superb and because the speakers are placed to the left and right, you can clearly experience the superior stereo effect. The passive subwoofer produces an excellent amount of bass for a speaker this size. Size The Soundbot SB571 is comparable in size to other Bluetooth speakers in the segments. It has quite a compact design and is lightweight making it very portable. Its dimensions are 76 x 2 x 1.6 inches and it weighs a mere 1.15 lbs. The speakers can be used both indoors as well as outdoors making it very versatile. You can easily carry your Bluetooth speakers in your bag when you go on your trips, for beach parties and more. You will have to be careful using the speakers in wet conditions as it is not waterproof. Bluetooth The SB571 comes with Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity to easily pair all your Bluetooth devices and give you a hassle-free set-up that is free of cumbersome wires. The Bluetooth is powerful and you can stream music wirelessly from about a distance of up to 33 feet. You can enjoy smooth and lag-free music with the SB571. But you can also choose to use a wired set-up and connect the speakers to even non-Bluetooth devices by using the 3.5mm Aux port. This makes the SB571 quite a versatile Bluetooth speaker for listening to music anytime. Compatibility You will never have to worry about compatibility with other devices when you have the SB571. This is because it is compatible with nearly all Bluetooth devices like smartphones, tablets, iPods, mp3 players, radio players and even Bluetooth enabled devices. Even if you have a device that is not Bluetooth enabled you can still connect it to the SB571 using an aux cable. Design The SB571 has a unique design that makes it stand apart from other Bluetooth speakers. Even though the cuboid shape might be common with many Bluetooth speakers, it comes with a geometrically patterned grille on the front that ups its style quotient to a great new level. This grille also extends to both the sides of the speaker further enhancing its stylish looks. The rest of the speaker is covered in shock-resistant material. This not only prevents the movement of your speaker due to vibration when placed on a flat surface but also provides a good grip while holding in your hands. There is also an LED indicator which shows whether the Bluetooth speakers are on. Controls All of the music control buttons are located on the top of the Bluetooth speaker. Unlike some speakers where the buttons are almost flat, the SB571 comes with nice raised rubber buttons that give you a nice feedback when pressed. A total of six buttons are present which includes a talk or stop music button, a previous track button, a next track button, a play/pause button and the music up or down buttons. Hands free calling Don’t worry about having to attend calls when you are in the middle of listening to your favorite music. You can use the Bluetooth speaker to take calls by choosing the Bluetooth symbol on your smartphone when you receive the call. But the best part of this feature is that the speaker comes with a built-in mic and so you won’t have to rely on your smartphone to speak back. You will be able to not only hear the caller clearly but you will be heard clearly too. Playtime The SB571 comes with an inbuilt powerful 1000 mAh rechargeable battery that gives you hours of uninterrupted music. If you like to play music for a number of hours, then you will love the SB571. This is because it has a long playtime of 10 hours when you use the Bluetooth feature. As wired connections do not use Bluetooth, the playtime is longer and you can play up to 12 hours. You can even use the wired connection if you want to save battery charge. So, you can listen to music almost all day or night before it is time for a full recharge. But surprisingly enough the charging time is very short and you can completely charge the speaker is only about 3 hours. When you stream music through Bluetooth from your smartphone you can even check the battery charge left and use your phone as a remote for the speakers. Voice announcements Most Bluetooth speakers in the segment use sound tones for pairing, searching nearby devices and when you turn the speakers on or off. But the Soundbot SB571 uses voice announcements to let you know if the pairing was successful. When successfully paired it will announce using the word ‘Connected’. Similarly, if the battery level goes too low, you will be alerted with a voice that says ‘battery low’. Pros Ø A rich and full sound for its size Ø Passive subwoofer for thumpy bass Ø Allows for both wired and wireless set-up Ø Wired set-up allows playback with even non-Bluetooth devices Ø Long playtime of 10 hours with Bluetooth and up to 12 hours with aux cable Cons · Comes with Bluetooth 3.0 which is not the latest version of Bluetooth · Does not come with a carry case for protection during travel Conclusion The Soundbot SB571 is a great Bluetooth speaker that gives an incredible sound experience despite being small and portable. It looks stylish with its streamlined design to make it the center of attraction in any party. In addition to giving you the wireless convenience of Bluetooth it also has an impressive play time of 10 to 12 hours depending on whether you use wired or wireless playback. It even lets you answer your phone calls with hands-free comfort. With so many features it is such a steal deal as it comes at an unbelievably small price tag but without any compromise on quality. It is for these reasons that the Soundbot SB571 is one of the best-selling budget-friendly Bluetooth speakers. It even gives some top models a run for their money with its many features. It has satisfied customers who have given some very positive reviews about it and recommend it to others. With so much going for it the Soundbot SB571 will be a great choice if you want a quality Bluetooth speaker that ticks all the right boxes. Go ahead and get one yourself for hours of pure music fun. Resources 1. https://www.soundbot.com/products/sb571-bluetooth-speaker 2. https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/audio-music/wireless-speakers.htm 3. https://www.ifixit.com/Wiki/SoundBot_SB571_Troubleshooting 4. https://itstillworks.com/connect-bluetooth-speakers-5124241.html 5. https://www.howtogeek.com/196125/the-htg-guide-to-portable-bluetooth-speakers/

Reading this thread, I now know more about mah jongg, but I still feel totally lost. I've been curious about it because I've seen it in movies and read books where it is played (but obviously not discussed in any detail). Until a matter of minutes ago, I'd have said I didn't know anyone who actually played mah jongg. I'd be interested in learning, but we are about to have our dog go in for a biopsy, are working on planning a redo of all three bathrooms and flooring for most of the house, and in August and September I will be doing choir uniform fittings and hemming. I think the brain cells I will have left might be more suited to bunco. I was invited to play in a neighborhood bunco group when we moved here. I only played a couple of times as a substitute player and got to meet new people each time. I enjoyed it because I got to know some of the neighbors and see inside other houses, but there is not skill or strategy unless you have loaded dice.