> > was the Irish University Strad, which was going for almost
> > half that, but it had a crack in the back, which automatically
> > halves the value, so that was out. At the last minute he got
> Repairs always do devalue antique instruments and most other 

Do you often encounter musical instruments in your wanderings?
Not that anything fancy would come along - all the stuff about 
ancient things with evocative labels basically never pans out; 
the recently found lost Strad in the news wasn't really lost but 
squirrelled away against a rainy day as you seem to suggest the
possibility of as quoted below. If one did find a real Strad, you
would net enough to retire on.

> antiques.  They often increase the value of some Pacific island items 

Perhaps because evidence of repairs speaks to antiquity and 
authenticity. Or perhaps the repairs require as much skill as 
the original fashioning of the merchandise?

> oddly enough, but I can't see a cracked back doing a Strad any good.

It's bad for the tone as well as the structural integrity.
Of course, in a blind test at Kresge Auditorium a couple
decades ago, it was proven quite conclusively that expertly
made modern violins sound better than famous old masters, and 
even respected musicians could barely tell the difference at
a distance beyond a few meters. In the case of Strads, the
antiquity and the provenance provide the lion's share of the
monetary value; as far as artistic value, this was a sort of
Judgment of Paris situation. I played in an ensemble where
all the other violins were Gaglianos of one generation or the
other, and I was playing on a fresh minted Wallin from the
1990s, and my instrument, if not my playing, blew the others
away. It was not a great classic instrument of a famous make, 
nor ancient, and, horrors, it was made by a woman. In those
days, women did not make violins! She made four based on the
Zsigmondy Strad, of which I was the tester in the development
(hers, not the Strad). One went to Alex Romanul, one to her
husband, one to me, and one to this kid Knopf, but I don't
think he kept it, all of us with better taste than bank accounts. 
It's kept me company for maybe 500000 of my 3 or 4 million air 
miles and has remained mostly intact. She persisted and went on
to become the first woman president of the Violin Society of
America, and her instruments command more than a house in Detroit.

> > A year later he was having to hide his assets in Europe while 
> > the creditors came for him. Meanwhile, a Strad would have 
> > given him close to 10%, compounded, anually.
> It would also have been easily portable and easily resellable as long 
> as he kept the paperwork.

To some extent, but really eminent instruments have a living
history, and in most cases their condition and that of their
owners is an open book. That puts the kibosh on the extremes
of portability and some conditions on the saleability.

> > I watched most of Mutiny on the Bounty once. I never saw the 
> > appeal, either, as his voice was reminiscent of that of my 
> > 10th-grade math teacher.
> He apparently had something, but I've yet to figure out what.

So did my 10th-grade math teacher, as it turns out. I'm given to
understand he's now going with one of my classmates despite having
been plumpish, nerdlyish, and a little awkward back in the day.

> > > Paper towels?  Not well.
> > They do quite well when shielded in a pocket, coming back to
> > the initial topic.
> So do some paper tissues. Others shred in the wash, seeding bits of 
> themselves everywhere without the possibility of more tissues growing 
> from the spores.

I've never had a paper towel stuffed into a pocket get shredded 
in the wash, not that I'd know.
  
> > > > Saturated fat is as good for you as unsaturated fat,
> > > Tastier though.
> > That's the point, though Weller has noted that lard 
> > contains more good fat than bad fat, in the current 
> > assessment of good vs. evil.
> These days however, people don't want to hear it.

It along with schmaltz and other good things are low on the
ecological soundness scale, requiring as they do the sacrifice
of the original grower. As do vegetable oils, I may point out,
which cause the deaths of trillions of corns, canolas, and 
soybeans. It would seem that by that criterion too butter is 
best.

> > And see above, my eyewitness report. Speaking of more
> > money than sense, when he was 66, he married a 33-year-old
> > Russian. I played for their wedding, which was full of the
> Can't say I blame her, but shame on him.   A friend of mine married a 
> Philippina lady, but he'd moved their for work and asked the ladies 
> in the local church to set him up with some women his own age.  He 
> lucked out in being fixed up with the principal of the local 
> elementary school. She had two teenaged daughters, and ten years 
> later they're still together.  

This guy had had a couple, so indeed shame on him.

> > Speaking of rock solid, what does anyone know about
> > cornstarch chunk eating? I looked on the Internet, and all
> > of the Google links looked dubious (don't expose yourself
> > on my account).
> That sounds like something I'll never bother trying. 

I'd try it - probably will soon.

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.01

      Title: Menudo
 Categories: Beef, Soups/stews, Mexican
      Yield: 12 servings

      5 lb Tripe
      3 ts salt 
      4 cloves garlic 
      1 ts cumin
           salt to taste
    1/4 c  chili powder
      1 lg can hominy

  Wash well and cut into cubes. Put in a deep pot with water and add
  remaining ingredients except hominy.

  Cook until tender, about three hours, 1/2 hour before finished cooking,
put
  in large can of hominy drained. makes ten to twelve servings.

  From Foster Grandparents Cookbook of Bexar County 1980 by Maria Santos
born
  April 18, 1914

-----