Any Reckless Spenders Out There Today?

[mickeyd]

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Your post reminded me of when I was a teenager, hanging out with my buddies at the local gas station. Favorite treat was to get a cold Dr. Pepper out of the vending machine, take a big swig, buy a bag of Planter's peanuts and pour them into the bottle. There was your fix for the night. Ever hear of that one?

When I was in the 8th grade a bunch of us guys would ride our bikes after school to a mom and pop store we called "coke for a nickle place". Most of us only had the allotted five cents for a beverage (grape Nehi for me) but a couple of the guys were big spenders and always went for the peanuts in the bottle action. I guess I could have afforded an extra 5 cents for the nuts, but the early LBYM in me probably thought it best to stay with the basics.

I'll bet those peanut guys are broke today!

[Meadbh]

I had a checkup at my doctor's office today. I am chicken about going to the doctor (LOL!) so while my prescription was being prepared I rewarded myself with a trip to the bookstore. I came away with two books on Australia and Paul Krugman's The Return of Depression Economics.

As I age I seem to need more visits to the doctor. I could be buying a lot of books! This could get expensive!

[IndependentlyPoor]

Peanuts are so like, last century

Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments II - The Domino Effect

[Ronstar]

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Originally Posted by RonBoyd My Garmin shows all of Canada and Alaska. From Here to Anchorage, for instance, is 3,371.2 miles (fastest time) and would take 57 hours and 48 minutes to drive. I assume they have satellite coverage up there.

Yes there is satellite coverage in Canada/Alaska- and probably enough for car navigation systems most of the time unless you are extremely far north.

The satellites are generally in orbit in the lower latitudes so that they can be used from a greater geographical area. The accuracy of a GPS position is increased by having satellites in all directions. That is not the case near the poles.

Here's a site plotting the location of the satellites. Go to "GPS" under "up in your sky". Select all and track selected satellites

LIVE REAL TIME SATELLITE TRACKING AND PREDICTIONS: NAVSTAR 64 (USA 206) NAVSTAR 61 (USA 199) NAVSTAR 60 (USA 196) NAVSTAR 52 (USA 168) NAVSTAR 50 (USA 156) NAVSTAR 32 (USA 91) NAVSTAR 27 (USA 84) NAVSTAR 26 (USA 83) NAVSTAR 23 (USA 71)

[RonBoyd]

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Originally Posted by Ronstar Here's a site plotting the location of the satellites. Go to "GPS" under "up in your sky". Select all and track selected satellites LIVE REAL TIME SATELLITE TRACKING AND PREDICTIONS: NAVSTAR 64 (USA 206) NAVSTAR 61 (USA 199) NAVSTAR 60 (USA 196) NAVSTAR 52 (USA 168) NAVSTAR 50 (USA 156) NAVSTAR 32 (USA 91) NAVSTAR 27 (USA 84) NAVSTAR 26 (USA 83) NAVSTAR 23 (USA 71)

Cool!

[Walt34]

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Originally Posted by DangerMouse I guess i really pushed the boat out yesterday as not only did I get my colour touched up, but I had them throw in some expensive highlights. Guess it was worth it as they make me look 5 years younger and 10 lbs lighter, well at least I tell myself that to justify the cost.

You wastrel, you!

The same could be done in Photoshop for free.

No?

For some mysterious reason known only to females, DW also declined the offer.

[FIREd]

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Originally Posted by Meadbh I had a checkup at my doctor's office today. I am chicken about going to the doctor (LOL!)...

So funny! DW and I work for the pharmaceutical industry and we are both chicken about taking any kind of medication, even over-the-counter!

[CuppaJoe]

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Originally Posted by FIREdreamer So funny! DW and I work for the pharmaceutical industry and we are both chicken about taking any kind of medication, even over-the-counter!

I was like that for years; oh, to be young again.

[Moemg]

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Originally Posted by DangerMouse I guess i really pushed the boat out yesterday as not only did I get my colour touched up, but I had them throw in some expensive highlights. Guess it was worth it as they make me look 5 years younger and 10 lbs lighter, well at least I tell myself that to justify the cost.

I bet it looks great . I have decided to have a few highlights added next time I have my color done . It's a lot cheaper than a face lift !

[NW-Bound]

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Originally Posted by RonBoyd My Garmin shows all of Canada and Alaska. From Here to Anchorage, for instance, is 3,371.2 miles (fastest time) and would take 57 hours and 48 minutes to drive. I assume they have satellite coverage up there.

Just joking to give Powerplay an excuse to take a leisure drive to Alaska to exercise that GPS. A GPS receiver may suffer some accuracy degradation due to GDOP at the polar regions due to the satellite orbits, but I would not think Alaska is high enough in latitude to cause a problem.

Not having the local map in the GPS is a more practical concern. I had to buy a Europe map to load into my Garmin for travel, and it was expensive ($120 in 2007).

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Originally Posted by Meadbh I had a checkup at my doctor's office today. I am chicken about going to the doctor (LOL!)...

Why can't an MD heal herself? Surely, there are procedures that cannot be self-administered, but if I were an MD, I would put a stethoscope on myself, and order my own blood test. Now, I wonder if I could say "Ah" while looking in a mirror.

PS. I was only half teasing. I always wonder how far a doctor can go in diagnosing and prescribing for him/herself. My brother-in-law told me of a doctor friend of his, who liked to eat and drink despite problems with high blood pressure and diabetes. He just knocked down a lot of medicine, hoping to overcome his ailments. Scary isn't it?

[Nodak]

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Originally Posted by Ronstar Yes there is satellite coverage in Canada/Alaska- and probably enough for car navigation systems most of the time unless you are extremely far north. The satellites are generally in orbit in the lower latitudes so that they can be used from a greater geographical area. The accuracy of a GPS position is increased by having satellites in all directions. That is not the case near the poles. Here's a site plotting the location of the satellites. Go to "GPS" under "up in your sky". Select all and track selected satellites LIVE REAL TIME SATELLITE TRACKING AND PREDICTIONS: NAVSTAR 64 (USA 206) NAVSTAR 61 (USA 199) NAVSTAR 60 (USA 196) NAVSTAR 52 (USA 168) NAVSTAR 50 (USA 156) NAVSTAR 32 (USA 91) NAVSTAR 27 (USA 84) NAVSTAR 26 (USA 83) NAVSTAR 23 (USA 71)

If I remember correctly the GPS satellites are in nearly polar orbits (orbital inclination close to 90 degrees) this is done so that the satellite can cover all the earths surface. There are a lot of GPS satellites in orbit so any place on Earth should always have several in view.

[Nords]

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Originally Posted by Nodak There are a lot of GPS satellites in orbit so any place on Earth should always have several in view.

I sure hope the coverage is better today than what the military was using in the 1990s.

Being in a satellite's footprint is one thing. Actually being able to receive the signal is quite another, and it was usually inversely related to the degree of desperation in getting a position fix...

[Ronstar]

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Originally Posted by Nodak If I remember correctly the GPS satellites are in nearly polar orbits (orbital inclination close to 90 degrees) this is done so that the satellite can cover all the earths surface. There are a lot of GPS satellites in orbit so any place on Earth should always have several in view.

Most GPS satellites are between 55 degrees north and 5 degrees south latitude. But there are others (Transit?) at the poles.

GPS explained: Satellite orbits

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Originally Posted by Nords I sure hope the coverage is better today than what the military was using in the 1990s. Being in a satellite's footprint is one thing. Actually being able to receive the signal is quite another, and it was usually inversely related to the degree of desperation in getting a position fix...

There is better coverage - 30 satellites now compared to 19 in 1997. Coverage was shaky in the 1990's. We would have to take breaks doing land surveys via GPS every day - sometimes an hour at a time - waiting for another satellite to pop up to give us a good enough constellation to measure with.

[chinaco]

Much of that money that late boomers spent has to have been on their kids.... Gen X and even more on the Gen Y (Millennial Generation).

Many parents have overspent and over leveraged themselves on cars, college (with all living expenses and credit card), cell phones, etc, etc... Many at the expense of their own financial well being.

The other areas where boomers overspent is their versions of the dream home (more than home than they could afford) and their own vehicles (new car every few years).... chicken in every pot Lexus and Mini-Van in every two car garage

[Nodak]

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Originally Posted by Ronstar Most GPS satellites are between 55 degrees north and 5 degrees south latitude. But there are others (Transit?) at the poles. GPS explained: Satellite orbits There is better coverage - 30 satellites now compared to 19 in 1997. Coverage was shaky in the 1990's. We would have to take breaks doing land surveys via GPS every day - sometimes an hour at a time - waiting for another satellite to pop up to give us a good enough constellation to measure with.

Thanks for the info; when I worked at Cavalier AFS I never paid a lot of attention to the GPS orbital element sets.

[FinanceDude]

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Originally Posted by bbbamI I've never received a neck rub.....

Never?

[bbbamI]

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Originally Posted by FinanceDude Never?

Not by someone that cuts my hair...

[W2R]

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Originally Posted by bbbamI Not by someone that cuts my hair...

Me either. That's not included in the Supercuts $11.95 "Senior Cut" (though maybe it should be).

[WhoDaresWins]

I park frugality outside the door of the beauty shop...I don't care what it costs. I would really have to be on the ropes to do without a good cut and my foil wraps. Ditto for the dentist...cost is not a factor. I'll wash out sandwich bags first and risk ptomaine!

[haha]

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Originally Posted by WhoDaresWins I park frugality outside the door of the beauty shop...I don't care what it costs. I would really have to be on the ropes to do without a good cut and my foil wraps.

As a man I heartily approve of this approach. I always observe people, and last week it dawned on me that what makes a middle aged woman hot rather than not is hair and weight. Style, color, highlights all have a strongly positive effect on me at least. And weight -earlier in life women may fret about small boobs, big bottom or whatever, but around menopause it mostly comes down to keeping a reasonable weight.

It is even easier for an older man. It amazes me how many men still plenty young enough to need sex and therefore to need some awareness of their appearance go around with giant tufts of hair growing out of their ears or noses.

If a man can stay clean and well groomed including fingernails and toenails, he has reasonable teeth and reasonable weight and he is not colossally boring he is home free with the ladies.

My brother told me today about an older guy in Texas who lives in a trailer park in a 5th wheel trailer. He goes to the gym, he is polite and funny, he likes women, and he has them following him like pigeons following someone with peanuts.

Ha