Subj : Re: I'm not back yet.. was: To : Barry Martin From : Nancy Backus Date : Wed Dec 25 2019 23:49:12 -=> Quoting Barry Martin to Nancy Backus on 18-Dec-2019 08:11 <=- BM> On this morning's news the chances for a white Christmas went down to BM> 2%; was 5% yesterday. And you probably ended up like us, with a green Christmas... except for the leftover piles here and there.... ;) BM>> If no reason to go out sometimes just let Mother Nature remove the BM>> snow she put on the car! I did have to scrape the frost off my BM>> windshields yesterday before my errands -- if I had been able to wait a BM>> half-hour or so would have melted. NB>> Yeah... it's always nice when one has the luxury of waiting for the NB>> snow/frost to take care of itself... ;) BM> I've had it where the dew/moisture on the windshield, apply the wipers BM> and it turns to frost and stays frozen, so still have to scrape. If one has time in that situation, the windshield defrost might melt the frost, at least eventually... BM>> Possibly, though seems like the west parking lot off of the store was BM>> the low point - there were some drain grids in it. Possibly the far BM>> side drained into or had a usually dry creek - no reason to drive to BM>> that side of the parking lot, and from the street side hard to see. NB>> So something you didn't see much... or much of... :) With drain NB>> grids, sounds like there was some underground drain of some sort.... BM> That would be my guess also, and possibly what the store's sump pump BM> drained in to. Don't recall seeing a pump building for the parking BM> lot drainage system (assuming there was one), but could have been BM> integrated in the Mall itself: lots of places could 'hide' a pump room. True. BM> Sort of speaking of Malls, the sister Mall on the Illinois side was BM> closed all day Monday due to a fire. Occurred early mid-morning in BM> one of the little shop-stores. AFAICT not much fire damage, just a lot BM> of smoke. Went on-line to check and no details. So apparently easily taken care of, then... BM>> Once in a while would splurge and buy lunch as a treat to myself; BM>> more a spur of the moment thing. NB>> Not really what I was referring to, either... the occasional splurge NB>> as part of an overall pattern of sound financial practice isn't the NB>> "I'm entitled" syndrome... :) BM> True; must have been hungry and that was only example I could think BM> of. The "I'm entitled" thing is more buy a huge-screen TV to show off BM> (to oneself). Probably better is the 'rolling house sized' brand new BM> SUV when a one- or two year old car would work just as well if not BM> better. (And again all depends: maybe a SUV is better for one's BM> situation.) I think I'd refer to that sort of thing more as conspicuous consumption... the always wanting bigger and more expensive whether or not it is needed... BM>> As far as entitlement-I-want-because-they-have, I don't think I've had BM>> that, or if it crept in I was able to boot it out. I don't want a BM>> huge screen TV, I don't want a 1-billion watt sound system. I'll admit BM>> to wanting and getting higher-level computer systems, but because I BM>> want faster, not because someone else has. (And then I stick them in BM>> plain black cases!) NB>> And that is maybe a little closer, but not really what I was talking NB>> about either... your purchases are still well within your budget, and NB>> your general wants are well within your means... :) BM> I think we're (or at least me) are stuck giving 'too small' BM> answers because the over-the-top ones don't come to mind. I'm thinking that you are stuck more because the concept of being entitled to more than you could possibly afford doesn't apply in your case.... You can afford generally just about anything that you'd tend to want to get, and things beyond that tend to seem ridiculously over the top, so wouldn't be even considered past a fleeting thought.... If I were trying to come up with examples from my own life, I likewise would be having difficulties.... :) NB>> I was thinking more of those of very modest means, possibly even NB>> struggling to make ends meet because of limited income, that think NB>> that they still deserve to have this that or the other thing, even NB>> though they clearly don't have the money for it... saving to get it NB>> is probably out of the question, since by the time the couple of NB>> pennies (probably literally) they can squeeze out of the money at NB>> hand grew to be closer to enough to pay for such, the item would be NB>> hopelessly outdated, and no longer of interest..... for them, the NB>> credit card is a very enticing trap.... "But I DESERVE it... why NB>> can't I get what everyone else has..." BM> That's probably a much better way to give an example than to try to BM> give an actual example. I could probably come up with specific instances that I've seen in people I've worked with, but the more general description is probably more understandable to someone in our circumstances.... NB>> From our discussions, I'd say that neither you nor I are exactly NB>> rich, by most standards anyway... but we do have more leeway in NB>> allocating funds beyond the bare necessities, and we do tend to be NB>> more balanced in making financial decisions whether on a small scale NB>> or on a large scale, and a willingness to postpone gratification NB>> where wiser... ;) BM> Bingo! Not exactly rich, nor poor. I want/need something I can buy BM> it, but there had better be a reason for it, then I'll spend time BM> looking for the best or close-to-the-best deal: time is money! If it BM> appears $22.99 (and free shipping!) is the best price I'm not going to BM> spend time looking for a $22.95 deal. (See? My real life examples are BM> even chump change! ) But it does underscore my point... being not rich, but also not poor, we've developed good habits of being reasonably frugal... using our resources wisely... But, when poor, there tends to be a different sort of mindset... a feeling of "I should be able to get it, even if I can't afford it, it just isn't fair otherwise"... which is what I've been calling the entitlement syndrome.... If I hadn't come up across it in various situations with various people in straitened situations, I'd likely not have noticed it quite so clearly.... NB>>> I figure that DMV will send me the renewal in plenty of time, like NB>>> they always do... :) BM>> Hmm, guess they do! I don't know if the government sents BM>> out renewals for passports. IMO double-reminders are better than BM>> none! NB>> From my experience, no they don't send reminders... you are on your NB>> own for that renewal... which is why I'll need to reapply at this NB>> point... ;) BM> OK - I was pretty sure the state sent out driver's license reminders BM> but not sure about the federal reminder for passports. BTW, you'll BM> probably need a visa to accompany the passport -- seems like that was BM> starting in 2021. Two separate items; AFAIK don't need a visa until BM> making the trip; get the passport ahead of time. Yeah, I heard something about that... That's actually been in effect for many decades, at least for some countries... What's changing, I guess, is that more countries are going to require visas along with the passport... BM>>> Yes, they kept the balloons closer to the ground where protected from BM>>> wind gusts by the buildings. Not sure if part of Festival of Trees or BM>>> a different event around the same time but a ~10' sphere balloon -- BM>>> just round with a logo on it -- escaped. Depending on a variety of BM>>> factors like upper lever winds, air temperature and the strength of the BM>>> balloon material it could land anywhere between Illinois and New BM>>> England/New York. So if you happen to see a big white balloon with red BM>>> lettering on it...... NB>>> I'll keep my eye out for it... ;) Not that I expect it would fly NB>>> this way... more likely to skip us and land in NE... :) BM>> OK, thanks! Haven't heard if their balloon has been found yet -- BM>> might be partway to England! NB>> Could be.... or went too high and deflated over the ocean.... BM> Awwww. ;( Probably you'll just never hear anything about it, but if you do, tell us... ;) ttyl neb .... To err is human. To blame it on someone else is even more human. --- EzyBlueWave V3.00 01FB001F * Origin: Tiny's BBS - http://www.tinysbbs.com (454:1/452) .