What's on your mind today?

[Magdalena]

I was just thinking about hugs.  Some people just make it so awkward.

[No one]

I was once in an all female prison trading hugs for pardons. I didn't get any takers, but several of the ladies who were in for misdemeanors, decided to commute their sentences to life.

[Magdalena]

I was once in an all female prison trading hugs for pardons. I didn't get any takers, but several of the ladies who were in for misdemeanors decided to commute their sentences to life.

Sounds like they were ready to be in a long-term relationship. 

[Ecurb Noselrub]

It is Friday.  I am going to be 70 on September 19, 2022.  I still suffer the indignity of working for a living. Because, I have determined, I am a money whore. I rationalize that work keeps my mind active, that it gives me a sense of self-worth, that it creates value for my employer. But really, I'm in it for the $.  Does that make me evil?

[Biggus Dickus]

It is Friday.  I am going to be 70 on September 19, 2022.  I still suffer the indignity of working for a living. Because, I have determined, I am a money whore. I rationalize that work keeps my mind active, that it gives me a sense of self-worth, that it creates value for my employer. But really, I'm in it for the $.  Does that make me evil?

This is a trick question right?  Because as I understand it the lawyer is asking if he's evil...should we tell him? 
(He's going to be 70 in five months, maybe best to let it go....seems like a decent enough chap except when he's correcting grammar)

[Dark Lightning]

It is Friday.  I am going to be 70 on September 19, 2022.  I still suffer the indignity of working for a living. Because, I have determined, I am a money whore. I rationalize that work keeps my mind active, that it gives me a sense of self-worth, that it creates value for my employer. But really, I'm in it for the $.  Does that make me evil?

I don't know about your lifestyle, but I kept my head down and my nose to the grindstone and managed to retire at 62. I'm about 2 weeks younger than you. So, retired 7 years ago, and my wife retired today. She's out to dinner with some ex-coworkers atm. I retired as early as I could, because of all the early death on both sides of my family. Mostly from tobacco, which I chose not to indulge in. I've been having problems with reflux and persistent anemia (going on 12 years). My doctor ordered enough vials of blood taken that I told the phlebotomist I was already anemic, don't take too much!

I have hobbies that I indulge in- wood working and carving, and copper work (not much of that lately). I spent over 2 years catching up on tasks like rebuilding the retaining wall at the front of the house, and landscaping the front yard. I also did renovations to my MiL's house so we could rent it out.

What hobbies do you have, Bruce?

[billy rubin]

i had money for a while. then i ran away with an employee and we went and lived in a trailer in a corn field.

then ewe had money agaion but also five klds going to quaker schools and university. so it ddnt last

then i said fuggit and decided to kill myself racing motorcycles so i wouldnt have to worry about retirement.

but im not dead yet so that isnt working out,.

but my motorcycle is really fast so its all okay

[Dark Lightning]

Not that I'm looking forward to your demise, but if you rode your motorcycle on the 405 fwy at breakneck speed, you could be dead before you know it. Back when I was commuting, there was a biker with a "Sundowners" MC patch on his jacket. He consistently white-lined past us at a fair speed. One time he side-swiped my car. I was stopped, and felt the car bobble. He looked over his shoulder, gunned it and tore off. It turned out that his boot had left an easily-buffed out mark on the rocker molding. One day, much later, traffic was all backed up, and when I got to the scene, he had gotten caught by a gardener who was towing a trailer and merging into the car pool lane, which is a real no-no, as one has to cross into lanes where trailers aren't allowed, to get there. The guy got wrapped around the axle, essentially. Gross.

[billy rubin]

well, i used to split lanes at rush hour in the bay area every day, and then rode skyline as fast as i could on the weekends.

but i made a point of not being stupid. still, as you note, it isnt your own lack of care that can kill you.

i look at it as levels of acceptable risk. almost everything you do inlife has a level of risk associated with it that measures how likely it is to kill you. smoking cigarets, riding a motorcycle, living in a bad part of town

i picked up steel in the exact middle of the detroit slums the other day. it was like another planet.

and doing anything et all. in the end you have to examone the risks, look at the benefits, and decide where you are going to live your life.

how important is it to live a long life that never pushes an envelope, when for a certain amount of risk, you can create a life experience of far greater depth and breadth? or may be just speed, but you know what i mean

[hermes2015]

I was a good scientist and enjoyed what I was doing, especially when I was dealing with enthusiastic students at all the universities I was associated with. But, unlike many others, I was equally involved in the arts and design worlds. I invested much time in developing and maintaining certain non-scientific interests. I loved invitations to address architects on design matters and was for a while invited to present modules in art history at an art school. My feeling was always that developing other interests would pay off after my retirement, which it has; I now find that the days are too short. Unlike some other retirees, I am never bored. Apart from the other interests, my exploration of classical music alone takes up many hours of my time every week.

I encourage young people to be the best they can be in their professional careers, but not to be one-dimensional. I think it is as important as ensuring one's financial security.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

What hobbies do you have, Bruce?

Hobby No. 1 is traveling: I've been to all 254 counties in Texas, all 50 states, and 27 countries.  I'm trying to add at least one country a year.

Hobby No. 2 is languages: I am trying to get fluent in Italian.  I think I'm about 80% there. I understand everything my private professor says. I also dabble, in varying degrees, in Spanish, French, Russian, German, Welsh, Koine Greek, Classical Hebrew, and (very little) Latin and Portuguese.  After I master Italian, I'm moving to Spanish. This augments my travel hobby.

Hobby No. 3 is music: I can play acoustic guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, and harmonica, all for my own pleasure. Definitely not ready for prime time.

Hobby No. 4 is exercise: 6 days a week in the gym, plus some walking and mowing the front lawn with a push mower. Although you wouldn't know it by looking at my waistline.

And then I also play some online chess (I'm not that great), play brain games on Lumosity, and read.  So, I try to keep active, mentally and physically.

[Dark Lightning]

Wow, that's quite the repertoire! I play Sudoku and Scrabble online, and recently discovered Wordle. I think that you'll find Spanish easy after Italian. When I studied Spanish in junior high, I could read Italian, as most of the words are the same, just spelled differently. I wouldn't be able to handle rapid-fire speech by a native speaker, but I could glean the meaning out of the printed word.

[billy rubin]

damn

all i mostly do is sit like a fat lump and pick lint out of my navel

[Ecurb Noselrub]

damn

all i mostly do is sit like a fat lump and pick lint out of my navel

BS. You travel all over the country trying to prove the world is flat. That is quite an active schedule.

[billy rubin]

im trying not to travel as much. this last week i didnt go any farther than michigan. what a nightmare tho

arrived at an amazon warehouse site early on monday so i could get done quick, then they didnt get me unloaded until noon.
then another one loaded me 10000 pounds over weight in indiana, had to go back and get the idiots to take some off. , arrived at anotehr destination with pressing dies for amazon truck bodies and discovered the receiver didnt have a crane, so i lost a whole day. drove into bladerunner inner city detroit and picked up steel next to the crackhouses.  went to pittsburgh and drove 80000 pounds around the inner city hopping curbs trying to get out.

now im taking a 47000 pound coil of steel to cincinnati and my truck is leaning. dont like that at all.