Conference back40::soapbox

	I'd like to know what edp does.

    
    well Brian here goes...............
    
    I refuse to live my life without coffee and my brews, period.
    
    I save about 29% of my weekly check to various savings, ie SAVE,
    stock program, credit union, etc... The reason I have extra money
    to save is rather simple really. I have no wife or kids to support,
    nor a huge mortgage, and no car payment until this fall.

    
    re: .1
    
    >I'd like to know what edp does.
    
    
    Well, we can see that you "need" a lesson in comprehension...
    

I'd not want to have to be without most of my posessions, which is not
to say that I _couldn't_ be without them, simply that I'd prefer not to be.

And, it's not worth it to me to sacrifice any of what I have in order to 
ensure that I'm comfortable when I'm 65, as I much prefer the concept
of dropping dead before I reach that point.

    
      You can save a lot by switching from French to Canadian wine...
    
      bb

    
    <---- :-)

    
    	Regardless of income, I'd have to guess that people in the mid-
    	dle class live just below or beyond their spending limit.  And if
    	they get a raise, instead of continuing at the same level, they
    	increase their expenses to make use of the extra income.
    

    Like others who have responded, I would prefer not to do without most
    of the things I have.
    
    To survive, however, my wife and I could manage together on:
    
    o   enough to rent a 1-br apartment in a Section 8 building, maybe
        $300 a month.
    
    o   about $30 a week for food, mostly beans, rice, and other bulk-pack
        seeds and grains in a mix to provide complete nutrition.
    
    o   maybe $200 a year for clothing - we can both sew, so we could keep
        most of our clothing in usable, if not high-fashion, condition.
    
    o   enough money to keep a bicycle in working order - there's nothing I
        need that is too far to bicycle for.
    
    This adds up to about $5500 a year, I think.  I wouldn't like it much,
    but it's survivable.

>    o   about $30 a week for food, mostly beans, rice, and other bulk-pack
>        seeds and grains in a mix to provide complete nutrition.

How much for Beano?

    things i do not have and do not need:

	husband
	mortgage
	car payments

    things i have and need:

	good wine
	corkscrew

    
    	They can leave a window open a bit.
    
    	Oh, and maybe add another $10 for a small fan.
    

    
    I shoulda read .10 a little slower.... yes I should have...

Di, you really don't need a corkscrew.  You can break the neck off the bottle.

	Milady..... and to think I was gonna try and convert so I could have
your hand in marriage......

    
    I opened a bottle of wine once using a power drill, a screw, and the
    claw end of a hammer.
    
    That's probably more expensive than a corkscrew.

    
    	RE: Andy
    
    	Yeah, there's no such thing as cork wine.
    

    .15
    
    Seems to me that a screw is an awfully expensive way to get a bottle
    opened.

 .13  how gauche.

    
    	Some of us are pretty reasonable on our rates.
    

Were you _that_ thirsty, Deb?

>    	Some of us are pretty reasonable on our rates.
    
Shawn's one thing _nobody_ needs.

    
    re: .16
    
    >Yeah, there's no such thing as cork wine.
    
    Exactly!!!!! 
    
    :)
    

    
    	RE: Gerald
    
	>Shawn's one thing _nobody_ needs.
    
    	You mean like a Rolls Royce, right?  Nobody needs it, but it's
    	nice to take 1 for a ride once in awhile?
    

 ZZZ   to be the bare 
    
    
    He said bare.

    
>    He said bare.

	it could be worse.  he could have said body dance.

    >> He said bare.
    >
    >     it could be worse.  he could have said body dance.
    
    It could be worse.  He could threaten to do one.

    
    
    Depends on whose body he uses....
    

ZZ    it could be worse.  he could have said body dance.
    
    Our Lady Di is going to haunt me to the fires of perdition with that
    one!!! 

WDYN:

A woman.  Any volunteers?

Chris.

    WDYN:
    
    A man.  Any volunteers?
    
    'pril.

	I would.... but I can't.... :-)

    You can...  but you won't, is more like it.
    
    8')

    He would if he could.

    
    I suggest that .30 and .31 get together, and quickly.
    
    

    To see my enemies vanquished
    
    Their armies crushed before me
    
    To hear the lamentation of their women.

>    I suggest that .30 and .31 get together, and quickly.
    
I suspect that there may be a teensy geographical problem, sadly (or 
fortunately, depending on whose perspective you take!)

Chris.

    
    
    April,
    
    
    I will volunteer.  Be gentle.....

    >  You can save a lot by switching from French to Canadian wine...
    
     That's known as a false economy, unless one is drinking wine merely
    for its alcohol content, in which Everclear is more economical... :-)

    I could quite easily sell my motor. It`s 2 years old and i`m paying off
    a loan month by month.
    
    Seeing that I only live a few miles from work there`s no reason to grit
    my teeth and catch the bus every morning and night. 
    
    Come to think of it,if I sold my car i`d have so much money I wouldn`t
    know what to do with it. Er,the money that is.
    
    Hmmm...i`ll give it a good thought when my insurance runs out next
    November.
    
    
     

    Re .1:
    
    > 	I'd like to know what edp does.
    
    No, you wouldn't.
    
    During 1995, I had a three-day work week -- three eight-hour days.  So
    I received only 60% of my usual pay.  In spite of that, my expenditures
    were equivalent to a pre-tax income of about 2/3 what Digital paid me.
    
    So I've been living on 40% of the usual pay for my position.  That
    could be less than Judy makes, so I know of what I speak when I say it
    is possible to live more cheaply than most people do.  I could cut even
    further easily; that level includes plenty of luxuries.  I can imagine
    the distress most people would feel (and FEEL is the right word) from
    having their income cut by 60%, but I have to be amazed at where their
    money evaporates to.
    
    To cap it off, I have no debt, my realized and unrealized investment
    income in 1995 was more than Digital paid me, and I am working to reach
    my retirement goal in four years, at age 37.  Restraint pays off, and I
    will have the last laugh.

    
				-- edp (Eric Postpischil)
    
    
Public key fingerprint:  8e ad 63 61 ba 0c 26 86  32 0a 7d 28 db e7 6f 75
To find PGP, read note 2688.4 in Humane::IBMPC_Shareware.

    |I am working to reach my retirement goal in four years, at age 37.
    
    eric, i must say, i am impressed.

    
    edp, are ya single 8^)?
    
    
    

    
    
     I think edp's goal is to market and push the riding of bikes during
    winter!!!
    

    >edp, are ya single 8^)?
    
     What do you think?

The Massachusetts Lottery Commission used to enclose coupons good for free
lottery tickets in one of those envelopes-with-all-the-ads-and-coupons.
Last time, they were "buy-one-get-one-free."  Since I refuse to flush
my money down the toilet, my dream of retiring in three years evaporated.

    -1 yup, that really ticked my wife off!

    
    
    	I don't need to reply.  Some people in here seem to have it
    	all figured out for me already.
    

    
    Judy...
    
    Sell the red, go-fast-mobile and get a bicycle... This'll get you in
    shape real quick on that ride from Milford to ZKO...
    
    hth...
    
    :)
    

    
    
    	Thanks Andy.  =)
    

    
    well, gerald, you can give me those coupons if you want... :>:>
    
    (and i won't forget ya if i win...)
    

OK, next time I won't toss 'em.

    Re .43:
    
    > edp, are ya single 8^)?
    
    Of course.  I've witnessed an average return on the market of .145
    (that's the rate of exponential growth) with a standard deviation
    around .8, so, modeling the growth as a normal random variable,
    accumulating capital of 2.5 times the amount needed to provide a
    desired average return would give a 99% chance the capital would not
    fall below the desired level.
    
    A woman, on the other hand, would wipe everything out.
    
    (That's not to say I wouldn't make the choice, just that I'm aware it's
    there.)
    
    
    				-- edp
    
    
Public key fingerprint:  8e ad 63 61 ba 0c 26 86  32 0a 7d 28 db e7 6f 75
To find PGP, read note 2688.4 in Humane::IBMPC_Shareware.

    <--- You're quite a charmer, to be sure.

    |A woman, on the other hand, would wipe everything out.
    
    this is amazing!!  i feel the same way about a man!!

    
    Hmmm, do I detect a match made in heaven, so to speak?

    Ya, the wiping should cancel out, eh?

    as long as the $$$ is kept in separate accounts (ie, my $$$
    is mine).

    mine! mine! mine! mine! MINE, I say!

    mine!  you betcha!!  all mine!!!

    Yodels! 

    No...Bonnie's match is the guy who used to live upstairs.

    
    you know, I find all this materialistic thing just a bit troubling.
    who the hell cares how much joe blow has, or doesn't have. just
    give me some cold beers, a good woman, and a fast car. 

    .62  you mean the fanman?  he's outta here!  gone, vamoose!

>just give me some cold beers, a good woman, and a fast car. 
    
    Izzat anything like good beers, a fast woman and a cold car? 8^)

>just give me some cold beers, a good woman, and a fast car. 
    
	I think what you're likely to get is good beer, cold woman, and a fast
car.....;-)

    ...and a 3 pc. suit, don't forget the 3 pc. suit, preferrably in brown.  

	Brown was the 80's.... lime green the 70's.... what color is the suit
of the 90's?


Glen

	I need a 69 snarf

 I could use a few days off just to do nothing but take it easy and eat
 some healthy meals.  With all the stuff going on with my son recently
 I've eaten more meals in my car or at McDonald's/Burger King than 
 anywhere else.

 I could also use some sleep.



 Jim

    
    	I could've sworn that last word was "sheep". Whew.
    
    	Are you taking advantage of the "2 1/4-pounders for $2" at Mc-
    	Donald's?
    

 No, I'm not a big fan of quarter pounders.  I am rather partial to the
 Whoppers at burger king.  Even their plain hamburgers aren't all that
 bad.



 Jim

    Royale with cheese n'est pas?

    
    Last night...
    
    shepherd's pie with Bambi meat...
    
    
    MMmmmmmmmmmmm...
    

    and prune juice and trail mix for dessert?

    
    Eating 2 bananas, 1 apple, 1 pear and usually an orange or clementine
    during the day negates the need for prune juice...
    
    trail mix is too high in calories for every day munching... I usually
    save that for dessert after some yummy tree-bark after a hike...
    

    
    	I hear there's a special this week at the market:
    
    	Pears, 49 cents each
    

    pairs of what?

    Do your socks get dirty when you wear sandals on a mushroom hunt?

    Careful.  He's not to be truffled with.

    
    	More importantly, does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the
    	bedpost overnight?
    
    	And if your mother says don't chew it do you swallow it in spite?
    
    	Further, can you catch it on your tonsils, can you heave it left
    	and right?
    
    	Finally, does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost
    	overnight?
    

    Well, the chewing gum in the urinal doesn't.

	Eeeeeeeuuuuuuuuuwwwwwww!

    
    	Yeah, that is gross.
    

    Awk! He likes pee soup too.

    <<< Note 633.74 by SOLVIT::KRAWIECKI >>>
    
    >>Last night...
    >>shepherd's pie with Bambi meat...
    
    i certainly hope it's all gone...
    
    
    

    
    Shepherd's Pie is bluuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhy.
    
    

   
    	>Are you taking advantage of the "2 1/4-pounders for $2" at Mc-
    	>Donald's?
    
Now that's a BIG burger

    
    	Thank you for noticing.  I didn't know how to pharse it such that
    	people like you could parse it as it was meant to be parsed.
    
    	8^)
    

    Parsed, he's sage, rose Mary, in time.

    
    a life.

    .31
    
    I'm closer.  Haha, Soapbox rubes.
    
    ;^)

    Warm seas
    
    A full sail
    
    A bucking windsurfer beneath my feet.

    It's not polite to stand on people.
    
    hth

    That's nothing.  You should see where the mast goes.

    
    I need to know why I'm soon going to have more
    hair in my nose and around my belly button than on my head.
    
    What the hell does it do? Migrate?

    
    jeesus Hank, take it to topic 414 where it belongs.

    peace and quiet...quiet and peace...thank you
    
    FWIW

    
    
    	What I need:
    
    	A cabin in the deep woods of Vermont.
    
    	A good rifle and plenty of ammo (hunting).
    
    	Some place to sell animal pelts for a few dollars (to buy salt,
    needles/thread, etc.).
    
    	A garden.
    
    What my wife and kids need:
    
    	curling iron
    	makeup
    	hot shower/bath
    	decent car
    	cell phone
    	good education
    	Power Rangers :)
    
    
    jim

 I need a snarf!

    patience, discernment, and a behaved 5th grade SS class

    
    	mz_debra, I dare you to try my Shepherd's Pie.
    
    	It's not the standard recipe.
    

	I LOVE shepherds pie. YUM!

    i need to lose 15 lbs.

    
    	I'll take 'em.
    

    
    I need an as yet undetermined amount of money, cash, green, moolah
    etc... Please send what you can (no checks please) to me here. I'll let
    you know when to stop sending.
    
    Thanks in advance ;-)
    
    Bob 

    
    
    nope, keep the last name the same if you think money can buy
    happiness....
    
    
    
    hth,

    that was deep.

    
    	Maybe money can't buy happiness, but $50 can definitely rent it
    	for a couple hours.
    

    
    	re: -1
    
    	agreed. :)
    
    

    
    Shawn, I thought you only charged $20.
    
    

    
    	Deb, not everyone gets the same deal as you do.
    

    WDIN?
    
    A) Closure
    
    B) Passion
    
    C) Two-hour massage

    
    
    raise hand......
    
    I can do that!

    Less fat,
    
    More height,
    
    A better disposition.

<---I can do that!

    No offense, but I'd rather be dumpy stumpy and grumpy than indulge in
    rumpy pumpy.

    <--- I wish _I_ had said that.

    
    	See what I mean?  It's a conspiracy, I tell ya!!  Colin can't
    	possibly be that funny without someone knowingly setting him up.
    

    I told you, Shawn, it's a call-in show.

    
    well, Colin is the box wit, or is that twit???? Gerald is right up
    there as well.

    
    you calling gerald a twit???
    

                  It's not nice to call people names.
                    .
    		   .
    		(=)
        	 |
        	 |
        	 |
        	 |
        	 |

    I already have a name.  To wit, Colin

   .123  hey, how'd you get that through the metal detectors?

    
    to break 500 in bowling tonight. either that, or the pool balls running
    hot.

    |either that, or the pool balls running hot.
    
    is this a sentence?

    
    .127
    
    no, Oph, it is a game.

    It'd be a sentence for some people, mostly those who have lives.

    okay, randy, whatever you say. 

    The name of a wig manufactur...I want to get my hair cut but I want to
    sell.

    
    >> I want to get my hair cut but I want to
    >> sell.
    
    yes, we want you to spell, too.
    
    
    :>
    

    .132
    So I forgot a word...has nothing to do with spelling because I know how
    to spell "it". :')

    
    >>> has nothing to do with spelling
    
    this time...