Subj : I'm not back yet.. was: To : Nancy Backus From : Barry Martin Date : Wed Dec 18 2019 08:11:00 Hi Nancy! On this morning's news the chances for a white Christmas went down to 2%; was 5% yesterday. NB>> The storm we got on Sunday into Monday left us snow that we still NB>> have everywhere... Richard got his car out, but my car still has NB>> snow on the windshield and rear window... the side windows are NB>> clear, at least on the side I can see from inside... ;) Not a NB>> lot of snow, but didn't warm enough to melt it all off.... 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 NB> the snow/frost to take care of itself... ;) I've had it where the dew/moisture on the windshield, apply the wipers and it turns to frost and stays frozen, so still have to scrape. BM>> They'd like that! No visible drainage seen at the Mall where I used BM>> to work; thinking they have some sort of below ground removal system as BM>> the Mall property has a definite slope: walk from one end to the other BM>> and one goes down several sets of short steps/ramps. There was also a BM>> hollow section under the floor in Juniors Department, apparently where BM>> a sump pump was though never heard it. There was also a set of circuit BM>> breakers marked 'Sump Pump' so assuming the location. NB>> Sounds likely then.... and with the slope, drainage might have been NB>> more through the ground, as well... maybe ending up somewhere off the NB>> property entirely.... :) 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 NB> sort.... That would be my guess also, and possibly what the store's sump pump drained in to. Don't recall seeing a pump building for the parking lot drainage system (assuming there was one), but could have been integrated in the Mall itself: lots of places could 'hide' a pump room. Sort of speaking of Malls, the sister Mall on the Illinois side was closed all day Monday due to a fire. Occurred early mid-morning in one of the little shop-stores. AFAICT not mich fire damage, just a lot of smoke. Went on-line to check and no details. BM>> Right. I'm not sure if the Student Loan Debt thing has an anesthetic BM>> effect: "I'm in debt for $40,000 for school, what's another $400 for a BM>> big TV?" NB>> I suppose it might.... also there's the "but I'm entitled" syndrome... NB>> others can get those things so I should be able to have whatever I NB>> think I want.... BM> A little 'entitlement' on rare occasion is OK but only as a treat and BM> keep it small. (So not really blatent entitlement.) I brown-bagged BM> lunch, mostly because I didn't want to eat a full meal, partially BM> because I didn't want to waste part of my lunch break in line for a BM> meal, and yes, some because it cost too much. Once in a while would BM> splurge and buy lunch as a treat to myself; more a spur of the moment BM> thing. NB> Not really what I was referring to, either... the occasional NB> splurge as part of an overall pattern of sound financial practice NB> isn't the "I'm entitled" syndrome... :) True; must have been hungry and that was only example I could think of. The "I'm entitled" thing is more buy a huge-screen TV to show off (to oneself). Probably better is the 'rolling house sized' brand new SUV when a one- or two year old car would work just as well if not better. (And again all depends: maybe a SUV is better for one's situation.) 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 NB> talking about either... your purchases are still well within your NB> budget, and your general wants are well within your means... :) I think we're (or at least me) are stuck giving 'too small' answers because the over-the-top ones don't come to mind. NB> I was thinking more of those of very modest means, possibly even NB> struggling to make ends meet because of limited income, that NB> think that they still deserve to this that or the other thing, NB> even though they clearly don't have the money for it... saving to NB> get it is probably out of the question, since by the time the NB> couple of pennies (probably literally) they can squeeze out of NB> the money at hand grew to be closer to enough to pay for such, NB> the item would be hopelessly outdated, and no longer of NB> interest..... for them, the credit card is a very enticing NB> trap.... "But I DESERVE it... why can't I get what everyone else NB> has..." That's probably a much better way to give an example than to try to give an actual example. 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 NB> be more balanced in making financial decisions whether on a small NB> scale or on a large scale, and a willingness to postpone NB> gratification where wiser... ;) Bingo! Not exactly rich, nor poor. I want/need something I can buy it, but there had better be a reason for it, then I'll spend time looking for the best or close-to-the-best deal: time is money! If it appears $22.99 (and free shipping!) is the best price I'm not going to spend time looking for a $22.95 deal. (See? My real life examples are even chump change! ) BM>> Also my notes to renew my BM>> Drivers License a few years from now - right now that gets BM>> paperclipped to the Decemeber 2020 page of next year's calendar. 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 NB> your own for that renewal... which is why I'll need to reapply at NB> this point... ;) OK - I was pretty sure the state sent out driver's license reminders but not sure about the federal reminder for passports. BTW, you'll probably need a visa to accompany the passport -- seems like that was starting in 2021. Two separate items; AFAIK don't need a visa until making the trip; get the passport ahead of time. 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.... Awwww. ;( ¯ ® ¯ Barry_Martin_3@ ® ¯ @Q.COM ® ¯ ® .... Forget smile buttons: give people the real thing. --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .