Topic: Let's get this economy rolling again. Spend some money this weekend. (Read 3506 times)

JimH · « **on:** August 11, 2011, 03:26:56 pm »

Bob just bought himself a Nintendo 3DS today. He's done his part. Who's next?

fitbrit · « **Reply #1 on:** August 11, 2011, 03:44:49 pm »

Yesterday:
A mini-fridge for the home theatre.
Two 2TB hard drives for my server.
One nVidia GTS450 video card for one of my HTPCs, for use with RO HQ and automatic refresh rate change.

Today:
A whole bunch of home-automation light switches, and wall sockets, so that I can use a single remote to control lights, subwoofers, AVRs and bass-shakers, and perhaps eventually MC16 as well.

Tomorrow:
A 4-drive (internal) + 10 drive (external) capable mini Intel server.

How's that? Gotta love the wife for never interfering with what I do with my money.

JimH · « **Reply #2 on:** August 11, 2011, 03:53:53 pm »

Your country needs more like you.

fitbrit · « **Reply #3 on:** August 11, 2011, 04:07:05 pm »

Quote from: JimH on August 11, 2011, 03:53:53 pm

Your country needs more like you.

Thanks, Jim. I'm actually British, but living in Canada... probably applying for citizenship soon.

I may as well, as I am proud to be thought of as a Canadian.

My country, right now, is burning in nighly rioting and looting.

MrC · « **Reply #4 on:** August 11, 2011, 04:10:13 pm »

Bought an iMac for my wife yesterday. She works so hard.

[ edit: did I really write "but" and not "bought" ! ]

fitbrit · « **Reply #5 on:** August 11, 2011, 04:12:22 pm »

Quote from: MrC on August 11, 2011, 04:10:13 pm

Bought an iMac for my wife yesterday. She works so hard.

Yeah, I often buy my wife stuff I want too.

MrC · « **Reply #6 on:** August 11, 2011, 04:16:42 pm »

Quote from: fitbrit on August 11, 2011, 04:12:22 pm

Yeah, I often buy my wife stuff I want too.

She loved the bowling ball and the edger.

wig · « **Reply #7 on:** August 11, 2011, 04:26:08 pm »

I'm currently brewing some beer with a new homebrew kit I bought last week.

pcstockton · « **Reply #8 on:** August 11, 2011, 04:42:12 pm »

Golfing.
New handlebars and saddle for my bike. Local store mind you.... not (cheaper) online.
Also I will undoubtedly help the Bar/Service Industry in a significant fashion every night.
I will vow to eat out for every meal.

BryanC · « **Reply #9 on:** August 11, 2011, 04:47:03 pm »

I bought a condo today. I'm REALLY doing my part. But I figure there's eventually got to be something in the market with better returns than the 4% I'm paying on this sucker...

ksvane · « **Reply #10 on:** August 11, 2011, 05:11:54 pm »

I bought an umbrella today.

Matt · « **Reply #11 on:** August 11, 2011, 05:57:59 pm »

I bought a new steering wheel and clutch for my computer.

I've been getting made fun of a lot by my wife, but I'm sure nobody here will point out how pathetic it is for a grown man to race pretend cars on a computer.

Magic_Randy · « **Reply #12 on:** August 11, 2011, 06:08:59 pm »

iPad 2 here.

JimH · « **Reply #13 on:** August 11, 2011, 06:18:29 pm »

Quote from: ksvane on August 11, 2011, 05:11:54 pm

I bought an umbrella today.

This is probably the most appropriate technology in the whole list so far.

JustinChase · « **Reply #14 on:** August 12, 2011, 12:08:06 am »

Quote from: ksvane on August 11, 2011, 05:11:54 pm

I bought an umbrella today.

Quote from: JimH on August 11, 2011, 06:18:29 pm

This is probably the most appropriate technology in the whole list so far.

I guess it could be used for shade also...

Quote

The 10 months from October 2010 through July 2011 have been the driest for that 10-month period in Texas since 1895, when the state began keeping rainfall records. Across most of the Hill Country and the Austin area, rainfall since last October is between 16 and 20 inches below normal.

http://www.lcra.org/water/drought/index.html

Map of the craziness below. I honestly can't remember the last time it actually rained here. May maybe June?? a quarter of an inch, maybe a 1/2.

http://maps.lcra.org/droughtMonitorESRI.htm

EDIT: I just saw this headline from April, almost 4 months ago...

Quote

Extreme drought spreading across Austin metro area
April 18th, 2011 at 2:41 pm

BELOW IS A TABLE SHOWING OBSERVED RAINFALL...AVERAGE FOR THE
MONTH AND DEPARTURES FOR THE PERIOD FROM OCTOBER 1 2010 THROUGH
MARCH 31 2011.

SITE OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR

Austin (Actual) 0.06 0.92 0.80 3.67 0.64 0.15
(Average) 3.99 3.02 2.53 2.21 2.02 2.36
(Variance) -3.93 -2.10 -1.73 +1.46 -1.38 -2.21

I'm going off to Google "Rain Dance"

phalanthus · « **Reply #15 on:** August 12, 2011, 01:23:46 am »

Quote from: Matt on August 11, 2011, 05:57:59 pm

I bought a new steering wheel and clutch for my computer.

I've been getting made fun of a lot by my wife, but I'm sure nobody here will point out how pathetic it is for a grown man to race pretend cars on a computer.

not at all pathetic!
let's hope we never grow up

Listener · « **Reply #16 on:** August 12, 2011, 01:26:08 am »

Car repair bill today. Not exactly a fun way to spend money.

Matt, I'm sure that your pretend race car is a real bargain on costs compared to a real race car.

Bill

rjm · « **Reply #17 on:** August 12, 2011, 01:45:26 am »

Unfortunately the mathematics of the global credit bubble are such that stimulated consumer demand cannot prevent the coming depression. Best to save and protect your wealth in short term treasuries and gold.

gtgray · « **Reply #18 on:** August 12, 2011, 06:14:45 am »

A copy of WHS 2011 a G620 and some other bits and pieces to back up all these Win 7 boxes running MC16/

JimH · « **Reply #19 on:** August 12, 2011, 09:09:13 am »

Quote from: rjm on August 12, 2011, 01:45:26 am

Unfortunately the mathematics of the global credit bubble are such that stimulated consumer demand cannot prevent the coming depression. Best to save and protect your wealth in short term treasuries and gold.

How about buying a piggy bank? Or a new wallet? Or another economics book?

The world would be a better place.

flac.rules · « **Reply #20 on:** August 12, 2011, 09:12:11 am »

Quote from: rjm on August 12, 2011, 01:45:26 am

Unfortunately the mathematics of the global credit bubble are such that stimulated consumer demand cannot prevent the coming depression. Best to save and protect your wealth in short term treasuries and gold.

Yeah, you can't escape that if you use more resources than you produce a amount of time, you have to use less than you produce later. Money is just a way to transfer resources from one place to another.

Matt · « **Reply #21 on:** August 12, 2011, 09:19:09 am »

Quote from: rjm on August 12, 2011, 01:45:26 am

Best to save and protect your wealth in short term treasuries and gold.

Are you familiar with the paradox of thrift? Things fall apart if we all save at once.

Quote

Yeah, you can't escape that if you use more resources than you produce a amount of time, you have to use less than you produce later.

America has a lot of skilled people sitting idle. We could produce much more if we solved that problem.

glynor · « **Reply #22 on:** August 12, 2011, 10:37:18 am »

I bought a $11k Polycom HDX-8000 yesterday, not with my own money of course, but I still think I'm doing my part.

rjm · « **Reply #23 on:** August 12, 2011, 04:39:45 pm »

Quote from: Matt on August 12, 2011, 09:19:09 am

Are you familiar with the paradox of thrift? Things fall apart if we all save at once.

Given the design of our economic system the paradox of thrift can be a problem. Unfortunately our economic system requires infinite exponential growth to function and we have now bumped up against the realities of a finite planet. Our existing system could have worked a few decades longer had we lived within our means but we chose to borrow too much from the future and will now pay the price for that bad decision with a depression much worse than the 30's. Ultimately we will need to adopt a different steady state system. But first the laws of nature require our overshoot to correct with an undershoot.

raldo · « **Reply #24 on:** August 12, 2011, 04:55:37 pm »

Quote from: Matt on August 12, 2011, 09:19:09 am

...America has a lot of skilled people sitting idle. We could produce much more if we solved that problem.

My brother just visited the US for the N'th time this summer but this time for vacation. He had some time to think during his visit. The first thing he said to me upon returning was that the US will prevail because there are *a lot* of companies and businesses making things that there is a demand for all over the world. This is evident no matter where you are in the US.

Bubbles or no bubbles, real stuff is what matters. (I also regard Software is also real stuff, by the way)

I just received an Aeon Labs Z-Stick (ZWave home automation controller) designed in the US, manufactured in China.

INTERACT FORUM

Author Topic: Let's get this economy rolling again. Spend some money this weekend. (Read 3506 times)