Overheard at Work

[TheOldestYoungMan]

I heard of an relatively young man (maybe 50 or 55) who had Alzheimer's and couldn't remember his wife's name, so he tattooed it on his arm along with her face. 

I've heard of women getting their own names tattooed above their arse, but to have one willing to get a tattoo of their own name on their face just to help me out, that's a level of commitment I can't really imagine.

[JLee]

I heard of an relatively young man (maybe 50 or 55) who had Alzheimer's and couldn't remember his wife's name, so he tattooed it on his arm along with her face. 

I've heard of women getting their own names tattooed above their arse, but to have one willing to get a tattoo of their own name on their face just to help me out, that's a level of commitment I can't really imagine.

I would assume it was an image of her face tattooed on his arm, not her name tattooed on her own face.

[RWD]

I heard of an relatively young man (maybe 50 or 55) who had Alzheimer's and couldn't remember his wife's name, so he tattooed it on his arm along with her face. 

I've heard of women getting their own names tattooed above their arse, but to have one willing to get a tattoo of their own name on their face just to help me out, that's a level of commitment I can't really imagine.

I would assume it was an image of her face tattooed on his arm, not her name tattooed on her own face.

That is how I understood it as well.

[mm1970]

CW 1:  Man, I'm so broke, between Christmas, the pregnancy and the new house I am strapped"
CW2" that sucks man, when is your new stack getting here?"  ***I THINK a stack is some sort of weight lifting equipment based on the way the conversation went*****
CW1:  I dunno man I just ordered it yesterday
CW2:  Man that site I sent you, they usually have it to you in 2 days, they cost a bit more but the shipping is fast
CW1:  For $1700 I'd hope the shipping is quick!

For the record, these are the same two idiots that couldn't figure out the tea kettle.  In the past month CW1 has found out his wife is pregnant, subsequently put in a contract on a new build home in Gainesville va, with so far, 35k in upgrades,...we work in the DC area...so yea that's a RIDICULOUS commute and I'm pretty sure he earns about 60k or under a year.

Ouch.  My nephew lives in Bristow, VA.  When I lived in the area and worked in Crystal City, we had coworkers who lived in Centreville.  At the time (90's), that's as far out as anyone really lived and commuted.

[mtn]

I heard of an relatively young man (maybe 50 or 55) who had Alzheimer's and couldn't remember his wife's name, so he tattooed it on his arm along with her face. 

I've heard of women getting their own names tattooed above their arse, but to have one willing to get a tattoo of their own name on their face just to help me out, that's a level of commitment I can't really imagine.

I would assume it was an image of her face tattooed on his arm, not her name tattooed on her own face.

That is how I understood it as well.

This. So he would look at his arm, see a face, and underneath the face a name. Maybe it said "wife" too.

Don't know if it is true or not though.

[MrMoogle]

CW 1:  Man, I'm so broke, between Christmas, the pregnancy and the new house I am strapped"
CW2" that sucks man, when is your new stack getting here?"  ***I THINK a stack is some sort of weight lifting equipment based on the way the conversation went*****
CW1:  I dunno man I just ordered it yesterday
CW2:  Man that site I sent you, they usually have it to you in 2 days, they cost a bit more but the shipping is fast
CW1:  For $1700 I'd hope the shipping is quick!

For the record, these are the same two idiots that couldn't figure out the tea kettle.  In the past month CW1 has found out his wife is pregnant, subsequently put in a contract on a new build home in Gainesville va, with so far, 35k in upgrades,...we work in the DC area...so yea that's a RIDICULOUS commute and I'm pretty sure he earns about 60k or under a year.

Most likely a steroid stack...

[MishMash]

CW 1:  Man, I'm so broke, between Christmas, the pregnancy and the new house I am strapped"
CW2" that sucks man, when is your new stack getting here?"  ***I THINK a stack is some sort of weight lifting equipment based on the way the conversation went*****
CW1:  I dunno man I just ordered it yesterday
CW2:  Man that site I sent you, they usually have it to you in 2 days, they cost a bit more but the shipping is fast
CW1:  For $1700 I'd hope the shipping is quick!

For the record, these are the same two idiots that couldn't figure out the tea kettle.  In the past month CW1 has found out his wife is pregnant, subsequently put in a contract on a new build home in Gainesville va, with so far, 35k in upgrades,...we work in the DC area...so yea that's a RIDICULOUS commute and I'm pretty sure he earns about 60k or under a year.

Most likely a steroid stack...

Whelp...goes to show how much I know about lifting...and that would make it just THAT much worse.

[TheInsuranceMan]

new one to add: CW bought a new to her 2014 F150 V8 single cab. She drives 60 miles each way every day, for I think $15 an hour or so. They wouldn't take her old car in on trade, so the dealer actually advised her to LET IT GET REPOSSESSED! it would be her 3rd repo, but shouldn't matter because she will still be paying on the truck in 7 years when her credit is "better". It's so good now her interest rate is 13% So this $22k truck is going to cost $36k by my math, plus lets say gas averages $3 a gallon x 6 gallons a day X 250 days/year x 5 years = $22,500 in GAS in a $22k truck she's paying 36k for.


wow, $59,000 for a used ford F150. it better do dirty sexual things for that price.

Not that this CW made a good decision, but seriously, why are people still assuming fuel is $3 a gallon?  From where I sit, I see a gas station that has gas at $1.79 and diesel at $2.19.  In fact, I believe we ended 2015, at least here in the states, with an average price per gallon of gasoline at $2.00.

Now, that's still stupid for that personals financial situation, and a LOT of fuel, but why does everyone on MMM have to get so judgy over people's decisions?

[maco]

Not that this CW made a good decision, but seriously, why are people still assuming fuel is $3 a gallon?  From where I sit, I see a gas station that has gas at $1.79 and diesel at $2.19.  In fact, I believe we ended 2015, at least here in the states, with an average price per gallon of gasoline at $2.00.

It's $2.0x here or $1.9x at the cash-only place, but anyway...

Because it being < $2.50/gal for 6 months doesn't have most of us assuming that's the new normal. My husband thinks OPEC is artificially lowering their prices temporarily to manipulate the election. I don't know about that, but given it was $4/gal for a while there, $3 seems to be the average over the last 15 years.

[o2bfree]

Now, that's still stupid for that personals financial situation, and a LOT of fuel, but why does everyone on MMM have to get so judgy over people's decisions?

That's kinda the whole point of this topic, to shake our heads at people who make ridiculous financial decisions they can't afford.

[TheInsuranceMan]

Now, that's still stupid for that personals financial situation, and a LOT of fuel, but why does everyone on MMM have to get so judgy over people's decisions?

That's kinda the whole point of this topic, to shake our heads at people who make ridiculous financial decisions they can't afford.

Okay, you win that point.

[Squirrel away]

CW 1:  Man, I'm so broke, between Christmas, the pregnancy and the new house I am strapped"
CW2" that sucks man, when is your new stack getting here?"  ***I THINK a stack is some sort of weight lifting equipment based on the way the conversation went*****
CW1:  I dunno man I just ordered it yesterday
CW2:  Man that site I sent you, they usually have it to you in 2 days, they cost a bit more but the shipping is fast
CW1:  For $1700 I'd hope the shipping is quick!

For the record, these are the same two idiots that couldn't figure out the tea kettle. 

That made me lol!

[Pooplips]

Not that this CW made a good decision, but seriously, why are people still assuming fuel is $3 a gallon?  From where I sit, I see a gas station that has gas at $1.79 and diesel at $2.19.  In fact, I believe we ended 2015, at least here in the states, with an average price per gallon of gasoline at $2.00.

It's $2.0x here or $1.9x at the cash-only place, but anyway...

Because it being < $2.50/gal for 6 months doesn't have most of us assuming that's the new normal. My husband thinks OPEC is artificially lowering their prices temporarily to manipulate the election. I don't know about that, but given it was $4/gal for a while there, $3 seems to be the average over the last 15 years.

I wonder what those numbers look like inflation adjusted. I might have to do some research this morning.

[KodeBlue]

I heard a housekeeper at my hospital saying she spent $200 on Powerball tickets. Nuff said.

[mtn]

I heard a housekeeper at my hospital saying she spent $200 on Powerball tickets. Nuff said.

I spent $10 on the tickets. Not sure I got $10 worth of daydreaming. Probably only about $7. I'll have to see if I won anything, but I don't think I did.

[frugalnacho]

I heard a housekeeper at my hospital saying she spent $200 on Powerball tickets. Nuff said.

I spent $10 on the tickets. Not sure I got $10 worth of daydreaming. Probably only about $7. I'll have to see if I won anything, but I don't think I did.

EDIT: found a better picture

[MgoSam]

Yeah, a few years ago I would buy a lottery ticket every so often. In my head the reasoning was, 'it's only $1 and the dream of not worrying about money,' but then I realized how badly I was wasting my money, and more importantly, that this could let such an improbable dream guide me away from things that truly matter in life.

[mtn]

I heard a housekeeper at my hospital saying she spent $200 on Powerball tickets. Nuff said.

I spent $10 on the tickets. Not sure I got $10 worth of daydreaming. Probably only about $7. I'll have to see if I won anything, but I don't think I did.

EDIT: found a better picture

Actually, I didn't! I lost $2 (spent $10, won $8).

The $2 was turned into postage stamps.

[fattest_foot]

Related since people at work were talking about the lottery.

I had said that the reason I didn't buy a lottery ticket for yesterday's drawing is that to me, there's not really any difference between whatever the base amount is and these $500 million+ ones. I said that once I got to something like the $4-5 million range, I wouldn't even be able to spend that much money. If I were buying a ticket for this one, I have no real reason not to buy a ticket for every drawing. I got all kinds of looks like I was crazy.

I then stated that "With $200 million, you literally wouldn't be able to spend the earnings on that money."
The response was laughs and "Are you kidding? I could easily spend that much!"

Maybe they just didn't do the math, but you're talking about conservatively $8 million a year.

[JLee]

Related since people at work were talking about the lottery.

I had said that the reason I didn't buy a lottery ticket for yesterday's drawing is that to me, there's not really any difference between whatever the base amount is and these $500 million+ ones. I said that once I got to something like the $4-5 million range, I wouldn't even be able to spend that much money. If I were buying a ticket for this one, I have no real reason not to buy a ticket for every drawing. I got all kinds of looks like I was crazy.

I then stated that "With $200 million, you literally wouldn't be able to spend the earnings on that money."
The response was laughs and "Are you kidding? I could easily spend that much!"

Maybe they just didn't do the math, but you're talking about conservatively $8 million a year.

My napkin math put it around $150mil lump sum post-tax, for a ~$4mil net annual income at 4%.

I could sponsor a $500k kickstart-to-ER donation for a random Mustachian every three months and still have millions a year...

[frugalnacho]

1. never underestimate the stupidity of people.  You can't think of a way to spend that much money, but there are lots of celebrities who have easily earned that much and are bankrupt now.

2. I agree that it's far too much money for me to ever personally use, but can you imagine the good you could do in the world if you possessed $500M?  How many millions of starving children you could help? How much fresh water you could bring to poverty stricken areas? $20M/year could go a hell of a long way in improving the lives of so many people.

[mlejw6]

Not that this CW made a good decision, but seriously, why are people still assuming fuel is $3 a gallon?  From where I sit, I see a gas station that has gas at $1.79 and diesel at $2.19.  In fact, I believe we ended 2015, at least here in the states, with an average price per gallon of gasoline at $2.00.

It's $2.0x here or $1.9x at the cash-only place, but anyway...

Because it being < $2.50/gal for 6 months doesn't have most of us assuming that's the new normal. My husband thinks OPEC is artificially lowering their prices temporarily to manipulate the election. I don't know about that, but given it was $4/gal for a while there, $3 seems to be the average over the last 15 years.

Actually, oil prices are low because some country in the middle east (probably the Saudis) normally stops selling oil when there is a glut in the market. However, this time (sometime in 2015) they decided to continue selling and are still selling, so there is even more oil available, thus lowering the prices even more. I have no source for you, because I am at work and shouldn't be wandering around the interwebs like this. But, that is what I've heard. Which, doesn't actually contradict what you said at all. Anyway.

Edited for reading comprehension.

[MandalayVA]

CW 1:  Man, I'm so broke, between Christmas, the pregnancy and the new house I am strapped"
CW2" that sucks man, when is your new stack getting here?"  ***I THINK a stack is some sort of weight lifting equipment based on the way the conversation went*****
CW1:  I dunno man I just ordered it yesterday
CW2:  Man that site I sent you, they usually have it to you in 2 days, they cost a bit more but the shipping is fast
CW1:  For $1700 I'd hope the shipping is quick!

For the record, these are the same two idiots that couldn't figure out the tea kettle.  In the past month CW1 has found out his wife is pregnant, subsequently put in a contract on a new build home in Gainesville va, with so far, 35k in upgrades,...we work in the DC area...so yea that's a RIDICULOUS commute and I'm pretty sure he earns about 60k or under a year.

Ouch.  My nephew lives in Bristow, VA.  When I lived in the area and worked in Crystal City, we had coworkers who lived in Centreville.  At the time (90's), that's as far out as anyone really lived and commuted.

Sadly I've seen that beat--a few years ago the local paper ran a piece about people who commuted to DC ... from Richmond.  Not only is Richmond ninety miles from DC, the rush hour clusterfuck on the roads south of there is awful.  I remember one woman having to leave her house at FOUR A.M. to make sure she got to her job on time.  Her job started at NINE.

[zolotiyeruki]

Actually, oil prices are low because some country in the middle east (probably the Saudis) normally stops selling oil when there is a glut in the market. However, this time (sometime in 2015) they decided to continue selling and are still selling, so there is even more oil available, thus lowering the prices even more. I have no source for you, because I am at work and shouldn't be wandering around the interwebs like this. But, that is what I've heard. Which, doesn't actually contradict what you said at all. Anyway.

Edited for reading comprehension.

Yeah, usually the Saudis (and the others of OPEC) would normally decrease production to drive prices higher.  The shale gas boom in the US drove down prices, so OPEC actually *increased* production to drive prices low enough to knock the newcomers out of business.  It's working to an extent--my in-laws live in a town with heavy oil/gas industry, and it's been hit pretty hard--but enough production has now been brought online that the damage to OPEC has been done.  They don't have quite as much of a monopoly as they used to.

[mtn]

Related since people at work were talking about the lottery.

I had said that the reason I didn't buy a lottery ticket for yesterday's drawing is that to me, there's not really any difference between whatever the base amount is and these $500 million+ ones. I said that once I got to something like the $4-5 million range, I wouldn't even be able to spend that much money. If I were buying a ticket for this one, I have no real reason not to buy a ticket for every drawing. I got all kinds of looks like I was crazy.

I then stated that "With $200 million, you literally wouldn't be able to spend the earnings on that money."
The response was laughs and "Are you kidding? I could easily spend that much!"

Maybe they just didn't do the math, but you're talking about conservatively $8 million a year.

My thing is guilt. It is self imposed, for sure, but if I won a $2 million lottery, then I'd have enough to retire (assuming half goes to taxes). I'd feel guilty about the folks around me who need help, but not be able to help them.

If I won a $200 million lottery, and kept $100 million after taxes, I could take $8 million and live off of that for the rest of my life. I'd have an insane life. It would be wonderful. Then I have $92 million to help my MIL with her MS, build a new school, contribute to cancer research, etc.

I know that doesn't make a lot of sense logically, but it works for me.

[dragoncar]

Related since people at work were talking about the lottery.

I had said that the reason I didn't buy a lottery ticket for yesterday's drawing is that to me, there's not really any difference between whatever the base amount is and these $500 million+ ones. I said that once I got to something like the $4-5 million range, I wouldn't even be able to spend that much money. If I were buying a ticket for this one, I have no real reason not to buy a ticket for every drawing. I got all kinds of looks like I was crazy.

I then stated that "With $200 million, you literally wouldn't be able to spend the earnings on that money."
The response was laughs and "Are you kidding? I could easily spend that much!"

Maybe they just didn't do the math, but you're talking about conservatively $8 million a year.

Lol, that's exactly why I occasionally play my state lottery instead of the powerball or whatever mega thing there is.  I figure my odds are better to win a smaller amount.  I'm very rational in my irrational expenditures.

An extra 100 million won't make me happier, but enough to retire (even the 2nd prize levels) would be great.

Depending on your family's situation, there's something to be said in having enough to allow them to spend more time with you and less working.  I might not personally be happier spending an extra million, but if that million can help my family retire I'll be happier spending more time with them.

[KodeBlue]

I heard a housekeeper at my hospital saying she spent $200 on Powerball tickets. Nuff said.

I spent $10 on the tickets. Not sure I got $10 worth of daydreaming. Probably only about $7. I'll have to see if I won anything, but I don't think I did.

I guess what made me think of this as facepunch or at least facepalm worthy is the idea of someone who makes about $12/hr spending $200 in one fell swoop on tickets. Ouch.

[mtn]

I heard a housekeeper at my hospital saying she spent $200 on Powerball tickets. Nuff said.

I spent $10 on the tickets. Not sure I got $10 worth of daydreaming. Probably only about $7. I'll have to see if I won anything, but I don't think I did.

I guess what made me think of this as facepunch or at least facepalm worthy is the idea of someone who makes about $12/hr spending $200 in one fell swoop on tickets. Ouch.

Ooof. Yeah, that isn't good. I won't notice my $10; it did come out of my entertainment budget after all.

[frugalnacho]

You can't win if you don't play.

[Hunny156]

You can't win if you don't play.

Someone at work mentioned buying tickets today for the next drawing, and justifying it by saying "someone's gotta win, might as well be me!"  I nodded in agreement and told him if I don't see him at work next week, I'll know why!  Then I laughed to myself...

[hudsoncat]

I have to humble brag first for a little background... I lost quite a bit of weight in the last year, which has necessitated some clothes buying. I hit the jackpot at my local Goodwill a few nights ago night and today I am wearing some of the clothes.

CW: I love those pants, where did you get them?
Me: Oh, they are Ann Taylor Loft, but I actually found them at Goodwill!
CW: Goodwill?
Me: Yes! I found a great deal, 3 pair of work pants, three work shirts, a skirt, and a blazer for less than $50. All were either Ann Taylor Loft or The Limited!
CW: And you are wearing them?!
Me: Um...
CW: But poor people shop at Goodwill. Aren't you worried the clothes are dirty or worn out?
Me: Well, you do have to check carefully for wear and I always run things through the washer as soon as I bring them home, but you can't bet the deal!
CW: I'd rather be naked. I mean those pants are okay I guess, but are probably last year's style anyway.

CW has told me how heavily she is in debt and she regularly visits a local food pantry on "short" months. But anything used is just too ridiculous to consider I guess. No matter how nice she thought they looked when she assumed I spent a lot of money for them. I just laughed. I shouldn't have to buy more work clothes now for a long time.

[JLee]

CW: I love those pants, where did you get them?
(Goodwill!)
CW: I'd rather be naked. I mean those pants are okay I guess, but are probably last year's style anyway.

lmao, wtf...

[Hedge_87]

CW: I love those pants, where did you get them?
(Goodwill!)
CW: I'd rather be naked. I mean those pants are okay I guess, but are probably last year's style anyway.

lmao, wtf...

I agree I would rather be naked most of the time but some people just don't want anybody to have fun

[nobodyspecial]

The shale gas boom in the US drove down prices, so OPEC actually *increased* production to drive prices low enough to knock the newcomers out of business.  It's working to an extent--

But isn't going to work long term. Even if the current operators go bust we know the oil is there and have the technology so it's easy for another round of companies to turn the tap back on when prices increase.

[zolotiyeruki]

The shale gas boom in the US drove down prices, so OPEC actually *increased* production to drive prices low enough to knock the newcomers out of business.  It's working to an extent--

But isn't going to work long term. Even if the current operators go bust we know the oil is there and have the technology so it's easy for another round of companies to turn the tap back on when prices increase.

Precisely, which is why OPEC is in such a pickle--if they slow their own production, prices will increase somewhat, but nowhere near as much as they might have in decades past.

[JordanOfGilead]

The shale gas boom in the US drove down prices, so OPEC actually *increased* production to drive prices low enough to knock the newcomers out of business.  It's working to an extent--

But isn't going to work long term. Even if the current operators go bust we know the oil is there and have the technology so it's easy for another round of companies to turn the tap back on when prices increase.

Precisely, which is why OPEC is in such a pickle--if they slow their own production, prices will increase somewhat, but nowhere near as much as they might have in decades past.

Harvesting oil in any way other than pumping it from an underground reservoir is much more expensive. I'll use fake numbers to give an example.
Let's say the cost to pump one barrel of crude is $20 per barrel. Any time the market value of crude is greater than $20 per barrel, OPEC is making money.
At the same time, the cost to harvest oil from alternative methods may be in the realm of $70/barrel. When the price of oil spiked a few years ago, this made what would have otherwise been considered an expensive venture, profitable. As long as crude stayed above the (in this case, hypothetical) market value of $70/barrel, the alternative harvesting techniques were still profitable.

In the past, OPEC has come together and slowed production to maintain price stability and consistent profits for their member nations. In the late 80s, however, one or two country members of OPEC didn't follow along with the rest of the group and kept their production up while the rest of OPEC dropped their production. The result was that prices still went up, but the member nations that didn't do what they were supposed to made boatloads more than the ones that slowed production. This was viewed by the members of OPEC that followed the rules as essentially stealing from them (a big cause of some of the current tension in the middle east).

Back to the present, When north American companies started harvesting oil at $70/barrel, instead of slowing production to maintain the same market value, OPEC INCREASED production to force the prices down even lower with the idea that if the prices dropped below the operating costs, the new guys in the game would start losing money and be forced out of business.

It's started to work with one or two more expensive types of harvesting crude, but several of the "lower" cost alternative methods are still able to hang on for the time being. Keep in mind that OPEC is not hurting for money and they have plenty of crude already out of the ground sitting off of the market to help in their control of prices. They are taking a hit on profit margin now to win back the position of near exclusive petroleum supplier for the world in the future.

[lithy]

You can't win if you don't play.

Well of course you can't win the lottery if you don't play.

But you can still win.

Just 1 or 2 (or apparently in some cases 200) dollars at a time.

[nanu]

You can't win if you don't play.

Well of course you can't win the lottery if you don't play.

But you can still win.

Just 1 or 2 (or apparently in some cases 200) dollars at a time.

You can still win the lottery by randomly finding a winning ticket somewhere.

I figure the odds of winning are so low, I will probably only win with divine intervention.
As such, I'm sure the good lord can get the winning ticket to me if he decides I'm worthy of winning the lottery, rather than me needing to actually buy the ticket (I'm actually an atheist, but doesn't mean I'm not optimistic)

[frugalnacho]

You can't win if you don't play.

Well of course you can't win the lottery if you don't play.

But you can still win.

Just 1 or 2 (or apparently in some cases 200) dollars at a time.

You can still win the lottery by randomly finding a winning ticket somewhere.

I figure the odds of winning are so low, I will probably only win with divine intervention.
As such, I'm sure the good lord can get the winning ticket to me if he decides I'm worthy of winning the lottery, rather than me needing to actually buy the ticket (I'm actually an atheist, but doesn't mean I'm not optimistic)

God helps those that help themselves (by buying lottery tickets).

[Anje]

The shale gas boom in the US drove down prices, so OPEC actually *increased* production to drive prices low enough to knock the newcomers out of business.  It's working to an extent--

But isn't going to work long term. Even if the current operators go bust we know the oil is there and have the technology so it's easy for another round of companies to turn the tap back on when prices increase.

Precisely, which is why OPEC is in such a pickle--if they slow their own production, prices will increase somewhat, but nowhere near as much as they might have in decades past.

But they have a huge advantage over american and european oil - ours is more expencive to get to (even for companies who just up and leave after - it's dirt expencive for those who clean up after themselves). If you have oil that's relative cheap to get to and your compeditor has oil that's expencive to get to you can earn money keeping prices lower than margin cost for the rest of the bunch. Which is what they are attempting. Now, long term they won't succeed. But that doesn't mean a lot of people will not loose their job before "long term" kicks in. Here we are reeducating en masse - noone is expecting the same levels of earnings for 10 years + and that means you got to get oil up with fewer hands and heads hired.

Of course: the irony is that low oil price = high returns in all other industries but oil. So yey OPEC.

[frugalnacho]

A millionaire is made ten bucks at a time.  I think by logical extension you can also argue a millionaire is made two bucks at a time.

[SweetTPi]

You can't win if you don't play.

Well of course you can't win the lottery if you don't play.

But you can still win.

Just 1 or 2 (or apparently in some cases 200) dollars at a time.

You can still win the lottery by randomly finding a winning ticket somewhere.

I actually had this happen to me a few months ago.  It wasn't much- it was a scratch-off ticket with a prize of all of $2.  I was just picking up some trash along the sidewalk and realized it hadn't been cashed in.  A little reward for doing some cleaning up that I would have done regardless!

[Pooperman]

You can't win if you don't play.

Well of course you can't win the lottery if you don't play.

But you can still win.

Just 1 or 2 (or apparently in some cases 200) dollars at a time.

You can still win the lottery by randomly finding a winning ticket somewhere.

I actually had this happen to me a few months ago.  It wasn't much- it was a scratch-off ticket with a prize of all of $2.  I was just picking up some trash along the sidewalk and realized it hadn't been cashed in.  A little reward for doing some cleaning up that I would have done regardless!

Even losing lotto tickets can win you money! You can find a couple of those losing scratchoff tickets and cash them in for second-chance drawing. NJ lotto's is $1 million, so there's that.

[GuitarStv]

A millionaire is made ten bucks at a time.  I think by logical extension you can also argue a millionaire is made two bucks at a time.

You make ten bucks by counting your pennies.

[dsmexpat]

The shale gas boom in the US drove down prices, so OPEC actually *increased* production to drive prices low enough to knock the newcomers out of business.  It's working to an extent--

But isn't going to work long term. Even if the current operators go bust we know the oil is there and have the technology so it's easy for another round of companies to turn the tap back on when prices increase.

There are huge infrastructure startup costs involved to the point that it's actually more profitable to keep it running while selling oil at a loss for a few years than to shut it all down and then rebuild it all later. Currently domestic oil producers are pouring money into a money pit in the hope that they can fill it up before they run out. Meanwhile the Saudis are at the other end, trying to make the hole deeper to so that the US oil companies give up and stop throwing money into the money pit.

If the US fracking companies go under then they'll lose a shit ton of investor money, have their skilled technicians leave the company and the area, no longer be able to maintain the infrastructure that gets the oil to the refineries, have a knockon impact on the refineries that process their oil which can in turn damage the ability to even sell the oil in the future and so forth. It's not as simple as an on/off switch which is why the Saudis are doing what they're doing. Their lower cost of production can allow them to force their rivals into bankruptcy, thus restoring their monopoly. It's almost to the point you think maybe the US gov should subsidize domestic oil production to protect the industry from this. Almost.

[LennStar]

If the US fracking companies go under then they'll lose a shit ton of investor money, have their skilled technicians leave the company and the area, no longer be able to maintain the infrastructure that gets the oil to the refineries, have a knockon impact on the refineries that process their oil which can in turn damage the ability to even sell the oil in the future and so forth. It's not as simple as an on/off switch which is why the Saudis are doing what they're doing. Their lower cost of production can allow them to force their rivals into bankruptcy, thus restoring their monopoly. It's almost to the point you think maybe the US gov should subsidize domestic oil production to protect the industry from this. Almost.

NOOOO!!!!! LET THE FREE MARKET SOLVE IT!!!

Once upon a time I was irritated by the fact that the same people say the government should leave all to the market as long as things go good, and when things go bad, the market needs to be put at the chain.
But we are long long advaned beyond that and the motto now is "keep the profits, and when things break down, let the taxpayer pay for our errors".
There are even successful attemps at "let the taxpayer pay in advance and we will think about how much we will give back".

[MgoSam]

If the US fracking companies go under then they'll lose a shit ton of investor money, have their skilled technicians leave the company and the area, no longer be able to maintain the infrastructure that gets the oil to the refineries, have a knockon impact on the refineries that process their oil which can in turn damage the ability to even sell the oil in the future and so forth. It's not as simple as an on/off switch which is why the Saudis are doing what they're doing. Their lower cost of production can allow them to force their rivals into bankruptcy, thus restoring their monopoly. It's almost to the point you think maybe the US gov should subsidize domestic oil production to protect the industry from this. Almost.

NOOOO!!!!! LET THE FREE MARKET SOLVE IT!!!

Once upon a time I was irritated by the fact that the same people say the government should leave all to the market as long as things go good, and when things go bad, the market needs to be put at the chain.
But we are long long advaned beyond that and the motto now is "keep the profits, and when things break down, let the taxpayer pay for our errors".
There are even successful attemps at "let the taxpayer pay in advance and we will think about how much we will give back".

Yup! Love how "free market" advocates howl about how regulations are destroying this country, but are the first ones with their hands outstretched when they need a bail-out. It's sickening how Wall Streeters actually believe that they were victimized by the collapse, I know a few people that comments about that until they were told to shut up by people that were actually hurt.

[dragoncar]

You can't win if you don't play.

Well of course you can't win the lottery if you don't play.

But you can still win.

Just 1 or 2 (or apparently in some cases 200) dollars at a time.

You can still win the lottery by randomly finding a winning ticket somewhere.

I actually had this happen to me a few months ago.  It wasn't much- it was a scratch-off ticket with a prize of all of $2.  I was just picking up some trash along the sidewalk and realized it hadn't been cashed in.  A little reward for doing some cleaning up that I would have done regardless!

Me too... didn't win anything, though.  How would you feel if you won $200 million with a found lottery ticket though?  I imagine they might even trace it back to the original buyer.

[MrMoogle]

You can't win if you don't play.

Well of course you can't win the lottery if you don't play.

But you can still win.

Just 1 or 2 (or apparently in some cases 200) dollars at a time.

You can still win the lottery by randomly finding a winning ticket somewhere.

I actually had this happen to me a few months ago.  It wasn't much- it was a scratch-off ticket with a prize of all of $2.  I was just picking up some trash along the sidewalk and realized it hadn't been cashed in.  A little reward for doing some cleaning up that I would have done regardless!

Me too... didn't win anything, though.  How would you feel if you won $200 million with a found lottery ticket though?  I imagine they might even trace it back to the original buyer.

If I found one, I'm sure I wouldn't even check it, it'd go straight in the trash.

[LennStar]

Yup! Love how "free market" advocates howl about how regulations are destroying this country, but are the first ones with their hands outstretched when they need a bail-out. It's sickening how Wall Streeters actually believe that they were victimized by the collapse, I know a few people that comments about that until they were told to shut up by people that were actually hurt.

Haha, Oh yes, there was an article about a subprime trader who actually DID NOT GET ANY BONUS in the crash year and had to live of his base salary 150K for a WHOLE YEAR!
IMPOSSIBLE!!!
Some people on unemployment payment offered to change places. He was to shy to take up the offer.