grayhair

Yes and in the case of McCain, he is a petulant and vindictive octogenarian. The bum just can't get over having lost 2 presidential elections. So with him now, it's not about policy or doing the right thing for the U.S. citizen. It is all about getting even with Trump, the person whom he thinks denied him on his second and final attempt at the presidency and he does his best to undermine the administration under a pretend veil of patriotism that is wearing thin. His next mission is teaming up with a bum from S.C. to do what they can to drag us into war with Russia and N. Korea. The petulant McCain believes he will be more relevant when we are involved in wars. IMHO he has transitioned from elder statesman to now be a national liability.

Thank you Sir!

Then they re getting paid exactly what they are worth. Especially because they have their own special health insurance plan, they are pretty much exempt from insider trading rules, and they can vote money for new highways next to property they own (as did low-life Dennis Hastert.) They have a job where many show up but do absolutely nothing. Come into office as a person of modest means and leave a rich man.

Interesting story Billy T. I don't have a trailer for thieves to jump onto, however, unless they really get the drop on me in my car, they may get a .45 ACP welcome, either wad cutters or hollow points depending on which clip I shoved into my Kimber 1911 that morning.

Yeah, and without that big, old-tech, stinky, non-green diesel engine under the hood there will be plenty of room for the optional cotton candy machine. And should the cotton candy machine ever need service that can be handled at any of those 300 hydrogen refueling stations...

Thank you gentlemen. Out for dinner in lieu of a party per se. Daughter #3's birthday was last week so family going out together for dinner some place nice to celebrate both birthdays. Our family tradition is the birthday person gets to choose the place. I'll let daughter choose the place. When the kids were young they'd choose, say, a Chuck E Cheese. Then they got older they'd choose maybe a Denny's or Red Lobster or such. Now they are full grown adults they might choose something stupid expensive like Oceanaire, or The Palm, or Fogo de chao. Yikes!

The trailer will need to be buffed out and maybe new carpet too just to make it homey.

Old pics from a previous visit../

Sounds like a good plan and situation. With good pay, good bennies, paid vacation and holidays, 401K match, what's not to like?

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Yes there can be some strange dynamics in the workplace. Many employers do value the abilities and wisdom of their older employees. However they can become reluctant to increase salaries of those same older employees commensurate with their value to the company. i.e. "Why should we pay old Ralph X when for that same amount we can hire two younger guys full of piss and vinegar?" "Where's he gonna go anyway? He is old." Unfortunate but it is a discussion that happens a thousand time a day in hundreds of companies. The way of the world I guess.

Yes true but maybe a little more complicated for some of us oldsters. Pension plans that went bust. People laid off or fired after putting in 19 years. Wage increases that didn't keep pace with inflation. And then there is the cost of providing for your children. (I put two through college.) If you have kids then you know about parenthood expenses. And even today for us retirees, dental and medical insurance that don't begin to cover the costs you may experience. I've got dental work coming up. My AMG Mercedes-driving dentist quoted me $1800. for a root canal plus another $1600. for the crown to save one of the molars I use to chew. So that'll be a $3400. tooth. My dental insurance will pay about 50% only. Aagh. What's geezer to do? Keep on working maybe...

I'd say that depends. Depends on what you know and how you put that knowledge to work. I'm 68 and feeling my age, and don't have the energy or the inclination to work a 40 hour week anymore. So I took a straight-commission sales rep job. The hard part, it is strictly commission as an agent, no salary whatsoever. The good news, average price for the machinery I sell is $2 mil a pop and the commission rate is generous. So, if I sell a machine then my commission will be very nice indeed. I expect to sell 2 or 3 this year. So, if I can make that happen, then good for me and I'll have a better retirement. Not bad for a guy with just a high school education if I say so myself. I write this certainly not to brag about my good fortune but rather to encourage others to make a career change if they are not satisfied with their financial situation. I am always surprised by how many people are working at a miserable job that they don't enjoy, or for crummy pay, but won't make the effort to change their situation. Damn, I wish I was smarter when I was young...

Yes, you were hosed by the high interest rates of the Carter years. Presidents don't set interest rates but their policies influence rates. Once Reagan came into office, look at what happened to rates...

I'm an unabashed Ronald Reagan fan. The years of his presidency were my most prosperous years. Tax cuts and "trickle-down" economics did work for me. I made a lot of money working for industrial companies that were owned by very rich people. The tax cuts flowed to them and some of their profits flowed to me. (I've never made any appreciable money working for a poor man.) I give President Reagan high marks for the wisdom shown in choosing his supporting cast. People like Arthur Laffer, Larry Kudlow, James Baker, and Ed Meese, and further down the chain, Mark Levin. If you were of working age during his presidency then you should have done very well in your chosen career. If not, I don't see how that would be Reagan's fault...

The wife and I like Vegas for the restaurant choices, a restaurant for every mood... If we're having delusions of grandeur, then we like Nobu in Caesar's Palace. (Gonna cost at least a couple of hundred to get out of the place.) Then I adjourn to the cigar lounge also in Caesars and have a Macanudo and a couple of Drambuies. (Wife hates the smoke though.) If we did OK at the tables and we're feeling pretty good, then we like Tao in the Palazzo. Still gonna cost a couple of hundred there too. If we're doing just kinda OK at the tables, then maybe the Jasmine in the Bellagio, watch the fountain show from your table... Or more likely, we lost much of our money at the craps tables and therefore eat at the McDonald's next door to Harrah's.

Yep. But there is another way... Question: How do you make a small fortune? Answer: Begin with a large fortune and use that fortune to start up an airline.

I've heard the Flex is going to be discontinued in 2020. The sales volume just isn't all that great. Explorer unit sales volume is 9 or 10 times that of the Flex... "US sales of the Ford Flex were up just over 13 percent to 17,034 units through the first nine months of 2016 – still a small fraction of the Explorer’s 163,913 US sales over the same period. Its quirky, boxy styling resonated with some, but kept it from appealing to an audience as wide as that of the Explorer." Read more: http://fordauthority.com/2016/11/ford-flex-to-get-the-axe-in-2020/#ixzz4ldVkvWV2

I had a 2016 Ford Explorer company car lease vehicle before I retired. That was a really nice vehicle, pretty loaded and one could be had off the dealer lot for about $31K. Not cheap. but in my opinion a relatively good deal in the day of $100K Escalades, $50K Tahoes, and $70K Suburbans.

Yo Billy T, ain't gonna happen. Maybe in the old days, but not today. The regulation and security of the machines, at least those in Nevada, is incredibly tight. Whatever cheat method we can imagine has already been tried and thwarted. The technical requirements for slot machines is incredible. Check out this link. Scroll down to the "Technical Standards" section. http://gaming.nv.gov/index.aspx?page=269#techpolicies

Most people (including me) leave money behind when they depart Las Vegas. Last year I saw a elderly woman hit it big on a $1.50 bet...

Wow! Looking good!

OK. Understood.