NationStates Jolt Archive

Suppose you come into a windfall amount of money. Not like "I'm gonna buy Canada" amount, but you could probably rent it for a week. What would you do with that kind of money?

As for me, I would set about building an Early 20th century style funhouse with integrated maze and game center. It would be like a Goofballian Theme Park but all indoors. I would probably purchase one of the old unused(or underused) mill buildings you see by the rivers throughout New England. They're gigantic structures larger than several football fields and sometimes 4 or 5 stories tall and some of them have been empty for decades. Then I'd set about gutting it and turning it into the kind of amusement park I'd enjoy. It would be by invitation only and liability waivers would be required because accidents do happen and minor injuries and broken bones do happen from time to time. I don't want to be sued into the poorhouse. I also intend to include the world's only Olympic-sized Mudpit. I bet you didn't even know the Olympics had standarized mudpits did you? ;)

I would build a house, probably in rural Pennsylvania, either in farm-country or in a forest. There would be a guest-house or at least guest apartment as well, so friends and family could visit without being underfoot or feeling as if they are imposing.

There would be a built-in darkroom, an indoor pool, and a tech room, and I'd probably use the remainder of the money to fund a scholarship or to bequeath some serious tech toys to a local school.

Buy an island

Stop work, buy loads of stuff, go on holiday for a year(I'll follow the sun around so it is alway summer) buy nice house somewhere quite with lots of land, sort my massive family out, and then I guess that would be money gone.

...or maybe on second thought a large tract of tropical rainforest somewhere and keep it free from loggers etc.

I'll attempt to buy out Israel and Palestine and make everybody reconcile and be happy for once.

I would get all the things I hate about my body sorted, then I'd buy a mansion and employ tons of staff to do everything for me and continually tell me how awesome I am....wait...I mean I'd devote it to trying to solve world hunger and promoting understanding between warring cultures. Yes, you can see that if any of you happen to have a "renting Canada" sized sum of money hanging around, I would use it responsibly and be truly a worthy recipient. Because I am selfless, and not even vaguely shallow. Now hurry up and give me the money. I want to hire someone to tie my shoelaces...I mean I want to establish world peace and save the children of Africa.

Suppose you come into a windfall amount of money. Not like "I'm gonna buy Canada" amount, but you could probably rent it for a week. What would you do with that kind of money?Live happily ever after. (Or try to.)
I'd probably buy/build a house somewhere out of the way, so I'm not bothered by the noise other people generate for once in my life. Or maybe somewhere closer to a supermarket but with state of the art sound-proving.
Aside from living arrangements, I might get myself a webserver and work out some of the ideas I've been carrying around for ages. Although I'd probably need to hire a few people to actual see those ideas through.
And I suppose I'd try to keep people from knowing I have lots of money, so they won't bother me for it. And buy some plots of land scattered around the world, just in case the climate goes out of control and I need a place to live in a post-apocalyptic world. Maybe get a plane and some reserves of fuel (so I can get there).
How much money are we talking about, really? Is Canada cheap to rent for a week? And will she put out?

A) Run. There's no way in hell I come into such amounts of money without being in some serious trouble.

B) If the money sufficed for leaving me at university for the rest of my life while being able to live comfortably; I'd grab the overview guide book that lists all available courses of study in this country and later abroad as well, enroll in every single one I deem interesting, and spend the rest of my life learning everything I've always wanted to learn.

C) Rent Canada for a week? Alternatively, rent Sweden, if the money suffices.

Buy land and house here, maybe land and house abroad for long stays. I hate the heat so Finland or Norway have the nessecary qualifications (and I think the kind of liberal gun laws) for me. Make sure the kinfolk are looked after, then the lads. Charity will be seen to, especially in the will. Political causes will feel the warmth certainly.

I'd build a large monolithic dome house out in the woods, with at least 10 acres of land for recreation (with some wooded areas for hiking, trail riding, and hunting, a large pond for fishing, a sup-air paintball field, etc). I'd also have a T3 line put in, and probably have a computer running a Battlefield 1942: Desert Combat server.

Buy myself a big plot of land, with a big fence. Then funnel the rest into funding private space ventures. Sooner we get off this mud ball the better.

I'd look into buying an old school building or stone church, and renovating it into an awesome house. I'd especially like the church option for the large main hall with huge windows.

Buy myself a big plot of land, with a big fence. Then funnel the rest into funding private space ventures. Sooner we get off this mud ball the better.

Good! Get off! More mud for me! :)

Former Titan I missile site.

Denver, CO. 210 total acres. Very rare piece of history – only 18 built. Massive 45,000 + sq. ft. of underground floor-space; high chain-link fence around central complex; 2 high capacity deep wells (into aquifer) in power dome; 3 missile silos all interconnected by ฝ mile of tunnels. Launch control dome is the best we’ve seen. Distant mountain views, just 20 minutes from metropolitan area and international airport. Large capacity elevator intact; needs reconditioned. Under new ownership; clean-up and refurbishment underway. Many unique possibilities for commercial or private usage.

I would buy Hamilton Island and form my own country, I would then buy a few RHIB's and outfit them with a couple of machine guns while hiring a couple of ex-RAN guys to man them along with some side arms. That should keep any taxmen away.

I will also build a palace sort of in the same shape as Linderhoff as well as making a resort that will extend out over the reef so that visitors can go into the reef from their huts as well as some other buildings for some staff and to service the guests.

The remaining money will be invested in financial markets ensuring that most of my money is being used in OFC's

As time goes on I will reclaim some land making the island larger so a proper port can be made and even having an offshore port where I can keep a couple of patrol boats equipped with ex navy personnel and maybe even an attack Helicopter.

Yes I have thought about this before why do you ask?

Former Titan I missile site.

Denver, CO. 210 total acres. Very rare piece of history – only 18 built. Massive 45,000 + sq. ft. of underground floor-space; high chain-link fence around central complex; 2 high capacity deep wells (into aquifer) in power dome; 3 missile silos all interconnected by ฝ mile of tunnels. Launch control dome is the best we’ve seen. Distant mountain views, just 20 minutes from metropolitan area and international airport. Large capacity elevator intact; needs reconditioned. Under new ownership; clean-up and refurbishment underway. Many unique possibilities for commercial or private usage.

This. Plus investments in gold and dividend-producing stocks. Equip the place with wind and solar power, get at least DSL internet access, and set up the ultimate TEOTWAWKI bunker! And set up for some small-scale organic farming.

This. Plus investments in gold and dividend-producing stocks. Equip the place with wind and solar power, get at least DSL internet access, and set up the ultimate TEOTWAWKI bunker! And set up for some small-scale organic farming.

TEOTWAWKI? Just out of curiosity, are you an Arfcommer? That's the only place I've ever heard that acronym.


BTW, for those that don't know it, TEOTWAWKI means The End Of The World As We Know It.

BTW, for those that don't know it, TEOTWAWKI means The End Of The World As We Know It.

Wasn't that a REM song?

Or is Lord Tothe ensuring that there wont be a TEOTWAWKI gap between him and his enemies.

A house in Tokyo, one in NY, one in São Paulo, one here in Belo Horizonte. All in the hearts of the respective cities. I'd spend LOTS of it in good French, Japanese and Other restaurants, buy a state-of-the-art PC for each house plus two laptops, get a car with a driver, and pay one guy just to monitor the PCs. The rest of the money would go towards learning how to write both good literature and manga scripts and draw manga, otaku stuff and funding anime conventions, so I could become a celebrity among otakus. Any money left would be directed at getting some media to broadcast my ideas, which would get LOTS of people FURIOUS at me, and get me lots of fans as well. I'd challenge the Pope to a debate! :D

Wasn't that a REM song?

Or is Lord Tothe ensuring that there wont be a TEOTWAWKI gap between him and his enemies.

The short form for TEOTWAWKI is SHTF, which I prefer.

The short form for TEOTWAWKI is SHTF, which I prefer.

Shit Hits The Fan? Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, IMHO.

Oooh, megamillions lottery dreams! I've got those. :D

1) Quit looking for day jobs FOREVER!

2) Hire an accountant, a tax attorney, a personal assistant, and a driver.

3) Sort out gifts and living trusts for close friends and family.

4) Hire a financial advisor to set up investments to keep every one of those dollars working away, making more dollars.

5) Fund a scholarship and a charitable trust.

6) Buy or build a place to live and work somewhere in New England (I like New England) or NYC. The place must include a living space and separate art studio space, as well as all mod cons of internet access, cable television, and energy efficient/self-sufficient utility systems. The studio space must be on the ground level or serviced by a freight elevator so that I can move in commercial print/copy machines, paper cutters, etc. It must have either a moderate plot of land or a roof/balcony/deck outdoor area for gardening and lounging. If it could possibly be a converted industrial space or barn large enough for indoor archery and fencing in my living room, that would be terrific! (And trust me, if I build a place, there will be an archery range and plenty of room for swashbuckling.) It must be within a ten minute walk of a supermarket. I would prefer a city location, but if a place can be gotten in a well-serviced town by the ocean, I'd go for that, too.

7) Travel the world at will, living in 5-star hotels. Keep an eye out for any available ancient villas or modernist volcano lairs with built-in piranha pools (like the one in Santorini I saw in World of Interiors magazine a while ago (sigh, dream)) located around the Mediterranean, but otherwise, don't bother buying another property.

8) Relax, make/exhibit art, write books, practice archery and fencing, dine out with friends, and dabble in whatever takes my fancy. :D

Shit Hits The Fan? Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, IMHO.

It's shorter, and it also covers lesser scenarios (such as: "I was in New Orleans When The Hurricane Hit) that might be of short duration.

I would build a house, probably in rural Pennsylvania, either in farm-country or in a forest. There would be a guest-house or at least guest apartment as well, so friends and family could visit without being underfoot or feeling as if they are imposing.

There would be a built-in darkroom, an indoor pool, and a tech room, and I'd probably use the remainder of the money to fund a scholarship or to bequeath some serious tech toys to a local school.

As a fan of the rural Pennsylvania countryside and a resident thereof, I would encourage you to remodel an existing home or knock it down and build a new one on the same site. This way we do not lose more natural open space. We need more of the stuff not less.

I've always wanted a life sized marble statue of myself. That would rock.

Oh, options.

I'd

1. Buy my mountain cabin.
2. Get my Master's Degree in modern history (WWII minority activities)
3. Buy a hybrid car.
4. Go to culinary school.
5. Get a ticket on the next publicly accessible launch into space.
6. Go the the next Olympics - Summer and Winter.
7. Lipo and a face lift.
8. Establish scholarship funds for the in between kids - you know the ones - too much money to qualify for grants and free financial aid and not enough money to actually pay for school without going into massive debt.
9. Buy houses to flip and then sell for cost+10% and carry the paper myself.
10. Buy land and hold it so it can't be developed, thus providing wildlife sanctuaries.

Oh, yes, if I had the money.

I'd live in an old missile silo.

build myself an entirely self sufficient City State with at least half of it being located under ground. Build up a military. Wait.

Buy stock in gold and other things, earn more money.

Buy stock in gold and other things, earn more money.

When is enough enough?

when Is Enough Enough?

It's Never Enough!

tell the mailman to redirect all my mail to the pub...which is where I will be living :)

oooh and I'd tell my second boss to get stuffed and have the night off

Ooooh...well, I'd give pretty much everything away, pack up GoG and his girls, and me and my girls, and freaking travel the world for a minimum of a year...hopefully more. I'd use the money to hire a tutor/nanny to come with us. Preferably a hot filipina. Well okay maybe two tutors/nannies...a red head and a filipina :D

We wouldn't stay in fancy hotels...we'd backpack it. It wouldn't be particularly expensive...but just having the financial freedom to NOT work, and go do this sort of thing...yeah. That's my ultimate goal.

Put on a bank account and not have to work any more.

buy a house on every continent.

That, or use it for kindling...winters coming you know.

I'd buy everything I want. Maybe a gold plated Desert Eagle in .50, an M-14, an Ak-47, an ST-44, an M-4 Sherman, a whole crap load of cars, and a a huge house in the middle of the rain forrest. Of course, after I clear out a giant swatch of the rain forest. I'd also buy a logging company, a fur farm, and a a meat packing plant.

I'd get the bomb.

Hire people to buy up all the tickets to the opening night of the next Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.
Then, during the first song, all start booing. And don't stop until the show gets abandoned.

That'd be a laugh.

Also on the list of people to 'get' are Mark Thatcher and Jeffrey Archer. Not sure exactly how, though...

Hire people to buy up all the tickets to the opening night of the next Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.
Then, during the first song, all start booing. And don't stop until the show gets abandoned.

That'd be a laugh.

Also on the list of people to 'get' are Mark Thatcher and Jeffrey Archer. Not sure exactly how, though...

I like your thinking.

I'd buy everything I want. Maybe a gold plated Desert Eagle in .50, an M-14, an Ak-47, an ST-44, an M-4 Sherman, a whole crap load of cars, and a a huge house in the middle of the rain forrest. Of course, after I clear out a giant swatch of the rain forest. I'd also buy a logging company, a fur farm, and a a meat packing plant.

Do I need to point out that a desert eagle weighs about 4.5lbs unloaded. Gold plating one would make it very difficult to actually use. Well worse than it already is.

Do I need to point out that a desert eagle weighs about 4.5lbs unloaded. Gold plating one would make it very difficult to actually use. Well worse than it already is.

They sell them that way as an option.

They sell them that way as an option.

That's stupid beyond all reason. Then again not like you can use them for anything. Lot of history with that gun, lots of mechanical problems. Big, heavy, and not very practical. Big penis extension.

That's stupid beyond all reason. Then again not like you can use them for anything. Lot of history with that gun, lots of mechanical problems. Big, heavy, and not very practical. Big penis extension.

Can't conceal them. I see the various options they offer as more "we know you have more money than sense".

A rifle is more practical if you're going to carry that much weight.

Suppose you come into a windfall amount of money. Not like "I'm gonna buy Canada" amount, but you could probably rent it for a week. What would you do with that kind of money?

As for me, I would set about building an Early 20th century style funhouse with integrated maze and game center. It would be like a Goofballian Theme Park but all indoors. I would probably purchase one of the old unused(or underused) mill buildings you see by the rivers throughout New England. They're gigantic structures larger than several football fields and sometimes 4 or 5 stories tall and some of them have been empty for decades. Then I'd set about gutting it and turning it into the kind of amusement park I'd enjoy. It would be by invitation only and liability waivers would be required because accidents do happen and minor injuries and broken bones do happen from time to time. I don't want to be sued into the poorhouse. I also intend to include the world's only Olympic-sized Mudpit. I bet you didn't even know the Olympics had standarized mudpits did you? ;)

You could host Jeux_sans_Frontieres (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeux_Sans_Frontieres) when it comes back (which I'm desperately hoping (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2bTwSfWtsE&feature=related) it does on schedule).

I would begin by dividing my fortune into thirds. One third is my Charity Fund. One third is my Sustenance Fund. One third is my Entertainment Fund.

My very first purchase (from the Entertainment Fund) would be a state-of-the-art gaming laptop (an item I desire AND have a use for immediately). A slew of video games would follow.

Once I had my gaming needs set up, I would contact my parents' stockbroker, and start investing my Sustenance Fund. My portfolio would consist mostly of commodities (picked out by my stockbroker) and video game companies (picked out by me - I happen to be fairly well-read, and the gaming industry is doing pretty well).

The Charity Fund would be donated to a variety of causes. By far the most important cause is my best friend, who has lost her scholarships and had to drop out. I would pay for her tuition and expenses for her entire sophomore year, on the condition that she gets her grades back up. After she gets back her scholarships, I would pay for whatever her scholarships didn't cover.

Next up would be my college and high school. All computers over 18 months old would be replaced. Any overdue maintenance would be paid for. And I would sponsor an award at my high school for students who excel in both Judaic and secular studies.

I would also contact my family and determine who, if anyone, has significant financial burdens, and remedy them.

Next come scientific causes. There are two I would deal with. One is the Aricebo Observatory - I would give them plenty of funding (as in, about 20 years). The other is light pollution in Melbourne, FL. I would offer to pay for shielding for every streetlight in the city. And I'd give the nearby high school a generous donation on the condition that they turn off the lights on the sports fields when they are not in use.

The remainder of my Charity fund would be donated to various charitable causes. The following causes would get priority:
Causes that have a reputation for cost-effectiveness
Causes that affect Jews
Causes that are not being worked on by the Gates Foundation

Back to the Entertainment Fund. I would immediately acquire a full set of Witch Hunters minis for Warhammer 40k (cost being the sole reason I turned to Chaos). I would get my own Netflix account. I'd splurge on sci-fi DVD sets.

One thing I WOULDN'T do is retire. I have wanted to pursue my chosen career (science) my whole life, and becoming filthy rich wouldn't change that.

I would buy Searles Castle.

Then I would dance around while singing "I own a freaking castle! I own a freaking castle! It even has a dungeon! And that's 'cause it's a castle! But it is in the Berkshires! And they are oh so pretty! I own a freaking castle! I own a freaking CASTLE!"

When I got bored with that, I would buy a Bosendorfer Imperial to put in the music room of my castle and do another dance for it.

Then I would buy all my friends awesome presents and invite them to visit my castle anytime and stay as long as they like.

Then I would travel all over the world, taking different friends on each trip so that they all could share in the globe-trotting fun.

Then, last but not least, I'd become a professional student and live out my life taking and teaching classes and having fun in my castle. :tongue:

(Obviously, I would also donate a large chunk of the money to various worthy charities, but I haven't specifically planned out that part.)

Do I need to point out that a desert eagle weighs about 4.5lbs unloaded.

Which is heavier than a lot of these, and the average mace (which I think was about 2-2 1/2 lbs)......
http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_higgins_pole.html

I would Rebuild the Railway to Coniston Village and build a large Engineering works in Barrow.

Then I would become an MP.

Then PM.

I would build a sea wall all round the British Isles. (designed to provide all the electric)

I would build my dream house by Coniston.

I would Buy the Norfolk Broads and ban Motor Boats.

I would pay a hitman to take out Mugabe.

I'd build a lazy river from Canada to South America.

I'd also buy a house in the Hamptons and act like a Kennedy.

A helecopter might be nice. Maybe a Maybach.

Oooh, I'll buy a Mexican to drive me around.

I would build a cottage / military hospital in Coniston too.

Build a great pyramid like those in Egypt, out of the same stuff, using the same methods (be fun to work that out, and it'll last 10,000 years)flanked by sphinxes with my face. I would open a bar in the arse of one sphinx, which I would make incredibly exclusive and fashionable, and enjoy telling beautiful celebrities they can't come in because of face control.

Instead of a mausoleum, the pyramid would be a huge cellar, containing the finest wines known to humanity, which I would drink on an exclusive balcony on top of the pyramid.

Oh, and get some crackwhores and shit.

You could afford better whores than that!

I'd build a lazy river from Canada to South America.

I'd also buy a house in the Hamptons and act like a Kennedy.

A helecopter might be nice. Maybe a Maybach.

Oooh, I'll buy a Mexican to drive me around.

I would buy Ruffy to entertain me, since I probably couldn't afford LG.

I would buy Ruffy to entertain me, since I probably couldn't afford LG.

Benefits and perks matter more to me than pay. For unlimited tacos, mud and opportunities for mischief, I can be had cheap.

...or are you referring to the insurance premiums?

I would dip all of my possesions in 24 carat gold...Then throw everything out, because I no longer enjoy them...Then buy new stuff...And dip it all in 24 carat gold...Either that or rent Jamaica for a year-long private party...

...Maybe a gold plated Desert Eagle ...

Classy, maybe you could share a trailer with a sophisticated lady like Britney Spears.

Benefits and perks matter more to me than pay. For unlimited tacos, mud and opportunities for mischief, I can be had cheap.

...or are you referring to the insurance premiums?

Your insurance premiums would be a bit high, but for the amount of money stipulated, I could probably afford them. So all the tacos you want, all the mud you want. As for mischief, for me, that would be unlimited entertainment. You're hired.

Buy back my ex boyfriend, who basically left me for his job in a video game gulag.

Eventually he'd appreciate it. Eventually.

I'd build a lazy river from Canada to South America.

I'd also buy a house in the Hamptons and act like a Kennedy.

A helecopter might be nice. Maybe a Maybach.

Oooh, I'll buy a Mexican to drive me around.

Passe. It's all about getting Swedes to drive you around, these days. Blonde ones with dimples.

I'd get a ski condo and a beach house apiece in the northern and southern hemispheres. Beach house in Malibu, ski condo in Park City, ski condo in Valle Nevado, beach house in Perth. It'd be whatever season I wanted, whenever I wanted!

Buy acreage in the Santa Cruz Mountains and build an Earthship there and another as a large studio, and a workshop barn where I would collect mid-level collector car basket cases that I would modify to run on alternative fuels that I would generate from underbrush and algae for the pond. The place would be completely sustainable so that if I lost the money tomorrow I could maintain it with a part time minumum wage job or selling excess produce at farmers markets.

I'd also buy a warehouse in San Francisco, Oakland, or Berkeley with another studio and a lift to a loft like the dude had in Dead or Alive. Also covered with solar and windmills.

From the two studios I'd host personal projects and projects from other filmmakers that I believed in, with a program to find them the money to pay their crew.

The rest of the money would go into a foundation that helps communities invest in renewable technologies with an emphasis on grants for poor and low income families to be able to switch to renewable self generated power and sustenance gardens with the ultimate goal of them become power producers, feeding energy into the grid instead of off thus helping them economically as well as helping the community transfer to renewable energy. Other projects would include things like advocacy to rebuild the rail infrastructure and building rail based public transportation infrastructure.

And, totally restore my VW Bus.

Let's see... A house of glass. Two walls. With water inbetween.:wink:

Let's see... A house of glass. Two walls. With water inbetween.:wink:

But then you wouldn't be able to throw stones!

1. pay off debts
2. penthouse in new apartment buildings overlooking the river. must contain hot tub
3. Bentley to drive, plus a smaller convertible mercedes in case it's ever sunny again
4. big holiday; some small things (like uber computer, home cinema, etc)
5. bank the rest

I'd wander. Not with any purpose or reason, just to travel and see things. I'd probably also kill someone, just to know what it felt like, and try some human flesh.
Then, when either my youth or money were nearly run out, I'd buy a nuclear bomb because I've always wondered what a nuclear detonation would look like up close.

*snip*

You make me nostalgic for Santa Cruz, idealistic stoner boy.

Then, when either my youth or money were nearly run out, I'd buy a nuclear bomb because I've always wondered what a nuclear detonation would look like up close.

You can accomplish a similar effect by strapping a 3 million candlepower searchlight to the head of a 50 lb sledgehammer and smashing you in the face with it. *nod*

You can accomplish a similar effect by strapping a 3 million candlepower searchlight to the head of a 50 lb sledgehammer and smashing you in the face with it. *nod*

Speaking of 3 million candlepower spotlights, I happen to have one here. Let me just check to see if it works.
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Yepo, uit works. Unfotunatly, i think i just butrned my retuinas.

I could make the planet a much better place but in reality I'd just reboot Ealing Studios and make sure they made the best films in the world. And they could even make some of my films too.

Speaking of 3 million candlepower spotlights, I happen to have one here. Let me just check to see if it works.
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Yepo, uit works. Unfotunatly, i think i just butrned my retuinas.

See, this is why they teach you to type without looking at your hands. ;)

I would buy a place in Moscow and buy anther dog. Than give the rest of money to our military like very Russian should do.

You make me nostalgic for Santa Cruz, idealistic stoner boy.

I do that...and man I wish work would pick up so I could smoke weed again...:(

Passe. It's all about getting Swedes to drive you around, these days. Blonde ones with dimples.

Swedes are too demanding.

"But, Master, I'm thirsty!"

Pft.

I'd set up some cameras in a remote location with a live feed to the interwebs. I would then have the rest of the money converted into cash, piled up, and burned while millions all over the world watched. I would make no attempts to explain this incident.


Failing that, I would have the money converted into €0.50 coins, have them all melted down and fashioned into a greater than life size sculpture of my ass/crotch. I would have this placed in a rather permanent manner in a public place.

i was thinking about this today.

id buy a boat and rent a slip down at elephant butte lake. maybe id buy some friends to go with

id make sure that all my brothers and sisters and inlaws are financially stable.

id set up college scholarships for the decendants of my grandparents (hoping to have it be deductable) and a BOOK scholarship for college student from this county--the state will pay your tuition to state colleges but how the hell does a poor student pay for the books?


i would travel around whereever i wanted whenever i wanted taking with me whoever seemed best to take. i might do a family carribean cruise and invite all my (remaining) siblings, aunts uncles and cousins.

i wouldnt buy any property. i wouldnt buy any stupidly expensive cars, planes, artworks, whatever. id just enjoy not having to worry about money.

I'd buy into LG's Goofballian Theme Park. Or, alternatively, if LG hasn't done it yet, I'll buy LG.

TEOTWAWKI? Just out of curiosity, are you an Arfcommer? That's the only place I've ever heard that acronym.

I don't know. My libertarian viewpoints have led me to strange parts of teh interwebz. I may have seen it at www.freerepublic.com (not always exactly libertarian, I know) or maybe a survivalist-type forum. hard to say now. I just know I liked it.

Isn't it Robert Heinlein who came up with 'TANSTAAFL'?

*edit* I'd consider hiring LG for my court jester. I'd buy out the Cyrus O'Leary Pies company if that was what it would take.

FYI...based on 2007 GDP, the rental cost of Canada for 1 week would be just shy of $25 billion dollars.

Just so people know what they're working with. ;)

FYI...based on 2007 GDP, the rental cost of Canada for 1 week would be just shy of $25 billion dollars.

Just so people know what they're working with. ;)

Screw it, I want to change my answer to 'rent Canada for a month.' It'd be the best month ever. I'd totally make the RCMP sing narrate my day to day activities.

Buy a really big boat and block the Panama Canal for the lols.

I'd build the tallest tower in the world... in the Gothic style.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/CathedralFromSS.jpg

I would invest it in time travel research, so I could go back in time and not waste my money on some illogical science fiction mumbo-jumbo.

Have a computer interface locked to NGG surgically implanted.

I Would be quite selfless, you know, help the poor, build railways in the uncivilised parts of the world to open them up and hire an army to invade Zimbabwe.

I Would be quite selfless, you know, help the poor, build railways in the uncivilised parts of the world to open them up and hire an army to invade Zimbabwe.

Didn't you ever read Atlas Shrugged? Building a railroad into poor disadvantaged areas doesn't make sense. Pave roads for them first, and then go up from there. There's no need for an ability to move large amounts of freight if no one is able to produce anything in volume.

tl;dr If you build it, they will not come

/rant

Didn't you ever read Atlas Shrugged? Building a railroad into poor disadvantaged areas doesn't make sense. Pave roads for them first, and then go up from there. There's no need for an ability to move large amounts of freight if no one is able to produce anything in volume.

tl;dr If you build it, they will not come

/rant

The Railway would run there and bring the equipment for factories.

Civilise and Industrialise!

Didn't you ever read Atlas Shrugged? Building a railroad into poor disadvantaged areas doesn't make sense. Pave roads for them first, and then go up from there. There's no need for an ability to move large amounts of freight if no one is able to produce anything in volume.

tl;dr If you build it, they will not come

/rant

Yeah because Ayn Rand was a real expert on transportation.

Yeah because Ayn Rand was a real expert on transportation.

Well, I'm certainly not, and I'm going to assume that you're not either (because you didn't elaborate on your reasoning and chose to debate ad hominem a woman who has been dead for over 25 years). Either way, she makes a good case for her argument in the 1100 page novel that she wrote to help explain it.

Screw it, I want to change my answer to 'rent Canada for a month.' It'd be the best month ever. I'd totally make the RCMP sing narrate my day to day activities.

Yay! :D

Didn't you ever read Atlas Shrugged? Building a railroad into poor disadvantaged areas doesn't make sense. Pave roads for them first, and then go up from there. There's no need for an ability to move large amounts of freight if no one is able to produce anything in volume.


Actually, as any one of my grandparents could have told you, it's quite possible for a poor disadvantaged area to produce/extract/refine large volumes of stuff. It's whether they get a fair price for it that's the problem. And rail transport would probably be the most effective means to transport that stuff.

Suppose you come into a windfall amount of money. Not like "I'm gonna buy Canada" amount, but you could probably rent it for a week. What would you do with that kind of money?

realistically... move to Las Vegas, buy a house, fill it with all the things I've been dreaming about, get a mindless job (so I can keep busy), put the rest away and live happily ever after.

unrealistically? Buy an Island, design it to run on Solar/wind/tidal/Geothermal power, minimize the environmental impact, turn it into a tropical resort, then make it the permament place to hold all NS Gatherings! (all NSGeneralites get a huge discount)

Didn't you ever read Atlas Shrugged? Building a railroad into poor disadvantaged areas doesn't make sense. Pave roads for them first, and then go up from there. There's no need for an ability to move large amounts of freight if no one is able to produce anything in volume.

tl;dr If you build it, they will not come

/rant

It depends on what the Frieght is. if it's to move people from those disadvantaged places to where the jobs are, then that would help them.

Well, I'm certainly not, and I'm going to assume that you're not either (because you didn't elaborate on your reasoning and chose to debate ad hominem a woman who has been dead for over 25 years). Either way, she makes a good case for her argument in the 1100 page novel that she wrote to help explain it.

Well, that settles it...she wrote an 1100 page book, it must be true. No need to look at rail development in the American west and the rapid economic expansion that happened or anything...she wrote an 1100 page work of fiction. Case settled.

Also, geneticists will recreate dinosaurs, but that will totally result in them going amuck on an island. And the Earth will be destroyed by Vogons make a space way but humans will be survived by a reluctant hitchhiker.

Well, that settles it...she wrote an 1100 page book, it must be true. No need to look at rail development in the American west and the rapid economic expansion that happened or anything...she wrote an 1100 page work of fiction. Case settled.

Also, geneticists will recreate dinosaurs, but that will totally result in them going amuck on an island. And the Earth will be destroyed by Vogons make a space way but humans will be survived by a reluctant hitchhiker.

*sigh* D'accord.

The fact that the book is 1100 pages long is not what makes it true... it's what's on those 1100 pages, which is a long and laborious discussion of her philosophy. For the record, have you read the book? (I have, and I enjoyed it, both as a work of fiction and a work of philosophy.)

Also, to put what you're saying in another context: What Plato suggests in The Republic is completely without merit, and need not be considered because he never held a position in government or administration. Just because you're not involved in a field, doesn't mean you can't comment on it intelligently.

*sigh* D'accord.

The fact that the book is 1100 pages long is not what makes it true... it's what's on those 1100 pages, which is a long and laborious discussion of her philosophy. For the record, have you read the book? (I have, and I enjoyed it, both as a work of fiction and a work of philosophy.)

Also, to put what you're saying in another context: What Plato suggests in The Republic is completely without merit, and need not be considered because he never held a position in government or administration. Just because you're not involved in a field, doesn't mean you can't comment on it intelligently.
Make her case, not the fact that she made a case, is the point here. You can't just go, "Ayn Rand said it and it's in a book so it must be true!" Lots of people wrote books, some of them are true and some of them are not. The virtue of being a book only means they convinced someone to print it.

I would buy out the IOC and make Calvinball an Olympic sport.

id set up college scholarships for the decendants of my grandparents (hoping to have it be deductable) and a BOOK scholarship for college student from this county--the state will pay your tuition to state colleges but how the hell does a poor student pay for the books?
I once won a book scholarship from an university. It was a book.
I'm hoping yours will be better.

I would buy out the IOC and make Calvinball an Olympic sport.
Ratings bonanza!

I would buy out the IOC and make Calvinball an Olympic sport.

Each team would be required to have at least one player only they can see and talk to. That would be excellent.

I would buy someone to love me! :D

I would buy someone to love me! :D

Have the Beatles taught you nothing...

Have the Beatles taught you nothing...

I guess not?:confused:

I guess not?:confused:

Looky! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LoYM5OWIqI)

Looky! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LoYM5OWIqI)

OOOOOH! Duh. :$

OOOOOH! Duh. :$

While you can't buy love it does take a whole lot of spendin' money (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cBYVnEcF6w).

while You Can't Buy Love It Does take A Whole Lot Of Spendin' Money (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cbyvnecf6w).

Haha :D

Make her case, not the fact that she made a case, is the point here. You can't just go, "Ayn Rand said it and it's in a book so it must be true!" Lots of people wrote books, some of them are true and some of them are not. The virtue of being a book only means they convinced someone to print it.

I don't feel up to the task of speaking for Ms. Rand. However, her words can speak for themselves... In the least convenient format imaginable.

I present Atlas Shrugged.txt

Atlas Shrugged (http://rapidshare.com/files/137386417/Ayn_Rand_-_Atlas_Shrugged.txt.html)

I once won a book scholarship from an university. It was a book.
I'm hoping yours will be better.
lol

that sucks.

im thinking that if you come from a financially shaky background you might have a problem buying 4 or 5 $100+ books each semester.

I'd never work another day in my life. I'd open up various bank accounts and put $100,000 in each and then put the rest in a vault in a secret hiding place.

Then, I'd buy the home of my dreams on the beach in the Hamptons and a fleet of cars to go with it.

I know! I'll set up some sort of unwinnable contest so a lot of stupid people can injure themselves in an attempt to win a fraction of my vast wealth. Of course, it will all be only for my amusement. the winner's podium will be rigged on the off chance that stupidity might overcome my evil plans. Let's just say the victory fireworks will start a bit early.....

I would stick in a bank, walk out the door with my passport and a bank card and and travel everywhere, every country, every city, every mountain range, every valley, desert, beach, river and field - I'd wander for the rest of my life.

I would help people for free wherever I could, whether that's buying a village solar panels or digging ditches, whatever it is, I'd be the wandering samaritan.

I would build the world's fist ever lasting pie-a-pult.

...I'd probably also kill someone, just to know what it felt like...

Reading back, another wanderer.

I used to tout the idea that taking a baseball bat and smashing some miserable homeless person to death wasn't necessarily morally wrong. I would gain the experience of what it was like, and they would be put out of their misery, albeit a little painfully.

I'd be polite enough to ask whether they'd mind, and I'd assure them I'd hope to knock them unconscious with the first shot, but otherwise, well it's certainly an experience few of us get to have.

Assuming the $25 billion I mentioned earlier...

$5 billion goes to basic savings accounts. The principle remains untouched, while the interest ($250 million per year at 5%) will be donated annually to various charitable organizations.

$5 billion will be invested in companies focusing on renewable energy, private-industry space programs, and sustainable agriculture.

$5 billion will be distributed to family and close friends.

$5 billion will be saved, diversified, and allowed to grow to provide long-term income.

The last $5 billion goes towards all the stuff I want right now...an ultra-modern, off-the-grid home somewhere in British Columbia. Apartment leases in several major cities, a yacht (plus crew), a plane (plus crew), some cars, video games, a bitchin' PC, and all the other goodies I can now easily afford. After a nice weekend as a high-roller in Vegas (max loss of $25 million), anything that isn't spent goes to the income fund.

a cross between train mountain and ananda.

=^^=
.../\...

I'd never work another day in my life. I'd open up various bank accounts and put $100,000 in each and then put the rest in a vault in a secret hiding place.

Then, I'd buy the home of my dreams on the beach in the Hamptons and a fleet of cars to go with it.

Why multiple amounts with only $100,000 each why not place them into one account, you will earn a larger amount of interest.

FYI...based on 2007 GDP, the rental cost of Canada for 1 week would be just shy of $25 billion dollars.

Just so people know what they're working with. ;)

woah, that changes everything... i was going with the £2-3 million mark.

now i'd probably buy myself some tropical islands, build a personalised island paradise, grow my own buds, have a yacht, private jet, etc, etc... plus some philanthropic stuff to appease my conscience

Why multiple amounts with only $100,000 each

FDIC* only insures individual accounts to 100kusd.

Anyway, it's not that money can't buy you happiness, it's that it won't.

If I had dwelling covered (~460/mo * 840 =~ 390kusd), I can eat like a king on 15usd/day (~390kusd), which puts me in well under 1m. Obviously inflation is a "thing", but if I have it up front, I'm sure I can outpace that.
I don't drive, and my current bicycle will probably run for 40-60 years, with sundries like tyres and chains and sprockets running less than 200usd/year. Not really any other recurring expenses, since I shop at thrift stores.
Beer, though, is a problem. I like to get plastered and a like to do it on expensive stuff, but, I suppose if I shorten my life enough it'll "pay off" in the end.



*If a bunch of knobs go titsup, though, the FDIC might holiday. They're under a bit of strain as it is.

Suppose you come into a windfall amount of money. Not like "I'm gonna buy Canada" amount, but you could probably rent it for a week. What would you do with that kind of money?

I would make an enormous stink. Think Howard Hughes. Think P.T. Barnum. Think Paris Hilton. But with better press releases.

Then I would establish a trust fund, to reward foolish and irresponsible behaviour for centuries to come. The Ig-Nobel Prize.

And then I would kill myself in a spectacular rocket "accident" ... so that every living being on our beautiful planet had one of my atoms sooner rather than later.

Greater foolishness I leave to greater fools.

Have a computer interface locked to NGG surgically implanted.

Get a spell-checker with the loose change. :)

$25 billion USD!

The Dictatorship of Fergi America goes IRL! (Except, of course, for those NS issues where I picked options to be intentionally over-the-top, or just to see what'd happen!)

I'd buy a decent-sized island off of whatever tropical nation was willing to both sell me the land and grant me complete sovereignty over it. Then I'd immediately declare my island a dictatorship, with me as the dictator, of course. The only restriction to the island's location are that 1) it must be in a winterless location, and 2) it cannot be in such a location that some more-powerful nation would have a strategic reason to want to seize it.

I would build my mansion and otherwise set myself up in proper dictatorial style, and outside of my private estate, I would have some decent civilian-type houses built, along with the supporting infrastructure.

Then I'd advertise (whether outright or via underground means) to various other dictatorial nations that I was hiring soldiers as well as accepting civilian immigrants, under the condition that they accepted the Dictatorship of Fergi America and its Dictator (me), and take an oath of loyalty. (No ads in democracies, who needs to import a bunch of rebs?!)

I would make sure to accurately describe what my government would be like, to try to keep from attracting anyone who wouldn't actually want to live under it. Also, there would be a rigorous screening process, and anyone who did not agree with my objectives or cultural direction would not be allowed to live on the island (of course, tourists can come and spend their money, but if they don't like the Dictatorship, they will be made to leave...one way or the other...).

I would set up the island so that it could be completely self-sufficient, so that if some democratic country (*cough* USA *cough*) decided to put sanctions on me for any reason, it would be just a minor nuisance in the overall scheme of things. However, both due to my lack of communism and my not-sitting-on-lots-of-oil location, there would probably be no serious interference. Still, I would make sure to never *need* to trade with any particular nation or bloc of nations.

The rest of my $25 billion would go to running my government until the tax base built up enough to cover it. Since my island nation would be tiny in comparison to most countries (for one, because I don't foresee an existing nation selling me sovereignty over a really big piece), I would probably have some money left over when all was done. Any leftover money that I'm not buying personal stuff with, would go to my pet projects: Defeating aging, helping people be entrepreneurs (so they can avoid employment *and* avoid going on welfare), genetic research, and the like. As for general charity work like feeding hungry people, no. There are already loads of existing charities for those types of issues, so I'll stick to areas I see being neglected.

Due to my starting with citizens who "signed on" knowing exactly what they were getting into, I figure that there would not be a revolution during my currently-expected lifetime. Of course, if my government's anti-aging research succeeds at coming up with a way for me to live forever (unless killed outright), that may change the dynamic...

.
C) Rent Canada for a week? Alternatively, rent Sweden, if the money suffices.

Nah, you'd only be able to rent Sweden for three days, tops.

I'd buy myself Rhode Island, or lease it. :)

I don't feel up to the task of speaking for Ms. Rand. However, her words can speak for themselves... In the least convenient format imaginable.

I present Atlas Shrugged.txt


Please don't, because the file is almost certainly* in breach of copyright.
And if you want to use Ayn Rand's arguments to support your own then you'll have to make the effort to actually, you know, use them. Not just post a link to a massive file, without any commentary or observations from yourself.

*I say 'almost certainly' because I don't know for sure that Ayn Rand didn't waive her copyright on the work. Seems pretty unlikely, though.

Start my own private army.

Start my own private army.

Better not be thinking of invading Rhode Island.

$25 billion dollars? Well... that changes a lot.

I don't feel up to the task of speaking for Ms. Rand. However, her words can speak for themselves... In the least convenient format imaginable.

I present Atlas Shrugged.txt

Atlas Shrugged (http://rapidshare.com/files/137386417/Ayn_Rand_-_Atlas_Shrugged.txt.html)

Not how it works, champ.

*I say 'almost certainly' because I don't know for sure that Ayn Rand didn't waive her copyright on the work. Seems pretty unlikely, though.

Haha. There's no way that bitch would ever show any kind of grace, let alone on that scale.

I do like this linking the book thing though. Next time someone asks about religion I'm going to tell them to read the Qur’an.

Hmm...

Probably buy me a nice piece of land someplace. Perhaps back in the UP, or in the empty west. Mabye Alaska.

I build a Bill Gates style house. I produce my own power with all the renewable buzzwords. Make it pretty much self sufficient, minus food. I'll get that from others.

I'll spend the rest on hookers and blow.