For us, meat was The Staple. Always a veggie and a starch as "sides". But the main course was almost invariably meat. Chicken and fish as "meat substitutes" -- and pasta once a week.
It was only later in life that I started eating salmon. Previously, cod/schrod and shrimp. We currently eat too much chicken -- it's boring (too hard to marinate).
I drink about 6 gallons of milk yearly -- usually in 1 gallon "spurts". I bake *lots* of sweets (I'll go through 50 pounds of flour in the next couple of months) but don't eat them. Ice cream, OTOH, goes down by the gallon (when I succumb to the temptation).
I gave up "added salt" 30 years ago. It is actually a worthwhile experience that I would recommend to everyone -- even if only on a temporary basis. It's only once you've given it up that you realize how *much* salt is in the food you eat! A McDonald's hamburger tastes the same as a potato chip (wrt salt).
My eyes haven't changed in almost 40 years -- or so the eye doctors say. But, I'm sure my next visit will see some changes in my close-in vision. I've noticed that I can't easily read the small print on many of the chips that I use when "up close".
Taking a sh*t has never been a problem! :> Sleep, OTOH, is something I am perpetually warned to get more of. Too many interesting things to do vs. spending time asleep! :-/
Mine is highly irregular. I work for myself so I keep my own hours -- working when I feel most productive, and, for as *long* as I continue to feel productive. And, when I'm not working, there's nothing to prevent me from taking a nap, going to sleep, etc. As a result, my bed-time varies considerably. And, the time spent "sleeping" varies as well.
E.g., if I have a meeting at 9A and am just going to bed at 6A, then I won't be getting more than 2 hours at that time. I may go back to bed immediately after that meeting. Or, if something "interesting" comes up, may end up awake for another 20 hours. Then, might "crash" for 12. Or 4.
I rationalize this by thinking that my body will find a way to get what it needs. My MD says this isn't really *good* for my body even if it does "get what it needs" -- eventually.
I tend to consider sleeping and eating as colossal wastes of time (can't do anything "productive" concurrently with either of those).
Likewise, I drag about eating and sleeping. In overseas days I worked
12 hour shift without week ends. Longest hour I was working on a problem was 72 hours drinking nothing but coffee. Any way I finished what I was doing(trouble-shooting downed mainframe with magnetic core memory problem) Thinking back that was not good thing for own health. Getting old, my priority in life changed. I learnt to slow down and take things easy. But I still complete daily planned schedule and then some more.Doing support work for field engineers I was quite independent, no one hardly ever bothered me. That was good. I hope I'll be around when g-son goes to college. He just started grade 1. 75+18=93 maybe, maybe not.
One of my earliest jobs was doing field service work. Being away from home was a real drag -- nothing to do, no one to talk to, etc. So, I would typically go from airport straight to customer site, work until machine was operational (which clients liked because that typically meant most of my time there was after hours -- not under their feet and they got back up and running with minimal impact on *their* work schedule!). Then, check in at hotel/motel, take a shower, change clothes and head back to airport.
Employer recognized we weren't working 8 hour shifts. Getting the job done in a day or two saved on meals, lodging, etc. So, you'd spend a day on the road... and take the rest of the week off with pay. Not sure who got the better end of that deal! :>
I have become even more obsessed with getting things done. Counting on "tomorrow" is likely to be a disappointment. I've seen too many people plan on doing what they *want*, "later" -- then discovering that they can't (physical/mental/health problems -- or early death!). So, I roll the dice and *hope*!
Enjoy today as tomorrow may not come.
I'm not as worried about dying as I am about not being able to work towards my goals due to infirmities, disabilities, etc. "Being dead" sort of sidesteps that whole issue :-/
"older models (by a few years)" is still a "new" (redesigned, not "classic") beetle, right?
The cars named in the recent disclosure are sure to take a hit -- in the short term and possibly even longer. A lot will depend on the sort of fix that VW puts forward and how it affects the perceived value of those vehicles. My hunch is that any *cheap* fix (e.g., a software upgrade) will result in a vehicle's performance falling below what their owners (and prospective resale owners) would be happy with.
[If this is NOT the case, then why would VW have shot itself in the foot so forcefully? Their actions suggest that strict compliance with the letter of the law would have affected fuel efficiency or overall performance in a way that would have caused potential buyers to "look elsewhere"]
How much spillover to other models NOT named is up for debate. Note BMW already took some heat over *suspicion* that they might be similarly cheating (no evidence to suggest this!).
People who are fearful by nature will probably lump all VW products into that category; perhaps even all diesel offerings there *and* from other vendors.
If your question concerns your potential *exposure* if you opt to purchase a used bug, I'd not be too concerned. OTOH, if you were wondering how this would affect the purchase price of said bug, it will depend on how much fear-mongering the media heaps on others "competing" for that used vehicle that *you* want.
Craigslist reports that prices for used VW's are already down ~20%. VW is expected to have a drop in sales for the month of Sept while most other automakers are posting *record* sales figures. How long that persists is anybody's guess...
Good philosophy. I'm still working but only 4 days a week. I took SS when I turned 66 and I'm enjoying the extra money. Traveled, remodeled two bathrooms, go out to dinner at nice restaurants, anything that sounds good at the time.
Snowing? OK, I'm not going to work. Friday? I'm leaving early. I'm at work right now and I'll be gone in 45 minutes.
My wife has some health restrictions now but we do what we can and will as long as we can.
"Formal" retirement is still a long way for me. But, most of my friends jokingly comment that I've been retired for decades -- in that I work on (only!) what I *want* to work on and (only!) *when* I want to work on it!
Unfortunately (?), as I get older, there are even *more* things that I want to "take on", learn, etc. But, the body and mind aren't as spry as they used to be. Many of the technologies that I'm working with are still barely "out of the lab" -- yet I'm trying to use them as if they were "mature". Calls for lots of new learning (the technologies, the tools, etc. -- in addition to the unconventional ways that I am trying to "apply" them).
I'd hate, for example, to try to learn a new (speaking) language at this point in my life! (I'd also not consider it a "good investment"... what's the payback??)
We tend to be pretty frugal -- though not "tight as a frog's *ss". We tend to make decisions based on reasoned arguments instead of "feel/desire". So, tend to be happier with our decisions in the long run (I think much of "buyer's remorse" comes from folks who fell into the trap of being motivated by emotions in a decision; later, the emotions fade and your subconscious starts looking at the RATIONAL basis of the decision -- and finds it "wanting"! :> )
I'm not a fan of restaurants; most tend not to serve the things I'd want to eat nor prepare them in the ways that I'd want. And, *all* require far too much time for something as banal as "a meal" (some folks live to eat; others -- me -- eat to live).
I did a lot of traveling when I was young. So, most *domestic* traveling is "ho hum, been there, done that". International travel requires too much time. The only things I would like to see "up close" (i.e., not "on a DVD" :> ) would be the pyramids and Great Wall. But, I'd want to *climb* the pyramids and *walk* the (length of the) Great Wall. Both are obviously not going to be permitted.
I actually was unhappy about leaving "snow" behind (currently southwest). While not a morning person, I used to delight in waking up on days when snow was predicted and stare out the front picture window watching everyone struggle with the snow (cars, pedestrians, etc.). Then, as soon as the morning rush was over, I'd go back to bed: "I'll plow the driveway later -- at a more *sensible* time to get out of bed!"
OTOH, working for myself means there *is* no Friday. (the consolation is that there is no Monday, either! :> ) And, being highly interested in what I'm doing, it's far too easy to work non-stop when I get obsessed with a particular aspect of a problem.
SWMBO is a valuable diversion -- all the HoneyDo's! E.g., I spent a couple of hours last night framing two of her paintings instead of spending all that time doing research. Today I'll fix a friend's genset -- another "distraction".
That's my fear -- what sort of "things" will life throw my way that conflict with my goals? There's very little you can do (for many things) to steer future events (health related) in a particular direction, if your body and history predispose you to a different outcome.
I see too many people "using" ailments to limit their activities, goals, etc. Granted, for some (and to some extent) these may be genuine limitations. OTOH, I think others just "cop-out" because they are quitters or want an excuse to NOT do what's required to rise above their limitations.
[It's scary to listen to "old folks" -- all they (most) talk about is their ailments, doctor appointments, etc. "Wow, why do you get out of bed in the morning if your life is THAT boring or challenging??"]
Hopefully, you'll be able to find ways to *keep* doing what you (both) enjoy; finding ways to work *around* your wife's current (and your *future*?) health issues. Silly to work "all those years" and not be able to have something to enjoy as a "reward"!
With the prices of new Beetles, I can't really afford one right now, but if the prices of used (automatic - not diesel) Beetles come down I may easily be able to afford one of those.
Is the problem being discussed with VW only with diesels? I haven't read every post on the subject and could have missed that detail.
Only diesels (currently -- and probably that's as far as it will go *at* VW). You'll have to see how "stupid" people are in sorting out that distinction, going forward.
As a single data point (with all that implies!), note that we had a neighbor with a "new bug" some years back. It was always in the shop (though I have no idea what the problems were -- these folks don't do any of their own maintenance... so, it could have been "replacing windshield wiper blades"!). They traded it out pretty early...
Why the attraction to a bug? (I can see a *classic* just for nostalgia -- surely not SAFETY! :> ) Are you looking for small? Fuel efficient? Cute? etc.
The book "unsafe at any speed" did NOT kill the Corvair. It actually prolonged it's life. What killed the Corvair was the Camaro. It was a LOT cheaper to build, and could command a higher price, so more profit. GM hung on with the corvair untill 1969 - 2 or 3 years after bringing out the Camaro -
Unsafe at any speed was published in 1965, after the "problem" with the corvair had already been solved in production.. (1964 was the last year of "first generation" Corvairs with the same rear suspension geometry as the VW and Porsche of the same time period.) The 1965 to
69 Corvairs shared the same rear suspension geometry as the Corvette.
The sales of the Corvair dropped significantly just after September
1966, when the new Camaro came out. It was less expensive and was available with the VERY healthy 302 Z28 option - which took a lot of sales from the Turbocharged Monza..
My impression is the problem is with the diesels, with about 450,000 in the US. I can't find a breakdown but I don't think they've sold that many New Beetles so I assume the bulk of the TDIs are in Jettas followed by Golfs.
Yes, it's the TDI diesel. The market is unpredictable but I don't see why that would impact the gas engine models, which are the majority in the US market.
All the manufacturers game the system, VW was just a little sneakier. Despite all the whining at least VW didn't kill anybody, unlike Government Motors ignition switches or the lowest bidder exploding airbags.
Yup. The fallout here will be "by association"... folks ignorant of details and just seizing on the words "VW" and "cheating".
You also have a lot more voices and axes to grind in Europe. Lots of "officials"/politicians to answer to -- and folks who want to make political hay of this sort of thing.
If I was running the show, I'd go out of my way to *quickly* clean house and uncover and disclose EVERYTHING that MIGHT be pertinent. I'd even publish the source code so third parties could examin it to identify the extent of the "problem" as well as being able to "rebuild it" (i.e., take a blank ECU and install software that is, theoretically, identical to the software described in the source code listings to PROVE that the source code tells the entire story).
Yeah, this is considered trade secret material. But, your pants are down around your ankles, time to suck it up and take your medicine! (other car manufacturers undoubtedly have the essence of any of the *legitimate* algorithms already sorted out... you're not really giving away much other than your pride -- which you already lost when you committed/admitted the offense!) Get it over and done with. Don't give anyone the opportunity to claim you should have been *more* open ("Hey, we gave you the source code, what more do you want??")
Not only did the corvair not share "many" parts, the power train parts were quite expensive to build. The engine block, heads, and cyls were all very different in manufacturing concept to ANY other north American engine and were much more expensive to manufacture than even a high output V8
VW was simply doing what many people who support what they fondly imagine to be "the free enterprise system" and who oppose government regulation say corporations are obligated to do: make as much money for their shareholders as possible.
Please take the time to go with her to visit the dealers. Have her get in & out of EVERY one of them through the different model lines. Observe what works for her, narrow the list then go for test drive. It will take much time but will be worth it. At least to shield her from the salespersons baloney. Make a point to the salesperson that you will NOT be deciding or purchasing today. I prefer foreign makes. Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Nissan. Ford is the only US car I have had that was dependable. How close is the dealer, loaners, pickup/delivery for service? I am afraid you will have to do a lot of research for past thoughts and remember anything posted here is just someones opinion-including mine. I'm sorry not to give a magical answer but I just went through this myself. You might save money getting a
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