Where is everyone?

On 5/24/2007 8:00:48 AM, Dylan Smith wrote:

A good used car can be had for a song and will go on for years. Mine's
galvanized so it hasn't even gone rusty in the salty air here. It runs
as well as it did when it rolled off the dealer's lot in 1995. It gets
the fuel economy that the book says it should, too. I'm planning on
still having this car in 2015 when it's 20 years old!

I share your mindset. It took me a few new cars back in the 80s and early 90s
to come to it, but now I understand the logic. Depreciation sucks.

--
Peter

Peter R. wrote:
84 months is just insane.

I'm with ya'!

How else can so many people drive cars that cost them a year's pay? G

I live in an average, middle class 'hood, with neighbors with average
jobs, and am blown away by the number of 50k+ cars on my street.

On 2007-05-24, Mxsmanic wrote:
Why must they be committed?

To be not committed in aviation is a very dangerous thing indeed. I
think the tired old quote is something like "aviation is not inherently
unsafe, But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly
unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity, or neglect."

So if you want to be in the game, you need a bit more commitment to it
than, say, playing pool at the local.

Why must a person practically become a martyr in order to fly?

Going without a brand new gas guzzling SUV or two is hardly being a
martyr. Not buying a McMansion is hardly being a martyr. Not keeping up
with the Joneses or engaging in conspicuous consumerism is not
martyrdom.

--
Yes, the Reply-To email address is valid.
Oolite-Linux: an Elite tribute: http://oolite-linux.berlios.de

I share your mindset. It took me a few new cars back in the 80s and early 90s
to come to it, but now I understand the logic. Depreciation sucks.

Me, too.

I think everyone should own a brand new car (that they ordered to
their specs) once in their lives. It's a wonderful experience, and I
remember well that feeling of pride as I drove it home. Just the
*smell* is worth it, once.

However, from the day you take delivery onwards, it's nothing but
stupid. It's a lose-lose situation, financially, that, thankfully, a
remarkable number of people are willing to risk -- which makes it
possible for me to buy Toyota T-100s for $2500...

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Going without a brand new gas guzzling SUV or two is hardly being a
martyr. Not buying a McMansion is hardly being a martyr. Not keeping up
with the Joneses or engaging in conspicuous consumerism is not
martyrdom.


I've met people -- usually women -- who would rather die than not
"keep up with the Jones"...The concept of "giving up the Escalade" in
order to take flight lessons couldn't be more foreign to them.

I don't get it, but that's not unusual.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Mxsmanic" wrote

Why must a person practically become a martyr in order to fly?

One doesn't, but one might have to make some choices as to what one spends
their money on. You can get your license for the same money that you might
spend on new furniture, remodeling a room, putting in a hot tub, etc.

Not having a hot tub does not a martyr make - at least not where I come
from.

With attitudes like that, there won't be any pilots at all one day.
Saying
"if you want to fly, you must suffer in every other way" isn't going to
swell
the ranks.

The tendency towards people wanting/expecting immediate gratification is a
more serious threat than anything else IMO.

Unless you have a family, as you say. Or perhaps you should abandon your
family in exchange for the celestial privilege of flying?

Lots of pilots have families.

BDS

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Dylan Smith writes:

They just aren't committed to aviation if they aren't prepared to
sacrifice some of those frivolous things.

Why must they be committed?

Would you enjoy it if you could only drive a car by sacrificing everything
else in your life? Is it wrong for people to want to drive cars even
though
they are not willing to sacrifice everything else to do so?

Why must a person practically become a martyr in order to fly?

With attitudes like that, there won't be any pilots at all one day.
Saying
"if you want to fly, you must suffer in every other way" isn't going to
swell
the ranks.

Granted, you can't do that if you have a family, but if you don't care
one whit about keeping up with the Joneses, you can live debt free AND
fly without breaking the bank.

Unless you have a family, as you say. Or perhaps you should abandon your
family in exchange for the celestial privilege of flying?


Tell ya what, first get a job and learn to at least support yourself. Then
when you actually have a stable income, come back and well talk about a
budgets and choices.

It's painfully easy to see from everything you write, that you know less
about earning money and making choices on how you spend it, than you do
about actually flying. And that's a hell of a lot.

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
Going without a brand new gas guzzling SUV or two is hardly being a
martyr. Not buying a McMansion is hardly being a martyr. Not keeping up
with the Joneses or engaging in conspicuous consumerism is not
martyrdom.


I've met people -- usually women -- who would rather die than not
"keep up with the Jones"...The concept of "giving up the Escalade" in
order to take flight lessons couldn't be more foreign to them.

I don't get it, but that's not unusual.

It's not just women, a lot of men are the same way. They have to drive the
latest and greatest, often diesel pickup. Then live in a TV, and faithfully
purchase everything they are told.

Funny thing they just can't seem to comprehend is, ya just can't keep up
with the Jones. Someone will always have a lot more "toys" than you do. Ya
just have to say the serenity prayer, buy the toys that matter most to you,
and learn to enjoy them.

The biggest lesson an man, woman or child can learn - is how to find
happiness with the things you can afford, instead of wasting you life
greving over the things you can't.

Dylan Smith writes:

To be not committed in aviation is a very dangerous thing indeed. I
think the tired old quote is something like "aviation is not inherently
unsafe, But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly
unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity, or neglect."

Being committed in the sense of sacrificing else is not the same as being
committed to flying safely, and the latter does not require the former.

Going without a brand new gas guzzling SUV or two is hardly being a
martyr.

Doing without one will not pay for flying, which is much more expensive. And
for people who can't afford the SUV to begin with, it's a useless suggestion.

--
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BDS writes:

One doesn't, but one might have to make some choices as to what one spends
their money on. You can get your license for the same money that you might
spend on new furniture, remodeling a room, putting in a hot tub, etc.

Getting a license costs a lot more than any of these things, at least around
here. And I can't afford any of them. Neither can many other people.

Not having a hot tub does not a martyr make - at least not where I come
from.

Doing without a hot tub will not help most people to afford flying.

The tendency towards people wanting/expecting immediate gratification is a
more serious threat than anything else IMO.

Well, perhaps that problem will be solved, and GA will disappear, and you'll
get your wish.

--
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