Calculating S.S. benefit at 62 vs 66
 

wrote:
On Wed, 13 Aug 2014 22:53:34 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Wed, 13 Aug 2014 15:03:13 -0400, wrote:

On Wed, 13 Aug 2014 12:37:54 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 8/13/2014 9:50 AM, F.O.A.D. wrote:


There are two ways to respond to your assessment. The first is to cast
the blame on those who have been successful and demand a cut of the
fruits of their labor.

The second is to qualify oneself via training and education for the jobs
that exist in a highly competitive world ... that is only becoming
*more* competitive.

For most, the second route was drilled into us as youngsters. Unlike
today, we were never taught to "expect" it due to some societal right.
The required education may be acquired in many ways. It doesn't
necessarily require daddy's fat checkbook.

I'd also add that it often takes many years of work to rise to the
"middle class" financial category. Some people seem to think it's a
"right" and should start as soon as you become an adult. I didn't
achieve a "middle class" lifestyle until well into my 30's.

If you believe the assessment made by millionaire media and author
types, I never have.
There is a story floating around the talk shows now that you need
$150,000 for the basic necessities of life ... what bull****!

===

It depends on your life style and expectations. $150K sounds a bit
short to me but we probably live better than many.

We never made over $100k combined until recently and I don't think we
were living badly. We had "paid for" cars, boats and this house. Our
daughter came out of college without debt and we actually never owed
money for anything but the condo in Treasure Island. I paid it off
early and we had that free and clear too.

I am also not sure I know anyone who makes much more than $100k, most
make less, some a lot less.
This is SW Florida tho. I know it costs more to live in other places.

I made more than a 100k and the wife only worked part time for a friend.
And that was 12 years ago when I retired. I make at least that now with SS
a couple small pensions and investment income. Not touching the ira's
until this year. The 70 1/2 rule. For both wife and I. But we paid cash
for just about every thing we bought, except the house. First car we
financed in years was the wife's Venza. Was less than the return on
investments. But we also keep cars 10+ years! and do not need the $500 a
day hotel. In the 1980's we were having layoffs at a company. One
engineer who reported to me was worried about finances. I said worry about
the assembly line ladies who made $20k a year. He made $65k and drove a
POS dodge van, and commented his wife had 4 credit cards maxed out. What
did he waste money on? Sounds like he was following government spending
guidelines. I do live in a higher cost of living area, but did not take
money out of the house for toys when refinancing, and paid the house off.
I see the same thing with a lot of the people around me. I have an
acquaintance who's husband is the $500k a year VP of a high tech company.
Lake house, $80k African safari this year for the family. $2mm house. One
payment from bankruptcy basically. If there was a glitch in the company
and he was laid off, how long could he go on severance and savings?

Calculating S.S. benefit at 62 vs 66
 

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 15:33:36 -0400, wrote:

I still wonder why it costs $150k to live a normal life.

===

Then you need a bigger boat. :-)

Calculating S.S. benefit at 62 vs 66
 

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 18:14:32 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 17:24:05 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 15:33:36 -0400, wrote:

I still wonder why it costs $150k to live a normal life.

===

Then you need a bigger boat. :-)

I have all the boat I can get up the river.

If I hit the mega lotto I might pay to dredge out the whole thing so I
could get a 40 footer. ;-)

===

If you get something with big props and a fair amount of power, you
could dredge it a little at a time with prop wash.

Calculating S.S. benefit at 62 vs 66
 

On 8/14/2014 6:41 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 18:14:32 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 17:24:05 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 15:33:36 -0400, wrote:

I still wonder why it costs $150k to live a normal life.

===

Then you need a bigger boat. :-)

I have all the boat I can get up the river.

If I hit the mega lotto I might pay to dredge out the whole thing so I
could get a 40 footer. ;-)

===

If you get something with big props and a fair amount of power, you
could dredge it a little at a time with prop wash.


Just always do it on an outgoing tide...

Calculating S.S. benefit at 62 vs 66
 

On 8/14/2014 6:41 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 18:14:32 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 17:24:05 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 15:33:36 -0400, wrote:

I still wonder why it costs $150k to live a normal life.

===

Then you need a bigger boat. :-)

I have all the boat I can get up the river.

If I hit the mega lotto I might pay to dredge out the whole thing so I
could get a 40 footer. ;-)

===

If you get something with big props and a fair amount of power, you
could dredge it a little at a time with prop wash.



There's a name for that, but I've forgotten what it is. Not an
"official" name ... more of a humor thing. "Panamanian dredging" or
something like that.

I did a bit after my first grounding on the ICW. A sand bar had
developed right in the middle of the channel beside an inlet from the
ocean following a storm. Fortunately I had heard it was there on the
radio and was going slow so no damage was done but the soft sand was
enough to keep stalling the engines when trying to pull back off the
sand bar in reverse. After a few tries I put the shifts in "forward"
and was able to slowly kick the RPM's up a bit without the boat moving
forward and held it there for a while. Then, I shifted to reverse. It
was enough to create a couple of mini channels behind the props and
rudders and allowed me to pull the boat off the sand bar into deeper water.

Calculating S.S. benefit at 62 vs 66
 

On 8/14/2014 6:10 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/14/2014 6:41 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 18:14:32 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 17:24:05 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 15:33:36 -0400, wrote:

I still wonder why it costs $150k to live a normal life.

===

Then you need a bigger boat. :-)

I have all the boat I can get up the river.

If I hit the mega lotto I might pay to dredge out the whole thing so I
could get a 40 footer. ;-)

===

If you get something with big props and a fair amount of power, you
could dredge it a little at a time with prop wash.



There's a name for that, but I've forgotten what it is. Not an
"official" name ... more of a humor thing. "Panamanian dredging" or
something like that.

I did a bit after my first grounding on the ICW. A sand bar had
developed right in the middle of the channel beside an inlet from the
ocean following a storm. Fortunately I had heard it was there on the
radio and was going slow so no damage was done but the soft sand was
enough to keep stalling the engines when trying to pull back off the
sand bar in reverse. After a few tries I put the shifts in "forward"
and was able to slowly kick the RPM's up a bit without the boat moving
forward and held it there for a while. Then, I shifted to reverse. It
was enough to create a couple of mini channels behind the props and
rudders and allowed me to pull the boat off the sand bar into deeper water.


Should have installed down thrusters in front of the props to clear the way.

--
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the
government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of
taking care of them".
Thomas Jefferson

Calculating S.S. benefit at 62 vs 66
 

On 8/14/2014 8:17 PM, H*a*r*r*o*l*d wrote:
On 8/14/2014 6:10 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/14/2014 6:41 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 18:14:32 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 17:24:05 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 15:33:36 -0400, wrote:

I still wonder why it costs $150k to live a normal life.

===

Then you need a bigger boat. :-)

I have all the boat I can get up the river.

If I hit the mega lotto I might pay to dredge out the whole thing so I
could get a 40 footer. ;-)

===

If you get something with big props and a fair amount of power, you
could dredge it a little at a time with prop wash.



There's a name for that, but I've forgotten what it is. Not an
"official" name ... more of a humor thing. "Panamanian dredging" or
something like that.

I did a bit after my first grounding on the ICW. A sand bar had
developed right in the middle of the channel beside an inlet from the
ocean following a storm. Fortunately I had heard it was there on the
radio and was going slow so no damage was done but the soft sand was
enough to keep stalling the engines when trying to pull back off the
sand bar in reverse. After a few tries I put the shifts in "forward"
and was able to slowly kick the RPM's up a bit without the boat moving
forward and held it there for a while. Then, I shifted to reverse. It
was enough to create a couple of mini channels behind the props and
rudders and allowed me to pull the boat off the sand bar into deeper
water.


Should have installed down thrusters in front of the props to clear the
way.


There was a dredge barge just ahead of us that was clearing the sand
bar. He was pretty much in the middle of the ICW channel. I called him
on the radio and asked him what side was clear to run and gave him my
draft (4.5'). That's when I learned that they won't tell you or make
any recommendations. I guess it's a liability thing or something.
All he said was that a boat had successfully passed him on his port
side. I gave it a go, but it was a no-go.

That was the first time. I did it again further down the ICW that was
totally due to my stupidity and not paying attention.

Calculating S.S. benefit at 62 vs 66
 

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 20:36:54 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 8/14/2014 8:17 PM, H*a*r*r*o*l*d wrote:
On 8/14/2014 6:10 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/14/2014 6:41 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 18:14:32 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 17:24:05 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 15:33:36 -0400, wrote:

I still wonder why it costs $150k to live a normal life.

===

Then you need a bigger boat. :-)

I have all the boat I can get up the river.

If I hit the mega lotto I might pay to dredge out the whole thing so I
could get a 40 footer. ;-)

===

If you get something with big props and a fair amount of power, you
could dredge it a little at a time with prop wash.



There's a name for that, but I've forgotten what it is. Not an
"official" name ... more of a humor thing. "Panamanian dredging" or
something like that.

I did a bit after my first grounding on the ICW. A sand bar had
developed right in the middle of the channel beside an inlet from the
ocean following a storm. Fortunately I had heard it was there on the
radio and was going slow so no damage was done but the soft sand was
enough to keep stalling the engines when trying to pull back off the
sand bar in reverse. After a few tries I put the shifts in "forward"
and was able to slowly kick the RPM's up a bit without the boat moving
forward and held it there for a while. Then, I shifted to reverse. It
was enough to create a couple of mini channels behind the props and
rudders and allowed me to pull the boat off the sand bar into deeper
water.


Should have installed down thrusters in front of the props to clear the
way.


There was a dredge barge just ahead of us that was clearing the sand
bar. He was pretty much in the middle of the ICW channel. I called him
on the radio and asked him what side was clear to run and gave him my
draft (4.5'). That's when I learned that they won't tell you or make
any recommendations. I guess it's a liability thing or something.
All he said was that a boat had successfully passed him on his port
side. I gave it a go, but it was a no-go.

That was the first time. I did it again further down the ICW that was
totally due to my stupidity and not paying attention.


====

Dredges are supposed to display day shapes which indicate which side
is safe to pass on:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fok7mymmaiarhdr/dredges_2.gif

Calculating S.S. benefit at 62 vs 66
 

On 8/14/2014 9:43 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 20:36:54 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 8/14/2014 8:17 PM, H*a*r*r*o*l*d wrote:
On 8/14/2014 6:10 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/14/2014 6:41 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 18:14:32 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 17:24:05 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 15:33:36 -0400, wrote:

I still wonder why it costs $150k to live a normal life.

===

Then you need a bigger boat. :-)

I have all the boat I can get up the river.

If I hit the mega lotto I might pay to dredge out the whole thing so I
could get a 40 footer. ;-)

===

If you get something with big props and a fair amount of power, you
could dredge it a little at a time with prop wash.



There's a name for that, but I've forgotten what it is. Not an
"official" name ... more of a humor thing. "Panamanian dredging" or
something like that.

I did a bit after my first grounding on the ICW. A sand bar had
developed right in the middle of the channel beside an inlet from the
ocean following a storm. Fortunately I had heard it was there on the
radio and was going slow so no damage was done but the soft sand was
enough to keep stalling the engines when trying to pull back off the
sand bar in reverse. After a few tries I put the shifts in "forward"
and was able to slowly kick the RPM's up a bit without the boat moving
forward and held it there for a while. Then, I shifted to reverse. It
was enough to create a couple of mini channels behind the props and
rudders and allowed me to pull the boat off the sand bar into deeper
water.


Should have installed down thrusters in front of the props to clear the
way.


There was a dredge barge just ahead of us that was clearing the sand
bar. He was pretty much in the middle of the ICW channel. I called him
on the radio and asked him what side was clear to run and gave him my
draft (4.5'). That's when I learned that they won't tell you or make
any recommendations. I guess it's a liability thing or something.
All he said was that a boat had successfully passed him on his port
side. I gave it a go, but it was a no-go.

That was the first time. I did it again further down the ICW that was
totally due to my stupidity and not paying attention.


====

Dredges are supposed to display day shapes which indicate which side
is safe to pass on:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fok7mymmaiarhdr/dredges_2.gif



I don't recall any displays. (wouldn't have know anyway). The dredge
operator simply said something like, "Captain, I can't tell you what
side is ok to pass, but a boat about your size recently passed me on my
port side".

Calculating S.S. benefit at 62 vs 66
 

On 8/14/2014 9:51 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 20:10:00 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 8/14/2014 6:41 PM, Wayne.B wrote:

If you get something with big props and a fair amount of power, you
could dredge it a little at a time with prop wash.



There's a name for that, but I've forgotten what it is. Not an
"official" name ... more of a humor thing. "Panamanian dredging" or
something like that.

I did a bit after my first grounding on the ICW. A sand bar had
developed right in the middle of the channel beside an inlet from the
ocean following a storm. Fortunately I had heard it was there on the
radio and was going slow so no damage was done but the soft sand was
enough to keep stalling the engines when trying to pull back off the
sand bar in reverse. After a few tries I put the shifts in "forward"
and was able to slowly kick the RPM's up a bit without the boat moving
forward and held it there for a while. Then, I shifted to reverse. It
was enough to create a couple of mini channels behind the props and
rudders and allowed me to pull the boat off the sand bar into deeper water.


The preferred method here for blowing out small canals and such is to
tether a jet ski or two to something solid on the shore and start
blowing while they let out the lines. Retrieve and repeat.
That is certainly a Sunday trick, when DEP is home.
I also have a 3" mud pump for detail work and my neighbor has one on a
float.



When I was a kid we used to do that in the spring on a fresh water pond
to clear the bottom of leaves, twigs and branches near the shore where
we swam. We did it the other way around though.

I had a little 12 foot aluminum boat with a 5 horse Johnson.
We'd tie the transom to a raft that was moored out about 75 feet from
the shore line and I'd spend an hour or so making arcs back and forth,
stopping every once in a while to shorten up the line to the raft. I
couldn't move the raft and it's mooring blocks but the prop wash pushed
all the junk on the bottom out into deeper water, leaving a nice, sandy
bottom where people swam or walked in the shallow area.