Ask Grandstander

[phenweigh]

If a local college offered courses in the history of baseball, would you apply for a teaching position?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by phenweigh

If a local college offered courses in the history of baseball, would you apply for a teaching position?

Well, that would be actual work, so, no, I would not apply. If they came to me and begged me to do it, then I might consider. If I was highly prized, then I could negotiate conditions. I think it unlikely that the local college will be offerings such a course, and less likely that they would beg me to teach if there was one.

[LongtimeBravesFan]

In light of your questions of vrted, will you make asking other posters questions a regular feature in this thread?

[bedir than average]

And will we be charged more?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by LongtimeBravesFan

In light of your questions of vrted, will you make asking other posters questions a regular feature in this thread?

Would you please explain why you would ask a question like that?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by bedir than average

And will we be charged more?

Had not thought of that, but sure, it's a good idea.

[LongtimeBravesFan]

Originally Posted by Grandstander

Would you please explain why you would ask a question like that?

I thought it would be interesting to see what you'd like to know about other posters and their opinions.

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by LongtimeBravesFan

I thought it would be interesting to see what you'd like to know about other posters and their opinions.

Now why would you have thought that would be interesting?


BTW...Longtime....you are in receipt of the honor of the first Ask G response I have made using my new notebook computer which I bought this afternoon.

[bedir than average]

Is that what happened to my money?

[LongtimeBravesFan]

Originally Posted by Grandstander

Now why would you have thought that would be interesting?

Well, I enjoyed seeing you turn the tables on vrted and thought it would be fun to continue it.

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by bedir than average

Is that what happened to my money?

Let's check....hmmm...nope, your money was long ago spent on assorted vice.

[skrable]

i've spent the weekend throwing out assorted mementos from my life and professional career, items i hadn't bothered to look at, in some cases, for more than 20 years. why do we keep things such as this?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by skrable

i've spent the weekend throwing out assorted mementos from my life and professional career, items i hadn't bothered to look at, in some cases, for more than 20 years. why do we keep things such as this?

Because we mistakenly believed that one day we would be famous and be able to unload the crap on E-Bay for big bucks.

I've mentioned that I am not the collector sort, but I am still subject to the impulses you reference. I went to Europe when I was 22, had a great time, but the only thing I brought back was this small, but ornate ash tray that I had stolen from my hotel room in Belgium. The room had featured this incredible old, but Olympic sized bathtub, of which my girlfriend and I had made especially creative use, and that is why I placed value on the memento. I treated it more carefully than I would an ordinary ashtray.

Years later when I was married (not to the European girlfriend), my wife and I were hosting some married friends of hers whom I despised, but tolerated because they were good friends with her. They had an extraordinarily obnoxious four year old son and among the reasons I disliked them was the fact that they were free spirits who did not believe in disciplining their kid no matter what. Thus he ran wild and reckless. And of course as you have already guessed, the little monster managed to knock over the table where the ashtray was and shatter it into oblivion. Worse, he did this within ten seconds of me warning him that he was about to do exactly that and he should stop.........ker-smash. Worse still, the parents treated it as utterly inconsequential...."Oops, sorry, he's a handful" sort of laughing dismisal, as though somehow or other I shared in some collective responsibility for his behavior and had to take the consequences like everyone else.

All of the conditions for a major eruption of temper were in place...I hated these people before they arrived, I hated their little savage thug of a child, my warning was ignored completely and the parents didn't lift a hand to prevent the problem, or express much in the way of regret after it happened.

But.....as I was cleaning up the pieces, something came over me. I was struck by the idea ....this was a thing, that was all, it was a thing. It's utility was easily and cheaply replaceable, the memories associated with it remained intact even if the item did not. The real value was the memory association and the ashtray wasn't truly needed for that. I became calm and went right back to just my normal hatred of these folks, simple enough to mask for one evening for my wife's sake.

Finally, and this did not dawn on me until days later, I saved myself a pile of trouble by not reacting. As far as my wife knew, the ashtray represented a good time I had while in Belgium, but of course I had never provided her with the real details of why it had been such a good time. Had I made a huge deal out of the ashtray, then she would have wanted to know why it had been so valuable to me....and then I would have had to make up some story which she would not have believed because she knew I wasn't prone to that sort of normal sentimentality. I realized that keeping the peace was far more valuable to me than the ashtray ever was.

Since that time, I have been a complete utilitarian. The value of anything for me is in function. Sure, I own a few useless things which I have kept for sentimental reasons, but should they be stolen or broken, it won't represent much of a blow to me.

[vtred]

Weekly "what if" fight match-up:

ebay vs. garage sale?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by vtred

Weekly "what if" fight match-up:

ebay vs. garage sale?

My preference would always be for the garage sale because E-Bay is an auction and what you wind up paying may not be based on value so much as circumstance.

At the garage sale, the seller is at a slight disadvantage in that if you come along at 9 in the morning and offer 20 bucks for the used WidgetMaster, the seller then must make a guess. Will someone else come along and offer me even more, or will this be the best offer I get all day? You have offered as much as you are willing to pay and it's a take it or leave it proposition for you.


At an auction, all of the advantages are with the seller because he or she has instant feedback on existing competitive bids. The seller needs only to sit back while the buyers drive up the price.