Nathan's Corner
Being strapped to a gurney and breathing through a hose for a week is not a particularly enjoyable way to quit, but it was quite effective for me.
Quote: DieterI figure I was spending around $12 a day on tobacco toward the end. That's about $4400 a year, or enough to pay for one or two ambulance rides.
Being strapped to a gurney and breathing through a hose for a week is not a particularly enjoyable way to quit, but it was quite effective for me.
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Yikes Dieter! 😱😳 My absolute God! 😱😳 I remember a guy saying he quit when he realized he was PAYING to potentially die of smoking related causes! 💡
Why cigarettes though? That's the only tobacco you actually inhale. Cigars and pipes deliver the nicotine just through the mouth and you're not getting all that carbon monoxide which is probably the worst thing you are inhaling when smoking cigarettes. Or you can do nasal snuff which will make your head spin with nicotine but nicotine is all you are getting, no products of combustion at all.
Quote: AutomaticMonkeyYou pay for cigarettes once when you get them, and again when they get you.
Why cigarettes though? That's the only tobacco you actually inhale. Cigars and pipes deliver the nicotine just through the mouth and you're not getting all that carbon monoxide which is probably the worst thing you are inhaling when smoking cigarettes. Or you can do nasal snuff which will make your head spin with nicotine but nicotine is all you are getting, no products of combustion at all.
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Honestly, I never liked puffing cigars or pipes. Not sure why.
Quote: AutomaticMonkeyYou pay for cigarettes once when you get them, and again when they get you.
Why cigarettes though? That's the only tobacco you actually inhale. Cigars and pipes deliver the nicotine just through the mouth and you're not getting all that carbon monoxide which is probably the worst thing you are inhaling when smoking cigarettes. Or you can do nasal snuff which will make your head spin with nicotine but nicotine is all you are getting, no products of combustion at all.
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And you're also paying for the chance to potentially accidentally cause a fire or accidentally get people killed in a fire! 😱😳 I saw a VERY scary anti cigarettes commercial where a mother is smoking a cigarette and puts the lit cigarette in an ashtray and makes her Daughter or Son(Kid had long hair but looked like a boy to me) go to bed and walks him or her to bed.
The lit cigarette ends up falling out of the ashtray and the entire house is enflamed in a HUGE fire in just about 10 minutes! 😱😳 The commercial said something like,"One lit cigarette can cause your entire house to be enflamed in a HUGE fire in just minutes. Please don't leave lit cigarettes unattended." 💡
Quote: billryanThirty-six years ago, you could find packs of cigarettes for under $2. There was a popular brand called Bucks that sold for $1,
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A Customer told me that cigarettes going up ONE QUARTER about 40 years ago made him permanently stop smoking, LMAO! 🤣🤭
I quit at $3, and again at $4 , as well as at $5. I think I paid $10 once, but I have not bought a pack in years and have not smoked a cigarette in several years.
The first year I quit, I put $5 a day away and took a trip to Gettysburg and Washington, DC with the Rolling Thunder Honor Guard.
Quote: billryanAs a kid, my Mom smoked. When I was around ten or twelve, she sent me to the corner store for a pack of cigarettes. They were ninety-five cents, and I was allowed to get a nickel's worth of candy. The man gave me a pack of Marlboro Reds and told me to tell my Mom they were $1.05 and she owed a nickel. She returned the pack, and I don't think she ever smoked again.
I quit at $3, and again at $4 , as well as at $5. I think I paid $10 once, but I have not bought a pack in years and have not smoked a cigarette in several years.
The first year I quit, I put $5 a day away and took a trip to Gettysburg and Washington, DC with the Rolling Thunder Honor Guard.
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I also remember being allowed to buy stuff for my grandma that I definitely shouldn't have been able to buy as a child. My Grandma would send me to the store to buy her lottery tickets when I was a little kid in the 90's and I would get them!😱😳 Try sending a little kid TODAY to buy lottery tickets, the store would absolutely refuse! 💡
Quote: billryanIn the late 1980s, the Federal Tax was $1.60 per carton. Thirty years later, it was almost $11 a carton. It hasn't changed since, but states and local governments have raised billions from the sales.
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I have heard that New York cigarette prices are insane, something like $20 a pack for Marlboros. 😱😳 But New York also has bigger pay rates, than say Florida, so it kind of balances out. 🤔💡
Quote: NathanWhat is up with "Brand New Newbies," attacking Long Time Members right off the bat in their VERY first post/threads? 😐🤨😱😳 Most legitimate Brand New Newbies don't attack Long Time Members right off the bat in their VERY first post/threads. They start off saying something like,"Hi, I'm on a week long trip in Vegas. What Vegas Casinos payout the most frequently?" 😀They don't insult Long Time Members. 😐
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I think some of them may be duplicate accounts.
Maybe they think it's funny to make drama.
Quote: DieterQuote: NathanWhat is up with "Brand New Newbies," attacking Long Time Members right off the bat in their VERY first post/threads? 😐🤨😱😳 Most legitimate Brand New Newbies don't attack Long Time Members right off the bat in their VERY first post/threads. They start off saying something like,"Hi, I'm on a week long trip in Vegas. What Vegas Casinos payout the most frequently?" 😀They don't insult Long Time Members. 😐
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I think some of them may be duplicate accounts.
Maybe they think it's funny to make drama.
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It's sadder than that. When a forum attracts people who are a little bit more intelligent than average, some of those same people also have a history of socialization being difficult, and of being excluded. So when they get in some trouble on the forum, it reawakens a lifetime of injustice real and perceived, starting in adolescence when emotions run strong and are unreasonable. Then that person becomes like the 14-year old coming to school with a trench coat and his father's rifle, because the "cool kids" rejected him.
Compounding that is that the people chosen to administrate a forum tend to be the best socially adjusted people on it, who have not had much of this experience and often don't recognize it. Basic ingroup vs. outgroup dynamics. We all have to live with that, in some form.
Quote: AutomaticMonkeyQuote: DieterQuote: NathanWhat is up with "Brand New Newbies," attacking Long Time Members right off the bat in their VERY first post/threads? 😐🤨😱😳 Most legitimate Brand New Newbies don't attack Long Time Members right off the bat in their VERY first post/threads. They start off saying something like,"Hi, I'm on a week long trip in Vegas. What Vegas Casinos payout the most frequently?" 😀They don't insult Long Time Members. 😐
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I think some of them may be duplicate accounts.
Maybe they think it's funny to make drama.
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It's sadder than that. When a forum attracts people who are a little bit more intelligent than average, some of those same people also have a history of socialization being difficult, and of being excluded. So when they get in some trouble on the forum, it reawakens a lifetime of injustice real and perceived, starting in adolescence when emotions run strong and are unreasonable. Then that person becomes like the 14-year old coming to school with a trench coat and his father's rifle, because the "cool kids" rejected him.
Compounding that is that the people chosen to administrate a forum tend to be the best socially adjusted people on it, who have not had much of this experience and often don't recognize it. Basic ingroup vs. outgroup dynamics. We all have to live with that, in some form.
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Sooner or later, most people learn that when the bartender says you're cut off, arguing and making a ruckus doesn't get you another drink, even if the bartender is a muttonhead.
Quote: garthsistQuote: AutomaticMonkey
It's sadder than that. When a forum attracts people who are a little bit more intelligent than average, some of those same people also have a history of socialization being difficult, and of being excluded.
Sorry do you think you are some kind of authority on personal charm? LOL.
You are kind of weird, to put it mildly.
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You say that as if it were a bad thing.
Quote: billryanFor some people, getting cut off is just the start of the night's entertainment.
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Fair enough, but they can enjoy their evening somewhere else.
Quote: billryanQuote: garthsistQuote: AutomaticMonkey
It's sadder than that. When a forum attracts people who are a little bit more intelligent than average, some of those same people also have a history of socialization being difficult, and of being excluded.
Sorry do you think you are some kind of authority on personal charm? LOL.
You are kind of weird, to put it mildly.
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You say that as if it were a bad thing.
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Guilty as charged! And I know it, and make a point of reminding myself all the time that I can be quite awkward if I am not paying attention to being otherwise.
Which is why I can understand the motivations of our forum disruptor. I have done exactly the same thing that he is doing, in the distant past, in different kinds of places for the same reason.
It makes you feel better for about 5 minutes, but in the long run it is self-toxic and in a month or two on average you wish you had spent that time doing something else.
Quote: DieterQuote: NathanWhat is up with "Brand New Newbies," attacking Long Time Members right off the bat in their VERY first post/threads? 😐🤨😱😳 Most legitimate Brand New Newbies don't attack Long Time Members right off the bat in their VERY first post/threads. They start off saying something like,"Hi, I'm on a week long trip in Vegas. What Vegas Casinos payout the most frequently?" 😀They don't insult Long Time Members. 😐
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I think some of them may be duplicate accounts.
Maybe they think it's funny to make drama.
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I also think they are duplicate accounts "Brand New Newbies," . I have seen the exact opposite happen, legitimate Newbies being accused of being my Socks. On a now defunct website, a legitimate brand new Newbie was a registered nutritionist and registered dietitian with a PHD and was sending unsolicited PMs about nutrition .
Posters accused him of being my Donathan Sock. A Long Time Poster said something like,"I REALLY don't think Tom is a Donathan Sock. Tom is a registered nutritionist and registered dietitian with a PHD. Donathan would struggle to understand the ingredients in a cereal box! 🤣 Posters STILL accused Tom of being my Donathan Sock.
Tom said something like,"So I tried to help you guys out by giving PMs about nutrition and I get accused of being a Donathan Sock? I am not Donathan.Maybe you guys are Donathan and are accusing me of being this Donathan Sock to throw suspicions off of yourself. I'm out of here!"
He permanently left that Website. I personally didn't have any active Accounts at the time the Newbie was being accused of being me. He had only interacted with me about once questioning if I thought Trolling was fun. He had joined about a week before I was banned for being a Troll.
After about five years, the Admin reinstated my Donathan Account after I came back with multiple Socks and pointed out that I was NOT the Troll I was back when I got banned for being a Troll roughly five years prior. There was actually a list of every Sock I ever was and Tom was not on that list since he was a legitimate Newbie and Posters realized this fact, that a legitimate Newbie got unfairly accused of being my Donathan Sock and was run off the board unfairly.
There were posts mentioning that Tom was welcome back after being vindicated as being a legitimate Newbie who was unfairly accused of being my Donathan Sock. Tom NEVER came back after being run off the board and NEVER found out he was actually vindicated as a legitimate Newbie.
Quote: NathanI got a couple of emails warning me that my Google Play Pass free trial was ending on September 27th and if I didn't cancel, I would be charged $4.99. I looked for the Google Play Pass free trial to cancel and Google said NOTHING about a Google Play Pass free trial, so I couldn't cancel. I got charged yesterday with the $4.99 Google Play Pass despite actively trying to cancel it and Google saying nothing about it! 😡🤬
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Google Play Store, Payments & Subscriptions, Subscriptions
Best of luck.
Quote: DieterQuote: NathanI got a couple of emails warning me that my Google Play Pass free trial was ending on September 27th and if I didn't cancel, I would be charged $4.99. I looked for the Google Play Pass free trial to cancel and Google said NOTHING about a Google Play Pass free trial, so I couldn't cancel. I got charged yesterday with the $4.99 Google Play Pass despite actively trying to cancel it and Google saying nothing about it! 😡🤬
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Google Play Store, Payments & Subscriptions, Subscriptions
Best of luck.
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I had went to Google Play store, Payments & Subscriptions, Subscriptions and there was absolutely NOTHING about Google Play Pass free trial. 😡🤬
Quote: NathanQuote: DieterQuote: NathanI got a couple of emails warning me that my Google Play Pass free trial was ending on September 27th and if I didn't cancel, I would be charged $4.99. I looked for the Google Play Pass free trial to cancel and Google said NOTHING about a Google Play Pass free trial, so I couldn't cancel. I got charged yesterday with the $4.99 Google Play Pass despite actively trying to cancel it and Google saying nothing about it! 😡🤬
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Google Play Store, Payments & Subscriptions, Subscriptions
Best of luck.
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I had went to Google Play store, Payments & Subscriptions, Subscriptions and there was absolutely NOTHING about Google Play Pass free trial. 😡🤬
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I don't know what to say.
Hopefully a surprise charge of 17 cents a day doesn't drive you to desperation, and you're able to cancel the subscription.
It stinks when they raise the rates, but what are you going to do? Build and manage your own data infrastructure?
I had subscribed to an online newspaper. The deal was $0.99 for six months and then $67 per year after that. After a few days, I realized the paper wasn't for me and tried to cancel the subscription. Customer service said they couldn't refund me and I should take the six months to see if I liked it better.
Last month, they charged my credit card $67. I called and was told that my contract stated it would renew at $67 if I didn't cancel. She said no refunds. We had a few minutes of back and forth, and when I wouldn't back down, she put me on hold for a supervisor. A third party came on and told me the supervisor was busy, but she could authorize a 50% refund. I refused it and got a bit louder. She started to explain something when I interrupted her and asked her what she just said, and asked if this was a recorded line. When she said yes, I told her I was done with her and I'd wait for the supervisor, asking her for her name and ID number.. She started to say something, and I cut her off with a request for a supervisor. After a brief pause, she returned and offered a full refund.
I was a bit of a dick about it, but it got settled in one phone call.
Quote: billryanIf you call and make a big stink about it, the odds are you'll get a full refund.
I had subscribed to an online newspaper. The deal was $0.99 for six months and then $67 per year after that. After a few days, I realized the paper wasn't for me and tried to cancel the subscription. Customer service said they couldn't refund me and I should take the six months to see if I liked it better.
Last month, they charged my credit card $67. I called and was told that my contract stated it would renew at $67 if I didn't cancel. She said no refunds. We had a few minutes of back and forth, and when I wouldn't back down, she put me on hold for a supervisor. A third party came on and told me the supervisor was busy, but she could authorize a 50% refund. I refused it and got a bit louder. She started to explain something when I interrupted her and asked her what she just said, and asked if this was a recorded line. When she said yes, I told her I was done with her and I'd wait for the supervisor, asking her for her name and ID number.. She started to say something, and I cut her off with a request for a supervisor. After a brief pause, she returned and offered a full refund.
I was a bit of a dick about it, but it got settled in one phone call.
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I got an unwanted $9.99 Subscription to Credit Review cancelled by calling Customer Service. The Credit Review Subscription was a $1 trial I was required to do for a Task for my online marketing research job. I did the Task and got paid and completely forgot to cancel the Trial. The next month, I was getting messages from my PayPal that my $9.99 Credit Review transaction was declined due to insufficient funds. I didn't actually WANT the Credit Review Subscription, it was purely for a Task that I already did and was paid and didn't want the subscription in the first place. I called the Credit Review number and was able to cancel the Credit Review Subscription. 😀
Quote: NathanRemember that Bingo scam I was running a while back until I tried to cash in a $600 winning card that had already previously lost and got banned from Bingo and then banned from that Casino and all Sister Casinos as well for a year? 💡 It turns out that my Bingo scam wouldn't have been all that sustainable for long even if I hadn't gotten caught and banned. The Casino did only one more Bingo day back in May and hasn't done another Bingo in 4 months. 💡
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What are the chances you were the only one abusing the system?
Quote: billryanQuote: NathanRemember that Bingo scam I was running a while back until I tried to cash in a $600 winning card that had already previously lost and got banned from Bingo and then banned from that Casino and all Sister Casinos as well for a year? 💡 It turns out that my Bingo scam wouldn't have been all that sustainable for long even if I hadn't gotten caught and banned. The Casino did only one more Bingo day back in May and hasn't done another Bingo in 4 months. 💡
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What are the chances you were the only one abusing the system?
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That's a good question. The Bingo scam might have been done by lots of people. It was a VERY simple scam, just reusing old Bingo cards that already previously lost. 💡 I most likely wasn't the only one pulling this Bingo scam. 💡
1. You must keep the ticket that has your name stapled to the Bingo pack in order to win Bingo.
2. You cannot play Bingo in the high limit room unless you are actively playing on a machine.
3. You cannot use more than one Bingo pack. If you are caught using more than one Bingo pack, both Bingo packs will be confiscated and you will be banned from Bingo for 30 days.
4. You cannot leave your items near the Bingo game to reserve the area. Left behind items will be taken to the lost and found area at Security Office.
5. You can only use the designated color and section. The colors are blue, red, and yellow. There are four sections and the first section is $100 for a single line, the second section is $100 for two lines, the third section is $300 for an X, and the fourth section is $1,000 for a coverall Bingo meaning every number must be called on the card in order to be won. If a coverall is won within say 54 balls, the winner will win at least $1,500. If there are more than one winner, the prizes will be split.
6. Do not go to the Bingo caller when winning a Bingo. Another Casino Staff Member will verify the Bingo and hand it to the Bingo caller and he will also verify the win.
7. Do NOT get overly excited when you are one number away from winning Bingo. You will be warned to calm down.
Special notes. "Agua!" is a VERY good thing. That means the person who said Bingo actually LOST and the game will continue. 😀 Also, "tres, dos, uno," means a countdown for the person who THINKS they have Bingo to come forward. If they don't come forward the game will continue. 😀 Also, Hialeah Park Casino is located in a predominantly Hispanic and Latino population, so the Bingo caller says the numbers in both English and Spanish. 😀
Quote: DieterQuote: AutomaticMonkeyYou pay for cigarettes once when you get them, and again when they get you.
Why cigarettes though? That's the only tobacco you actually inhale. Cigars and pipes deliver the nicotine just through the mouth and you're not getting all that carbon monoxide which is probably the worst thing you are inhaling when smoking cigarettes. Or you can do nasal snuff which will make your head spin with nicotine but nicotine is all you are getting, no products of combustion at all.
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Honestly, I never liked puffing cigars or pipes. Not sure why.
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I never understood the whole inhale cigarettes but not pipes thing. I smoked a pipe for about three weeks until I saw a video of me smoking it and having a conversation. I tried many ways to quit cigarettes, but in the end, it just took making a bet I couldn't afford to lose.
Quote: ChumpChangeElectronic Bingo machines came out nearly 30 years ago. People still use daubers? The Bingo Hall could upgrade but people MUST be addicted to their daubers.
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In my local Casinos, Bingos are all done only with paper cards , not electronic. 💡
Quote: billryanQuote: DieterQuote: AutomaticMonkeyYou pay for cigarettes once when you get them, and again when they get you.
Why cigarettes though? That's the only tobacco you actually inhale. Cigars and pipes deliver the nicotine just through the mouth and you're not getting all that carbon monoxide which is probably the worst thing you are inhaling when smoking cigarettes. Or you can do nasal snuff which will make your head spin with nicotine but nicotine is all you are getting, no products of combustion at all.
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Honestly, I never liked puffing cigars or pipes. Not sure why.
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I never understood the whole inhale cigarettes but not pipes thing. I smoked a pipe for about three weeks until I saw a video of me smoking it and having a conversation. I tried many ways to quit cigarettes, but in the end, it just took making a bet I couldn't afford to lose.
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A guy said he quit smoking when he realized he was paying to possibly die of smoking related causes. A Woman said she quit cold turkey after roughly 36 years of smoking because she didn't want to smoke anymore. 💡 She is disgusted with the money she spent smoking for roughly 36 years. 💡
Quote: billryanIf she enjoyed it, or it calmed her down, it wasn't money wasted.
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I did calculations and I came up with around $215,000 in JUST cigarettes and a a single pack without ashtrays and lighters! 😱😳
Quote: billryanQuote: DieterQuote: AutomaticMonkeyYou pay for cigarettes once when you get them, and again when they get you.
Why cigarettes though? That's the only tobacco you actually inhale. Cigars and pipes deliver the nicotine just through the mouth and you're not getting all that carbon monoxide which is probably the worst thing you are inhaling when smoking cigarettes. Or you can do nasal snuff which will make your head spin with nicotine but nicotine is all you are getting, no products of combustion at all.
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Honestly, I never liked puffing cigars or pipes. Not sure why.
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I never understood the whole inhale cigarettes but not pipes thing. I smoked a pipe for about three weeks until I saw a video of me smoking it and having a conversation. I tried many ways to quit cigarettes, but in the end, it just took making a bet I couldn't afford to lose.
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It made some sense to me.
Cigarette smoke was comparatively light in feel, cigar smoke was rather harsh, and pipe tobacco felt "thick". I found the others unpleasant to inhale.
Quote: NathanQuote: billryanIf she enjoyed it, or it calmed her down, it wasn't money wasted.
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I did calculations and I came up with around $215,000 in JUST cigarettes and a a single pack without ashtrays and lighters! 😱😳
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You must remember smokes were much cheaper when she started smoking. You can't take the price paid today and apply it 36 years ago. Your number is a bit high
Quote: vegasQuote: NathanQuote: billryanIf she enjoyed it, or it calmed her down, it wasn't money wasted.
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I did calculations and I came up with around $215,000 in JUST cigarettes and a a single pack without ashtrays and lighters! 😱😳
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You must remember smokes were much cheaper when she started smoking. You can't take the price paid today and apply it 36 years ago. Your number is a bit high
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I purposely used 2025 prices when I did my calculations! LMAO! 🤣🤭 Hmm. As I write this post, it occurs to me that she didn't specify WHAT year it was when she stopped smoking. 🤔💡 For all I know, she could be 80 and started smoking at 18 in 1963 stopped smoking at 54 in 1999 when cigarettes would have been REALLY cheap. 🤔💡 Cigarettes in 1963 when she started have only been about .30 a pack and around $3 in 1999 when she quit. 🤔💡
Quote: billryanIt's not entirely accurate, but a two-pack-a-day smoker for thirty years lost two packs worth of buying power every day. In today's dollars, that would be $25 a day. Before the mid-1960s, cigarettes were dirt cheap, but by the mid-90s, they were a noticeable drain on a smoker's cash flow. I had a roommate who was always late with his rent but smoked two packs a day. He joked that since drinking and smoking would kill him, he didn't need a retirement plan. Sadly, he died a painful death at the age of 53, a combination of no health insurance and indifference.
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RIP to your ex roommate. 😭 At least the other guy I spoke of realized that cigarettes could possibly kill him and he quit cold turkey. 💡
I replied something like,"You REALLY should stop gambling. You already lost money you NEEDED in a Casino. You are showing signs of being a heavily gambling addict who needs SERIOUS help IMMEDIATELY. If you keep gambling, you'll end up being a homeless bum on the streets begging people for money."
The Poster responded something like,"Um, the money I lost wasn't money that I NEEDED and I REALLY don't appreciate being spoken to like I am a serious gambling addict. You guys seem condescending, insensitive and judgemental, maybe I should permanently leave." 😐
An Admin responded something like,"The majority of WOV doesn't think you are a degenerate gambler. Only Nathan said that insensitive, judgemental, and condescending post to you and she shouldn't have told you that. She owes you a full apology for that insensitive, judgemental and condescending post. I apologize to you for her." 💡
Even other Posters admitted that that post came across as condescending, insensitive, and judgemental and shouldn't have told the Poster that. The post I THOUGHT was going to make me get praise and kudos for how serious, mature, insightful, wise and smart I was being ended up making me look like a condescending, insensitive, and judgemental jerk instead. 😐
In hindsight, what I was hoping would happen FOR me would have pissed me off if it happened TO me. If I posted about losing more money than I wanted to in a Casino and someone wrote that insensitive, judgemental, and condescending post to me and got praise and kudos for how serious, mature, insightful, wise and smart they were being, I'd be pissed that my thread got hijacked so badly. 😡🤬
Back then I had VERY low self esteem and was writing how I felt would make me fit in rather than how I REALLY felt. I now write the way I REALLY feel and not how I feel that will make me fit in. 💡
The reward for conformity is that everyone will like you, except yourself.
Rita Mae Brown(?)
