jfred, granite is bad and not in a rap sense. I mean it is undesirable and functionally poor.
They can't see muck on it
It is so hard that any glass or brittle object is easily broken.
It is expensive to buy and install
It is poorly insulating [feels cold]
It is aesthetically undesirable
It is culturally undesirable
It is slippery when wet
Boats are good, but I have little need of one. Once upon a time I had a canvas canoe my father made me as a child, but I sold that over 40 years ago. My brother and friend had yachts, but that was a annoying maintenance work so they sold those a few decades ago. I ogled MV "Kaimanawa" which was US$600,000 of serious shipping, but couldn't really see that I'd use it enough to justify the cost. It would be cheaper to just rent such a boat if I want one. Years later, I haven't rented one.
Mercedes? Two of them at that?! There's a Mercedes centre on one of my regular walking tours. There are rarely buyers there, but it's a huge place with an armada of cars, so they must be selling though possibly it's some very wealthy person's hobby to just display all his Mercedes. A couple of nights ago our 10 year old Camry [which we bought new as a treat] was backed into and an indicator light broken. It will cost about US$150 for a replacement. The car is dinged and worn, so I was quite unworried about the damage. It's comfortable having and old but reliable car, with dings and wear and tear so I'm unworried about people scuffing, dirtying etc. When I first got it I was cleaning and harassing people with dirty feet.
A 3 year old Lexus would be my desirable upgrade. New cars are just too expensive. One very good thing about new cars is that we'd only need to get one Warrant of Fitness test per year. At every 6 months they are quite annoying. Of course they never find anything and don't find actual safety problems such as tie rod about to fall off, or a tyre about to burst [which I noticed myself BEFORE it could burst and took it to a WOF testing station to see if they noticed it - they didn't]. But they can find a spot of rust on a boot lid and slightly worn wheel bearings which are irrelevant.
So I won't be saving those businesses. But their operators could get jobs mowing my lawns, painting my house, cutting trees, making meals, running errands, doing handyman repairs and maintenance, making coffee, making new carpet, operating an Airbus 380 shuttle to Honolulu, San Diego, London, south of France, etc, providing accommodation, and producing LOTS of cyberspace stuff and genetic engineering for human design and food.
Mqurice |
