Flutterby™! : A dollar a night...

A dollar a night...

2001-07-01 02:20:41+00 by Dan Lyke 17 comments

Maybe I need to add a "yuppie indulgences" category (or is that what the Dan's Life category is for?). After sleeping (and... ahem... other stuff...) on a full-wave waterbed that I'd bought from Eric about a decade ago, I recently decided it was time for a change. Heating costs here in California pushed me away from another water bed, so I went out and laid on a bunch of mattresses in various places, decided on the ones I liked, then asked for prices. The good news is that I thought the $9k Duxiana beds were uncomfortable unless my feet were hanging off the bottom. The bad news is that I settled on a Stearns and Foster "Kingsley-Royale" set. Just think of it as a buck a night. For the 10 years it's warranteed for.

[ related topics: Dan's Life ]

comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:00+00 by: ebradway

Dan, you need a real yuppie indulgence:

I'm selling my Porsche

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:00+00 by: Larry Burton

Need some other transportation after you get rid of it? I've got a mini-van for sale. ;-)

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:00+00 by: Dan Lyke

So soon with the Porsche? What's up with that?

And I don't know what direction Eric's going vehicle wise, but I'm trying to switch over to human power for as much of my transport as possible. So the mini-van doesn't seem my style...

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:01+00 by: ebradway

Last week as I was pulling out of my supposedly secure parking garage, I noticed my bicycle in my rear-view mirror and thought 'Maybe when I sell the car I'll just ride my bike for a few weeks'. When I came back from the Lion my bike was gone. Sone jerk-off swiped it in the two hours I was gone. That sucks...

I'm selling the Porsche because it is the worst of material possessions. I do not own it, it owns me. I have to change my behaviors significantly to compensate for the car. Sure, driving it is a blast, but having to search out good parking, deal with $2000 tune ups, and reroute trips around the bad parts of town is more sacrifices than I want to make for a car!

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:01+00 by: ebradway

BTW, I have a Coleman inflatable mattress in my bedroom right now... I drive a Porsche 911 and sleep on a $29 bed.

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:01+00 by: Larry Burton

That inflatable mattress would fit right in the back of the van I'm selling. It's for sale cheap, Eric.

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:01+00 by: Dan Lyke

So if Eric goes that route, I guess we need to find him a

don't laugh mister, your daughter might be in here

bumper sticker.

Do not, however, even think about suggesting that get-up to Topspin.

#Comment made: 2001-07-04 02:30:07+00 by: Pete [edit history]

Wait, lemme guess: Eric's trying to figure out how to be a father, right?

And $2,000 for a tune-up? I'm feeling better and better about my BMW. New fan and mount, new parking light, new wheel bearing, and all associated labor: $320.

Plus, one of the mechanics sounds like he's just waiting for an opportunity to belt out "There's nary an animal alive that can outrun a greased Scotsmen!"

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:02+00 by: topspin

Dan, I've already got a tent that fits my Blazer and a coupla cheap fold-out foam chairs that make a nice bed.

Besides, I doubt Larry's mini-van would fare well on a sheet of ice so one could view Bald River Falls when it's frozen.

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:02+00 by: ebradway

You know, my Porsche does just fine on ice. Here are a few older models on an ice track..

As far as the $2000 tune-up, most of the cost was in parts. The plug-wire set OEM from Porsche is about $400. I bought my own set for $230. And the tune-up was the 150K factory recommended maintenance - which I'm basically doing myself. The car has over 173K on it and still is tight as a drum. I believe Dan put a new engine in his 525i around 180K miles... But I don't even want to get into 'Car Wars'

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:02+00 by: Larry Burton

Actually, the van does suprisingly well on ice.

And 'Car Wars' can be fun. The only really good cars came out of Detroit between 1954 and 1973 with the real fun beginning in 1961. ;-)

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:03+00 by: Dan Lyke

I miss the 528e. 2 tons, plenty of headroom, 36mpg highway, never had to do a 3 point turn. As compared to my Maxima, which is an okay car, about the same weight range, is one of the few Japanese cars in that class that I can sit in the back seat in, but it turns like a slug and gets about 24mpg.

And working back I think the reason I had to put a new engine in the 528 has to do with some of the reasons it was being sold.

I've got a friend who bought a mid '50s Vette recently, and I'm not sure about that "really good cars". I mean, it's a great convertible and gets a lot of looks, but none of us will let him come visit 'cause it's soooooo damned loud. I guess I'm just too practical.

But car-wise, I'm looking forward to the hybrids if I can't find a way to reduce my motor vehicle dependence more. Really enjoying that 15 miles on the edge of the bay that I've started doing, might even have to look around for a street bike to make it easier...

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:03+00 by: topspin

Susan and I did the whole Cherohala Skyway [Tellico Plains, TN to Robbinsville, NC] on the day we visited the frozen Bald River Falls. I did doughnuts in 8-10 inches of snow in the pull-offs. I took my Mom up there in the snow a coupla years ago and she made me turn back after I helped a guy get his snowmobile started on the road at the Falls Branch Falls pull-off.

I don't doubt a BMW would fare well in ice/snow. I'd not wanna control a Porsche's power on ice, but I'd imagine it's possible. I don't wanna drive a mini-van anywhere.... wet, dry, icy, snowy.... whether it can handle the terrain or not.

Yuppie indulgence for me would be something like a Litespeed which I could probably pick up and bring to ya, Dan. (Searching for a good reason for a road-trip, I am.)

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:03+00 by: Larry Burton

The car isn't too loud, Dan. You're too old. ;-)

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:03+00 by: ebradway

The problem, Rick, is that you haven't found the conditions that you can't control your vehicle in. They exist and if you end up there... Well...

I wouldn't have any problems with Dan's Bimmer on the ice. That thing handled like a dream. I curse him for not selling it to me and then having it totalled.

And the 911 handles like a Beetle on ice. As long as you are giving it gas and letting the back-end settle, it sticks like no-ones business. Of course in '89 they introduced the C4 with all-wheel drive. Now that's a car to take out on a frozen lake!

But I agree more with Dan - and hence I'm selling the car.

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:03+00 by: topspin

I've found conditions that were "incompatible" with my Blazer. Most notably just off the Nebo Loop Scenic Byway in March of '98 or '99 when a bigger 4x4 with chains pulled me outta a snowdrift and I turned around with my tail between my legs.

I've also found that approximately 2 pitchers of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale creates conditions that I can't control my vehicle in. Hmmmmm..... I seem to recall Pale Ale affecting your ability to control a Porsche too. <grin>

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:32:03+00 by: ebradway

Was that Pale Ale? I thought someone let all the air out of my tires...