What would you do with a Billion Dollars

[Ch00paKabrA]

What would you do with a billion dollars? End hunger? build schools? Set up a trust fund for the needy?

Not this young man:



Here is a transcript because it is a little hard to read:

If I had one billion dollars I would make an orphan believe he was going to Hogwarts to learn magic.  I would pay actors to pretend to be wizards and have a fake Hagred take him shopping  at a pretend Diagon alley.  I would plan elaborate magic illusions to convince him he really was a wizard.  Finally I would convince him to run at the wall to get to Platform 9 ¾.  As soon as he hits the wall balloons would drop from the sky and a giant banner would fall down and read “Magic Isn’t Real.”

I don't know if it is real or a hoax and I am ashamed to admit that I laughed so hard that I couldn't breathe. It would be bad enough if he said he would do this to someone he hated or was mean to him but, no, he would find an orphan...

It is wrong on so many levels but at the same time, horrifyingly funny.

 

[e-beach]

From the mouths of baby's.....

But honest, just goes to show that too much money makes people stupid, and sometimes psychopathic. Happens all the time with rich people.

 

[Dauntless]

There's apparently even a website now -- "Who Wrote the Note?"

OF COURSE you thought it was funny. That's why the original artist wrote and performed it. Or did you figure someone actually won the billion dollar challenge with the perfect bracket during March Madness?

I go to get the article where the goofball writer was saying "We have bugging psychopath here" but it proved too embarrassing and they already took it down.

Who took my billion? Who FOUND my billion? I'd say this is about as real as 'Hopkin Green Frog?' Or do you still believe in THAT one?

 

[lbz5mc12]

If I had a billion, I'd solarize as many blocks as I could in the city of San Bernardino.

 

[Modbikemax]

If I had a billion, I'd solarize as many blocks as I could in the city of San Bernardino.

You would do more good if you replaced one million refrigerators with energy efficient ones and maybe a few LED lights, this would reduce base load and save thousands times more greenhouse gas than solar panels. But it's not as sexy as solar panels.

 

[Kingfish]

Aside from ensuring my folks are taken care of…

First, I’d provision out my hidden urban bat cave with a lot of cool toys in a 5-bay garage, and acquire the adjoining parcels of land so I can turn the volume up on my AV system without having to worry about neighbors. That is #1 on The List.

Then I’d extend the dock so I could have a bigger sailing vessel – one that could survive a trip around the world. Somewhere between rubber ducky and battleship… a boy still needs a boat for the bathtub. That takes care of #2.

A Trust Fund is a mighty tool to enable those less fortunate, or to empower those to do good deeds. I propose two: The Education Fund and The Conservation Fund. Learn & restore habitat. Sounds a lot like the Boy Scouts.

Build the Dream Company. Literally, a think tank. Solve the most pressing problems within the realm of reason (as in – reality).

Frankly, I just want to design and build toys, prototypes by another name – because each one is a different puzzle. If interest was high enough, I’d hand off to a production team to make it possible. The day-to-day stuff of running a business though does not interest me near as much as creating design solutions. For that – I’d want a really cool garage/machine shop, with kickass music, popcorn, and beer for the afternoons.

Creative companies of the 80’s and 90’s were stimulating like that. Then as the entrepreneurs exited with their maximized investments, soulless management from corps like P&G came in to delete all the fun reasons for working there in the name of profiteering.

Therefore, if I had a billion, I’d put the fun back into the lives of good-hearted people and inspire them to create and pursue restoration, to promote “Conservatasy”: The liberal application of Environmental responsibility and conservatism, having nothing to do with political agendas though having everything to do with using technology for the preservation, health and welfare of all creatures brave and small on this tiny blue marble.

Picking the Lotto numbers... KF

 

[John in CR]

Give me a billion, or hell just loan me a billion, and I promise to do a lot of good with it. Since I learned everything I know about EVs on ES, the first order of business will be a HubMonster powered ebike for every ES member, and I'll give Justin enough free quality product to make up for any lost sales on Ebikes.ca though that would be minimal since all would get the works in terms of his charger solution and CA3's, etc. Actually I changed my mind, and the first order of business is to fully fund Lebowski with whatever is necessary to launch his controllers with the how ever many thousand going on the Hubmonster bikes for ESers.

 

[methods]

* Complete the job of pushing IC cars off the road in favor of EV's (including educating the numb-skulls who still cant see through the fog)
* Push full ahead on battery manufacturing until every man, woman, and child has 100kWH of battery on hand
* Change the solar game... anything facing up better be charging batteries
* None Ya... (mostly contingency)
* Then I would pimp out my space station with virtual reality gear form Oculus for those long... cold... nights in space

(my wife said she does not want to live in space with me when we are old and crusty and augmented... we will see if my son wants to go... its gonna be rad)

-methods

 

[Modbikemax]

We have a Billionaire here in Australia who bought himself a seat in parliament.
He is a fat colossal dick head who likes to get his own way.
Another billionaire mining magnate who's kids are suing her, she's fat ugly and likes to get here own way.
I fear that despite our best intentions a billion dollars will only make us fat, ugly and want to get our own way.
Your wife and kids will end up hating you and sue you for for most of your money, the lawyers will take the rest.
So you will end up living in a caravan, with 2 solar panels and an ebike, because that's all you can afford.
Living the dream.

 

[methods]

If I had a billion, I'd solarize as many blocks as I could in the city of San Bernardino.

You would do more good if you replaced one million refrigerators with energy efficient ones and maybe a few LED lights, this would reduce base load and save thousands times more greenhouse gas than solar panels. But it's not as sexy as solar panels.

Would do nothing to achieve energy independence tho....

Until people can collect, store, and use "their own power" efficiency arguments will be abstract concepts and more government will be the anti-solution.

-methods

 

[100volts+]

It's obvious the world can not be changed even with 10 trillion, so I would spend it all on myself. Yeah baby. F**k the poor people.

 

[John in CR]

...I fear that despite our best intentions a billion dollars will only make us fat, ugly and want to get our own way....

Since I'm that way without the billion, in my case it would push me the opposite direction, all the more reason to give it to me.

 

[Ch00paKabrA]

Ummm...

The title was really just to emphasize what the kid wrote about screwing with and orphan to think he was a wizard and how dastardly and funny what he wrote was.

The thread really wasn't about what you would do with a billion dollars. But Since it appears that it now is; I will chime in.

I would set up a fund in my late children's names where the interest that it earned would be spent to tear down the corrupt influence that the NEA has in the political system that effectively robs less fortunate children of a quality education. This fund would also build private schools in under privileged areas to give those children a fighting chance to get out of poverty. Case in point: Asbury Park, NJ spends over $35,000 per student per year. they have a drop out rate of over 60 percent. It would cost less to simply fire all of the teachers and administrators and pay for private school education for each student. They won't even approve a charter school because the NEA keeps shooting that down so the crappy teachers won't have any competition.

I would fight that.

 

[Nehmo]

It's obvious the world can not be changed even with 10 trillion, so I would spend it all on myself. Yeah baby. F**k the poor people.

I recognize you're just being comical, but I'll give a serious answer anyway.
The world is changed incrementally. More money does more, of course, but even how you spend a single dollar may make a difference.

 

[Dauntless]

Ummm...
The title was really just to emphasize what the kid wrote about screwing with and orphan to think he was a wizard and how dastardly and funny what he wrote was.

Seeing as how this "Kid" was in his 30's, 40's, 50's, whatever, it's really about what sort of hoax people will find funny.

So to suddenly have a billion dollars would pretty much require a lottery winners. A winner over $2.5 billion, leaving you with the kewl billion. One thinks in terms of 10% for charity, of course EVERYONE thinks they get to have a say, or should I say the FINALY say, in where it goes. . .

If I had a billion, I'd solarize as many blocks as I could. . . .

You would do more good if you. . . But it's not as sexy. . . .

Would do nothing to achieve energy independence tho....

. . . .leading to me ignoring them all, setting up 100,000 scholarships of $1,000 each for anyone, regardless of race creed color or obvious 'Politically Correct/Incorrect' persuasion, who earns an AA degree in math from an American community college. Two years of community college starts at $5,000 and goes up from there depending on what part of the country you're in, etc. And it keeps rising, I doubt the $5,000 figure will last. All that public money being spent to keep the education at that price, plus more to provide financial aid to so many who don't appreciate the free education that's wasted on them as they don't bother to learn anything that Benjamin Franklin would call "Useful Knowledge" so they wind up as Occupiers.

Every year there are approximately 40,000 high school classrooms with a teacher who has no math education other than the high school classes he/she hated as much as these current students do. Having people with at least an AA to take a small step forward and teach those classes for even a short time would be a huge leap forward. To say nothing of it being the first step toward a whole variety of meaningful degrees which are underrepresented at graduation and would do much to help fill the millions of unfillable jobs that people can't be bothered to learn to do because Occupy is taking up so much of their time there no time left for additional FREE education. In fact while our 1,000+ community colleges could easily produce over 50,000 math graduates each year, I know it'll take a lot longer than 2 years to get to 100,000, so I'm sure my foundation would earn a lot of money with the endowment before they could give it out, what with me being so good with the stock market and all. It would probably turn into 200,000 AA's in math. I'd probably wind up hiring a lot of those people.

It's obvious the world can not be changed even with 10 trillion, so I would spend it all on myself. Yeah baby. F**k the poor people.

And as I invest wisely to rebuild my fortune back to $1 billion, I'd be moving to Arizona with plans to use the last free, capitalist state as a springboard to save America from socialism, or if not, to at least save ARIZONA from those other states full of socialists such as the People's Republic of California. (Did you hear that goofball Mayor Garcetti sputter about a $13.25 minimum wage in Los Angeles? What's more scary than the fact he means it is that he intends to go after it.)

When the various hucksters show up to get teary eyed about their personal agendas that they're not getting money from me for while I'm wasting all this money on education for people who also don't suit their personal agendas, I'll have them arrested as stalkers, since that's what THEY ARE. Won't they be in for a shock when having them arrested makes me a big national hero with everyone except the socialists. Here they had the random couple on the radio where they asked about this L.A. minimum wage and the guy say yes and the woman said no. After the guy babbled an incoherent statement that included the words ". . . .More money. . . ." the woman started to make a rather thoughtful statement about what really happens when you raise the minimum wage but the man wouldn't let her talk. A microcosm of today's society there, the ignorant boobs determined to bully the intelligent who know what they're doing into silence. I hope she escapes from him.

And then I'll get back to work on my little reality show about me designing and building these really unusual cars that the audience can buy replicas of from my custom shop their in Arizona. Maybe I'll invite the former lieutenant governor of California who was demanding that the PRC go to war with Arizona several years back to come tour the facilities. Basically just another example of doing the right thing then rubbing it in the faces of the dirtbags. Not only would I be doing an incredible amount of good, but it'll be so PLEASING the way it pisses off the bad guys.

Oh darn, do I really have to finish this post and stop imagining it all?

http://www.amazon.com/Society-Useful-Knowledge-Benjamin-Enlightenment/dp/1608195724/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409637147&sr=1-1&keywords=society+for+useful+knowledge

 

[lbz5mc12]

All I know is that there are a lot of houses near where I live that have gone solar. I've also seen three Leafs and two Volts driving around here not to mention all the freaking Prius-es everywhere.

 

[Modbikemax]

All I know is that there are a lot of houses near where I live that have gone solar. I've also seen three Leafs and two Volts driving around here not to mention all the freaking Prius-es everywhere.

I think you mean traded their guilt for a few solar panels to look green and trendy. Window dressing at best.
We waste 10 times what we use and there is plenty to go around but we choose the popular over what is best technically and socially. There are enormous infrastructures in place to give us cheap clean energy which we squander at our peril.
Solar energy has its place as a cost effective solution only when the user is remote from these large infrastructures.
Most of us are not so the best use of these resource is to use what is available. Billions have already been spent to benefit us to make our lives easy and convenient.
Just ask a third world person what it is really like to live on one solar panel. I be the doesn't feel all warm and fuzzy.

I am all for saving the planet but no one likes warm beer so lest start with 1 million fridges using less power. Let's win hearts and minds not ram green slogans down throats.

 

[Dauntless]

All I know is that there are a lot of houses near where I live that have gone solar. I've also seen three Leafs and two Volts driving around here not to mention all the freaking Prius-es everywhere.

While I'd take one of the million refrigerators he's talking about, (Mine was left behind when a relative lived with me, I guess it's from about 1990) mine doesn't use nearly the electricity that a solar roof would generate. I remember this old feature cartoon with Yogi Bear leading all the other Hanna Barbera characters (Huckleberry Hound, Quickdraw McGraw) on a search for "The Perfect Place." Boy, were THEY getting tweaked when they couldn't find it.

Being "Greener than thou." Could there BE a more noble pathway to annoying arrogance? I mean I know haters gotta hate, but hating on SOLAR PANELS??

(Anybody seen my winning ticket?)

[youtube]GNigDFMBxhw[/youtube]

 

[Modbikemax]

An average fridge needs 3kwh per day. An easily achievable efficiency improvement of 33% x 1million would remove 1megawatt from demand,base load, every day rain or shine with off the shelf technology and about a 5 minute installation. Try doing that with solar. The efficiency improvements increase significantly when we talk about 20 year old fridges.

But like I said not very sexy.

 

[Dauntless]

But like I said not very sexy.

Of course not, complaining and finger pointing are what is so VEEEERRRRRRRRY SEXY. But a lot of people just love to say that new kitchen toys are way better than something off somewhere else they can't show off and enjoy. As much because they already got it and it was easy.

Try doing that with solar. The efficiency improvements increase significantly when we talk about 20 year old fridges.

Oh and, by the way, with that refrigerator running all month I'm told I'm not a candidate for savings with a solar system. My useage with only electric heat, electric stove, electric clothes dryer, occasional AC use AND this refrigerator is less than half what the solar would produce. This is from people who earn commissions on the install. (To say nothing of them being right when they argue with you.) I don't get the free offer because I'm nowhere near the $150/month electric bill required. Maybe I could start singing I'm too sexy for my shirt. . . .

Hey Emperor, where are these new clothes you're bragging about?

 

[teslanv]

I figure I only need $2 million to retire. ($2M, invested in something "safe" earning 5% interest would allow me $100K annual interest income, and I can easily live off of $100K per year, with no debt.)

So:

1. Pay off all our Debt (Housing, cars, other)
2. Pay off all my parent's and my Wife's parent's debt.
3. Pay for my three kids college educations. (That's all they'll get, though. - They will have to learn to make it in this world themselves)
4. Build my own modest dream home on a small lake somewhere. Off grid or Net Zero design. I would do a lot of the carpentry work myself, and contract out the rest. ($1 Million, max.)
5. Learn to fly and buy a small airplane. Float Plane preferably.
7. Set-Up a Wood & machine/weld shop at my house, with CNC everything and build stuff. Lots of ebikes, electric motor cycles, furniture, restore wooden runabouts (Chris Crafts) (This would basically be my "retirement career", only I'd just work on projects I have interest in, whether paying or not. - but probably some paying jobs, with carefully vetted customers who are not PITA's)
8. Take lots of Trade School and Electrical & Mechanical Engineering courses. - Like a continuing education until I can no longer move my body. The learning never stops.
9. Invent stuff.
10. Destroy stuff in the process of inventing stuff and not care about the cost/loss.
11. Host regular "Garage Workshops" at my cool shop for all you guys.
[edit] 12. Shit. Almost forgot. I'd get a Tesla. Probably the Roadster. I will charge it with my 20Kw solar array. 8)

As for the rest (~$990 Million or so) - I guess I'd find a few suitable charities and give it away. - That would take a good portion of my time, I'm sure...

 

[Kingfish]

^ +1 That sounds like a cool plan. Let's be neighbors.

Amendments: Have a large garden; fresh veggies, herbs. Raise chickens for BBQ. Maybe brew up a batch on an occasional Saturday.

The life of Riley 8)
Germinating, KF

 

[methods]

^ +1 That sounds like a cool plan. Let's be neighbors.

Amendments: Have a large garden; fresh veggies, herbs. Raise chickens for BBQ. Maybe brew up a batch on an occasional Saturday.

The life of Riley 8)
Germinating, KF

Ahh.... Google + Strabucks = F&*KING RAD
My Straight Talk cell service expired... so I drove down to SB and paid $1.65 for a "short" coffee
I am now ripping up the internet at >50Mb down and 10Mb up
dooooooood.....

Large Garden - CHECK
Fresh Veggies - CHECK
Herbs - CHECK
Chickens for eggs - CHECK
Chickens for BBQ - Not Yet... though I have killed birds and eaten them
Brew up a batch - I did make ethanol once (for cleaning boards of course) Smelled like shit... needed filtering for sure!

-methods

 

[jimw1960]

Booze and whores.

 

[The fingers]

Bible college scholarships for missionaries.