Gyroscopic Investing

I appreciate the opportunity for anyone who enjoys tipping to tip.  A also appreciate the traditions of tipping in NYC, even thought it's difficult for me to relate to as I live in a relatively small Texas town.

My concern is why is tipping necessary to insure an employee doing his/her job?  Outside of my first job, carrying groceries to the customer's car, I went my entire working career without being tipped.  My employer paid my compensation.

Years ago when tipping was less mandatory, it was considered appropriate to reward when one got excellent service.  It was not done to insure that one got excellent service.  It appears tipping is now EXPECTED regardless of service or even if it's really appropriate.  For the life of me I can't understand a tip jar for counter service or tipping at Chilis for take out items.  There is nothing these folks can do to enhance my food experience, short of not spitting in it.  Just take my money and hand me my food and I'm happy. 

Sorry to be such a grouch..........................

Reub wrote: On my recent trip to Italy it was refreshing to see that tips were not expected at restaurants there. Evidently they feel that waiters do valuable work and pay them better up front.

Whaaat, you're justifying the Costco model?  Hah!

WiseOne wrote: Not sure I understand it either :-)  It's kind of a time honored NYC custom, like the Rockefeller Christmas tree, and the level of service you get has a lot to do with how much you tip.  They're paid minimum wage or close to it.

A minimum wage in NYC is nigh impossible to live upon out of any place in the country.  So a better question is why they aren't paid more upfront in terms of salaries?  Who makes this decision?  The tenants?  The landlord?

How the hell can you even have a future as a doorman?  Where's the progression in terms of increased salary, job growth, improved living standards, etc??  Pretty scary!  And then there's the robots...

WiseOne wrote: Life here is definitely unique.  You get a support staff and easy access to great public spaces but no central A/C, washer/dryer, back yard, or extra bedrooms.  I think the total expenses are probably about the same in the suburbs across the river, but I'd hate the commute and the isolation, so I'm happy with the city package and all it entails.

No A/C or central heating?  They never construct units with ventilation shafts? 

There's a new all in one combo washer and dryer being sold.  Would that work?

Pointedstick wrote: And not only that, it's not even a DMV, it's this private company that New Mexico allows to offer DMV services for a markup, so naturally you can be in and out in like 10 minutes. Oh, and a two-year registration is less than $100. It's amazing. And all of this with a washer and dryer, 3 bedrooms, central HVAC, half an acre, and a cost so low I could afford to pay cash.

That sounds like a good legacy of the former Libertarian governor.

The one big negative you declined to mention in my book, though, is the environment and climate sucks donkey balls in the Southwest.  It's not even remotely the same as the lush green vegetation that you get in the Northeast and Northwest.  You've probably rationalized this away for all the other Gung Ho positives (which do sound like real positives compared to congested SoCal), but honestly, just about any suburb can have what you want if you specifically look for what you want, instead of being forced to find a place to live in a near panic just to have a job relatively nearby.  The only significant variation between one mind-numbing monoculture suburbia and another in this country seems to be the outside environment and climate.  I've got a nice stack of "Where To Retire" magazines and they all start to morph into each other after a while.

I'll state what should be obvious...  tipping is a de facto minimum wage law.

MachineGhost wrote:

Pointedstick wrote: And not only that, it's not even a DMV, it's this private company that New Mexico allows to offer DMV services for a markup, so naturally you can be in and out in like 10 minutes. Oh, and a two-year registration is less than $100. It's amazing. And all of this with a washer and dryer, 3 bedrooms, central HVAC, half an acre, and a cost so low I could afford to pay cash.

That sounds like a good legacy of the former Libertarian governor.

The one big negative you declined to mention in my book, though, is the environment and climate sucks donkey balls in the Southwest.  It's not even remotely the same as the lush green vegetation that you get in the Northeast and Northwest.  You've probably rationalized this away for all the other Gung Ho positives (which do sound like real positives compared to congested SoCal), but honestly, just about any suburb can have what you want if you specifically look for what you want, instead of being forced to find a place to live in a near panic just to have a job relatively nearby.  The only significant variation between one mind-numbing monoculture suburbia and another in this country seems to be the outside environment and climate.  I've got a nice stack of "Where To Retire" magazines and they all start to morph into each other after a while.

The climate is a mixed bag, and I'll admit it's not for everyone, but honestly, it really depends on what you're looking for. It's true that there's less greenery in general. People don't have water-wasting lush green lawns. But there are huge trees everywhere. They grow wonderfully; you just have to know which ones to plant. Lots of pines and junipers, as well as plenty of oaks, even. Looking out my living room window now, I can see eight trees that are more then 30 feet tall. It's hardly a Wile E. Coyote desert. Furthermore, in winter, it's beautiful here because of all the evergreens; by contrast, the midwest and northeast look totally dead for 6 months; nothing but white, gray and brown. We drove through the whole midwest last December and were struck by how ugly it was compared to back home. New York was the same way.

And I take issue with the idea that the environment sucks. The air is clean, I can see a mountain from my kitchen window, and the cloud formations and sunsets are to die for.

[img width=800]http://i.imgur.com/dZp0pR6.jpg[/img]

Pointedstick wrote: And I take issue with the idea that the environment sucks. The air is clean, I can see a mountain from my kitchen window, and the cloud formations and sunsets are to die for.

[img width=800]http://i.imgur.com/dZp0pR6.jpg[/img]

Wow, that looks a lot better than I was imagining!  Did you contrast enhance that to get rid of the blinding glare?   However, I do contest that the mountains are anything worth looking at.  Those are the kind of ugly desert mountains I cannot stand.  They might as well be the foothills of SoCal where they filmed Star Trek's outdoor scenes (GORN!).

I agree with you about the Midwest in winter though.  It's disappointing to hear that extends to New York also.

By environment, I meant topograhy and whatever its called for the kind of specific plant life that thrives in the specific desert climate, not pollution.  As you know, in SoCal and Vegas, you have to have a lot of fake transplanted trees and all that jazz to even get to resemble something less than a hellish boring desert and it still isn't all that convincing.

I fear I got totally spoiled living in the Northwest. 

The northwest is definitely one of the most beautiful places in the USA, geographically. Ain't nuthin like it. But the evergreen high desert is nice too. If you really want to get a taste of the best that the southwest has to offer, drive through northern Arizona, the Flagstaff area. It's breathtaking. Southern Utah is the same. Also southern and western Colorado and northern New Mexico too; heck the entire four corners area! It's just a magical place IMHO.

PS,

What is the future of drinking water in NM?  Your area is lovely- as said, better than expected.

I hear Las Vegas won't have any drinking water in a couple of years.

Water's fine. We're good about conserving, and receive a lot of snowmelt from the rockies. And like most water-poor states, most of the water here goes to agriculture, but unlike places like California, the agriculture industry here is small and weak without the political clout to prevent their allocation from being reduced if there was ever a really severe shortage. And there's no culture of people planting ridiculous thirsty lawns or local governments fining you for not keeping them green or anything crazy like that. Nevada is in a much, much worse position than we are. But I'm sure they'll manage. People usually do.

madbean2 wrote: Well, if we're going to talk about pastrami in a thread about tipping I guess I can interject something that is a little closer to the topic. Call me an asshole if you want, but I don't like it very much when you buy something at the store and they ask you if you would like to donate something to charity.

Yes, that is very annoying!

I stopped at a bar this evening and asked if they had any happy hour specials.

They said "Yes! From 3 to 6pm we donate 15% of all purchases to a charity!"
"Tonight's charity is cyclists agains child abuse".

WTF?

I said, that as a walker, I am often cut off and annoyed by cyclists and as an adult with adult children I am every now and then annoyed by children.

Do they have a charity that is anti cyclist and anti children?

They didn't seem to have a happy hour for me.

They often have that at Barnes & Noble. Would you like to donate some books to some school or just buy the frigging book that you came in for? I don't bother to explain that I give to charity. I just say "no thanks" and get out of there.

I would also like to know: when did it become acceptable for people to approach you at a park when you're having a picnic w/ your spouse and ask you to give to some cause? I would have been curt, but all the people around us getting approached were accomodating this guy, so I had to be gentle. Still, that is really taking a liberty.

Mark Leavy wrote: I stopped at a bar this evening and asked if they had any happy hour specials.

They said "Yes! From 3 to 6pm we donate 15% of all purchases to a charity!"
"Tonight's charity is cyclists agains child abuse".

WTF?

I said, that as a walker, I am often cut off and annoyed by cyclists and as an adult with adult children I am every now and then annoyed by children.

Do they have a charity that is anti cyclist and anti children?

They didn't seem to have a happy hour for me.

How about "Drunks against Mad Mothers"? 
(Note for the humor-impaired: )

dualstow wrote: I would also like to know: when did it become acceptable for people to approach you at a park when you're having a picnic w/ your spouse and ask you to give to some cause? I would have been curt, but all the people around us getting approached were accomodating this guy, so I had to be gentle. Still, that is really taking a liberty.

Wear a skull and bones cap.

Pointedstick wrote: The northwest is definitely one of the most beautiful places in the USA, geographically. Ain't nuthin like it. But the evergreen high desert is nice too. If you really want to get a taste of the best that the southwest has to offer, drive through northern Arizona, the Flagstaff area. It's breathtaking. Southern Utah is the same. Also southern and western Colorado and northern New Mexico too; heck the entire four corners area! It's just a magical place IMHO.

I will check the Four Corners out -- isn't there like energy vortexes in those areas?  In the meantime, I found this which definitely vibes:

Studies have concluded that plants in the workplace:
- Can reduce tension and anxiety by 37%
- Can reduce depression and dejection by 58%
- Can reduce anger and hostility by 44%
- Can reduce fatigue by 38%
- Can increase productivity by 10-15%
- Can reduce absenteeism by up to 50% and minor illness by 30%

MachineGhost wrote:

Pointedstick wrote: The northwest is definitely one of the most beautiful places in the USA, geographically. Ain't nuthin like it. But the evergreen high desert is nice too. If you really want to get a taste of the best that the southwest has to offer, drive through northern Arizona, the Flagstaff area. It's breathtaking. Southern Utah is the same. Also southern and western Colorado and northern New Mexico too; heck the entire four corners area! It's just a magical place IMHO.

I will check the Four Corners out -- isn't there like energy vortexes in those areas?  In the meantime, I found this which definitely vibes:

Studies have concluded that plants in the workplace:
- Can reduce tension and anxiety by 37%
- Can reduce depression and dejection by 58%
- Can reduce anger and hostility by 44%
- Can reduce fatigue by 38%
- Can increase productivity by 10-15%
- Can reduce absenteeism by up to 50% and minor illness by 30%

Yes, especially if the plants are like this: https://s.yimg.com/fz/api/res/1.2/Duxib ... atment.jpg