Gordon, I can't even remember the last time I broke a USB drive, but it was before I stopped buying the kind that is 3 inches long and switched to stubbies. Sometimes though when I wanted a lot of storage I had to buy the bigger size. But my keyboard, mouse and a 256gb thumb drive are all this type.



As to the original rant, as long as your car has an engine with metal parts that rub against each other, you will need oil, and that oil will get dirty, and it needs to be changed. That's physics and there's not a lot to do about it. You are welcome to live without water, electricity, natural gas, home and fire insurance, any of the many options for TV viewing, even food if you like. That will leave just your mortgage. For me, I want fairly fast internet, so I pay $80 a month for it. My internet provider is also my TV provider and I pay $57 a month for that. As much time as I spend on the internet and as much as I watch TV I am glad to pay it.

Note that my particular view of money is unique. I care nothing about saving money. I don't even have a savings account. I bring money in, I send money out. I buy my toys, I buy food, I pay utilities. I budget so I have a certain amount of "walkin' around money" left over. I do use my credit cards from everything but I only use 5% of my available credit. I don't remember the last time I had actual money in my pocket. If I die in debt, so be it. Are they going to hold my ashes hostage until somebody pays my debts? I have watched too many people who wanted to be the richest corpse in the graveyard and lived really dull lives where they deny themselves what others (me) consider basic needs. I have nobody to leave anything to when I die, which I anticipate is 5-6 or so years away.

This right here is a specific consideration that I am fortunate to have available. I have had people tell me they work well beyond retirement because they are concerned about a major medical event. I don't have to worry about that. In exchange for 3 years of my young life the nice people at the VA have clinics and hospitals that will treat me for free, so I have no concern about that. I am blessed and fortunate to have that available to me, or I would have had to work until I die.

Life is good as long as you are on the green side of the sod, man. There are people in the world who love being miserable and choose to live in a world where it rains every day. Don't go out looking for rain! If you try, you'll find it.