[TowerTalk]Being cheap vs. being frugal

[RICHARD BOYD]

I don't know what K7PUC is referring to -- I must have missed what was said 
previously about being cheap.  It raised a question in my mind, though. 
What if you are at a hamfest and you come across an item you are willing to 
offer $500 for.  Before you speak, the seller says, "I want $225 for it." 
The actual words were, "I can't accept a penny less than $225 for it."  Was 
I wrong to say, "Sold!"

As far as being "cheap," I think frugality, good common sense regarding 
one's resources, and "good stewardship" of one's resources, be they the 
dollars in your pocket, the "environment," etc. are virtues.  But so is 
generosity.  Taking frugality too far can be a bad thing.

On the other hand, there are people who take pride in blowing money 
wastefully -- hence Mike Tyson being deep in debt about making 
multi-millions of dollars -- or, in my opinion, Olympic swimmer Michael 
Phelps stating he now plans to buy a second car to go along with the 
Cadillac Escalade with counter-rotating wheel covers that he already has. 
Phelps is still in the low "millions" of earnings -- compared to Tyson's 
haul -- but is putting his feet on the Tyson sliding board.  It's not a good 
early indicator.

I recall one ham presenting at Dayton about the large amount he had spent 
for his tower, neatly broken down item by item, and remember the reaction in 
the audience, which was not favorable.  Others I know have put in the sweat 
equity, gone and taken down towers, scrounged aggressively, "horse traded" 
to build their station, and my impression is that that is generally pretty 
well respected.

But, if you can afford to spend $100,000 or more for your super station 
antenna farm, more power to you; it's your right to spend your money any way 
you want.  I sometimes point out that other "men's hobbies" like cars, boats 
(yachts), etc. can cost every bit as much, or more, than serious ham radio. 
A guy I know spends thousands of dollars a year on hunting trips, each of 
which he uses to justify buying a couple new guns at a couple thou. apiece, 
lots of new cold weather gear, etc.  Ham radio probably compares pretty 
favorably, cost-wise, to these other things.

But, it's interesting how others view us.  I noticed this with cars.  For 
some years I drove a relatively expensive car and noticed that I was cut off 
in traffic and other rude things relatively often.  I switched to a pickup 
truck and that seldom happened any more -- and, young women started smiling 
and waving and smiling at me more (which I was not going for but did notice 
it).  Now my pickup is old and beat up and farmers wave at me as I go by, 
home improvement guys view me as an equal, and landscapers look at me with 
suspicion, as if I'm competition for their bread and butter.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Al Williams" <alwilliams at olywa.net>
To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
Cc: <Peter.Grillo at anheuser-busch.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 11:43 AM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] from W0RTT...


>
> ----- Original Message -----
> snip
> > our house was struck by lightning.  ... it wiped out all connected
> electronic equipment
>
> Wow.  I guess I would head for his company's beer hall.  I have fond
> memory of an hour two viewing the horses and having pretzels while
> trying varieties of Anheuser-Bush beer. I think it was free i.e. cheap.
>
> Speaking of being cheap, why do some hams pride themselves on being
> cheap.  It seems that being eco-friendly and recycling is one thing but
> to take advantage of someone's ignorance of the value is questionable?
>
> My area, the Puget Sound, gets only a few thunderstorms each year.  I
> can't remember any lightning strike within a mile or so in the past
> 50 yrs.  Of course it only takes one to do the damage, so that makes it
> a difficult risk-Vs-cost  decision.  I think that most respondents to
> the tower cost thread didn't include the lightning protection.
>
> I hope that someone will analyze why so much damage was done--what
> lightning protection was in use at W0RTT?
>
> k7puc
>
> _______________________________________________
>
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>
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