I don't really have any moral qualms about it, as some do.

But one of my professors once related a story that illustrates how things stand with me.

He had a friend who was very wealthy. His friend once said, "Stu, I could fall face down into a truckload of manure, and I would come up with fists full of $100 bills." My prof, "Stu," was quick to reply, "Bill, I could fall face first into a truckload of $100 bills, and I would come up with fists full of manure."

I am much more like Stu than Bill.

I would stand a better chance of striking it rich--much better than the lottery--were I to go out in my back yard wearing a catcher's mitt in the hope that large diamonds would drop from the sky.

Now, on a different note, I seem to be particularly gifted at winning "reverse lotteries"--those that no one wants to win.

I'll illustrate.

A couple of years ago, Mrs. Muddle and I were traveling at about 70 mph on the interstate in my Honda Civic. It was a very hot day, and we had the A/C going, but I thought I'd check to see if it would be OK to open the sunroof. As me moved along at that high rate of speed, I opened the roof, determined that it was just too hot, and closed it back--an interval of perhaps ten seconds or less.

In that ten second interval, a bird overhead managed to drop his entire payload through that moving, 18" x 36" window and onto my gearshift.

What are the odds? They must be astronomical--on the order of getting a life-sustaining universe like ours out of an accidental Bang.

I should send this to Penrose at Oxford and ask him to do the calculations.

He's a great guy with a great family and I'm happy for him.

It just doesn't make sense to me how people can complain about not making enough money. I'm not a pilot, but if I wanted to be making "too much" money, I could be, and so could anyone else. Obviously, circumstances and priorities differ, but there are always opportunities depending on how hard a person wants to work. When you think about it as far as how much has been taken from the pilots, they aren't making "too much." If you think they are, then you should have gotten a pilot's license. The choices people make lead to how much money they will make, and if the choices you make lead you to making 50k a year, that's great--but don't bash those who have made the decisions that lead to more money. And, hey, the guy's paying bills, not buying cars! Last, you can't get jealous that he got the money if you aren't playing! Lottery can be played responsibly, and you're not going to get lucky unless you take a risk. That's true for everything in life. I know from personal experience that life can be just wonderful on 50k a year. Live life well by your own means--just don't pity yourself for not having money if you haven't taken the steps to get it. Money like that is definitely not a necessity, but if that's the kind of money you want, then get it rather than scorn the people who have it. Way to go, pilot man!!

I think it means that a lot of people play the lotto and it seems wasteful to those making less than 50K/year -- that's my best guess. Maybe only those making 100k/year plus (such as pilots) should play the lotto.

Got part of your retirement back. Good on ya.