The genie grants you one wish. What do you wish for?

[Mr. Kaze]

Going from memory...

"Sometimes I think I've made more wrong decisions in my life than right ones. I've been very selfish and I've hurt a lot of really nice people because of it. Sometimes I wish I could go back and change a few things. But, sadly, if anyone could grant such a wish... I'd probably just ask for money." -- 2Nu, from the 2Nu.com album.

That said, if you can get to $6 million in savings, you should be able to live quite comfortably off of a mere 1% interest rate without attracting too much attention. Which would be what I would go for at this point in my life -- I've got my priorities figured out and they can all be dealt with by just the monthly interest on $6M.

 

[Torm]

Is it your wish that the genie go with you to see your lawyer?

You're right - I misspoke. I'd call my lawyer and clear the wording before making any wishes.

 

[Torm]

That said, if you can get to $6 million in savings, you should be able to live quite comfortably off of a mere 1% interest rate without attracting too much attention.

If you're only getting 1% off $6 mil, you haven't done your research. I could get 5% without really even looking around too much. $300,000/yr would be pretty sweet.

Heck, if anyone is reading this and thinking, "hey, I should send Torm some money," I'd settle for $500,000 - the interest I could get off of that would still equal my salary at my last job.

 

[Mr. Kaze]

If you're only getting 1% off $6 mil, you haven't done your research.

But if you're having to do research when you're sitting on $6M, then you clearly haven't realized how much money you're sitting on.

::Kaze (would expect 2% from a decent savings account or 4% from a money-market -- and those are the "so low risk you should be able to ignore it" options.)

 

[Angcuru]

I would under no circumstance wish for immortality. IMO, that is the most saught after curse in human existance.

I would wish for limited omnipotency. I'd fix all the things I hate about the world, find my ideal woman, get us a house built on a chunk of land which happens to be extraordinarily plentiful in platinum deposits, and then live comfortably for as long as I desired. Plus I'd be telekinetic, which is a longtime desire of mine.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

I wish for a perpetual motion machine. Take that, second law of thermodynamics! Ha ha ha ha ha!



Umm, yeah.

Given that a good friend of my family has a stubborn cancer that won't go away and the outlook isn't so great for her, I'd probably wish for the ability to cure diseases.

 

[Angcuru]

I wish for a perpetual motion machine. Take that, second law of thermodynamics! Ha ha ha ha ha!



Umm, yeah.

Don't you mean Newton's second law?

The second law of thermodynamics pertains to the entropy of all matter and energy in the universe.

 

[Jdvn1]

I wish for the biggest ice cream sundae ever!

 

[Acquana]

Everything wrong with my health gone in an instant. Or maybe simply to take away every bit of desire in me to ever be lazy. Ever. Right now they both sound really good ...

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

Don't you mean Newton's second law?

Nope, I mean the second law of thermodynamics.

Newton's second law (building from the first law, inertia) states that the acceleration of an object is dependent on the net force acting upon the object and the mass of the object. Net force = mass * acceleration.

The second law of thermodynamics pertains to the entropy of all matter and energy in the universe.

Exactly. The second law of thermodynamics states that in a closed system (i.e. the universe) energy always decreases and entropy always increases. Most perpetual motion machine designs flout this quaint notion by somehow continually generating their own motive power forever.

http://burtleburtle.net/bob/physics/whythere.html