Sunday, July 26, 2020

First-world problems (coronavirus edition)


For the photo, Retiring Guy googled large home swimming pool Town of Newburgh NY

Reported in Turning a Second Home Into a Primary Home.  (The New York Times, 7/24/2020)


Original 5/18/2020 post starts here


Reported in Young Adults Take Refuge in Parents’ Empty Nests.  (The New York Times, 5/15/2020)

Retiring Guy lives in an more than adequate 1800-square-foot house with his wife.  Their older son moved in with them temporarily when Wisconsin's 'safer-in-place' order was issued in mid-March.  Better than living alone in a studio apartment.  (Which he's still renting.)  If someone is watching TV in the family room, the opposite side of the house, where the bedrooms are located, remains quiet.  Same goes for when someone is watching the TV in the Presidents' Room. (see below)

There's plenty of elbow room for all 3 of us.




Related reading:
Why are American homes so big?  (The Atlantic, 9/12/2019)

Original 10/10/2019 post, "The ultimate first world problem", starts here.



No One Needs a Superyacht, but They Keep Selling Them.  (The New York Times, 10/8/2019)
This is an industry in which problems include protecting the owner’s Picasso collection from salt air, clumsy crew members and faulty sprinklers. 
Or maybe you have to decide whether to build one 330-foot vessel (100 meters) or join a trend of the last few years by opting for a “smaller” 200-foot yacht with a 165-foot support vessel to carry a submarine, helicopter, speedboats and other toys. Aviva, a 320-foot yacht launched in 2017, was the first in the world to include a full-size indoor paddle tennis court.

According to Merriam-Webster, the first known use of the phrase 'first world' -- the highly developed industrialized nations often considered the westernized countries of the world -- occurred in 1967.

Other coinages from the same year include:
  1. air ball
  2. blue flu
  3. chump change
  4. group home
  5. max out
  6. rip off
  7. speed freak
  8. sports drink
  9. wet bar

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