Quote from Pikaru on Jun 23^rd, 2012, 6:26pm:

 
No, can't say I have.....  
 
 
 

   I would buy my own island maybe somewhere around Maine.  It wouldn't have to be any bigger than a couple hundred acres but I'd like some high ground in case of flooding and a fresh water lake or small river.  I'd set up a small farm there with a big guest house for any family or friends that wanted to stay there.  As long as they recognized me as supreme ruler and respected Mother Nature they could stay there for as long as they wanted.  I'd hunt, fish, and grow and preserve my own food.. in other words almost self sufficient.  Dogs would run free like they're supposed to.  
    At least once I'd fly all active members of slinging.org out to the place at my expense for a week of slinging fun.

A nice 47ft Manta Catamaran with a fully stocked refrigerator, gassed up and ready to cast off would do very nicely for me. I'd be happy to ferry everybody out to RatMans Island.

I was once asked that if money was no object what would I do and this was my answer...
 
I would have the Hall of Rohan built in it's full glory for a heathen meadhall and place of honor for the gods of the North and ancestors. Along with that I would have an area for games of all sorts such as combat, strategy (such as Tafl) and the like.
 
I would make sure to have land enough for hiking, camping, training and the like. Host things like SCA wars, rendezvous, and the like.
 
I would have a restaurant akin to Medieval Times as well as a full kitchen for the hall amd would maintain a farm for the supply of the kitchens.

Quote from Pikaru on Jun 23^rd, 2012, 6:26pm:

 
And if I had a million dollars, I'd buy your loooooooooooove.  
Did I catch that reference correctly? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXdFTh1yX2c
 
Personally, I'd start doing my research to find a good charity that would spend the money wisely and waste none. Preferably to educate those in Africa and impoverished communities. Something along the lines of educating people on their water sources, pollution, environmental protection, females on birth control and education. Basically, education, education, education. Educate those who can not get any.
 
Or a large, large amount of micro-loans, as they seem to be very very useful in helping people. http://www.kiva.org/about/how  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcredit#Impact

Quote from Rat Man on Jun 24^th, 2012, 7:02pm:

 
 
Unless Pik is buying the monkey for someone else (which would be a pretty mean), I'd say you can probably get some things for yourself as well.  

Of course, most of of it would go for charity. Education, food,, basic needs. I realize that even 20,000,000 is a drop in the bucket these days, but I would also issue a challenge to all the other wealthy "people" out there. This is what I did, and I'm just a normal guy. If you're so high and mighty, what can you do?

There are an awful lot of people who have hit "the big one" and found themselves in deep doo-doo in a couple of years.
Folks who have not had money consider such sums to be essentially infinite; they're not.   Also, they are often easy prey for phony investment schemes and such.
First, hire a "money manager", and one from a solid firm you can trust.
And don't give them the whole thing.....Even trusted firms can go belly up.  Look what just happened....
 
Anyway, it is fun to speculate.   First thing we'd do is buy a house.  A nice FLAT house with no stairs so that the wife could get around, and the dogs too.   Big yard, well fenced.   Attached garage and a full basement so I could have a good workspace (and indoor range....)
Then, we'd sign up for all the local arts-support groups.  The art museum, COCA, The Zoo, (we'd end up "adopting" some critter or other), local theater groups.
We are both big arts fans and would love to be able to contribute.
 
Set up a trust fund for the granddaughter...
 
And of course I'd buy a really cool guitar... Maybe make a road trip to Elderly Instruments and check out their selection of Martin OMs.

with dan on the monkeys, who wants a pet that throws it's poo at you ?  
 
$20 milion eh - so that's £12.5million  in real money (lol)  
 
I'm not as philanthropic as you lot.  
 
I'd make sure my family and close friends were taken care of - say £5 million.  
Invest the rest on low interest zero risk bonds of some kind - or maybe just buy a shedload of platinum and found my own mini-bank. Even a 1 % interest off 7.5 million is 75,000 pounds - so if I could get 2-3 % I'd settle for that as a yearly income.
And then start travelling the world - in style, ships not planes - and meeting all the people I know from the internet.  
 
That would take me a few years, I'd be in no rush.  
 
And then just take life easy and do pretty much what I liked when I liked  
 
I'd certainly look at staging the worlds largest meeting of slingers - pay airfares, travel costs etc.  
 
Finish that with a truly phenomenal fireworks display. maybe make it an annual thing.  
 
Build a cheese cave and a salami curing room.  
 
Pay some technical whizz to make me really cool cutting edge electronic gadgets.  
 
Yeah just enjoy the hell out of life    
 
Actually the very first extravagance I would make is to employ my own taylor. So that all my garments were tailor made just for me. Every single thing from underwear on up to jeans - hell maybe even a suit made from smart fabric with active cooling.  
 
I'm short and wide - I do not fit into any off the shelf clothing properly. Never have.
To actually own a pair of jeans that fitted comfirtably and properly would be a serious luxury.  
At the moment I have to buy the next size up to what i actually am or the first time I bend my legs my thigh muscles split the seams.  
Yeah luxury is clothes made just for you

Monkeys for everybody then!  
 
10,000 points to Woonilsra for catching the reference.  
 
I would have a place big enough for all my interests and to take care of my folks in-house when they need it. I would also make sure that funds were set aside, invested so that there was some kind of continued cash flow. I would travel. I would manage my own charity, but not sure what that would be. Finally, you can't necessarily buy happiness but money can take away some of the worry of taking care of yourself and family. If you didn't have to worry about money, then that would be one less thing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNa4EMUWnAc

Quote:

 
I could  

I'd at least like enough money to try!

Money might not necessarily buy happiness, but it won't neccessarily buy misery either. Some comedian once said "I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better."

Quote from Dan on Jun 27^th, 2012, 5:49pm:

 
joy   [joi]  Show IPA
noun
1.
the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation: She felt the joy of seeing her son's success.
2.
a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated: Her prose style is a pure joy.
3.
the expression or display of glad feeling; festive gaiety.
4.
a state of happiness or felicity.
 
 
hap·pi·ness   [hap-ee-nis]  Show IPA
noun
1.
the quality or state of being happy.
2.
good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.
 
 
Shall we call it a game of semantics? They look pretty similar to me.

Quote from Masiakasaurus on Jun 28^th, 2012, 10:23pm:

 
 
I think it's a little different in the Bible (hebrew/greek) than it is in common english. In theory, you can buy lots of Joy, but only in the form of dish soap or ice cream cups.