The "Getting Old" Sound

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

Stihl 045 and D-2 Cat diesel.

yup  chainsaws and unmuffled diesel tractors  though the higher pitched mitre saws apparently hurt ya bad too  just a different range

[vaskidmark]

Lots of .50 cal, C4, MCLIC's, and other exceptionally loud Army stuff with just crappy ear plugs (if even those).

You had earplugs?

Lived for 2 months at the bottom of a bluff (maybe 50 feet high) with a battery of 155s on the top.  Wish I could tell you if they were noisy or not, but after about a week we were all using the USMC variant if sign language.  Moved from there to an actual bunker - filled with high-frequency squeals.  Between the two, I had no earwax.  It is possible that some brain also melted out.

stay safe.

[Boomhauer]

And this thread is why I try to keep a few packets of earplugs in my pocket each day for power tool usage/gun shooting/ equipment operating.

[Lee]

Ben - has the law for 401k withdrawal changed from 59.5 to 55?
If so, when did that happen?

[Ben]

Ben - has the law for 401k withdrawal changed from 59.5 to 55?
If so, when did that happen?

Here's the basic rundown:

Leaving Your Job After Age 55

If you are at least 55 years old when you leave your job, you will not have to pay an early distribution tax on any distribution you receive from your former employer's retirement plan. (You will have to pay income tax on it, however.)

This exception applies only to distributions you receive after you have separated from service, or terminated your employment with the company that sponsors the plan. You don't have to retire permanently. You can go to work for another employer, or even return to work for the same employer at a later date. But you cannot receive a distribution from your employer's retirement plan while you are still employed with the company if you want to use the age 55 exception to the early distribution tax.

This exception is relevant only if you are between ages 55 and 59 1/2. After age 59 1/2, the early distribution tax does not apply to any retirement plan distribution.

As with other exceptions, the devil is in the details. For this exception, you need not be age 55 on the day you leave your job, as long as you turn 55 by December 31 of the same year. The strategy falls apart if you retire in a year that precedes the year you turn 55, even if you postpone receiving the retirement benefits until you reach age 55. This exception does not apply to IRAs. (See "Special Rules for Traditional IRAs," below.)

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/getting-retirement-money-early-without-30168.html

Big plus for me, because if I decide to separate from the gov early, which is looking more and more likely, I could do so anytime after 01JAN without a 401K penalty, even though I don't turn 55 till next DEC. Not that I would dig into it already, but it's nice to know that if I needed to, I have a non-penalty option.

[230RN]

I heard all but the last one, so I can't figure out why my hearing is so bad in real life.  

Maybe other people really don't talk clearly anymore  

I wondered about all the marble-mouths I heard in daily transactions with the rest of the world.

But it was so universal that I finally decided it was me, not the people out there.  

About 10 years ago I started to unconsciously and half-assedly lip read, but didn't realize it until one day I had to ask someone to turn around so I could hear him.  It then dawned on me that I was actually lip-reading for much of my conversational information.

Terry