I would have built in my custom home a “rain room”: a room with projection screen walls, sound system, and ceiling shower fixtures to duplicate rain in different settings. I might even have a bed in there under a waterproof tarp and pretend I’m camping out on a rainy night.
I just emailed my college friend how I could support her missionary-school work in Sierra Leone. If I got a million dollars, I’d just paypal her 50K or something and let her sort it out.
[QUOTE=Max Torque]
Along the same lines as Ellen’s: socks. If I had money to burn, I would wear brand new creamy-soft socks every single day, and give the used ones to Goodwill or something. New socks every day! Oh, the decadence…
[/QUOTE]
Oh man a kindred spirit…drool, new socks EVERY day or even every time I fancied changing 'em. 
After donating 10% to charity.
One of these.
Either of these. Hell, a billion? I’ll take both.
http://www.seriouswheels.com/top-2005-Ford-Shelby-GR1-Concept-Aluminum-Body.htm
This specific house. We worked on it, I have been inside and out, love the architecture, location, everything. I’ve seen a lot of really nice shacks through the years, but this one is perfect.
I’d hire a housekeeper and a desk troll. Oh, and someone to keep all my new toys shiny.
Wow, I never realized I was so materialistic…
After donating a bunch of it and setting up a few scholarships, I’d buy a house in our neighbourhood. I would remodel the kitchen completely, with two ovens and two cooktops, and lots of space. And a professional dishwasher, one that cycles through in two minutes.
In the basement or an attached wing I’d set up a soundproof, insulated, high-ceilinged area for Mr. Lissar to use as a quasi-dojo, with mirrors along the walls so I can use it for dance practice.
Does that count as two things? My extravagance is just one house! Oh, and I’d have at least two guest rooms. And central air.
[QUOTE=Fretful Porpentine]
I don’t know if this really counts as an extravagance if you’ve got a billion dollars to play with, but I’ve always wanted to go on one of those cruises to Antarctica. And I would like to see mountain gorillas in the wild.
[/QUOTE]
To make it really extravagant, you could just combine the two - ship mountain gorillas to Antarctica and see them there.
(And double-bonus, you’d have your very own unique frozen gorilla ground statuary! It’s a decorating theme that has yet to come into its own, but you could be the pioneer.)
I’d get this handbag. Yeah, $45,000 is a lot for a handbag but I’d carry it until they pried it out of my cold, dead fingers…
Travel. Travel travel travel. I’d just head off with a passport and no real plan and see where I end up. Staying in cute little B&Bs when I feel like it, and ridiculously lavish suites when the mood strikes.
Then I’d come back and find myself the perfect home, not too big, but with a huge lot. The kind of home that gets a name. Antigen Manor or something. In it would be a kitchen much like Baker described. and a library with leather chairs and a gigantic oak desk and a full wall of windows to look out on my lovely estate. The other walls would be floor-to-ceiling bookcases with ladders to get to the high shelves.
You know you can’t start a dream thread like this one and limit people to one extravagance!
[QUOTE=Lumpy]
I would have built in my custom home a “rain room”: a room with projection screen walls, sound system, and ceiling shower fixtures to duplicate rain in different settings. I might even have a bed in there under a waterproof tarp and pretend I’m camping out on a rainy night.
[/QUOTE]
Speaking of which, I want a “Lego room”. 
Can a collection count as one extravagance? I’d collect old computers: PDPs of all vintages (1 through 15 with a few gaps, not counting the super-PDP known as the VAX), other minicomputers, supercomputers (CDCs and Crays), mainframes and midrange computers, desktop computers of all vintages, embedded and process control devices, and any other variety I can think of.
I’d also create a super networking cluster, one that would put Google to shame, someplace without much government intervention and host files banned from various places. Nothing I would think of as evil, but, well, that doesn’t leave out a whole lot. All of the files would be downloadable through an anonymous network complete with satellite access into countries with obnoxious censorship régimes. Oh, and it would also have a public access ITS system running on an emulated PDP-10. After all, even lusers deserve their fair share. 
[QUOTE=Mahaloth]
I like to think that if I had a billion dollars, I wouldn’t waste my money buying myself pointless and expensive things. However, I’m sure I would allow myself at least one extravagance.
For me, I think it would be a huge, high-definition, widescreen television with the best sound system available. Along with it, I’d get the best cable/satelite service available so I can get every channel available in my part of the world.
What would be your one extravagance/luxury?
[/QUOTE]
Your extravagance is my necessity. I have all this now.
My extravagance would be a Steely Dan concert just for me and my friends while we are fucked, sucked and blown by a dozen of the best hookers money can buy. (Yes, yes, everybody has to test clean for STDs before getting in the door.)
To quote Greg Giraldo:
[QUOTE=Shalmanese]
I would create a foie zoo. Buy a normal zoo and then gavage (force feed) all the animals to see which ones I could make foie gras out of.
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Mmmm, ostrich foie gras. 