T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 34

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #34!

Here are some things I really like and that you might too. 

Finance Articles

Barista FIRE: Not Quite Financial Independence, But Pretty Close (Financial Panther) – “For me, the idea that I’d only have to earn $10,000 or so in a year to cover the gap in my expenses makes me feel pretty good.”

Are You Suffering from Sudden Retirement Syndrome? (Retires Great) – “The more invested you are in your career, the more difficult it can be to let go.”

Video

For those not familiar with older posts of mine, I’ve been to Antarctica.  It’s beyond amazing.  This video is just full of stunning visuals of the most remote and uniquely beautiful place on Earth.

Portrait of Antarctica from Of Two Lands on Vimeo.

Who’s Inspired Me

Phil Demers.

Demers is a former professional marine mammal trainer who worked at Marineland of Canada.  He worked with walruses, dolphins, and orcas in what some might view as a dream job.  Over time however he saw the mounting abuses of animals taking place and took the brave step of blowing the whistle. 

Now he’s being sued and is neck deep in battles on multiple fronts with his former employer and some Canadian politicians.  But Demers is winning.  His passion and endless work for the humane treatment of animals convinced the Canadian government to pass legislation banning the captivity of dolphins and whales in 2018. 

There’s a full documentary of his story and fight called The Walrus and the Whistleblower (<–affiliate link).

What I’m Grateful For

Modern backpacking gear.  I’ve taken two overnight backpacking trips this winter so far and the conditions have been pretty cold.  But it’s amazing how good my gear is now, for half the weight and cost that mediocre gear was 20 years ago.

Lyrically Speaking

Sometimes I think life is just a rodeo
The trick is to ride and make it to the bell

From “Rock ‘n Roll Girls“, by John Fogerty

This song came out when I was a young teenager and was all over the radio. Because of Fogerty’s annunciation in those first two lines, I thought he was singing “the trick is to ride and make it to the pale“.

Mind you the logical connection to a rodeo is to make it to the bell.  But I grew up in the bullet-ridden urban jungle of Baltimore, about as far from any rodeo as you can get.  I knew zilch about rodeos, so ‘pale’ seemed as logical as anything else for rock song.  Eventually a friend told me it was “bell” and explained how a rodeo worked.  Who knew?

This came on the other day while I was lifting weights and I thought those first two lines were really aprapos to the pandemic.  Are we almost at the bell?  I don’t know, but even if we are there’s always another bell to make it to in life.

Miscellaneous

Exercise nutrition: whether you should eat before or after a workout depends on your fitness goals – “While eating after exercise is important for building muscle and recovering between workouts, eating before a workout may be equally important for those doing demanding or long workouts.”

COVID-19 Patients of All Ages With Obesity Face Higher Risk of Complications, Death – “People with obesity – regardless of age – are more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 and have higher risks for complications and death”

Who Invented the Alphabet? – “New scholarship points to a paradox of historic scope: Our writing system was devised by people who couldn’t read”