T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 35

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #35!

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

Finance Articles

Saving Money Through Routine (The Three Year Experiment) – “Routine is necessary for maximum efficiency in life, and maximum efficiency is very often necessary for saving money.”

The Flames Of Burnout Have Risen Again. FI Makes It Worse (XRAYVSN) – “So what’s next? To be honest I am not sure….”

Video

If you play guitar, watch this cover of the Tears For Fears song “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” from Andy McKee and come to grips with how much you suck.  He plays the vocal line, synth lines, and pretty much everything one one acoustic guitar. A master at work.

Here’s another, simply amazing.

Who’s Inspired Me

The Nepali Sherpas who just completed the first ever summit of K2 in winter.

Until last week K2, the second highest mountain in the world, was the only of the fourteen 8000 meter peaks on the planet that had not been climbed in winter.  An all-Nepali team headed by sherpas Nirmal Purja Pun Magar and Mingma Gyalje Sherpa changed that with an epic climb that culminated in 10 people summiting together.  If you don’t know mountaineering, this is a monumental accomplishment and one of the last great “firsts” out there.  K2 is known as “the savage mountain” and is far more difficult than Mt. Everest and most of the 8000 meter peaks. 

You can read about their amazing climb here.

What I’m Grateful For

Winter. Unlike many I actually love the seasons and need them, and even though our winters here in the mid-Atlantic aren’t as cold as they used to be, I can still drive about 2 hours and climb some ice.  It finally got cold enough to do so, and I’m psyched.

Lyrically Speaking

We move so quickly
Who knows where the time goes
Where does this road lead?
No one knows, no one knows

From “Litany (Life Goes On)“, by Guadalcanal Diary

It was 1988 and I was given a mix tape cassette by a girl who worked at the hardware store with me, and it changed me.  Until then I listened to mainstream rock, because that’s all we really had in Baltimore.  By the late 80’s hair metal was taking over everything, and I was sick of it.  Then I got this mix tape and Litany (Life Goes On) starts it off.  Guadalcanal Who?  I was floored by the sounds, and it introduced me to other great bands like Flesh For Lulu, The Feelies, and the Lemonheads who refreshingly sounded nothing like hair metal.  Guadalcanal Diary were signed to a major label and had a pretty big cult following but never broke through the mainstream.  It’s a shame because their records are awesome. 

And the four lines above from Litany go nicely with my post from a few weeks back.

Miscellaneous

‘Fat but fit’ is a myth when it comes to heart health, new study shows – “The negative effects of excess body fat on heart health can’t be canceled out by maintaining an active lifestyle, according to new research.”

Do I really need 8 glasses of water a day? – “The recommendation of how much someone should drink is subject to a broad range of scenarios”

The weird space that lies outside our Solar System