T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 47

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #47!

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

Finance Articles

How Panflation Can Hurt Your Finances (Super Saving Tips) – “You are in a war and you may not even realize it because you want to return to being the consumer you once were and loved.”

Optional Retirement Looms – Gratitude (EducatorFI) – “Today, as I push toward the finish line, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude. That gratitude is powering me more than the still-nebulous future freedom.”

Video

I haven’t posted a nature porn video in a while, so it’s time.  This one was shot entirely in Ashley National Forest in Utah, a place where I’ve camped and hiked quite a few times. 

Watch this on a big screen only!

More Than Just Forests | Ashley from More Than Just Forests on Vimeo.

Who’s Inspired Me

Amber Neben. 

Amber Neben is a professional cyclist and she started racing at the relatively late age of 26 in 2001.  That was 20 years ago, so at 46 you might think this will be a story of how she’s coping with life after being a pro or how she’s started a new charity.  Nope.  Neben will be representing the United States Women’s Cycling Team at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, at the age of 46. 

Neben is a two-time world champion and this will be her third Olympics, she’s been a constant presence in the women’s pro-peloton at the highest level.  Regarding her age, as she says in this article from Cycling News  “I love it. It’s just evidence of the story that God’s writing with my life. I think you’re never too old, you’re never too young, or too anything to dream. And so I hope it’s an encouragement to other people to think outside the box of their current circumstances and what might be a label to believe they can be bigger and better.” 

From a guy who’s older than Amber and still getting faster on the bike, I say chapeau Amber, and thanks for the inspiration!

What I’m Grateful For

That the internet avails me to the best minds and leading ideas in nutrition and health science. As mentioned above I’m breaking all of my cycling personal bests this year, sometimes destroying them.  The changes I’ve made in my diet and habits over the past year have paid off immensely, and I feel I can still get better.  This isn’t supposed to be happening at my age but it’s a new world, and there’s something to be said about constant learning and experimentation.

Lyrically Speaking

Kneeling alongside old Sad Eyes
He says opportunity knocks once then the door slams shut
All I know is I’m sick of everything that my money can buy
The fool who wastes his life, God rest his guts

From “Here Comes A Regular” by The Replacements

“Well a person can work up a mean mean thirst, after a hard day of nothin’ much at all”.  Those opening lines of “Here Comes A Regular” grabbed me in an accusatory way the first time I heard them.  I felt seen.   The song is gorgeously written, and nothing sounds more genuine than when he asks “Am I the only one who feels ashamed?”.  In the collective corpus of songs about alcoholism, Westerberg penned a masterpiece.

I can’t really put into worlds how much The Replacements mean to me.  They were simultaneously the best and worst band in the world.  They were a punk band who could out-swagger the Stones and then floor you with literate and introspective ballads.  Then they’d drop the most saccharine-sweet power-pop anthem just when you thought you figured them out.  They’re loved and hated by so many, and that’s what made them so great. 

Last week I wrote about how I’m a freak, or what The Replacements would call “Left Of The Dial“.  That’s because I’ve always been kind of sick of everything my money can buy.

Miscellaneous

The new science of sleep: Everything we know about how it affects your health and brain – “Our 24/7 society seems to be slowly robbing us of our slumber, but at what cost?”

The Real-Life Risks of Our Digital World – “Our reliance on data and devices has made us extremely vulnerable. The first step is knowing where everything is.”

A hope for treating Alzheimer’s disease? – “The FDA approves the first new medication for AD, aducanumab, in two decades”