T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 76
Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #76!
Here are some things I really like and that you might too.
Financial Independence/Retirement Articles
Why You Should Never Retire (Can I Retire Yet?) – Dave’s comment – In this post Chris has a conversation with a reader who adamantly refuses to retire and claims his identity is 100% his job. Not only is the post great, the comment section is equally if not more interesting.
Gas Prices Are High – So Quit Buying Gas (Financial Panther) – “We live in a car cult.“
Video
Meet the woman who was the inspiration for Jodi Foster’s character in Carl Sagan’s cult classic “Contact”. (don’t be turned off by the poor-quality audio at 48 seconds in, the rest of the video is not her giving a lecture in an auditorium, it’s about the search for alien life!)
Who’s Inspired Me
The 2022 Baltimore Orioles.
Yes I love baseball. Growing up in Baltimore in the 1970’s and 80’s, you had to. From the mid-1960’s to the mid-1980’s the Orioles were the best and most consistent team in baseball. With hall of fame legends like Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, and Cal Ripken, the city worshipped the team. Things turned south in the late 1980’s and for the past 30 years they’ve had some good seasons, but have mostly been bad.
The 2022 Orioles have the lowest payroll in baseball at $30,221,166, The Los Angeles Dodgers have the highest at $277,108,333, that’s more than nine times bigger than the Orioles. At the outset of the ’22 season the Orioles owner warned it would be a rebuilding year and to not expect much. Most of their roster is comprised of players no one had heard of. This is a strategy called “tanking” where an organization sheds talent and deliberately fields a non-competitive team in an attempt to rebuild.
Well the 2022 Orioles started out rough but have fought their way to a winning record and are legitimately in the Wild Card race in the American League, all on the lowest payroll in the MLB. They play with passion, excitement, and they play as a team. They’re mostly young hungry dudes looking to make their mark in the bigs, and boy have they been fun to watch.
What I’m Grateful For
Another peak season where I’ve hit most of my fitness goals. I haven’t degraded in my cycling results although my running speeds have slowed a bit. But overall I’m grateful that my hard work continues to show results and I feel better than ever.
Lyrically Speaking
Quit school when she was seventeen
Senator on TV calls her welfare queen
Used to be daddy’s little girl
Now she needs help in this mean ol’ world
Buys cassette tapes in the bargain bin
Loves Carlene Carter and Loretta Lynn
Tries to have fun on a Saturday night
Sunday morning don’t shine too bright
It’s welfare music
Watch the baby dance
To the welfare music
Well she ever stand a chance?
From “Welfare Music” by The Bottle Rockets
The Bottle Rockets are one of the many bands who came to prominence in the early 1990’s Americana (sometimes called alt-country) movement. Along with Uncle Tupelo, The Jayhawks, and the Old 97’s, they took roots rock, elements of country and punk, and a dash of blues and made some great records. “Welfare Music” is the first song on their sophomore album, 1994’s The Brooklyn Side.
As I’ve mentioned in previous Lyrically Speaking editions, 1994 was the year I purchased my first CD player and The Brooklyn Side was one of the first CDs I owned. I loved the songwriting, sometimes deep and substantive, and others satirical and cynical. To me their best songwriting was on their earliest albums, but they always produced great roots rock sounds. They do have one song from their 1999 release called “Gotta Get Up” which should be famous in the FIRE community. It’s a repetitive rocker that might seem very annoying, but the whole point they’re hammering home is the repetitiveness itself – of our working lives.
As for the lyrics above, no doubt the story of countless poor in rural America.
Miscellaneous
No Evidence That Depression Is Caused by Low Serotonin Levels – “The new umbrella review published in Molecular Psychiatry, suggests that depression is not likely caused by a chemical imbalance, and calls into question what antidepressants do.“ Dave’s comment – this is a big deal and I’m surprised/not-surprised it hasn’t made a bigger stink
The US Navy Put Cameras on Dolphins And The Results Are Wild – “A buzz of clicks and gleeful victory squeals compose the soundtrack in our first ever footage from the perspective of dolphins freely hunting off the coast of North America.“
Scientists are figuring out how to destroy “forever chemicals” – “Today, PFAS are pervasive in soil, dust, and drinking water around the world. Studies suggest they’re in 98 percent of Americans’ bodies, where they’ve been associated with health problems including thyroid disease, liver damage, and kidney and testicular cancer.“
i surely can relate to the guy in the CIRY piece. although i don’t “love” my work or organization i am mostly left alone to do my work. some wang tried to change that and i have a post coming out about my push back but like that guy still working i still feel like i have time to do the fun things in life while still putting in my 40/week. it’s also nice to know i could stop any minute if something changes.
hooray for the O’s!
I cannot relate to the guy in Chris’s post, but I understand all people are different and I think he’s lucky that he’s found a job that he loves so much for so long. His story of course is extremely rare. He’s also not interested in other things in life which again is his choice and doesn’t make him a bad person. But I think most folks are interested in other things and go through life not being able to do them because of their jobs. For me that’s the case for sure and that’s why I early semi-retired.
And the O’s had yet another walk-off extra inning win last night!
I am on the side of Dave in relation to Chris’s post. I understand his reasoning for staying at his job, but I can’t relate. That is his life and he is perfectly happy with his life. He recognizes that work is who he is and does almost 100% of time. I like the people I work with, but I getting out in less than two years when I am 55. Too much to do and explore to stay tied to work.
The O’s remind me of the A’s the past 15 years. Bare bottom payroll and consistently having decent records, well except for this year. Ha ha. Good luck to the O’s.
Too much to do indeed my friend. It’s a big world of possibilities and I’m stoked to keep exploring them. I can’t do that in a drab office under fluorescent lights. And yes the A’s have punched above their weight a lot over the past decade or so.
In my opinion, Mr. Financial Independence/Never Retire has just explained why some people still work while FI. These people get paid large $$$s to travel, speak at conferences, write papers, be a “fun” person, and engage in all sorts of extra curricular activities that aren’t part of their full time job requirements. He vaguely explained what his team does but provided no information about how he actively contributes to and improves this day to day and potentially tedious work (Note: Mentoring can be incredibly productive or just another strategic way to pretend you’re busy). There are a couple of tenured people like this in my department and we’re tired of doing all their work because they’re busy from Oct to Dec planning the staff Christmas party and volunteering for random committees which take up 38/40 hours every week. They also consider themselves ‘rock stars’ and industry leaders and say thing like “why would I retire when they’re paying me to have a good time!”
P.S. Dave – Your thought provoking blog is fantastic. Here’s hoping that you keep it going!
Oh man, the kinds of workers you’ve described… we have them in the government too. They find the cushy position and then find conferences in cool places. Orlando conferences in winter and Monterey or Sand Diego in summer. And yes they love running the summer picnic and Christmas events. This is so true, I’ve worked with many of these folks. I also think most of these folks tend to be extroverted and enjoy their social networks at the office. They’re schmoozers.
Thanks very much for the kind words about my blog, I appreciate it!
Dave, thats great about the O’s loved Cal Ripkin as a kid, even as a Cardinals Fan. I kinda lost interest in Baseball when the lockouts happened and when I moved away from St. Louis. I’ll have to watch the O’s, always dig a good underdog story!
Baseball is religion in St. Louis, I’ve been to a few Cardinal games out there. I drifted away from baseball quite a bit in the 2000’s and up till about 5 years ago, but as life keeps speeding up I find the slowness and traditions of baseball appealing in a whole new way.