T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 81
Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #81!
Here are some things I really like and that you might too.
Financial Independence/Retirement Articles
Are You Willing To Pay The Price? (Stop Ironing Shirts) – “It’s completely normal to work for 35-45 years and be told what to do all day. I know that seems normal, but it doesn’t have to be.“
Beyond Insurance: Strategies to Manage Risk (Can I Retire Yet?) – “As you gain financial strength, you can progressively eliminate more and greater “losing bets” as the impacts of losses decrease. “
Video
Red Bull Rampage is the premier mountain bike event for the crazy world-class freeride mountain bikers out there. Enjoy this short video of what can only be called insanity on dirt, with bikes.
Who’s Inspired Me
The NASA DART Team.
Unless you were under a rock you probably at least heard that NASA for the first time successfully impacted an asteroid and changed it’s trajectory. This historic event represents the first big leap in developing a planetary defense system from a possible existential asteroid or comet strike in the future. For those who think this is a silly thing, you’re sadly ill-informed. Right now there is an asteroid hurtling through space that WILL hit Earth – there’s no argument in that statement, it’s 110% true. It’s not a matter of if it will happen, it’s a matter of when. It could be next week, or not for thousands of years. I’m proud and inspired that the world’s wealthiest nation, America, is investing it’s money and expertise in trying to protect everyone on Earth.
If you didn’t see the video of the impact you can watch it here and read more about it from NASA’s press release. We’re so friggin’ spoiled that everything – including this crazy event that happened 7 million miles from Earth – is a just a click away for our viewing pleasure. What an age we live in.
What I’m Grateful For
That one of our local jurisdictions in the D.C. region has invested millions to improve a popular multi-use trail, including separate lanes for walkers/runners and cyclists. That’s public money well spent.
Lyrically Speaking
It’s late and she’s waiting
And I know I should go home
But every time I start to leave
They play another song
Then someone buys another round
And wherever drinks are free
What’s made Milwaukee famous
Has made a fool out of me
From “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser out of Me)” by Jerry Lee Lewis
Regular “Lyrically Speaking” readers know I honor music legends when they pass, and recently we had a big one. Jerry Lee Lewis died on October 28th at the age of 87. Lewis was one of the early rock pioneers from the 1950’s and often called rock’s first “wild man”. He broke norms and musical genre’s and was a pioneer of rockabilly music. Yes he lived a controversial life but in the world of rock and country music he was a juggernaut as shown by the recent tributes that have been pouring out from mega-stars of the rock pantheon.
The lyrics above are from a 1968 song during the heavily country-era of Lewis’s career. I chose them because they’re meaningful to me. I was made a loser too, more times than I can count. As my post from this past Tuesday discusses, those days are thankfully behind me.
Miscellaneous
Buttigieg Wants to Replace ‘Murderous’ Human Drivers — But AVs Aren’t The Answer – “Just to be very clear, human drivers aren’t just problematic, they are murderous” – Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.”
Muscle Mass and Cognitive Function – “While it isn’t yet certain whether the loss of skeletal muscle mass leads to the avalanche of negative effects in the way the authors suggest, the key actionable takeaway is the same old-same old you’ve heard before: exercise is key to health and longevity.“
In stressful jobs, depression risk rises with hours worked, study in new doctors finds – “The more hours someone works each week in a stressful job, the more their risk of depression rises.”
That one of our local jurisdictions in the D.C. region has invested millions to improve a popular multi-use trail, including separate lanes for walkers/runners and cyclists. That’s public money well spent
100% agree with this. While some may complain about property taxes and such, when it translates into direct use, that’s when we feel a connection between why we pay our taxes. Public involvement in local government is essential!
I’m for tax money well spent. I’m not for it wasted, and while governments waste far too much money, sometimes they get it right.
Got back to the internet after a nice long hunt and saw this. Planetary defense AND hardcore mountain biking? Hell of a week!
The AV article was interesting too. Reminds me of when my old employer had us crunch the numbers to figure out what the primary causes of homicide in our city were. Data suggested: 1. Culture of Honor transgressions (gang related may be a more common definition, but an oversimplification of actual incidents). 2. Domestic Violence. And just barely after, 3. Shootings following road rage. The last one caught us all off guard, but made sense as we thought about it. This type of death isn’t counted as vehicle related since it’s a crime, not an accident. Aside from level 5 automation or a massive switch to public transportation, I don’t know how this would be eliminated.
If we ever could reach full level 5 automation for cars (which I doubt) and it saves 40,000+ lives a year, that would be a good thing obviously. But we’d still have millions of polluting cars with toxic brake dust , batteries etc. In the end I think we need to have better ways of getting around than cars, and better urban design and especially remote work are part of that. It’s a complex topic, but thanks for the great comment!