T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 87
Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #87!
Here are some things I really like and that you might too.
Financial Independence/Retirement Articles
I Love My Job: Still Sprinting to Early Retirement (Budget Life List) – “I love my job, but my life is no longer my job.“
Saving Too Much in 401k: Is It Possible? (Filled With Money) – “Yes, there absolutely is such a thing as saving too much in 401k. Take it from me.“
Video
I’ve dived with sharks many times, they don’t scare me (the safer varieties of shark that is). But if I ever saw a giant squid I’d friggin lose it. No. Way. Take a look at this rare footage of a giant squid from divers in Japan. This thing might as well be an alien from another galaxy.
Who’s Inspired Me
Siddharth Kara.
Kara risked his life to expose modern day slavery. His book “Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives” (<– affiliate link) will be released soon. He talked about it for almost 2 hours on The Joe Rogan Experience. Warning, listen at your own discretion. Largely because of the clear picture it paints modern day slavery and human trafficking, but also because we in the developed world are driving it with our lust for digital gadgets, plain and simple.
Virtually all lithium ion batteries have cobalt in them. Most cobalt comes from slave labor in the Congo. This is the big inconvenient truth that we in the first world must grapple with. I’ve always tried to choose devices that have replaceable alkaline batteries over rechargeable lithium ion ones, mainly because they’ll last way longer. Lithium ion batteries degrade after each charge and use until they’re rendered to the waste bin. Sometimes that’s so quickly that the device they’re powering still works fine, but you have to throw it away because it can’t be powered. After listening to Kara discuss his book on Rogan I’m determined now more than ever to try to avoid purchasing anything with a lithium ion battery. It’s hard, they’re in practically everything.
Kara’s willingness to risk his life by repeatedly going to the Congo to expose the tragedies happening there is inspiring and will hopefully plant the seeds of change.
What I’m Grateful For
A coyote that has recently taken a liking to my neighborhood. I’ve seen him a few times now and it reminds me that nature wins.
Lyrically Speaking
You know it’s hard for me to find a way
To get through another city day
Without thinking about
Gettin’ out
From “Traction In The Rain” by David Crosby
Say what you want about David Crosby, but he gave no fucks. Whether part of the Byrds, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, or solo, he played to his own tune. And he played many great ones. I’m more a fan of the early Byrds stuff than CSNY or his solo material, but his contributions to folk and rock music stand on their own. He was a legend, one of the true originals that defined the genre in the 60’s.
And man did he live a life. Check out how young he looked in 1965 on the Ed Sullivan show in this video, he was a boy! David Crosby died January 18th at the age of 81. The fact that he made it that far with what he put his body through is amazing and we’re blessed to have his musical contributions all those years. He was making music right up until the end, check out this cover he did last year of Joni Mitchell’s “For Free” with Sarah Jarosz. Absolutely beautiful, a master harmonizer.
As for the lyrics from “Traction In The Rain” above, man…. I’ve written about the chaos of urban life and my desire for the opposite, and he laid it out nicely in 4 lines. R.I.P. Croz.
Miscellaneous
At any age, a healthy diet can extend your age (possible paywall) – “It’s never too late to start undoing the damage caused by a poor diet.“
I Remember the Bookstore – “When you browse and buy in person, paragraph and place are joined forever.”
The Night Sky Is Twice as Bright as It Was Only 8 Years Ago – “The visibility of stars is deteriorating rapidly, despite (or perhaps because of) the introduction of LEDs in outdoor lighting applications.“
Thanks for the variety of interesting content and for your own real and human stories. Even though we have little in common (I’m older, less active, live in the Australian tropics and didn’t have my ‘oh crap’ moment regarding finances until 50) your site has been educational, entertaining and a constant reminder of the important ‘non financial’ aspect of a good life.
Thank You for the kind words Linda! And I don’t know how many tropical areas there are in Australia but I’ve spent some time in the Daintree and Cape Tribulation area which were pretty tropical and I enjoyed it immensely, such a beautiful area with so much to do. I appreciate your readership!
Yes, I’m in that neighbourhood. They are beautiful places. You really do get around. Congratulations also on your insight and courage regarding the change to ‘blogging time’. Another good example to us all!
That squid footage is pretty amazing. Talk about a real life kraken
Those things are creepy, and super intelligent. Count me out!
I love hearing about your adventures (hiking 14’ers, diving with sharks) and now that travel has opened up, I would love to hear about your next adventure goals. Have you been to Africa? I did a medical mission trip there a few years ago and it was unique and eye-opening. Thanks for your blog. It’s one of my favorites. Very relatable.
I’ve only been to Africa once Nicole, to climb Kilimanjaro and go on safari, I wrote a post about it years ago that relates to money of course 🙂 I almost did a volunteer trip to Madagascar once but my job got in the way. I would love to go back to Africa, especially the Atlas mountains, South Africa, Namibia, or South Africa just to name a few. Thanks for the comment!
i love our local bookstore. our friend owns it and essentially knows what i enjoy reading. plus, they’re used books. she suggests ’em and i read ’em without having to put much thought into selecting a list.
as far as lithium ion batteries i think the whole battery powered car generation needs to take a harder look at where all those materials are sourced.
Agreed, those who think electric cars are a panacea to all of our problems are fooling themselves. Anyone who listens to that Rogan episode and who does a little bit of reading about cobalt and lithium ion batteries might have a real hard time buying an electric car, or anything powered with them.
Never knew about the difference between those two metals in batteries. I always thought rechargeable was better but you make a point about how the battery degrades. I wonder how that’ll effect EVs as they are recharged all the time.
Given the choice I would almost always choose a device powered by traditional alkaline batteries vice lithium ion. But nowadays there’s rarely a choice, it’s sad.
Thanks for sharing my post, Dave! I appreciate you and all that you do!
Great post – cheers!
I was expecting the squid to ink all over the camera but when you’re that big.. I guess it doesn’t think divers are a predator worthy enough to flee from 😮
Exactly, why waste the ink when you could kill them in a few seconds with just one of your eight arms?