T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 91

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #91!

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

 

Financial Independence/Retirement Articles

Why Quitting Today Might Be the Right Thing to Do (Maximum Gratitude Minimal Stuff)“Winners quit and try a new approach, or take a chance on something completely different.

Goodbye SAHD FIRE, Hello Barista FIRE (Retire By 40)“Is it time to come out of retirement and look for a job?”

 

Video

It’s been a while since I’ve posted nature porn, so it’s that time.  Enjoy this amazing short video showing the beauty and grandeur of the Cascade Mountains in the the Pacific Northwest in 4k. Starting at about 1:26 in the video, that’s the terrain I wanna be on :).  And as always watch this on a big screen and big thanks to the drones of the world.

 

Who’s Inspired Me

Aurelian Sanchez, John Kelly, Karel Sabbe, and Jasmine Paris. 

The Barkley Marathons In Tennessee is arguably the hardest event out there in the ultra-endurance world.  Most years no one finishes even though the field is always stacked with some of the best endurance athletes in the world.  This years event just completed and there were three finishers, which is beyond an outlier.  Aurelian Sanchez, John Kelly, and Karel Sabbe all finished, with Sabbe coming in less than 7 minutes before the time cutoff.  If you don’t know how brutal the Barkley Marathons event is you might be thinking “big deal, three dudes finished a race”.  I recommend the very well done documentary (<–affiliate link) about it which is now a bit old but the event is still the same. 

And a huge shout out to Jasmine Paris who became the second woman ever to start the fourth lap of the 5 lap race.  That’s right, not only has a woman never finished the Barkley, no woman has even made it to the 5th lap.  That’s not a knock on the amazing female ultra athletes out there, but a testament to how dam hard this race is.  Paris even completed the 4th lap but didn’t do it within the time restriction, so she made it further than any woman in history.  I’m sure a woman will finish the Barkley one of these years, probably in the near future.  Either way, these athletes are inspiring because I can’t imagine the suffering they endure to do this race.  They show the possibilities of human performance and determination, and even though I don’t want to suffer that much they show me I can always do better.

 

What I’m Grateful For

My Toshiba laptop from 2011 (12 years old!!) that still works like a champ and even let’s me design in Photoshop when I’m on the road.  I hope they’re still making them as good when I need to get my next one.

 

Lyrically Speaking

But it’s easy to hide
You can go where you like
When you no longer count

From “I Saw You” by Many Voices Speak.

In the last lyrically speaking I featured a Swede, Jens Lekman.  Well the Swedes are on a roll at Accidental FIRE.  Matilda Mård is also Swedish and the voice and artist behind Many Voices Speak.  Right now I think she’s my current favorite artist and I listen to butt-loads of music.  I discovered her last year and her catalog has been on constant rotation.  Like all music for me I have to be in the right mood and Mård’s music is what I’d call “chillax”.  It’s perfect for quiet mornings when I want a nice dreamy vibe that allows for some work and some contemplation.  It’s dream-pop with extra doses of atmospherics.  And that voice…..  it soothes me and I think I could listen to her sing the phone book. 

Mård has two full length albums, 2018’s Tank Town and 2022’s Gestures as well as an EP and a few other singles.  She’s a young independent artist so if you like her buy one of her releases on Bandcamp.

As to the three lines above, I heard them and thought about my now part-time job of over 5 years.  I was once a big-wig, but at only 20 hours a week I no longer count to the folks still on the hamster wheel.  So it’s easy for me to hide, and I’m okay with that.

 

Miscellaneous

Gut microbes can boost the motivation to exercise – “Study in mice uncovers gut-to-brain pathway that increases exercise performance.”

How light pollution disrupts plants’ senses – “Dazzling lights are causing ecological chaos, disrupting plants’ seasonal rhythms and their fragile relationship with pollinators.”

AI isn’t close to becoming sentient – the real danger lies in how easily we’re prone to anthropomorphize it 

 

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Dave @ Accidental FIRE

I reached financial independence and semi-retired in my mid-40's through hard work, smart living, and investing. This blog chronicles my journey and explores many aspects of personal finance including the psychological and behavioral factors that drive our habits.

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8 Responses

  1. i’m looking forward to following along as joe udo gets a little J.O.B. that should be fun. i like that swede gal…reminds me some of hope sandoval and mazzy star.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Joe would be great at Trader JOE’S and yes, she’s definitely channeling Mazzy Star and Hope. I used to have the biggest crush on Hope, ah the days

  2. Toshiba! That’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. We had a Toshiba TV and that thing was a rock, never broke until we basically gave it away in a garage sale. I’ll also give a shoutout to Samsung. We have their appliances, and my Samsung laptop from 2010 (donated to a student in the family last year) still works great.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      At the time Toshiba laptops were the best and that’s why I bought it. Not sure if that rep is still the same but Samsung’s are good too

  3. omearamatt says:

    Great write up this Friday! I enjoyed following along with the Barkley Marathons as well. You’ve probably already seen it, but there’s a YouTube video following Gary Robbins on his attempts at it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDZdsqbcGTU. Definitely worth a watch.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Cool thanks for that, I’ve seen a few vids with Robbins and he’s a badass and nice guy.

  4. Awhile back I watched that Barkley documentary, and remember thinking “F that!”. Cool to see people push so hard though.
    Like that music man, going to have to make an AF playlist.🙂

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      I would like to do one lap of Barkley just to see what it’s like, that would be enough haha. As for a playlist it would be very diverse as I’ve highlighted everyone from ACDC and Ray Charles to super unknown folks. But I love exposing people to music 🙂

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