T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 93

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #93!

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

Financial Independence/Retirement Articles

FIRE Goals Update: 1 year of Early Retirement (Escaping Avalon) – “ A year ago I early retired from my insane job as a cop. How did it go?“

April Update: Are People Losing Interest in FIRE? (Financial Fives) – “If people are feeling less optimistic about their ability to save, not to mention the ability of the stock market to return generous gains, why waste time fantasizing about some far-off scenario of retirement?“

Video

If you’re not a skiier or snowboarder, you may have never heard of tree wells.  They form around trees in areas of very heavy snow and usually take the lives of a few skiers and boarders every year. They are very dangerous and frightening, and yours truly had the misfortune of falling into one at Copper Mountain Colorado years ago but thankfully it wasn’t so deep that I couldn’t get out.  Watch this video of a skier rescuing a snowboarder who fell into a tree well and would surely have died if the skier had not luckily seen his board.

Who’s Inspired Me

Emma Bates. 

Bates came in fifth at the Boston Marathon this past Monday.  That’s a tremendous result for a U.S. runner against the best in the world.  And if you watched the race you saw a lot of this:

She was on the front setting the pace for about 8 – 10 miles of the race, looking like a boss.  Perhaps that was her downfall when she slipped from the lead group later on as she maybe burnt too many matches out in front, but damn if she didn’t make the others take note.  It was an inspiring run and there’s big things in her future for sure.

What I’m Grateful For

That I set a personal record on one of the big hills in my region, and it’s only April.  I have ridden that hill 379 times according to Strava and I was going for a PR probably 75% of the time. Clocking a time like I did this early in the season could be a predictor of big things 🙂

Lyrically Speaking

He was a writer in his dreams
He sent his thoughts to magazines
He’d get them back without a check
What do bohemians expect?

From “Airstream Bohemians” by John Gorka.

John Gorka is one of those singer songwriters that you sometimes can’t believe isn’t a household name.  With a warm baritone voice that sooths the soul and 15 studio albums starting in 1987 Gorka has built one of the great catalogues of Americana and folk music.  His often demure and hilarious lyrics play well against his voice and music.  The song “I’m from New Jersey” from 1991 is a great example of his direct lyrical style that delivers punchlines and truths.  The song “Airstream Bohemians” has other great passages besides the lines highlighted above, like

“He was the type to look for work
Although not the kind to find it
She was an office temp and clerk
He didn’t have to be reminded
But he minded” 

The “he” in the song is a failed writer trying to live the artistic life and failing, and Gorka’s writing is brilliant.  Perhaps the “he” in the song should have started a blog as a writing outlet, he could be making literally hundreds of dollars a year like me 🙂

Miscellaneous

What Kind of Mind Does ChatGPT Have? – “Large language models seem startlingly intelligent. But what’s really happening under the hood?“ 

Cold Temperatures Seem to Have a Mysterious Effect on Longevity – “Lower temperatures might not warm your heart, but they could make for a longer life.”

Partisan Science is Bad for Science and Society – “When science becomes partisan, public trust in science decreases.“