T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 96

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #96!

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

Financial Independence/Work Life/Retirement Articles

‘Can I just … rest?’: guilt, the four-day working week and what to do with the fifth day (The Guardian) – “It will take more than a shift in logging on and logging off times to truly disconnect ourselves from the impetus to work ever more.“

What If You Run Out Of Life? (1500 Days To Freedom) – “There are millions of things you could choose to worry about. A better strategy is to focus on resiliency“

Video

If we are not alone in the universe it’s very likely other life forms would be found on Hycean Planets.  What are those?  Clicketh the short video below to find out.  

Who’s Inspired Me

Ella Reed. 

Reed was attacked by a shark at a Florida beach recently and sustained pretty serious cuts and lacerations.  She punched the shark and it repeatedly came back after her.  It must have been a terrifying experience. 

Oh, Reed is all of 13 years old.  Watch the video in this short piece about the event and at the end she says “Yeah, I’m just going to keep on coming back after the stitches come out”.  That’s badass, and inspiring.  I don’t know if I’d have that kind of courage.

What I’m Grateful For

The most beautiful May I can recall in a long time.  April was too hot in the D.C. region but May delivered a real spring and I spent more time outside training because of it.  So I can credit Mother Nature for starting me out on a real good foot this season, I’m firing on all cylinders. Cycling buddies – consider yourself warned 🙂

Lyrically Speaking

I’m your private dancer, a dancer for money
I’ll do what you want me to do
I’m your private dancer, a dancer for money
And any old music will do

From “Private Dancer” by Tina Turner

Sigh. I don’t want to be doing these tributes to the legends of music, because of course I don’t want them to die.  But music has played such a huge roll in my life – especially in my younger years when it seemed I had nothing else – that I’m compelled.  Tina Turner sadly died last week and man, that’s a big one.  I wasn’t old enough to know Turner’s original rise to fame with her husband Ike.  Their first album came out way back in 1961 and they released many through the 60’s and 70’s.  It was Turner’s second wave in the 1980’s that I vividly recall, especially her massive hit album Private Dancer which sold over 8.8 million copies.  To this day when I hear the song “What’s Love Got to Do with It” I’m instantly taken back to the summer of 1984 and playing with my neighborhood friends.  It was on the radio every 30 minutes and impossible to escape. 

Turner was a force of nature.  When you see videos of her performing she owned the stage.  Only perhaps Prince had a bigger stage presence in my mind and that’s lofty company.  She had a tumultuous life but prevailed to become one of the biggest female acts in music history.  She’s now belting it out in that great gig in the sky.  Thanks for the music Tina, you were an original. 

As for the lyrics above, I’m not too proud to say I spent many nights in strip clubs in my drunken youth.  Those days are long gone.

Miscellaneous

Running throughout middle age keeps ‘old’ adult-born neurons ‘wired’  – “Long-term exercise profoundly benefits the aging brain and may prevent aging-related memory function decline“

To Live on Mars, Human Architecture Has to Combine Science and Sci-Fi  – “Human habitats on other planets could be as striking as it could be weird.“

More and more Americans are skipping medical care due to money woes  – “The percent who said they skipped care due to costs has risen 5 points since 2020.“