T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 121

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #121!

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

Financial Independence/Work Life/Retirement Articles

The Real Value Of An Ebike Is In Replacing A Second Car (Financial Panther) – “I’ve been harping for years about the value of getting and using ebikes, and specifically, how this single decision to get around with an ebike can be worth millions of dollars to you. The math simply doesn’t lie.“

Americans Continue to Name Inflation as Top Financial Problem (Gallup) – “For the third year in a row, the percentage of Americans naming inflation or the high cost of living as the most important financial problem facing their family has reached a new high.“

Video

You might recall when hydraulic press crushing videos had their moment.  There’s a certain curious fascination watching things get obliterated to a pulp to see how they react. Watch below as the hilarious press gang take on 1500 sheets of paper.  And yes, their channel has almost 10 million subscribers and this video alone has been viewed 7.7 million times! My apologies if I send you down a hydraulic press video wormhole.

What I’m Grateful For

The fact that I have 3 farmer’s markets within 2 miles of my house. I’m very lucky to live in a place with copious healthy food options.

Lyrically Speaking

If you look with your eyes
Do you know what you will find
Open your mind

From “Timeless Melody” by The La’s

The La’s were from Liverpool, which of course for a rock band is pretty inconvenient because no matter what you do you’ll never come close to living up to that other band from Liverpool. They made only one album, 1990’s self-titled The La’s. Two years prior, however, they had a big hit single with 1988’s “There She Goes“, a beautiful jangly pop-rock gem that made it to #2 on the U.S. Modern Rock Charts. I vividly remember hearing that song which came out at the height of hair metal dominance in American Music. I was long tired of the Warrants, Poisons, and Cinderellas that flooded the airwaves, and “There She Goes” sounded like a diamond from another planet. The La’s included “There She Goes” on their full-length in 1990 and I immediately bought the album, on cassette of course because I still couldn’t afford a CD player.

As for the lyrics above, I think the La’s perhaps knew something about the human brain. Our eyes are literally an extension of our brain – the only part that exists outside the cranial cavity. Look with your eyes and open your mind, they’re one and the same after all.

Miscellaneous

Cardio-fitness cuts death and disease by nearly 20% – “Groundbreaking new research finds that an increased cardio fitness level will reduce your risk of death from any cause by nearly 20%.”

How Scientists Are Preparing for Apophis’s Unnervingly Close Brush With Earth – “The potentially hazardous asteroid is on its way for an uncomfortably close flyby of Earth in 2029.

How cannabis and psilocybin might help some of the 50 million Americans who are experiencing chronic pain – “As our society connects to the rich history of healing using these ancient drugs, these proposed changes may offer safer and substantive options for the 50 million Americans living with chronic pain.“