T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 128
Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #128!
Here are some things I really like and that you might too.
Financial Independence/Work Life/Retirement Articles
Will Early Retirement Reduce My Life Expectancy? (Early Retirement Now) – “…even in the worst case, where you indeed have a slightly reduced life expectancy, you at least increase the quality of life during early retirement relative what you would have done in a corporate job.”
Sports gambling takes a toll on Americans’ checkbooks, research shows (NBC News) – “Two new studies quantify the effect of legalized and expanded sports betting on investments and savings.”
Video
It’s been a brutally hot summer here in the D.C. region so time for an ASMR of better times to come. Enjoy this amazing setting of the back porch of your dream mountain cabin during a thunderstorm. Crank the volume and chill out to cooler times!
What I’m Grateful For
The amazing waterfront campsite I had this past week on a beautiful lake as our brutal summer temperatures thankfully relented for a while.
Lyrically Speaking
I’m getting a grip on some stuff, I misunderstood
I’m working away, steady and slow
Money’s just money, it comes and it goes
But I’ve got a feeling, everything’s gonna be good
From “Everything’s Gonna Be Good” by Kim Ritchey
Kim Ritchey got her first recording contract in the 1990’s at the age of 37. Since then she’s worked with a lot of big names in Nashville, has been nominated for Grammy’s (if that sort of thing matters to you 🙂 and, although not nearly in the mainstream has made a nice career for herself. The song “Everything’s Gonna Be Good” linked above isn’t necessarily representative of Ritchey’s catalogue. She has ten albums dating back to 1995 and her sound spans from kinda-country to Americana and folk and even some jazz influences. If you like Ritchey’s music you can support her on Bandcamp.
As for the lyrics above, more and more lately I’ve been feeling that way. My proclivity to worry and catastrophize may never fully die, but I think I’m making progress in weakening the real estate it occupies in my brain.
Miscellaneous
The Surprising Benefit of Doing Short Bursts of Exercise in the Evening – “The findings suggest that doing bodyweight exercises before bed can actually improve your sleep, rather than harm it.”
Back on the merry-go-round of bad science regarding meat consumption – “A new observational study has reported positive associations between meat intake and type 2 diabetes risk, but let’s repeat: correlation is not causation.”
How ancient tech is thwarting AI cheating in the classroom – “When in doubt, write it out.“
we just spent 4 cold rain days on a cabin porch in the ADK last week. it was still a relief from the summer buffalo heat. plus we saw and heard loons every day.
Dude if I lived as close to the Daks as you do I’d be there ALL the time. The 8-9 hour drive for me is a bitch but still worth it though, I love that place!
Love camping by a lake, but annoying to have to setup the tent on a small gravel parking lot. RV and trailer parkers have stolen the meaning of “camping”!
Yeah all things considered I’d rather not have the gravel pad and “planned” site but for the vast majority of places to camp here in the East there’s really no other option. Out West it’s different
That cabin porch during a thunderstorm would be heavenly right now.
Congrats on the lakeside site. Although a great view, I agree with Steve that the gravel area takes away from the aesthetic of what I consider camping. With that said, we upgraded to a 26 ft travel trailer 6 years ago. lol But I still look for that out of the way site under the trees with plenty of soil underfoot. Regardless of dirt or gravel, a few nights lakeside under the stars is good for the soul!
I agree Tracy that it’s not the perfect way I like to camp – for me that means primitive camping. But here in the East that’s very scarce, so I take what I can get. Either way it was indeed great for the soul and I caught lots of fish!
Love that view, do you go to state parks to camp? Here in the West/CA it’s more expensive to camp these days, and seems everything is either reserved or next to a loud highway…gotta go more into the boonies during the week to actually find something.
Yes, I’ve been exploring a lot of MD, VA, and NC state parks since last year. So many gems out there and I use the fact that I can camp on weekdays to help get reservations.
Nice camp site! We didn’t go camping this summer because we were in Japan and Thailand. Next year, we’ll travel locally and enjoy the summer in the US more. Fortunately, the weather has been pretty good in Portland when we were in town.
“We didn’t go camping this summer because we were in Japan and Thailand” Well – that’s good living! I enjoy seeing your adventures Joe!
100km and 8000m climbing last week, it was a stellar trip of Vancouver Island alpine. Hope you have had yourself some alpine bliss this year as well.
Wow, huge week! I unfortunately have not been to alpine in a while since for me that involves a multi-day drive or airplane flight. And I’ve had a tough year. But I have been riding a lot and doing lots of regional camping/paddling adventures. I do need to get back to the high mountains!