T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 135

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #135!

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

Financial Independence/Work Life/Retirement Articles & Content

The Year in Money: Inflation Eased, Optimism Ticked Upward (Nerd Wallet) – “After a bumpy post-pandemic road, the economy has settled down. What will 2025 (and a new administration) bring?”

Ultimate Luxury (Escaping Avalon) – “But to you, reader who is possibly pursing FIRE, know that this is one of the most underrated aspect of not having an employer. It’s amazing to see how many things in modern life are built to increase your dependence on that phone, to grab more of your attention.“

Video

And in the “important news you likely didn’t see because stupid news gets all the attention” category, the Curiosity Mars Rover found sulfur on Mars.  So what?  Well sulfur is essential for life as we know it, there’s that.  We know Mars likely doesn’t currently have life, but maybe it could have in the past, and this discovery is huge, at least for geeks like me.  Anyhoo, this 4k interactive 3D video from the Mars rover is nothing short of spectacular.  You can pan around and zoom in and out, and it’s really Mars in 8k!  Be sure to click the Youtube settings on the video and change to 4320s60 8K.  And it should go without saying don’t bother to do this on your phone – why view such an amazing thing from a tiny screen – use your computer!

What I’m Grateful For

A new album from the Cure, and it’s really good.

Lyrically Speaking

I can’t stand the strain of this job no more
I must have forgot what I took it on for
I make lots of money, yet still I want more
And my head is blazing
I think that I’ll check out the shops downtown
Sometimes it helps to buy things when I feel brought down

From “Back On The Street” by Utopia

Todd Rundgren already had a good deal of fame and quite a few albums behind him when in 1973 he decided to form Utopia.  By that time progressive rock was flourishing, largely from the success of bands like Yes and King Crimson who pioneered the genre in the late 60’s.  Rundgren used Utopia to explore new sounds with a rotating cast of musicians, but gradually the band became more stable and it’s sound became more mainstream rock.  Rundgren’s pioneering skills as a producer, technologist, and all around musician shine through in Utopia, especially the early stuff.  In sum Utopia made ten studio albums from 1974 – 1985 and it’s a unique and worthy body of music to explore. 

As for the lyrics above, I feel seen.  Especially the last line.  I’ve written about “retail therapy” before, and it’s been a real thing in my life from time to time.  With depression and anxiety seemingly always breaking new all time high in America, maybe a large portion of our collective purchases are to simply relieve the fact that we “feel brought down”.

Miscellaneous

Habitual physical activity is related to more creative activities and achievements – “The results of this study suggest that the positive effects of habitual physical activity may generalize from better health, cognition, and creative ideation performance outcomes to more real-life creative behavior such as cooking original dishes and making music.”

A rational look at a sensationalized sugar study – “A recent study has triggered alarm over the finding that restricting sugar in the first 1000 days of life protects against diabetes and hypertension in later life, but this conclusion hardly constitutes reliable advice.”

Childhood leaded gasoline exposure damaged Americans’ mental health – “A new study links 151 million instances of psychiatric illness to leaded gasoline.“