T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 151

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #151

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

Financial Independence/Work Life/Retirement Articles & Content

Non-Health Care Provisions of the “Big Beautiful Bill” that Should Be on Your Planning Radar (Can I Retire Yet) “In total, these provisions are more favorable to both early and traditional retirees. They present some new planning opportunities.“

Approaching FIRE with a balanced mindset (TAWCAN) “You can’t bring money with you when you leave this world. Therefore, emphasize the quality of life, memories, experiences, friendship, and communities.“

Video

I’ve posted videos of orcas numerous times in the past.  I’ve also been fortunate to come close to them in person too near the San Juan islands when a large pod checked us out and swam right beneath our small boat.  Watch this amazing video of orcas hunting a seal and using various methods of coordination such as breaking up ice, moving ice, and generating a wave to tip him off the ice. They can obviously communicate in very sophisticated ways.  I fear they might be plotting world domination and we’re just too aloof to be on to them.

What I’m Grateful For

That my friend Jason got me to lighten up on enjoying a post ride pastry after our fast Sunday rides.  My monk-ish healthy self used to forego any sweets but running the numbers on the amount of glycogen I’m burning on our rides I’ve learned to just lighten the eff up.  The ride has to be at least 50 miles to be pastry-qualified, but most Sundays are 🙂

Lyrically Speaking

And I feel the time is right, although I know
That you just might say to me:
“What you gonna do
What you gonna do”
But I have to take this chance

From “Goodbye to Romance” by Ozzy Osbourne

I highlighted Ozzy Osbourne way way back in T.G.I.F. Friday 22 during the crazy summer of covid.  Weirdly enough his lyrics provided much needed love and sanity in a time of online hate, and offline hate too.  Well Ozzy has left the building.  And I went back to his first solo release for lyrical inspiration.  The song highlighted above is why I fell in love with Ozzies first release.  It’s anything but a heavy metal song.  To sound cool some of my friends (remember I was all of 10 years old) called this the “chick song” on the album.  I didn’t care, I loved it anyway.  It has a great melody and regular readers of this section know I’m a sucker for melancholic melodies and songs.  And the song after that one on the album called “Dee” is a 50 second gorgeous little acoustic guitar piece.  That’s what makes his debut solo album Blizzard Of Oz so amazing, when listened to from start to finish it’s like life – it ricochets from heavy to light, from leather to lace. 

Ozzy died July 22nd at the age of 76.  Just a few weeks earlier he performed one last time with Black Sabbath and others in a farewell concert for charity in Birmingham England.  They raised $190,000,000.  Yes, a hundred and ninety million dollars for Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice among others.  Wow.  Kudos to you Ozzy, rest in peace and thanks for the music. 

As for the lyrics above, most know I recently fully retired.  If you’re financially independent but still on the fence about retiring, you might want to read those lines a few times.

Miscellaneous

Hate exercise? Neuroscience maps the routine your personality will love – “A new UCL study reveals that aligning workouts with personality boosts fitness and slashes stress—extroverts thrive on HIIT, neurotics favor short, private bursts, and everyone benefits when enjoyment leads the way.” Dave’s comment: They’re finally catching up to me, I wrote about this years ago.

AI outsmarted 30 of the world’s top mathematicians at secret meeting in California – “The world’s leading mathematicians were stunned by how adept artificial intelligence is at doing their jobs..” 

Extinct No More? Dire Wolf Returns With a Genetic Twist – “After sequencing the extinct species’ genome, scientists used gene-editing technology to alter the DNA of modern wolves.” Dave’s comment: There are raging battles online as to whether or not the wolves engineered by this company are actual dire wolves. The folks angrily warring over that nuance are missing the bigger picture – like AI, all these bio-technologies are just going to keep getting better and at increasing speeds. This is coming, whether you like it or not.