T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 164

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #164

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

Financial Independence/Work Life/Retirement Articles & Content

Survey: 2 in 5 Americans in a relationship have kept a financial secret from their partner (Bankrate) “New Bankrate survey data reveals that 2 in 5 U.S. adults (40 percent) who are in committed relationships — which we define as married, in a civil partnership or living with a romantic partner in this survey — have committed financial infidelity against their current partner.“

Index Fund Bubble (Humble Dollar) “Critics of index funds are pursuing a new line of attack. Passive investing, they argue, is distorting market prices and creating an unhealthy bubble.” 

Video

New Jersey has one of the highest black bear population densities in America.   Yes, that New Jersey.  Enjoy this video of 2 black bears fight like MMA fighters in a NJ suburb, including on someone’s front lawn.  That’s one fight I would not be jumping in to break up!  

What I’m Grateful For

That winter still exists here in the mid-Atlantic. Winters have been getting milder, there’s no denying it.  But this one has been cold and I’m once again able to go ice climbing in the state of Virginia!  

Lyrically Speaking

Darling, did you get the money?
Twenty three dollars is all I could manage today
Will that be okay?

From “Dear Corrine” by Ferraby Lionheart

No big-time music legend died in the past 2 weeks so I get to highlight another little-known but great artist.  If you’re looking at the name above and sayin’ “who?”, well you’re probably in good company.  Ferraby Lionheart – what a cool name huh?  His real name is Ferraby Chase Lizarraga (say that 10 times fast) and I think changing it to ‘Lionheart’ was wise. All that aside Lionheart is a really talented musician.  He’s an art school dropout who gravitated to music and after hopping around to different bands he stepped out on his own.  His first full-length album, 2007’s Catch The Brass Ring was a moderate indie success, and he even had a performance on late-night TV.  Unfortunately he’s only made 3 releases as a solo artist, one EP and 2 full albums.  I really like them all as he has a knack for a great melody and some interesting song structures. 

Thanks to wikipedia I found out where Lionheart got a lot of his music chops.  His grandmother was the manager for the mega-duo Seals & Crofts.  Yes, that’s the guys responsible for “Summer Breeze” which has to be one of the most famous and adored songs of the early 70’s singer-songwriter movement.  Since 2010 Lionheart has formed numerous bands and apparently makes a living licensing music to movies and TV, so it’s great to hear he’s making a living at it but I’d love for him to release another solo record. 

As for the lyrics above, I heard the song the other day and had to smile.  My last post was about my graphic design business and there are many many days where 23 dollars is all I can manage to make.  Heck sometimes it’s even less.  Whatevs, even on those days I go to bed smiling because I made some dough at a creative endeavor.  

Miscellaneous

Stanford scientists found a way to regrow cartilage and stop arthritis – “Scientists have found a way to regrow aging cartilage, raising hopes for arthritis treatments that could make joint replacements obsolete.”

We absolutely do know that Waymos are safer than human drivers – “What Bloomberg got very wrong about self-driving cars.”

Oldest cave art ever found discovered in Indonesia – “Beating the previous record for the oldest known cave artwork by at least 15,000 years, a hand stencil in an Indonesian cave might shed light on when early humans migrated to Australia.“