T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 130

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #130!

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

Financial Independence/Work Life/Retirement Articles

A Post From The Boring Middle Of FIRE (Happily Disengaged) – “Now, I won’t admit this to anyone but you readers and my wife, but it’s true that having a large sum of money makes me feel good. Maybe this is a symptom of the boring middle?“

Purpose Perplexion (Life In FIRE) – “For a while, I’ve been perplexed by some people around me pushing the all-being requirement of purpose.“

Video

If you ever choose to go paddling or fishing in Stephen C. Foster State Park in Georgia, just be careful. And don’t go swimming….

What I’m Grateful For

Regular readers know I don’t flood my blog with Amazon affiliate links for things I’ve never owned like so many blogs out there. I rarely plug things, but I’m doing it today because I love this gadget. I bought a Verilux Happy Light Lucent (<– yes that’s an affiliate link) in early summer and I’m 110% convinced it’s helped to set my circadian rhythm and consequently get better sleep. I get up super early, before sunrise, so I cannot get morning sunlight in my eyes right after waking as is recommended by all the best neuroscientists and sleep experts.  This light mimics sunlight more than other artificial lights and is super affordable. I got it on sale for $33 and I see it’s $39.99 as I write this post.  I just turn this thing on in the morning and use it for 15 – 30 minutes and then put it aside.  Job done.  It’s bright.  I’m grateful for this simple light and highly recommend. 

To prove I own it… (I do this because the holidays are coming and all the disingenuous bloggers will write their “30 cool gifts” posts chock full of affiliate links for things they’ve never owned and thus cannot really vouch for.  Off soapbox…)

Lyrically Speaking

I gotta find me a honey if it costs me all my money and then some
I come down here too much to go home without having some real fun

From “Til The Bars Burn Down” by J.D. Souther

The Eagles Greatest Hits album is one of the best selling albums of all time. But they’re one of those bands that seem to be very divisive, and they have a loud minority of haters (The Big Lebowski!).  Love ’em or hate ’em, they were a force to be reckoned with.  J.D. Souther was never officially in the Eagles but was inexorably linked to them because he wrote or co-wrote so many of their big hits.  “Best of My Love”, “Heartache Tonight”, “Victim of Love”, “New Kid In Town”, “Doolin’ Dalton” and “James Dean” were all written or co-written by Souther.  He wrote songs for other stars as well such as Dan Folgelberg, Linda Ronstadt, and Bonnie Raitt.  And he released eight albums of his own over his career, spanning from 1972 – 2015. 

J.D. Souther died peacefully on September 17th, a mere week before he was scheduled to start a tour to finish out the year.  I love the Eagles and Souther’s first two albums as well, so thanks for the music and R.I.P.

As for the lyrics above, all I can say is it takes me back to a bar called The Phoenix and my wasted years.

Miscellaneous

Association between coffee intake and skeletal muscle mass among U.S. adults – “In general, consumption of coffee and caffeine is positively associated with skeletal muscle mass.”

The rise of the semi-autonomous car – “Why the road to self-driving vehicles is paved with smarter “dumb” cars.”

The home as a place of production – “Greater self-reliance not only makes sense, it can also make us m

Social media companies engaged in ‘vast surveillance,’ FTC finds, calling status quo ‘unacceptable’ – “The FTC report looked at Amazon, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Snap, ByteDance, Discord, Reddit and WhatsApp.“