T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 147

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #147!

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

Financial Independence/Work Life/Retirement Articles & Content

Closure (Early Retirement Extreme) “The more you know the more you realize you do not know, because increasing understanding reveals details which you have yet to understand.

Americans Still Turn to People for Financial Advice (Gallup) “Friends and family, financial advisers lead list of 10 sources for financial advice, above financial websites.“

Video

I’ve highlighted Tracy Chapman a few times, and I’m gonna do it again because I love her that much.  My complete disdain for music awards and award shows had me miss this amazing performance from last year.  Country star Luke Combs apparently covered Chapman’s mega-hit from 1988 “Fast Car” on one of his albums, and it brought awareness of that legendary song to millions who may never have heard it. Chapman – who is famously a hermit and stays out of the press – loved his version and agreed to do a rare live performance with him at last years Grammys.  This is a big deal because not only does Chapman hardly ever give interviews, she also rarely performs.  You can see that Combs is totally awe-struck during this performance because he’s playing with his idol.  I had never heard Combs because I’m not into modern country music but he’s got a great voice and I just love seeing the old superstars pass the torch to new artists.

What I’m Grateful For

The large catfish I caught while I was eating an apple on my kayak and not even really fishing. I had my bobber and lure in the water next to the kayak just dangling and he took it from right under my boat!

Lyrically Speaking

Never seem to get far enough
Staying in between the lines
Hold on to what you can
Waiting for the end
Not knowing when

From “Windfall” by Son Volt. 

As I first detailed in T.G.I.F. 48, Son Volt’s genesis spawned from the break up of Uncle Tupelo in 1994.  Chief songwriter and leader Jay Farrar is one of those prolific artists who always seems to have another great song in him.  While not as musically adventurous as Wilco, Son Volt have stuck to Americana music but injected it with enough new twists and turns to remain relevant after 11 studio albums.  “Windfall” is from Son Volt’s 1995 debut Trace and biggest selling record.  If you were around then you’ll recall their massive hit “Drown” which was a radio staple. 

As for the lyrics above, well “waiting for the end, not knowing when” kinda says it all.  It’s what was on my mind when I went part time way back in 2017, and it’s what’s on my mind now.  For the last 8 years I have not been waiting at all – I’ve been doing things, awesome things that are not a job. And I’m ready to do more.

Miscellaneous

Boys who are overweight in their early teens risk passing on harmful epigenetic traits to future children – “A new study suggests that boys who become overweight in their early teens risk damaging the genes of their future children, increasing their chances of developing asthma, obesity and low lung function.

Predictions of resource scarcity have a fundamental flaw – “It’s not depletion we should fear — it’s stagnation.”

Stop Hacking Humans – “From cradle to grave, surrogacy to smartphones to gender surgery to euthanasia, Americans are using technology to shortcut human nature — and shortchange ourselves.”