T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 169

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #169

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

**Note To My Readers – I sometimes get complaints about ads on my blog (too many).  I’m kind of astonished that anyone browses the internet without an ad-blocker.  I haven’t seen ads in over a decade, and you shouldn’t either.  Please use an ad blocker, your life will improve 500%

Financial Independence/Work Life/Retirement Articles & Content

What I would teach children about savings (Early Retirement Extreme) “Always save and invest 50% of your income.”

The Opportunity Cost of Waiting (Humble Dollar) “Perhaps that’s the real lesson hiding in plain sight within my own regrets. The things I wish I’d done differently have nothing to do with money or travel.“

Video

I featured Andy McKee way back in 2021 and he deserves more features.  I have to admit I sometimes get depressed watching guys like McKee because they’re so good and my meager guitar skills (after 30+ years of playing) are not even on the same planet.  Enjoy his cover of Toto’s “Africa”, the way he does so much of the song by purely hammering his left hand and playing the rhythm/drums with his right is phenomenal.  

What I’m Grateful For

My first paddling session of the year, which came way too late.  This year started as one of our coldest winters in a long time and the Potomac was wholly or partly frozen for much of Jan and Feb.  Then our usual spring winds kicked in and standup paddling in strong winds is just miserable.  This past week we finally had a decent day when the tides were good at the right time and the winds were decent.  I love paddling and being out on the water too much to go 3 months without it, so I’m grateful my 2026 paddling year has begun!

Lyrically Speaking

When I was seventeen I dreamed of being king and
Having everything I wanted
But that was long ago and
My dreams did not unfold so
I’m still the king of nothing

From “King Of Nothing” by Seals And Crofts

I’ve never featured Seals And Crofts in this section but mentioned them just recently in January (volume 164).  The early 70’s saw an onslaught of singer-songwriters with what could be referred to as a soft rock sound.  James Taylor, Carole King, Cat Stevens, and Carly Simon became mega-stars.  The duo of Seals and Crofts flourished during this time.  The back to back albums of Summer Breeze and Diamond Girl in 1972 and 1973 made them huge.  They performed at festivals for hundreds of thousands alongside the likes of The Eagles and Black Sabbath (that would be a weird duo!).   

Jim Seals came from good musical genetics as his younger brother Danny (known as England Dan) also became a famous musician and had a huge hit with “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight” in 1976.  I have to admit my love for that song, it’s classic 70’s soft rock bliss.  Dash Crofts, the other half of the duo, was 8 years older than Seals and started his musical career as a drummer but switched to guitar later on.  Sadly Crofts died in late March at the age of 87.  When I listen to Seals and Crofts it definitely takes me back to my earliest days.  My father only played the “easy listening” station in the house but songs like Summer Breeze sometimes crossed over to that channel.  It’s been covered by tons of artists from the Isley Brothers to Type-O Negative and used in countless movies.  R.I.P. Mr. Crofts and thanks for the music. 

As for the lyrics above, I never had big dreams as a kid but if I did they surely would have unfolded.

Miscellaneous

Finally, Artemis delivers some exceptional, high-quality photos of the Moon – “NASA’s Artemis II mission, carrying four astronauts on an out-of-this-world journey, flew around the Moon on Monday.”  

What teens eat could be affecting their mental health more than we thought – “A sweeping review of nearly 20 studies found that healthier diets are often linked to fewer depressive symptoms, while poor eating habits may go hand in hand with greater psychological distress” Dave’s Comment:  Just teens!?  I think it’s more than obvious this is the case for everyone, but the study only had teens in it so they can’t state the obvious unless they do the study.  Why aren’t more studies like this done to prove what we already know? Well, eating healthy isn’t very profitable, and it would result in less use of cash-cow drugs that big pharma keeps on raking in profits with.

AI is reengineering drug discovery by speeding up testing and scanning petabytes of data for connections between diseases – “We can look at pieces, but AI can look at all the information, integrate the collective behavior and then identify common drivers.“