T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 175

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #175

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

Financial Independence/Work Life/Retirement Articles & Content

The three biggest challenges following extreme early retirement (Early Retirement Extreme)  “These have, perhaps surprisingly nothing to do with being bored or worrying about running out of money. They have mostly to do with explaining the hows and whys and dealing with other people’s prejudices”

Apple’s Price Hikes Signal Costlier Electronics for Years to Come (Kiplingers)  “Consumers and businesses should brace for sticker shock when buying PCs, smartphones, tablets and other electronics. Relief may have to wait until 2029.”  Dave’s comment:  Well, at least electronics in general have been getting progressively cheaper for decades as the chart in this post I did a while ago shows. The first TV I bought with my own money was a piddly 19″ color old-school CRT in 1994 – I paid $299 in 1994 dollars which is the equivalent of $676 now.  You can get an 80″ hi-tech flat screen for that today and have money left over.  I’ve never paid more than $150 for a smartphone but I’m guessing I will be next time I need a new one.

Video

As temps soar well over 100 degrees here in the D.C. region it’s nice to escape to cooler and more temperate places, if only by video.  I love the Olympic Peninsula in Washington but haven’t been back for over a decade.  Enjoy this beautiful video in 4k with amazing footage of Olympic National Park and Forest – a place that never gets to 105 degrees.

What I’m Grateful For

My country. America celebrates it’s 250th birthday tomorrow and I’m blessed to be a proud American.

Lyrically Speaking

I was born in the wagon of a travellin’ show
My mama used to dance for the money they’d throw
Papa would do whatever he could
Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good

From “Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves” by The Scud Mountain Boys

After Nirvana and grunge squashed the tired hair-metal trend of the late 80’s and completely changed the tone of music in the 1990’s, a second movement also rose and thrived.  Known as Americana or “alt-country”, bands like Uncle Tupelo, Blue Mountain, The Jayhawks, From Good Homes, and the Scud Mountain Boys took off.  Some of these bands started in the 1980’s but never got traction in those days of either pop-synth madness or hair metal overload.  I discovered the Scud Mountain Boys after their third album, Massachusetts, released in 1996.  If you like this genre do yourself a favor and listen to that record – for my money it’s one of the best Americana albums ever. 

Joe Pernice was the lead singer and writer in the Scuds and went on to front The Pernice Brothers after the Scuds broke up and now still has a thriving solo career.  I highlighted him in this column years ago.  I was fortunate enough to see the Scud Mountain Boys in 2013 when they reunited with a new album and tour and it was an incredible show.  Sadly, Bruce Tull the lead guitarist and founding member of the Scud Mountain Boys died recently at the way too young age of 71.  R.I.P. Mr. Tull and thanks for the music. 

As for the lyrics above, when I lived in Fells Point Baltimore for a brief time in the early 1990’s there were sizable communities of gypsies.  We were always fascinated by them, but I’m very glad I was never in a situation that I had to live like them.

Miscellaneous

Scientists say most of what’s in your food is still a mystery – “Scientists are beginning to explore a hidden world of thousands of food chemicals that go far beyond the nutrients listed on nutrition labels. This “nutritional dark matter” may hold the key to understanding disease risk, healthy aging, and why different diets affect people in dramatically different ways.”

Forget Stoicism. Skepticism is the ancient philosophy we need today. – “Skepticism used to be an integral part of any liberal arts education. Here’s why we need to bring it back.”

Has AI Already Killed How-To Nonfiction? Sales Trends, My Personal Data, and What It Might Mean for the Future – “The death of prescriptive nonfiction books, at least as a mass-market information business, is nigh. Sure, there will be temporary outliers, but the trend line points in one direction.”

**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%