Cheap or Frugal? Many people confuse being frugal with being cheap. I certainly did for much of my life. They are not the same, and understanding the difference matters. I wish I knew the difference earlier in life, as I could have more efficiently optimized my happiness . I want to give you some …
Feb 10
Why it is Sometimes Faster to Slow Down
Hurry Up and Wait Yesterday I was driving. It was a two lane road, a typical fairly high speed state highway just out of town. I heard it first, a low rumbling sound like I imagine a bear makes before ripping a hiker to shreds for trying to get a selfie with its cubs. It …
Feb 03
Alligators and Kittens
I really like kittens. They are cute, cuddly, and in general good company. They are easy to take care of. Eventually they grow up into cats which are usually cute as well, although perhaps a little passive aggressive at times. They eat very little, will use a litter box with no prompting and will even …
Jan 27
A Day of Running
I have a love hate relationship with running. If we were a Facebook couple it would be “its complicated”. As you may know I’ve tried to compete at a relatively high level of racing without actually doing much training. This worked up to a point…right up until it didn’t. I tried to train for a …
Jan 21
A Guide to Living in Trump’s America
As I sit down to write this the United States has a new president. Donald J. Trump is now the 45th president of the United States. If your Facebook feed is anything like mine, this has caused some people quite a bit of distress. My only wish for you is happiness, so I have created …
Jan 17
How Not to Train for a Half-Marathon
I’m a big fan of efficiency and getting the biggest bang for the buck. A fancier way to phrase this is I like to apply the Pareto principal to my life. In general, the smartest 20% of the effort results in 80% of the gains. If you apply this to all areas of your …
Jan 12
Happy Philosopher’s Weekend Reading: Volume 7
Well it’s been a while since I’ve published a weekend reading list. Sorry about that. I’ve been rather busy I have been a little lazy as of late and not made it a priority. That is a feeble excuse, but the truth. You would think in between sledding (I’m the best in our neighborhood …
Jan 07
The Power of Love and Fear
I’ve heard it said that there are only two basic emotions, love and fear. Everything else is a derivative of these basic two drivers. When we talk about freedom it is useful to differentiate freedom to (love) and freedom from (fear). It is about running towards something or running away from something. This is an …
Dec 30
Dangers of Relying on the 4% Rule in Early Retirement Scenarios
Dreaming of Retirement I recently found myself on a beach in Maui. We had some airline vouchers we needed to use before they expired and decided Hawaii would be a great way to burn them (it was). As I laid there on the warm sand and listened to the ocean waves gently breaking on …
Dec 23
How to Find Contentment
There are really two ways to become more content with life, as contentment is really just a comparison between what is actually happening to us and what we expect or desire to happen to us. When these match or our expectations are exceeded we are content. Humans do not perceive absolutes very well. Unless we …
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