Category: Uncategorized

It’s not “the” train, it’s “a” train. This morning I rushed to the station. I looked over the Amtrak board and saw a list of departing trains, all on time, all in blue. One was in yellow. It was delayed. It was the 10 a,m. train I was supposed to be on. I knew that […]

An early attempt at F.I.R.E.?  On Friday afternoon in 1969 a 20 year old bank teller walked out of the bank vault where he worked with $215,000 ($1.7 million in 2021 dollars).  By Monday morning when they realized that he and the money were missing, he had a 2 day head start.  He assumed a […]

Three billionaires have been in the news recently for their attempts to outdo each other to be the first to reach space. A rocket ship is a great metaphor for getting rich. A Saturn V rocket is 85% fuel by weight. Very little of the rocket’s weight is the rocket. It’s all the rocket fuel. […]

Minimalism is trend now. It’s no longer a fringe activity like collecting bugs or freeganism (people who eat food that they find in trashcans). You can practice it and not be judged harshly, if that’s what you’re worried about. Minimalism is mentally freeing because as you get rid of possessions, your living space looks less […]

A lot of our personal identities are interwoven with our jobs. “I am a plumber” or “I am a doctor.” No one says “I do engineering for money, but it’s not my identity. I am a poet, a pirate, a philosopher, I am anything but the mercenary you see before you, working 9 – 5 […]

Money is fungible. Whether you borrow $1,000 from your bank or a credit card or your brother in law, it entitles you to buy the same $1,000 worth of goods or services. So if it’s the same $1,000, don’t overpay for it. It’s not perfume, paying more for it doesn’t make it better. As of […]

The person who invented the train, invented the train wreck. In the old days, public transit in New York City was a horse drawn wagon pulling a large cart full of people called an Omnibus. The cobblestone streets made it a bumpy ride. In 1832, a rich banker named John Mason had the idea to […]

I had a virtual lunch with a co-worker yesterday.  We are both sending resumes out and have applied to some of the same places.  His experience with my employer is similar to mine. He’s demoralized and voting with his feet.  A management position opened up last year, working under our former director.  I was asked […]

I started a new website a few days ago.  It’s only got a couple of posts.  I haven’t told anyone about it yet, so I don’t have any readers, but I do have a spammer. The blog themes come with a comment button on your posts by default. It’s a feature!  The default is assuming […]

I remember the intense dreaded feeling called imposter syndrome when I got my first job after law school. It was hard to convince myself that I belonged there and deserved what they were paying me. A few months earlier I had been working as a research assistant for a law professor and I was making […]