Go to most any website, especially the likes of Reddit, and ask what are the best and most lucrative fields for a starry-eyed youth just starting out to get into. Chances are they’ll recommend “skilled trades”: “my father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate is a … Continue reading“STEM”, Skilled Trades, and Hype
“Is it not a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt for so small a thing? So small a thing!” Boromir said when lamenting the great import of the One Ring. I might say the same about an artifact far less … Continue readingSo Much Fear and Doubt For So Small A Paper
Looking at what anything (a house, a car, a lifestyle…) I actually like costs, it’s just horrifying. I’m in that frustrating financial bracket where I’ve got enough wealth to make working a normal job I dislike not worthwhile, but not enough to provide anything more … Continue readingAll My Little Dreamlets
It’s curious how Americans seem to find it normal and acceptable that not just particular neighborhoods but whole regions of the country are off-limits for you to live in unless you make more money than most people. This economic situation is of recent provenance, and … Continue readingNo Escape for the Cheap
It’s kinda funny that I have such a dearth of normal careers I like and can realistically enter, because it’s struck me more and more, both for my New Year Resolutions for 2022 and for my birthday the other day, that I might actually have … Continue readingInterests Too Many, and Never Enough
Ah, makeovers: those times we change our physical appearance, through clothing, haircuts, hairstyles, cosmetics, accessories, procedures, even surgeries. All to get that most wholesome feeling of looking better, or at least different, becoming the best you you can be. Contrary to what some people who … Continue readingMakeovers: The Allure of Becoming a Brand New You
We’ve all heard the mantra “Build Back Better” so beloved by our political leaders, including President Joe Biden, but what does it mean? At last we have an answer on the White House website, as encapsulated in “The Life of Linda”. Here I will go … Continue readingUpgrading the Life of Linda
Go onto Google and search for “I never went to college” or some such, and what do you find? You don’t find stories of people like me, someone who was a gifted kid, is a sophisticate, and a performing-artist type with intellectual curiosities but who … Continue readingI Never Went to College…or High School
Why do employers generally require college degrees or high school diplomas to get a job? On one hand, it makes sense: a more knowledgeable man who has demonstrated he can stick with a long-term project is a better employee. On the other hand, it makes … Continue readingThe Puzzle of Credentialism
Financial independence is often thought of as a pathway where you get a good job with the usual methods, work and save diligently well beyond the median percentage, and have the ability to retire early and safely. Although still unknown in many quarters and somewhat … Continue readingThinking Outside the “FIRE” Box