My interest in early retirement is a recent development. (Further proof that the new convert is always the most fervent.) So I sometimes wonder what I would have done differently had I had this philosophy when I first finished my electrophysiology fellowship and started my career. From my current vantage point I can see that […]
Archive | February, 2014
Sooner or Later?
It is easy to get motivated for short term rewards. The carton of ice cream in the freezer need only be scooped into a bowl, The scoop picked up with a spoon, the spoon lifted to the mouth, and seconds later, heaven. A smooth,cool, sucrose and lipid rich emulsion melts over your tongue. Pleasure was […]
I Am Entrepreneurial. And So Can You!
Many facets of the miles game are not quite what they seem to be at first glance. Spending is not always actual spending. Miles and points are not always rewards for actual travel. And businesses are not always actual businesses. Previously, in my post “business time,” I explained how it is that you are probably […]
Fortune Telling
Most of us are shrink wrapped in our own ideology. Some of us more so than others. I’m certainly very, very, ideological. I come from a long line of secular Jews. My great grandparents and grandparents fled countries where they weren’t welcome. They were underdogs. They stuck out like sore thumbs. They were beaten by […]
Grain’s Addiction
I’m well into my second month of The Vegan Before Six experiment. At the end of the month, I will report on whether or not there’s been any further weight loss, but for now I feel my subjective experience of this experience is worth a little bit of reflection. As a quick review, this approach […]
Unified Field Theory
The unified field theory of early retirement is an elusive ideal yet to be described. Much like the unified field theory of physics, first imagined by Albert Einstein as a way to reconcile the behavior of small particles, the behavior of large bodies, space, time, electromagnetism, etc. under a single physical set of laws, The […]
Churning Tricks
Enough philosophical handwringing. Enough ethical self inspection. Enough of the world and it’s large problems. (And my piddly solutions.) Tonight, for a change of pace, for something simple and escapist. Philosophy is for losers… Tonight I will check in on the status of my recent round of credit card applications, and detail how I will […]
Let’s Get Real
Shall we start tonight’s post with a shockingly beautiful, profound quote? This is from Haruki Murakami, The Japanese writer after whom my wife and I named our oldest son. “If there is a hard, high wall and an egg that breaks against it, no matter how right the wall or how wrong the egg, I […]
The Taxman Always Thinks Twice
There are many ways to go about justifying tax avoidance. I’ve already written here and here about my own justifications for trying to decrease my tax burden. But this is such a ripe area for ethical exploration. So why not dig in a little deeper? My gestalt is that people’s opinion on tax avoidance is […]
Cliff’s Notes: Never Pay Taxes
In my experience a great blog post is much more than an idea. It is more like a seed pod that is dropped into fertile soil. It germinates and sprouts and expands in all directions in the readers mind, transforming him much as a piece of ground is enriched by the presence of a growing […]
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