Five Years, Lord Willing

Where are you and where are you going?
Jason

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by Jason »

Swedish Death Cleaning: Just moved five bags of clothing to the garage for charity pick up. Shredded seven years of various bills.

Good News/Bad News: Today I have been married 18 years. I bought my wife a fancy piece of jewelry. She deserves it. Saturday I received a card from my mother who I am estranged from. In the card was a handwritten note. She has stage four cancer and underwent a double mastectomy without me knowing. My douchebag brother couldn't find time in his douchebag life to send me one of his infamous douchebag emails to let me know our mother who gave birth to his douchebag self was having both her breasts surgically removed. Christ. What a fucking douchebag. It has spread to lung and lymph node but doctors says she could have as long as five years but I doubt that will happen. It was shocking in that I thought she would outlive me. Now probably not. I felt bad for her but was saddened by how much I wasn't saddened. No woman should have to go through that even one that emotionally and psychologically abusive. I did sense a death wish. Maybe she's had enough of herself. God knows I have but that doesn't mean I want her dead, but maybe it will finally humble her entitled ass;

Money: Still need more.

Movie Recommendation: Arrival;

Smashter
Posts: 541
Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2016 8:05 am
Location: Midwest USA

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by Smashter »

Wow, even though it sounds complicated, that still sucks. Sorry.

I too thought Arrival was good. I wish Hollywood would make more mid-budget movies geared at adults who actually enjoy thinking about complex topics.

Jason

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by Jason »

Thank you. You are right. It is complicated and it sucks.

Arrival was surprisingly good. Its based on a short story that I would like to read. Goes right into a story that you had no clue where it was going. I'm not a sci-fi guy either but it was more than that. And the chick is super hot but they never exploit that. And I agree it was entertaining in an adult I have a brain way.

slowtraveler
Posts: 722
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 10:06 pm

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by slowtraveler »

I'm sorry to hear about your family. That sounds stressful. I hope it at least gets less disorienting.

Congrats on the long marriage. 18 years is a very long time. Most of my life would be encompassed by such a time frame. Seriously, congratulations.

Jason

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by Jason »

Thank you. But my wife deserves most of the credit.

So my library copy arrived and I have finished the intro and the first chapter of JLF's ERE book. I'm a one chapter a day type of guy. These are my impressions:

(1) So far, I love it. Obviously written by someone with advanced academic degree(s) so it provides a thoughtful and sustained reading experience which I enjoy. Balanced interplay between anecdotal and academic/historical references so you learn on two levels. Plus, I don't respond well to bullying gym teachers (those who can't do, teach, those who can't teach, teach gym) or cheerleaders - YOU CAN DO IT!!!. Um, ok, go fuck yourself;

(2) US resident observation: JLF refers to how ERE could be interpreted as anti-patriotic. This is point that Hannah Arendt wrote about in "On Revolution" which discusses the differences between the American and French revolutions. The American Revolution was primarily based on ideas emanating from the ruling and educated elite. The French Revolution was revolt by the masses due to dire economic conditions. However, starting in the 19th Century when mass immigration took hold, the US morphed from "The Land of The Free" to "The Land of Milk and Honey." Based on our current consumer culture, one would think our (US) historical antecedents are the factors that created the French, not the American Revolution;

(3) On a writer/reader level, I too am someone who is motivated not by increased pleasure, but avoidance of pain. I save not to to be rich, but not to be poor;

(4) Although early in the book, I realize that the embrace of the philosophy will prohibit, or at least curtail certain indiscretions in my spending habits that unnecessarily drain my net worth. The robust embrace of a philosophical system is always more powerful and sustainable than atomizing and trying to change particular behaviors;

(5) Not surprisingly, I don't understand the first graph but that's ok because if there was graph that depicted my understanding of graphs throughout my life it would show that I never understood even one graph but it wouldn't matter because I wouldn't be able to understand that graph either;

halfmoon
Posts: 697
Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2016 10:19 pm

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by halfmoon »

Jason wrote:
Tue Oct 31, 2017 6:20 am
(5) Not surprisingly, I don't understand the first graph but that's ok because if there was graph that depicted my understanding of graphs throughout my life it would show that I never understood even one graph but it wouldn't matter because I wouldn't be able to understand that graph either;
:lol: I intend to appropriate this and disseminate it without attribution because you stole it right out of my brain. I thought that whole organ theft/left bleeding and bereft in the bathtub thing only happened in bad films, but here we are. Because I'm older than you, I clearly experienced Graph Deficiency first. QED.

Jason

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by Jason »

Chapter 2 - ERE - The Lock In

One word appears in my mind after reading this chapter. "Waste." Not just in the landfill sense, but in the existential sense and how they ultimately connect. I am not a pantheist. I'm not even a humanist. I could give a flying shit about nature and people. But for the first time in my life, I actually felt an albeit faint, guilty pang for the environment. I visualized all the implications of me buying a Big Mac. I don't need to float chart that shit. I'm assuming everyone here realizes that. The robbery and waste of one Big Mac causes to myself and the world.

This is the difference between JLF and the average self help financial book - the average self-help book will show the financial implications of small purchases - that daily latte bullshit personal spending spiel. JLF discusses it in a much more far reaching and may i say, harrowing manner - i.e. consumption/work cycles, paying some one else to boil fucking water etc. The salvation army just picked up seven bags of clothes, blankets and an old christmas tree. I sincerely hope a few crackheads can put down the pipe long enough to figure out how to assemble it.

Fuckin Graphs - I'm assuming to some people they make sense or maybe even possibly convey a deeper understanding of things . But to people like me and Halfmoon, they look like the symbols that the aliens in Arrival communicated with.

jacob
Site Admin
Posts: 15906
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:38 pm
Location: USA, Zone 5b, Koppen Dfa, Elev. 620ft, Walkscore 77
Contact:

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by jacob »

To some people [graphs] are even a way of thinking. What I mean is that thought can be communicated in different forms: English language, facial expressions, Latin, grunts or gestures, paintings(*), music, computer code, ... and graphs. It can also be represented internally in all these forms. Often a thought is represented one way internally and then communicated in a different form.

(*) Egghead communicating his realization of the inadequate load-bearing capacity of a civil engineering project with a gesture after using an internal graph representation.

For example, I could explain all this much more easily with a simple graph if I was able to draw with the forum software ... instead you get it in English. I do think (of course, I do) graphs present a deeper understanding. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a graph is worth ten pictures.

Internally, I use different forms of graphs to make sense of a lot of the world. By make sense, I mean creating structure and relations. By the world, I mean data observations. Most the ERE book is based on some idea with a graph representation that supposes and imposes some structure. I then try to describe that structure in words. Many sections are about some structure that was based on some kind of graph-thinking. Sometimes the graph is included in the book. Sometimes it's not---for example, 3D structures are hard to put on 2D paper unless they're exceptionally simple (e.g. chapter 1). 4D are almost impossible to put down regardless (unless it's a sphere).

Jason

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by Jason »

To clarify, I completely understand that this is a "me, not you" situation. I have been plagued by GDS (graph deficiency syndrome) since early childhood. I knew something was wrong when I couldn't scribble between the lines. And I'm not joking on that front. All the other kids scribbling maniacally and care free with every fucking crayola in the box and I'm barely zig zagging monochromatically. I remember looking all my early artwork. It was like a collection of polygraph print outs with the most advanced one looking like OJ Simpson denying he killed his ex-wife.

Jason

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by Jason »

Ok. Enough of the chicanery. Let's move on to Chapter 3 of JLF's ERE: Economic Degrees of Freedom!!!!

Chapter 3 is where it became a reality to this reader that this is a book that needs to be read more than once. Financial self-help books are like pop-songs. They can range from "Don't Worry Be Happy" to "Like A Rolling Stone." Where "DWBH" is mere tripe, "Like A Rolling Stone" is a multi-textured aural history and subsequent advancement of the great American Song book. You can dislike both, you can sing along to both. But an objective listener recognizes that only the latter has a deep architectonic musical structure that merits a real discussion and said real discussion requires multiple listens.

Taking a step back in recognition of all the bibliophiles on board, the book itself has a very durable quality. Being that my opinion is that its historical antecedents are mainly rooted in 19th century New England transcendentalism (to be discussed in more depth later if I don't forget or move on to watching Fail Army videos), I think there is a form/content synergy to this. I have never used Kindle, but if I was ever to re-read Walden's Pond, I would want to read the traditional book version. It just seems more appropriate. On a mainly tangential note, as I was thinking about this last night, I came to the conclusion that Henry David Thoreau would be the last guy I would I would invite to a dinner party. I just see him wandering around the house with a notebook jotting down his thoughts on all my possessions and the other guests asking me who's the weird guy that smells of pond water. On the contrary, I could see Emerson walking back from a trip to my bathroom wearing a lampshade.

This chapter is anthropological in that it discusses the four types of people within the economic eco-system - the salary man, the working man, the business man, and the Renaissance man. Here are a few of thoughts I had on this as it relates to me:

(1) Ok, that makes sense;
(2) Personally, I'm kind of in-between 1 and 2 but the main takeaway is that there is a huge expense to working. As I am not a person who was naturally ERE before I picked up the book, what I actually require for retirement should decrease if I stick to the program. The existential question is to what degree I am willing to connect these previously heretofore unconnected dots to expedite my clocking out;
(3) I can't believe I once considered going for an MBA;


Here are a few thoughts I had as it relates to nothing in particular:

(1) For those interested in the Renaissance, I believe its' significant to note that the Muslim world before it fell into into its current militant voluntaristic, anti-intellectual expression, was the most advanced culture on the planet and actually experienced a Renaissance before the West. Algebra is a Muslim word. Our translations of Aristotle, specifically his metaphysics, are based in Muslim translations that were retrieved during the crusades and when brought back to the West, reshaped the Christian world, specifically Thomas Aquinas. The first universities during the Medieval period were imitations of the East. Its a terrible shame. Imagine if their imaginations and intellects could once again be unleashed from the tyrannical bonds of their religion. Google, Apple, AI, medical advancements etc. would not only be products of the West;

(2) I find the book to be in the lineage of 19th century New England Transcendentalism in that;

- it possesses an ultimate optimistic view of man in his ability to reason and seems to promote personal virtue over morality based on a heteronomous, metaphysical source. Emerson grew up in New England Unitarianism which is Christianity minus the trinity and its obligations. Transcendentalism completed removed the moral requirement to an outside being and promoted a mere horizontal responsibility to other men and the natural environment. But as it relates to saving money, it has no bearing;

- It's basic philosophy of learning, practice, understanding et. al is not impacted by the reduction of rationalism to utility as found in modernism (I would argue it militates against it) and/or the infinite regression of relativity found in post-modernism;

Ok. Now on to watching videos of Fed Ex drivers running down hills chasing their trucks after forgetting to pull up their parking brakes .

slowtraveler
Posts: 722
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 10:06 pm

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by slowtraveler »

@Jason

You underestimate yourself. You could understand advanced physics with much work.

Jason

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by Jason »

Chapter 5 - The Renaissance Ideal

I think that whenever terminology that connotes a past historical epoch to describe a contemporary situation is utilized i.e. puritanical, Medieval, Renaissance et al you just have to realize that its a condensed description of a certain aspect or ethos of that time as opposed to a full orbed view of the complexities of that era. Obviously, no one woke up in January 1, 1300 and said "The Medieval period has ended and now we are in the Renaissance. I think I need to mark the occasion by being fitted for a new powdered wig." Epochs are pedagogical devices employed by historians to give a basic framework of political movements, intellectual emphasis, cultures shifts, etc. If you do a quick wikipedia, the Renaissance starts in 1300 but the Medieval period ends in 1500 so obviously periods overlap as there are always issues of continuity and discontinuity. Ok. I'd delete all of that as it has nothing to do with anything but I kind of like it so it stays.

I have to say that I was greatly impressed with this chapter. Well written, organized, concise, clear and non-condescending. I felt it could only be written by someone who actually practiced the very ideas and ideals to which he was referring. That's why I am somewhat perplexed that said author has recently stated that he does not engage in reading much fiction. It is generally recognized that the Renaissance commenced with Petrarch (He coined the term dark ages to refer to the Medieval period) so wouldn't someone, especially with such a deep and varied intellectual curiosity be interested in reading Petrarch's poetry if only to get a better understanding of a foundational historical personage and his time, in the same manner that "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is required reading if you want to better understand 19th Century America?

The chapter was if anything, an homage to learning and continued education. It provided a challenge to me in expanding my education to topics that I don't like, mainly those things that involve actually doing practical things. I like to learn, but only the things I like to learn which is essentially limited to books. There has been slight progress however. We woke up to a beeping smoke detector. Changing the battery was a challenge. The idea of actually calling an electrician was brought up. However, after a few you tube videos and "You fucking piece of plastic shit" epitaphs, battery was changed and beeping terminated. Baby steps.

The idea of community was emphasized. The example of everyone buying a lawn mower instead of a people coming together and buying one for the community. I mean have you ever driven through a neighborhood and seen two people clipping their hedges at the same time? However, that would require friendly relations with one's neighbors which I never seem to have. I actually thought of the recent posts on books here and thought maybe we could have an ERE book exchange.

In all honesty, I started to glaze over a little at 4.4 Decoupling and increasing complexity. I'm not sure I understood that section. Actually I know I didn't.

On a side note, it's always interesting to see what previous readers of a book highlight. The only marking I have encountered in this copy was an underlining of a footnote "Therefore an individual strategy that depends on a yet-to-exist world is of little use." I'm guessing if that's a concern to a reader, they are way ahead of me. Because my overall feeling while reading the book is that I'm Eddie Murphy in "Trading Places" when it comes to this stuff.

Our net worth is up to 450-455k depending on the day. I sold some stakes in individual stocks and put proceeds into indexing. It does make things less stomach churning.

Recommended Viewing: Ken Burns Viet Nam Documentary. The most ridiculous, misconceived, wasteful, event in the history of ridiculous, misconceived, wasteful events. Damn.

Jason

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by Jason »

Chapter 5 - Strategy, Tactics and Guiding Principles

When I was a child, my father gave me a little sign "Think." Chapter 5 is that sign in verse form. I wonder what happened to that sign. I bet its in my douchebag' brother's garage or on his kid's wall.

In anthropomorphic terms, this chapter is where McGuyver, Enrique Fermi and Ralph Waldo Emerson break bread. Personally, I have no problem with fixing things, physics and transcendentalism, as long as its not me doing it. So, it leaves me in somewhat of a bind as ERE requires that I adopt them. But, let's face it, I'm too old to be ERE so what difference does it make. That being said:

(1) If I stop buying shit, I'll have less to break, ergo, less shit to fix;
(2) I don't need to understand physics to recognize that its operating all the time;
(3) I'm not really big on this world, but I'd rather not to have to work for the balance of my time left suffering through it;

The upshot, minimize. The only thing I don't have enough of is money, so figure out to bring together reducing costs and accumulating more so they meet as quickly as possible. I am not a person who "has" money. But one thing about finally having a little money is realizing how much more I should have.

Recommended viewing: Chasing Trane. Documentary on John Coltrane. He technically died of cancer but I think people like him die of their own genius.

slowtraveler
Posts: 722
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 10:06 pm

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by slowtraveler »

I always look forward to your posts, full of fun and new names I've never heard of. Always illuminating.

How does ERE require you adopting physics or transcendentalism?

Even fixing things is debatable as bartering to get things fixed by someone else or buying hard to break equipment can replace needing to diy.

I see it as having more options to accomplish something so you can take whichever is least costly. Having the skill of fixing does lower costs in many situations but so do basic social skills.

Jason

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by Jason »

Yesterday was kind of a lackadaisical Thanksgiving post. My wife cooked a delicious ham. I was admittedly drifting in a phantasmagorical land filled with the spirit of milk and honey and entertaining Netflix shows.

(1) Physics - JLF is by training a physicist. And from my understanding, a serious Manhattan Project level physicist. But a good natured one. Like a guy who would be a lot of fun to work with while trying to build a huge ass bomb to drop on an unsuspecting Japanese city. Maybe using Richard Feynman, the guy who completely pwned NASA during the Space shuttle disaster investigation by dipping the infamous O-Ring into a cup of water would have been a better example than Enrique Fermi. Plus he has a great set of hair. I don't know anything about JLF's hair. I'm assuming its not a big priority for him. You ever notice that homeless men and scientific geniuses have the best hair? I guess they are the same guy, separated by a fine line. The fine line being a fucking home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOzoLdfWyKw

Anyways, the systems basis of ERE is structurally speaking, grounded in problem solving. I'm assuming its how physicists address the things they address i.e. everything is a problem to be solved. Now here's where I believe his training as a physicist comes into play: JLF sees problems where others don't. Why? Because scientists spend all day questioning the shit out of things. His fundamental thinking process is oriented towards questioning. He took the same model that he used to question the basic components of the physical universe and applied it to the existential life of the ordinary man. So "Why is there a black hole" became "Why am I paying that sweaty, hungover, ass crack revealing limp dick good money to fix my toilet when I can do it myself?"

So this chapter gave insight into that methodology. Do you need to be a physicist to understand and commits to ERE? No, thank God. But it would help to think like one or take time to understand how they think. You don't need to understand E = MC squared. But think of the questions some patent clerk with great fucking hair had to ask to get there. So maybe "Think" should be "Question." Obviously I need to read the chapter again on a day that's not Thanksgiving.

(2) Fixing Things: Jacob spent a lot of time addressing fixing things, specifically through the means known as "bodging" which has its etymology in wood working. What he means is that expertise is often just perceived and many people learn how to fix things by themselves. I once had to make a giant wooden key on a lathe. Fuck lathes. You are somewhat right that fixing things can exist within a bartering network. But, fixing things leads to creating things which leads to inventing things. Fuck lathes.

(3) Transcendalism: This is really of no import. Its just an ethos. We can all do this with different teleological purposes. Fuck lathes. Really.

Jason

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by Jason »

I recently read that David Cassidy died with 150K net worth. The headline was that he purposely omitted his daughter from his will but the real story was that he only had a buck and a half. Nothing wrong with that, except if you became he biggest US pop star once Elvis went into his final, Hindenburg stage.

Jimmy The Greek said that a man has not lived until he was blown through three fortunes. Momentarily putting aside the fact that such words of wisdom were espoused by a racist, degenerate gambler, in my lifetime I have only met one person who met that criteria. A music executive who lost a national recognizable music company from gambling on horses, rebuilt it but married a WW II singing sensation who turned out to be a lesbian and then took all his money to keep it quiet (until later when no one cared about her anymore) and then again due to mismanagement. I knew him when he was older and grandfatherly and didn't have the heart to ask him if he thought Muffeater running second at Pimlico was a good bet.

It appears that David Cassdy got 2/3's of the way there. First, not surprisingly, by unscrupulous money managers (the risk of making millions when you're barely out of high school) and then later through divorce, which Robin Williams described as "having your genitals ripped out through your wallet." Danny Bonaduce called Cassidy's life a tragedy. When your fictional red headed tv brother who was later arrested for beating up a prostitute after discovering he/she was a transvestite says that about you, it's pretty bleak. At least he later developed dementia and didn't have to remember any of it.

The loss of the second fortune was due to accumulation of possessions. Namely houses, boats, cars and that type of stuff. People don't learn. Also, if I was young and ERE, I would not get married unless I met the other person at a garage sale, a Salvation Army store, or some other similar type of venue.

It amazes me how often these ridiculously wealthy people buy and sell their houses to each other. I was reading about the bassist John Entwistle who like all those British rock stars bought a castle. When I I googled it, instead of being impressed by it I thought "Damn, that place must be really drafty." And then thinking about who in their right mind would buy it after he blew up his heart after a late middle aged cocaine bender. It's taken me a long time not to be impressed by that shit. I can't say it's completely weeded out, but at least their is a counter-narrative running when I'm thinking about it.

jacob
Site Admin
Posts: 15906
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:38 pm
Location: USA, Zone 5b, Koppen Dfa, Elev. 620ft, Walkscore 77
Contact:

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by jacob »

Jason wrote:
Fri Nov 24, 2017 11:04 am
Do you need to be a physicist to understand and commits to ERE? No, thank God. But it would help to think like one or take time to understand how they think.
viewtopic.php?t=4769

Maybe it's better to say that it helped to be a physicist when creating ERE ("creating")(*) or maybe that the way it was put together and described shows it was done by a physicist.

In terms of applying it ("computing", "coordinating"), I don't think a [mental] physics-module required.

(*) "c"-terms from chapter 4 or 5, IIRC?

Jason

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by Jason »

Today we woke up to $400K not including home because as those wiser than myself pointed out who cares about that right now. It's tenuous, but at least for the right now, real. It was a goal. And it feels good. Like a small "fu". Not a big, double middle finger, then grabbing my crotch and telling you what you should do to your mother capitalized "FU". But a little one. Like I'm walking away from you because you are boring the everlasting shit out of me "fu" and I'm tired of people boring the everlasting shit out of me. It's a I can take it or leave it "fu".

As I am past the possibility of ERE, my real fear was just retirement in general. That I would be able to. I have nothing against older people stocking shelves at the super market as well as they don't have to. I could see myself doing it actually. As long as I don't have to. Super markets nowadays seem every eventful with all their little sushi bars and smoothie counters. Well, at this point, retirement is guaranteed. Well, as much as anything can be guaranteed.

The thing I realize, is that we don't need a million. Once past 700K we probably won't spend it down and we will end up giving it to something or someone completely unrelated to me because everyone related to me has already been given a premature capitalized "FU" including my own mother which raised some eyebrows due partially to the illogic of the capitalized "FU" when given to one's own mother.

Also, based on conservative rate of returns, the difference between saving $1000.00 a month, my current savings goal, as opposed to $500.00 doesn't seem to be worth it. Now its good insurance, but its future value is money we won't need. That's the benefit of planning. There is an actual number not a hypothetical number.

classical_Liberal
Posts: 2283
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 6:05 am

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by classical_Liberal »

...
Last edited by classical_Liberal on Fri Feb 05, 2021 12:00 am, edited 1 time in total.

Jason

Re: Five Years, Lord Willing

Post by Jason »

Somewhere JLF equated "saving" to "spending" which for a brief, unexpurgated moment, blew my fuckin mind into a million tiny pieces despite it being completely obvious. One of our biggest expenses has been saving. Then I started thinking "what do you do with money that has no teleos". Meaning, I don't need it now, I don't need it in the future. It's get abstract. Like "what the fuck is money anyways?" I'm far from there because I have a mortgage, but I guess the question is "when do you give it away" which is a whole other ball of wax, although a nice ball of wax considering the other balls of wax you could be sorting through like cancer or some shit. I remember when MMM gave away his first 100K and you would have thought he invented the very concept of fuckin charity. Christ, I can see him now pedaling his little bicycle to the pediatric ontological wing of a hospital with one of those oversized checks that Ed McMahon used to give away. I know where we would give it, but we do it quietly. Although a part of me would like to endow a University Chair in "Asshole Studies." Let's face it, so much of history is just people being an asshole but its never discussed. Everyone asks "why did Hitler kill 6 million Jews." And scholars come up with "Well, he was a failed artist who had a testicle bitten off by a dog owned by a Jew." Well, ok, but it seems a little extreme and the basic fact is he was kind of being a complete psychopathic asshole. So you could have a series "Christian Assholes: The Crusades." "Totalitarian Assholes: Early 20th Europe." "Southern Assholes: The Civil War" etc.

Post Reply