Today I learned about the McNamara fallacy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McNamara_fallacy
Lemur Journal!
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Jason
Re: Lemur Journal!
Great read:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_ ... _Brightest
Great Watch:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fog_of_War
In retrospect. its pretty much what you expect when you hire the ex-President of Ford motors to spearhead a war fought in some jungle thousands of miles away.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_ ... _Brightest
Great Watch:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fog_of_War
In retrospect. its pretty much what you expect when you hire the ex-President of Ford motors to spearhead a war fought in some jungle thousands of miles away.
Re: Lemur Journal!
@Jason
I'll check those out. I'm watching the Vietnam War documentary directed by Ken Burns on Netflix. I'm in a bit of a Vietnam War binge at the moment after just overcoming a World War II study binge...
I'll check those out. I'm watching the Vietnam War documentary directed by Ken Burns on Netflix. I'm in a bit of a Vietnam War binge at the moment after just overcoming a World War II study binge...
Re: Lemur Journal!
I'm taking "The science of well-being" course offered free on Coursera. Its pretty good so far.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Took tomorrow off...have Monday off. This is the first '4 day weekend' I have had in 2020. I am really considering just shutting off my phone and storing it somewhere for 4 days.
Re: Lemur Journal!
I sold puts on Pepsi that triggered over the weekend so I was assigned 100 shares at $135. I have just enough capital left to keep selling puts on AMD. Once this get assigned, that will be the last of put selling and all my capital will be allocated.
Due to the market being ludicrously over-valued, I decided to pull out cash and just bump the cash savings up to $12,600. This represents 6 months spending (just over actually...$2100 a month when actual is around $2000 a month).
This is the first time since basically discovering FIRE/ERE concepts that I even had a 6 month savings. This was due to my insistence that money is better off invested but for the first time, my experience from COVID down-turn in February turned me into an active investor and one that is prone to irrational decision making. My own risk tolerance was tested and I learned something about myself.
I feel much better knowing that the 6 month of cash is there regardless of what the market does. If market goes up, I'll continue to think it is irrational anyway and is due any minute now to coming down. If market is down, my beliefs would be confirmed. Best of all....if I truly feel no ones job is safe, mine isn't either.
I'm glad that cash is there. In my spouse's world, she is considering purchasing land in her home country as an investment / future living place. She worries about the value of the dollar against the Filipino Peso. I'm not an economics major....or know anything about FOREX. But at least in the short-run, I think these concerns are over-stated. Yes high debt levels suck...but every other country is being hit with Coronavirus as well. Secondly...all other countries still love the dollar last I checked.
Due to the market being ludicrously over-valued, I decided to pull out cash and just bump the cash savings up to $12,600. This represents 6 months spending (just over actually...$2100 a month when actual is around $2000 a month).
This is the first time since basically discovering FIRE/ERE concepts that I even had a 6 month savings. This was due to my insistence that money is better off invested but for the first time, my experience from COVID down-turn in February turned me into an active investor and one that is prone to irrational decision making. My own risk tolerance was tested and I learned something about myself.
I feel much better knowing that the 6 month of cash is there regardless of what the market does. If market goes up, I'll continue to think it is irrational anyway and is due any minute now to coming down. If market is down, my beliefs would be confirmed. Best of all....if I truly feel no ones job is safe, mine isn't either.
I'm glad that cash is there. In my spouse's world, she is considering purchasing land in her home country as an investment / future living place. She worries about the value of the dollar against the Filipino Peso. I'm not an economics major....or know anything about FOREX. But at least in the short-run, I think these concerns are over-stated. Yes high debt levels suck...but every other country is being hit with Coronavirus as well. Secondly...all other countries still love the dollar last I checked.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Bought more shares in Square, Bumped my 401(k) contribution back to 27% to max out end of year.
Re: Lemur Journal!
May 31, 2020
Investments:
Invested - $202,422.84 (-$-215.27)
Debt - $50,000.00
Cash Savings - $12,600.00 (+$7,148.96)
Net - $165,022.84 (+$6,933.69)
The market continues to not make sense to me. I continue to grow worried about the U.S. in these troubling times....COVID, Protests, High Unemployment, etc. I now have 6 months of savings in cash.
Physical Health / Diet: I no longer have much back pain as I continue to keep up with my physical therapy routine. I'm out of shape though...194lbs. A lot of stress eating I guess. Need to get this under control.
Mental Health: Stressed. Various reasons. But keeping myself busy.
Job: Our contract extended to November but after that not sure what is next. We shall see. Work is incredibly political at the moment while we're under audit. Friendly colleagues and 'teaming partners' suddenly became adversaries....I'll continue to put out my best work, master my craft, and do my best to ignore this nonsense. Idk what it is exactly. I'm ready for a change but I'm conflicted...like I should be very grateful to make $93k fairly secured salary while most would be happy to have a job at the moment...and I'm like - I want to do something less stressful, less expectations, less hours. Meh. Those golden handcuffs are a real son of a gun sometimes.
Gardening: Still growing veggies. Some of my plants look like they're surviving a war-zone in holes (tons of bug holes). But otherwise they're a vibrant green and healthy.
Family: Mother insinuate something about spouse and I buying a house and we should get extra bedrooms. Says she'll have a guaranteed social security check. I changed the topic obviously. Spouse thought that was a good joke. That is a scary idea...
Other: Still on-going: Reading Blue Zones of Happiness, The more you know: Financial Wisdom..., taking that Resilience.org course in bits and pieces. Need to get back to that resilience.org course eventually.
Investments:
Invested - $202,422.84 (-$-215.27)
Debt - $50,000.00
Cash Savings - $12,600.00 (+$7,148.96)
Net - $165,022.84 (+$6,933.69)
The market continues to not make sense to me. I continue to grow worried about the U.S. in these troubling times....COVID, Protests, High Unemployment, etc. I now have 6 months of savings in cash.
Physical Health / Diet: I no longer have much back pain as I continue to keep up with my physical therapy routine. I'm out of shape though...194lbs. A lot of stress eating I guess. Need to get this under control.
Mental Health: Stressed. Various reasons. But keeping myself busy.
Job: Our contract extended to November but after that not sure what is next. We shall see. Work is incredibly political at the moment while we're under audit. Friendly colleagues and 'teaming partners' suddenly became adversaries....I'll continue to put out my best work, master my craft, and do my best to ignore this nonsense. Idk what it is exactly. I'm ready for a change but I'm conflicted...like I should be very grateful to make $93k fairly secured salary while most would be happy to have a job at the moment...and I'm like - I want to do something less stressful, less expectations, less hours. Meh. Those golden handcuffs are a real son of a gun sometimes.
Gardening: Still growing veggies. Some of my plants look like they're surviving a war-zone in holes (tons of bug holes). But otherwise they're a vibrant green and healthy.
Family: Mother insinuate something about spouse and I buying a house and we should get extra bedrooms. Says she'll have a guaranteed social security check. I changed the topic obviously. Spouse thought that was a good joke. That is a scary idea...
Other: Still on-going: Reading Blue Zones of Happiness, The more you know: Financial Wisdom..., taking that Resilience.org course in bits and pieces. Need to get back to that resilience.org course eventually.
Re: Lemur Journal!
I remember hitting 84 push-ups on a PT test in the military and I felt that was my peak fitness.
I had no idea world record for non-stop is over 10,000...let alone even believing that 1,000 in a row with good form was even possible. Good Lord... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_O7k0CHDGQ
I had no idea world record for non-stop is over 10,000...let alone even believing that 1,000 in a row with good form was even possible. Good Lord... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_O7k0CHDGQ
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2Birds1Stone
- Posts: 1606
- Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2015 11:20 am
- Location: Earth
Re: Lemur Journal!
I am such a pussy. 25 was my max a few weeks ago when I tried. I decided to do them on my fists to save my wrists and increase the ROM, much harder that way.
Re: Lemur Journal!
@bigato.
I felt the same way with long-distance running. Eventually one becomes efficient enough to the point you can maintain a low steady state for an incredibly long-time. Most I've done was 13 miles jogging but aside from some soreness, keeping a low enough state, I didn't max out my lactate acid threshold...I probably could've gone far longer.
Also today, got my 35lb kettlebell in. I was excited to use it and did 4 sets of 25 swings. I should've watched some videos on form first but naturally I just engaged the hips and squeezed on hamstring/glutes at the top motion. Felt good...I've a good kind of sore right now.
I felt the same way with long-distance running. Eventually one becomes efficient enough to the point you can maintain a low steady state for an incredibly long-time. Most I've done was 13 miles jogging but aside from some soreness, keeping a low enough state, I didn't max out my lactate acid threshold...I probably could've gone far longer.
Also today, got my 35lb kettlebell in. I was excited to use it and did 4 sets of 25 swings. I should've watched some videos on form first but naturally I just engaged the hips and squeezed on hamstring/glutes at the top motion. Felt good...I've a good kind of sore right now.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Usually Monday is a very slow day for me but I've been flying high...in constant state of flow...working hard. Feels great. Must be the working out + fixing my diet (dropped added sugar, eating more veggies and fruits, dropped all the extra caffeine I was ingesting). Just a very stable set of energy I have at the moment.
Kettlebell turning out to be a great purchase. Along with my daily 2x walks...I'm starting to shape-up.
Kettlebell turning out to be a great purchase. Along with my daily 2x walks...I'm starting to shape-up.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Today is a sad day for my Spouse. Her mother has passed away from a heart attack. Age 65. She dealt with many years of diabetes that likely weakened her heart over a long period of time. I didn't know her too well as she spoke a different language and lives in a different country but I can tell she was a great mother to my Spouse. My Spouse and all her siblings I've generally recognized as people of high moral standings. There family is incredibly tight-nit as well (part of this is a strong collective culture).
My Spouse's parents have an unfathomable work ethic ...likely due to necessity but always has boggled my mind when I put myself in their shoes. They raised 9 kids together. They would get up at 2 am or so and walk or ride bikes down to a local farm where they were given supplies (fish, vegetables, etc.) and they would haul these supplies on a trailer back to a market - nothing more then a owned land plot with 3 wooden benches and a plastic chair next to a busy highway where tricycles, jeepneys (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney), bikes, and lots of people would walk by. They liked to set-up and sell real early in the morning to sell to commuters on the way to Manila or for school kids walking by. Often, they would not be home until after sun-down. My Mother-in-law was the business negotiator, seller, etc....Father-in-law prepared the fish fillets (he has probably filleted over 100,000 fish by now...he showed me once he could fillet a fish with his eyes closed). They did this together for 40 plus years - the business handed down from my Mother-in-law's family. Today that business was handed over just a year ago and is still running from one of my spouse's sisters.
My Mother-in-law was often stressed and in debt from taking out loans whenever the business had a slow period or they needed the liquidity for supplies. They paid back whenever they could. She didn't own much but a house and a bike/trailer. No savings, in debt.
Outside of work, my Mother-in-law knew just about everyone in her neighborhood - a lot of them fellow market sellers. They often had each others back. She was incredibly quick-witted and socially savvy from what my Spouse tells me. Even when she had very little, leftover food that was not sold was brought home, given to the church, and/or given to the homeless in town. She had many debts forgiven simply through social capital alone. Her Mom and Father's work ethic gave all 9 kids enough funds for Education and they all have degrees now...despite Mother in law and Father in law not educated in the traditional sense (Father in law stopped school at 8th grade to work).
That speaks high volumes to the type of person my Mother in Law was.
My Spouse's parents have an unfathomable work ethic ...likely due to necessity but always has boggled my mind when I put myself in their shoes. They raised 9 kids together. They would get up at 2 am or so and walk or ride bikes down to a local farm where they were given supplies (fish, vegetables, etc.) and they would haul these supplies on a trailer back to a market - nothing more then a owned land plot with 3 wooden benches and a plastic chair next to a busy highway where tricycles, jeepneys (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney), bikes, and lots of people would walk by. They liked to set-up and sell real early in the morning to sell to commuters on the way to Manila or for school kids walking by. Often, they would not be home until after sun-down. My Mother-in-law was the business negotiator, seller, etc....Father-in-law prepared the fish fillets (he has probably filleted over 100,000 fish by now...he showed me once he could fillet a fish with his eyes closed). They did this together for 40 plus years - the business handed down from my Mother-in-law's family. Today that business was handed over just a year ago and is still running from one of my spouse's sisters.
My Mother-in-law was often stressed and in debt from taking out loans whenever the business had a slow period or they needed the liquidity for supplies. They paid back whenever they could. She didn't own much but a house and a bike/trailer. No savings, in debt.
Outside of work, my Mother-in-law knew just about everyone in her neighborhood - a lot of them fellow market sellers. They often had each others back. She was incredibly quick-witted and socially savvy from what my Spouse tells me. Even when she had very little, leftover food that was not sold was brought home, given to the church, and/or given to the homeless in town. She had many debts forgiven simply through social capital alone. Her Mom and Father's work ethic gave all 9 kids enough funds for Education and they all have degrees now...despite Mother in law and Father in law not educated in the traditional sense (Father in law stopped school at 8th grade to work).
That speaks high volumes to the type of person my Mother in Law was.
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plantingtheseed
- Posts: 202
- Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2020 7:23 pm
Re: Lemur Journal!
My condolences.
Last edited by plantingtheseed on Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Your MIL sounds like as inspiration. Wishing you, your wife, and her family peace...
Re: Lemur Journal!
Thanks @Frita @Plantingtheseed Spouse getting better by the day...normal grieving process. MIL passing away certainly had me thinking about the fragility of life...as well as binge watching videos on metabolic diseases and causes of diabetes for some reason...
In first photos of this years gardening season....
1.) First time setting up compost bin...just used some pallets that people wanted to get rid of. This is pretty cool...I tossed in a lot of green weed / bushes I cut down near the woods next to me and mixed in some leaves...watered periodically and wala...a bunch of worms and black gold.
2.) Potatoes...too easy to grow. I've grown these the same every year - by buying a sack of potatoes and forgetting to eat them...and planting the sprouts off them.
3.) Zucchini. My favorite vegetable to grow because it was the first vegetable I've ever grown. This year I'm determined not to lose to squash bugs.
4.) Second time doing pumpkin. Last year, I planted 4 in one spot and that was a mistake. This time I have one single pumpkin plant that has its own space to grow. This was an improvised spot so I just laid down a tarp to kill weeds.
I have no tomatoes so far this year. Groundhogs ate them.
In first photos of this years gardening season....
1.) First time setting up compost bin...just used some pallets that people wanted to get rid of. This is pretty cool...I tossed in a lot of green weed / bushes I cut down near the woods next to me and mixed in some leaves...watered periodically and wala...a bunch of worms and black gold.
2.) Potatoes...too easy to grow. I've grown these the same every year - by buying a sack of potatoes and forgetting to eat them...and planting the sprouts off them.
3.) Zucchini. My favorite vegetable to grow because it was the first vegetable I've ever grown. This year I'm determined not to lose to squash bugs.
4.) Second time doing pumpkin. Last year, I planted 4 in one spot and that was a mistake. This time I have one single pumpkin plant that has its own space to grow. This was an improvised spot so I just laid down a tarp to kill weeds.
I have no tomatoes so far this year. Groundhogs ate them.
Re: Lemur Journal!
no need to protect pumpkin from weeds, pumpkins are immortal 
my grandma used to just throw a couple of pumpkin seeds on the yard waste scrap pile (any and all bio matter garbage from the yard went there - weeded plants, chicken poop, etc) and these things would grow HUGE
my grandma used to just throw a couple of pumpkin seeds on the yard waste scrap pile (any and all bio matter garbage from the yard went there - weeded plants, chicken poop, etc) and these things would grow HUGERe: Lemur Journal!
@ertyu
Interesting to know. If I didn't rent (or knew I was gonna be on this land much more longer), I wish my backyard could basically just be burt fresh all grass & weeds removed and then just have whatever fruits/veggies I wanted. Not sure if "burning" is the right term...actually I don't know off the top of my head how a farmer would prep a brand new plot of land. I'd imagine they would till it over and over again but the weeds/grass still has to be removed? That would be one way to do it.
Interesting to know. If I didn't rent (or knew I was gonna be on this land much more longer), I wish my backyard could basically just be burt fresh all grass & weeds removed and then just have whatever fruits/veggies I wanted. Not sure if "burning" is the right term...actually I don't know off the top of my head how a farmer would prep a brand new plot of land. I'd imagine they would till it over and over again but the weeds/grass still has to be removed? That would be one way to do it.
Re: Lemur Journal!
@Bigato
Interesting I did do this on my garden plots this year.
1.) Aerated soil with pitch fork (not exactly tilling but making drain holes)
2.) Put down a layer of cardboard
3.) Filled with compost
4.) Planted Seeds
5.) When plants came up, added mulch around them.
But applying the above to a massive scale would be more of a challenge but probably feasible if one takes care of step 1 and step 2 in the fall/winter season when planting is not being done in the northern climates. Step 1 might not even be necessary. I need to find ways to find inherit massive amounts of step 3 for cheap...or just make it myself. I do have my compost bin this year but it wouldn't be enough to cover a whole yard.
Interesting I did do this on my garden plots this year.
1.) Aerated soil with pitch fork (not exactly tilling but making drain holes)
2.) Put down a layer of cardboard
3.) Filled with compost
4.) Planted Seeds
5.) When plants came up, added mulch around them.
But applying the above to a massive scale would be more of a challenge but probably feasible if one takes care of step 1 and step 2 in the fall/winter season when planting is not being done in the northern climates. Step 1 might not even be necessary. I need to find ways to find inherit massive amounts of step 3 for cheap...or just make it myself. I do have my compost bin this year but it wouldn't be enough to cover a whole yard.