Lemur Journal!

[Slevin]

It seems many people perform better with more animal protein, and this is frustrating for those attuned to the environmental impact of animal agriculture. Regenerative ag is great, but probably not scalable at present to the whole population. So you have these tough questions like how do you weigh the incremental benefit of feeling and performing better vs. an increased environmental load. It's a personal call, but it's not easy.

*This isn't even to dip into the other essential nutrients in meat that plant-based diets are lacking in which are likely to be making a meaningful impact on the issues stated above beyond the impact of just protein. Plant-based proponents don't draw attention to this, but meat is just not a bag of fat and protein, but contains a lot of critical nutrients. Compare the nutrient profile of beef liver to whatever plant superfood you want, and you might be surprised.

I agree with you here on a personal level @Dave, but these are also subjective opinions, not the data, which doesn't quite come out to those conclusion yet (though they also may in time). Again, humans are a diverse range, it may be that some people do better here than others, etc. And if you personally find you do best in a certain situation, go for it.

I just fit in the % of people who say "oh, well yeah, I already know I'm not in the small subset of people who have super-optimal responses to lifting weights, calisthenics, etc. I've trained with many of them, I still do decently compared to most of them, but my physique / strength / etc just isn't in the highest operating percentage of the people anyways. So then what's another X% loss compared to the harm of protein optimizing via animal needs" as opposed to "oh well I need to eek out that last X% of performance to see the absolute ability I could be in this domain". Been there. Done that. Been the guy training 30+ hours per week (not just weights etc, don't worry) for the better part of a decade and i know what the results are. So now I more focus on trying to achieve homeotelicity over many domains I'm interested in over the heterotelic gains in one domain at the cost of others. Some people may argue it differently, and that's fine too.

[Dave]

I hear ya on most of that. And I respect, agree with, and personally implement the strategy of optimizing across the system rather than a single domain.

I'm certainly not giving guidance to an audience here, just chiming in that my experience matches @Lemur's. This is a big topic and I'm not particularly interested in trying to discuss nutrition broadly given how those discussion normally go, but I did want to comment because I think that, let's say at least in some cases, the pursuit of a plant-based diet leads to problems that are not solvable without changes, and that people (like myself) plod on for too long trying to make something work that is suboptimal. And when I mean suboptimal, I don't just mean muscle growth or strength gains are are limited, but other things like mental health, skin conditions, daily energy, etc.

For those struggling to make it work after iterating with all the variables, hearing experiences like @Lemur's is valuable.

[Western Red Cedar]

@Lemur/Slevin/Dave - thanks for the detailed responses and thoughtful discussion.

I'm pretty happy with where I've landed over the last year with resistance training and nutrition, but I'm always curious about the subjective experience of others who shift their nutrition/diet. I tend to feel the best with a large amount and variety of vegetables with some lean protein (chicken/turkey/fish) added to at least one meal. I try to get at least 30-40 different plant varieties in my diet each week to support my microbiome, and usually hit 50+. I've designed this with both environmental and health considerations in mind.

I don't eat dairy, don't eat much gluten, and regularly IF. The restricted window is a fairly easy variable I could play with if I want to increase the protein numbers.

I like the idea of getting more creative with tofu. DW and I usually go through two blocks per week, but almost always include it in a stir fry, curry, or some other vegan asian dish. It is really versatile, and Trader Joe's has a high protein tofu block at a reasonable price. When I mentioned "quite a bit of meat" upthread, I was probably referring to 1/2 pound on some days - which is still probably high. It would be pretty rare for me to consume a pound of meat in a day.

DW and I have a running joke about all the different vegan protein powder I have around the house. I pick it up when I see brands I like at grocery outlet, and have five different varieties right now. Some of my other go-to's for plant based protein are pumpkin seeds, edamame, frozen peas, soy milk, nutritional yeast, chia seeds, and other nuts. I'll make legumes like lentils or black beans from scratch, but tend to limit how much of those I consume as I don't feel the best if I'm eating too many.

[white belt]

I suppose one concern, having experienced both diets now, is that plant-based protein foods have a lot of volume so you gotta eat more. For instance, 100 grams of chicken breast for 30 grams of protein doesn't nearly fill up your stomach as much for the equivalent amount of protein in lentils for instance. Another concern with plant-based proteins is that for muscular recovery and hypertrophy purposes is that bio-availability is not as good and some amino acids, like Leucine which is needed for muscle protein synthesis, come in lower quantities. So you end up having to eat more to make up for that - which is harder to do because the foods are already carbohydrate loaded and have fiber. So if you've a caloric target you're trying to meet as well it becomes tougher to do so.

Even still - I do try to at least make one of my meals plant-based to reduce meat consumption and costs. Usually I just rely on plain lentils mixed with curry seasoning. It makes for an easy lunch.

When I went down this rabbit hole, I took the following approach. First off, in terms of environmental impact of protein sources in ascending order, things look roughly like Plant based > Eggs > Dairy > Fish > Chicken > Pork > Lamb > Beef. Of course there is going to be wide variation depending on how your protein is sourced (farmed vs wild, local vs international, etc), but that gives you a rough idea.

I had the same issues you described with lentils. So I did a lot of research and stumbled on what I think is the superior plant-based protein source for hypertrophy purposes: tempeh. The fermentation of tofu into tempeh makes the protein more bio-available and aids digestion. There is a lot of research on this if you conduct a quick google search. I even posted instructions of how to make it at home: viewtopic.php?p=247487#p247487

I would note that tempeh is also available at some Asian grocery stores and at hippie vegan stores. I did try tempeh from Whole Foods just to ensure I liked it and that my body could tolerate it, but it was more expensive than beef. So from there I just bought raw soybeans in bulk and made it myself. I haven't done it recently, but at some point I will get back to making it in bulk and freezing it for future use.

If your body tolerates it, I've found eggs and dairy to be great sources of protein. My breakfast always includes nonfat Greek yogurt. I use whey protein powder around workouts and casein protein powder in a pudding before bed. Both come from milk. I recommend the casein if you are having trouble getting enough protein in your diet. I get all my protein powder from Bulk Supplements.

[Lemur]

June 1, 2023

Net-worth:
$622k (Up $23k)

Finances: May was very bullish for our net-worth. My Spouse deposited another $7.5k from her business to finish maxing out her Solo 401(k). I sold my SoFi 01/19/2024 $5 Calls at a profit with the recent run-up and used that to buy more shares. SoFi is up ~25% in the past month which would explain the boost in our net-worth. I've 10,549 shares of SoFi now and my cost basis is now at $8.82 a share. Unfortunately I did cap myself a bit on the semiconductor run up using covered calls on MU. I have $65 covered calls that are ITM set to expire June 19. Those will likely get called away and I'm going to sell puts to try to get back in. If not, I'll end up moving on from that. I never sell covered calls on SoFi. This is my growth stock that I want to win big on one day (one can hope) and these spurts like in the past month can happen as macroeconomic conditions improve.

Spending: Came in at $2,834.20. Once again above cap of $2,500. I should probably cease to note the $2.5k as a cap anymore because we're never under it...it has become more like a target now. A lot of the spending is food and family outings. We need to get back being a bit more strategic in this area.

Physical Health / Diet: Excellent. A lean 175lbs as I've kept up my weight training routine 2x a week but in the past months I upped my cardio significantly from one long run a month to doing zone 2 cardio 3x a week. Minimum sessions are 45 minutes but I've gone up to 90 minutes in one session. Really glad I have this habit instilled. I look forward to these long runs. They're very therapeutic.

Mental Health: Family issues as always is a drag. Not something I feel like writing an novel on. Good news at least - Grandfather survived Sepsis and is back at home after rehab and my Father got approved for social security and starts collecting in September...that will help Sister and I try to set him up for an apartment somewhere. I suppose readers may wonder why we've this responsibility and its a mix of filial obligations (my other siblings wouldn't mind seeing my Father homeless anyway), family dysfunctions, and other complicated things revolving around mental health issues with my Dad a multi-year family history of dealing with these problems.

Job: Boring.

Gardening: Plentiful - basically have had free salads every couple of days. Definitely our most successful year.

Reading / Other: I finished reading this book called "The Second Mountain" by David Brooks. It was on our library's recommended shelf so I that was the only reason I picked it up. Its sort of the author's conservative philosophy to life. The first mountain is a person being driven by Ego: wealth, career success, fame, etc. The second mountain is when a person is driven by "things beyond themselves" and instilling "relationism" / interdependence through the 4 big commitments: vocation (not to be mistaken for "career" as the Author states), philosophy and/or faith, marriage (and relationships in general), and finally community. Its an interesting book, nothing mind blowing, but there was some interesting discussion about "freedom-to" in here. Note that the author has a very extroverted take on things. Its hard for me not to read books now and think about MBTI or the spiral dynamics. The patterns are a bit obvious. Maybe I read ERE too much lol.

I always have a hard time comprehending the community passages with these type of books...like I'm mostly a homebody that doesn't relate well to the people around me and as long as I'm not living in an area where I can expect to be robbed, then what exactly do I need the community for? I'm also not religious (and can confidently say I never will be) ... and I avoid crowded places in general. I get how this can be a driver for some people to build long-term roots in a place and commit to that...but for me...I'll just move if I don't like a place anymore or it starts getting an issue with crime or something. Idk, maybe I'm not at that place yet in my life. I used to volunteer randomly many years ago but never committed long enough to build any relationships. That is a good way to get involved in local community. Politics I'm still very averse too so I don't get involved in that either. Perhaps I'm still driven by "the first mountain." Also could be overthinking - I live in a boring suburb where not much goes on and everyone is siloed into their homes and the only time you ever see people is the Amazon delivery drivers.

Next book for the month is East of Eden by John Steinbeck so for the first time in a while I'm taking a break on non-fiction and trying something else out.

Goals: Keep up my training routine. Get back into a reading habit? Playing way too much Skyrim on my Sister's PS5.....I sort have been drowning myself in video games lately. Like 8-10 hour long binges into the night...and then loading on caffeine in the morning. idk why.

[not sure]

June 1, 2023
Job: Boring.

Again?

[Lemur]

@not sure

Yeah that has been the status for the past 4-5 months or so? 1,399 days to go lol.

I'm kind of perpetually stuck in the bottom right two...



Yeah not exactly the most optimal way to live these next ~1400 days for 40 hours a week. On the other hand, I still prefer my boring public sector data analysis job over my my previous high-stress cutthroat consulting gig.

I need to craft my job a little bit better or at least seek a bit more higher challenges. I'm just averse to that in a way - taking on more work just leads to more work. I'm confidently living in Gervais Principle Loserville at this point.

[jacob]

I'm beginning to wonder whether E or ESE are not the better optimized position. ENE is permanently unstable insofar it always requires something relatively new?

[Lemur]

July 1, 2023

Net-worth:
$663k (Up $41k)

Finances: SoFI is up another 20% in the past month which explains the jump in my net-worth. I sold off 2k shares above my cost basis and shuffled that money into VGIT. I still have 8,785 shares. Plan is to sell in chunks on the way up above my cost basis, otherwise I'd just hold. Its a compromise on the disposition effect.

Spending: Came in at $2,536.82. Once again above cap of $2,500 but very close this time. We did a lot better this month. Here is some financial gymnastics - If I subtracted my personal spending allowance ($100) + my Spouse personal spending allowance ($200) + son's 529 education ($200), our expenses would actually come out to $2,036.82. Divided by our pooled investments of $662,713.88, then our SWR would be 3.69%. Hypothetically of course if we really wanted to bare bones this...it ain't like there isn't fat to trim in the food budget either.

We're basically fully FI regarding the holy grail 4% if we wanted it bad enough. Its nice to know.

Physical Health / Diet: I had poison IVY for two weeks last month. What a horrible experience lol.

Mental Health: Pretty good. Family dramas of course. My brother and his two kids live with us ... AGAIN. But its better this time because the crazy SIL is out of the picture. They're actually getting divorced for real this time (papers served and they're separated). We're happy to provide a stable environment for my Nephew (5) and Niece (1) through this storm as my brother is wanting full custody. I won't go into too much details on how bad things have gotten...the SIL is suicidal, on drugs, has recently become abusive, and is generally not a stable person.

They will probably be here for 2-3 years I reckon...I helped my brother with a basic come to Jesus moment for financials. Much easier with SIL out of the picture because my brother can actually be reasoned with - no major personality disorders to deal with. But anyway I do revel in this chaos a little bit. Can't say I'm bored on the family front. My Dad is still a problem and not someone I've much of a relationship with...still haven't figured that one out yet. Still don't know why I bother. Just a weird sense of filial responsibility I guess.

My Spouse is overseas visiting family with my Son. She states no opinion on these matters and as long as everyone gets along it is what it is. She is used to that environment. She grew up 1 of 9 in a small house in the Philippines. Some people literally sleep on the floor there. But I will say this - all of the above is something we can always roll out and not deal with if it comes to it. Last thing I want is my own marriage to suffer. My sister owns the home and we just rent - mainly because we’ve always wanted to retain the ability to walk away from any situation we don’t like. We will have to play this one by ear I suppose but the nuclear option is always there though it may cause hurt feelings.

In July I will be visiting and I'm excited for that. 3 weeks without work and 3 weeks in a totally different culture and atmosphere. I won't have any routine and it will be a nice break. I'm not much of an adventurous person but I am in this case. Nothing like Filipino cuisine.

We also get a chance to see our land that has been serving the community a bit so that will be fun to look at.

Job: Okay some good news...Boring but not as boring lol. I was once again put in for employee of the quarter. I'm not doing anything special I think. Sort of a big fish in a small pond is the only reason.

Gardening: The greens bolted because I got lazy keeping them trimmed but we've plenty of Watermelon coming up.

Reading / Other: East of Eden by John Steinbeck was an excellent read and I really loved this book. Now on to "The Grapes of Wrath" by the same author. I've a few other books that I'm nibbling at..."Outlive" by Peter Attia and "The Blank Slate" by Steven Pinker.

Goals: Just wrap up and document my work processes before I head out for 3 weeks so my colleagues don't drown under the weight of the things I do at work. Keep up exercise routine. I had a nice 90 minute jog today. Kept up with the 3x weekly but during my poison IVY bout I wasn't doing much physical exercise. Weirdly enough I think I needed the break. I broke some PRs after the rest.

[GreenMonsta]

If you like Steinbeck and haven’t done so already, I recommend reading Of Mice and Men as well as The Pearl. The former I was required to read in HighSchool but it lead to a love of Steinbeck’s works.

[Lemur]

On my list @GreenMonsta. Especially for my travels overseas, I'll try to knock out 2-3 books.

In MBTI news which I've been thinking about a lot lately, come to find I'm definitely more of an ISTJ then an INTJ (not strictly speaking of course as I see these as a continuum - I tend to lean more towards the sensing but the test I took had me at 59% vs 41% https://www.idrlabs.com/test/intj-or-istj.php). Other reading has shown that apparently its a common mix-up between these two types when people are first trying to figure out there types. I think I even mentioned it once previously in my journal. Not sure what the implications are yet but I'll lean into it for sure.

(ETA: Maybe one implication could be figuring out post 40 hour a week life. Unlike the career phase where I spent most of it in a mismatch between my temperament and job, I can avoid making similar mistakes.)

I've had these thoughts actually from long talks with my brother and admittingly had felt that his head is always in clouds on how he approaches problems. Another conflict we've had is I've always felt that he is disorganized ... We're similar in many ways but come to realize he leans much more on abstract thinking. That got me thinking - man this guy is a true intuitive thinker (I also thought my brother was an INTJ but we found him to be more of an INTP which I think better explains why he tends to be more flexible in his approaches to situations whereas I'm more of someone that once I pick my path I tend to stick to it and not veer off. Invariably I see the former as poor organization sometimes) and I'm but a mere imposter haha... It makes more sense when I think about the fact that I tend to focus in on things that are already built that I can optimize and that I like structured routine as supposed to being flexible towards surprises (there is a tendency for me to focus on the facts at hand as opposed to trying to figure out patterns if that makes sense). I try to account for that ahead of time I suppose but can miss unknown unknowns as I won't spend too much time in that sort of thinking department. Maybe the N thinkers have the advantage there.

S is truly the perfect type for a government data analyst that works on closed-loop problems (we know the solution already because all financial transactions have to tie to a certain number blah blah accounting stuff) but believe it or not, I do find these problems intellectually appealing lol. And when I build things at work, its usually aim to optimize processes so a human isn't even required...rinse and repeat for the next thing as opposed to trying to come up with something new. This perhaps explains best why I'm thriving as a task master data analyst laborer as opposed to my previous career where I had to be a project lead and plan and figure things I didn't know yet. I always had that strange feeling that consulting wasn't for me and always lamented - why can't I just have my set of tasks that I can do and focus in on.

So I've thought about most of my family ....

Lemur - ISTJ
Mrs. Lemur - ISFJ (Hard to choose between T/F but slightly leans more on the F).
Brother - INTP
Sister - ISFP
Father - ISFP
Grandfather - ENFJ
Son - umm...maybe time will tell but has shades of me and Mrs. Lemur. INTJ.

I'll at least post my thought pattern maybe its possible to figure out. With my siblings and older relatives its obviously easier as I've known them for decades. With a 7 year old, its a little tougher but some signs:

I vs E - I've noticed from parties he tends to either keep to himself, play with limited amounts of kids at a time, and when things get too chaotic he leaves the situation. Once at a graduation party, he came up to me and lamented to me that he is drained from it all. "I had fun Dad but ready to go." Lol definitely shades of me. With all his cousins, he always manages to be found separated from everyone (anyone know where little Lemur is?) or just hanging out with the other more quieter cousins.

N vs S - Tough to say but he seems a bit more on the N side because while he does well in school, he is non-stop questioning why he has to do things a certain way. I've probably said something to the effect of "you gotta do what you gotta do." At this young age, he doesn't seem to be a color in the lines type of person. When I was growing up, I was fixated on following the process for the most part now that I think about it. But kids are always creative in this way so I'm not sure if its possible to distinguish this yet.

T vs F - He's a pretty emotionally stable kid. Has been described as "very smart for his age" by others. He learns things very fast and naturally has an inclination for learning as opposed to talking about his feelings on things.

P vs J - My son naturally structures himself which is quite funny because he so much like me here. He puts away his stuff in orders...games go in his game case in a certain order. When arguing with other kids: "if you'd done this FIRST this wouldn't even have been a problem!".

In more humor, you can count on the J's to do their dishes right after they eat and put things back where they belong. I don't know why this depends for the Ps. Do they not understand its much easier to clean food before it hardens and sticks? And then you don't have to worry about it being there all day...

[Lemur]

Enjoying my stay here in the Philippines. 6am with the rain pouring due to the outsides of a Typhoon. Just sitting here drinking a simple cup of black coffee. I don’t have access to my energy drinks here. Should probably use this 3 weeks to quit that habit anyway.

It’s also nice to have a complete breakaway from all routine. Though I did some pushups, there is no exercising besides walking. No counting nutritional metrics. No job. No routine. No expectations of what to do today. I needed this unplug. Despite some of the 3rd world conditions, I feel more like I’m actually living here. And what it means to live.

It’s mostly just socializing (the best I can, most only know broken English) and naps mid day because it’s fuc*ing hot outside and there is no AC. We look forward to the rains here - it cools it down.

One thing that bugs me is that everyone and their mom has a smartphone here now. That was not the case 7 years ago. It is easy to lament that and romanticize life without it, but to be honest most everyone here sees it as extremely life enhancing. Though they still wash their clothes by hand and they’d choose the former any day.

The food here is excellent and fresh. Everything home cooked. Not much storage of food in a house of 11 people. When you want food, you go for a walk to any number of food stands and sari-sari stores and grab some. It feels so old school and I love it.

I want to mention one thought that always passes my mind and due to a talk I had with my Sister in law. It’s too easy for me to romanticize life here. The vast majority are struggling day to day and don’t see life the way I do here. Ironically though when a Filipino leaves home to become an OFW (and remit money back home), they mostly miss home and long to be back here despite the “3rd World” conditions. They don’t have material things but most people here are very hospitable and have great social connections. Something that I certainly lack back home.

[Lemur]

Going home this week. Excited. The urge is not to get back to work but to get back to my routine and autonomy. For the past 3 weeks, I’ve been living in a house with 11 other people. This is the family house. Sometimes all 11 people are not here and there can be some rotation.

A universal principle I feel is truthful enough to post but no matter what society or culture, it seems to me that humans everyone want to carve out their own sections of this world. The freedom to take on your own individual pursuits and projects is important. As is the freedom to adjust your own shelter.

In the book “The Grapes of Wrath” when the Joad family is pushed off their land by big business, they didn’t care that they had potentially far better prospects elsewhere or that they could make more money by being employed by big AG. They were just fine and content with their barely profitable plot that had unreliable crop yields. Why? Because they owned it and it was theirs. There was a connection to the location and owning it through both the good and the bad times.

I’m unsure if a person can have this same connection from renting or just being temporarily located somewhere with intent of not being there in the long-term. A family house is an excellent social safety net. Sort of the ultimate backup plan of leaving the coop to take a chance somewhere and if doesn’t work out, then that is okay. Perhaps there is some freedom in that sort of security.

We now own 3 parcels of land here in the Philippines. Up 2 lots.

[white belt]

A universal principle I feel is truthful enough to post but no matter what society or culture, it seems to me that humans everyone want to carve out their own sections of this world. The freedom to take on your own individual pursuits and projects is important. As is the freedom to adjust your own shelter.

In the book “The Grapes of Wrath” when the Joad family is pushed off their land by big business, they didn’t care that they had potentially far better prospects elsewhere or that they could make more money by being employed by big AG. They were just fine and content with their barely profitable plot that had unreliable crop yields. Why? Because they owned it and it was theirs. There was a connection to the location and owning it through both the good and the bad times.

I’m unsure if a person can have this same connection from renting or just being temporarily located somewhere with intent of not being there in the long-term. A family house is an excellent social safety net. Sort of the ultimate backup plan of leaving the coop to take a chance somewhere and if doesn’t work out, then that is okay. Perhaps there is some freedom in that sort of security.

I think about this a lot, especially in light of older posts from Jacob about how the wealthy spend their money (access, control, optionality). I find myself much more willing to pay more for control when it comes to housing, but maybe I'm just biased because DW is currently stuck living in a townhome next to an actual drug dealer, in a neighborhood with loud tuner cars and a largely incompetent HOA (changed for the worse in the 3 years since she bought the place). I'd be willing to spend $$$ to insulate us from some of that BS the future, whether that means paying a bit more for the neighborhood with higher ownership rates and incomes, or just buying a house on a larger lot to get more physical separation from neighbors. I also know we had a thread about downsides for home ownership so ultimately, we still might decide to rent. Rentals just don't give the same sense of place and I really enjoy working on projects that I feel like improve my space over the long term, which is hard to do when you're expecting to move every year or two.

[ertyu]

I’m unsure if a person can have this same connection from renting or just being temporarily located somewhere with intent of not being there in the long-term.

I am one of these. As an expat, I've always been transient. I do invest in places I live in/rent because in the end, this is my home, regardless of how long it'll be for, and I want to live in a neat, clean place. I am doing minor repairs on my current place, for instance, even though it is not mine -- I'm ripping up rotten sideboards, treating the wall behind w bleach, spackling on top, etc. Once you've mixed your labor with a place, it becomes yours. This place, now, which I don't own, is much more my home than the fixer-upper apt in my home country which has way more to go in the way of repairs before it becomes mine.

tl;dr, different people, different psychologies. what you say isn't true always and for all.

[Lemur]

@White Belt

I’ve never owned a home so that thread is a useful reminder. I gotta say a HOA sounds like a nightmare and I don’t plan on living under the microscope of one of those.

@erytu
Your a landlord’s dream tenant. The last place I rented, I had a fear of being sued if I wanted to customize anything. If I tried to fix anything (and the problem ended up worse), my lease says I’d be liable for full replacement costs. Even in my current place, I need my Sister’s blessing before changing anything. Meh - just doesn’t feel like autonomy to me.

[Lemur]

Fun watch. “Affluenza / Escape from Affluenza”
https://youtu.be/QtveS1kZqYA

OG video. Nothing new to most readers here. Vicki Robin is in that video. She’s an interesting person - never did I ever read YMOYL.

I recall in the original book it was said the authors recommended treasuries for the financial side of living. This was impractical during low interest rate era. I wonder now what yield it would take for that to be viable again. 6% on the 30 year perhaps?

[ertyu]

For that to be viable, you need positive real rates and ideally a secular downward trend in rates (both of these were true at the time of YMOYL's original writing). Debatable whether either of these is true today or will be true in the future. Thanks for the video link, I'll check it out.

[Lemur]

@ertyu

Is this because a secular downward trend in interest rates would imply an increase in bond prices? And also imply a decrease in inflation?

If that is right then that would make sense as my impulse to look at yield alone is too one-dimensional. So a 6% yield on the 30 year treasury would be much more robust in the long run if bond prices are rising and inflation is stable versus just a 6% yield alone without considering other factors.

Makes me think also that treasury etf = mitigation of interest rate risk but with downside of less predictability of cash flows. Reverse for direct purchase of treasury and holding to maturity.

[ertyu]

Right. YMOYL is based on owining treasuries outright (there were no ETFs back then). This means that as inflation and interest rates kept falling from their peaks in the late 70s/early 80s, the nominal yield that was captured corresponded to a higher real yield over time. Whereas today, if all the pundits saying the secular trend in interest rates are up are right, and all the pundits saying the gvt debt will be dealt with by keeping nominal yields lower than inflation so it can be eroded in real terms are right, if you own bonds, you're fucked. Bond ETFs are a good solution but if you're making a play on bond prices as interest rates vary over any individual business cycle. I'm not sure they're a good solution as a long-term hold.