75 degrees this morning. 54:06 minute walk. 8 earthquakes within the last 24 hours!
I should note most of the earthquakes are about 30 to 90 miles from us, none closer than maybe 20 miles. However…. I really don’t know what distance means to an earthquake.
Finished “Capital in the 21st Century” yesterday as I noted at the end. Finished right as I just finished lifting weights which is when I normally shut my iPod (nee iPhone) off for the morning. I think I’ll listen to something about the civill war next, have a short change of pace.
The book on Capital in the 21st Century was very interesting, especially on income inequality, the influence of debt and how wealth is passed through generations, the impact of inflation etc.
Probably the scariest thing is what happens when the 1% control the political process for their own goals.
It was good until he started presenting his ideas. Good ideas, but it will never happen.
Now that I should have time on my hands (so to speak, since I’m not supposed to work on “work” on nights or weekends like I have for the past 40 years), I am caught up in a cycle of what I can do. This has just started, so I’ll still do some thinking about it.
Used the “Consumer Reports” internet car buying service (it is a free service) and I was amazed at the results. I haven’t bought a car yet, (I will do a lot of traveling for my job and my option is to use rental cars or use my own car with limited reimbursement to the cost of the rental car in most cases) but the deal three dealers offered me was impressive to say the least. I was looking at a Toyota Camry Hybrid, since the only way I can make out on the deal is to get good gas mileage and the Camry is larger, but gets only about 5 mph less than the Prius.
The policy is if you live within 5 miles of the rental car company they have a contract with, you have to check on the cost of a rental car (including gas) if the trip is over 100 miles. ALL of my trips will be over 100 miles, so it will be a continuous thing. And, of course, I live 4.8 miles from the rental location! (We probably will move next July 1 and make sure we are at least 5 miles away from one!)
I am weighing the tax advantages of my own car, with limited reimbursement, with the hassle of having to move everything from car to car to rent a car, go pick it up etc.. Of course, the rental car has the advantage of no cost to me at all, even for insurance or gas. (We would continue to just have one car and rent a personal car for the infrequent times we need a second car.)
Since I will have a “home” office, I will basically only need a car when I am traveling. Decisions, decisions. Some of my trips will probably be as much as 500 to 750 miles or more a week, so it isn’t a minor decision. I won’t really know until I start, so I may put off the decision for awhile and talk with an accountant about the tax advantages.
I am getting closer to probably going out on my own, al least with my head trainer. I realize now an “office job” where I could never get out “in the field” would never work for me. If this job doesn’t work out, I’ll simply retire if I can’t find anything but an office job, except for trying to start a consulting business. Of course, you never know. I’d like to stay at least 6 to 8 years, I may like it so much I stay 10! Actually, so far it is a very interesting job with a lot of really nice people and the home office and travel is a real bonus.
We are starting to look at getting rid of stuff again (especially if I get a car, since we’ll need the garage!). Somehow it seems a little easier to think about getting rid of stuff again. I have a lot of stuff I hate to get rid of, but I’ll never use it, so it is best to donate it to someone who can use it. It is still a little difficult.
I find it much easier now not to buy “stuff” that I may or may not use. If it is large and I don’t know if I will use it, I don’t buy it. I try to use the “toothbrush test” with the slight (major) change that if I won’t use it at least yearly, I’m simply not going to buy it.
I really feel like some of my exercise clothes and bicycle jerseys will last forever. They just don’t wear out. Or maybe they do and I just haven’t worn them enough yet. Maybe eventually they start to sag, stink or unravel, but they haven’t yet. I’m not complaining (for what they cost they should last forever), I say that in admiration and also caution since whatever I buy I probably will have to live with the rest of my life!
Still on “hypertime” in the morning. I don’t know where in the world the time goes in the morning. I have changed my schedule (shower right after my walk) to at least give the illusion of more time.
That’s it for now, Thursday, September 18, 2014.
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