Mr. Money Mustache review

After seeing a column about the Mr. Money Mustache site and its founder in the Washington Post, I've been reading through some of the posts on the site.

He's basically a guy who decided he wanted to retire at 30, then went out and did the damn thing. He and his wife saved the majority of their take-home pay, lived cheaply on what remained, and didn't get into debt. Presto, retirement at 30.

Conclusions:

-The rhetoric can be a little overheated. Here's a sample line: "After years of careful study, observations, and interviews with real car drivers, I have come to the conclusion that about 90% of the car use that occurs in the United States is Pure Bullshit." This might put me off if he didn't have something important to say

-The advice is generally good, based around the principle that you should avoid credit, save more than you spend, and invest in the stock market via low-fee index funds

-It's a little easier to retire at 30 when you're making 100k a year at a software job in your 20s, but I think the writer would counter that he's pushing a philosophy more than encouraging you to exactly replicate his example

-Box wine is a steal!

-It makes me want to save more and try to retire by 40 if I can (too late to try for 30)

-The site encourages an anti-consumerism mindset, which can't be a bad thing if it catches on. It encourages readers to be conscious of the financial choices they make and remember that habits can be costly.

Rough edges aside, the man has something to say. Is anyone listening?

KoS Installment 6

Failure having been eliminated by fiat, there would be only one other option: success.

KoS Installment 5

When you stop having fun, that's when it's time to start perambulating.

Fermentation

Everything is building to me making mead this weekend! I have my supplies and tools in place. I'll probably be doing primary fermentation in the airlock-equipped bucket from my beer kit. I won't be doing the five gallon batch that all recipe seem to specify, but I'm going to try a pretty large batch. Looking for a sweet mead, still if possible, with some nice color and depth of flavor. Dry and sparkling don't sound like qualities I'm interested in quite yet. I will report on the findings here and on the fermentation/food blog I'm planning to start.

I have no idea what's goin' on lately

I am still at this date processing the Boston Marathon bombings.

JD had been away in Puerto Rico and not followed the coverage in the media. This may have been to his great benefit, but you could tell there was a wave of it hitting him here on the mainland. He watched with rapt attention the interview and the first-hand video of the explosion. It's almost too much to bear. This does not happen in Boston, should not, can not. We go through different verbs, but this is not the Patriot's Day we know from growing up on the North Shore with a Marathon fanatic mother. This was not supposed to happen.

The surprise. The explosion tearing through the blue-skied, triumphant, privileged finish line, orange white clouds rising with the screams. The deep-rooted cynicism latent in the second explosion, timed to hurt people rushing to the site of the first one. These things scythed deep in the psyche of a child of Boston.

Pictures of Success

They say California is a recipe for a black hole.
I say I've got my best shoes on-- I'm ready to go

Spring has sprung

Spring is full of light. Green grass. Budding trees. Warm air. Hazy evenings. The look of the National Mall with people strewn everywhere in crazy quilt patterns. Coming together. Rolling down roads with no friction on your bike wheels. Eating outside in the pleasant breeze. The feeling that everything getting better every day. The music of the new season.

April Excitement

This month is full of surprises and return engagements. The mead is in the jug. The wild yeast is bubbling. Fermentation holds so many possibilities. Cycling continues to improve my commute and I now look forward to it every day. Jennifer, JD, and my mom are all scheduled for visits. Shipping up to Boston for a quick weekend on Friday evening. So much going on!

Baseball

Days when I would have been hanging on every pitch of the baseball season have gone by. I would not have foreseen this at age 15, with ERAs filling my head and Pedro Martinez at the top of his game. Baseball is not compelling in the same way. I feel that I have seen through the pseudointellectualism of its culture at last. This is sad, in a way.