Vinegar and soap

Published in May 29th, 2008

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!I have started using vinegar and baking soda for basic cleaning. Generally I spread baking soda of the grime and then soak a rag in vinegar. When the acid of the vinegar comes in contact with the baking soda [...]

Accident by construction - why technology and regulations increase risk

Published in May 28th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in culture, education, insurance, sub-prime

4 Comments

In retrospect it is amazing how subprime loans could go so wrong? Who in their right mind could believe that real estate always goes up? For that matter, what about the dot.com craze and the new era? What makes people appear so stupid in retrospect?
Here’s why.
Accidents does not happen by chance (by “accident”). They [...]

You are not irreplaceable

Published in May 27th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in blogging, culture, motivation

4 Comments

According to google I am now the second highest ranked authority on extreme early retirement. I suppose this comes about because I have a “google ranking” of 4 which again comes about because I have yet to bother with monetizing this site as it would require advertising it in the local paper for 4 weeks [...]

The vehicle dependent mindset

Published in May 26th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in culture

18 Comments

I am convinced we could live without a car. Granted, there are certain conveniences we would have to go without, but having given it some thought, I think going without a car would not be an unsolvable problem.
Reading a post on AL6400 about the vehicle lifestyle got me thinking. I don’t think it’s a lifestyle [...]

How to get a solid desk for free (this opportunity doesn’t last)

Published in May 24th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in budgeting, expenses, spending

2 Comments

When it comes to consumer durables, I rarely pay retail. These days stuff is generally well made (lasts for years), yet people have a desire to buy things as if they were going out of style — well, maybe they are, I wouldn’t know — so I prefer to pick through people’s overflowing garages and [...]

Early Retirement Portfolios

Published in May 22nd, 2008

Posted by Jacob in inflation, investments, planning

16 Comments

As I have mentioned before extreme early retirement (<35) does not happen due to a prudent investment plan. It happens either by following an extreme savings plan or by being lucky (rich uncle, lottery, penny stocks, real estate, …). These reason is that the time it takes to reach financial independence, around 5 years, is [...]

The ultimate cheapskate - reflux

Published in May 19th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in books, frugal

No Comments

While trying to avoid repeating myself by not blogging daily anymore, I have been reading a lot of books lately. I got 13 checked out from the library, another 9 on request, and I got a stack from paperbackswap (link to the lower right). I haven’t really read anything that was not somehow “productive” in [...]

Dear unborn grandchildren

Published in May 18th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in debt, economy

3 Comments

Thank you for the generous $1200 stimulus package gift we just received from you. You know, traditionally it’s been the obligation one generation to help the next generation along. Parents help out their children, even their unborn children, by saving a little start up money so that the next generation has enough to start out [...]

Bicycle riders on the freeway

Published in May 12th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in transport

10 Comments

Maybe when oil reaches $200 in a few years as predicted by the same Goldman-Sachs analyst that predicted $105 dollar oil by 2009, part of the freeway system, which is now overpopulated by cars and SUVs(*), will be converted into bicycle paths. One can dream, right?
(*) I can’t help but compute (with a certain schadenfreude) [...]

The Gamesmen

Published in May 11th, 2008

Posted by Jacob in culture, economy, planning

1 Comment

I was inspired to post the following by a recent mail from T. and some earlier writings on the ecology of society. I would like to draw your attention to The Gamesman by Michael Maccoby. In this book, which I have not read yet but I got a summary from Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter [...]

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