defensiveness. that's a good way to start one of these... one my uber-nerdy hobbies is looking at charts (or making my own like i did today thanks to Claude Code - which is magic, btw). specifically, macro-economic trend charts. i'm interested in the decades-long story, not the recent trends. recent trends are helpful too, but i am interested in where we've been and where we're going, and i genuinely want to know if things are getting better or worse. the chart i asked Claude

i kept calling it recharging. but man am i good at lying to myself... as my therapist often reminds me, "your brain is not on your side." a saturday on the couch. phone in hand, three episodes deep. another slice of pizza, then a fourth. then a fifth. polishing off that "almost empty" bottle of wine that had three pours left. telling myself i earned it. and i had — the week was a lot. action items, fire drills, kids, hobbies, health, self care, the bear, guy's grocery games n

no matter what i say, my kids only watch what i do. when i say "no desserts before bed!", as soon as i am in the pantry sneaking a piece of ghiradelli sea salt caramel, there they both are, hands out, ready for their piece. it's like they have supersonic hearing... it's why, when it comes to money, there are a few habits i try and model. there is plenty of advice out there about which high yield savings account to use, or which version of the debt snowball is best, or how to

the older i get, the less interested i am in investments that make my portfolio bigger, and the more interested i am in investments that make my life better. in march of 2022, i received a voice note from my 6 year old son. "dad, i have a genius idea! genius idea. how about.. um...how about you and me.. just you and me... go on a trip together. okay? love you." kids today don't say bye; i think because characters on tv don't say bye (try and unsee that now that i mention it).