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Ashes to Ashes

Well folks, this is the end of the line. The VB6 experiment is officially over. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, four months ago I decided to try a different approach to eating. This approach “Vegan Before Six,” was entirely as prescribed by Mark Bittman, the New York Times food writer in his […]

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Portable Bliss

It’s no secret that I’m the tax dodgingest liberal that you’re ever going to meet. In a certain light this is hypocritical. I honestly believe in the power of government to make positive differences in it’s citizens lives. (Think the social safety net, education, antitrust enforcement, infrastructure investment, security, scientific seed money….) and yet here […]

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Putting it Together

Is this an early retirement blog? Or Is it a travel hacker blog? Well yes….. Just like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup is chocolate and peanut butter. There’s a certain synergy to these two fields. When you put 2+2 together, in this case, you get at least six. And the dial on the MD Squared […]

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Utility Bills

My interest in early retirement is a recent development. (Further proof that the new convert is always the most fervent.) So I sometimes wonder what I would have done differently had I had this philosophy when I first finished my electrophysiology fellowship and started my career. From my current vantage point I can see that […]

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Sooner or Later?

It is easy to get motivated for short term rewards. The carton of ice cream in the freezer need only be scooped into a bowl, The scoop picked up with a spoon, the spoon lifted to the mouth, and seconds later, heaven. A smooth,cool, sucrose and lipid rich emulsion melts over your tongue. Pleasure was […]

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My Blue Chip

It’s no secret that I’m not a believer in stockpicking. The evidence is overwhelming. It’s convincing. And it’s definitive. Being a passive investor and owning the whole market is where it’s at. Stockpicking is for suckers and cheaters. And I aspire to be neither. But it was not always this way. 17 years ago I […]

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How to Drink Wine

My nose is not small. That’s a fact. Although aesthetically a little ski jump a la Brad Pitt is generally seen as the ideal nose, I’ve tried to comfort myself with the idea that big noses simply must be better at smelling. One of the great things about wine tasting is that you can unselfconsciously […]

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The Great Debate.

I’ve already touched on this subject, but questions remain. In my post the point, I explained why even someone (like me ) who loves their job is well served by pursuing the early retirement goal. And in carpe diem, I pointed out that saving for retirement is not really a sacrifice at all. But I’ve […]

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An Embarrassment of Riches

Spending and saving are not mutually exclusive. We all spend money, and most of us save it too. I, for one, do not believe in some Platonic ratio of saving to spending. If there were such a ratio, (say a perfect 65% savings rate,) then it would be easy to tell someone if they were […]

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The Other Half

I got a very interesting response in the comments section of my post “philosophy of miles.” Reader Mark shared his perspective on the miles game as a working-class individual living in a rural area who endeavors to collect miles as well. He expressed frustration with the lack of a working-class perspective in the blogosphere, and […]

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