Since the free space is used up on this blog, moving to new blog, http://www.bogtreeleaves.wordpress.com.
mMillionaires
They say America is the land of freedom and wealth, that more millionaires and billionaires live/work/earn/invest in the United States than in any other country.
What is wealth?
To be in the top 1% of the wealthiest depends on the country you’re in, it appears:
You need $8M in Monaco, at least $5M in Switzerland and over $4M in the U.S. but only about $3M in Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Australia.
In the U.S., the number of millionaires declined slightly in 2020 to 10.5 million but no doubt will grow again this year.
But is having money the same as truly having wealth?
Again, what is wealth?
If a person/family has $5M but lives on $1M/year, then $5M is not that much money.
If a person/family has $1M but lives on $25K/year, then $1M seems like a lot of money — these are the so-called mMillionaires, individuals/families with assets over $1M in a middle class lifestyle, once known as the “millionaires next door.”
Living successfully/comfortably below one’s means.
At age 24/25, a year after my wife and I married, we sat down with a financial advisor to discuss our future.
The advisor asked us if we wanted what many people wanted — a college fund for our future kids, a McMansion in an exclusive neighborhood or a large ranch/spread in the country, a second/vacation home at a resort and/or a large RV/caravan, fancy cars/boats, fine jewelry, expensive holidays abroad.
We didn’t want any of those things. As a couple, we only wanted to retire as early as possible so we could continue to live our quiet life at home with good healthcare coverage, maybe taking a nice holiday trip every couple of years (individually, I wanted to own an Italian car, live/work in another country, build a treehouse, own a greenhouse, ride a motorcycle and publish a novel that garnered a professional review (no matter how scathing/complimentary), all of which I’ve accomplished (I would like to have gone up into space but I’ve taken that off the list because it requires way too much money, good luck or intensive training whilst being surrounded by too many people for my comfort level)).
At age 58/59, after almost 35 years of marriage, my wife and I sat down this week with a financial advisor to discuss our future.
The advisor asked us if we wanted what many people wanted at our our age — buying a new car/boat/RV, taking annual holidays abroad, retiring to a high-end resort, spending time with grandchildren.
We still didn’t want any of those things. We continue to worry that we don’t have enough wealth on which we could retire early. The advisor looked at our portfolio and calculated a few worst-case scenarios — catastrophic health, high inflation, low/negative rate of return. In all the scenarios, we would stay right around the upper 1% or rise into higher wealth categories because we have chosen to live well below our means, supporting college funds for grand nieces/nephews, giving to charity and still having over 20% of our income left over to reinvest in our investments.
Until my father died and my mother was able to receive life insurance payouts as well as proceeds from the sale of their second house, my parents were constantly in debt — floating thousands of dollars in credit card bills; taking out second mortgages on their first and second houses; paying too much for furniture, “collectibles,” and term life insurance policies — rather than investing in themselves before they died. My father’s parents were always short of money, living right on the edge of their income level, my grandfather having to work a second job as a night security guard even though they had the good fortune to live on my grandfather’s pension from 29 years in the Navy, retiring as a chief warrant officer. My great-grandfather lived meekly on a railroad pension, supplemented by growing his own food, his house falling into disrepair when he could no longer repair it in his 80s.
Their financial situations taught my wife and me a straightforward lesson without any abstraction about “pay yourself first,” the “latte factor,” “buy low/sell high” and other advice you’ll hear from investment counselors or TV/magazine/newspaper columnists — simply live below your means in good times and bad.
Live simply. A frugal life is a wealthy life.
This year, my wife and I plan to fully retire, both of us reaching that magic age of 59-1/2, hitting $1M in investments at age 45, the second, third, and fourth million following thereafter over the next 14 years, growing/shrinking with the economy, generally speaking. We’ll continue to drive used cars/motorcycle, spend our days working in the house or in the yard, spend our nights reading or watching TV, and going on trips as long as we’re able.
One million dollars is not enough to retire on anymore, that’s certain, given we have no military/corporate pension holding us up in our old age. With costs constantly rising, will four million be enough to support what is currently about a $50k/year lifestyle in the U.S., assuming we’ll live a few more decades, picking up a Social Security check and a few annuities some number of years from now?
Only one way to find out — don’t worry, be happy!
Flood zone
With four inches of rain predicted over the next two or three days, we take this opportunity to think through the prototype zigzag walkway design to accommodate higher levels of water in the meadow.
And stop to meditate on our good life, physically able and mentally capable of working outside in the early days of spring here in north Alabama…
At the same time, reminiscing about decades-long previous life in the forest…
As the song goes, “Happiness is where you’re at, what you’re about, apt to do when it’s just you.“
That time when…
That time when I developed and presented animated desktop dancing mannequin for Wired magazine…yeah, that happened.
Found my working schedule for the project in an old Google Drive folder…
Date
Milestone
Description
Status (TBD, Yes, No)
2
10/28/2013
Enter team info
Yes
3
11/2/2013
Receive Make sample kit
Two (2) engineering notebooks
One (1) 9V/650mA "wallwart" power supply
One (1) Make: magazine volume 34
One (1) Make: magazine volume 36
One (1) Make: Arduino Bots and Gadgets book
One (1) Make: Ultimate Microcontroller Pack
One (1) PWM servo shield
Four (4) 9g servos
Four (4) 30 cm servo cables
One (1) Welcome letter from Sherry Huss
Yes
4
11/3/2013
Create parts inventory
TBD
5
11/3/2013
Robotic Hacks presentation
Discover the 21st Century Robot – Join us for an HOA live from Olin College in Boston as Brian David Johnson shares his vision and process in creating the 21st Century Robot and hear from the team involved in bringing Jimmy the Robot to life. Guests include: +Brian David Johnson, +Sandy Winkelman, +Gui Cavalcanti, +Wayne Losey, David Barrett, and +Ross Mead.
Yes
6
11/3/2013
Sketch out idea
PIR and IR sensors will make five mannequin dancers follow you as you move in front of them, moving toward you as you get closer and away from you as you back away from them
Yes
7
11/3/2013
Create schedule
Yes
8
11/4/2013
Create Arduino project modules
TBD
9
11/4/2013
Wire Module 1
PIR/IR sensor set
TBD
10
11/4/2013
Program Module 1
TBD
11
11/4/2013
Test Module 1
TBD
12
11/5/2013
Module 1 refinement
TBD
13
11/6/2013
Wire Module 2
Mannequin base rotation servos
TBD
14
11/6/2013
Program Module 2
TBD
15
11/6/2013
Test Module 2
TBD
16
11/6/2013
Robotic Hacks presentation
Humanoid robot hobbyist and enthusiast. A team presentation featuring Michael Overstreet (I, bioloid) My 3d printed humanoid robotic projects; Michael Curry (Makerbot) 3d printed DangerBall; Aaron Park (Robotis) open sourced DARwIn-mini; Dr. Chi Thai (University of Georgia) and Matthew Paulishen (University of Georgia) programing the open sourced CM-904; Lem Fugitt (Robotdreams) Robotics outside of the US; Erin (RobotGrrl) Kennedy RoboBrrd and my 3d printed robot; Heriberto Reynoso (robotics teacher) teaching kids how to build and program robots
TBD
17
11/7/2013
Module 2 refinement
18
11/8/2013
Wire Module 3
Mannequin pitch servos
TBD
19
11/8/2013
Program Module 3
TBD
20
11/8/2013
Test Module 3
TBD
21
11/11/2013
Build mannequins
TBD
22
11/11/2013
Wire Module 4
??? Flashing LEDs ???
TBD
23
11/11/2013
Program Module 4
TBD
24
11/11/2013
Test Module 4
TBD
25
11/12/2013
Full system test
TBD
26
11/13/2013
Robotic Hacks presentation
InMoov is Gael Langevin’s personal project and was initiated in January 2012 after buying a 3D printer. It’s the first Open Source life-size 3D printed robot. It all started with the design of a hand, that can be used as a prosthetic. Replicable on any home 3D printer, it is conceived as a development platform for Universities, laboratories, hobbyists, but first of all for Makers. Join Gael and Chuck as they talk about InMoov, from conception to reality.
TBD
27
11/14/2013
Wire Module 4
Expansion??? Flashing LEDs ???
TBD
28
11/14/2013
Program Module 4
TBD
29
11/14/2013
Test Module 4
TBD
30
11/15/2013
Refinements
TBD
31
11/18/2013
Refinements
TBD
32
11/18/2013
Documentation
TBD
33
11/19/2013
Refinements
TBD
34
11/19/2013
Documentation
TBD
35
A look back
Found an image of our new home in March 2018 when we first felt we wanted to move there (but months before we moved in). I’m posting the photo here compared other taken this month.
18th March 2018
5th November 2020
15th February 2021
16th February 2021
24th February 2021
Thursday morning meditation
To best preserve my family history in mass social memory, either make myself famous or slightly fictionalize family lore into a popular set of interconnected tales such that others play act our stories over and over, adding their own twists and turns until firmly embedded into future retelling.
Thoughts like these permeate my morning meditation as I watch robins and squirrels search the backyard, meadow, and woods for food.
The squirrel and its family have lived in the woods for many squirrel generations.
I don’t know if the same robins return to the backyard but a robin instinctively stops by the bubbling rock in winter when no water is flowing, expecting it to start gurgling again and provide a watering station as it has in the past couple of years.
Thus, we share a history together without need for writing it down by me.
Yet, I feel, perhaps because I am childless, the need to record our time together on Earth.
Robins generally behave the same, running across the ground, stopping, sometimes turning their heads, digging aside bits of dirt/wood/gravel to expose, then grabbing an insect or grub off the ground by a sudden stabbing motion for a bite to eat.
I don’t know any robins well enough to describe individual characteristics within their general behaviour.
I can say the same about us bipedal primates who generally wear coverings over our bodies as we find ways to gather and eat. Few of us walk the planet eating off the land, depending mostly on others to gather and present food for us to eat as we please.
I had wanted to leave Earth and explore the cosmos because I had limited connections to my family history.
But that has all changed now that my mother no longer serves as the gatekeeper to our family’s past stored in photos, souvenir programs, newspaper clippings and personal items getting distributed between my sister, her kids, my wife and me, which we in turn are passing on to extended family/friends as appropriate.
I can happily spend the rest of my days going through family memorabilia whilst working our small patch of land that always needs a little tending, letting wildlife encroach on our property without taking it over completely.
For example, when I sorted through the rotten pallets yesterday, I uncovered a small mouse nest between pallets and disturbed three mice which had probably gathered in the winter cold to hide aboveground during wet weather. They quickly ran into holes in the ground, unaware that a foot long snake was only a few yards away, also disturbed by my clearing rotten pallets out of the small meadow. I sat down to catch my breath and watched/listened to the birds all around me, who excitedly waited for me to step away so they could get to the insects I had shaken out of the rotten wood. Eighteen hours later the birds are still finding lots to eat in the meadow, joined by two squirrels, while the goldfinches/bluebirds/titmice fight over access to thistle seed/mealworms in the birdfeeder, redwing blackbirds cross back and forth into the swamp, cardinals chase each other, turkey vultures circle overhead and bluejays stop to talk.
I am not a geologist, paleoanthropologist, computer programmer, rocket scientist or electrical/mechanical engineer which means although I am thrilled to see that our species has established an electromechanical presence on/around Mars, I no longer have a need/want to travel there or anywhere in space, for that matter, happy to see so many others who can and do.
After living in the forest for 31 years, I uprooted and moved a couple of miles away, worried I was giving up my wooded privacy for nonprivate life in a dense, cookie cutter architecture, practically treeless neighborhood with an HOA.
Almost three years later, I have layered this new nest enough that I am comfortable here (comfortably numb?), a little closer to the main road where traffic noise sometimes competes with birdsong but I have a view of the swamp where coyotes still roam, deer play, raccoons traipse, and turtles try to eat vegetables from our sunlit yard, no need to be famous or a space traveler, just give myself time to arrange family memorabilia so that it tells a cohesive tale which our niece and nephew can look through in their busy lives until one day when/if they have the time to rearrange the memorabilia for the retelling.
I am a storyteller with an endless family story to tell, no matter how common or memorable. What more do I want?
The right angle
Today, while electronically managing my mother’s financial/legal matters, I spend time out in the meadow, listening to goldfinches, titmice, wrens, robins and starlings.
I also spent time, investing in my well-being, moving the dining canopy cover out into the woods for later construction work, but most importantly laying out a path for the meditation walkway between backyard and woods, across the meadow.
Sorting out the rotten pallets firstly…
Then clearing out invasive privet and cedar, clearing out my thoughts at the same time…
So I could devise the first iteration for the zigzag meditation path…
Unboxed
In a box of stuff from my father’s childhood, a few gems…
And plenty of school dance photos…
Time for local pizza from Big Ed’s!
After sorting through my Boy Scout uniforms…
And my father’s Boy Scout leader uniforms…
My father was above average…
But not high/unique enough to get into MIT or Carnegie…
Would my father still be alive if he hadn’t picked up smoking in college?
Time to get some work done in the yard! See you tomorrow…
Late Monday evening meditation
Back home again, one cat curled up by the fire, the other one begging for kitty snacks, I sit in happy gratitude for all I have and have been given.
I am one generation away from farm life, both my parents growing up on farms where much of their food was planted, harvested or killed.
My grandmother, the daughter of a tin smith, graduated from college in 1934 with a bachelor’s degree in education. My father earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree, teaching university classes for over 20 years.
But they grew up on the same farm, where dough was kneaded in this handcarved wooden bowl I now have…
My great-grandfather made many of the items used on the farm such as this ladle, cup and funnel…
But bought or traded for some tools he couldn’t make…
They lived humbly, and built houses by hand with simple measuring devices, giving kids toys to play with whilst helping out…
When they weren’t working the farm, they cultivated hobbies that brought in extra income like these walnut bowls…
And afghans/pillows like these…
They also traded for goods/services.
Somewhere in our family history, this old portable writing desk came into our possession, handmade and not nearly as refined as the one Thomas Jefferson was said to have used…
The metal plate bears no visible name, initials or family crest…
Having little in cash and next to nothing in investments, my father’s family learned to keep anything of value, including Hot Wheels (can you find the original unopened sets in this image)…
So why did they often appear educationally snobbish at times?
After all, my grandfather, Bruce, was an enlisted seaman who only later became a noncommissioned officer in the Navy.
His years of service in the Navy turned my grandfather from a young, inexperienced newlywed…
into a wise, patient man…
The same for the years of service in the railroad business for my great-grandfather…
What does that mean for me as I near the age of 59? Am I wise and patient? Yes.
I realize it’s up to me to impart in my niece and nephew the relative importance of their family history.
What shall/do I impart?
Only time will tell, n’est pas?!
When second is as good as first
Congrats to Hayley Arceneaux on catching a ride to outer space!
Hayley Arceneaux
Image: St. Jude
Hayley Arceneaux, a physician assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, will join the first all-civilian trip to space, SpaceX announced today.
And to the successful launch of the space capsule named after Katherine Johnson.
Ending with the “out of this world” EDL video of the Perseverance rover.
Another great day to be alive!
A Celestial Journey 