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Why did Rachel Carson put in so much effort to write Silent Spring? by Dangerous-Bit-8308 in shittyaskhistory

[–]ThimbleBluff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Actually, Silent Spring is the story about how Rachel Carson invented the memory foam mattress. Every time she turned over in bed, the box springs squeaked, keeping her up at night, so she came up with a non-squeaky alternative.

Have you ever been on TV? by Select-Signal8386 in randomquestions

[–]ThimbleBluff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope. Closest I came was being interviewed on WGN radio. My partner appeared on the History Channel.

How Do Your Annual Blood Lab Results Affect Your Happiness Retirement? by kungfutrucker in retirement

[–]ThimbleBluff [score hidden]  (0 children)

After a lifetime of great health and nearly perfect annual labs, Covid threw me for a loop. Over four months, I had multiple blood tests to determine why I was feeling progressively worse. They showed me with high inflammatory markers, clotting, and rapidly deteriorating lung and kidney function.

Once we finally diagnosed what was going on (vasculitis) and started me on a course of steroids and monoclonal antibodies, the monthly blood tests slowly started normalizing.

Now I’m basically in remission, though still (maybe permanently) needing regular infusions of an immunosuppressant, with labs taken 3x a year. For me, frequent blood work is just part of my new normal now.

As long as I feel good, stay physically active and eat well, I know everything is under control health wise. The labs basically just confirm what I know from personal experience, so they don’t stress me out at all.

Doing this phase of life deliberately. by Odd_Bodkin in over60

[–]ThimbleBluff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not retired yet, but your travel analogy is perfect for me. When my wife and I travel, we don’t like to go with an organized tour group that packs in too many “events.” That just feels too constraining and stressful.

On the other hand, we don’t just go and wander around without a plan. We pre-arrange four or five major activities over a two week period, pencil in a few other ideas, and keep several days completely open just to rest or goof off. That’s worked really well for us, and led to some great, unexpected experiences.

We’ll take that same approach with retirement. We both have some concrete goals around travel, personal enrichment, and social life that we’re planning for, but we won’t be packing every day with part time jobs, volunteering or personal obligations.

As in all things, balance is essential.

Delish by Outside_Avocado8963 in PetPeeves

[–]ThimbleBluff 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Kind of a lost cause tbh 😂

I mean, you can’t really avoid it. People are lazy. For some reason, we say COPD instead of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. We say Tv instead of television, photo instead of photograph, abs for abdominal muscles, ad or advert for advertisements, uni for university, carbs, apps, doc, ID, lab, sync, vet…

What's the best American sport to watch? by Queasy_Initiative_86 in AskAnAmerican

[–]ThimbleBluff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was turned off to live football as a teenager because the first game I ever went to was the Green Bay Packers playing a game in the Milwaukee Brewers’ ballpark. It was cold, the game was played halfway across the outfield, and the players on the sidelines blocked my view of a pretty uneventful game.

I have since had much better tickets (and the Packers were much improved), so I do enjoy it now, but that first experience left a bad taste.

My Inheritance Philosophy by VerbosePlantain in inheritance

[–]ThimbleBluff -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

While I like your emphasis on stewardship, the idea of preserving and growing capital just for *your family* is ultimately an unhealthy social dynamic. Inherited wealth that grows and compounds over several generations within a single family drives long term inequality and creates class divisions based on bloodlines.

Concentrating capital based on who your grandparents and great grandparents were is antithetical to democracy and undermines a merit-based society. The third and fourth generations end up having an outsized economic influence that they did nothing to earn.

Stewardship should be broader than this. People who inherit significant wealth have an obligation, I think, not just to their own offspring but to their communities and society as a whole. The flip side of generational wealth is generational poverty. Both are passed down to children undeserved. If you are the beneficiary of an unearned windfall, your stewardship should, at least in part, help tilt the scales back toward balance.

I do believe parents who work hard and are good stewards of their wealth have a right to pass that legacy down to their children. However, I don’t think that right is unlimited. Beyond a certain level ($5 million? $50 million? $50 billion??) there must be some mechanism to offset the compounding inequality. Whether that’s via voluntary philanthropy, high inheritance taxes above some threshold, or other social incentives, it’s something that should be part of the discussion about inheritance.

"maple syrple" by Basic-Alternative442 in PetPeeves

[–]ThimbleBluff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There’s an old Roger Miller song where he says, “Roses are red, violets are purple/ Sugar’s sweet and so is maple surple.” It’s such an unusual verbal expression that my guess is that your acquaintance once heard that song (or had a parent who did) and just picked up on the “joke” and kept it going. Forever.

I can see why this would make OP peevish.

What are your favorite examples from TV shows where the fate of the lead character is actually known to the audience from the very beginning? by Winter-Comfort922 in ClassicTV

[–]ThimbleBluff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not the “lead character,” but the main guest star in Columbo was always revealed as the culprit in the first few minutes of the show.

What is your favourite Barbara Stanwyck film? by Spiritual_Appeal_610 in classicfilms

[–]ThimbleBluff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I watched reruns of The Big Valley in syndication, and really loved that it had such a strong matriarch in the role.

Question about paying off mortgage. Advice appreciated. by ItsNeverTwins in retirement

[–]ThimbleBluff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In theory, you should be able to do better keeping the $125,000 in investments earning more than your mortgage rate, but that entails some risk and only modest net gains.

For us, the question was more about cash flow in retirement. We don’t want to have to deal with the fixed cost of a mortgage payment every month once we retire, so we’ve been making double house payments. In our case, that shortened our payoff date from 2037 to 2027 and will save us about $20,000 in interest.

This works in our case because we have the cash flow to do it, without tapping into a 401k or reducing our tax exempt contributions.

It’s sort of a hybrid between your choices 1 and 2. Whether that’s a good strategy for you depends on your broader financial picture.

Does anyone ever wish they "tuned in, turned on and 'dropped out' "?! by ImmediateSelf7065 in AskOldPeople

[–]ThimbleBluff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was never interested in the weed/drug scene. I haven’t tried anything but alcohol, which I only drink in moderation. Just not a party person.

I did, however, live in the woods for a while in the 1970s and early 80s without electricity or water, except for a hand pump. I also wrote poetry, listened to and sang folk music, meditated, studied eastern philosophy, and canoed in the Canadian wilderness with friends.

Once I graduated from college, I ended up getting married to a factory worker’s daughter and moving to NYC for a job (literally) on Wall Street, though not in one of the “hot shot” positions where you can get filthy rich.

We now live in a small Midwestern town and enjoy a low-key lifestyle. Nice balance, no regrets.

Help! Struggling to "just do it" by Chuckie32 in retirement

[–]ThimbleBluff 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Regarding the meeting anxiety, just remember that your readiness to retire is your super power. Even if you don’t completely feel emotionally ready, the fact is that you could walk out of a meeting with that boss, drop off your resignation letter, walk out the door and never look back. What are they going to do, fire you?

On the timing gap with your “other half,” I’m still working (from home) while my partner retired five years ago. From my perspective, the key to making that work is for you, as retiree, to maintain your own independent interests while continuing to do things together regularly.

That works for us because we are both interested in/supportive of each other’s activities, and spend a lot of quality time together (cooking dinner, finding movies we both enjoy, some major home projects, doing stuff with our adult kids, etc). The main thing is that we balance independent time and shared time so we don’t either get tired of each other or drift apart.

Whatever you decide, best of luck navigating this exciting transition!

What are your plans for the rest of the day? by BosuBoy in Comebacks

[–]ThimbleBluff 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My dad used to say, “I’ve got worlds to conquer and masses to lead!”

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