Greg's Horrible Waste of Internet Bandwidth

On (P)retirement Someone asked me the other day why I decided not to go back to work at age 59. "How did you get there? What planning did you do for early retirement?" My answer was simple: there was no real planning, it just happened. A little backstory. Most of my close friends wouldn’t be surprised that I have a pretty checkered history in IT, bouncing between jobs. I got a Bachelor's in MechE in Texas (after realizing my eyesight disqualified me for naval aviation) and then an engineering job right out of university in the same city. It was an OK job but career success suffered from my being constantly distracted by my fixation on  amateur motorsports (convinced I would soon enough convert that to a professional career...right). That distraction eventually led to a layoff about three years later followed by a Sisyphean (and frankly ridiculous) chase for racing success in Connecticut (but that’s  a longer story ). But that brief stint in a large corporation also re-int...

I kinda enjoyed last year's " 2024 Year in Review " so I figured I'd try a 2025 version...  2025 Highlights... Life:  Well, I stayed "pre-tired" in 2025; hell, I didn't even look for work at all. It's kind of boring - I do need to get out and be more productive - but it seems I work hardest at trying not to work hard... Again, though, if something juicy pops up then I'll certainly consider it, but I don't have any motivation to go looking for it. In January, the VITA tax prep thing started up again and this time they not only made me a site coordinator they also put me on their steering committee..."no good deed" and all that. Fantastic program, well worth the time and effort. Volunteer to assist, if you're so inclined (you'll get trained). In May we both enjoyed a nice week in Cancun, courtesy of a German fraternal organization I belong to (its annual convention and I am a delegate). Cancun is neat but I think we enjoye...