Nehal : Mar 27, 2009
I just finished reading Alex’s post thirtysomething on twentysomethings and it is definitely worth a read. He posted it in response to Emily Bazelon’s article on How twentysomethings are coping with the recession.
A lot of what he talks about resonates with me (besides the references to Sesame Street, 3-2-1 Contact, Reading Rainbow). Time is our most valuable asset. A lot of people go off to college (and even graduate) not knowing what they want to do. I consider myself lucky that I chose a career in computer engineering. While some of the “do what you love” mantra from those TV shows did sink into my head, what I “loved” also coincided with a career path that actually pays well.
But I also look out and see a lot of lost-and-searching types (sometimes when I look in the mirror, actually) who wonder if they made the right decision oh-so-many years ago. For every Greg Mortensen who has managed to find fulfillment in and succeed in following his passion for service to others, there are dozens of us who see our own survival and helping others as mutually-exclusive.
Side Note
I, like Alex, am also a thirtysomething. I, like Alex, attended the same midwestern university. We both have degrees in computer engineering. Alex and I work for the same multi-national corporation, in similar but distant cube-farms. We even enjoy a lot of the same activities – photography, ultimate, cycling, general geekiness. I don’t think we’ve ever actually met, but I think if we did the space-time continuum would fold over on itself like a Cirque de Soleil acrobat or there’d be some other sort of cosmic rift.
Nehal : Mar 23, 2009
I just got my body fat measured again (caliper method). Slightly higher this time, compared to December
| Measurements |
Value |
| Age |
31 |
| Weight |
151 lbs |
| Chest |
5 mm |
| Abdominal |
20 mm |
| Thigh |
7 mm |
| Body Fat % |
9.79 % |
| Lbs Body Fat |
14.78 lbs |
| Lbs Lean |
136.22 lbs |
My last measurement was at 8.07%
Nehal : Mar 19, 2009
I ran across this post on saving water at lifehacker. The article itself only provides a link to a chart depicting how much water is required for typical things you do and eat during your day, I find the water usage comparison chart less interesting than the actual comments to the post. Most people talk about how ridiculous the examples are or mock the comparisons (??“no bath? what about hygiene? low-flow toilets? Did they count how many times you actually have to flush one before it actually does a proper job?”?? to paraphrase a few). I think they are missing the point.
In fact, I’ve been seeing this more often (and admittedly, I am as guilty as the next guy). We crawl the internet looking for answers – ??“What can I do to save money? What should I invest in? What should I do to lose weight? How can I save the planet?”?? – we are often looking for the easy answers. One thing I learned from reading Your Money or Your Life (read my review) is that you will benefit more from being conscious of your behavior. Want to save money? Track your spending habits and be aware of what you are spending and why. Want to lose weight? Be more present when you eat – take mental note of why you are eating, when you feel satisfied (as opposed to full), and how you feel when you are done. Information is important; awareness is the key to making changes.
And so we return to the chart. Is the point to tell you to replace your old toilet with a low-flow one? To stop taking baths? Give up eating beef? Or could it be that it is merely trying to raise your awareness of how much water a few examples use, and that the choices you make can affect how much water you use (or is used on your behalf) in a typical day. Armed with that knowledge and hopefully more after you do some research, you can answer the question yourself; no need for spoon-feeding. And once you have the information, you can make conscious changes to your behavior.
Nehal : Mar 13, 2009
I recently finished reading Your Money or Your Life. This isn’t just another book about saving money or investing; it is about re-examining your relationship with money. It is a nine-step program for identifying how much money you spend to earn, what you value, how much you really need to live, how you can align your spending to your values, and how to apply principles to achieve Financial Independence. There are many exercises in the book, and each serves to build consciousness of your behavior and values.
In the process of becoming Financially Independent, the book teaches principles of Financial Intelligence and Financial Integrity. Financial Intelligence is about understanding how money works. The book walks through calculating your true hourly wage by examining what you spend money on because of your job – commuting, special clothing, meals out, vacations, etc. You also analyze how much money you’ve earned so far in your lifetime to understand your earning potential, and then taking an inventory of all your possessions, to figure your Net Worth – what you have to show for all those years of hard work. Next you begin analyzing and tracking income and expenses – but with a twist. You also track, for each expense, whether that expense would increase, decrease, or stay the same if you did not have to work.
One of the exercises (and it gets a little hippy-dippy here) is to do some introspection and take stock of your values. The reason is that when you understand your personal values, the decisions you make – social, work, and financial – become more clear. You become more conscious of how you spend your time and energy. You begin to think of money not just as numbers and papers, but as your life energy – because that is really what you are trading. The only thing your really possess is your time. You trade your time for money which you spend on things that bring you fulfillment. So now, when you do your income/expense analysis, you also track your expenses in terms of life energy and ask yourself if what you spent brought you fulfillment accordingly. This sets you on the path to Financial Integrity – aligning your decisions with your values.
As you continue to track your income and expenses, you should see your expenses decrease and achieve a steady-state. Along the way, you’ve been saving the difference between your income and expenses and putting it into savings. When the income you earn from those savings (via various investment vehicles) exceeds your expenses, you have achieved Financial Independence! You are free to quit your job and spend your time and energy on things you find more fulfilling.
I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to re-evaluate their relationship with money – whether you are fed up working for “the man”, you want to live in service to others (but you realize you still need to be able to pay the bills), or if you’ve realized that you’ve become a “consumer” and want to break the cycle of spend-debt-earn.
Nehal : Mar 6, 2009
The previews looked good, and I generally enjoy superhero movies, but The Watchmen was a bit of a disappointment. It opens with a cool action sequence, but then slows down for most of the movie, with little fits of action until the end, when you finally piece together the whole plot. Quite a bit of time is spent in back-story and flash-backs. Few of the characters or their stories are really compelling; all are flawed in some form (but they are human, right?).
The most interesting character is probably Rorschach. He’s dark and brooding, and about the only one who suspects something is amiss. Throughout the whole movie, however, I could never quite figure out how he got his name. The other highlight in the movie is Miss Jupiter, and that’s mostly just because she’s pretty. And then there is Dr. Manhattan. He’s the only superhero with any real powers other than crazy martial-arts skills. He is, however, disturbingly blue … and naked. There are far too many shots of his blue junk – it’s like a car wreck; you know you don’t want to look, but you can’t really avoid it. Especially when it’s waving at you.
The action and fighting sequences are pretty spectacular, but there are times when the gore is almost too graphic to bear (but I think that’s what they were going for).
Overall I have a difficult time justifying to anyone why they should spend $10 on a movie ticket to see this movie (luckily we only spent $7.75 for the matinee show), especially when I nearly fell asleep part way through it.