Cheap Workout Sunday Report 1

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My health hasn’t been in tip-top shape for years…  Ironically, I wrote an article a few years back called “Becoming Super” and of course the opposite happened, I’ve been practically anti-super ever since.  Not by own choice, mind you but instead I was hit by a number of illnesses that has had me on the decline ever since.  I’ve been hoping I could overcome the illness be myself, but I haven’t and I’m tired of waiting for my body to defeat my problems naturally.  So, I’ve decided to start to get back into shape, but in a slow and cheap manner.  So, thus the creation of this article.  I’m going to track my repeating fitness efforts in this Sunday post.  My equipment considers of a cheap bench and an Olympic bar and weights.  Both of these could be bought together second hand for less than two hundred dollars.

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I use to be pretty strong, so coming back after years off, I’m a little disappointed in the weight I’m working with.  Versus the average male, I still did pretty well.  In this effort I’m not trying to accomplish much so I decided to keep it short and sweet.  I’m recording this because a blog is much like a diary, and I decided it might be fun to look back someday and see how at did at certain dates.  It’s a cheap workout because I’ve decided to use equipment that I had in my basement that I received as a cheap gift over 5 years ago.

And now on with the workout:

  • Bench:
    • 45 lbs –   basically the bar for 10 reps (my warmup)
    • 135 lbs – 1st real set for 10 reps (years ago, this was my warmup set… disappointing…)
    • 185 lbs –  2nd real set for 5 reps (hoped to go for 10, but too weak currently)
    • 205 lbs –  3rd real set for 1 rep (I was hoping for 2 reps, but I failed this Sunday)
    • 165 lbs – warm down set (this was a hard 10 reps surprisingly)
  • Curls
    • 45 lbs – bar basically, warmup for 10 reps
    • 65 lbs – 1st set for 10 reps
    • 75 lbs – 2nd set for 10 reps (easier than I imagined)
  • Row
    • 65 lbs – set of 10 reps
    • 75 lbs – set of 10 reps (fairly easy too, time to increase the weight next time)
  • Sissy Squats
    • 2 set of no weight for 10 reps (making sure I got 90 degrees angle for the squat).  I almost didn’t include these, but they were hard for me so here they are.
  • Goals:
    • Lose 20 to 40 lbs by the end of the year (20 lbs seems possible, but 40 lbs might be stretching it).
    • Be able to bench press 250 lbs by the end of the year (I’d be happy if I could get 225 by the EOY).
    • Be able to curl 95 lbs for 10 reps by the end of the year.

Well, that’s all.  I kept it short and sweet as I mentioned above.  I’ve always worked my upper body but not my lower body because I wanted to be fast with my legs because I was in Tae Kwon Do years ago, so my legs are underdeveloped (sort of, I’m sure they are stronger than average, but not too strong, maybe around the 80th percentile…). I’m pretty goal oriented with working out, so it might be hard to keep it short.  I expect that I’ll be in a hurry to at least get to bench 225 for 1 rep.

I have to admit, I’m a little surprised that I’m as weak as I am, but hopefully I’ll recover quickly, especially in bench press (my favorite).

I hope I do much better soon,

Don

Perils of Big Data or Beyond Big Brother?

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Technology is great!

I’m in the technology field and sometime I feel so empowered!  You can do anything with technology if you work at it, look at all the great smart phone apps that are in existence!  Who doesn’t love reading email or playing Candy Crush any place and at anytime?

But there is a dark, scary underbelly of technology and in particular “Big Data” that you should also be aware of.  And that is, you are being watched just like Big Brother, but much, much more scary!  You see with the much feared concept of “Big Brother is always watching” in the “1984” book by George Orwell, the invasion of privacy required someone on the other end to be watching.  Today is much worse because today, it’s possible to record every thing you do, say and where you go.  You have no privacy whatsoever and it’s stored!

In old days, email trails were something to worry about, then message system like chat, IM and the like.  These days, everything and everywhere you go you are being recorded and potentially analyzed.

No, it’s not a physical person analyzing your data.  Instead there exists sophisticated software and beastly computers that are doing the analysis (this folks is the power of “Big Data”).  Big Brother could and should be considered the algorithms that manipulate the huge databases of information (this is the “Big Data” part) that is being accumulated on you.

HAL

Hall From 2001

For example, Let’s look the iPhone 6, not only is it possible to determine where you have been historically, but it’s also possible to detect the rate speed you were traveling between endpoints.  So let’s say that the government wanted to tap into that rich data and potentially give you a speeding ticket… if they deemed it to be, they could.  Oh it won’t happen because of voters, but it’s entirely within the realm of possibilities.

Now let’s look at the Apple iWatch…  It’s even scarier to an extent.  It has the ability to monitor your body.  While there are obvious positives in doing so, there is also the opportunity for your system to be monitored for odd behavior, maybe elevated heart rate or maybe your alcohol content (via your sweat).  Let’s say that you are at some location like school and your heart rate gets evaluated for any reason, maybe you are running late to some appointment and you are getting nervous.  You could potentially be flagged in some “Big Data” system as a potential sex predator.  Oh you wouldn’t be arrested, but you would now be in the “likely suspect” database or be continuously monitored thereafter.  I’m not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, but it’s still worth knowing about, and knowing that it is possible!

Let’s say you are one of the “Bad Guys” in the world.  Well “Bad Guy” it’s going to get a lot more difficult for you in the future!  As computer, software, cameras, robotics and other specialized hardware become more stronger, cheaper and basically more optimal, you “Bad Guys” will find it much harder to do your “Bad things”.  The Cameras today capture so much more than they use to, and at high-resolution!  Soon, I wouldn’t be surprised if almost anyplace you go has a video system and cities have drones flying overhead recording stuff, not to mention all of the roads with such equipment to capture you car and license plate.  So if you traveling into a new city, or town, you could instantly be flag and tracked.  Again, this isn’t necessarily bad, but good to know..

A side thought is that as the cameras that are part of complex video systems, record you on your smart phones logging into various systems, well you are pretty much flat-out telling the camera owners your password.  Or at least giving the a huge leg up if they decide to try to hack into your programs by guessing your passwords.

There will be a lot of good from technology too, but I just want to mention what is possible as technology continues to advance.  I’m just scratching the surface.  For instance, I could have added a third element which would be predictive analysis, that based on your prior history (see my out of area car example above), Big Brother could predict where you should be at any given time.  Don’t believe me?  Has your credit card company ever called you asking if such and such purchase was made by you in a give location?  This is “Big Brother”-like algorithm detecting that you are out of state making a purchase when you shouldn’t be.  So basically both company and government Big Bothers are here and watching, we just don’t know how “Big” the Big brother are yet, but I will say that the code is from the most part pretty much unlimited in reach…

I’m writing this because article because some people might not realize the reach of the technology and to mention that fact that we are beyond the “Big Brother” version of yesteryear when George Orwell wrote his book.  While it’s not exactly the same, in many ways it is more invasive, in a sneaky hidden way.

Bests,

Don

The Hurdles With Helping Others Financially

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I’m all about experimenting, I guess it’s the scientist in me that keeps trying to break out of my work life that consists of a repeating grind that is way too familiar.

Recently, I decided to try a new financial experiment where I would take an attractive female or male (mostly female because I’m not a good judge of what an attractive male is), and try to teach that person what I know and set them on a course of action that would improve their financial well being. The person that I would teach would have to be willing and have capabilities beyond just good looks, so I’d have to delve a bit deeper than the surface.

So I’ve been on the lookout and came up with an idea where I would even provide the potential person with a small income stream via working for me as a contributing author to my blog. The small income stream was a side effect of another experiment that I will mention at a later date. While not much, I calculated that I would be able to provide about $40 weekly, at least at first. The idea would be that this could balloon up to something much bigger, independent of my involvement.

Most middle-class kids wouldn’t be interested in my proposal, and although I could probably find many potential candidates at local colleges in my area, I decided to hit the bars first.  The idea that a young full-time bartender would not be going to college and probably wouldn’t have the upbringing that a typical middle-class kid would have.  So while not exactly needier, the individual wouldn’t be trained in the same financial principles as the college kids probably had.  And so, that where I come to the crux of this article “The hurdles with helping others financially“.

Hurdle 1.  Approaching Potential Individuals

I decided to approach young females first.  The problem with approaching young females in a bar is that they would think that I’m hitting on them.  So often time the female bartenders are on guard and don’t really trust me, at least in a short time-frame.  If I were to attend a bar for a long time (maybe 1 year), then they might trust me, but until such a relationship exists, it’s would be hard to extend such an offer (especially with very attractive female bartenders).  I have to admit, it’s hard for me to crack this egg, and I’m not a very outgoing person by nature.

Hurdle 2.  Lack of Fun Factor

Part of the experiment would be to teach the individual what I’ve learned and in the short term, provide a very small additional income stream.  The problem is that bartending is probably pretty fun in contrast, so why would they want to try my experiment.  They don’t know what I know, so they might not see much benefit in trying what I would like to try.  I think if you don’t know that there is another way, you might be apt not to try any such suggestions.  I guess what I’m saying is it’s hard to believe when you don’t have the exposure to such a thing.  For all I know, perhaps it’s like believing in Fairy Tales?

Hurdle 3.  Perseverance and Follow-thru

What I would be teaching would require a lot of skills and disciplines that my target might not possess currently.  The individual would have to do all of the following:  Believe that it’s possible, have the perseverance to not cash your accumulated money, and stick to a strict wealth-building routine.  Continue with the program that I would set up for them, even when I wouldn’t be there to offer encouragement.  Perhaps by teaching understanding and coolness towards money, this hurdle might be overcome with some hard work?

The above are some of the main hurdles I would face with this experiment.  I’m sure that I can provide benefit to others, but I might have to reconsider my candidate pool.

In the meantime, I’m running out of bars and bartenders…

More to come hopefully,

Don

The Real Financial Independence Crossover Point

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The crossover point of financial independence isn’t where you’ve been told.  Let me explain…

You see the crossover point where you are now considered financially independent and work is optional isn’t really the point that you think it is, instead it is just another financial milestone on the journey to financial independence…

The real crossover point of financial independence is much higher that point where your income equals your expenses.  So let’s say that you calculate that you need an even million for financial independence.  So if you have one million, and it was investing in such a way that it could provide you with a 5% yield (via a combination of bonds, stock dividends, real estate, etc), that would provide and income stream of about $50,000 a year.  For some of you 50k a year might not seem like a lot, but financial independence isn’t about a luxurious lifestyle, it’s basically the point where you can stop depending on earned income (your job) to survive at your current lifestyle.  So while 50k might not seem like enough, it’s past the point where you have to depend on a job to survive (at least most of us).

BusyOfficeMan

So why isn’t this the end of the story?

Because of market volatility and other unpredictable variables could move your “financial independence” point below what it is currently.  For example, let’s say that you have stock in a stalwart company you thought was rock solid, but it was ended up having some kinks in it’s armor, so that suddenly, the stock price decreases in value by 50% or even more, and as a result, it axes it’s dividend entirely.  Well, that puts you in a bind because suddenly you could have an income stream that is much lower than the 50k you thought you would have.

So what is a closer representation of my “financial independence “point?

Well, while there is no set in stone answer, I’m personally shooting for a number that is 50% higher than my “old” financial independence number.  So instead of 50k, I’m shooting for income stream of $75,000.  So for hypothetical nest egg amount, instead of 1 million,  I should shoot for 1.5 million, but since there is also taxes to consider I actually bumped my number up to cool 2 million dollar.

The point of this post is that you should overshoot your mathematical “financial independence” point just to have a cushion for variables that are not currently predictable.

Bests,

Don