Chris Brooks Newsletter 024
We finished our Arizona adventure, returned to Napa for the baby shower, and are now back on the road in southern Utah.
1. 🚘 Where I've been traveling
Our return from Arizona was a resumption of some back country exploration and boondocking. I'll do a post soon on Peanut's baby shower. I'm writing this while we are dispersed camping in Black Dragon Canyon just west of Green River, UT.
2. 📖 What I've been reading
Articles:
- I'm helping my sister with her transition to retirement at the end of the year, a mix of financial planning and education. That means re-visiting a lot of material, and finding updates. This article on the 3 secrets to being rich was a nice homage to The Millionaire Next Door, and similar to an article I wrote back in 2017. My friend Jim has been a huge help being a think partner on withdrawal strategies in retirement for safety and tax efficiency. I'll write some more on that in the future.
- Apple Pay and Digital Wallets – perhaps there's some legitimacy to the antitrust case being brought against Apple, but the talk around digital wallets is very annoying to me.
- How about a deep dive into structural continuity and the Francis Scott Key Bridge?
Books:
- Reading Slough House by Mick Herron, upon which the TV series Slow Horses is based. Very good.
3. 🍿 What I've been watching
YouTube:
- A first started reading Scott Kelby's books around 2007 as I dove in deep to DSLR photography. He's a great teacher. I stopped carrying a camera besides my phone around 2016. I'm surprised Scott just got around to teaching us how to use our iPhone cameras while traveling. I'm usually the one teaching friends and family these tips, but even I found a couple of gems in this video.
- Elvis and Frank on TV
TV Shows:
- Masters of the Air – A mile wide and an inch deep, but still fun to watch.
- Constellation – Sigh, I don't know what to say about this. Middle of the show was weak, ended strong, but I'm not thrilled that it is going to be continued.
- Full Swing, season 2 – overall better than the first season (especially the Fitz brothers) though I didn't love the Ryder Cup heavy finish.
Movies :
- Dune, Part 2 – we loved it.
- The Truth vs. Alex Jones – I can think of just one other person that I'd rather see walked to prison more than Alex Jones.
4. 🎶 What I've been listening to
Podcasts:
- Petter Attia interviewed Jason McCarthy to discussrucking: benefits, gear, FAQs, and the journey from Special Forces to founding GORUCK. A great entrepreneur story.
- We are back on the road with long driving trips, which means I'm back into A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs. Almost up to episode 100, which means I'm transitioning into the Beach Boys and Beatles era.
Music (much inspired by 500 songs):
- Ray Charles' What'd I Say and Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
- Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter
- Elvis is Back!
5. 🎮 What I've been playing
Played 7 Wonders with Jacob, Kaitlin, and friends. One more big boss (I think) to take care of in Baldur's Gate 3.
6. 😡 Mini Rant
I don't do this often on my blog but I ranted a wee bit about old folks being afraid and angry. This is primarily a way for me to write notes to my future self to keep a growth mindset, to appreciate how good I have it, and to understand younger generations will have different perspectives from which I can learn.
See you next month!
-Chris