Nov 21, 2020

On rebuilding eyelids

This for all zero of you interested in how an eyelid is reconstructed. I only know the details because I had most of a lower one removed a few years back (skin cancer of the lid margin which I heard is more common than one would think; remind your kids to wear UV sunglasses...) . This post, of course, has nothing to do with retirement finance.

Nov 15, 2020

Stochastic Present Value with a Floor

As I try to wind down my quant ret-fin stuff to focus on act IV of my V acts of life, I still, every once in a while, have that "I wonder what ___ would look like" moment. Today I wondered, without any real strong goal in mind, what a stochastic present value (spv) of spending would look like with a floor added in.   I had a guess but I wanted to see. In the end it probably doesn't matter since I don't manage a pension fund and as my ret-friend Ken Steiner reminded me sometimes simple is better especially when working with humans. In other words, if present value is a step too far for many retirees, then spv is an alien. But I still had that "wonder" thing.  

Nov 11, 2020

On inflection points

The astute will know that I have been bitchin about my blogging for maybe 2 years. The hyper-astute will recognize that I haven't done much since then. What gives?  Good question. Writing, as they say, is thinking and so therefore I will write.  

Nov 5, 2020

On an "early" retirement

Periodically I get asked if I am or was "FIRE" or alternatively "why did I voluntarily retire at such a risky age." Neither FIRE nor voluntary are completely true but neither are they entirely false. This kind of fuzz, and the question, demands -- even if it's only me consolidating my own thoughts by way of writing it down -- an explanation.