Retirement 2.0

The agency is on track to break even and perhaps make a profit in 2013 which is ahead of our business plan. This month I picked up a part-time job as an executive of a small insurance company while Debbie picked up a side job as a bookkeeper for a local insurance association.

We may find ourselves pushing a combined Federal/State/Medicare tax rate of 50% again. I swore I would never pay that tax rate again.

Where is John Galt when you need him? He never came for me or was I as obtuse as Hank Rearden?

Who is Jack Martinez?

“Cloud computing” or “in the cloud” are phrases that I read almost every day now that many major technology companies have embraced this as their business model.  On the surface the concept is simple: all applications and data are hosted in secure data centers and user access is over a broadband Internet connection.

When I hear about clouds I think about something I have first noticed decades ago: that most people already live in a cloud.  They go through the motions of living but it appears as if outside forces are pulling their strings. Commons symptoms include: following the crowd, keeping up with Joneses, believing that reality TV is real, lacking any substantial interest in current news unless it involves a celebrity, and a general lack of curiosity about the world around us. 

Picture in your mind a football field with thousands of people standing, sitting, and moving about the field through a low fog bank that is spreading over the field.  Now notice a handful of them showing through the mist.  These are the “John Galts” that can come into our lives if we ourselves are aware.

Running into these people can greatly enhance our lives.  I am having lunch with one of them on Friday.  His name is Jack Martinez.  And today I traded e-mails with a great thinker – Charles Carroll.  Across the hall from my office is Debbie’s office, my spouse who challenges, inspires, and teaches me so much.  Now all I need is a call from Mikey!