Useful Links

Westernskies · 03-10-2009, 10:43 AM

As a relative newbie (9 months and 1000 posts) to the forum, I would like to offer a newcomers perspective:

1. There are a wide range of posts and posters on this forum, loosely focused around early retirement. Sure, there are always a few off-topic threads (appropriately categorized so those not so inclined won't experience retinal scarring through accidental viewing) , but some of them have been a lot of fun- and experienced wider participation than many of the "pure-ER" threads.

2. SWR and Wellesley have been discussed ad nauseum.
There are always many active threads going around the financial aspects of ER; in the current economic climate posts about bacon, building a deck, or feline lukemia help to personalize the posters, lighten the mood and make things more interesting.

3. The fact that the forum is not so closely focused offers posters an opportunity to cuss and discuss a wide range of subjects- just like real life-I don't have any single-subject friends there, either. All SWR and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

4. I don't really care what the forum was like three or four years ago. People and processes evolve. It is only natural that FIRE would evolve as well.

5. Everyone who passes through this portal brings us pleasure. Most when they enter, some when they leave.

6. Having a curmudgeon certificate is a side benefit, not a prerequisite. I don't mind an occaisonal military ER poster finding us. Systematically excluding them would be a mistake, IMO. There are a few ex-military folks here who have great perspective to offer those of us who did not serve.

7. I have not experienced any issues with the forum being too slow. Boring sometimes, but never slow..

8. Closing the Soapbox was a mistake, IMHO. In fairness, I don't think the mods expected actions and reactions from Washington to play so closely into the economic collapse when the decision to close it was made. I also think that if reinstated it would be a different Soapbox than what we saw during the run-up to the election. The professional spammers accomplished their objective and won't crawl back out of the woodwork until 2012 or 2016...

dex · 03-10-2009, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50

And I'll take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to Andy and his staff and the mods for their efforts in this forum. It seems to be doing a pretty good job of meeting the needs of some of us, and I for one, am grateful for that. It is a valuable resource to me. So, THANKS.

-ERD50

I'll add my thanks also. With Firefox and Adblock, I do not see any advertisements. Also, the forum functions seem OK with me.

RonBoyd · 03-10-2009, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dex

After reading the posts tonight a question hit me?
What will be the future of www.early-retirement.org?

So the answer to your original question is: Seems bright... seems like.

BunsGettingFirm · 03-12-2009, 08:26 PM

I agree that closing the soapbox was a mistake. Everyone leans toward one end of the spectrum or another, so it's actually healthier to have an outlet. Otherwise, politics gets brought into every discussion even ones that aren't even related to politics. Think of the soapbox as the pee corner of the pool or the litter box.

REWahoo · 03-12-2009, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BunsGettingFirm

Think of the soapbox as the pee corner of the pool...

...or being just a little bit pregnant.

Nords · 03-12-2009, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo

...or being just a little bit pregnant.

Or having just a little cold sore...

BunsGettingFirm · 03-12-2009, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords

Or having just a little cold sore...

Well, it's better than searing off the cold sore and calling yourself cured. Politics, like cold sore, can never be cured.

NW-Bound · 03-12-2009, 10:22 PM

So, are political discussions the cause of all this discontentment? Cheer up people.

I have not logged in for a while... The truth is I have been w*****g! Yes, it's true.

I felt a little blue after my last post, when Goonie suddenly signed off. Then, I fortuitously discovered a song on youtube that was my favorite in my late teen years. I have been searching for it the last 35 years, not knowing the song title nor the singer. That song had a very special meaning for me when I was in my late teens. Listening to it again brought back a lot of memories, sending me into a deep melancholy. Perhaps one of these days I will tell the story.

Anyhow, it so happened that while recovering from that funk, I got a call from a friend. He needed some work that was a follow-on of what I did for him. So, I accepted the work to keep my mind busy. Before I finished that job (working from home), a megacorp where I worked called wanting to send me abroad for a short assignment. They were in a panic mode. With my portfolio having lost 8 to 10 years worth of expenses, would I be of the right mind to say no? I am now back in the States. Now, they want me to go on another trip next week, but this one is domestic.

So, I have been busy, and have not run off like others. This is still the only forum I frequent. There might be better ones out there, but hey, I've made some friends here, and it is enough.

The francophile in me also found a song that I've got to share. No, it's not the aforementioned nostalgic song that sent me down the memory lane, but if this song does not make you want to learn French, I wouldn't know what will. And by the way, it's the French version of "Dream a little dream of me" sung by Mama Cass Elliot, but the French lyrics mean something entirely different ("I dream with my eyes opened").

YouTube - Les Yeux Ouverts / Beautiful South

Telly · 03-12-2009, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BunsGettingFirm

..... Everyone leans toward one end of the spectrum or another, ............

I lean to the side that has the little guy with the pot 'O gold at it, aye, but it keeps slippin' through me fingers...

But seriously, I think this forum will one day return to the past, where there will be just a few posters a day, like Red Oscar (what became of him?), and Ted, and JGalt will be regaling us (repeatedly) with the fact that he owns no equities, and I posted more often.
Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end, we'd sing and dance, forever and a day.

FIREd · 03-12-2009, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREdreamer

But I have been worried by the disappearance of a few good people lately, including NW-bound, Notmuchlonger, LG4N and now Texarkandy... I hope they'll be back!

And just like that, NW-bound and Notmuchlonger are back!

NW-bound, I am glad to see that it was nothing more serious than w*rk that kept you away from the board (don't get me wrong it's still pretty serious

)

CuppaJoe · 03-13-2009, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound

So, I have been busy, and have not run off like others.
...

Thanks for the news, NW-Bound and the song. A song that throws me into a funk of memories is "Both Sides Now."

NW-Bound · 03-13-2009, 01:05 AM

Yes FireDreamer, I did read your kind post.

For you and others like CuppaJoe who know some French, I have posted this song, "L'amitié" (Friendship) by Françoise Hardy, one of my favorite French singers as I was growing up.

For all my other friends who don't know French, I have included Hardy's English version.

Again, my love for the French language surpasses my knowledge of it. The song "Les Yeux Ouverts" has so many colloquialisms that I needed to look up a translation on the Web.

YouTube - La Amitie - FranÃ§oise Hardy

YouTube - Francoise Hardy - So Many Friends (l'amitiÃ© - En Anglais)

dex · 03-13-2009, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound

So, I have been busy, and have not run off like others. This is still the only forum I frequent. There might be better ones out there, but hey, I've made some friends here, and it is enough.

Welcome back. This is the type of thing I like about this forum - you never know what you're going to get in a thread.

RonBoyd · 03-13-2009, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dex

This is the type of thing I like about this forum - you never know what you're going to get in a thread.

Ditto that!

haha · 03-13-2009, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dex

Welcome back. This is the type of thing I like about this forum - you never know what you're going to get in a thread.

I believe that more than any other factor, this is why this board succeeds while most others fail.

Ha

Westernskies · 03-13-2009, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dex

Welcome back. This is the type of thing I like about this forum - you never know what you're going to get in a thread.

Threadjacking?

FinanceDude · 03-13-2009, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbamI

That's what Monica should have thought.

Maybe she thought it was a time clock?

FinanceDude · 03-13-2009, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BunsGettingFirm

I agree that closing the soapbox was a mistake. Everyone leans toward one end of the spectrum or another, so it's actually healthier to have an outlet. Otherwise, politics gets brought into every discussion even ones that aren't even related to politics. Think of the soapbox as the pee corner of the pool or the litter box.

Careful, you might find yourself locked........

FinallyRetired · 03-13-2009, 08:51 AM

I've been on this forum for over eight years. I first joined through Dory's board, and became interested in FIRECALC and the various discussions about early retirement. At that time I was ready for retirement, but the dot com bust pushed that back several years. I was an intermittent contributor, sometimes being gone from the board for years, but always coming back. Now that I've been finally retired for some time, I have a special fondness for this board, since the posts helped me organize my retirement thinking and helped me through many rough spots. There are many selfless individuals here, well, maybe no one is completely selfless, but they are very helpful, and they share their expertise on everything from financial to legal and medical matters -- in a general sense, of course, no individual advice.

So, today I find myself returning to this board sometimes a bit too often, and I'm unsure how much I've contributed, since I'm beyond the FIRE planning stage. Much of that has been discussed ad nauseum, and is there is the search box or in the FAQs. OTOTH, I'm a slow learner, and have missed some things that are staring me in the face if I were to just read the FAQs.

So, long story short, I like this board, the variety it offers, the diversity in personalities and interests, and even the occasional tiff, though the posts through the election cycle was a bit much for me.

Thanks to all the moderators here, you do a great job.

CuppaJoe · 03-21-2009, 03:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound

....
For you and others like CuppaJoe who know some French, I have posted this song, "L'amitié" (Friendship) by Françoise Hardy, one of my favorite French singers as I was growing up.
....

Thanks for that song, also, NW-Bound. I’ve been offline for a week but had to comment on this. BIL introduced us to this group out of Portland, OR. We heard them at a symphony hall last summer and the crowd went wild when they got to that line which translates to “I don’t want to work.” “Je ne veux pas travailler” could be a contender for ER Forum song.

YouTube - Je Ne Veux Pas Travailler - Pink Martini (to Feh!!)

My room is a cage
The sun streams through the window,
the bellhops are at my door
like those little soldiers
who want to take me away.

I don't want to work,
I don't want to lunch
I only want to forget and so I smoke.

Long ago I knew the smell of love,
a million roses didn't smell as sweet.
Now a single flower in my way makes me sick.

Chorus

I am not proud if this life
that wants to kill me.
It's magnificent to be sympatico
but I have never known this.

Chorus
-----
After the poem, “Hotel” by Guillaume Apollinaire

Sympathique

Ma chambre a la forme d'une cage,
le soleil passe son bras par la fenetre.
Les chasseurs ma porte
comme les petits soldats
qui veulent me prendre.

Je ne veux pas travailler,
je ne veux pas dejeuner,
je veux seulement l'oublier et puis je fume...

Deja j'ai connu le parfum de l'amour,
un million de roses n'embaumerait pas autant.
Maintenant une seule fleur
dans mes entourages
me rend malade.

Je ne veux pas travailler,
je ne veux pas dejeuner,
je veux seulement l'oublier et puis je fume...

Je ne suis pas fire de ca,
cette vie qui veut me tuer.
C'est magnifique, etre sympathique,
mais je ne le connais jamais.

Je ne veux pas travailler,
je ne veux pas dejeuner,
je veux seulement l'oublier et puis je fume...

Useful Links

Latest Threads

Social Knowledge Community

About Us