Increasingly I am using AI as a force-multiplier to assist in writing text and developing concepts for blogging content. Not replacing myself or just putting endless, mindless content on the internet but using AI to explain core concepts after my own review, and then adding my own insights to the content before pulling it together as a blog post.
AI is a wonderful source of summarization of news articles and concepts in the news. It also can summarize the internet consensus on an issue, which then you can use as a basis to start out a blog post. Some parts of a blog post are just boiler text, many things I don’t have much to add to beyond what the internet already says or is widely known context. In the past, I would have just linked to a news article, but bringing the news here, by using AI generated summaries, then adding my own context, maps, and photos, makes a more satistifying presentation then linking off the blog.
Moreover, the more content that resides locally on my blog rather then linking off becomes potential ad revenue from the blog, to be picked up by search engines and bringing traffic here. It’s great that I am supporting other people’s websites, but I’d sure rather have the revenue here. Not that I make a lot of money on the blog, but it’s nice to cover the blog bills and get rewarded for making quality content, and keep people from having to click off the blog.
To break and reassemble a bike chain effectively, you must ensure the chain is securely seated in the tool’s cradle before applying pressure. Modern chains are generally not meant to be reassembled by reusing the old pin, as the chamfered edges that hold the link together are destroyed during removal.
Breaking the Chain
Position the Link: Place the chain into the guide slots of the chain breaker. High-end tools like the Park Tool CT-3.3 feature adjustable shelves to ensure the pin is perfectly centered.
Align the Pin: Turn the tool handle until the driving pin makes contact with the center of the chain rivet.
Drive the Pin Out: Turn the handle steadily. You will feel resistance as the pin begins to move, followed by a “pop” as it clears the outer plate.
Reassembling the Chain
Use a Master Link: Most modern mechanics recommend using a master link (or “Quick Link”) like the KMC MissingLink for reassembly. These are safer and easier to install than standard pins.
Replacement Pins: If your chain requires a pin, use a new Shimano Replacement Pin. These have a tapered “leader” section that helps guide the pin through the links.
Fixing Stiff Links: If the chain feels stiff at the new joint, use the “loosening shelf” found on tools like the Park Tool CT-5 to gently flex the plates back into alignment.
The past few weeks I’ve been reading The Millionaire Next Door (1996), a classic book about how many wealthy people are much frugal and less obvious then what the color television might suggest.
The core concepts revolve around the idea that wealth is built through discipline, frugality, and invisibility, rather than high-status consumption or luck. The book’s research identifies that most American millionaires live far below their means and are often first-generation affluent.
Core Concepts of the Book
Wealth vs. Income: True wealth is defined by net worth (what you keep), not annual income (what you spend).
Frugality as a Foundation: Millionaires typically drive used or practical cars, live in middle-income neighborhoods, and avoid luxury brands.
Efficient Allocation: Wealthy individuals spend more time planning their investments and managing their finances than they do shopping or consuming.
Financial Independence Over Social Status: They prioritize long-term security and “walk-away power” over the outward appearance of being rich.
The PAW vs. UAW Formula: The book categorizes people into Prodigious Accumulators of Wealth (PAW) and Under-Accumulators of Wealth (UAW) based on their ability to turn income into net worth.
Economic Outpatient Care: Giving financial support to adult children often hinders their ability to build their own wealth and encourages dependency.
The wealth-building formula in The Millionaire Next Door is a simple calculation used to determine your Expected Net Worth (ENW) based on your current age and earnings. It categories individuals as Prodigious, Average, or Under-Accumulator of wealth.
Age x Pre-tax Income / 10 = Expected Net Worth
Income: Includes realized household income from all sources (salary, dividends, etc.), but excludes any inheritances.
Net Worth: Your total assets (cash, investments, home equity) minus all liabilities (debt).
Expected Net Worth: What you should be at your age.
Wealth Accumulator Categories
The authors use the result of this formula to rank your wealth-building efficiency:
Prodigious Accumulator of Wealth (PAW): Your actual net worth is twice (2x) your ENW or more.
Average Accumulator of Wealth (AAW): Your actual net worth is roughly equal to your ENW.
Under-Accumulator of Wealth (UAW): Your actual net worth is one-half (0.5x) your ENW or less.
Modern Criticisms of the Formula
While the formula is a useful rule of thumb, it has some notable limitations:
Younger Earners: The formula often overstates expected wealth for people in their 20s and early 30s who haven’t had time for compound interest to work or who carry heavy student debt.
Late Bloomers: It can understate targets for those near retirement whose investments have had decades to grow exponentially.
Home Equity: There is debate among readers on whether to include primary residence equity. While the book generally includes it in total net worth, many modern advisors suggest focusing on investable assets for a clearer picture of retirement readines
How Things Have Changed Since 1996
While the behavioral principles remain relevant, the economic landscape has shifted in notable ways:
Inflation and the “$1 Million” Bar: In 1996, $1 million was a high bar for wealth. Due to inflation, $1 million in 1996 would require nearly $2 million today to maintain the same purchasing power. A $1.46 million net worth is now often cited as the minimum needed for a comfortable retirement.
Housing Costs: Real estate has outpaced general inflation in many areas. A modest home that used to be a hallmark of the “next door” millionaire can now cost over $500,000, making the “modest neighborhood” strategy harder to achieve for younger generations.
Conspicuous Consumption Culture: Social media has intensified “lifestyle inflation” and the pressure to signal status, making the quiet, invisible wealth of the 1990s harder for many to maintain.
Democratized Investing: When the book was written, fewer than 25% of households owned stocks; today, that number is over 60%, thanks to low-cost index funds and automated apps.
Shifting Career Paths: While many of the original millionaires were small business owners, modern millionaires are increasingly highly-compensated employees (e.g., in tech or medicine) who may prioritize aggressive saving over owning an “unglamorous” business.
I will put on a rain coat mid-morning and brave out to the bike shop to get a quick link. I tried to reuse the quick link from another chain, but apparently it’s a single use part and it popped out on test riding, though not far from home this time.
I’m still wrenching the bike 🔧 but hopefully if I buy a quick link from Mad Dawg Bicycles I’ll be able to get the bike back on the road by tomorrow. I looked into reusing a pin from another chain but it’s not recommended, and indeed once I pulled the quick link from the old bike, they say you really can’t reuse it. They’re not that expensive, certainly cheaper then a chain and cassette. I still am working on straightening and adjusting the derailuer – that might be at the root of my problem. I ‘m hoping to ride in on Monday and Tuesday of next week, also visit the Arboretum tomorrow if the weather is good enough.
Going out to see Mom and Dad later today, 👨👨👦 as they plans for Mother’s Day. I will probably wait until tomorrow to take the SuperDuty to Wally World 🛒 and I don’t know maybe do a hike or visit an preserve if it’s not raining too much tomorrow. I can say I want to drive as little as possible with the high gas prices but honestly I don’t care that much. It’s not that much money, 💰 and eventually gas prices will come down. ⛽ It’s silly to think what is happening today will forever be the future, as such short-term thinking is rarely the long-term reality, as we all learned in 2008 and 2022 with the big hikes in fuel prices those years. And I still make good money, and investments continue to grow rapidly with good economy.
Truth is that the SuperDuty is such a pain point in my mind. 🧠 I do like my truck, but I concede it was not cheapest truck, though it’s still a very basic work truck, admitly an HD truck. I try to be frugal but it’s the one luxury in my life, drinking fuel like all HD truck pickups do. Did I need the one-ton axle? Or legitimately all the off-road features and remote start? But it’s a lot of fun on the back roads, even if it has carpet delete and a very unpadded steering wheel. I had considered a steering wheel cover but decided against it as another expense. Honestly once I get the cap and things wired up I will travel more, though it’s black fly season 🐜 and that sucks in the woods. Things will be so much nicer come July.
I still want to do that Michigan trip in August, but I’m so troubled by gas prices. ⛽ But you bought yourself a brand new F-350, not a 25-year old Honda Civic and you’re worried about fuel economy and global warming 🌏 so you want to drive said ginamormous truck to Michigan to drive past all those stinky old dairies 🐮 and hog farms 🐽 with smoldering burn barrels out back. 🛢️ And see the great wilds of the Upper Peninsula. I should draw a line on gas price – maybe $5 or $5.50 a gallon is too much to spend but what difference really would it make for a great summer trip?🌲 🌲 🌲 A couple hundred bucks? I bought the HD truck for reliability but those SuperDuty truck groups on internet increasingly have me down with all the problems people report, though I’m not convinced that Toyota, GM or Dodges are any better. 🛻 Car just suck today, or maybe they always did.
Other then that, I want to finish up readingThe Millionaire Next Door 📚 today. I’ve had that book out from the library for about two weeks now, and I’ve kind of read it for a while, then put it down. The book is 30-years out of date, though the message seems still seems quite valid. I am always quite interested in personal finance and investing, because it buys things like my F-350, and eventually that off-grid cabin with the hogs and burn barrel out back. 🛖 And no more recycling plastics, paying electric bills or hopefully buying as few groceries or going to town as little much as possible with all the urbna problems and crap. 💩 Compost and not landfill the poop.
