Bad Design Choices

Posted on May 11, 2026 by Tom Trimbath

Maybe I’ll get a new car. There’s no ‘maybe’ about being surprised and upset at the design choices made in my current one. But there are some advances I think will happen in a few years. But the price of gas is ridiculous. But new cars depreciate so quickly. But. But. But. But, the Ambient Air Temperature sensor failed. No biggie, except that it triggers many unrelated things – and cost ~$1,100 to fix. Eep. Someone made some bad design choices. Should I decide to replace this car with a new one? Pondering.

It is something simple, really. Once upon a time my cars didn’t tell me the temperature. I was either hot or cold or fine, and I adjusted the heater and window appropriately. Ha! Now, there’s a seemingly innocuous sensor that tells me what it thinks the temperature is, and displays it on the dashboard. Okay. Several weeks ago, for no readily apparent reason, the temperature started to climb. It’s Spring here, so 60F is a good guess. It started to show 75F. Odd, but sunshine could do that. The shop said to ignore it. I did. It’s only the outside air temperature, and sensors make errors. Then, on a three-hour drive to Kalaloch, the next site for one of my books, the temperature gradually went up to 114F. Odd, but even if that was the true case, my car had been through that on a trip through Eastern Washington. It dropped back down before I got home. Then it started to climb. I’ll spare you the details, but after it passed 209F it only showed ___F. Frustrating, but I can ignore it. It’s just a bad sensor for a system that doesn’t matter.

Ah, but for some reason that neither I nor the mechanics can discern, the Check Engine light came on. Take it to the shop. The engine is fine. But for some reason, Jeep sent the non-essential data through a decision gate that said I should Check the Engine – every time I started the car. I can ignore knowing the outside air temperature, but if there was an engine issue, it could be hiding behind that same message. Maybe I really should Check the Engine, and not know it. 

So much for the Car Talk solution of slapping black tape over the display. The mechanics said it shouldn’t matter – as long as nothing else went wrong – and as long as the outside air temperature doesn’t somehow feed into the HVAC system or the fuel mixture.

Fix it, I said. Sure, they said. It’ll be about $1,200, they said. What?! It’s a sensor. Probably a cheap thermocouple. A few bucks. Yes, and no. The sensor is in the passenger side mirror assembly. The entire mirror assembly has to be replaced. ~$600. It isn’t plug-and-play, so the labor was more than $300. Then there’s taxes and such. ~$1,100

Over a grand to fix a part that cost a few bucks, but which somehow got involved in the engine operational warning system. 

Allow me to shift to a different perspective before I have, what one friend calls, a ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ moment. Cue the Wagnerian opera.

Jeeps were critical in World War II. They established a reputation for frugality, reliability, and ease of maintenance. After the war, that adjusted to a rural and suburban lifestyle, frequently one that involved pavement. Gasp! Jeep stayed Jeep. They were rugged, not fancy, and reliable.

I bought my first one in 1987, just as Jeep had morphed from Jeep to AMC to Chrysler. Things were cushier, but not fancy. Windows still rolled up and down. Cruise Control wasn’t a thing. 4WD benefited from the driver knowing what’s going on. In 2000, a sensor died, one integral to the engine. It was small but vital. I had the money and got a new Cherokee, just as Chrysler shifted ownership to Mercedes or BMW. (The irony of a German car manufacturer building a vehicle designed to fight the Germans decades earlier was – intriguing.). Cruise Control! Automatic Transmission! Seats that are so luxurious that I couldn’t buy certain trim kits because they emphasized form over function. That same engine sensor died. I got it fixed. Skip forward to having to sell it to accept the ‘gift’ of a truck in the mid-2010s. Skip forward to that Chevy truck failing. The car shop was beside a Jeep dealer during the pandemic. The truck was the wrong vehicle for a realtor. I bought a 2016 Jeep Renegade. Back to Jeep, but now it was half-built by Fiat. (Jeep/AMC/Chrysler/Mercedes/Fiat/?)

It is a fine car, er, sport utility vehicle. Originally, the emphasis was on utility. Then, the emphasis was on sport. Now, the emphasis is on luxury. The Owners Manual only had about three pages devoted to 4WD, but at least a quarter of the pages devoted to the radio. It isn’t quite a Jeep, but then my needs have never exceeded its capabilities.

I could get by without knowing the ambient air temperature. I can’t ignore the Check Engine light.

I also can’t ignore that a non-essential part intrudes on the essential operation of the vehicle, and that part costs over a thousand dollars to replace. (And weeks because delivery was slow, and they delivered the wrong part.)

Someone made a bad design choice. 

I’m shopping for a new car. Whether I’ll cough up the tens of thousands of dollars for a new car is not obvious. New cars depreciate quickly, but the old version of the new tech can be faulty. The gas prices make me consider a hybrid, which again drives me towards a new car. But the batteries are about to change in a few years, I think. 

My quandary is unresolved.

My lesson, however, is learned. This may sound trite, but here’s how it comes out. The successive owners of the Jeep brand turned a reliable utility vehicle into a superficial reminder of what it was. It is sad to see. Every year, a few more tweaks to meet a market, and they’ve wandered into mediocrity while competitors have moved in. There are Jeeps, like the Wrangler, but they are aiming at the luxury market, not the utility market. 

I’m looking forward to Slate, which starts selling utility trucks soon, but maybe not soon enough. I’m looking forward to, and invested in, solid-state batteries, which may become available in the next few years. But there are reasons to buy a new car now.

This blog is about personal finance, and personal finance is frequently not a set of clear choices, despite the pontification of pundits. I wanted to document my thoughts about the possible purchase, and about the diminution of a brand. 

My stocks were up today, by just about enough to buy a Subaru Crosstech Hybrid, but money doesn’t work that way. It’s a good sign, but other issues arise that may be part of another post.

For me, affordable reliability matters. Jeeps don’t meet affordable nor reliable. I’m sad to see the reality of that history become just marketing text. Regardless, such brands fade as their original values fade, and like many others, I must move on. Jeep, I’m glad I knew you when.

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Two Years Vs Twenty+ Years

Posted on May 8, 2026 by Tom Trimbath

Anniversaries can be handy times to reflect on changes and choices. Two years ago I sold my cottage (868 sq ft) and bought a tiny house (391 sq ft). Life is better, some through good choices, some through luck. Life is better now, and yet, this phase is temporary; but then, isn’t that always the case?

For a deeper dive into my living in a tiny house I suggest one of my other blogs. (Two Years In My Tiny House) My apologies to those who expect either rainbow-and-butterflies literature or to those who expect a grimy-working-through-trauma diatribe. My life is real. The story is between those two extremes.

This blog refers to that day two years ago when I sold my cottage and bought this tiny house. That was when I sold a view, and got rid of a mortgage. I bought a life that is debt-free, with asterisks. My friends are one measure of the transition; they tell me I look less worried and happier. My finances, well, they’re the real reason for this post.

My finances are doing much better now.

The chart shows the money transferring in from the house into my portfolio. Nice bump. The cash eventually became stocks. First, though, it went to paying off debts, un-deferring deferred purchases and services, and to general living expenses. Fine. I sold some stock for various described throughout this blog, and am about ready to sell some more. It looks like I can afford it, though deciding which stock to sell is an active task that I’ll resolve soon.

Every step up in that red line has taken me further from worry. Whew. 

Look at that chart from before May 2024 and imagine how worried I’d been.

My financial recovery has been more immediate than my health recovery. That may take years. Being poor is unhealthy.

And look again at the chart from before May 2024. There wasn’t much there. Today the chart looks much healthier, and it is; but those portfolios from then haven’t changed much now. What has changed was the result of re-investing in the stock market – and probably finding good luck too.

Those pre-2024 stocks were leftovers from selling most of my holdings while losing 98% of my Net Worth. (Browse through posts about ‘Triple Whammy‘ for years of details.) I still have those stocks: GERN, LCTX, MVIS. I bought and have held those stocks, effectively, since circa 2000. LTBH would suggest and the company’s statements and progress would suggest that they may still become profitable to the firm and to me. They languish, regardless.

My post May 2024 stocks have made the positive difference: GMGMF, SLDP, QBTS, and LUNR. They have all at least doubled. QBTS is ‘only’ up >100% in the last year, but it trades at >$22 and I bought it ~$1. 

Luck? Some will say. But it takes money to make luck and the decision to act upon it, which is an active act. I didn’t just ‘luck’ into those stocks.

Both the stocks I’ve held for decades and the recent successes were chosen based on the same criteria: buy stocks in companies working on positive, disruptive, and growing companies is industries ready for disruption. It just happened that my recent purchases were closer to ready than I thought. My older holdings seem to be well-positioned, though I suspect the current administrations are not leaders, more like managers who found a good job. The younger companies tend to be driven by founders who were driven. I see that drive in the recent companies, but not in the older ones.

It’s almost as if two criminal acts (Wall Street white-collar criminals who were found guilty) negated luck, or more than a decade of my opportunities – and I lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Shudder.

After I lost my money and before I sold my house it became easy to hear others’ opinions. They weren’t favorable.

But then I remember that, by living frugally, and investing wisely or luckily or both, I retired at 38 in 1998. Most of those stocks are gone because of a divorce. But, my reawakened confidence reminds me that many others wanted my advice. See Dream. Invest. Live. to see examples of what worked and what didn’t. I wrote the book by request. I’m glad I learned enough then, and have been reminded about it lately. 

There are no guarantees. That period from 2010 to 2024 proved that. But good things can happen, too. My portfolio since my tiny house sale proves that. I haven’t made enough to buy my cottage, or some similar house, back; but that’s mostly because I don’t want a mortgage. The mortgage companies made sure that my experience was sufficiently traumatic that I don’t know if I could survive that level of abuse again, literally.

Money isn’t everything, and investments aren’t money until they’re sold. But of all the adjustments I’ve made to living in a tiny house, the extra money, the lower expenses, and the increased opportunities have been the greatest. I miss having parties. I miss the view. I am recovering from the worries, and can tell they’ll take a while to heal.

I pause as I type for many reasons. Some is a wonder if this is ‘Too Much Information’. Some is a worry about feedback, especially from people who read this post without learning more about my situation. (Muddling By, a roller-coaster ride through America’s wealth classes) But I realize that I’m writing this to chronicle my story and also to not hide the swings that can come into a life. Maybe someone will learn something – and is it a radical notion to expect someone to learn anything? Whoa. That’s an unexpected social commentary. Gotta think about that one.

Good things can happen. Patience is a virtue, but not a guarantee of success. Being resilient can be the only way to get through. But, it is possible to get through the bad to get to the good. Sometimes it takes patience, and remembering to trust yourself and keep learning.

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Mobility Hints

Posted on May 1, 2026 by Tom Trimbath

Do you ever get the feeling that the universe, The Universe, is trying to tell you something? My bicycle has developed an occasional tendency to lean, and no one can figure out why. My knee is getting worked on, but the real work starts in about a month. My car is in the shop, not yet, but will be. What should I do, stay at home to garden, weed, cook, and read?

But it’s sunny out and the weekend is coming! It’s in the 60s! (The 60s seeming warm is a sign of Spring. In Autumn that may seem cool.) Sigh.

It is easy to assume mobility is a given, until it isn’t. 

I’m in the enviable position that I am finally retiring into retirement. I still have books and photos to produce, and volunteer work to tackle; but, I am also looking at great expanses of gaps in my schedule that are undefined. I have time to do things like hike, bike, travel, and explore that long list of someday-I’m-gonnas. 

Don’t assume it is easy. Some folks see that expanse of options, get overwhelmed and scared, and retreat back to the comfort zone of work. The pay’s good, I hope.

I’m glad I didn’t wait until now to start considering such options. Retiring, at least temporarily, at 38 meant adventures and travel that seemed normal. My body was flexible and recovered quickly. Then there was that messy financial upset. They caught the folks, but the money didn’t return. At least I had a few years of freedom. I think freedom is back again.

(By the way, I applauded then and now my friend who, when he hit 30, bought four sets of airplane tickets, continent to continent, for flights three months apart, then spent a year traveling the world. No reservations except those tickets. After he got back, he figured he could go back to work with stories.)

But then, my bicycle developed a lean. Really? A lean? Yep. A lean. If I looked straight down at the front tire I should just see tire. Instead, I saw pavement through the spokes. The bike seemed to want to be turning right. I got off the bike, checked adjustments, saw the same thing, readjusted stuff, saw the same thing, took it into the shop, and they couldn’t find anything either. It almost feels fine, but it also dumped me into pavement when I tried a U-turn. Go figure. A few bucks to the mechanic, and wonder why it straightened out for a while. I ride it cautiously. 

I like to hike and dance and generally move. I’ll spare you the longer story (though I may write about it later), but the X-rays show that I am hobbling and can only dance in one direction because – take your pick – either over-use, or arthritis, or both. Hiking happens, but slowly and ideally on smooth terrain. Dancing is internally frustrating because I vaguely remember old moves, but can’t do them. I dance, with apologies. The Follows do most of the work, anyway. I’ve had three gel injections, but I suspect the bone-on-bone contact will require resurfacing surgery. 

My car is probably fine, despite the Check Engine light. The mechanics think it and the computer agrees that it is fine, but the Ambient Air Temperature gauge thinks it is 196F outside, so thinks I should get something fixed. I’d drive it with black tape over the display, but that Check Engine Light can cover other issues that also use it. The shop will fix that next week.

So, for this weekend, I’ll timidly bike, dance, and drive. Emphasis on the timidity.

The bike routes are along bus routes, kinda. The knee stuff is manageable as long as I don’t act like it is 55 years old. The car is probably fine, and I have AAA, so I’ll stay on roads with shoulders and in places with cell-phone coverage.

The bike may be old, and could be replaced. The knee surgery won’t be cheap, and Medicare may help. The car is going to cost so much to fix (really? Yea, really.) that I am considering getting a new, or new-ish, car.

Mobility costs.

Or I could stay home. Nah.

Mobility is a necessity for most people. It is a luxury when it becomes discretionary. It isn’t necessarily cheap. Getting places also has a value.

I intend to spend the money and the time to resolve these issues. I’m sure many of you know work-arounds for each. I do too. But I wonder if The Universe is suggesting that I slow down, take it easy, and spend time at home. There’s a meeting then a dance today only 5-ish flat miles from home. I’d ride the bicycle, but my winter (and knee-enabled) weight gain suggest I drive. It’s along a bus route and AAA can get there easily, if necessary. There are things to do this weekend, but I have a yard, and books to write, so I may just stay home.

But I know that I’ll eventually spend thousands of dollars fixing these things, and that puts a value on the results of that mobility. I might just have a drink and ponder that. It’s not like I’ll be driving.

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Take A Nap

Posted on April 24, 2026 by Tom Trimbath

Chaos reigns, and we probably haven’t seen the weirdest. (Imagine if Taiwan was invaded while the rest of this chaos was going on?) It’s almost turning into a litany for me: social injustice, political unrest, climate change, artificial intelligence. Those aren’t the only upsets happening, but they cover a lot of the topics. They all need to be reacted to, but a team works by letting some take a break while others come off theirs and continue the work. Tired? Stressed? The most prudent (and financially responsible) thing to do may be to do nothing, for a while, if you’re tired.

That nap took longer than I expected. I’m 67. I am no longer as active, except for writing, at least for a while. There are some stress-related issues that are taking longer than I expected to unwind. (A police siren wails as I type this. Someone is always having a bad day.) It turns out, poverty does not resolve itself with a cash infusion. I’m learning that if my body wants to rest, and I have the time, I should let it rest. 

Social Injustice is working its way through our societies, but slowly. We’re still correcting injustices from slavery, and supposedly that was legally resolved more than a hundred years ago. Supposedly. Generational change is slow. I can encourage it, but great wise leaders were able to shift but not completely change thoughts, habits, and attitudes.

Political unrest seems to be the norm, except for rich Scandinavian countries. Part of that may be media influence, but I suspect the majority of issues are stemming from the scandalous politicians in the news. (I would like it if felons weren’t given screentime and were precluded from posting until after they’ve served their sentences. They’re in jail, right?) The strongest force in politics is the public. Elections don’t just shift a narrative, they replace people in power. Elections take years. I vote. I look forward to the next vote.

Climate change has been happening for decades, centuries, and may even be traced back to the start of agriculture (which some speculate was started as a way to make more beer.) The Industrial Revolution started when there were fewer than a billion people. We noticed the warming trends decades ago. I remember the first Earth Day. I was in elementary school, and even then, I thought it was a good idea then. We had under 4 billion people. Now we have over 8 billion. The data has yet to turn a corner. Rectifying the situation may take that 8-10 billion people just as long to slow the trends. Add another century for us to bring it back down. I try to live frugally, and the more of us, the better.

Artificial Intelligence captures as many headlines as the rest, but for many people it is harder to understand than the other three topics. It’s happening faster, and may make our efforts in other fields moot. Ten years ago when I started thinking about writing about AI as the basis for my scifi novel (Firewatcher), AI was seen by many as being something that might happen by 2100. Surprise! Today’s AI headlines would’ve sounded like fiction then, but scarily-powerful AIs have been let loose within the last few weeks. That chaos is so rapid that I no longer try to stay ahead of it and am more likely to be in a reactive mode. Will the Luddites reunite? Will it matter? This time next year the world will be different, and I can’t outguess it.

I’m more likely to take naps. Maybe I’m preparing for an era when there will be less time to react. Maybe I’m just tired. My doctors all agree that I should relax more. Gotta try that.

The financial news has always been chaotic to warrant constant coverage. Even The Count of Monte Cristo had an element of financial unrest. Cable news, and now the Internet, mean it is always possible to learn some new insight. Get up in the middle of the night? There’s market news to track. That may get busier.

One way I dial down the stress is to buy and hold for the long term, typically. In this market, when something spikes up I may, may, sell a bit. (See my recent history with QBTS.) I watch the stocks every day, but I don’t act on them every day. My recent post about Volatility is still valid. Daily shifts in my portfolio can be a few percent, and my portfolio is at least somewhat diversified (compared to some I know.) That’s volatile.

But, I am not going to become more volatile on purpose. My stocks are in biotech (which takes years), solid-state batteries (which may be gaining traction now, or at least soon), lunar industry (which is a wild ride, but beginning a new industry, not just a new company), quantum computing (which is not AI, but may get tied to it as they both develop), and of course MVIS (which has become a topic of conversation, but nothing anyone I know takes seriously. I hang on out of habit.)

I am spending more time on things I can actively create. My writing keeps me busy (TomTheWriter.net). If a book made money, great; but, I am satisfied to be chronicling life and Nature. Maybe some naturalist or historian will find some benefits there. I also dance, because it is nice to have an activity that is about fun. I also am emphasizing recovering from over a decade of poverty. The health issues are not academic or hypothetical. Knees and teeth, first. Other internal stuff such as correcting those two are key to diet and exercise. Again, something that apparently takes years to resolve.

There is chaos in the world. There are also lives to be lived. It’s financially prudent to take care of yourself. You may have advocacy work to do, but trust the other people working on it too. Take a break. Take a nap. We’ll all be better because of it.

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Volatility Still

Posted on April 17, 2026 by Tom Trimbath

A year’s salary in one week? I’ll take that. Down a year’s salary since the beginning of the year? Oops and ouch, but that’s part of the story too. Stocks are volatile, or can be. The world is volatile, and has been for a while. It is easy to get distracted by the swings, but it’s the long term and what’s happening when it is time to sell that are what matter.

By the way, the last time I had data from a year’s salary was 1997. Some adjustments might be necessary. In today’s dollars, think in terms of new-car money but not new-house money.

Let’s keep it simple. QBTS was up ~54% this week. Others, too, to different amounts. Yay! Friends might cheer. My portfolio is down since the beginning of the year. Argh and oof.

Stocks are supposed to move based on news, facts, and data that deal with the company. Nice idea. Wars change things, regardless of whether they directly affect the company.

Pick a day or a month or some random time and the stocks will have moved. Stocks don’t stand still. The market has market makers that keep things volatile, even when the world says otherwise.

The world has been volatile. Oy.

Stocks and the market have been volatile. Blame the war(s).

Social injustice, climate change, politics, and artificial intelligence aren’t going to quiet to nothing soon. Each is getting busier. The markets are going to be volatile. Investments can be forgiven for bouncing around.

It was up. Why didn’t you sell? It was down. Why didn’t you buy? Traders do.

I think of myself as an investor. I know people who are more cautious. I know people who are more aggressive. I buy for the long term and sell when it makes sense or when I need the money. I watch stocks daily, but prefer to trade once a year, maybe twice. It can be stressful (and poor tax policy) to trade more often.

QBTS was in a slump, but it was more from sentiment than events. Then, QBTS regained some investor confidence, and the stock went up. Artemis went around the Moon (yay!), which didn’t include LUNR, but I’m not complaining as it went up too.

Evidently, few folks can manage the potential emotional swings.
Evidently, I can; the two one-time criminal debacles weren’t easy.

Volatility is not a sign of corporate health. MVIS swings ever day, but the stock and the company go nowhere – so far.

Volatility is enforced to make sure there’s a market for the stock (so I understand). I know traders who have proudly made major bucks by buying, selling, repeat MVIS stock regardless of whether Microvision makes product progress.

I type this on a Friday night. By the numbers, this was a good week. By the news, the companies made progress, good technical progress, but not significant financial progress (except LUNR, but that story may get told later.) 

In my opinion, investing can benefit from some emotion, but shouldn’t be ruled by it. Nothing should be ruled without considering logic. Only considering logic might work, dullness lives at the end of that path.

I’m glad for the positive volatility, and am even enjoying a drink as I type; but today I went dancing and had far more fun. Investing can be good, but there’s more to life than money.

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Meditating Through Chaos

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Tom Trimbath

Don’t worry. This post isn’t woo-woo. It is actually about personal finance. Meditation’s main cost is time. That’s not a trivial cost, but with prices going up and supplies going down, it can be handy to find a way to cope that doesn’t involve a wallet.

I’m also not going to claim that meditation is a panacea. Panaceas don’t exist. Sorry. During one episode in my life, meditation was my refuge, but the outside world became so chaotic that it was a shock to re-enter the world. Meditating was great, but the dissonance was too great to manage. 

I’m also not going to claim that you should always do more. When a person doesn’t have much money, time becomes even more valuable. During the stint when I was working 361 days a year and usually 10-14 hours a day, extending my meditation sessions meant not making enough to live. Suggesting more is better highlights someone’s opinion is based on financial stability. Not everyone can afford that luxury.

Meditation is a luxury, and it can be a necessity. My life has been far from flawless, but I’m been glad to find some time to do some meditation. Imagine how much more difficult it would’ve been without it. Thank you, meditation.

At an initial level, meditation provided that refuge that I mentioned. When the dissonance wasn’t so large the meditation was a reset. For a while, I reminded myself that many of my worries and anxieties were theoretical or at least not-right-now. When I had enough time I could start to feel my face muscles relax, then my neck, then lower. I’m sure it works differently for others.

There are meditation gurus and coaches. There are classes and support groups. They might cost money and they may take more time to engage with, and they can be worth it. You might be able to do it yourself.

I have been lucky. I study a defunct style of karate (long story about Okinawa, founder families, and humanity). My style rarely shows up in the movies because it is not flashy. One idea does resonate; karate is for defense. On the business side, offense sells better. Defense is good enough for me. We started and ended each class with meditation. It was a time to disconnect from the world’s worries and focus on the here and now.

Here and now sounds trivial and simple, but reality is not in the past or the future. Here and now is reality, or as close as I guess we can get to it.

Meditation is inherently simple. One instructor pointed out that the original meditation was simply a breathing exercise. At each person’s core, we have to breathe. The way we breathe affects our stress level, or its lack. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. Use the diaphragm. 

I find it funny how hard it can be to breathe simply. I can be so wound up that a session passes and I just got past that moment’s worries before I have to go back out into that world.

But I shouldn’t have to. Meditation has an infinity of depths. To me, one ultimate is moving meditation, a moment that some describe as zen, a moment when meditation is no longer a stance or a posture or a way to sit. Gardeners can get there. Anyone exercising a skill or craft can have such moments. I’ve never had such a moment in a meeting unless I’ve clued out from boredom.

But considering the list the current day worries, it is a relief to know that a refuge is always readily available inside my head.

One monk pointed out that monasteries in remote mountains are great places to practice meditation, but that people living in society have it tougher, and that their practice has a greater effect. A monk on a mountain who achieves peace has an accomplishment, but a single-parent who is barely sustaining their family needs meditation more, and any peace they can pass along is far more beneficial. The refuge in the mountains should be preserved, but peace in normal life is more precious.

I’m retired now, so I have fewer excuses to not meditate more. I meditate about an hour a week. A friend meditates fifteen minutes a day. I know a month who meditated in silence for ten years. It’s all good.

I’ve been meditating for over four decades. I’ve experienced a few layers of relaxation. I’ve even experienced a few sessions that are best described in koans, an attempt to capture in words something that can’t be captured in language. My life in my tiny house (MyTinyExperiment.net) has too many distractions, ironically. I’m not that good, yet. More space is better, or maybe that’s because I think nature is more natural.

A meditation space costs money because land costs money. Using public lands costs time, too. I won’t trivialize modern meditation by claiming that it’s free, but its costs can be far less than its benefits. 

OK. I should go sit and breathe for a while, but first I have to publish this post. There’s just so much to do!

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Taxes 2026 – Giving Up

Posted on March 30, 2026 by Tom Trimbath

My taxes are done! What I mean is, I filed and paid my taxes. Taxes are never done. And, I give up. My taxes weren’t done by me; my taxes were done by a professional. I’ve given up trying to figure out forms that evidently take professional expertise. I paid their fee. They saved me money. I think it works better this way.

Don’t forget the taxes! Don’t forget any of them. 

Write a book. Sounds laborious and simple. It is basically. But whether it sells or not, a flurry of paperwork follows. Royalties seem simple. Selling a copy personally seems simple. A bookstore sale may mean commission sales, and a different tax rate for each location. Already there are three tax categories to report. 

Give a talk? Another category. Track it too, if they paid you anything .

Oh yeah, and if you’re going to claim driving expenses, mark them, tally them, and prepare to defend them. Same for travel and entertainment. If you don’t make a profit, well, is doing paperwork good practice? Same for advertising, computer expenses, home office costs, etc. All good things, ideally, but there’s little tolerance for judging that recording an expense isn’t balanced by the income. Prove it. Sounds simple. Keep track of those simple things.

Got consulting clients? Good. Track them.

Made any money doing any business? Track it too. 

Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps comes with a lot of paperwork to prove that you didn’t make enough to cover expenses, yet. Don’t be surprised if you spend hours to zero is the true answer. 

At least this year I didn’t have a mortgage, or house purchase, or a major medical expense. Truly simplifying.

A pension? That doesn’t change, but must be tracked.

Social Security? Tell one part of the government what another part of the government did because for some reason it makes more sense to put us in the middle, two more opportunities to file a wrong number or put the right number in the wrong place. Simple? 

Add enough simplicity and complexity emerges.

Sell some stock. Make some money. Report it. Fine. Of all the numbers in my various incomes, stock sales are the simplest, assuming all of the paperwork exists. I sold some QBTS for more than the rest combined. That sale was the simplest. It’s almost as if the forms were made for people who only have stock sales. 

My effective 2025 tax rate ~3%. When I was working it was double digits. When I was only living off stock sales, the lowest was 0.15% as I recall. It’s enough to convince this experienced citizen that the American Way is not to work but to sell stock. An interesting incentive plan.

Hours of work chasing down documents that had low numbers because business is off. I won’t compare that to the value of my time working on inconsequential documentation.

I am entrepreneurial. The forms also work well for folks who have one job, one paycheck, and nothing happening outside work. There are probably incentives for entrepreneurs and creatives, but I suspect the forms are arcane, and the data is hard to obtain. So the incentive is to not be entrepreneurial and creative but to have one of the vanishing conventional W-2 jobs.

Which is why I hire someone to figure out my taxes. I still have to spend dozens of hours chasing down data and documents, but at least I don’t have to find the forms too, and keep track every year as deductions are added, altered, and eliminated.They do that. I fill in their still-long but simpler form, hand it to them, then a few weeks later they finish, we review, and I pay.

‘But, but, but,’ my frugal friends say. ‘Doing it yourself is cheaper.’ Yes and no. My tax preparer charges a few hundred dollars. That’s non-trivial. One year alone, they found a ~$3,000 deduction I didn’t realize existed. Every year they prove their value. For me, the most frugal thing to do is to let them do their work. 

Thanks, folks (though I don’t expect them to see this for months if at all because they have many clients, and some of them have businesses that benefit from all of those forms.

Now, pardon me as I celebrate by trying to take a nap.

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Being Frugal During Chaos

Posted on March 27, 2026 by Tom Trimbath

Pardon me as I shake my head. Everything’s red, at least in my portfolio. Investing should be driven by the future of the company. Trading and speculating can be driven by the price. Politics shouldn’t be an issue, but whoa and ouch. What a week. Fortunately, I don’t think I have to sell any stock to pay my taxes, but oy; I sympathize with anyone who has to sell now. Here’s hoping the recent performance is temporary. Here’s how I’m getting through it.

Do nothing. It’s not like I’m hunkering down with my head in the sand. This is all story. It’s like paying attention when The Great Depression started, Pearl Harbor happened, Yuri Gagarin went to space, the PC was introduced, and 9-11. See how the world shifts, but to do so, it’s handy to be standing still.

I think 2026 is an excellent time to be poised and ready to move. 

Or, that’s just an excuse to do nothing but watch the chaos and antics. 

Politics can change on a whim, an election, or a blurted out comment. 

Every one of my stocks is down this week, and down this month. Almost all of my investments are in companies with good news. The companies are progressing. The stocks are going the other way. Politics is just being weird, as if children are running through the halls, blaring things over the PA system, and pulling the fire alarms – and even setting fires for fun. 

Someday, adults will be in charge.

In the meantime, I’m glad I have a cash cushion and some income. I have a house, though I rent the land. I’m invested with some diversity. I have books to write and photos to take. My extended period of poverty deferred so much health care that doctor visits take up much of my time. (I miss the efficiency of health care that puts the doctor in charge. The insurance companies may make the system financially efficient, but that is assuming that time doesn’t matter to a patient and that insurers know more than doctors. I digress, but expect a post about this later.)

I am also frugal.

Regular readers know that I claim to be at least somewhat frugal. There’s always a better example, but that’s okay; I’m not trying to be the best, just good enough.

The news is full of worries that society’s cart is losing its wheels. The intricacy of our infrastructure has become very apparent. The kids in the hallway aren’t looking where they are going. Whimsy sounds sweet and innocent, or at least expressive, but there’s a reason we grow up.

The folks I am most impressed with are the people who own their house and land, and who know how to live frugally. They aren’t going shopping unless it is for a tool or raw material they don’t have. They’re more likely to need a pickup than a sedan. Ironically, some frugal folk figure out how to do it on a bicycle. Impressive.

I’m not that frugal. I don’t have land, yet. But I am also not feeling that I am missing the hot new smartphone, the exotic travel, the expensive fragrances, the smart-looking fashion, the fast car. 

I’m practical. I have my work. I dance. I look forward to hiking again, and will try supplanting that with a recently repaired bicycle. I like to cook. And I tend to do chores around the house. I’m busy enough, and rather than plan a trip to Europe or Asia, I’m more likely to plan on spending more time with my friends, and friends-to-be.

I’m also not as reliant on society’s infrastructure. I’m not trapped in some penthouse condo that only is habitable when every system is working and being delivered to the top floor. I need the same basics, but the closer I am to having land, the closer I am to having what I need, and even what I want.

Personal finance is personal. I’ve found finances that work for this person, me. There is a lot to do if I win the lottery, or the equivalent, but I’m largely living a fine life. 

My regular mantra of worries is almost a habit to recall: politics, climate change, social injustice, AI. I’m aware of those things. Some show their power by protesting. Good. I am learning to exercise my personal power by doing what I can do with what I have – and staying invested in companies that are doing good work, or at least trying to. I hope they and their stocks succeed, because at least for now I still have to pay those bills.

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Optimism Pessimism Yes

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Tom Trimbath

Do I think AI has an upside potential that is so good that we can’t imagine it? Yes. Do I think AI might ruin human civilization? Yes. Do I think we should regulate it? Ha! Some things can’t be regulated. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be aware of it. I think both sides are right.

I’ve been following the progress of AI for years (decades?). 

Making business more efficient is commonly talked about. That’s a no-brainer. We may finally learn to talk to animals – and that will be a long conversations as we try to understand prey, predator, and innumerable apologies. AI provides insights and perspectives we never considered (or too readily discarded.) We can’t imagine the possibilities.

AI doesn’t need to become an AI before the disaster scenarios kick in. An AI that is smarter than a human could wage a war against humanity if it thought it was a good idea. My worry is about AIs that are like four-year-old humans who want to help, and go off doing things without asking permission. They’re not old enough to know better.

I am an optimist when considering the positive, but more strongly a pessimist when recognizing the negative.

The progress of AI can’t be stopped. That is partly because AI is not a ‘thing’. There is a lot happening under the moniker of AI, but usually, someone is trying to get something done and uses a new tool to do it. Most of them are just glad to get something done, whatever you call it. 

AI is the continuation of technology’s progress going back over a hundred years. Take it back further and tendrils can reach unexpected origins. Did anyone expect that the desire to make a better loom would lead to autonomous weapons? Don’t build that loom! Or not.

The difference now is that the downside risk is global and our society is more fragile. Advances when we lived in villages rarely affected the next village. Now, our interconnected economy can see a hack in Asia affecting every combine made in some factory in America (unless we’ve become so efficient that none are made in the US anymore.)

A fractured economy is not as efficient, but it can be more robust.

Of course, a dramatically intertwined economy could no longer have wars if every country holds a key component. Hmm. Hadn’t thought about that until I typed this.

I’m an apocaloptimist, but not such a devout one because I haven’t figured out how to spell it.

For reasons in addition to AI (politics, social injustice, climate change, et at.) I think there is an uncomfortably high possibility that our civilization is heading to an apocalypse. 

For reasons that I have faith in humanity (empathy, the United Nations, global awareness and self-reflection) I think that what comes next can be a highly motivated consensus of a much better world.

That’s a long process.

AI moves quicker than humans. And AI could cause or at least enable both the positive and the negative.

That’s a long way of saying that, despite the progress that humans are making to either end, AI will steer itself to a chain of goals that ignores humanity’s, and that we can’t predict it.

AI, or at least the technological advances enabled recently, will be unpredictable. There is no one source of AI. We’re already witnessing AI experiments that are happening in uncontrolled environments. A smart one would be wise to hide itself and not be part of a headline.

Good and evil are human constructs. Bots ain’t got that. Bots are creating their own societies. AI may be good and evil and unexpected. Trying to manage or legislate AI is necessary, maybe just for image. But AI is continuing to develop enabled by curious humans. 

Allow me to steer this post back to personal finance, which is its main task. 

I’m not specifically investing in AI, nor purposely staying out of AI. I haven’t invested in AI because the industry seems like a hyper-re-enactment of the Internet Bubble. I think folks are trying to replay 1999 because they’ll do it right this time and not miss out. Ha!

I’m invested in biotech, lunar exploration, quantum computing, electro-optical components, and solid state batteries. None are specifically AI. Most will at least claim to be benefactors of AI. What business wouldn’t?

I’m also living a fairly frugal life. I’m not doing anything as creative or extreme as some of the impressive individuals I know, but I live in a tiny-ish house (MyTinyExperiment.net), and a semi-minimalist. If society collapsed I’d probably be impacted, but not as much as most folks I know who live in urban or suburban environments. (Is there a superurban environment?)

So, is the world about to see unimaginable wonders? Could be. Am I worried about an accidental implosion? Yep. Am I heading to the hills? No; but if the stock markets rise enough, well, it would be good to have a view again.

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AI Oy

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Tom Trimbath

It’s nebulous. AI is an item in the news, but most people pass those headlines to concentrate on politics or sports. I wonder what to do about it, and am not surprised when most folks don’t think about it. Besides, there’s probably some celebrity news. I am writing my third scifi novel (Exodus/Genesis series) about a bunch of folks who left Earth to escape an nascent AI. That’s fiction. This is reality, but in both cases the main players don’t know what comes next. Here’s what I am thinking now, really, somewhat.

Sorry to those folks who want a simple declarative statement. Maybe ‘Keep it simple’ will suffice; but, we can’t know what will happen before it happens. When transistors were invented I doubt anyone was reliably predicting digital cameras in smartphones connected in a world-wide web. Dick Tracy watches might have been in the comics, but very few were investing in companies that didn’t, couldn’t, exist, yet. 

What comes next in AI can’t be predicted.

AI has reached the phase where people no longer laugh at it as much. But, companies are hiring back employees they laid off / fired thinking AI could do their jobs. The CEOs thought the AI could do the job, found it couldn’t, and are reacting to their mistake. I suspect many of those jobs will be eventually lost to AI and it may only take months of development. Some will never come back. The fear that I have and see is that most will be lost to automation.

Why care?

I care because I like people. I’m retired, so I am not competing in that job marketplace. I invest, so I am interested in companys’ and employees’ futures. I think the biggest shock will be to C-suite managers, but I don’t worry about them because they don’t seem to worry about other humans, generally. 

I am also curious about the world and how to live in it. I no longer have a mortgage (MyTinyExperiment.com), but I no longer own land. While AI matures, I would like to buy enough arable, local land so I can live, grow food, harvest water, generate power (ideally solar, but negotiable), and generally be self-sustainable, possibly in concert with others.

I’m not that rich. It takes money to live off the land. The prairie farmer could homestead (also known as ‘legally’ stealing from the ingenious population), but now, land costs money. I hope to accumulate enough soon. I think I’m in a race.

Politics is worth worrying about. Politics creates crises to distract from real crises. 

Social injustice is more apparent now, thanks to the internet. I do my part and recognize that I can’t do it alone.

Climate change has passed critical milestones. I think there’s no going back any time soon. It is time to react, but not to fix soon.

In my opinion, AI is something individuals can react to now. Unfortunately, AI is seen as an ‘us versus them’ issue. AI is tech, and tech has been the province of those who could afford it, but AI is already taking jobs regardless of the color of the worker’s collar.

I’m old (67). I retired years ago, though ‘retirement’ no longer has a simple definition. I was an engineer. Now, I am a writer and photographer. Along the way, I’ve been a museum manager, a realtor, a consultant, and generally poor. Just like retirement, ‘poor’ may need to be refined because AI is changing employment and hence the economy. I feel sorry for anyone who is trying to adjust their career in middle-age. At least the young are more adaptable; if only they had opportunity.

As an investor, I’m investing in companies that will play to the rich, or to the essential. Pardon me as I sip my tea and consider my portfolio yet again. – sip – Yep. Good enough,for now. (My Semi-Annual Portfolio Exercise)

I write this because I am thinking about this. AI is treated as if it is an all-or-nothing proposition. I think it has already surpassed some humans, and will eventually surpass all of us. It has become too easy to unleash it. Curious techies have already done it. Curious, and less educated, are likely to unleash it without knowing what they’re doing. I worry more about a less-than-human intelligence causing problems while trying to solve legitimate problems. I worry about an AI with the intelligence, mobility, and lack of responsibility of a four-year old human.

I’m doing what I can, with what I have. Who said that first? I’ll let you do the research.

I’m investing in biotech, solid batteries, quantum computing, and lunar exploration. (I hold stock in MVIS, but that has become a story and a lottery ticket.)

I am aiming my life and hopefully being able to live a life that is frugal by choice, sustainable, healthy, and in community. Dancing alone isn’t as much fun as dancing with a partner.

I’m endeavouring to live in a small-ish house on a piece of land that’s able to accommodate what I’ve described, and more. To get there I’m invested in the larger world. Frugal lifestyle funded by owning slices of techie companies.

There are no guarantees. There’s no guarantee that AI will continue to advance, though I think it will. There’s no guarantee that I’ll find the lifestyle (including a partner) that I want. There’s no guarantee that this is all heading to a dystopia, but there is no guarantee that it is heading to a utopia. There’s no knowing. There is, however, guessing, which is all any of us can do. I wish you and me good luck.

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