It’s Monday. I return to to work after being out for about three and a half weeks. My son Devin is still in the step-down unit at VBGH, and while I feel somewhat guilty about leaving him there, the simple economics of the matter dictate that I must return to work. Roley still has a mortgage and bills to pay, and the other two kids might like food on occasion.
I’m grateful to have the time, and I’ll be able to take more under the FMLA guidelines, but the reality is that FMLA allows for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Frankly, I’ve come to believe that this is insane. When you’re caring for a loved one in the situation my child is in, you ought to be able to stay where you’re needed, and I just can’t. Not and still have a house when this is over.
The United States is one of the few—if not the only—country in the developed world that does this, and I get why: Companies simply can’t be bothered to look after all their workers in this situation. It eats into worker productivity. Paying for man-hours without hitting a target goal for productivity for those hours…we can’t have that.
We’re a simple commodity, you understand this, right?
Today is February 18th, 2018. I don’t know how I rise above the trading floor, but today is definitely the day I resolve to do it.
- Seth Godin hits a spot with me today with [The Changemaker’s Triangle.](http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2018/02/a-changemakers-triangle.html) I spent quite a lot of my youth being more of the dreamer and instigator for all the wrong reasons. More of a Rebel Without a Clue. As I get older, I think I see my role back then as a Disruptor (no, not that kind, the bad kind). There’s been a lot of reflection over the past few weeks, and I seem to be gravitating back towards dipping my toe in the water and watching the ripples. I’m fighting the urge to do a full on belly-flop, but you never know…
- I mentioned on the [Saturday Patreon Podcast](https://www.patreon.com/posts/saturday-show-2-17057475) that I dreamed of a world where our society was positively influenced by our technology. One of the things I think people of my generation dreamed of was a cashless society. Crypto seems to be a move in that direction to me, but it’s early, and there are too many variants. [Plus, even people who are true believers think the ICOs aren’t up to snuff. ](https://www.recode.net/2018/2/19/17025996/sarah-tavel-benchmark-bitcoin-cryptocurrencies-ico-blockchain-kara-swisher-recode-decode-podcast) Wait, there’s a cryptocurrency bubble? I’m shocked. SHOCKED, I tell you.
- Some people think taking a knee during the National Anthem is disrespectful. You want to know what I think is disrespectful? Every single one of these 'singers' who feel the need to do...whatever they do...to the Anthem. It's hard enough to sing as it is. You're not Whitney, and I hated that one too. Dial it back, people. There has been one rendition of the Anthem that was 'different' that I have liked. [This one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3qD1jKNYaU). I will fight you on this.
- It's not enough that we get tech review videos, and we get tech unboxing videos. Now, [we have a video](https://video.vice.com/en_us/video/motherboard-ifixit-worlds-best-iphone-teardown-repair/5a01b91b177dd416f530a081?ref=motherboard) about an outfit that flies to the other side of the world, gets the new tech, flies it home, takes it out of the box, and tears it to pieces. Who needs \_\_\_\_, man? We got shiny things to destroy! WOOHOO!
- [Dennis Kucinich](https://theintercept.com/2018/02/19/dennis-kucinich-vows-to-end-all-oil-and-gas-drilling-in-ohio-if-elected-governor-and-then-take-the-industry-to-court/) is running for Ohio Governor. [Tell all the Aliens you know](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/01/kucinichs-ufo-sighting-what-he-really-saw/).
- Can we just agree at this point that [betting against Warren Buffett about anything related to money is just the worst idea](https://medium.com/the-long-now-foundation/how-warren-buffett-won-his-multi-million-dollar-long-bet-3af05cf4a42d)? Not that he needs my validation, but he's right of course. Having worked for a mutual fund and seeing that end of it briefly, I contribute regularly to an aggressive index fund with a very low cost. I suggest you do the same. Money managers are for chumps.
