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Slightly downbeat
Nov. 2nd, 2005 06:26 amOne of the first chaps I met when I came to work for my poor belaboured employer was Peter Stokes, who compiled statistics for a few of our publications. Anyway, Peter has been working from home near Colchester for a couple of years, but came in once every month to help with the production of World Insurance Report.
Except that now he has prostate cancer, and the treatment starts this week, so, since he is not far from retirement anyway, he won't be coming back.
Jeff Barron writes in the Gutshot forum today that the 80/20 bad beat came home to roost after a blood test and it turns out that he too has prostate cancer. He is having an operation for its removal.
Basically, men over the age of 50 get prostate cancer. Bummer.
With Felicia also just coming out of chemotherapy, it's a bit hard for anyone in middle age not to be worryingly aware of how fragile our body is.
I suppose that this is a post without a point -- just something I was thinking on. Jeff Barron is just a really nice guy. I'm not saying that I would wish cancer on anyone, but, really, there are some scumbags in the poker world over whom one would not shed too many tears.
One thing which is never mentioned when it comes to "financial planning" is that, whatever you do, you are taking a gamble on your own mortality. It's a bit stupid denying yourself creature comforts today so that you can have a long and comfortable retirement if you are going to peg out at 59. Similarly, it's not too bright to spend all money as it comes in "because we might all be dead tomorrow" and then to live a poverty-ridden final 15 years in some godforsaken council-run home where the food allocation is 43p a day, or whatever.
So, I've decided. If I get to £500K in liquid assets, I'm going to quit work and enjoy myself. I know that that 500K sounds like a lot of money, but, well, who knows what might happen in the next five years? Working out my final four years for "a bit extra" would be bloody pointless. Hell, we might all be dead tomorrow.
Except that now he has prostate cancer, and the treatment starts this week, so, since he is not far from retirement anyway, he won't be coming back.
Jeff Barron writes in the Gutshot forum today that the 80/20 bad beat came home to roost after a blood test and it turns out that he too has prostate cancer. He is having an operation for its removal.
Basically, men over the age of 50 get prostate cancer. Bummer.
With Felicia also just coming out of chemotherapy, it's a bit hard for anyone in middle age not to be worryingly aware of how fragile our body is.
I suppose that this is a post without a point -- just something I was thinking on. Jeff Barron is just a really nice guy. I'm not saying that I would wish cancer on anyone, but, really, there are some scumbags in the poker world over whom one would not shed too many tears.
One thing which is never mentioned when it comes to "financial planning" is that, whatever you do, you are taking a gamble on your own mortality. It's a bit stupid denying yourself creature comforts today so that you can have a long and comfortable retirement if you are going to peg out at 59. Similarly, it's not too bright to spend all money as it comes in "because we might all be dead tomorrow" and then to live a poverty-ridden final 15 years in some godforsaken council-run home where the food allocation is 43p a day, or whatever.
So, I've decided. If I get to £500K in liquid assets, I'm going to quit work and enjoy myself. I know that that 500K sounds like a lot of money, but, well, who knows what might happen in the next five years? Working out my final four years for "a bit extra" would be bloody pointless. Hell, we might all be dead tomorrow.
