Hi. It's another day and again it's time to go to bed. Not a very exciting day. My wife has the flu and is running a temperature of 101.6 C. I'm going to go sleep in the same bed with her and she's going to give it to me. Merry Christmas. I hope she get's better soon. And I hope I don't get it.

They gave Scott Peterson the death penalty for killing his wife and unborn child. I'm not sure I understand why he might get it when some others (like that Ann Miller Kontz) don't. The jurors said that he looked detached and unemotional. Nobody likes that lack of remorse. A good bit of contrition will save your ass if used properly.

The Dow and my portfolio were a up a bit today. I've been trying to figure out if I can retire now and have enough money to live to be 100. If the market give 10% a year and I live cheaply, I can make it. There's a guy in my neighborhood who nobody knows very well. Worked in computers but may be retired. You never see him except when he drives by or when a real hurricane knocks down a few trees in his yard and he comes out for a few minutes and saws a few of them up. He has occasionally talked to another of my neighbors who knows his name. Apparently, he's figured out how to live on $15,000 a year. I don't know how you do that in Chapel Hill. Taxes alone will run about a third of that. Maybe I should visit him and get a few pointers.

Unfortunately, I don't think I can live in a manner to which I've become accustomed at $15K/year. But with a 10% return, I wouldn't need to be that frugal.

I'll keep working on it. The harder part will be convincing my wife to give it a try. Retire at 50. What a concept!