I had a 1974 episode of The Rockford Files was playing in the background. Rockford stated his rate was $200 a day, plus expenses. As I often do when I watch old shows and movies, I decided to visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator.

That amount today would be worth about $1,166.00. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.74% per year between 1974 and 2025, producing a cumulative price increase of 551.22%.

A loyal reader reminded me of the The Brimley/Cocoon Line, which I’m dangerously croping in on.

We all thought Wilford Brimley was pretty old-looking in Cocoon. But 50 isn’t what it used to be.

Lt. Col. Tammy Duckworth had
both her legs blown off in 2004 while piloting a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq.

Mr. Vice President, I didn’t think you could be any more of a flaming piece of shit than virtually everyone… https://t.co/C32JG3WwgV

— George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 (@gtconway3d) January 29, 2026

When I saw this headline:

BREAKING: Amazon cuts about 16,000 jobs in the latest round of mass layoffs for the tech industry. https://t.co/QwpFDcKP7f

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 28, 2026

I couldn’t help but think about what I read in this article:

It’s got to be a tough pill to swallow knowing your employer laid you off for cost savings, while overpaying the wife of a sitting billionaire president for a documentary no one is going to see.

I’m having to dig into savings, but I noticed a little risk I took after reading a Jerry Jones article in June 2019 will pay off. The article reported that the worst GM in the NFL decided to invest in a natural gas exploration initiative in East Texas. I thought it was worth taking a chance because Jerry may not know football, but he knows drilling.

“There’s $100 billion present value with gas out there,” the 83-year-old billionaire said in an interview. “That’s why I’m talking to you on the telephone rather than trying to fix our defense with the Dallas Cowboys.”  WSJ

Of course, I have also made many poor investment choices over the years.