A couple of weeks ago, I noted that we purchased a Concept2 rowing machine. We actually got it back during early March and, while I’m still not setting any speed records, I’m pleased to report that I recently broke through the 100 km mark in terms of lifetime meters rowed.

My goal for the next indoor rowing season (May 1st – April 30th) is 1,000,000 meters (1,000 km). In truth, this shouldn’t be terribly hard to achieve, as I’m already pretty much on pace — I just need to keep it up for 52 weeks. Anyway, enough about that…

Here are some articles that caught my eye over the past week…

» Following Your Bliss: Good Advice or Bunk?
Flexo talks about whether or not doing what makes you happy is the best strategy for success. While I agree that it’s important to enjoy what you do, I also think that a bit of pragmatism is in order.

» Why I Pay More For Everything
This is a great article that touches on the many ways that we as consumers justify spending more than we have when making a buying decision.

» Why PayPal Makes it a Chore to Pay by Credit Card
MBH talks about the many hoops that you have to jump through in order to use a credit card with PayPal. Not surprisingly, this high level of inconvenience is driven by one thing — PayPal’s bottom line.

» Money Does Buy Happiness… Imagine that!
And even if it didn’t, you could certainly use it to buy a more pleasant form of misery…

» Death of the Coupon
Interesting. While I’ve always known that coupons are pretty pervasive, and always suspected that the vast majority of them never get used, I had no idea of the magnitude… Last year there were 285 billion coupons issued and only 0.5% were actually redeemed.

» 20 Ways To Earn More and Spend Less: Steps To Becoming A Frugal Capitalist
Great list of tips for improving your top line and your bottom line.