Money & retirement
Doug's new book: 20 Years To Retirement Paycheck — Building the 3 Bucket System
The three-bucket method I follow. Get it on Amazon (affiliate). Also see my write-up: three-bucket retirement method.
I'm not at full throttle yet. That's the point.
Tech, travel, and health,
made simple after 50.
I'm Dominic. After 30 years in tech, I'll tell you straight when a gadget or a setup is a bad idea. On the trips, the habits, and the rest of the gear, I'm just ahead of you on a few trails, and I share the wins and the flops. Pull up a chair.
- 30 years in enterprise IT
- PMP certified
- CompTIA Security+
- Daily AI power user
- RV traveler & remote worker
Fresh off the keyboard
Latest Articles
The newest things I've been trying and writing up, across tech, RV life, and living well after 50.
Style & GroomingGoing Grey After 50
My hair went grey after 50 and I didn't fight it with a hard dye. Here's the gradual Control GX routine I actually use, the beard trick, and what to tell your barber once the grey shows up.
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Money & RetirementDoug's Three-Bucket Method
I'm following Doug The Retirement Guy's three buckets near retirement: foundation, growth, and a heavy income tilt. Why my lock is 90/8/2, not his age-50 mix.
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RV Tech & TipsCochiti Lake RV Camping
Site 71 on Ringtail Cat, no hookups, closest pad to the water. November at a Corps campground between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and why I'd book the dry loop again.
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Style & GroomingHaircuts for Thinning Hair After 50
If the top is thinning, go shorter, not longer. What to tell the barber, why a buzz beats a comb-over, and how a neat beard balances it.
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RV Tech & TipsFind a Waterfront Campsite
I talked the hunt into Grok Bot, checked the real calendars, proved the pad was on the water, and booked a reservable riverfront site for Labor Day weekend.
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Money & RetirementChase Sapphire Preferred 100k Bonus
We each opened a Chase Sapphire Preferred, hit the spend on house work we were doing anyway, and each got 100,000 points. Enough for two flights to Italy and then some.
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RV Tech & Tips30 Amp RV Surge Protector
My coach is 30 amp. I plug a Surge Guard 44380 into the pedestal first. Here is the ritual, the lights, and the questions people ask.
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Living WellAre E-Bikes Allowed on the Mickelson Trail?
South Dakota settled this one by law: Class 1 e-bikes are welcome on the Mickelson Trail, Class 2 throttle bikes are not. Here's the exact rule and the trail pass you'll need.
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Living WellAre E-Bikes Allowed on the Katy Trail?
The Katy Trail is the most-ridden rail-trail in America, and yes, e-bikes are welcome. Here's the exact Missouri State Parks rule and which class actually fits.
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RV Tech & TipsDoes Starlink Need a UPS?
Starlink doesn't officially need a UPS. I still run mine through an EcoFlow, because generator and RV surges cold-reboot the dish.
Read article →The 7-part series
Working From the Road
What it actually takes to do professional work from an RV in 2026, told in order, with real field data.
No. 1 · Working From the RoadWorking Off-Grid From an RV
The anchor piece. The computer work is the easy part; you still haul the water. The honest reality of working off-grid on the road.
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RV Tech & TipsPecron F3000 Running Starlink in Our RV Bay
Dish on the grass, router into the Pecron AC, 100-200 Mbps down at this spot. Short firsthand setup from a phone video.
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No. 2 · Working From the RoadYour AC Will Kill Your Starlink
Every AC compressor cycle reboots your dish. The wattage math, the cause, and the ~$400 battery fix that keeps you on the call.
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No. 3 · Working From the RoadThe 72-Hour Clock
Your fresh and waste tanks set a 72-hour clock that overrules your calendar. How to schedule real work around it.
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No. 4 · Working From the RoadGenerator Math
The fuel costs that kill the 'cheap nomad life' myth, real runtime, burn rates, and monthly dollars from the field.
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No. 5 · Working From the RoadThe Two-RV Office
Two people, two simultaneous video calls, one tin box. Why the office became two RVs, and the math behind the call.
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No. 6 · Working From the RoadMice, Mud, and Meetings
The part no AI can automate. Mice in the wiring, mud at the door, and a meeting in five minutes. The unfiltered reality.
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No. 7 · Working From the RoadYou Don't Need Shore Power
Two Battle Born batteries, a Pecron F3000LFP, a generator, and a little solar add up to ~5,600Wh, enough that I never plug in. The full setup and the honest runtime math.
Read article →On the road
Field Guides
Standalone how-tos for the exact problems you hit off-grid, solar sizing, video calls, internet redundancy, and the AI tools I actually use.
RV Tech & TipsHow Much Solar to Work From an RV
Size the day, not the panel. The real watt-hours math for running a laptop, monitor, and Starlink on solar, plus the point where solar quits and the generator takes over.
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RV Tech & TipsVideo Calls While Boondocking
Zoom from the middle of nowhere, no drama. The internet, power, and backup that make an off-grid video call as boring as one from a spare bedroom.
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RV Tech & TipsMy Starlink Backup for the RV
Starlink's been nearly flawless for us, except during power surges. Here's the cheap backup setup that keeps us online when it drops: an EcoFlow and an AT&T hotspot.
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RV Tech & TipsHow to Use AI to Plan an RV Road Trip
The real prompts and workflow for planning a trip that survives contact with the road, campgrounds, drive times, weather, fuel.
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RV Tech & TipsI Use 4 AI Tools Every Day
Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, what each is genuinely best at, from daily real-world use, not a spec-sheet review.
Read article →Live and learn with me
Not an expert. Just a little further down the trail.
I spent 30 years in tech, so I'm comfortable pulling things apart to see how they work. These days I do it for one reason: making the second half the best half. I test gadgets, plan RV trips, chase better sleep and steadier energy, and lean on AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude every day. When I'm on the road I run all of it from the RV over Starlink.
What you'll get here is what I've learned, what I'm leaning toward, and what I'm actually doing, real numbers, real trips, the wins and the flops. Not advice from a mountaintop, just honest notes from a guy figuring it out a couple steps ahead of you. More about me →
What you'll find here
Tech & AI, made simple
The tools actually worth your time, explained in plain English, plus how to spot the scams aimed at us.
RV & the open road
Off-grid power, Starlink, dispersed camping, and the gear I really run, with honest numbers.
Living well after 50
Muscle, sleep, supplements, and the simple habits that move the needle. Tested on me, not theory.
Whatever I'm curious about
Wine, motorcycles, travel, and the odd corners of making a fuller second half of life.