
The Man in the Van - jamessun
http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12420393/top-blue-jays-prospect-daniel-norris-lives-own-code
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nether
[http://reddit.com/r/vandwellers](http://reddit.com/r/vandwellers) if you're
interested

alex honnold is a climber whose van looks nicer than my apartment:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=alex+honnold+van&safe=off&cl...](https://www.google.com/search?q=alex+honnold+van&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=8i35VIbOGtfloASRl4DQBg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg&biw=1029&bih=758)
(granted my place is a shithole)

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wallflower
Alex Honnold is one of those individuals who is literally at the top of their
chosen avocation. The only climbing I've done was on a rock wall at sea on a
RCCL cruise ship - and I swear they rigged it by 'pulling' up the weaker
climbers (like me).

Excellent article about Alex Honnold that I submitted months ago and fell into
the canyon. Makes you realize that fear is just a construct that can be
minimized.

[http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-
adventure/climbing/rock...](http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-
adventure/climbing/rock-climbing/No-Strings-Attached.html)

~~~
Intermernet
As a climber for the past 25 years, I have mixed feelings about Alex Honnold.

He's incredibly talented, very humble, and definitely destined to be a name
remembered in climbing history.

Unfortunately, I have a horrible feeling his name will be remembered along
side John Bachar and Derek Hersey. Free soloists, no matter how skilled, are
living a dangerous life.

I used to solo in my younger days, until I had a hold break off around 100m
off the deck at Arapiles. It's not you that kills you, it's nature.

I really hope he lives to a ripe old age and continues to push the limits, but
I also hope he does it in a way that doesn't involve playing Russian Roulette
with rock.

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startupfounder
I think this is really amazing and counter to what we expect from a
millionaire baseball player. It shows that he is the captain of his own life
and no signing bonus is going to change that.

The benefits of this are huge! Cost of living is zero and he is not trying to
keep up the star image and the costs associated with that. He is putting that
$2M and his paychecks away and watching it grow and inevitably when he retires
in the next 10 years from baseball he will have a nest egg that will sustain
his lifestyle forever.

~~~
AndrewOMartin
To paraphrase Sean Connery in Entrapment, what can you do with ($2m + 10 years
compound interest) that you can't do with ($2m - 10 years non-lavish living
expenses)?

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j_lev
Love this guy.

I spent nine months living in a van while traveling all over Japan. Flirted
with excessive consumption for a few years in Tokyo but ended up coming back
to frugality (although I live in an apartment now heh).

The good parts of living alone in a van are too many to list. The worst parts
are 1) dating, and 2) all the fantastic views and vistas you don't get to
share with someone.

> He named it Shaggy after a character in "Scooby Doo." He sings it songs and
> writes it poems and gives it Valentine's Day cards. He takes it for hiking
> expeditions in the mountains of Tennessee and surfing trips along the
> Carolina coast.

I so get this!!

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SpaceManNabs
This guy is pretty admirable. I wonder if living in a van hurts his athletic
ability though.

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callmeed
Thank goodness baseball is back ...

I love this story because I love baseball and I'm saving up to buy a (1980s)
Westy to travel with.

If you'd like another out-of-the-ordinary spring training baseball story, the
Oakland A's have a pitcher who throws with _both hands_ :

[http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/03/pat-venditte-oakland-
athleti...](http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/03/pat-venditte-oakland-athletics-
switch-pitcher-spring-training-mlb)

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marincounty
I want to cross the contry in a van!--my deceased father

I always wanted to do something like this--myself!

(My father did buy a VW van, but got sick. Like myself--he put off really
living until it was too late. I'm glad I saw this story. It's a reminder I
need to stop making excuses. Some of my excuses are legit--like harassment
from cops for just looking like you live in a van.)

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bskinny129
So cool! Will definitely follow his career now

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jacobevelyn
This guy is my new hero.

