Rediscovered Songs

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If you linger on a Facebook post, Facebook thinks that you want a constant stream of similar posts. So I now get posts about Snoopy, table tennis, Linda Ronstadt, Debbie Harry, Emmylou Harris, and miscellaneous lists of old pop songs.

Incidentally, by "song", I mean a specific recording of a song.

The old songs are interesting because they bring back memories from the 1960s and 1970s. And occasionally I find forgotten songs or songs that I have forgotten how good or bad they are. And it's interesting how some years have great songs and some seem to have nothing of value.

One thing that I have learned is that my memory of a song is colored by other songs of the same time frame. If it was all bad, I might remember the least bad song as good. And if there were many great songs at the time I might not realize how good some are.

Here are some songs that I have rediscovered or reevaluated - not exhaustive, just a short list of songs that are now among my favorites. Being on this list generally means that I don't listen to anything else by the singers/bands - not that the singers/bands are bad but they don't inspire me.

I remembered that one of the songs had spent weeks at no. 1 on the US Billboard pop chart. So I thought it would be interesting to check out all of them.

The Sound of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon. Hit no. 1 in 1966. I have loved it since the first time that I heard it. I suspect that everyone loves this song.

Pretty Flamingo - Manfred Mann, written by Mark Barkan. 1966, peaked at no. 29 - that might explain why I didn't remember it. It's better than the songs from Manfred Mann that I do remember. You will find it played by Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, Elvis Costello, and more.

River Deep, Mountain High - a great song, nicely sung by Tina Turner, written by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, with a horrible Phil Spector Wall of Sound production. Maybe my diminished hearing makes the Wall of Sound worse. I have found a couple of much better, live, performances and it appears that one of them is on an Amazon MP3. But when I ask it to play a sample, I get a different song so no way to verify what I will get. Reached no. 88 in 1966. Now generally considered a classic.

Standing in the Shadows of Love - The Four Tops, written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland. Hit no. 6 in 1967. I never cared for their other songs. This one is great.

Little Bit o' Soul - The Music Explosion, written by John Carter, Ken Lewis. I remembered this song, but not how good it is. 1967 hit no. 2. YouTube has a lot of interesting music. One video is the original recording of this song by The Little Darlings, British I think. Nice. You can also hear it by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, and a few more bands that I had never heard of.

To Sir With Love - Lulu, written by Don Black, Mark London. 5 weeks at no. 1 in 1967. I hadn't thought of this as a great song, but I do now. Maybe it's the way she sings it.

Itchycoo Park - Small Faces, written by Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane. Reached no. 16 in 1968. I remembered this well. Never thought much of it when it was sort of popular.

Mrs. Robinson - Simon and Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon. Not forgotten, but for me, it got better with age. Hit no. 1 in 1968.

Piece of my Heart - Big Brother and the Holding Company, with Janis Joplin, written by Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns. Not forgotten, always liked. Peaked at no. 12 in 1968.

That's the Way I've Always Heard it Should Be - Carly Simon, written by Carly Simon, Jacob Brackman. Peaked at no. 10 in 1971. Beautiful.

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack. Written in 1957 by Ewan MacColl. Roberta Flack's version was first released on the album First Take in 1969 and as a single in 1972, after being used in the movie Play Misty for Me. No. 1 for six weeks. This is a wonderful song and a wonderful performance.

Someday Never Comes - Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by John Fogerty. Reached no. 25 in 1972. CCR broke up later that year.

Once in a Lifetime - Talking Heads, written by David Byrne, Brian Eno, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth. Fascinating. 1981, did not reach the top 100. Considered a classic now.

Authority Song - John Mellencamp, written by John Mellencamp. Energy. Reached no. 15 in 1984.

Notice the years of the songs? Just because that's when I was listening to the radio? No - I think pop songs were way better then than they are now.

Scattered Reflections on My Dances

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If you are not a contra dancer, this post will be boring and meaningless. If you are a contra dancer, that might still be the case.

My dances are at www.dance.ravitz.us .

1987-03 - I started dancing contra in 1987 and calling in 1995. I wanted every dance that I called to have a partner swing. And along the way I added other rules, so it became apparent that I needed to write some new dances. Becky Hill called a dance in Cincinnati and had her first book of dances for sale. It was well organized, readable, and had an interesting set of rules that Becky followed. That was my entry in writing dances.

1995-07 - Starburst - a nice flowy dance. Interesting enough to not need a neighbor swing?

1996-12 - Maliza's Magical Mystery Motion - this was written for Maliza's birthday. Her mother suggested Petronella turns and a Beatles related name. She must have suggested Magical Mystery Tour or I think I would have aimed in a different direction. It turned out well - easy but unusual, a very popular dance.

1997-02 - Whitewater - my first dance that progresses with your neighbor, then with your shadow, then unprogresses with your second neighbor to find your partner. Many more followed.

1997-02 - Whitewater has a pictorial story. The waves lapping at the shore - long lines, roll away, long lines, roll away. Then into the current - circle, swing the next. And more swirls - circle, allemande. To a beautiful landing - balance and swing.

1997-05 - Entranced - named for Lexington, KY's dance weekend, Dance Trance.

1997-06 - Flying Flamingos - from a dance weekend, wedding celebration at Buffalo Gap, WV, with (plastic) pink flamingos everywhere.

1997-07 - Sealed With a Keith - Keith Cornett asked me for a lost and found contra dance. I arrived at River Falls, SC very early one time and sat by the creek thinking about this. I had done a number of these dances and wanted something different. How about lost and found and lost and found? It took just a few minutes to complete. And another few minutes to think of a fun name (if you are too young to get the reference, check out the song Sealed with a Kiss).

1997-11 - Pigtown Petronella - after Maliza's MMM, I realized that two Petronella and turn to face the next is more magical. An almost identical dance, but chain on the left diagonal and turn an extra 1/2 after both Petronella turns.

1998-01 - Roadkill - for Sherri Hadley's band Grits and Roadkill Possum Gravy. Roadkill has multiple individual progressions, similar to Whitewater, but it does it with two symmetric sequences. Simple figure sequence, complex progression. (Later - Starcrossed, Megadance, Where Will I be.)

1998-01 - Snake in the Hey - one of my favorites. With ladies allemande to a wavy line in the middle. A good example of a dance that is interesting enough to not need a neighbor swing.

1998-09 - Dancing Spell - from Mr. Tambourine Man, Bob Dylan (via Melanie Safka cover).

1998-12 - Rat Race and The Enchanted Forrest - two of several dances that I wrote with synchronous allemandes in the middle. (Forrest is spelled correctly, a wonderful dancer from Asheville and The Enchanted Forrest was her business). The name "eggbeater" for the allemande figure sequence is from Bill Olson. The suggestion that this sequence takes a lot of space is wrong. With accurate timing, it takes no extra space. My original dance was called Pinwheels, my preferred name for the allemande sequence.

1999-01 - Four on the Floor - with synchronous Rory O'More balance and slides in the middle. If you slide the wrong way - crash. Four on the floor is another double meaning - in my youth, the performance car transmission was a four speed manual with stick shift mounted on the floor instead of the steering column. I owned just one such car, a 1979 VW Scirocco. Four speeds gave way to five speeds for better highway cruising after that. And steering column shifters disappeared. So there was never a "five on the floor", which doesn't have the right ring. Of course the other meaning is the contra dance minor set.

1999-04 - Whirl of Fortune - my favorite pun title. This is my first usage of a bounce back hey. Using the flourish of bouncing back twice (for either role) in a hey seems pointless as a called figure - the dancers can do it whether called or not. My usage here is ladies bounce back in the first half, gents bounce back in the second half - a very nice sequence.

1999-05 - Woven Waves - a dance with two new figures that works beautifully. I was in Louisville and danced one of the dances where ladies go into the middle, then back out while gents go into the middle. And I wondered - why do the ladies have to back out. Now how to I get out of the interlinked waves. It was pretty easy, turn the modified star - I called it a gypsy star because your are facing your partner. It seemed too simple. But I couldn't find a better way. And then I realized I was being stupid. My new choreography rule - a dance should be as simple as possible while encompassing the goals that I have set.

1999-05 - Woven Waves - I wanted to be able to call a lot of my dances in one evening, so I avoided using my favorite progression - circle left 3/4, pass through, do-si-do. Instead I used ladies chain, star left. Then I decided that each dance that I write should be as good as possible, so I switched it. But I have to be more careful when choosing dances.

1999-05 - Woven Waves - One of the Cincinnati dancers has a party every spring, with dancing. So I brought this dance for its first try. Joseph Pimentel was up right before me and called his new dance, Ramsay Chase, which included a ladies go into the middle, ladies back out and men go in. Sigh. I decided that Woven Waves was different enough and called it. As I watched one of the wonderful Cincinnati dancers dance the gypsy star, I knew the dance would be a success. The caller community has renamed gypsy star to "facing star" - blech.

1999-12 - Breakup Breakdown, Martha's Breakup Breakdown - Breakup Breakdown refers to the dance, so you end up with your neighbor. In Martha's Breakup Breakdown the Breakup breaks down, so you end up with your partner.

2000-04 - Dance Kentucky Unhinged - for Darlene Underwood, using her initials.

2000-10 - Through the Looking Glass - I wrote this at Darlene Underwood's request for a dance to call at the Looking Glass dance weekend (Lansing, MI). When I wrote a simplified version, I chose the Blondie (the band) title Heart of Glass. More Blondie titles - Dreaming, One Way or Another, Atomic, Call Me (my favorite easy dance).

2001-06 - Reflections - the goal was a dance with 64 count instructions that alternated between improper and reverse improper. That is, no special instructions at count 65 to cause the switch. I finally found a way to do it. But it requires the dancers to remember if they are a 1 or a 2, almost ensuring a breakdown.

2002-01 - Mary Keith's Harmonium - at the February 2002 Knoxville dance weekend I had a new and untested dance, using the progression from Amy's Harmonium. Keith Cornett was the main caller and called it so I named it Mary Keith's Harmonium.

2002-09 - Whim's Gym - The progression is from Jim's Whim by Rich MacMath. I wish I had named it Whim's Gem. Sigh.

2003-05 - Reel to Reel - from Dreaming (Blondie), and tape recorders before cassettes. Also Reel to Unreal and Reel to Surreal.

2003-05 - Reel to Reel - Ron Buchanan sent me a few new dances, probably 1996, maybe 1997. One had a rotate the waves sequence. If you look in The Caller's Box, Harvest Moon, it refers you to American Dance Circle for a write-up. But the write-up makes no sense. I don't have the note that Ron sent so I can't be specific, but I thought the timing was poor. Best to allemande 1 in the middle with a 1/2 orbit in 6 counts (see Amy's Harmonium). This also relieves crowding in the middle. I eventually decided to write a dance to my specs, which I am very happy with. There are now a number of similar dances, mostly with allemande 1+1/2 in the middle with a 1/2 orbit in 8 counts - not good.

2008-02 - Passion Breakdown - Paschen breakdown occurs when the voltage across two conductors separated by air is high enough to ionize the N2 and O2 molecules, making the air conductive - lightning. That's why the dancers walk straight across the set after the mad robin. Of course this is passion breakdown, not Paschen breakdown. Or maybe it's the same thing.

2008-07 - Wildflowers, Chicory, Trillium, Galax - all use allemande 1, butterfly whirl 1+1/2, hey, balance and swing. Much relaxed compared to dances that allemande 1+1/2. I took the progression in the whirl from Charlie Harvey's Amy Asked for a gypsy, easier here with extra time. Chicory was Martha Edward's band after Stringdancer.

2009-08 - Around the Sound - after calling at the Chehalis dance weekend on the Puget Sound.

2009-08 - Autumn Air - a nice double meaning for Air.

2010-06 - Living in Zen - for Liz.

2010-12 - Where Will I Be - from the song by Daniel Lanois, on Emmylou Harris's album Wrecking Ball, my favorite album.

2011-09 - March of the Coffee Zombies, to go with Tom Cunningham's great tune. Another story dance. Wake up, get out of bed - long lines, roll away. To the coffee machine - the zombie march. The coffee machine - wavy lines, balance and slide. Awake - swing. Normality returns - allemande, swing.

2011-11 - Mad Max - Janet's first dog.

2012-01 - Songbird - Janet sent me Rough Ride by Tom Hinds. It used mad robin, half poussette, progress, mad robin, half poussette. She suggested that I put the sequence in a different setting. I changed the timing and later changed it to mad robin, half poussette, progress, half poussette, mad robin. A couple of weeks later, we attended an Emmylou Harris concert, and I named my new dance Songbird.

2012-03 - Fiddler's Frolic - for Fred and Pam Stoll, two great fiddlers, upon leaving Cincinnati. Fred and later Pam played with Brittany Bay. Pam played with Stringdancer. Both wonderful contra dance bands.

2012-03 - Star's End - from Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels, ends the two stars similarly but differently.

2013-04 - Into the DMZ - the DMZ is the Dugan Murphy Zone, not the more common usage.

2013-05 - Cross contra formation - some of these have been danced, but not really caught on. I called a cross contra dance workshop at Dance Trance 2017 - Cross Robin, Cross Hey, Across Nottingham B, Fatal Attraction. Four very unusual dances and I had not previously called any of them. It went well.

2013-05 - Cross contra formation - I wondered why cross contra formation had not been tried before and came to this conclusion - for contra and other dances with major set formations, the major sets are not composed of individual dancers, they are composed of couples. If you build a major set of couples (two people side by side), you will never get to cross contra, because it separates partners. It is one of those rules that you don't realize exist until you break them.

2014-01 - Dance and Dream - a phrase from My Father by Judy Collins (I know it by Melanie Safka's cover).

2014-03 - Bill Pope and Judy Goldsmith wrote a dance that has become very popular - Cows Are Watching. The novel feature is a zigzag to a gents allemande in the middle to a neighbor swing. There are three other similar possibilities - the ladies do the allemande, and the gents or the ladies allemande to a partner swing - Cows are Watching Variation, Turtles Too, and And Alligators. 

Incidentally, if I capitalize "Variation" in a title, I consider it part of the title and I attach my name to the dance. If it is a simple variation, I don't capitalize it and keep the original author.

2015-08 - Adrift - no special thoughts except that this is one of my favorite dances.

2016-12 - Reddie to Roll - Reddie was a sweet old dog, deaf and arthritic, that Janet rescued from being put to sleep. He had two main priorities, running, when his arthritis was not too bad, and attempting, unsuccessfully, to kill small white dogs.

2018-12 - Valley of Fire, Toward the San Rafael Swell, At the Swell - for Janet's move to Utah.

2021-04 - Atomic, Wavelet, Darlene's Roll - near the end of the COVID mess, I decided that singlets had more use than just Zoom dances. If you want to dance as a group, but minimize spreading an airborne disease, how about minimizing close neighbor interaction. You could eliminate neighbor swings or you could eliminate neighbors. I offered variations on a number of dances to change neighbor swings to allemandes and I wrote three singlets. The singlets are not adaptations of regular contras. They introduce new features. None of this caught on. But they still could be useful for dances with a small number of participants.

2024-08 - Jaded - for Jade's birthday, the lady who won't smile. Just kidding. She lights up the room with her smile.

2024-08 - Jaded - my first usage of a bounce across in a hey. Also Seven Stars and Entwined.

2024-10 - Seven Stars - Devan's seven children, who played major roles in restarting contra dancing in Lexington, KY after the COVID shutdown.

2026-08 - Batter, Bitter - I wanted to write a simple dance with 1/2 hey, ladies chain across, 1/2 hey. Done. Bob Isaacs pointed out that my dance was just Gene Hubert's Butter with the chain moved. Butter has been around for as long as I have been calling, one source dates it at 1990. Hard to believe that no one suggested a variation with 1/2 hey, chain, 1/2 hey instead of chain, hey. I looked to see if this had already been written. Not that I could find. I considered calling it Better, but I didn't want the name to imply that it was better than Butter. So Batter. And inverting the partner and neighbor roles - Bitter.

2026-08 - That bring things to the present. I hope more stories far into the future.

Investing - Which Accounts to Use?

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Taxable account, traditional IRA, 401(k)/403(b), Roth IRA – where do you put investment money? Plus HSA. Get it wrong and you can pay a lot of additional income tax, higher Medicare premiums, or miss out on an employer match. Understand this puzzle now, before it’s too late.

I’ve talked about pieces of this in past posts. This is an attempt to cover all of the issues together.

I’ll talk about five types of accounts:

• Taxable account – an ordinary brokerage account with no special tax rules.
• Traditional IRA (TIRA) - an individual retirement account with pre-tax or nondeductible contributions and tax-deferred growth. A rollover IRA is just a traditional IRA created by rolling over funds from a 401(k).
• 401(k) - an employer run pre-tax retirement account (401(k), 403(b), and similar plans).
• Roth - an after-tax account, including Roth IRA, Roth 401(k), Roth 403(b), etc.
• HSA - a health savings account

Taxable Account

You fund this with after-tax money. There are no annual contribution limits or withdrawal restrictions.

If you hold investments that generate only long-term capital gains and qualified dividends, those amounts are taxed at long-term capital gains rates when realized (when you sell or when the fund distributes gains). If you use stock ETFs, most of the equity income will be qualified dividends (taxed at long-term capital gains rates) once you’ve held the ETF long enough to meet the holding-period.

But if you use bond mutual funds or ETFs, the dividends are generally taxed as ordinary income (interest). And if you use stock mutual funds, especially those with active management, you’re likely to get capital gains distributions every year. Heavy redemptions by other shareholders, common in a down market, can force the fund to sell holdings and generate taxable gains for remaining shareholders.

Dividends are taxable in the year they are paid, even if you automatically reinvest them. When you later sell shares to raise cash, you owe tax only on the capital gain, not on the entire withdrawal. If you are making withdrawals from a taxable account, turn automatic dividend reinvestment OFF to prevent unnecessary taxable events.

Use index funds in a taxable account. This reduces yearly capital gains taxes by reducing turnover. It also reduces your chance of needing to sell a fund due to poor performance, and therefore the capital gains on any growth of the fund.

These taxes are not penalties, they are just taxes paid earlier. Each taxed dividend or distribution increases your cost basis, so you’re not taxed again on that same amount when you sell. In a taxable account, you only owe tax on gains because the account was funded by after-tax money. Brokerages will let you choose which shares to sell so that you can choose higher cost basis shares with less gain, but this takes some effort.

Traditional IRA (TIRA)

Traditional IRA contributions must be from earned income. They may be tax-deductible depending on your income and whether you are covered by a workplace retirement plan.

Withdrawals from a traditional IRA are taxed as ordinary income, regardless of whether the underlying investments produced interest, dividends, or capital gains inside the IRA. So you can reduce your taxable income in the year of deductible contributions, but you pay tax when you withdraw the money. Your tax rate may be higher or lower in retirement, depending on your situation.

Traditional IRA (and 401(k)) withdrawals count as income for Medicare purposes and can push you into higher IRMAA brackets, increasing your premiums.

Withdrawals before age 59 1/2 are generally subject to a 10% early-withdrawal penalty on top of income tax.

Required minimum distributions (RMDs) from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s generally start at age 73 (depends on your birth year). The initial RMD percentage is roughly 4% and rises with age.

Given all this, it is not clear that a TIRA is better than a taxable account. It depends on your situation and unknown future situation.

401(k)

A pre-tax 401(k) is taxed similarly to a TIRA. Contributions reduce your current taxable income and withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income. But it has some advantages over a TIRA.

Your employer may offer contribution matches in a 401(k). The match will more than make up for the tax disadvantages of a 401(k).

Many 401(k) plans offer a fund called a stable value fund. This gives bond-like returns but ensures that the yield does not fall below a specified minimum. These were designed to help reduce risk in retirement. They are typically available only within employer plans.

The yearly contribution limit for a 401(k) is about three times as high as the TIRA limit.

Roth

A Roth IRA is truly tax-advantaged. Contributions are after-tax and must be from earned income.

You can also fund a Roth via a Roth conversion, moving money from a TIRA (or from a pre-tax 401(k) to a Roth 401(k)) and paying ordinary income tax on the converted amount.

After age 59 1/2 (and after the account has been open for five years), qualified Roth IRA withdrawals are tax-free and do not count toward IRMAA. Roth IRAs also have no required minimum distributions during your lifetime.

Assuming a growing stock market, it’s usually best to do a TIRA to Roth conversion early in the year to catch a full year of tax-free growth.

Put your high growth investments in your Roth to take advantage of tax-free growth.

Direct Roth IRA contributions are limited by your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). But TIRA conversions to Roth are not.

Your employer may offer matches to Roth 401(k) contributions. The match is usually pre-tax to a separate pre-tax 401(k). Or it may be after-tax to your Roth 401(k), depending on the plan.

BEST TO CONSULT A TAX EXPERT AT THIS POINT

If all of your TIRAs are near 100% pre-tax, and you make a deductible contribution, you can convert some or all to a Roth and pay income taxes at that point.

If all of your TIRAs are near 100% after-tax, and you make a nondeductible contribution, you can convert some or all to a Roth, paying taxes only on any earnings in the TIRA.

And if you can roll the pre-tax part of a mixed TIRA into a 401(k) (depends on your specific plan), then you are left with a near 100% after-tax TIRA.

The Roth usage decision is often described as a guess on pay taxes now or pay later. This will be a guess on government tax law and your tax bracket. But it leaves out a more important issue - in a Roth, asset growth can be withdrawn tax-free. In a TIRA or 401(k) when asset growth is withdrawn it is taxed as ordinary income.

HSA

This is funded with pre-tax money (does not have to be earned income). You must have an HSA eligible high-deductible health plan (HDHP) and not be on Medicare. The fund growth is untaxed. And any payments for healthcare (including Medicare and COBRA premiums but not other insurance premiums) from the account are untaxed. If you need the funds for other purposes and are over 65, you can withdraw and pay income rate tax on it. Under 65 add a 20% penalty. There is a yearly contribution limit and you cannot contribute if you are on Medicare, but you can continue to use the funds . Start contributing early.

This is tax free medical payments (not tax-deferred). Do not miss out.

My Takeaways

Use index ETFs in a taxable account to minimize unwanted distributions and need to sell due to poor management. Do not use a DRIP (automatic reinvestment) if you need the dividends for income - withdraw whatever you need before reinvesting to prevent an unneeded tax event.

TIRAs and 401(k) are good places for assets with income rate tax on distributions (CDs, bonds, money market) because there is tax deferral but no income vs capital gains tax rate issues.

Roths are a good place for assets that are expected to return better than inflation (stocks) because the growth is tax free.

Favor Roth's over TIRA and 401(k)s to minimize IRMAA Medicare payments.

Favor Roth's over TIRA and 401(k)s to avoid higher taxes due to wealth
accumulation.

Contribute to your Roth 401(k) or 401(k) at least to maximize employer match.

Look ahead starting at age 59 1/2, and earlier is better, make a plan for converting rolling 401(k)s to TIRAs and Roth 401(k)s to Roth IRA, and converting TIRA to Roth. The plan may be "do nothing", but if you wait too long, it will likely cost you in taxes.

Taxable accounts may be preferred over TIRA and 401(k) because long-term gains and qualified dividends are taxed at the capital gains rate instead of the ordinary income rate. But after retirement a TIRA is still convertible to Roth, while contributions to a Roth from a taxable account are not allowed without equivalent earned income.

Taxable accounts may be preferred over any tax advantaged account because the money is available for use at any time of life, penalty free.

Max out your HSA for best tax-free medical.

Investing - Investment Areas of ETFs

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The number and investment areas of ETFs have exploded in the last few years. This is an overview of the ETF areas in common use. When choosing, also consider fees and liquidity (smaller funds can be harder to trade).

Stocks (mostly capital gains rate income taxes)

    Stock Category

• total market
• value
• growth
• dividend - high dividends (for stocks), some funds screen for quality, provides income and growth
• dividend growth - growing dividends (which imply quality), provides growing income and growth
• dividend with covered calls - dividends and covered call premiums, but growth is capped

    Management Strategies

• pure index - tracks a rules based index, low turnover
• market-cap weighting - most common, largest companies dominate the return
• equal weighting - reduces large cap dominance, more rebalancing
• active management, momentum - favors stocks with good recent performance
• active management, covered call - adds income, caps growth
• active management, low volatility - tries to reduce downside, likely reduces growth, advantage if you withdraw capital for income
• active management, leveraging to increase returns - tries to amplify returns, high risk

    Market-Cap (size of the corporations, stock price times number of shares)

• large cap
• mid cap
• small cap
• total market - all sizes, if market-cap weighted then large caps dominate

    Operating Space

• total market
• technology
• healthcare
• financials
• energy
• utilities
• REIT (real estate invesment trust) - high income, tax issues
• artificial intelligence
• computer memory and storage
• computer connectivity optics
• small scale nuclear power
• semiconductors

    Geography/Currency

• US
• international, currency hedged - reduces currency risk
• international, currency unhedged - adds currency risk/reward
• global, currency hedged - reduces currency risk
• global, currency unhedged - adds currency risk/reward

Bonds (mostly income rate income taxes)

    Duration (affects volatility risk)

• ultra-short - low interest rate sensitivity, close to money market
• short
• intermediate
• long - interest rate sensitive, benefits from falling yields, falls when yield rises

   Strategies

• pure index - tracks bond index, low turnover
• active management, total return - tries to increase return by trading principal
• active management, high income - aims for high, regular payout

    Issuer/Currency

• government/treasury - low risk if you believe that the government will never default
• corporate - higher yield, riskier than government
• municipal - lower pre-tax yield, tax advantages
• international government/treasury hedged - reduces currency risk
• international government/treasury not hedged - adds currency risk/reward
• global government/treasury hedged - reduces currency risk
• global government/treasury not hedged - adds currency risk/reward

    Credit Risk

• investment-grade - lower yield, lower default risk of default
• high-yield - higher yield, higher risk of default

Thaxted

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I occasionally hear pieces of classical music that I think would make great dance tunes. I haven't succeeded in adapting any of them, most often due to phrasing issues. Contra tunes need 2/2 or 4/4 timing and 16 beat phrases. Trying to make a 24 beat, for example, phrase fit just doesn't work - it ruins the melody. And there is also tempo - it must sound right at 110-120 bpm. Waltz needs 3/4 timing, an even number of bars, and needs to work around 125 bpm.

Yesterday, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and came across a video about someone rescuing a dog and her puppies. It was set to one of my favorite melodies. From Gustav Holst's The Planets, Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity. This entire piece is wonderful, but what usually comes to mind is a melody from the middle.

One of many performances on YouTube - Jupiter .

I found that Holst had repurposed this melody to fit Cecil Spring Rice’s poem "I Vow to Thee, My Country", and entitled it Thaxted, a town in England where he lived for several years. This is what was used in the video.

Thaxted has been used for many songs/hymns. Perplexity AI lists eight.

I found ABC sheet music for Thaxted - not in great shape. I transposed to E minor, fixed the timing to 3/4, and added chords. ABA, 8 bar phrases. I played it at my usual waltz tempo, 125 bpm - perfect. It's a hymn, but should be good as a waltz. Perplexity AI says to emphasize the boom-chuck-chuck rhythm - sounds good.

(2026-08-12) I moved the second A part up one octave. I think that this makes the tune feel more complete.

MIDI recording

Something useful from Facebook. Wow! And a beautiful new waltz (I hope).

The ABC -

X: 1
T: Thaxted
R: waltz
C: Gustav Holst
M: 3/4
Q: 1/4=125
K: Em
B,D||"Em" E2 EG F>D|"G"GA G2 F2|"Em"EF E2 D2|"Bm"B,4 B,D||"Em"E2 EG F>D|"G"GA B2 B2|BA G2 A2|"Em"G4 ||
dB||"Am"A2 A2 GB|"D"A2 D2 dB|"Am"A2 A2 Bd|"Em"e4 ef||"C"g2 f2 e2|"G"d2 g2 B2|"Am"AG A2 B2|"D"d4 ||
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Blog Post 101

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This is blog post 101, almost 10 years after post 1. I started with a post about smart phones, suggesting that many of the "features" were less than useful. Some these features failed in the marketplace - curved screens, squeeze control. Most of my complaints were ignored.

Glossy screens - nine years after my complaint, Samsung introduced a non glare screen, only on their top of the line, huge phone. I haven't checked it out. Thankfully, matte screen covers are much improved with a fine texture that doesn't ruin the screen resolution.

OLED screens have largely replaced backlit LCD screens, but this hasn't produced optimal always on displays (AODs). With Samsung, the AOD app widgets have limited brightness that make them very hard to read in some situations. Apple thinks that AODs belong only on their Pro models - I don't know what they can display. Motorola thinks there is no reason to have an AOD. Google has an AOD with next alarm but not time zone.

None of the main screen clocks have time zone. Software designers - THE DISPLAYED TIME IS NOT COMPLETE UNLESS IT INCLUDES THE TIME ZONE THAT IT IS REPORTING IN.

Screen bezels have been minimized. I cannot use any current phone effectively without a phone cover. The cover supplies a raised "bezel" than prevents me from constantly touching the bottom of the screen and the resulting unwanted action. It also makes the phone significantly bigger - not good.

Samsung has a "game booster" that puts an icon in the lower left corner of the screen. Accidentally touch it and you get a menu. Maybe useful for action games - I don't know. But worse than useless for word games. The game booster app cannot be removed. But you can kill its function - see Samsung Galaxy S25 in my blog.

Phones keep getting bigger. You might think that a next generation small phone would be smaller or the same as the current generation. NO. Small phones keep getting bigger.

I still have never used a voice assistant or any AI feature on a phone.

Fingerprint readers have moved to the front of the phone, under the display. These have improved a lot since the Samsung S22, but still not nearly as good as the fingerprint reader on the back, as on the Pixel 4A.

Google has decided that it's okay to display Android navigation buttons on top of application information. This maximizes the app size while still giving access to the navigation buttons. They think that the buttons and the underlying app don't interfere with each other. WRONG. Shrink the app - the navigation buttons don't take that much space.

Screen brightness has gotten so severe on my Samsung phone that I have to turn the brightness down to absolute bottom. Which leaves no room for optimization - just "PLEASE DON'T BURN OUT MY EYES" mode.

I don't care about the headphone jack any more. I use first generation Apple Airpods. They fit me perfectly and connect quickly.

Android split screen and insets - still useless and annoying.

Emojis are out of control. I occasionally use thumbs up, heart, smile, frown. That's all. When selecting one, I am presented with hundreds of them to choose from. Wouldn't it be easier to use a word enclosed in brackets - for example, [smile] would cause the reader to picture a smile emoji.

Minimum volume is still too loud at times. And volume steps are often too large. There has been absolutely no improvement in this in ten years. Resources MUST be directed toward new icons and emojis [satire].

And gestures have become pests. I accidentally touch the screen and something changes. I don't know what I did and I don't know what happened, other than I've lost what I was looking at.

And - WHY TO YOU KEEP CHANGING THINGS THAT WORK? How does that help the user? How about changing things that don't work?

Investing - International

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The US is in bad shape fiscally. 39,000,000,000,000 dollars in debt, an estimated 100,000,000,000,000 in unfunded liabilities. For a population of 350 million, that's $111,000 and $285,000 per person. And only one third of the population pays any federal income taxes, so 333,000 and 855,000 per taxpayer. And if the debt magically dropped to zero, our government has no mechanism to avoid returning to the same situation in short order.

It is often argued that US corporations do a lot of business internationally, so there is no need to invest in foreign businesses. But that does not address the problem of a weak US Dollar (USD).

So I decided I should be investing 20% (to start) of my assets in foreign businesses. I found that many foreign corporations allow US investment through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). An ADR certificate represents shares of a foreign corporation and trades on a US exchange (NYSE, Nasdaq, etc.) or over the counter. Most ADRs on US exchanges are sponsored by the corporation, but others are unsponsored. ADRs remove much of the complexity of owning foreign stocks directly. Dividends from ADRs are generally qualified, after a holding period, so you pay the capital gains income tax rate. It is easy and effective to invest in foreign corporations.

ADRs are traded in USD. But the price tracks the home country price via arbitrage (institutional buys and sells). You get dividends in USD at the current exchange rate. So ADRs and their dividends reflect the value in the home country currency, making them useful as a USD hedge.

For US taxpayers, in taxable accounts, many ADRs report withheld foreign taxes on dividends. You pay capital gains taxes on trades and dividend taxes as with US stocks, but you get the foreign tax credit. In a Roth IRA the foreign tax credit cannot be used, but there are no taxes on the dividends (or capital gains). In a traditional IRA, the foreign tax credit cannot be used, and you pay income tax rate on the dividends (and capital gains) on withdrawal. I prefer using a Roth for my international assets, but many investors prefer a taxable account.

There are ETFs that include ADRs that are similar to US ETFs. SCHY is an international version of SCHD. VYMI and VIGI, international versions of VYM and VIG. All with just slightly higher fees.

Since I want stable, profitable foreign corporations, I use mostly SCHY. It has been suggested that dividend growth ETFs are likely more stable than high dividend ETFs because they exclude corporations that pay high dividends to attract investors. But dividend growth ETFs don't pay high dividends, so I consider a lot of those corporations to be growth oriented. SCHY is a good compromise because it filters on quality and dividends.

Investing - Financial Mistakes to Avoid

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Co-sign a Loan? 

Do not co-sign a loan. If a lender requires a co-signer, that means that the lender thinks that the borrower cannot repay the loan. If they don't repay, the co-signer is fully responsible to repay. And the loan likely comes with a very high interest rate. Find another way to help. 

Share an Asset with an Heir? 

If you want to transfer assets on your death, do not transfer them before your death. Do not add your heirs as co-owners of your house or brokerage accounts. If you do, they may share your cost basis as well as the assets. Under current tax law, if they inherit, their cost basis in these assets generally steps up to the value of the assets at your death. This can be a huge difference in capital gains tax if/when they sell the assets.

Transfer on Death

To easily transfer assets to heirs on your death, look into "transfer on death" for house (not available in all states) and brokerages (available from most reputable brokerages and banks). Transfer on death is a direct transfer to your beneficiaries at your death, bypassing probate, wills, and trusts. It is easy to set up and easy to change. Since this covers only specific properties and assets, is does not eliminate the need for a will or trust.

Direct Transfer of 401K to TIRA

When moving assets from a 401K or 403B to a TIRA, be certain to follow the rules to avoid making this a taxable event. The easy and safe way to do this is to authorize your brokerage to request a direct trustee to trustee transfer from your employer plan to a rollover IRA (a rollover IRA is just a traditional IRA that originated as a 401k or 403b conversion).

Borrow Money from a 401K or 403B?

Borrowing money from your 401K or 403B is risky. If you don't repay the loan on schedule, the balance becomes a (taxable) distribution. And if you leave your job (including layoff) the balance must be paid off by the next tax filing (sometimes sooner), generally April 15, or the balance becomes a distribution. If this happens, you will owe income tax on it and, if you are under age 59 1/2, a 10% penalty. Read the rules specific to your loan plan carefully.

Whole Life Insurance?

Life insurance is important if you have dependents. But be careful of what you get. It is generally agreed that "whole life" insurance is a poor value due to high fees and low return on investment. "Term" insurance is preferred, in general.

Annuity?

Annuities have their place in a retirement plan, but you must be very careful in choosing a policy. Many have a high load (sales commission) and ongoing fees and you lose control over your money and access to it. If purchased inside an traditional IRA and the annuity payments have started, distributions are taxed as ordinary income and count as the RMD for the annuity portion of the TIRA. If purchased in a taxable account, only the earnings part of the distribution is taxed (as ordinary income).

Annuity or Adviser Run Income Portfolio?

My suggestion, in preference to an annuity or an adviser run income portfolio, is an indexed dividend stock ETF, such as SCHD or VYM. These distribute mostly qualified dividends from established corporations that have a roughly 30% to 60% payout ratio. A portion of the corporate profits are given to stockholders as a qualified dividends and the rest goes to growth of the business or stock repurchase. This increases the dividends over time, likely surpassing inflation. And in a taxable account, qualified distributions get the capital gains tax rate, likely lower than the income tax rate. The fee for SCHD or VYM is .06%/year, much lower than an annuity or adviser.

Investing - Strategy and Tactics

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Strategy

 
Understand investing and why it is important. Not learning about and handling investments is a good way to end up poor. Businesses no longer have simple pension plans. The US government and Social Security are not solvent. People outlive employment by decades.

Understand taxation, especially in retirement. It is a critical element of investing.

Think of returns in inflation adjusted percents (average 2.5%, total 85%, over the last 25 years). The "wonder" of compound interest does not apply to investments that don't keep up with inflation. CDs, bonds, money market, will not grow much faster than inflation. DODIX (excellent bond fund) over 25 years, up 70%, inflation adjusted, up 12%. S&P500 over 25 years, up 696%, inflation adjusted up 430%. If you need a million dollars to retire today, plan on 1.85 million in 25 years. That's assuming a stable inflation rate.

You should initiate any investment. Letting others push your investment is ripe for them making a profit, not you. Listen to advice, evaluate it with outside sources, decide whether to use it.

Note the difference between investing and gambling - owning a share of a business (common stock) versus derivatives, futures, options, crypto coin, market timing, day trading.

Remember - investing is to earn money over decades in return for ups and downs over months.

You will make mistakes. Learn from them. Do not repeat them.

It is often suggested that you hold on to debt in favor of investing because the investing growth is more than debt interest. But - growth rates on investments are maybes. The debt interest is guaranteed and failing to keep up with the payments makes a mess.

Tactics

Bonds suppress the volatility of stock prices in your portfolio, but long term they will suppress the growth.

Dividend paying businesses, with roughly a 50% payout ratio (that's half of profits go to investors, half to growth or stock buy backs), suppress stock price volatility and add confidence to the efficacy of the businesses.

Do not use traditional mutual fund in taxable accounts. Well established indexed ETFs are far more tax efficient and are much less likely to need to be sold due to under-performance.

I prefer well established ETFs to mutual funds in tax advantaged accounts, although there is no tax advantage. ETFs have lower fees and are easier and quicker to buy, sell, and trade. But if you find a mutual fund that you like, no problem. Look for low fees, a good manager replacement strategy, a low price earnings ratio, and a stock picking strategy that you like.

After retirement, if you need money from a taxable account, turn off any automatic reinvestment. Every buy or sell is a potential taxable event. Take the money from distributions and reinvest what you don't use.

While your income is low, especially while you are young, contribute to Roth IRAs/401ks/... in preference to traditional IRAs/401ks/... A traditional IRA contribution makes a nice tax break, but you will likely end up with a much higher tax bill when it's time to use the money.

Move traditional IRA assets to Roth IRA at the beginning of the year, not the end. If you wait until the end of the year, you have missed out on a year of tax free growth. Of course you might catch a nice dip for conversion sometime during the year, but that's market timing. 

More 

Check back in occasionally if you like this, I will probably think of more to add. Suggestions are welcome. 

Linux, EasyABC, ABCM2PS

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You can read this post as a technical post about some Linux software and/or a satirical post about how ridiculous Linux can be.

Two critical pieces of my music editing and printing procedures on Linux are Abcm2ps and EasyABC. These should run on any Linux desktop, but each Linux desktop has it's own approach to installation. I use Lubuntu which is closely based on Ubuntu, just a different GUI interface.

Abcm2ps is a command line utility for converting ABC sheet music to PostScript for printing. But versions after 8.14.6 are broken for scaling and positioning.

For Ubuntu - find abcm2ps_8.14.6-0.1_amd64.deb on the internet and download it. The trick to finding it is to enter the exact file name, not keywords. Then sudo dpkg -i abcm2ps_8.14.6-0.1_amd64.deb to install. You can sudo apt install, but the next time you need it you will not have the .deb.

This is pretty easy, but when the system updater runs, it will replace it with a newer version. Here is the solution.

  sudo apt-mark hold abcm2ps

and to verify

  apt-mark showhold

.

EasyABC is a very nice cross-platform ABC music editor. Unfortunately, it runs into Linux's major flaw - installation dependencies. Old code that uses code that is no longer supported or readily available. Finding a functional way to install EasyABC on Lubuntu took many hours.

This is how I set up EasyABC using a virtual environment (venv). See https://groups.io/g/abcusers/topic/set_up_and_run_easyabc_on/110250537 for how to do this with PyEnv. This was very helpful even though it is not my way of doing things. Sounds more complicated that using a venv. Perplexity.ai helped a lot also. And MUCH trial and error.

The big issue here is that EasyABC doesn't keep up with Python (a code interpreter/compiler which is changed at a ridiculous rate). It does not work with Python 3.12. And when you install wxPython, it attaches to the current version of Python, 3.12. So you can install Python 3.11 which is okay for EasyABC but you can't install wxPython for Python 3.11 because the installer sees Python 3.12 and assumes that's where you want wxPython. You could try removing 3.12, installing wxPython on 3.11, and reinstalling 3.12, but 3.12 is the system Python, so I think that the system would crash if you remove 3.12 - not sure, didn't try it. And of course you could modify EasyABC to work with Python 3.12 - over 9000 lines of code - good luck. The "easy" solution is to make a virtual environment (venv), where Python 3.11 is current, and install wxPython there. Then put a wrapper around the Python execution of easy_abc.py that puts it in the venv. This is all new to me, but it became important when my computer crashed and I needed to get EasyABC going on a new system.

Get jwdj EasyABC 1.3.8.7 .

  https://github.com/jwdj/EasyABC
  unzip to ~/home/user/easyabc

install python 11 from deadsnakes (a repository with old Python versions)
  sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
  sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa
  sudo apt update
  sudo apt install python3.11
  python3.11 --version 

make a virtual environment
  python3.11 -m venv easyabc-venv
activate the venv (after it has been made, just activate and deactivate as needed)
  source easyabc-venv/bin/activate (terminal prompt indicator is displayed)
deactivate when finished
  deactivate

INSIDE the venv with "(easyabc)" displayed

fluidsynth - it is not clear to me if this is needed

  tar -xvzf Downloads/fluidsynth-2.5.3.tar.gz (unpack the file into a folder fluidsynth-2.5.3)
  cd fluidsynth-2.5.3
  mkdir build
  cd build
  sudo apt install cmake libgtk2.0-dev libpulse-dev
  cmake ..
  make libfluidsynth
  cp src/libfluidsynth.so* ~/easyabc

This is from https://groups.io/g/abcusers/topic/set_up_and_run_easyabc_on/110250537

  sudo apt install -y --reinstall \
  make build-essential libssl-dev zlib1g-dev \
  libbz2-dev libreadline-dev libsqlite3-dev wget curl llvm libncurses5-dev \
  libncursesw5-dev xz-utils tk-dev libffi-dev liblzma-dev python3-openssl \
  git libgtk-3-dev

pip install --upgrade pip (I think this can be systemwide, not under the venv)
pip install -U pyparsing
pip install -U pygame
pip install -U wxPython
python -c "import wx; print(wx.version())"

sudo apt install abcmidi
sudo apt install abcm2ps (or v8.14.6 noted at the top of this post)

I'm not clear if these are needed, but they won't hurt anything (I don't think)
  sudo apt install fluidsynth
  sudo apt install fluid-soundfont-gm

Script to run EasyABC from the command line - easyabc.sh.

  #!/bin/bash
  source easyabc-venv/bin/activate
  python ~/easyabc/easy_abc.py
  deactivate

  and make it executable with - chmod +x easyabc.sh

When you run easyabc.sh in a terminal, you get a bunch of warnings and maybe an error. These don't appear to be a problem.

My desktop app starter file (don't forget to make it executable). Same as the ~/.local/share/applications file extension app association file.

[Desktop Entry]
Name=EasyABC
Exec=~/easyabc.sh %f
Terminal=false
X-MultipleArgs=false
Type=Application
Icon=~/easyabc/img/logo.ico

I have done three installs and they all worked! Three years from now, when I have to do another install, we will see.

Samsung Galaxy S25

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Samsung's Galaxy S* phone series has a very annoying naming issue. The S25 series includes - S25, S25+, S25 Ultra, S25 Edge, and S25 FE. If I want a case for an S25 Edge, I search Amazon with "S25 Edge", and similarly for the others, until I get to the S25. For the S25, I need "S25 NOT + Ultra Edge FE", but Amazon search doesn't support that. Why not call the S25 the "S25 Compact". Then I could do useful searches for it.

I was waiting on the Samsung Galaxy S26, due in a month, to get a new phone. But all indications are - slightly bigger, no anti-reflective glass. The S25 Ultra has a new anti-reflective glass that I was hoping would be used on the S26 - apparently not. The S25 is slightly smaller than the S26 and I didn't see any disadvantage. Switching phones is a major pain. Copy the old phone (easy), but then update settings (do not disturb schedule, suppress picture in picture in Maps, Maps sound levels, brightness settings), log into calendar app, TV web page, Amazon, Google, Facebook, recreate my home page in Nova (launcher), turn on my alarms, set up the always on display, turn off all gestures, set up the fingerprint reader, set up app permissions and other app settings. Hours of work. Then transfer the SIM - done!

The fingerprint reader seems to be noticeably improved - faster, more reliable. And the side buttons are a bit easier to push.

Huge phones have taken over the market. The base Galaxy S* series is the smallest mainstream Android phone. Why do they make their small phone larger? Its primary feature is that it is small.

After two and a half years, my S23 was as good as new. And that's without ever using a screen cover. The only reason for upgrading was to get app widgets on the always on display (AOD). The S23 had this feature at one point, and then it was dropped. That would normally cause me to drop Samsung. But, to my knowledge, no other phones ever had the feature. The S25 does let you put app widgets on the AOD. But they are dimmed relative to the clock, so not as useful as they should be. Anyway, I have time zone and next alarm on my AOD again, if not quite bright enough to see in some conditions. And the AOD clock no longer roams the screen since the new screens, apparently, do not have a burn in problem.

The S25 screen is blinding. I keep turning the brightness down, but the slide bar is in the lower 5% of its range so it is not easy to control. Single step buttons on each side of slide controls would be very useful on touch screens. Why do phone manufacturers keep pushing brighter screens? Why do reviewers keep praising them for it?

Samsung Game Booster is supposed to help you with action games - preventing interference from other apps. I don't know or care what else it might do. But any app that declares itself to be a game is captured - chess, word games. A pop up menu is controlled by an added button in the lower left corner of the screen, right about where my thumb is holding the phone. So the menu is constantly popping up over the game. And of course there is nothing on the menu that improves the game.

But you can't delete the app, you can't turn it off, and you can't filter what games it controls. I finally found a good way to kill it - this is mostly from a YouTube video. Update Samsung Game Booster (it was already installed but didn't show up on my settings app list). Then in Setting - Apps - Game Booster, Change system settings - not allowed and Appear on top - off. So the annoying pop up button still shows up on the navigation bar, but it doesn't have permission to put a menu on top of the game. And it is not allowed to give itself permission. Problem solved. But the whole situation is an example of software design stupidity. Why don't you just let me delete the app? Or tell it to ignore specific types of games.

Maybe in a year or two anti-reflective screens will make it to the mainstream. I suspect that by the time that happens, all phones will be huge.

Investing - The Tax Gauntlet of Roth Conversions

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This post has taken a long time to write (mostly rewrite) to try to make it coherent. I hope the rewrites were successful. Sorry for the acronyms, but you can't talk about taxes with using them.

Gross Income - most income that you receive in a year, including wages, dividends, alimony, capital gains, interest income, royalties, rental income, TIRA, 401k, 403b withdrawals, etc.

AGI (adjusted gross income) - Gross income, minus TIRA, 401k, 403b contributions, deductible HSA contributions, half of self employment taxes, student loan interest, and a few more.

MAGI (modified AGI) for IRMAA - Your AGI plus tax-exempt interest.

MAGI (modified AGI) for NIIT - Your AGI with some adjustments.

RMDs - Required Minimum Distributions - Starting around age 73 (depends on your birth year), you are required to withdraw a percentage of your TIRA (or 401K, etc.) and pay taxes on it. It starts at about 4% and goes up every year. RMDs cannot be converted to a Roth IRA. You pay income tax on it at your marginal rate since it is in addition to your regular income. And sometimes it increases your marginal rate. If you don't need this money, you can invest it, and pay taxes on the distributions.

IRMAA - Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount - Medicare penalizes you for making too much money. And the amount is a very nonlinear function of your MAGI. Below around $100k (unmarried), no penalty. Above about $183k, about $5000/year. Then this would be multiplied by how many years it takes to convert your TIRA to Roth. It sounds good to do it all at once, pay a big penalty, and be done with it in one year. But ...

Tax Bracket - When you top around $200k (unmarried) your marginal tax rate pops up to 32%, a nice jump from 24%. So it would be good to keep your Roth conversions below $200k minus your income. But if your income is, for example, $50k, that leaves you converting just $150k per year.

NIIT - Net Investment Income Tax - This is an additional tax on your investment income (interest, dividends, capital gain) if your MAGI is above $200k (unmarried). The amount of the tax is 3.8% of the lesser of your investment income or your MAGI minus $200k (unmarried).

You want low RMDs (RMDs are a percentage of the total TIRA). You want low MAGI for lower Medicare premiums. You want low income for lower taxes. And you want low MAGI to avoid an NIIT tax bump. But you want to convert a lot of assets from TIRA to Roth IRA and this counts as income and MAGI.

(Unmarried) it looks to me like it is best to keep your MAGI under $197k to stay out of the 32% tax bracket. This "spreadsheet" assumes you have an income of $44k. It show four levels of MAGI, each obtained by adding a Roth conversion amount to your income. The Medicare penalty percentage is minimized by pushing the MAGI to the top of (but not past) each IRMAA bracket. (Such evaluations would be so much easier with a continuous curve instead of stepped brackets, but our representatives in Congress apparently do not understand mathematics.)

income – includes         conversion MAGI    penalty penalty
Social Security *.85,     amount             per     per year
RMDs,                                        month   as a % of
pretax IRA contributions,                            conversion 
investment distributions

44,000                    62,000     106,000 0       0.0%
                          89,000     133,000 88      1.2%
                          123,000    167,000 220     2.1%
                          156,000    200,000 353     2.7%

This shows that faster conversion gives higher Medicare penalties. And there is likely higher tax on the RMDs. But it reduces RMDs faster. RMDs can bump your MAGI into higher Medicare penalties. And an RMD can't go to your Roth except as a contribution that requires equal earned income. That means that if you invest the RMDs you pay tax on the distributions. So - choose your poison.

(2026-02-18, two more issues) You also need to calculate the future of IRMAA. RMDs last forever, and IRMAA with it. So with no Roth conversion you might pay IRMAA 12x 100, 100, 100, ... forever. With conversion all in one year 12x 700, 0, 0, ... Without conversion, after 7 years, IRMAA gives you a 1.2k penalty per year, forever. But of course doing it all in one year gets you a nice tax bump for that year.

Also, any money that moves to Roth, cap gains and dividends are tax-free as soon as it moves. Doing a conversion at the start of the year saves tax on any gains for the year. 

Investing - Total Return for Dividend Stocks

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Dividend stocks and ETFs have an odd characteristic. Their stated goal is to produce income via dividends, but actually their total return (income plus growth) is just as important as the dividends. The issue is that the listed dividends are the current dividends. But you probably want those dividends to increase with inflation. If the payout ratio (profits paid as dividends / total profits) is 50%, half of profits go to dividends and the rest are used to, hopefully, increase profits and produce higher dividends in the future or buy back stock to increase the stock value. Businesses that have a high payout ratio pay high dividends, but don't grow as fast as businesses with low payout ratios. And if they pay out more than 100% of profits, the business is shrinking.

So my suggested strategy for selecting a dividend ETF or stock is decide how much I need from dividends and select an ETF that gives me that, and no more. The more is used by the business to improve future dividends, so it is not disadvantageous to own this business.

(2026-07-15, improved explanation) There are a number of covered call dividend ETFs. These hold stocks and sell call options on them. The contract is that someone pays the ETF an option premium for the right to buy an amount of stock at a strike price and date. If the price doesn't reach the strike price, done. If the stock price passes the strike price the ETF is obligated to sell at the strike price (below market value). So total return upside is limited. Two problems - the premiums are not qualified dividends, so it is likely that a significant part of the distributions from the ETF will be taxed as income, not capital gains. And if the stocks pass the strike price, the ETF's total return in an up market is limited.

When I chose to use SCHD and VYM a few years ago, SCHD had a dividend of about 3.5%. VYM about 3%. SCHD was significantly ahead in total return for the past ten years. This year SCHD is paying 3.8% and VYM is paying 2.5%. But total return, VYM value is up 12.8% and SCHD is up 1.6%. So VYM is set to give 12.8% higher dividends on the cost basis than the reported dividends because the principal has grown 12.8%. SCHD is set to give 1.6% higher dividends on the cost basis than the reported dividends.

Compare JEPI to VOO, VYM, SCHD - using totalrealreturns.com. Total return (with dividends reinvested) per year for 5 years. JEPI 10.3%, VOO 17%, VYM 14.5%, SCHD 10.4%. JEPI is actively managed and uses covered call options to improve returns. It returns 8.4% dividend (currently). But that means that growth is just 1.9%, not keeping up with current inflation. VYM returns 2.5% currently. But it's growing 12% per year. SCHD returns 3.8% currently and growing at 6.6%.

The net of all of this - the best dividend stocks or funds are the ones with the best total return while giving you the amount of income that you need, but no more. Beware if the dividends exceed about 4%. These may be at significant risk to drop in value either because the businesses are paying more than half of their profits in dividends or the fund manager is gambling with the stocks to get higher dividends.

SCHD - I have a blog post about SCHD, which, in the past, looked like an outstanding dividend fund. Recent performance has been weaker, apparently due to investments in out of favor sectors. So, when I say "That's history, not prediction" take it to heart. VYM looks a lot better recently.

(2026-07-15) SCHD is doing much better this year. And I like their business quality screen for long term investing. 

More Good and Bad

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In no particular order-

It took a while to find an Android app that would just tell me how far I have walked. I don't want to plan a route - my route this summer is wherever there is shade. I don't want steps, or calories burned, or how fast I'm going. I don't need a map of where I've been. Map My Walk is the best I have found and it has about 5x what I want, but pretty simple to just start a walk, and it notifies me every quarter mile (adjustable), which is handy. You can't buy it - subscription only. (Update - for what I use, it doesn't even need a subscription.)

KROGER has quit stocking whole wheat spaghetti. BAD. They still have, for now, whole wheat thin spaghetti. (Update - they fixed the issue - regular and thin whole wheat spaghetti on the shelf.)

Gestures - I have railed against gestures as an input method on phones before. But I was hit with it recently. I was testing one of my Android apps on a virtual phone with Android defaulted to gesture navigation. I needed the app list but could not find it. I gave up my search and asked Perplexity.ai. The answer - swipe up on the home screen. What? How was I supposed to know that? It seems to me that gestures are a lot like invisible icons. I hate icons, but with a (visible) icon, even if I can't decode the meaning, at least I know some function is a touch away. But a gesture?

Philips Norelco One Blade electric razor - excellent. It's like an electric hair clipper or hedge trimmer, except the head is only about 1+1/4 by a 1/2 inch. And it has a surface that lets you drag it across your skin smoothly. It doesn't shave as close as fancy razors. But it doesn't leave long hairs that don't get under the foil. And it doesn't pull hairs. No pain. Doesn't irritate skin.

I hate sock that squeeze my feet. Many years ago, I found Gildan size 12-15 gray crew socks. Much better than other socks although they still squeezed a bit. I don't know why, but the black ones were much tighter. I never tried white. But they quit making them. Inexplicably, the low cut versions of these socks were no looser that their regular socks. I tried other large size socks - they were longer but not any looser. Searching Amazon recently to see if Gildan had started making the 12-15 gray crew socks again, I found these - Extra Wide Comfort Fit Socks. There are other brands that appear similar, but the Extra Wide brand has a much higher cotton content. They are expensive, about $10/pair. The medium size socks are loose on my feet. Fantastic. As with all socks that I wear, I cut the calf part off to just above my ankle.

Brooks Adrenaline 24 (running) shoe tongue loops - finally a shoe company has addressed the problem of shoe tongues falling to the side. A small string loop on each side of the tongue. The shoe string goes through the loop and holds the tongue up and reasonably centered. A significant advancement in shoe technology!

Amazon Kindle - it appears that they have fixed the page number line display (see Software Bugs post). It took about nine months.

Lubuntu 24.04 and Android 15

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Ubuntu (Linux) 24.04 - I was informed that 20.04 long term support was ending shortly. Time to update - skip 22.04, go to 24.04.

You can't skip 22.04 - update to 22.04 then update to 24.04. The update to 22.04 went well.

The update to 24.04 failed miserably. Linux installs work great - until they don't work - then you are screwed. I resorted to installing from a 24.04 ISO disk image install. At this point I decided to switch to Lubuntu. This is just Ubuntu with the LXQt GUI. Then I went through a day of torture trying to figure out why I could install, but not boot to my disk.

I finally realized that my disk was partitioned as MBR (Master Boot Record) for booting directly and the install wanted GPT (GUID Partition Table) for booting to UEFI which, I think, lets you boot to a USB drive without choosing it in the computer BIOS. But changing the partition type wipes the disk, which I was avoiding. But I need to have a working computer so I did it. I still couldn't get this working. So back to MBR and I figured out how to make it bootable. Too late to save my disk. With my disk wiped, I had to install a bunch of software and of course restore my personal files. That went reasonably well, except that when I backed up the disk before the update, I didn't think to backup hidden directories. My SSH certificate that let me log on to my web page was gone. Fortunately I had put that directory on my laptop.

So, finally up and running. But some of the software that I need wasn't working. These are the down level programs that I had to get to make v24.04 work as well as 20.04

Okular has replaced Evince (also know as Document Viewer). Okular produces absolute garbage prints of PDFs to my PostScript printer. Evince still works well.

A new EasyABC (music editing app) runs on Python 3 (Yay!). But it has again been disabled by Python changes. I had to get down level Python 3.9.

Newer versions of abcm2ps (this formats ABC format tunes into sheet music) do not produce correctly scaled sheet music. There is a replacement program written in JavaScript using abcm2ps as a starting point. But if the latest amcm2ps doesn't work right, why would I spend the time to switch. I got down level abcm2ps 8.14.6. Back in business.

Ghostview, a GUI interface to GhostScript (PostScript emulator) is obsolete. But it still works. But you need down level GhostScript 9.52. I'm not sure why they needed to update Ghostscript - Postscript hasn't changed in many years (to my knowledge).

I could rag on Linux for depending on libraries downloaded independently from applications. But even worse is new programs that don't work as well as the old programs that they are replacing. Okular PDF prints to my Postscript printer are just plain wrong. Abcm2ps was updated and lost scaling functions that I was using. Ghostview (GUI for Ghostscript) support has been dropped and it does not work with new versions of Ghostscript.

Of course this is common on Windows and Android. I have no experience with Apple.

I wrote a Windows/Wine version of my text editor in 2007. I have fixed a few bugs and added a bit of function over the years but no other changes. I still use it for almost all of my text editing, under Wine in Linux, 18 years later.

Android 15

While Linux makes it hard to keep using old software, Android makes it impossible to use anything more than a few years old. How? By changing the API (application programming interface), redacting old API function, and constantly changing the requirements to be listed in the app store.

Android 15 on a Samsung S23 - Good Lock / Lockstar ruined - app widgets are no longer allowed on the AOD (always on display). I recently modified my clock app to display (optionally) only time zone and next alarm. I used this with Lockstar to display it on the AOD. This fixed one of my major issues with Samsung's Android. No more. Back up to Android 14? Only by resetting the phone and losing the entire setup and data on it.

For Android Firefox and I Heart Radio I have block notifications set. But they both manage to display annoying notifications.

If I turn the phone off, the display blanks and then displays the AOD. What's that for? Apparently, I often turned off the phone and then checked the time. Now I turn off the phone and have to wait for it to display the time.

New battery recharge modes: charges to 100% then stop until it's down to 95%; stops charging at 80% while you are asleep and switches to 100%/95% mode while you are awake; stops charging at 80% (or 85%, 90%, 95%). Why not charge to 80% then stop until it's down to 75% and similarly for 85%, 90%, 95%? This is important because I will often take my charged phone off the wireless charging stand, use it for a short time and put it back on the stand. Wouldn't it be better to not charge until it has dropped significantly? I don't know.

So what's new and improved in Android 15? The status line battery display is easier read. I use Nova Launcher, not One UI, so nothing there. I can't find anything else.

Why Didn't I Do This Long Ago?

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Many times in my life, after doing some really useful task or acquiring a very useful device, I have realized how useful it is and think - why didn't I do/get this long ago?

Scripts to do repetitive tasks. After typing command lines over and over and using clumsy GUIs for my current 3D print project, I finally spent a half hour writing a script (OpenSCAD and Prusa Slicer both have command line interfaces). Having completed it, render and generate printer control code is one short command line. Faster, easier, less frustrating.

While I was thinking about the above script, I asked Perplexity.ai if I could set up a key to type in today's date. Yes - it took 5 minutes to do. Now when I want a date stamp on a file name I just use F10 instead of typing the date.

I recently did a house cleaning, and I wanted to get the limescale off of my faucets. I used a chemical calcium/lime/rust remover on my kitchen faucet, then realized - I just bathed my drinking water faucet in toxic chemicals. I've done this before and spent a lot of time running water before drinking. But this time I checked on Amazon and found new complete faucet aerators (including shell) for about $2 each. These installed easily, dramatically improved the flow due to the unclogged aerators, and of course look great.

My bread maker is another example. Just measure out the ingredients, let the bread maker turn it all into bread, and slice it. What's so great here is that I control the ingredients - for me whole wheat flour, olive oil, salt, yeast, gluten. And if you try this, you will soon learn the root of the idiom "the greatest thing since sliced bread".

Battery vacuum cleaner, string trimmer, leaf blower, drill, Dremel tool. It is so much easier to pick up a tool and use it instead of choosing a suitable electical outlet and perhaps extension cord, and working around the cord while doing the job.

Exchange Traded Funds started to compete with mutual funds around 2000, long after I had been investing via mutual funds. They have huge advantages over mutual funds - delayed capital gains taxes, mid day trading and tracking, low expense ratios. Why did I wait until retiring, 2016, to investigate and start using ETFs?

Gewa Strato violin case - light and space efficient. Mine is wearing out after many years. But it's been discontinued. I can't find anything similar on the market. Why didn't a get a spare?

After reading about how tea bags release microplastics into tea, I found everything that I needed to make tea from loose leaves. Specifically an infuser (stainless steel) and some loose leaf tea. I tastes about the same as using tea bags, but no plastics. This time I'm ahead of the curve!

Sundries

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Ally bank alerts - Ally Bank quit sending deposit and withdrawal alerts to me. After two weeks, I switched to US Bank. I received an email recently that claims that this is fixed. Three months. I'm not going to test this.

Restaurant background music - do Italians really like jarring horn blasts in their music? Who decided that droning/unchanging drum tracks enhance music (at a Thai restaurant, but clearly American music). Why must it all be so loud? And why do restaurants need any background music?

Samsung S25 features - I bought a Samsung S23 (smartphone) in June 2023. Upgraded from an S22 solely because reviews said that the S23 fingerprint reader is much better. True - it was worth the $800 (?) price. I later found that Samsung Goodlock/Lockstar (free software) allowed me to put the time zone and next alarm on the always on display. I finally had a decent phone, but too big, nasty screen reflections, and heavy. The S24 did not address any of these issues. Pass. The S25 Ultra has this new feature - Gorilla Armor 2 - "the Industry’s First Anti-Reflective Glass Ceramic For Mobile Devices". Enhanced durability - fine, but I do not have a single scratch on my S23 with no screen cover. Anti-reflective surface - this is, apparently, a wave cancellation layer (or multiple layers) made with a very hard (ceramic?) material. 75% reflective light cancellation. This is worth $800. But it is NOT on the S25, only the S25 Ultra, which is BIG. New AI function, new colors, more speed? Pass.

Folded lists - folded lists are a handy way to put a long list in a short place. On Google's blog top page, by default, the list is folded by year and month. You can't see titles until you click on a year and a month. Sigh. A scrolling list is far superior. You can switch to a long list, but it only shows dates, not titles. The date of publication is more important than the title of the post? After living with this for years, I made a web page of all the titles as a list, and repeated the investing blogs (the most popular posts) at the top. www.blog.ravitz.us . This is so much easier for finding specific posts.

Calendars - after maybe 45 years of wall calendars with a nice picture for each month, I can't find anything interesting and new. For 2025 - Peanuts, the comic strip from long ago. I like Snoopy.

My phone calendar (Google calendar via Calengoo app) has a significant defect. It has all the national holidays, but no religious holidays. Mardi Gras - I need to know when restaurants have a Cajun special. Saint Patrick's Day - restaurant specials again. Easter, Halloween - look at all the associated candy. Whether you believe in the roots of these holidays or not, they are important in our culture and I want them on my phone calendar.

(2025-02-02) I found everything that I wanted under "Holidays in United States" "Other observances", except Mardi Gras. And I found Mardi Gras under "Global religious holidays" "Christian holidays", but that is along with many other holidays that I can't unselect.

Software Bugs

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For about six months and through several updates, Android Kindle does not correctly display the bottom status line on my phone. It is displayed so that only the top 1/4 of the line is visible. This line gives the page number - important information. Amazon does not care.

Time to see how the other ebook readers are doing. Google - there is no page number line and it won't display the current time. Google seems to think that app screen area is all important. Not for me. I want the phone status line with the time and the navigation bar (the buttons) - ALWAYS.

Nook (Barnes and Noble's ebook reader) - WOW. I can see the Android status line and navigation bar (optional), and the Nook status line. And I can set the paper color - not just choose from a few bad choices. With the navigation bar always displayed, exiting to the home screen is just a button push away. Startup, even if nothing is changed is delayed by about four seconds, with a big refresh symbol in the middle of the screen. You can read the rest of the screen but you can't do anything else. Annoying. Not nearly as annoying as Kindle's issues. I have switched.

Ally Bank, email and text alerts for deposits and withdrawals don't work. It's been almost a month since I opened a support ticket. They won't give me any status on a fix - just "we are working on it". It worked a month ago - compare the two code levels and fix it. I gave up. Now trying US Bank. Things seem to be good but switching twelve automatic deposits and withdrawals is not fun. Most banks with branches offer very low interest rates on savings accounts. US Bank is 4%, same as Ally. And there is a branch near me so that I can get $50 bills instead of the $20 bill that ATMs hand out.

For about six months and through several updates, Google Maps will not adjust the volume after the trip is started. I suspect that you can adjust it while Maps is telling you something, but by the time I've found the volume button on my phone, the message has finished. I just found this workaround. Press the "you" icon (your little photo or initial), then "Settings", then "Navigation settings", then "Play test sound". While the test sound is playing, use the volume buttons to set the default volume. It works! I still can't adjust while driving, but I can get a reasonable volume each time without having to remember to adjust before starting the route. How about naming this option "Set default volume" so people know what it does?

Next day - Maps reset its default volume. I can't hear it. I can't adjust it while driving.

What is wrong with our corporate cultures that this is acceptable? Why do the users accept it? They have been convinced that software bugs are inevitable. But how have they been convinced that the bugs don't need to be fixed.

Perplexity.AI

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Perplexity.AI is an AI based internet search engine. I hesitate to refer to this as artificial intelligence, so I will stick with AI.

Perplexity reads your input, question or request, does a search for the answer, interprets the the web pages that it finds, and gives you an answer along with links to the information sources, and often gives additional information and explanations. Free and without advertising, but I wouldn't expect that to last long.

It sometimes misinterprets my question and sometimes misinterprets the information sources. And there is no guarantee that the information sources are factual.

I used Perplexity to help with modifying my Android apps after Google required that they be updated to use level 34 of the software development kit. This involved working with Java, Javascript, XML screen layouts, and Android Studio software. I hadn't used these tools in about a year and I had forgotten many details. Java and Javascript are similar enough but different enough to cause major confusion. Android XML screen layouts are major sources of confusion. And Android Studio has a nightmare of menu choices and many parts that needed updating separately without clear pathways. Perplexity handled these problems very nicely, giving instructions and code samples.

In addition, I wanted to improve some aspects of my code. For example, I knew that regular expression searches would speed some code, but writing the correct regular expression is not always easy. And it's better to be correct than fast. Perplexity helped quite a bit, but it often required multiple efforts to make it understand what I needed. (SQL queries present a similar situation but I have not tried Perplexity there.)

Even better, finding the right way to integrate Android native touch screen control on top of a Webview HTML/Javascript screen was made easy. The first two suggestions failed, but the third worked well. The result was dramatically improved touch response.

And when I asked how I could speed up my code, several suggestions helped, including turning on hardware acceleration and Java compression.

Another important aspect of Perplexity is that it looks at a variety of web pages to obtain an answer. This saves me a lot of time searching through garbage web pages to find an answer. If I can't verify an answer, I will likely need to do my own filtering of the pages. And it gives me pages to look at. But if I can easily verify an answer, try it out and see if it works, WONDERFUL. Or YES - that's the word or person that I couldn't remember.

And another - sometimes you have to explain to Perplexity why it is wrong. If you have a good argument, it will apologize and give a new answer. For example, once it misinterpreted a web page that gave the weight of a violin bridge, assuming that it was the weight of the fingerboard. After I explained this, it corrected itself. But I asked if that new information was added to its knowledge base, the answer was no. Things learned when talking to me are not distributed outside of our conversation. Perhaps this is necessary to prevent people from spreading false information.

I just now had Perplexity write an htaccess script to redirect my web page urls so that a subdirectory would automatically redirect to the equivalent subdomain - www.ravitz.us/dance/*.* redirects to www.dance.ravitz.us/*.* . Looks like a correct script. Inmotion hosting doesn't recognize it. I don't think this is Perplexity's fault.

Overall - I like it. I don't know how much I would pay for it, but while it's free, I expect I will keep using it. Especially for verifiable answers, it is great.

Bread Maker

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Bread makers have been on the market for 35 years. But I haven't been concerned about the nutritional value of the bread that I consume until recently. So I'm way late - read on if you are in the same boat.

Having found no bread for sale that satisfies my new diet (minimal white bread, pasta, and rice), I decided to get a bread making machine. I chose a Hamilton Beach 2 pound model, largely because the cleanable parts are dishwasher safe. A bread slicer and knife are very useful. For choosing a bread slicer - the loaves are about 5 inches wide on my machine. That looks pretty standard from what I have seen. Watch out - the long serrated knife is dangerous when being cleaned.

First try - I printed a recipe for a two pound loaf, then decided to modify it on the fly to one pound. By the time I had (correctly) measured out half the flour and water, I forgot what I was doing and used the printed numbers for salt, yeast, olive oil. Sigh. It turned out okay, considering my missteps.

Second try - this time 1.5 pounds, a carefully reworked recipe, followed correctly. Except after starting the machine, I realized that the kneading paddle was still in the dishwasher. Fortunately it had been trying to knead for just a few seconds. I paused the machine, used a spatula to move the flour mix to the side, leaving mostly water over the kneading shaft. The paddle slid on easily. The carefully layered bread mix was a mess. But the bread turned out pretty good.

Third try - just minor adjustments now

    install kneading paddle
    1 1/4 cups warm water + 3 TABLEspoons for the chia seeds = 1 7/16 cup
    2 TABLEspoons olive oil (22 cal/slice)
    3 cups whole wheat flour (153 cal/slice)
    1 teaspoon vital wheat gluten (not sure that this is needed)
    3 TABLEspoons chia seeds (27 cal/slice)
    1 1/4 teaspoon salt
    1 1/4 teaspoon bread machine yeast

Having read about how nutritious chia seeds are, I've been looking for a good way to get them into my diet. This works well.

I cook the bread, let it cool, slice it, put it in a zipper freezer bag, and freeze it. It keeps for a long time and thaws quickly.

Whole wheat flour plus chia seeds. No added sugar. Just a little oil and salt. Tastes pretty good, especially as toast. The above 1.5 pound recipe yields 11 slices, 212 calories each. That's about twice as much as typical packaged bread. This bread is pretty dense, probably best to use just one slice and make an open faced sandwich.

The machine is easy to use and easy to clean. The kitchen is easy to clean - a little spilled flour from ingredient preparation and bread crumbs from slicing.

SUCCESS!

One of my favorite, hopefully healthy meals -

    toast a piece of the above bread
    add a slice of cheddar or Swiss cheese while the toast is hot
    fry a couple of eggs (I break the yoke and cook it solid) and put on top
    eat it with an avocado

Some kettle cooked potato chips taste good too. NOT healthy.

And fresh iced tea, no sweetener. No lemon for me.

Recipes

I have been using perplexity.ai (that's the web address) to find recipes (and my note about bread maker history). This is an AI search engine that finds and reports answers and gives links to where it found the information. (I am not suggesting that it is intelligent, but the industry and news media seem to think that it is.) It is only correct if the links are correct. And it will sometimes misinterpret the information on the links. But still it is useful.

"show me bread a machine recipe for 100% whole wheat bread, 1.5 pound loaf". This returns

    1 1/4 cups warm milk
    3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
    3 cups whole wheat flour
    1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
    1 1/4 teaspoons salt
    1 1/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast

and some additional instructions.

"show me a bread machine recipe for 100% whole wheat bread, no sweeteners, with chia seeds, 1.5 pound loaf". This returns

    1 1/4 cups warm water
    2 tablespoons vegetable oil
    3 cups whole wheat flour
    2 tablespoons chia seeds
    1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

"show me a bread machine recipe for mostly whole wheat bread, no sweeteners, with chia seeds, 1.5 pound loaf". This returns

    1 1/4 cups water (110°F/45°C)
    2 tablespoons olive oil
    2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
    3/4 cup bread flour
    2 tablespoons chia seeds
    1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Probably a nice texture improvement, but I'm happy with 100% whole wheat.