It struck me the same way. He projects a salesman's confidence and glibness, so my knee-jerk reaction is to roll my eyes and wonder what the hell he's selling. Well, it's obvious what. The entire post is plain and simple bragging. He says himself that he didn't do it out of altruism. He did it to maximize his happiness, which includes -- he says this explicitly -- enjoying the fact that he made such a bright decision. And though he doesn't say it, it's obvious that another one of the benefits he gets is the joy of telling everyone about his enlightened, tasteful choice.

Nothing he says is new. Choosing a life of utter freedom, security, and modest luxury over the relentless drive for more wealth and power is probably as old as stable urban societies and has probably been admired for the same reasons just as long. So we're not here to learn; we're just here to gawk at one of our celebrities. If HN had channels, this would be E!

Admire the man for what he's done, but for God's sake, have the sense to roll your eyes and stop admiring for a second when he tastelessly brags about it. Resume admiring when this little faux pas passes out of consciousness.