The Philosophy of Volatility

A super super interesting thought on my mind is the quote from Michael Saylor, volatility is vitality. What does that mean, why does it matter etc.?

First, typically when we think of volatility, it is in the financial realm. We think of volatility in the context of something going up and down, almost unpredictably, chaotically, crazily.

For example in the markets, we tend to think of volatility like a bad thing. Because most people cannot stomach the up and downs.

I am an interesting case because obviously I’m affected by it too. Yet now, whenever I see volatility, I’m more annoyed than anything, like the days that bitcoins down, or the days that microstrategy stock is a little bit down, it is almost more like having an annoying mosquito bite, Maybe even a tiny splinter than anything. The good thing with mosquito bites is as time goes on, we know that it will fade, although it is very annoying. Also, with the tiny splinter… Super super annoying to pick it out, but you can!


Nuclear power

So besides Chernobyl and Fukushima, I actually think that nuclear power is a super smart idea. Certainly nobody wants nuclear fallout, but come on… It is year 2024. For a while, me and Seneca were playing with SimCity: cities of the future on the Mac, and also, we watched the cities of the future film on IMAX and also 3-D, at the California science center. It is still kind of bizarre to me… Once again, the year 2024, if I think about the film Elysium, produced by Bill Block, and starring Matt Damon, shouldn’t we kind of be living in this futuristic, cyberpunk, or massively green and beautiful bright future? Not kind of this ugly, slumlord vibes we get from watching a film like Snowpiercer?

Even often the truth is a distraction 

Anyways, about two or three days ago I was curious why bitcoin spiked so high, breaking the mythical $70,000 mark, after about 2 to 4 years of languishing. So I searched it on ChatGPT, and randomly saw that because Elon Musk tweeted it? And then I was curious, and then I kind of went down a rabbit hole, checking Elon Musk Twitter, Seeing now how he endorses Donald Trump, and then seeing the tweed video the retweeted video of the Joe Rogan podcast with Donald Trump.

Anyways, I was watching the interview, I watched about half of it, very fun and interesting and entertaining! One of the interesting things is how Joe Rogan was asking Trump about nuclear.

So to me nuclear is interesting because it is insanely high volatility like it has a lot of power. But if done right, if handled quickly, it is essential you produce practically free energy for everybody! Apparently they do it well in France I think, they just create a bunch of these mini nuclear power plants, And the French citizens benefit?

A good reason to be anti stoic 

I think about 99% stoicism is good, come on, I named my firstborn son after Seneca the younger, the great stoic sage!

Yet where stoicism fails, I call this “the life after stoicism”, is that Stoicism is too focused on hardening yourself into like a porcupine, and then eventually, it makes you unemotional or unfeeling etc. Yet what if you want to embrace this interesting strategy; put on the stoic armor, in which you don’t really suffer any downsides from life, but you could harness the volatility of life, and channel harness and reap the benefits of the upside?

Stoicism is not volatile enough. Certainly we want Stoicism to clip and hedge the downsides of life, but, you want at least 200X upside in life!

The wisdom of kids

So kind of an interesting thing I learned from Seneca, kids in general etc.; Seneca is about 3 1/2, and when he is angry or upset about something, he’ll get angry, he’ll throw stuff, stop his feet, put out a lot of high energy, start screaming and yelling, and shouting, but when we just let him get it out of his system, like for 30 seconds or a minute or so, he’ll kind of forget about it, and then start smiling again, and then being happy and proceeding like usual. Because Seneca is like happy and joyful and silly and playful and curious Like 99.999% of the time.

Adults should also mirror children 

Anyways, I almost wonder if this is a better strategy for adults as well.

I think where adults fail is that we try to be good proper and prim, I don’t know if this is like Victorian Quaker Christian ethics, we try to restrain our anger, we don’t raise our voices we don’t yell we don’t scream, we don’t throw stuff, we are told to become modest, go on a walk etc.

But I almost wonder if it was a good idea that adults we also would just let our our anger and fury as well like kids — for example if we’re angry, to just yell shot scream, stump our feet, go outside, throw around the sandbag, go to the park and take some big heavy rocks and throw them into the distance etc. Also as a funny sidenote, go on YouTube or Google and search ERIC KIM rock toss challenge, in which during Covid when all the gyms were shut down I would just go to the nearby park, find the biggest rock or Boulder I could, and just practice throwing it around etc. It might be the best workout of all time!

Don’t hold in your anger 

Anyways, the issue with adults is that when we’re angry or upset about something, we’re holding our emotions, yet we harbor this anger and resentment, this Poison, for weeks days months years decades? Even one of my uncles, considering that my grandfather had an illegitimate wife and about five or six kids all illegitimate kids on the other side, essentially ditching my mom‘s mom, and the 4 to 5 legitimate kids, anyways, apparently one of my uncles is still super super upset about this, even many years after the passing of my grandfather, my uncle saying that after getting drunk “I have no father”, referring to my already deceased grandpa.

I get it, but I almost feel like it doesn’t really matter anymore. Don’t people gotta move on?

Yeah yeah yeah, life is tough, life is sad whatever, but, I once read that resentment and anger is like drinking poison, hoping that the other person dies.

No not only is this kind of not a good strategy, it is ineffective but also foolish.

Think Achilles

For example, imagine like you’re a warrior, like you’re Achilles, or Hector, and you’re about to do the final battle. You got your spear and shield, your battle armor on. Obviously the goal is to throw your spear and kill the other guy, not to take your spear and stab yourself in spite of your enemy, hoping that somehow spearing yourself will damage the other person?

Really sick stuff

Even a more sick thing, a parent, who is frustrated with their child, not sure what to do, starts to literally beat themselves, like hitting themselves or self flagellating themselves, causing themselves some sort of self-made pain, to make the younger child feel bad? To me this is almost the most sick evil thing to do of all time because when your kid and your parent beats you, at least you could feel bad and think that your parent is a bad guy. But if your parent beats themself to spite you… You have no one else to but by yourself? 

Never spite nobody!


Where it is wise to not trust Christianity 

The early Christian fathers, a lot of them kind of unwell people, we kind of do a similar thing, self flagellate themselves for their sins whatever, as a form of repentance or something?

But the reason why this is so sick and weird, is that once again, by hurting or damaging or poisoning yourself, you ain’t doing nothing useful.

Like for example, let us say that you did something bad or whatever, and then boom now your parents are dead or somebody you care about is dead or whatever, and then you get super depressed and you start to drink alcohol, smoke a bunch of weed, do a bunch of drugs, simply to alleviate your pain your distress your suffering. Or you start to self yourself, you start to physically beat yourself.

Now once again, this is not productive at all.

Channel volatility

So just watching the recent microstrategy earnings call, go Michael! I also like Andrew Kang and Phong Le (both I presume our Korean and Vietnamese, just like me, Seneca, and Cindy!) 

Anyways, what do you notice what super interesting was that what is so fascinating about microstrategy, it is like literally the best performing company in stock in the known human universe, is that it is also the most volatile. Whereas a typical asset might have a volatility of five, The volatility of micro strategy often exceeds 50.

Volatility is vitality, the motto of Michael Saylor.

So then I guess the tricky thing, the philosophy behind things: “Would you prefer to have higher volatility for greater yield and performance?” Or would you rather have low or no volatility, and just take boring steady gains, but far inferior gains and yields?

For me, I think 100% obvious strategy is to have higher performance, with even greater and higher volatility.

Because at the end of the day, it is probably more interesting to drive a high volatility performance vehicle, like a Lamborghini, which has more power powers and “flexiness” rather than a boring and reliable Toyota Camry?

Yet what a lot of fools do is they just park their money in some sort of blended S&P 500 derivative, because they don’t know what else to do?

Taking control of your financial destiny

Michael Saylor said his personal imperative with bitcoin, is that he believes that at least 50% of the world‘s problems and issues can be solved by fixing the money. He likens traditional money and capital as being toxic; would you give your healthy four year-old child contaminated sewer water to drink, or would you give them clean water? Or, would you take the temperature of your home, which is a cozy 73°, and turn down the thermostat by 1°, every single day, for 10 years? Obviously not, you will literally kill and freeze your family to death.  

Think scientific history & physics

I think the genius of a Michael Saylor is that he studied history of science at MIT, and also aeronautics and aerospace engineering.

So I was curious about the word volatility, and apparently it just is derived from Latin to fly, initially from the Proto into European to throw.

So certainly flying is good. I would not want to go to Seoul South Korea on a boat. Also, thinking about French colonialism, I have no idea how the French would be able to stand the boat ride from Paris all the way over to Saigon; or even worse, Thinking about Australia, the original penal colony, how in the hell did you take a boat from London all the way to Australia?

Flying is literally volatile (volaris, to fly)

Anyways, the volatility of flying, certainly flying can be dangerous, you hear the reports about the new Boeing jets, exploding or whatever. Yet nobody gives up flying.

Or let us say the dangers of driving an automobile car. Certainly there are lots of dangers associated with driving, like fatalities from car related accidents, now texting while driving, it is literally a life or that situation. You are 1 trillion times more likely to die from a car accident rather than any sort of accident resulting from a terrorist attack, or a gun related fatality.

If in fact, everyone is talking about why guns are bad and so evil and how we should ban guns or whatever. Yet nobody is talking about how we should be texting while driving, or even ban the use of a cell phone while you are in an automobile car.

If anything, if Apple really wanted to say millions of lives, I have a simple thought: by default if you buy a new phone or whatever, a new Apple ID or whatever, there should be a workflow which if it detects that you’re driving really really fast in the car, it automatically locks you out of your phone, into the do not disturb driving mode, and that if you want to access the normal mode, assuming you’re a passenger in an Uber or Tesla Robo taxi, then you could voice dictate or type I am not driving. Or “I am a passenger”.

Anyways, volatility is good. I almost wonder if volatility, voltage is the same thing? You step up and you step down there’s transformers for electricity. And this is what allows high-powered electricity to travel from phone wires, silently into your home, powering your washer and dryer your heater and air conditioning whatever. Yet nobody is trying to ban electricity.


Channeling volatility

Bitcoin is up 507% percent over 4 years since 2020, MSTR is up 1989% since then — 5x, 19x (20x) gain since 2020

So also, a curious thing… Why is it that I have never met a female day trader? Or a female bitcoin investor?

I’ve met lots of day traders, all male, some guys at the gym at the local park whatever. It is pretty common to meet day traders who drive Uber on the side or whatever. I haven’t really met any bitcoin investors in the flesh yet, besides myself. And certainly I have never met any women who are interested in bitcoin. It is too volatile for them.

It is also too volatile for most men. Yet a simple filter, I think that for the general part, women hate volatility, most men also hate volatility but some men like myself, love volatility.

Question; are there any women who love volatility? I guess the ideas that you have sex with the rockstar, and you have the boring accountant husband at home, paying the mortgage or whatever, but it seems that most women, would not want to be in a serious financial relationship with a Starbucks barista playing music on the side.

Anyways, maybe what life is then, is the love of volatility. 


Harnessing the upside of volatility without the downside?

So this is where things get super interesting; how can we reap the benefits of the upside, like gain 150% upside in life, while clipping the downside?

So for example, the microstrategy strategy is super super fascinating;: capturing 150% the performance of bitcoin and the upside, without the downside?

Bitcoin Treasury Company (BTC)

So how do they do this? Simply put they have access to permanent bitcoin capital. Funny enough they are dubbing themselves BTC, bitcoin treasury company, I like to just think of micro strategy as their first bitcoin bank (BB), because it is easier for mere mortals like myself to remember, but anyways, what is super fascinating about microstrategy, is because they have been in business for over 30 years, they are a real company, that first started off selling business intelligence software, and now transitioning into becoming the world‘s first 100% bitcoin company, which is effectively unstoppable at this point; even if Apple somehow bought $1 trillion worth of bitcoin, because the operating structure of Apple computer is still revolving around future projections of selling more future iPhones, Apple can never really really ever become 100% bitcoin, even if I wanted to.

December 2024: Will Microsoft purchase bitcoin? 

Oh and also as a random sidenote, I think in December, there might be discussions that Microsoft might actually start to add bitcoin to her balance sheet. This is worth noting, especially because starting January 2025, the new FASB (fasb.org) financial accounting standards board, GAAP generally accepted accounting principles — essentially companies institutions like Harvard and Yale and Brown can now add bitcoin to their balance sheet, as a treasury reserve asset. The reason why this is a big deal is for so long, bitcoin was considered fake money, and that a company could not add it to her balance sheet, proving proof of funds and reserves in the traditional sense. Now, all of these nerds who become accounting will have to learn all of these new rules, figuring out how to integrate bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets to accounting principles.


If Larry Fink and Blackrock think that bitcoin is real capital, it is.

The reason why this is such a big deal is that once again, people still think that bitcoin is fake money! Yet look at the Janet Yellen talk on Satoshi, and even look at Larry Fink, CEO of blackrock who owns over $10 trillion worth of assets, Larry Fink even now says that bitcoin is legitimate asset class, and I think that black rock has actually recently invested and bought a bunch more micro strategy stock. Watch the CNBC interview with Larry Fink on Bitcoin.

Study it yourself

Oh and also, a pro tip; definitely get the $20 a month ChatGPT pro, it is now the ultimate financial investment research tool; when you want to search any financials or anything, this is an insanely big deal.

Anyways, once Harvard Yale and Ivy League schools start to purchase bitcoin, or maybe even there investors, the ones that handle the endowment start to purchase microstrategy, which is essentially a conduit for purchasing bitcoin, with indirect exposure to the asset class of bitcoin, this will be a big deal.

If UCLA were smart, she would purchase BTC and Bitcoin and or microstrategy, not real estate.

How to harness the upsides of volatility without the downsides?

So this is a very big idea. Obviously the goal in life is to win, even Michael Saylor said at the end of October 30 micro strategy earnings call, that essentially, under a bitcoin strategy, everybody wins, there are no losers in the bitcoin strategy. Only varying degrees of success. 

There are no losers in life!

Philosophically, this is fantastic. Why? To me the idea that we could all win together, 100%, no losers, isn’t this the ultimate thing?

For example, I still think that the number 1 foolish way that most individuals live is that they think of life like zero sum; they think that your success means my failure, that your big dick means my small dick.

But this makes no sense because money is fake, money ain’t real, it is just a man-made construct. So if somehow you have $1 million in the bank, that doesn’t make my balance any smaller or bigger.

21M is a hard cap.

I suppose the thing that is a little bit tricky under the bitcoin standard is that because there is a hard cap of 21 million bitcoins, the ultimate strategy is indeed to own the most bitcoin at the end of the day. And this is still where I think the strategy, is to use microstrategy as a cash yield generation machine, periodically selling microstrategy stock when it is up to purchase more bitcoin, is still the best strategy.

MSTR Microstrategy as the engine in order to accumulate more Bitcoin?

MSTR -> BTC


Building and making your own micro strategy?

Introducing BLACK EAGLE CAPITAL: 

Currently, my new direction in my life — obviously I’ll still be doing photography workshops etc., as it is still my number one supreme in life and passion. Yet I’m thinking about offering more workshops in the bitcoin sphere, I think I am well adjusted to this because I have Stoicism, and control on my side.

Also, I am currently doing a soft launch of BLACK EAGLE CAPITAL, essentially my bitcoin hedge fund, the name behind it is inspired by the fact that I believe in the ethos of black, black canvas, all black aesthetics, and eagle, Because I was a Boy Scout eagle, also the symbol of America.

If you’re interested in participating, shoot me an email at eric@erickim.com

To be transparent, the strategy is to create an infinite money machine, you essentially leverage MSTR microstrategy stock, and then ultimately the goal is to accumulate more bitcoin. I encourage you to just open up your own Coinbase account, and start buying bitcoins. Just download Coinbase to your iPhone, from the App Store, connected with your JP Morgan Chase or Bank of America checking account, and start buying bitcoins, you could just buy 10 bucks, 25 bucks, $100, $500, $1000, 10,000, $100,000, if you like. The good thing on Coinbase is that they recently increased the limit i’m a $50,000 a day in instant limit, to now doubling that to $100,000! Thank god.

When is the best time to buy Bitcoin?

Buy it high buy it low buy it in the middle, because 30 years from now when bitcoin is worth $22 million a bitcoin, the price of what you paid right now won’t really matter. It won’t matter if you bought it at $100,000 a bitcoin, 200,000 a bitcoin, $75,000 bitcoin, or $50,000 a bitcoin.

Essentially starting next year will be year one of institutional acceptance. I am almost close to 100% certain that Donald Trump will be elected president, even me, I am a liberal Democrat on the left, and even me… I don’t think I’ll be voting for Kamala Harris. Vote orange, vote bitcoin!. Even worth noting the Donald Trump talk at the bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville Tennessee, also note that Donald Trump his two sons, Eric Trump and Baron Trump, I believe they’re actually really into bitcoin and crypto. Which is good for us, because if you have a president that loves bitcoin crypto and also the US dollar, this will be very very good news for us Americans. And also, good for any holders of bitcoin on the planet.

Bitcoin is the solution for world peace?

I also personally ethically believe that bitcoin can promote peace because it don’t matter what country you’re from, as long as you own bitcoin, we are all part of the same monetary network.

I think bitcoin is a threat to the international monetary fund, Jerome Powell and the FED, which prints money like cotton candy. Even Donald Trump in his interview with Joe Rogan is talking about paying off the $35 trillion debt America has, and also Donald Trump says we will never sell our bitcoin.

And also I would not be surprised if maybe, an interesting national strategy; a nation or a nation to purchase bitcoins, which backs their own fiat monetary supply?

Like imagine if America owned 1 million bitcoins, or 2 million bitcoins whatever, and assuming that the US dollar was pegged to the bitcoin or back, then, the US dollar would actually be worth something. People talk that bitcoin is bad for the environment whatever, this is not true. Because bitcoin miners are incentivized to produce bitcoin, at a low financial rate, it will flow into high yield energy sources like nuclear power plants, or electricity which is stranded on the edges of the grid, for example it is it is cheaper to purchase electricity by building your bitcoin mining rig somewhere in the mountains with access to a hydroelectric dam, where electricity would not be used For example, if you could somehow capture the hydro power of hydroelectric power, which is essentially free because it is powered by gravity, then, assuming that electricity is practically free in America, certainly this will be very good for bitcoin mining and bitcoin network.

And also besides cheap electricity, or free electricity, There is actually a strong entrepreneur incentive to create computers which are more efficient, because contrary to popular belief, bitcoin mining is less about electricity — it is more about computer efficiency.

For example in the early days bitcoin, a lot of bitcoin mining was done on graphics cards, card by Nvidia, then a transition into ASICs, ASIC computers, which is not really even a computer in the traditional sense. It cannot do anything besides solve the mathematically intense cryptography puzzles, which is essentially the proof of work concept.

Also, the reason why proof of work is the path, is that work, like things need to have a real world work in order for it to be worth anything.

For example you do not want to live in your fake virtual reality metaverse, With your fake virtual reality Lamborghini, having sex with your virtual reality girlfriend, with access to your virtual reality money. For anyone who played Diablo II, you know very well that gold is not worth anything in the universe of Diablo; everyone wants the rare weapons.

Before there were hacks, this would mean that you as a kid, you have you would have to spend hours upon hours of doing BAAL runs, Trying to wait and cross your fingers that BAAL would drop some sort of mythical item or weapon, for you to equip yourself. And as a kid, this required real work, which meant a lot of time sitting on your computer, clicking around, and investing countless hours of time which is work, to achieve this outcome.

Bitcoin and crypto is the same thing; if there’s not real human labor or physical labor or analogue energy which goes into producing the digital asset, it is not worth it. This is why you should not purchase or invest in anything that is not bitcoin — nothing else is powered by proof of work and has a hard cap and supply. And derivatives, don’t forget Ethereum was essentially a bitcoin copycat.

Ethereum is not worth anything, don’t buy it, sell your Ethereum and buy bitcoin.

The best analogy is that Ethereum is Pepsi. Nobody likes Pepsi. The only reason anyone would drink Pepsi was because somebody gave it to them for free.

Bitcoin is like Coca-Cola, it has always been the best and will always be the best or bitcoin is like the iPhone Pro, everyone wants the iPhone, nobody wants a Google pixel, nobody wants a Samsung. And certainly nobody wants a Huawei, if you’re a smart rich Chinese billionaire, come on… You have zero interest in buying a Huawei phone besides supporting the Chinese communist party.

If you are any person with any sense, you would prefer to be wearing Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Balenciaga, wearing YEEZY sneakers, with the newest iPhone Pro, driving your Lamborghini Rolls-Royce whatever.

You would not want to drive a Chinese car, a Chinese phone, or even send your kids to a Chinese university.

You would rather want to send your kid to a Harvard Yale or Stanford, and even… No rich Chinese person actually wants to live in Beijing or Shanghai; they would prefer to live in and own property in Palo Alto, Los Angeles, Calabasas, Beverly Hills, Culver City, or maybe Vancouver.

The Chinese yuan is actually pegged to the US dollar 

The only thing that is stopping mainland Chinese is capital controls–  if you have $1 billion worth of Chinese yuan, you cannot take it out of the country even if you wanted to.

Don’t forget that the Chinese yuan is essentially pegged to the US dollar, and I think time has shown that no no no, we are not going to be speaking in Mandarin. English is international protocol and the international business language.

As long as the US, we have at least 1000 X military supremacy over China, we will be fine. And also, when Donald Trump becomes president, he is all about the tariffs, and he’s going to become antagonist towards China, which is good for us Americans because if you put a tariff on Chinese produced goods, money talks, words weep.

What does that means is China will not do anything to promote war with America because the rich Chinese oligarchs are still dependent on manufacturing products in China, and selling it to the American market for a profit.

Don’t be a dummy boy. Anyone who thinks that China is going to take over the planet is either anti-American, a communist, likes to give fellatio to Karl Marx, is a fakeass woke plant based hippie, spends too much time on Reddit, and pirateBay, spent too much time torrenting and streaming Maria Ozawa pornography (on Google incognito, brave browser incognito), maybe they have an apple Vision Pro and they watch virtual reality pornography on their $4000 Apple Vision Pro in private. They might be single, they might not be, maybe own a dog, they have no intention of having kids or girlfriends or a serious relationship.

And also they don’t own bitcoin.

ERIC


Upcoming ERIC KIM workshops, bitcoin thoughts, crypto thoughts, and also when in doubt, start here >


Digital Capital

Brave New World of digital capital,

So it looks like microstrategy, MSTR stock is gonna hit $300 this year soon; earnings report incoming October 30th.

And some big news, the FASB.org financial accounting standards board, they updated their accounting standards to include bitcoin and crypto,  which is an insanely big deal because starting January 2025, essentially companies corporations like Apple can start to add bitcoin to their balance sheet, being able to accurately mark their assets and capital in bitcoin, openly transparently, fair accounting.

Anyways, the reason why this is such a big deal is that for a long time, especially thinking about bitcoin pizza day, in which a guy bought two medium sized Domino’s pizzas with about 100,000 bitcoins, maybe worth about $200 million today, back when it was worth nothing, round 2009, my junior year of college.

Anyways, back in the day actually whether it was our sophomore or junior year, I still will never forget how my roommate Kevin told me that we should’ve bought some bitcoins, like 100 or so, Windows trading for pennies. At first I dismissed him saying that it would be a scam;

In the past I regretted this, but now… No, I am even more convinced. 100% of my assets into bitcoin, the first and true digital capital, this is like the early days of the Internet!

And also, for Roth IRA, IRA and retirement, the traditional market, literally micro strategies only safe to invest in; my critical thinking and understanding is there is too many risk factors for all these other corporations, even Apple, which seems like the safest bet, it might be the other and only “safe” Investment out there which will last 30 years, but my bearish view is that within 30 years, Apple might be bleeding and dying a slow slow death.

In fact, my unorthodox view is that actually, not investing in bitcoin is the risky idea?

Excitement optimism and joy! 

A random thought this morning was actually, maybe investing in apple is actually the unethical thing to do; think about all the mainland Chinese workers that fox con exploits, and as long as mainland China is doing acts of genocide all around the planet, and Apple is OK with that… Because Fox con should also be understood as essentially just another puppet or arm of the mainland Chinese corporation government, then, in theory to invest in Apple is to low-key accept all the human rights violations that mainland China does around the globe.

Everyone loves to talk about how climate change is so bad, racism is so bad, eating animals is bad blah blah blah, but yet nobody talks about how mainland China, is committing genocide all around the planet? And everybody knows it; and yet everyone still feels OK buying new iPhones?

Once again, if you are some sort of plant-based, anti-meat eating, pro environment person, yet you have an Instagram a Snapchat a Facebook a YouTube a TikTok whatever… No, this is not ethical.

why bitcoin is ethical.

To anybody who says that bitcoin is bad for the environment or the planet blah blah blah, essentially they were suckered by Sam Bankman-Fried and these evil corners, who sent she made air tokens which means fake value out of fakeness.

So, question… Do you think that air conditioning is bad for the planet? How about iPhones? How about the Internet? How about your hybrid Prius, your Tesla car, public transportation?

How about heaters?

How about washers and dryers?

So washers and dryers and air conditioning currently wastes about 20% of the world’s electricity – do you think the trade-off is worth it? If you have ever lived in Southeast Asia, Texas and the like, obviously!

What is commonly misunderstood about bitcoin is that it actually might be the most ethical energy use; actually, the economics of bitcoin mining is that it actually makes more sense to invest in energy efficient bitcoin mining rigs, near stranded energy sources like ideally building it at the edges of the grid, next to hydroelectric power plants etc.

What is actually very very interesting is that once you create a bitcoin, it lasts forever! The maintenance cost of bitcoin is practically 0%; whereas even gold, the world second best asset, bleeds at around 2% a year; which means that in about 60 years your value goes down by half.

Economic immortality?

So everyone is trying to become immortal in Silicon Valley or whatever… But instead, maybe what if economic immortality were more interesting?

This means, building up a war chest for your kids kids kids. So when your kids kids kids have kids they will be able to do great things on the planet!

No no no, the world is not going to melt. Ignore Al Gore and all these fake fear porn people; who essentially profit off of your fear! This includes Google, who makes more ad revenue The more people click on climate change articles.

Bitcoin is hope, bitcoin is a promise for a more glorious future!

Why do I care? 

For me, considering the fact that I grew up poor, essentially I think of bitcoin like unethical imperative. The idea of saving up money for the future, building up capital for the future, and also my belief in open source; to me… Bitcoin might be the most ethical thing on the planet? That is censorship resistant, open source, and also… A political, which means that America doesn’t need to keep committing war atrocities in order to support the value of the US dollar.

What is interesting is that all of these weird conspiracy theory people in America, the ones that tell you that the Rothschild in these Jewish bank organizations run the planet blah blah blah, that Israel is evil blah blah blah, actually the real bad guy is America, The US government, the American military, which essentially bankrolls Israel.

I think the best way to think about Israel is that essentially it is just like another military outpost for America, to maintain control over the region, kind of like South Korea, to have a strategic position against North Korea mainland China etc.

Koreans, South Korean don’t want to accept or think is that essentially South Korea is a neocolony of America, a new colony of America. As long as American military support South Korea and maintaining the 38th parallel, South Korea is essentially forever indebted to America.

Also let us not forget that Israel, was essentially established, with the guiding hand of America. Without America, Israel as a state would not exist.

So rather than pointing the finger at Israel, which actually does seem that the Prime Minister of Israel has done really terrible things, especially to the Palestinians, Hamas also seems like the bad guys, the innocent people are the civilians women and children. But really really really, the real bad guy is America, and the sad truth is without American military dominance on the planet, the US dollar supremacy would not exist.

Even if you are a liberal Democrat, anti-war; assuming that you have US dollars in your bank account, you have a JP Morgan Chase or Fidelity or Citibank, or Bank of America… assuming that your salary is being paid in US dollars, and let us remember that almost all the currencies on the planet, even the Chinese yuan are essentially pegged to the US dollar,  without the Fed printing more money to pay military contractors for the US defense government, the US dollar would not have any value.

So what is the solution? Super simple buy bitcoin. In theory, buying bitcoin not the US dollar, could help solve violence that destruction and genocide on the planet, and solve at least 50% of the world issues; considering that about 50% of the world’s issues are about money. If you’re from a broken family, or if there has ever been any debt or bankruptcy or credit card debt, or gambling in your family, lot of it is actually embedded in financial issues.

Think first principles

Actually, the best way to think about bitcoin is not to listen to your favorite YouTuber or podcaster, but to think first principles, and going back to the source.

For myself, the most interesting book on economics I have ever read is DELLA MONETA bye the Italian Fernand Galliani, who surprisingly wrote the whole treaty when he was only 21 years old, masquerading as a six-year-old man. Essentially I discovered Galliani via Frederich Nietzsche,  who quotes Galliani all the time; like some of my favorite quotes include from Galliani “better to be a gay monster than a sentimental bore”, or the idea that Eagles fly solo.

Anyways, Galliani talks about money and why it has value; and talk specifically about gold and silver and how in America at the time… The Quakers would actually trade paper money which was considered insane at the time.

To summarize, Galliani said that gold was the most valuable asset and money because it was both beautiful, used for decorations and jewelry, like making your child beautiful by giving them cold jewelry, and also… The fact that it was resistant and robust against the elements, it lasted a long time, and was also rare on the planet difficult to find. And also, how the color in itself is the most beautiful as it shines like the sun. Have a theory the reason why he was like is that in fact, we love this golden yellow color because it simulates the sun and the light, Let us not forget that most of the ancient world they praise the sun God.

But then again Galli mentions wisely how inflation happens and how money is valued, like when the Spanish conquistadors discovered gold in the New World, and brought it back to Europe, the value of gold plummeted because it became less rare. And also in history, there were many places on the planet in which silver was actually more rare than gold, and therefore in some parts of the world silver was actually more prized!

Essentially the moral the story is that money is a man-made concept; and even the notion of capital comes from the notion cap, head, Kaputt, caput– like literally the head of oxen. Even in the Iliad, a hectic comb is the sacrifice of 100 oxen, to appease Zeus and the gods. Even in today’s world, in which an adult oxen could cost you $1000, can you imagine sacrificing 100 oxen to appease the gods?  it’s like almost burning $100,000, to get the gods to not get angry at you; very expensive. Like a single cyber truck!

What’s the point of capital?

There are some simple things, like paying rent and groceries. But beyond this, what is the point of money and capital?

At this point, I’m starting to think of capital and accumulation like the most interesting fun game! 1, trillion times more interesting that any video game out there because it actually has to deal with reality; the problem with all the video games is none of them are actually based in physics or the real world; even professional sports which is essentially a prostitution of the body, is beridden with steroids and drugs and all this bad stuff. The only useful professional sports seems to be the UFC or mixed martial arts, as it might benefit you in a street fight, everything else seems quite useless.

Also a lot of guys were interested, a lot of fools make that analogy that thinking that some sort of chess grandmaster would be a great military strategist, but this is not the case. Because to sacrifice upon is very different than sacrificing the life of a human being. And also… The real world is 1 trillion times more messy than chess, Which has strict rules.

And also in theory… Any skinny fat loser could be really really good at chess, like number one on the planet. But how would he do in a street fight, or player versus player combat? Let us not forget our manly virtues; ultimately… It don’t matter how rich you are or how smart or successful you are, if you do not have physical valor and strength, you got nothing. 

Good role models

I think having a good role model is critical. Like a Steve Jobs, except he is dead now. In fact, Apple today is kind of a former shell of Steve Jobs original vision; now that Jony Ive has left Apple, Apple is like the new Microsoft. There is no more sex in Apple.

Even Elon Musk has a joke that failed Tesla or SpaceX engineers go to Apple; much more difficult to design a self driving car or a spaceship or a rocketship rather than the next mediocre iPhone.

Michael Saylor, also talks about risks of most securities, like a simple one; how do you know that the iPhone 55 pro will be any good or not? And how do you know if one day… Mainly China closes the doors to international traded manufacturing, if Apple no longer can create iPhones in mainland China with Foxconn, then what? Certainly Apple cannot maintain her monopoly profits if she produced iPhones in Nebraska or in the Midwest, maybe Vietnam but even Vietnam is kind of in bed with mainland China, so if overnight, Vietnam closes her borders to America, Apple would be in big trouble.

I wonder if mainland China’s long-term vision is to continue to steal and help her trade secrets with Apple and American corporations like Microsoft and Bill Gates, and then eventually just close her borders to America, and hoping that Huawei could take over the planet? Currently the fact that TikTok is dominating America, maybe her plan is working?


Back to us

So taking things back to us;

First, it seems the interesting idea here is that maybe we should not worry too much about macro economics, like solving global poverty issues here etc., but just starting with ourselves and our own family. 

The first one I think is that the simplest way to become rich is to just not get poor, which means don’t buy the new iPhone Pro, don’t buy a new car or Tesla, don’t buy a single-family home even if you could afford it, better to rent indefinitely and put your money into bitcoin, which will go out forever without any maintenance costs, whereas I think if you think about investing in a single-family home… It seems like a good investment idea, but because of the mortgage interest rates, assuming that your mortgage is above 0%, you’re essentially bleeding yourself dry, I almost wonder how much of modern day economics is about buying a single family at home and a mortgage, because the banks want to just profit off of this idea?

Once again even if you had a very very low interest rate, even if you’re paying about 2%, sooner or later, the interest itself will kill you. And right now the interest rate is around 7 to 8%; too expensive!

And also once again, even if the asset of your home goes up in value, after the cost of maintenance, fixing your roof and water heater and 1 trillion other things which could break, but that means your acid value goes down infinitely because you bleed yourself dry doing maintenance and renovations etc.

And also, I think a big thing is once you buy a single-family home or even a condo… Every time you come home, you’ll think to yourself, all of the upgrades and maintenance that you have not yet done, that you need to do. Even for me right now, I’ve been putting off changing the oil in my 2010 Prius for over a month, barely finding time to even do that! Whether I do it myself or go to a dude, I don’t think homeownership is right for me, or most millennials because we have no skills for home maintenance?

The best lifestyle is a zero maintenance lifestyle

You don’t want a high maintenance girlfriend wife spouse partner, dog, or negative yielding asset like a Ferrari Lamborghini Porsche etc.

The more maintenance, the worse your life, the more headaches the more stress, the more misery.

I think the sucker of capitalism is that we think that if we purchase these high-yielding stuff, we think we will be happy. But no. If you are happy paying for $1,000 oil changes in your Lamborghini or Ferrari or Porsche 911 GT 3 RS, yes! And I think what I discovered is it doesn’t matter how rich or poor you are; nobody likes to pay for these things.

I think the peel of having a Tesla is you never have to get another oil change again. But then again the issue here is that the battery is not designed to last forever, let alone 30 years.

At least your Toyota Prius might last you 30 years, I don’t think any Tesla or electric car will.

Go long

On a long enough time span, thinking 30 years, things become simple. You don’t need to overthink things too much.

How to make free money

Currently the infinite money hack and trick I discovered is this:

Purchase microstrategy stock with your traditional account, ride it up, and when the value is high, sell the pure profit, and then use that money to purchase bitcoin! And essentially ride it up forever.

Ideally purchase the bitcoin when microstrategy stock is high, and buy bitcoin when it is a bit low.  but either way, the ultimate goal is to acquire as many bitcoins as humanly possible, he or she with the most bitcoin shall win.

Even Michael Saylor revealed in an interview with Maddy Reid, the reporter from New Zealand, that his and micro strategies goal was to acquire the mythical Nakamoto, which is 1 million bitcoins,  the same number of bitcoins in the wallet of Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of bitcoin. Also what is a big deal is that since Satoshi was born, he has never touched his bitcoins, or moved them. And also what is interesting is that Satoshi disappeared, the immaculate conception of bitcoin.

Also another reason I believe in it is that there was only first one bitcoin version, no version two. This is the reason why I ended up ditching chain-link when they released the second white paper, and also Ethereum is bad because of all the hard forks, And different versions.

Day trader? 

I don’t know if this is just a trend, or somehow… When people ask me what I do for a living, I’ve actually been getting “day trader” a lot.

I suppose in some ways I kind of am because I’m watching bitcoin and micro strategy like a hawk, and I consume every single Michael sailor interview that comes out. I think I have literally watched every single interview he has ever done, from four years ago up until now. And he has been consistent and wise and insightful the whole time; and also what is very meaningful is that the last four years, he has never once advertised his own company, I didn’t even know what MicroStrategy was up until maybe six months ago? 


BRAVE NEW WORLD OF DIGITAL CAPITAL

Capital, capitalism, assuming you own an iPhone, any smartphone, assume you have Wi-Fi at the house or a 4G or 5G connectivity thing, assuming that you have a car an automobile etc.; and also, assuming that you don’t grow your own vegetables and groceries etc., then what that then means is you are a part of society and capitalism.


Don’t be a hippie 

I think I figured it out… The notion of being a “hipster”, essentially it’s just a hyphenated form of saying hippies or hippy–

Funny enough, studying a bit of the etymology of the word hippie, comes from the word hip, like same hip as in hip hip-hop. Although now, we think of that weirdos vegan cults flower worshiping and war hippies and the like, not the gangsta hip-hop rappers that we think of today.

And actually what is very interesting, considering I was born in 1988, and grew up in the East Bay Alameda Oakland, Bay Area 510 rap hip-hop KEAK DA SNEAK, E40 hyphy movement ,,, my flavor of hip-hop and rap culture that I grew up was very different than the strange hip-hop culture today, and also a bit different from the mainstream 50 Cent gangsta idea that was popularized in the 2000s.

Anyways, I think what is so fascinating to me about capital, digital capital, digital capitalism and the like is how insanely paradigm shift it is.

Why?

So the first question is… Why or why does this all matter?

First, assuming you’re a photographer, digital photographer etc.; what that then means is you and all of us we are all implicated! And I think this is a good thing; digital is good, digital is better!

For example, besides what all these virtue signaling hipsters say, I really do think that digital photography is 1 trillion times superior and now more virtuous than film. I think film was a good fling, but now in the year 2024… And now that the new Lumix S9 Camera is out with the phenomenal 26 mm F8 pancake lens, there’s almost 0 reasons to shoot film anymore. And zero reasons to shoot any loser Leica camera.

Your opinion will change with technology and the times 

Technology does matter; for example, in the past, it did make a difference. For example the original Leica M9 camera was a big deal at the time because full frame was simply too big, too bulky, not very accessible. At least in a small form factor. But now, in the year 2024 and beyond… Technology has changed and shifted.

2024 — everything has changed!

For example, for a long time, film photography did indeed look superior to digital photos. But now with new digital technologies, I would actually make the bold claim that digital photos with the right image processing filters, can actually look superior and more supreme to film photos. 

For example, on the new Lumix S9 camera, we essentially have this “dynamic Leica monochrome” filter, with high contrast, grain added… the photos look phenomenal! Even deeper and richer contrast than my beloved Ricoh GR cameras?

Even a random thing that I never really expected… there’s this new “LUT” concept — I think it’s from cinema or video or something, which I think is just a fancy word for color preset or film grading for cinema and media.

Anyways, one of the built-in included LUT filters is like this really lovely cross processing color filter which shifts and brings out this really lovely orange cyan hue — the photos look beautiful! And also, when shooting 24 FPS video on it, it looks so beautiful and cinematic! I call the new Lumix S9 baby Godzilla!

Digital is supreme

Anyways, some reasons why I think this matters and why I care; the big one is I think we should lean really really hard into digital, the digital aesthetic the digital concept etc. I think there is too much pain misery and suffering in the world of photography and especially, digital photography. Everyone is having this weird small man complex, in which they and we never feel good enough in anything, until they somehow get some really really expensive mythical camera? And this is ridiculous because not only is it not sustainable, financially it is ridiculous.

Let us consider that honestly at this point a Leica camera is just like a Panasonic LUMIX camera with a body kit. Kind of like how a Porsche 911 is just like a Volkswagen beetle on steroids! Or even, how a Lamborghini is essentially a Volkswagen Passat on steroids!

Think different, become different, become superior?!


Why driving is bad for your soul

In America, the weird bias is somehow we have all been suckered into thinking that for some reason or another, it is desirable and good to desire own and drive, and experience forms of cars?

For example, whether that be a Lamborghini with scissor doors or a Porsche 911 GT 3RS or whatever, why is it that we desire these things?

The other day I actually had to drive to downtown late last night, to pick up Cindy, and it was probably one of the stupidest decisions that I made, me, thinking my machismo bravado was doing a good thing, in fact, was a really really dumb idea. Why? I have been driven at night for so long, but it was so tiring, so exhausting, and actually I forgot… Driving at night is actually really really hard on the eyes. You can’t see shit, in about after driving 40 minutes there, and a speedy 15 minutes back, leaving at 7 PM and coming back at 8 PM… I was destroyed and so exhausted.

I think it was a good reminder to me, perhaps a nice wake up call because so much of American consumerist capitalist culture is centered around all of these ridiculous notions of sitting on your butt. Let us consider how much the ultimate desire is to somehow be sitting, sedentary? 

For example, it doesn’t matter if you’re driving $1 million Bugatti car or whatever, as long as you’re in a position, you are in a fragile, undo dominant position. Doesn’t matter if you’re in a Lamborghini or Rolls-Royce Pagani etc.… It’s like you’re sitting on a big dick.

 I wonder if there are more studies on this, just how terrible and bad that your physiology and body becomes when you are forced to sit all day, or even, stand all day in a secondary position, indoors, under fluorescent or LED lights, without exposure to the real worlds, the direct UV suns of outside, etc.?

Even a nice thing in Southeast Asia if they have a lot of these Eco resorts which you could just take a shower or a bath in a bathtub outside in the direct elements?

A random aside; I met the neighborhood kids who got a chameleon as a pet. He discovered it somewhere. He told me that actually, the chameleon changes colors in the direct sun outside in the direct UV radiation of natural light, but it doesn’t work with fake lights.

Even assuming that you had the world‘s best fake UV sunlight set up thing… It might only ever be 2% as good as the real sun.

In fact one of the things I’m trying to fight against is how everyone has sun phobia or UV phobia now. Certainly if your genetic heritage is from northern Sweden, to be in the direct Vegas sun all day without any hats or long sleeve clothing or sunblock seems like a bad idea. Everyone is so afraid of some cancer skin cancer or whatever. But I’m wondering… How much of this is for marketing, to sell you overpriced “eco-friendly“ $30 sunblock or loser “UV protection” sunglasses– Luxor exotica essentially owns all of the sunglasses brands in America and beyond; they have a real monopoly overall the sunglasses, it doesn’t matter how cool you want to look, I’m sure they all get made in the same factory and mean in China for about $.50, and they market up to $300! Everyone wants to seem cool and look cool, all under the guys that they want to protect their eyeballs from the sun.

I think we’re wearing a hat is natural, a wide brim hat, a sun hat, maybe even a sombrero. But not sunglasses, this is very unnatural. It is almost like having condoms for your eyeballs, not natural. Same thing with AirPods or noise canceling headphones, essentially condoms for your ears. And this is bad because I actually think that you have more wisdom and sensory perception in your ears Than your eyeballs, even though I am a photographer and a visual artist, in terms of joy, I think I might get 1000 X more joy from music than visual artwork. And I also think that there is 10,000 times more in intelligence and wisdom in your ears than your eyes.

In terms of evolution, I think actually most organisms first develop years and hearing before eyes or visual senses?

The digital transformation of capital and the economy

I think this is what is so difficult for people to understand and grasp, even scientist who are supposed to think first principles. Rather than think about analogies, like how things were done in the past, and trying to iterate based on the past, much more interesting to Start with the clean slate, from scratch, thinking and trying to consider how things could and should be, rather than how things always have been.

I think this is difficult for most basic people because once again, to think first principles is both gutsy, ballsy, unorthodox, unconventional, and also requires some sort of childlike mindset, in which you are not held back by the past.

For example, the reason why you should trust no traditional thinkers, or why a lot of college dropouts are so successful, like Mark Zuckerberg is that they knew that the traditional path was not as interesting or meaningful; and that instead,  they would be able to change the course of the human race by not being stuck in some sort of academic hamster wheel.

In fact, there is a story about Peter Thiel in which he was on track to become some sort of big shot judge or something somewhere, but eventually he didn’t make it, at first although he was dismayed, 20 years later when his law school buddy met him he said “with a grin, aren’t you happy you didn’t get that clerkship? Because otherwise he wouldn’t have started PayPal and wouldn’t be the billionaire today.

everything happens as it should have happened

I think this is also a difficult thing to consider; certainly there are lots of bad things that happen in our life, but with enough foresight in hindsight, plus or minus 30 years,  you discover that actually, everything precisely happened as it should have happened, precisely for the best reason possible.

I don’t think of this like some sort of weird mystical woo hoo, I just think of it more like a practical thing; things happen, sometimes randomly, and the best way to live life is to take a stomach and optimistic approach;

Is it possible that this “bad” thing that happened to me today, could have actually have been the best possible thing that ever befell me? 

For example, there is this one Taoist story in which a man has a son, who was riding horse, fell off, and broke his legs or back or something. It was seen as very bad and unfortunate. But a week later, the province declares war on a different territory, and because the sun was injured, didn’t get drafted in the war, and as a consequence, doesn’t get killed in the combat. Then later, one of the village chief remarks, “aren’t you so happy that your son ended up injuring himself by falling off that horse, so he didn’t go to war and died?”

No I think this is a hard thing, because nobody could think about the future, nobody knows.

So whenever things happen, whether they’re good or bad, or even weather good; know that things happen, and the best way forward is to take everything in the positive!

Even let us say that you won the lottery and became a billionaire or whatever, let us say as a consequence you get addicted to drugs meth cocaine heroin and prostitutes and strippers, and this destroys your life. Totally possible.

Wealth could be some of the worst things that happens to your family 

Not always but often I see a lot of kids for trust fund kids or aren’t you really wealthy families become degenerates, super lazy and unambitious.

Maybe one of my biggest benefits of being born and raised poor was actually, this was the biggest benefit of all time; — he gave me the fire for entrepreneurship and self-reliance; I am sure if I was born to a well to do middle class or rich family, I would probably be some sort of generic something else. 


The 30 Year Body

Think 30 Years Ahead

The 30 Year Body

My interesting funny idea:

Think 30 years ahead

Podcast


So, how is this manifested?

First, I think at least 30 years ahead; for example, Seneca is currently 3 1/2 years old, my mom is 70, I am 36; so 130 years, Seneca will be 33, I will be 66, my mom will be 100. Hopefully 30 years Seneca will have his own kid. 

The reason I like 30 years that it cuts through a lot of nonsense, and the truth is… If you want to build anything really great, it takes a long time. You cannot build Rome overnight.

Even Jeff Bezos his insanely genius concept; he’s been building up Amazon since the 90s, he had at least a 30 year plus vision.

Why 30 years?

So in terms of working out weight lifting etc.; Michael is to have a six pack even at the age of 66!

Then what that means is you could take your time. You can miss the work out here and there, enjoy a few off days and bad days because in the midst of a 30 year horizon, you can lift more strategically, more intelligently.

Also, a lot of these folks who take steroids and whatever… They are seeking success right now, or maybe in the 5 to 10 year span. But once you’re Ronnie Coleman, and essentially a cripple, none of it is worth it.

Even a good thing about Arnold, he was able to get out of the game had a good time, so he did not become a cripple. I have a theory about Arnold Schwarzenegger, he probably knew that steroids and bodybuilding was not sustainable, so he got out of the game at his peak, knowing that taking steroids long-term was probably not a good idea.

People talk about the good old golden days of bodybuilding… But everyone was on steroids! Even then.

The reason why this matters is because I even hear stories of young guys, in their 20s, we have taken so many steroids that they are no longer able to beget children? The ultimate tragedy. It is almost like involuntary sterilization; even Nietzsche said that in the future, the most cruel thing one could do is force a certain population not to procreate. 

Thou shalt not procreate! – The ultimate evil edict.


Investing

Everyone wants to make the quick gains, buy the loser Lamborghini whatever. Yet the real intelligence strategy is to think about building an empire for your kids kids kids. 

“Generational wealth that’s the key, I started with shit so that shift started with me” — JAY Z

This is where I think it is critical for any serious thinker philosopher entrepreneur innovator to have kids. Having kids, a wife, being married actually makes you a better investor because you no longer think for yourself, do you think for your family unit, the family business.

Even Aristotle when he talks about economics (oecanomia)– essentially economics literally means management of household affairs; how you manage your slaves, your home finances labor accounting etc. Also funny thing back in the day… the slaves were the accountants. 

Ultimately I’m a realist and a pragmatic person. I’m not interested in any sort of abstruse Macro economic theories; I’m interested in the now, the practical the day. Simple questions like how do I make money how do I retain how do I grow my capital, what is money etc.

I also suppose what makes my approach unique is that I did not study economics in school, I studied sociology and later on self teaching myself philosophy, and currently self teaching myself economics through the Austrian economists like Karl Menger, and also practical economic thoughts from NASSIM TALEB (Antifragile), in my own personal crypto and bitcoin ideas, and also economic theories from Michael Saylor, the patron saint of bitcoin.

Creating a legacy

A legacy just means to build to me that will outlast you.

An ancient Greek, kleos (forever glory, forever fame). The general idea is through a road act or deed, your name and your fame would last forever, kind of like King Leonidas and his valiant 300; we will remember them forever.

I think the superficial thing that people try to do is they try to force a legacy by buying it; plus through your name on a urinal in the university of Southern California USC, urinal in the business school (true story) or putting your name on some sort of business school building.

To me this is superficial at best; better to earn your name your legacy your KLEOS and immortal fame and glory through your heroic and valiant acts!

For example, we will forever remember Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and the like, we will forget Bill Gates, who only cares for money, and his physique that kills boners (Elon Musk tweet). I think also… For better or worse Donald Trump will be remembered, as well as Elon Musk, Jay-Z etc.

Also Michael Saylor. 

Can you force a legacy? 

No. Just like trying to force kid to eat vegetables.

I think maybe thinking about the 30 year body is an interesting idea because you essentially ideally want your physique your health in 30 years to be supreme! A thought and a theory; 

Is it possible to have a superior physique at the age of 66, compared to the age of 36?

 Certainly I’m going to have more wrinkles in my face and whatever at the age of 66, but I actually wonder… Is it possible that I could train today and eat enough meat today, and get my testosterone up that in 30 years, I will actually be higher than now?

I mean even at the age of 36, I’m 1 trillion times stronger and more handsome and I have a superior body and testosterone than I did when I was 26, and also compared to when I was 16. 

20 years, I am superior at the age of 36 then I was at the age of 16… In terms of my muscles my body everything.

Certainly at the age of 120, I’m probably not gonna be as good as I am today, but with enough foresight, I could start strategizing today!


30 years or nothing!

ERIC

The New Digital Slumlords

Facebook, Amazon, Twitter Instagram Meta, TikTok YouTube etc.?

Essentially any sort of digital hosting platform which is “free“, they are the new digital slumlords? 

Everyone loves to hate and complaining about these slumlords, who rent us a really terrible apartment, at unreasonable prices, never fix anything, and are essentially bad and evil people. Yet nobody ever points the finger at the big tech companies? Why? Because they offer you “free” marketing platforms… I wonder, what are more freedom ways we could market ourselves which do not require us to use these toxic platforms to simply get our message across?

The first most simple one is just your website, your blog. A website and a blog is essentially the same thing at this point. A digital domain, it’s almost like having a digital house or a digital business or a digital property in cyberspace? Like having your own address.

No YouTube?

A big one to disrupt his YouTube. I suppose TikTok and to some extent Instagram and Instagram stories, and now Twitter is doing the same, but still… YouTube is by far the dominant platform. Why? Having YouTube at this point is almost like having access to free flowing water or electricity; we cannot imagine the world without it.

But, I guess now that I’m stupid rich, I don’t technically need to anymore. And also in terms of getting my message across, I suppose I’ve already done it really well?

I think they’ll lure of YouTube in these platforms is that it will make getting our message across more effective, to maximize our impact?

But I suppose the nuance is; if you have to use toxicity, to maximize our desired outcome, perhaps it is not worth it?

For example, if in fact, using a toxic platform could leverage your impact by 10 X, would it be worth it? Maybe not. Even 1000 X or 10,000 X? Maybe not.

So I wonder… If it is better, more profound to just make an insanely massive impact, on your own small audience, your own sport in 300, rather than try to convert the whole planet, all 8 billion of us to believe what you believe? # The New Digital Slumlords

Facebook, Amazon, Twitter Instagram Meta, TikTok YouTube etc.?

Essentially any sort of digital hosting platform which is “free“, they are the new digital slumlords? 

Everyone loves to hate and complaining about these slumlords, who rent us a really terrible apartment, at unreasonable prices, never fix anything, and are essentially bad and evil people. Yet nobody ever points the finger at the big tech companies? Why? Because they offer you “free” marketing platforms… I wonder, what are more freedom ways we could market ourselves which do not require us to use these toxic platforms to simply get our message across?

The first most simple one is just your website, your blog. A website and a blog is essentially the same thing at this point. A digital domain, it’s almost like having a digital house or a digital business or a digital property in cyberspace? Like having your own address.

No YouTube?

A big one to disrupt his YouTube. I suppose TikTok and to some extent Instagram and Instagram stories, and now Twitter is doing the same, but still… YouTube is by far the dominant platform. Why? Having YouTube at this point is almost like having access to free flowing water or electricity; we cannot imagine the world without it.

But, I guess now that I’m stupid rich, I don’t technically need to anymore. And also in terms of getting my message across, I suppose I’ve already done it really well?

I think they’ll lure of YouTube in these platforms is that it will make getting our message across more effective, to maximize our impact?

But I suppose the nuance is; if you have to use toxicity, to maximize our desired outcome, perhaps it is not worth it?

For example, if in fact, using a toxic platform could leverage your impact by 10 X, would it be worth it? Maybe not. Even 1000 X or 10,000 X? Maybe not.

So I wonder… If it is better, more profound to just make an insanely massive impact, on your own small audience, your own Spartan 300, rather than try to convert the whole planet, all 8 billion of us to believe what you believe? 

The Philosophy of Art

So just went to the Mr. brainwash art gallery in Beverly Hills, and I am blown away; it was the most fun, enjoyable, uplifting, playful, inspirational and motivational art exhibit of all time.

why this matters 

This is a big deal. Why this is a big deal.

First,  life without art would be a mistake. Life without art is not a life worth living.

For example, if you think about all of capitalism and consumerism, I think much of it is predicated on art.

For example, what is clothing in fashion? It is essentially art fabric sculptures for your body, your human body!

What is a car? Moving sculpture, a metal steel based thing which is secondly a piece of transportation.

Has nobody figured out how insanely important cyber truck is; essentially it is the ultimate modernist expression of moving sculpture?

I actually have a vision; gloss red cyber truck,  with yellow calipers, or yellow rims… Essentially imagine looking at like a fake Ferrari, but cyber truck.


the best art

A lot of people say art for art sake, but following in the footsteps of Nietzsche,  I think actually the purpose of art isn’t art for art say, rather, it is art for the sake of happiness joy, the great stimulus to life!

In fact, I have a theory… When a lot of people become emo, sad dark and rose, is this issue here they are simply not having enough great art in their life?

Even being at the Mr. brainwashing exhibition, they were just playing some great OG classical music on the speakers, and even hearing the great classical music put me in such good mood!

Maybe I’ll start to listen to more classical music?

The best

Classicus,,, the ancient Romans, typically when we think about the word classic we tend to think about old school. But actually… In ancient Rome classicus, the elite class,,, “classicus” or “classic” simply meant “the best”.

So then, what life then becomes about isn’t seeking the old school for the sake of the old school, but rather, seeking the best? 

Why the best?

Why not?

Joy!

I think nowadays, to be joyful unhappy in today’s world is a great act of courage? It is easy to be emailed depressed, sad, to opine about how the world is going to explode whatever. It takes much more courage to be joyful, happy and gleeful, to be the gay monster admits all of the emoness? 


Choose Joy

I prefer the word joy over happiness. Why? I think happiness is too much of a consumerist merchandised concept now. Troy is a lot simpler, like joy to the world!

Music, what is music? Joy to our ears and to our soul.

What is art, photography, paintings images and sculpture? Joy to our visual brain senses?

Participatory art

I think what is so amazing and what was so fun at the Mr. brainwash art exhibit was how almost all the exhibitions, you could interact with it! And also you are encouraged to photograph and video everything!

A lot of modern art exhibitions and museums is that they are cold and sterile, and it feels like you’re not allowed to photograph or shoot stuff?

In fact, I’m even thinking about doing a photograph workshop in Beverly Hills, maybe we could all go to the Mr. brainwash art museum together, have fun like a bunch of kids, and be inspired together?

My vision of art: my vision is that art should be open to everybody, accessible to everybody, and also, fun for everybody! It should be no, not pretentious, not fake. Also, it should be free, open to the public, accessible to anybody, doesn’t matter if you’re 70 years old or three years old;

I killed that art might be able to solve 50% of the world’s problems, maybe the other 50% can be bitcoin.

Or even a more radical idea; if you combine bitcoin and art, 50% +50% is 100%. Then… Can bitcoin art be the solution to the maladies of the planet? 

Maybe! Perhaps I’ll try and pioneer this!

Bitcoin art is the way

Great artist steal.

Also, great artist “up cycle”, recycle, sample, remix, and parody the classics!

This is where our source is so appealing to me; I hate restrictions, I hate copyright in laws; I prefer freedom.

In fact in two days brave new digital world, I’ve ChatGPT and AI… The whole copyright model is broken.

For example, certainly creators need to make money and a profit, but the big issue here is that all the craters are essentially slaves to corporations, and looks like a lot of these new digital slumlords, who control the “content“ of its creators… What they are essentially seeking is a mini of control, within a small mileau, trying to assert control and power in their very small domain?

Nvidia is close to a $4T company??

I was shocked, apparently now that the number two most world’s important company is Nvidia, right after Apple?

In fact, I actually wonder if Nvidia is more valuable than Apple. The only reason why Apple is valuable is because they have the iPhone, but if and when Nvidia creates their own phone, that doesn’t require an iPhone, this will be a big deal?

How to art

There are so many ways you could art.

So one funny idea I have is just taking famous artworks of the past, and copy pasting bitcoin icons on top of it. This is essentially the hilarious parody that Mr. brainwashed with a lot of these classical paintings, and also Banksky,  the art of uncovering BS?

the problem about the art world

I think the biggest problem about the art world is everyone is using irony sarcasm and fake big talk to try to inflate their fragile egos, and into control running their mini fiefdoms? 

A writer and thinker that I’m kind of into right now is Saifedean — who wrote the bitcoin standard and the fiat standard. I first read his books because I was curious about bitcoin, but what I found very very fascinating was his critiques about art, the art world, and modernism and modern architecture? He’s kind of like NASSIM TALEB in that way (both Lebanese, Lebanese-American) — very outspoken, calls out BS. 

If you have ever been to a modern art exhibit, and you see a piece of white paper with a hole in it, and it’s worth $1 million, and you’re scratching your head, I’m with you.

Honestly, more or less all of modern day art is a scam, but that’s OK. You don’t have to participate if you don’t want to! Nobody is strong arming you to do so!

The new art

My personal vision is that I want to disrupt the art world. I certainly have done it for the world of street photography; essentially I killed all of these loser skinny fat anemic notions in street photography of what is considered good or bad, essentially the funny thing with photography is that while it should on paper be the most democratic open and egalitarian form of photography, as the streets are public and should be public and accessible to everybody… Once again, all of these ridiculous ivory towers?


Now what?

Maybe now I have some sort of moral or ethical imperative to make a difference?

ERIC


The Philosophy of Investing

Ultimately when people study Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger etc ,,, what all these guys are searching for is wisdom.

I think this is good and important because principles wisdom, is resistant to time and technology, but at least for myself, I was born in 1988, searching for practical wisdom has always remained elusive for me.

I think difficult thing is that my circumstances were unique. I was born in the states, yet grew up poor; my definition of poor is not being sure whether you would be homeless next month because your dad just gambled away the rent money again, going off to Reno in the middle of the night.

The upside of poverty 

I think on two fronts this was useful to me:

First, it taught me self independence at a very young age. I knew that if I wanted anything, I had to work for it. This motivated me to pick up lots of part-time jobs when I was like 13, 14 or 15, tutoring English, through my honors program at school, working at the local community center, getting a $200 a month stipend etc. 

In fact, my biggest personal pride and joy; essentially, purchasing my first car with my own money! At the age of 15, getting my drivers permit in California, $1000 or maybe $1200 1991 Sentra XE, 5 door sedan, 5 speed manual transmission car — it didn’t even have a tachometer! I learned how to shift gears simply by hearing and feeling the engine? This began my first love affair with manual transmission cars;

In fact, another point of pride, every car I have purchased my own money has always been a used manual transmission car, never exceeding $2500 USD. In fact, the last car I purchased one in Providence Rhode Island before Seneca was born was a 2002 Subaru outback, five speed manual transmission, listed on craigslist for 1000 bucks, was able to negotiate down to $900, then $800 in cash! Lying out those eight $100 bills was the most obvious decision I’ve made in my life.

Obvious decisions are obvious

In terms of my decision-making philosophy, my unorthodox beliefs; obvious decisions are obvious. 

What that means is before making any sort of decision life decision etc., you don’t need to think about it too much.

Obvious decisions are staring you right at the face, and whenever you have to hesitate before making a certain decision, don’t do it. Why? Your brain is still working out the details, whether or not you should do the thing or not.

Obvious trades, obvious financial decisions, obvious investments 

For example, buying microstrategy stock, MSTR, to me is a 100% obvious decision. For the traditional markets, it’s literally the only asset worth purchasing.

Why? Essentially they have discovered a free money hack or infinite money hack, which they could leverage their 30-year-old business, which is regulated, and mainstream… And leverage their position, borrowing money at less than one percent to buy bitcoin, which is accretive forever, and continuing the virtuous cycle.

Now is your time to purchase a piece of cyber Manhattan

Bitcoin is cyber manhattan: 256^3

I think the idea of a cyber Manhattan, cyber real estate company is fascinating to me. And the difference between bitcoin, cyber real estate and Cyberman Manhattan is that it is actually backed by real electricity and power. For example, the problems with all these fake virtual worlds is that it is just powered by a computer code, one and zeros, Any nerd can click a button and create a skyscraper in Sim city.

But what if, if you wanted to build a skyscraper in Sim city, you actually had to expand $1 billion of real capital in the real world, before transferring it and transporting it to cyberspace? This is the 1000% paradigm shift;

The bridge between the physical, embodied reality,  physical world and realm, to the digital cyber realm… Which is still backed with physical electricity?

It’s a bug, not a feature!

Or it’s a feature, not a bug?

I think what a lot of these goody two shoers don’t get or understand is about real life physics in the game, skin in the game, energy in the game. Everyone wants some sort of hidden upside without any real life downside?

I’ll give you example, everyone wants to rid the world of suffering pain injustice and the like. However, a life without suffering pain injustice and overcoming is not a life worth living.

You cannot have happiness without pain and suffering, nor can you have joy with without sorrow and misery. If we think about this from a Taoist perspective, I think about yin and Yang, you cannot have the good without the bad. You cannot have the virtuous without the evil.

The upsides of downsides

For example, obviously being in poor health sucks, and bad weather also sucks. But, when things get much better, you are 1000 times more joyful grateful and happy when things shift!

This is why funny enough, I think people on the East Coast, New England, Providence Rhode Island are happier than people in LA because the weather shifts are more extreme.

For example, when you’re suffering in the winter time for months on end, no sunshine whatever, and then boom, one day the sun comes out, everyone is overjoyed! It is still 55° and cold, but at least it is sunny; everyone runs out and gets their picnic blankets, And the joy of the sunlight is 1000 times more extreme than in Los Angeles where everyone is trying to hide from the sun, even though they love it?

My simple analogy is everyone in LA is like a solid 7.2 out of 10, in terms of happiness, whereas in the East coast, your happiness goes from a -10 to a +500% when the weather is good! 

So I suppose, the philosophical question them becomes, is it better or more favorable to have a steady mediocre thing forever, or more extreme highs and lows, which will be a benefit to your happiness?

Then a simple thought, the reason why I love bitcoin is because of the extremes; I would prefer an extreme life to a steady and boring one. 

In search of yield

I think for me my number one principle in investing is yield. I think what a lot of people think is what they’re trying to do with their money is they are trying to securitize it, and make it safe, stored in really really safe assets like treasury bills, bonds, or “safe” investments like Apple Amazon Facebook Google and like.

But, my personal thought is life should not be conservative; the point of life isn’t to just conserve your wealth, but rather, to grow it!

Even the story of Jesus, you don’t just take your wealth and hide it and bury your talents, your gold talents in the ground because you’re afraid of losing it. No, the virtuous thing is to go out and multiply it!

And I also think the same thing is with wealth; the virtuous calling is to multiply it to grow it, not to just bury it, with the fear that it might go down.

How to gain more emotional armor for investing

OK, a lot of these fools, they want quick gains in order to go out and buy the Lamborghini or whatever. But once you find out that only small dick losers drive Lamborghinis,  and also, that the useful lifetime value of a Lamborghini might only be three or four years, that is the point in which the maintenance costs and the insurance costs and fixing it up will destroy the price of it in just three or four years, then it becomes obvious; you wish the Lamborghini onto your worst enemy, you don’t desire one for yourself. 

My simple thought is take a stoic spartan approach; essentially live like a super super poor person, the only thing you should ever spend money on is weights barbells and weightlifting equipment, and meet… Everything else should be essentially free.

Tips to NOT go broke

This means,

  1. Never eat out: nothing is worth it, not even all you can eat Korean barbecue! My current favorite joint is chubby cattle, but still… The 90 minute time sitting is a bit restrictive.
  2. No weed, no alcohol
  3. Don’t go out for coffee, just brew it and drink it at home. I actually have a new hack; I only drink a lot of coffee at the house first thing in the morning when I wake up, but after the morning, 100% abstinence for the rest of the day. I get the upside of getting a good caffeine buzz first thing in the morning to get me going, without the downside of having it affect my sleep.
  4. Never buy anything, and also… The only “computer“ or device I find worth it is an iPad Pro;
  5. Always buy the cheapest iPhone on the market; only poor people buy iPhone Pros
  6. For camera or digital camera, I recommend getting the most compact, capable Panasonic camera, and the cheapest, most compact pancake lens. Currently the Lumix S9 ($1500) and 26 mm F8 pancake lens ($200). Never buy a loser Leica which is essentially a Panasonic Lumix with a body kit. Especially the Panasonic Lumix Leica Q Cameras. If you want a digital rangefinder just buy a used Leica M9.
  7. Don’t shoot film: I think about a decade ago in 2014 2015, it was affordable, but now it is too expensive. Save your money and buy Bitcoin instead!
  8. Never buy a new car under any circumstances. This is immediately like taking a 30% haircut; the second you drive it off the lot, boom, you’ve already lost 30% of its value. And also, don’t buy electric vehicles, no matter how appealing. It is like purchasing a really really expensive iPhone Pro with wheels; it might be only good for 3 to 5 years, maybe seven years tops… Then after that, a slow degrading. Real rich people buy old used Priuses and drive them– 2010 Prius is the best rich person car.
  9. Stop buying clothes: you probably have enough clothes to last you two lifetimes already in your closet. My suggestion is if you want novelty, just take some scissors and turn your jeans into shorts, or cut off the sleeves off of your shirts to make them sleeve or if you’re cold, just layer up. Only poor people buy clothes.

Essentially, the easiest way to become rich is not go broke.


Einstein’s rule of money

So essentially, I’ve literally I think watch every single Michael Saylor interview that he’s ever done everything that he posted to Twitter or YouTube etc. Maybe about 100 of them.

Anyways, probably the most fascinating thing that I’ve learned about the value of an asset is the value of an asset is essentially the cost of something or the value is something divided by the maintenance cost.

Now I think this is something that people don’t really think about — the maintenance cost.

So for example, now that all of my millennial friends are growing up, I’m 36 now, in four years, I’m gonna be 40 years old, everyone’s trying to think about the future buying a single-family home or a condo or property or whatever. And what beguiles a lot of people or shocks people is when they buy a house, all the maintenance costs! Even talking to my friend Anton (congrats on your new kid!) he told me a story while we were in downtown LA about how he bought a house, but the water heater went out, and him having to fix it, and what a nightmare it was.

Also simple things that we millennials never think about… You need a new roof and boom, that’s $50,000. That’s $50,000 I would rather put into bitcoin.

There are so many things that exist on the planet, in real world, in embody reality which cost a premium in terms of insurance, maintenance, etc. Once again, almost nothing in the physical realm is ever worth it. 

If you want a new car, just download some racing game to your iPad, or even PlayStation or whatever; better to spend 50 bucks on a virtual car then drop $50,000 or more on a new one! 

Or, just buy an oculus quest, play some racing game, at least this way you want to kill yourself, or another family in a car with two kids or more.

–> The worst thing in life isn’t dying or killing yourself, but it is accidentally killing another family, accidentally killing kids in the car seat of another car, and you having to live with the guilt for the rest of your life. 

“But it isn’t real!”

Bitcoin is not real, but, if it costs $800 billion to produce, it’s real!

Let’s again, things must have a stake in the physical realm, if it doesn’t, it is just air coin, or the foundation is just built on cotton candy.

I think we must avoid these fake environmentalists, a bunch of vegan losers. Essentially, if I psychoanalyze a lot of these fake environmentalists; essentially everyone is seeking a new religion, a new godhead which is the “environment“, but ultimately my critical thought is that once again it just comes down to money;

Vegan and plant based stuff is insanely profitable

For example, Al Gore, I wonder… How much money has he collected from doing his talks on an inconvenient truth, ultimately being funded by taxpayer money?

And also, James Cameron, and also Arnold, how much money they have collected from the vegan pea protein powder plant factory, just follow the money.  Much more profitable to sell a $50 container of vegan protein powder, than a meat company to sell beef rib or beef liver. 

Also a random aside; if you really wanted to be a real environmentalist, you would actually have a 100% organ meat diet, only beef heart beef liver beef kidneys and intestines, because these parts are typically thrown away.

Rich vegans

“Being naked is the ultimate sustainable option. We’re number two.” – Reformation marketing copy 

The truth is environmentalism is very profitable. For example a lot of these clothing companies, I think also like the new one “Reformation“, a female clothing company, they talk about sustainability and blah blah blah, but once again, is it just another marketing tactic to sell their mediocre clothes.

For example, people talk that leather in animal products are evil blah blah blah. Yet the truth is, you’re cheap vegan leather jacket which is made out of petroleum is probably 1 trillion times worse for the planet than a fashionable one made out of 100% real leather. A pleather vegan jacket might only last you a few years, a good leather jacket can you last you 50 or beyond.

Because if you critically think about it, things which last, are better for the “environment”. And typically animal products last.

I love leather!

Also nowadays, people talk about Native Americans and stuff like that, don’t you know that historically the way that natives lived off the land was in harmony with animals, like can you imagine a Native American who didn’t use animal power, ride on horses, or eat meat and bison?

Besides maybe virtue signaling America, there is no great civilization that has ever existed without animal products whether food labor etc. 

I love risk

Once again I think the biggest issue is in today’s world, nobody likes risk anymore. Risk is seen as something which is dangerous bad and to be avoided.

For example anybody who buys a Mercedes car an Audi, a Porsche a Lamborghini whatever… It is ultimately a risk free option in the sense that no one’s gonna make fun of you for owning those type of cars. So in some ways it is a cowardly act;

For example everyone thinks a Porsche 911 is cool, a Lamborghini is cool, a Mercedes or an Audi is cool. Yet  maybe I’m the only one with the big dick in the room, I brag that I drive a Toyota Prius? Everyone is always so shocked and impressed.

Real investors and economists must and should drive a Prius!

Real economics

OK, whenever I discover anybody who’s a professor, who teaches in a business school, is an economist, academic or scholar or whatever… Yet just puts all of their money in a boring mutual fund… Or index fund… It is a signal that they are not a real economist, and they are actually not really connected to reality.

Risk = Happiness

We need some sort of risk exposure to the real world. For example, easy to be the typical fat American who is drinking beer or wine watching sports and American football, giving their opinion on sports teams and players yet they are not actually exposed to the risk of playing real tackle football?

And once again… The more I think about it the more bizarre it is. To watch UFC or mixed martial arts, to watch any sport that you have not yourself played… It kind of like mental masturbation? To sports?

Sports is masculine physical sports masturbation pornography?

Just think about it the average person eats nachos french fries drink beer or alcohol smoke marijuana before watching the big game. But what a athlete who is actually participating in the sport down a beer really quick before putting on their armor and hitting the field? Obviously not!

So why is it that alcohol food beverages is marketed to these individuals, for watching a sport?

It is the new risk free premium hedonism; the joy of seeing people get murdered on a field, or in our arena without any real exposure.

Don’t hate me because I’m so much more physically dominant than you!

People are always so surprised that I played real football real American tackle football in high school, they are shocked to hear that I was linebacker, first outside linebacker then inside linebacker. 

I think it is actually racism; you never expect an Asian guy to play linebacker because we are not seen as masculine or aggressive enough. But if I were African-American or black, even though I am on the more lean side — you probably would not be shocked, because in America, athletes are always seen as being African-American, never Asian. Even an Asian professional sports athlete is almost seen as a glitch in the system, not the real deal.

Even when first deadlifted 465 pounds, sumo style off the floor, and everyone was so shocked, I was talking to my friend Jemal and I asked him — “If I was African-American or black, but people will be asshocked or surprised?” He laughed and said no!


So what should we do about things

So I think the first thing you have to think philosophically is what are you really searching for, and why?

My very simple thought is think 300 years ahead, your kids kids kids.

The New Hedonism

The current lifestyle is like the Persian slave lifestyle?

I think the issue we are facing today in today’s world is hedonism — the new hedonism. We seek companionship through humans or dogs, yet we don’t want to have children, we want to preserve our freedom travel the world go to Japan eat good sushi whatever.

But, your dog cannot inherit your bitcoin. 

I think maybe in the past life was actually easier and more straightforward people. You got married, you built up a family legacy and empire; this was actually a pretty good strategy in life. And I think people were actually much happier, productive, and joyful!

Think about all the modern day melodies of depression anxiety whatever, they are all modern day sociological ills.

In fact, the ancient Greeks, thinking about the Iliad; certainly things are natural like courage, cowardice, and fear… But depression anxiety was not.

My sociological theory on why so many people are so depressed and anxious is because of YouTube, Spotify, podcast, TikTok Facebook Instagram, Twitter, news, fear porn. 

The joy of growth or death & destruction?

Have a theory; a lot of people are secretly waiting and twiddling their thumbs, they actually want to see the world burn to the floor, to be able to have the indignant feeling; “I told you… I was right all along!”

For example, all these people, are during Covid and pre-Covid and post Covid whatever, thought that there was gonna be food riots and blah blah blah, none of it happened. Humans are 1 trillion times more resilient than we make them out to be.

This is where also, philosophically I don’t really believe in short selling; even if you could cop a massive profit.

For example there are certain things that I am certain which will go down to zero, like Ada Cardano and the like because it is fake. But rather than hoping that something is going to burn the floor, better to just bet on things that you think that will go to Mars! 

For example, everyone hates Elon Musk, and they are secretly waiting and plotting for him to fail. Yet doesn’t it take more courage to wish and hope and desire to see people succeed?

Even I remember the Tesla model 3; everyone thought it would be impossible, but now, it is certainly the new Ford model T; the coolest, most desirable, most futuristic and affordable car on the road. I personally plan on driving my Toyota Prius until it dies at 1,000,000 miles, but if for one reason or another I was forced to purchase a brand new car, it would definitely be a Tesla, maybe the robotaxi?


Disruption

The reason why I encourage everyone to watch the Robo taxi, Robo van announcement is that it is the ultimate disruptor.

For example, the Robo van, the two door coupe, insanely awesome design, with the butterfly McLaren doors… I find like there is no more reason to ever even want to buy a loser Lamborghini, or McLaren or whatever. And I really really love that rose gold, MATTE Rose gold Color on the Robo taxi, and also the rims look awesome!

Why doesn’t the future look like the future?

Once again, assuming that you’re a futurist like myself, the trillion dollar questions “why doesn’t the future actually look like the future?“

For example, if you really do believe in the digital transformation of things, like you care about Apple Tesla Amazon Facebook digital media whatever… Why would you ever buy analog property like a single-family home or whatever? Wouldn’t you prefer to buy digital property which is bitcoin?

And also, issues with tax, property tax. Also assuming that you’re a libertarian, or some sort of anti-government person, bitcoin makes sense because it is like digital or cyber real estate that can’t be taxed!

And I think the truth is that real rich people, know how to do tax deferment, or to avoid taxes, this is a real reason they become and stay rich.

“My accountant so good I’m practically living tax-free!” – JAY Z

Never buy property in California (you will get murdered from property taxes)

For example, even if you live in the lowest tax jurisdiction place which is Florida, and nobody wants to live in Florida, still… Under a base case scenario you’re still playing at least 1.1% in taxes. And that means then, the life of your asset is only 70 years; within 70 years Assuming you buy a $1 million property, you’re gonna pay $1 million in taxes in 70 years.

Then, if you own a single-family home or whatever, or property the coal is actually trying to rent out your property at a premium, but two people who have never really had experience with property property management… It is a fucking nightmare and headache. Finding good tenants and keeping them; the holy Grail. Too much counterparty risk with properties; people who fuck up your property, end up not paying rent in squatting your place, people who start to grow marijuana inside your property, people who turn your property into a brothel (true story), or just physical wear and tear and decay. Anything in the physical realm in my opinion has too much risk. 
And this is where still… In my eyes, Tesla is too much of a risk. Why? Having to build all those cyber trucks, Robo taxis, is just in my opinion, too much of a gargantuan physical task. Even if you automate the whole thing with robots, still, extracting lithium from the Earth, making the cars, delivering the cars, my personal estimate is you won’t see Robo taxis on the road for at least another five or seven years? To me that is too long.

Real world investing

I think the best investment is something that you have a 100% certainty will go up in 30 years, and you just ignore the volatility and the noise on a day-to-day level.

Can it keep going on up forever?

Yes especially if it is digital!


Think the classics

Also the funny thing is; bitcoin was the classic the first only immaculate conception; technically Ethereum from Vitalik was just a bitcoin copycat.

My very very basic suggestion is just download Coinbase to your phone, buy bitcoin from your traditional bank account, and once you’re done buying it, delete the Coinbase app from your phone, and never check prices. And what you doing instead it’s just go to michael.com, watch all the Michael sailor interviews, and read books on economic theory philosophy etc.

I personally believe that the best wisdom is in the past; read Aristotle on economics, Fernandinho Galiani on money Della moneta, the principles of economic theory from Karl Menger etc. you should be able to find free PDFs of all these online, just read it on your iPad.

***

Now what?

  1. Download Coinbase to your phone, start buying those bitcoins
  2. If you have a second car or some sort of asset that you’re not really doing anything with that you really don’t need, sell it, and use the proceeds to buy bitcoin
  3. If you’re stuck in the traditional markets, Ira or Roth IRA, retirement whatever… Very very simple just buy micro strategy stock, MSTR– I think it’s going to 10 X from here. My price target for Michael strategy is $2000 a share. Currently trading at around low $200s.
  4. Do an experiment that the next month, just cook all your food at home, buy meat at Costco whatever… Amazon prime or Amazon fresh food, anything that is cheap; quit alcohol and weed for a month, quit eating out and going out for a month, and just put 100% of that into bitcoin!

so should I buy bitcoin or micro strategy? 

You buy the bitcoin, and you never sell it, just keep buying it until you die, and the idea is just give it to your kids kids kids.

And you’re a supreme happiness and joy is through weightlifting, one red maxing, and seeing the numbers go up! 

My suggestion is never ever ever sell the bitcoin, for anything. If you need spare cash for living or whatever, better to borrow the money at 7% interest or lower, assuming that bitcoin is going to go up 21% year over a year, compounded rate forever.

 I would say only by microstrategy MSTR if you just cannot get access to capital to buy bitcoin directly.

At the end of your life, he or she with the most bitcoin is going to be the winner. Or the corporate entity like micro strategy, who owns the most bitcoin.

The goal is a Nakamoto, which is the mythical 1 million bitcoins. The same amount of bitcoins in Satoshi‘s wallet, which he hasn’t touched. This is currently $60 billion! 


What else?

honestly because I live like a poor person, for me, at this point investing is just a new passion, almost like a new hobby. Still for me my critical passion is photography, blogging and like.

So the simple thought; know that investing in money is a means to an end not the in itself.

ERIC

***

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The Philosophy of Investing

Ultimately when people study Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger etc ,,, what all these guys are searching for is wisdom.

I think this is good and important because principles wisdom, is resistant to time and technology, but at least for myself, I was born in 1988, searching for practical wisdom has always remained elusive for me.

I think difficult thing is that my circumstances were unique. I was born in the states, yet group poor; my definition of poor is not being sure whether you would be homeless next month because your dad just gambled away the rent money again, going off to Reno in the middle of the night.

I think on two fronts this was useful to me:

First, it taught me self independence at a very young age. I knew that if I wanted anything, I had to work for it. This motivated me to pick up lots of part-time jobs when I was like 1314 or 15, tutoring English, through my honors program at school, working at the local community center, getting a $200 a month stipend etc. 

In fact, my biggest personal pride and joy; essentially, purchasing my first car with my own money! At the age of 15, getting my drivers permit in California, $1000 or maybe $1200 1991 Sentra XE, 5 door sedan, 5 speed manual transmission car — it didn’t even have a tachometer! I learned how to shift gears simply by hearing and feeling the engine? This began my first love affair with manual transmission cars;

In fact, another point of pride, every car I have purchased my own money has always been a used manual transmission car, never exceeding $2500 USD. In fact, the last car I purchased one in Providence Rhode Island before Seneca was born was a 2002 Subaru outback, five speed manual transmission, listed on craigslist for 1000 bucks, was able to negotiate down to $900, then $800 in cash! Lying out those eight $100 bills was the most obvious decision I’ve made in my life.

Obvious decisions are obvious

 In terms of my decision-making philosophy, my unorthodox beliefs; obvious decisions are obvious. 

What that means is before making any sort of decision life decision etc., you don’t need to think about it too much.

Obvious decisions are staring you right at the face, and whenever you have to hesitate before making a certain decision, don’t do it. Why? Your brain is still working out the details, whether or not you should do the thing or not.

For example, buying microstrategy stock, MSTR, to me is a 100% obvious decision. For the traditional markets, it’s literally the only asset worth purchasing.

Why? Essentially they have discovered a free money hack or infinite money hack, which they could leverage their 30-year-old business, which is regulated, and mainstream… And leverage their physicians, borrowing money at less than one percent to buy bitcoin, which is accretive forever, and continuing the virtuous cycle.

I think the idea of a cyber Manhattan, cyber real estate company is fascinating to me. And the difference between bitcoin, Sible real estate and Cyberman Manhattan is that it is actually packed by real electricity and power. For example, problems with all these fake virtual worlds is that it is just powered by a computer code, one and zeros, Any nerd can click a button and create a skyscraper in Sim city.

But what if, if you wanted to build a skyscraper in Sim city, you actually had to expand $1 billion of real capital in the real world, before transferring it and transporting it to cyberspace? This is the 1000% paradigm shift;

The Bridge between the physical, embodied reality,  physical world and realm, to the digital cyber realm… Which is still backed with physical electricity?

it’s a bug, not a feature!

Or it’s a feature, not a bug?

I think what a lot of these goody two shoers don’t get or understand is about real life physics in the game, skin in the game, energy in the game. Everyone wants some sort of hidden upside without any real life downside?

I’ll give you example, everyone wants to read the world of suffering pain injustice and the like. However, a life without suffering Paine injustice and overcoming is not a life worth living.

You cannot have happiness without pain and suffering, nor can you have joy with without sorrow and misery. If we think about this from a Taoist perspective,  I think about Jin and Yang, you cannot have the good without the bad. You cannot have the virtuous without the evil.

For example, obviously being in poor health sucks, and bad weather also sucks. But, when things get much better, you are 1000 times more joyful grateful and happy when things shift!

This is why funny enough, I think people on the East Coast, New England, Providence Rhode Island are happier than people in LA because the weather shifts are more extreme.

For example, when you’re suffering in the winter time for months on then, no sunshine whatever, and then boom, one day the sun comes out, everyone is overjoyed! It is still 55° and cold, but at least it is sunny; everyone runs out and gets their picnic blankets, And the joy of the sunlight is 1000 times more extreme than in Los Angeles where everyone is trying to hide from the sun, even though they love it?

In search of yield

I think for me my number one principle in investing is yield. I think what a lot of people think is what they’re trying to do with their money is they are trying to securitize it, and make it safe, stored in really really safe assets like treasury bills, bonds, or “safe” investments like Apple Amazon Facebook Google and like.

But, my personal thought is life should not be conservative; the point of life isn’t to just conserve your wealth, but rather, to grow it!

Even the story of Jesus, you don’t just take your wealth and hide it and bury your talents, your gold talents in the ground because you’re afraid of losing it. No, the virtual thing is to go out and multiply it!

And I also think the same thing is with wealth; the virtual calling is to multiply it to grow it, not to just bury it, with the fear that it might go down.

How to gain more emotional armor for investing

OK, a lot of these fools, they want quick gains in order to go out and buy the Lamborghini or whatever. But once you find out that only small Dick Losers drive Lamborghinis,  and also, that the useful lifetime value of a Lamborghini might only be three or four years, that is the point in which the maintenance costs and the insurance costs and fixing it up will destroy the price of it in just three or four years, then it becomes obvious; you wish the Lamborghini onto your worst enemy, you don’t desire one for yourself. 

Einstein’s rule of money

So essentially, I’ve literally I think watch every single Michael sailor interview that he’s ever done everything that he posted to Twitter or YouTube etc. Maybe about 100 of them.

Anyways, probably the most fascinating thing that I’ve learned about the value of an asset is the value of an asset is essentially the cost of something or the value is something divided by the maintenance cost.

Now I think this is something that people don’t really think about —  the maintenance cost.

So for example, now that all of my millennial friends are growing up, I’m 36 now, in four years, I’m gonna be 40 years old, everyone’s trying to think about the future buying a single-family home or a condo or property or whatever. And what beguiles a lot of people or shocks people is when they buy a house, all the maintenance costs! Even talking to my friend Anton (congrats on your new kid!) he told me a story while we were in downtown LA about how he bought a house, but the water heater went out, and him having to fix it, and what a nightmare it was.

Also simple things that we millennials never think about… You need a new roof and boom, that’s $50,000. That’s $50,000 I would rather put into bitcoin.

“But it isn’t real!”

Bitcoin is not real, but, if it costs $800 billion to produce, it’s real!

Let’s again, things must have a stake in the physical realm, if it doesn’t, it is just air coin, or the foundation is just built on cotton candy.

I think we have to avoid from these fake environmentalist, a bunch of vegan losers. Essentially, if I psychoanalyze a lot of these fake environmentalists; essentially everyone is seeking a new religion, a new godhead which is the “environment“, but ultimately my critical thought is that once again it just comes down to money;

For example, Al Gore, I wonder… How much money has he collected from doing his talks on an inconvenient truth, ultimately being funded by taxpayer money?

And also, James Cameron, and also Arnold, how much money they have collected from the vegan pea protein powder plant factory, just follow the money. 

The truth is environmentalism is very profitable. For example a lot of these clothing companies, I think also like the new one “reformation“, a female clothing, they talk about sustainability and blah blah blah, but once again, is it just another marketing tactic to sell more Mediocre clothes.

For example, people talk that leather in animal products are evil blah blah blah. Yet the truth is, you’re cheap vegan leather jacket which is made out of petroleum is probably 1 trillion times worse for the planet than a fashionable one made out of 100% real leather.

Because if you critically think about it, things which last, are better for the “environment”.

Also nowadays, people talk about Native Americans and stuff like that, don’t you know that historically the way that natives lived off the land was in harmony with animals, like can you imagine a Native American who didn’t use animal power, ride on horses, or eat meat and bison?

I love risk

Once again I think the biggest issue is in today’s world, nobody likes risk anymore. Risk is seen as something which is dangerous bad and to be avoided.

For example anybody who buys a Mercedes car an Audi, a Porsche a Lamborghini whatever… It is ultimately a risk free option in the sense that no one’s gonna make fun of you for owning those type of cars. So in some ways it is a cowardly act;

For example everyone thinks a Porsche 911 is cool, a Lamborghini is cool, a Mercedes or an Audi is cool. Yet  maybe I’m the only one with the big dick in the room, I brag that I drive a Toyota Prius? Everyone is always so shocked and impressed.

Real investors and economists must and should drive a Prius

Real economics

OK, whenever I discover anybody who’s a professor, who teaches in a business school, is an economist, academic or scholar or whatever… Yet just puts all of their money in a boring mutual fund… Or index month… It is a signal that they are not a real economist, and they are actually not really connected to reality.

The biggest we hear is that you need some sort of risk exposure to the real world. For example, easy to be the typical fat American who is drinking beer or wine watching sports and American football, giving their opinion on sports teams and players yet they are not actually exposed to the risk of playing real tackle football?

And once again… The more I think about it the more bizarre it is. To watch UFC or mixed martial arts, to watch any sport that you have not yourself played… It kind of like mental masturbation? To sports?

Just think about it the average person eats nachos french fries drink beer or alcohol smoke marijuana before watching the big game. But what a athlete who is actually participating in the sport down a beer really quick before putting on their armor and hitting the field? Obviously not!

So why is it that alcohol food beverages is marketed to these individuals, for watching a sport?

It is the new risk free premium hedonism; the joy of seeing people get murdered on a field, or in our arena without any real exposure.

People are always so surprised that I played real football real American tackle football in high school, they are shocked to hear that I was linebacker, first outside linebacker then inside linebacker. 

I think it is actually racism; you never expect an Asian guy to play linebacker because we are not seen as masculine or aggressive enough. But if I were African-American or black, even though I am on the side you probably would not be shocked, because in America Athletes are always seen as being African-American, never Asian. Even an Asian professional sports athlete is almost seen as a glitch in the system, not the real deal.

so what should we do about things

So I think the first thing you have to think philosophically is what are you really searching for, and why?

My very simple thought is think 300 years ahead, your kids kids kids.

I think the issue we are facing today in today’s world is hedonism the new hedonism. We seek companionship through humans or dogs, yet we don’t want to have children, we want to preserve our freedom travel the world go to Japan eat good sushi whatever.

But, your dog cannot inherit your bitcoin. 

I think maybe in the past life was actually easier and more straightforward people. You got married, you built up a family legacy and empire; this was actually a pretty good strategy in life. And I think people were actually much happier, productive, and joyful!

Think about all the modern day melodies of depression anxiety whatever, they are all modern day sociological ills.

In fact, the ancient Greeks, thinking about the Iliad; certainly things are natural like courage, cowardice, and fear… But depression anxiety was not.

My sociological theory on why so many people are so depressed and anxious is because of YouTube, Spotify, podcast, TikTok Facebook Instagram, Twitter, news, fear porn. 

The joy of growth or death & destruction?

Have a theory; a lot of people are secretly waiting and twiddling their thumbs, they actually want to see the world burn to the floor, to be able to have the indignant feeling; “I told you… I was right all along!”

For example, all these people, are during Covid and pre-Covid and post Covid whatever, thought that there was gonna be food riots and blah blah blah, none of it happened. Humans are 1 trillion times more resilient than we make them out to be.

 this is where also, philosophical I don’t really believe in short selling; even if you could cop a massive profit.

For example there are certain things that I am certain which will go down to zero, like Ada Cardano and the like because it is fake. But rather than hoping that something is going to burn the floor, better to just bet on things that you think that will go to Mars! 

For example, everyone hates Elon Musk, and they are secretly waiting and plotting for him to fail. Yet doesn’t it take more courage to wish and hope and desire to see people succeed?

Even I remember the Tesla model 3; everyone thought it would be impossible, but now, it is certainly the new Ford model T; the coolest, most desirable, most futuristic and affordable car on the road. I personally plan on driving my Toyota Prius until it dies at 1,000,000 miles, but if for one reason or another I was forced to purchase a brand new car, it would definitely be a Tesla, maybe the robotaxi?


Disruption

The reason why I encourage everyone to watch the Robo taxi, Robo van announcement is that it is the ultimate disruptor.

For example, the Robo van, the two door coupe, insanely awesome design, with the butterfly McLaren doors… I find like there is no more reason to ever even want to buy a loser Lamborghini, or McLaren or whatever. And I really really love that rose gold, Matt Rose gold Color on the Robo taxi, and also the rims look awesome!

Why doesn’t the future look like the future?

Once again, assuming that you’re a futurist like myself, the trillion dollar questions “why doesn’t the future actually look like the future? “

For example, if you really do believe in the digital transformation of things, like you care about Apple Tesla Amazon Facebook digital media whatever… Why would you ever buy analog property like a single-family home or whatever? Wouldn’t you prefer to buy digital property which is bitcoin?

And also, issues with tax, property tax. Also assuming that you’re a libertarian, or some sort of anti-government person, bitcoin makes sense because it is like digital or cyber real estate that can’t be taxed!

For example, even if you live in the lowest tax jurisdiction place which is Florida, and nobody wants to live in Florida, still… Under a base case scenario you’re still playing at least 1.1% in taxes. And that means then, the life of your asset is only 70 years; within 70 years Assuming you buy a $1 million property, you’re gonna pay $1 million in taxes in 70 years.

Then, if you own a single-family home or whatever, or property the coal is actually trying to rent out your property at a premium, but two people who have never really had experience with property property management… It is a fucking nightmare and headache. Finding good tenants and keeping them; the holy Grail. Too much counterparty risk with properties; people who fuck up your property, end up not paying rent in squatting your place, people who start to grow marijuana inside your property, people who turn your property into a brothel (true story), or just physical wear and tear and decay. Anything in the physical realm in my opinion has too much risk. 

And this is where still… In my eyes, Tesla is too much of a risk. Why? Having to build all those cyber trucks, Robo taxis, is just in my opinion, too much of a gargantuan physical task. Even if you automate the whole thing with robots, still, extracting lithium from the Earth, making the cars, delivering the cars, my personal estimate is you won’t see Robo taxis on the road for at least another five or seven years? To me that is too long.

Real world investing

I think the best investment is something that you have a 100% searching tea will go up in 30 years, and you just ignore the volatility and the noise on a day-to-day level.

My very very basic suggestion is just download Coinbase to your phone, buy bitcoin from your traditional bank account, and once you’re done buying it, delete the Coinbase app from your phone, and never check prices. And what you doing instead it’s just go to michael.com, watch all the Michael sailor interviews, and read books on economic theory philosophy etc.

I personally believe that the best wisdom is in the past; read Aristotle on economics, Fernandinho Galiani on money Della moneta, the principles of economic theory from Karl Menger etc. you should be able to find free PDFs of all these online, just read it on your iPad.

PHOTO KAPITAL.

Something I’ve been meaning to write about and think about; capital, photo capital.

So the first question is, what is photo, why does it matter?

My first general thesis is that photography, digital photography, might be one of the most underrated innovations of all time. Let us consider how many domains it crosses, and why it is such a big deal:

First, the digital transformation of photography, from film photography to digital. I think most thinkers and individuals have not yet grafted how and why this is such a big deal;

For millennials like myself, or people who are born a little bit before or after me, I’m 36 and born in 1988, there certainly is an alert and romanticism of the past. Everyone reminisces about the “good old days”, in which “life was simpler” etc.

 however, a simple intervention: what if, the number one complication in our lives is not digital technology, not the Internet etc.… But something a little bit more unsuspecting; AirPods, AirPods pros, noise canceling headphones? I would actually make the arguments that noise canceling headphones might be the true menace to society, not iPhones, iPads, or screens.

People talk a lot about screen time, no. She is not screen time, the issue is maybe audio related?

For example, I don’t own a pair of AirPods, I don’t even own a pair of headphones anymore. Cindy has a pair of AirPods pros that my best man Justin got us, and this morning just listening to Michael sailor interview, with just one earbud, with the noise canceling AirPods pros, simply to listen to the interview without waking up my mom. Yet, the bizarre feeling; when I listen to the interview, it kind of put me in a weird alternate universe, in which I truly felt disconnected from the world and reality. It actually made me feel a little bit weird.

Disconnecting their AirPods, out of my ears, actually… I have another theory; isn’t your ears, earlobes, sound, kind of related to your spatial sense surroundings of the environment?

My simple idea; if you want to become a better photographer, a more attuned person, just throw your AirPods in the trash.

Visual?

So Aristotle I think one said that our vision is actually more important than anything else that our first great delight on the planet is visual. Even though I’m a guitar for and visual artist, I would actually make the other case that actually… Your ears, and your hearing, Might be 1000 times more important.

For example, let us consider how human beings learn, how they learn languages, speech patterns and communication, and how natural it is for children. To teach the child the alphabet how to read text, is actually very unnatural, a huge technological feat and innovation. However, for a child to learn how to speak a foreign language, simply by hearing the words intonations, the sing song rhythm, is 1000% natural.

 for example, music, music tour ears. Even a one year-old child, who could barely stand, can listen to music rhythms and beats, and start dancing. Even send when he was about a year old, he already learned how to make beats on GarageBand both on the iPhone and iPad! He actually knew and learned how to sample and make beats, far before he was even able to speak!

So my first theory ; music, voice, audio; might be more important than the visual?

Then what?

Advancing this argument; if in fact, audio is more important than visual, then what are we to do as visual artist, photographers?

First, let us return to first principles, first principles thinking. My general idea is that photography and visual things are kind of unnatural. And this is where we make our art.

I think there’s this one saying, maybe Aristotle, what nature fails to complete, man and art completes.

Art should best be stood as a novel invention and innovation technique and tool. For example, art and art making is unnatural. But then again a lot of things are unnatural, but certainly make life 1 trillion times better. For example, can you imagine living without electricity? Even one of my most new favorite inventionsand and innovations; the insane joy of having an in unit washer and dryer?  in fact, all the washers and dryers on the planet can probably contribute 100,000 times more to the carbon footprint than all the bitcoin miners on the planet combined and maybe even multiplied by 10. Yet, ain’t nobody rolling to get rid of washers and dryers.

And also something that people don’t understand, I learned this from my architect friend ERIC, is that almost all buildings, made out of concrete and the such, these are all carbon products. It is almost impossible to build a modern day building without carbon derived materials. So unless you like living in a hut, munching on acorns, without running water Wi-Fi or electricity, maybe this faker signaling about reducing carbon emissions might be a wise idea.

The insanely phenomenal innovation of digital photography

OK let us do some simple math. Let us say conservatively, currently a roll of film is about 10 bucks, for Kodak PORTRA 400. Then assuming that you want someone else to process it and scan it for you, let us say that even on the cheap end, it is $10 or $15 for developed plus scan. This is then around $20-$25, for 36 exposures, or assuming you have that new Pentax half frame camera, you can squeeze out 72 exposures for about 20 bucks or 25 bucks.

No you can see how this can easily get expensive. Even if you shoot four rolls of film, that’s around 100 bucks. That is insanely expensive.

And it adds up. Shooting film guitar for you, now that I am becoming wiser, a more keen economist, is the ultimate depreciating asset, and the easiest way to burn through all your money and capital.

It is kind of like purchasing a high performance car or vehicle that runs on premium gasoline; this might be the stupidest decision of all time. Why? Assuming you have a luxury Lexus SUV, you can easily blow $500 a week on gas, which is maybe $2000 a month on gas! Assuming that you put that money into bitcoin, and bitcoin goes from a $1.3 trillion industry to $130 trillion industry, you have at least 10 X gains ahead of you. So your $2000 — $200,000 or $200k a month! That’s $2.4M a year!


Becoming a profitable photographer

Everyone is in chase of profits. If you do not chase profits, you are a fool.

What is the easiest way to get profits? Simple; keep your expenses insanely insanely low, this is the key.

The number one rule in money finance and investing; simple, just don’t lose money!

How does one lose money? There’s 1 trillion ways to lose money;

First, equipment, gear, or never investments. They are the worst thing that causes you to bleed through your money.

If you want a really really great camera that will last you a very very long time, my current suggestion is get the Lumix S9 full frame camera, my personal thought is this body should be able to last you 5 to 10 years, and just get the 26 mm F8 pancake lens which only cost 200 bucks.  The body is around 1500, the lens is about 200 bucks, so the whole set up ($1700) should be able to set you up for a long time.

Or, just buy the cheapest smallest most affordable Fujifilm X camera, also just get a interchangeable lens system. There’s a new XM-5 body, I think it’s only about 800 bucks. And just get the cheapest pancake lens, which should be a little bit less than $1000.

If you’re a hobby photographer, on a budget, just get a used Ricoh GR digital camera, whatever generation suits your budget.  I have already proven in 2017 that you could take insanely great photos on a Rico GR two camera, which was only $600 at the time. And all the new Ricoh GR 3X cameras and beyond, are also insanely good. All around $999 and below.


What’s your telos?

Ultimately, with enough time meditation reflection and consideration, it all comes down to philosophy. The philosophy of photography, a concept that I pioneered maybe seven years ago. 

Why does this matter? Ultimately you have to think about the purpose or end goal of things. For example I was looking at this new meta-quest augmented reality glasses that Facebook just put out, and I just watched it, scratching my head, looking at all this impressive technology advancements, and it just made no sense to me. Somewhat along the line, should have come in with a critical thought, and thought;

Is this something that people need and or want?

Kind of a bad thing is that nobody wants it, and also nobody needs it. Apple Vision Pro is an utter disaster, Steve Jobs would have never ever ever allowed to even go into development. Because Steve Jobs was a master mind and understanding the human psyche, human economics and proportions. Never forget the legend of the original iPhone three; pioneer the iPhone three and the iPhone four and 4S to be used only with one hand, with your thumb being able to reach all sides of the screen without stretching. And then, after his tragic passing, all these greedy apple executives, trying to increase shareholder value, kept making the iPhone bigger and bigger, heavier fatter uglier, compromising design for the sake of “power“, inadvertently causing millions of people on the planet to get extreme carpal tunnel pain in their hands, and also, falling victim to this terrible cycle of constantly upgrading their iPhones, until no end.

In fact, I find Apple to be the new loanshark, the new evil presence, the new bank which preys on poor people. 

For example, there’s all these plans now in which you could keep upgrading your iPhone, at a 0% premium, forever. This is terrible; Apple stimulate some sort of fake desire for a fake thing; which doesn’t have any true utility. Everyone knows this, even Apple employees know this. The whole place is a mess.

Even now, just go to any Apple Store, feel the vibes. What was once energetic, happy optimistic and friendly has gone dark, Muros, Molly, unfriendly and cold, terrible to go to.

Back in the day I used to be excited to go to the Apple store like a kid going to a candy shop. Now, I avoid the Apple Store like the plague; even the last time I went to the Apple store, simply to just buy a new iPhone Pro to test it out, I literally had to wait in line for about 30 minutes, Before anyone even attended to me, before I could even purchase my device?

And once again, the biggest benefit to go into a store in real life is you could sense the emotional energy of people. Everyone looked miserable, disgruntled, unhappy.

Choose hope

I think the reason why I am so enthusiastic about bitcoin, Michael sailor, micro strategy and like is that it is full of optimism, hope and happiness. Everyone is happy in the bitcoin community, smiling, optimistic joyful, happy, and everyone is part of the same emotional roller coaster.

And the whole bitcoin network is virtuous because if micro strategy turns into $1 trillion company, the first bitcoin bank or the first bitcoin finances corporation, everyone wins! The price of bitcoin goes to 13 million a bitcoin, everyone wins. The hedge fund managers, the 80-year-old retired person with bitcoin spot ETFs, The individual bitcoin holders, people with the Coinbase account, even the crypto anarchists.

You know the sign of a good investment when both anarchists and traditional corporate capitalist can thrive together. 

I actually had a thought, back when I bought bitcoin for only about six or $7000 of bitcoin… A bitcoin could actually benefit photographers and street photographers, in terms of accepting payments in bitcoin, charging services in bitcoin, we’re also figuring out how to use bitcoin, NFT’s and wrapping it, maybe creating some sort of new economy for photography and art?

I also have this big idea, creating the first Satoshi and bitcoin back photo platform. ARS, arsbeta.com was my first stab at it; but the issue at the time was there was no real financial instrument backing it. Now that lightning has been invented on the bitcoin at work, the ideas of micro transactions with the Toshi’s becomes a real reality; assuming that a single Satoshi is real money, but super super small, like a fraction of a penny; things become very interesting because there is a true financial stake here; real skin in the game.

For example, if every single time I liked your photo, but it cost me a single Satoshi, you would probably think twice about it. And if to follow somebody, cost you a Satoshi or gave us Satoshi to the photographer, or creator… This would be a big idea.

And also, the idea of a photo critique community, shout out to my friend Jun Goodhouse Kim, if commissioning somebody for a real photo critique would accept payments institutions, then, a real new economy could arise.

Currently the number one critical issue with Instagram is that it cost nothing, and the whole platform is being run by bots.

TikTok has become an interesting disruption; back to by mainly in China, and spyware, essentially China has been able to disrupt the social media industry of Instagram, essentially taking everything that America did well with vine, Twitter Instagram and Facebook and YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram stories and making it far better. Making it more entertaining addictive, more toxic?

Actually the number one reason I encourage everybody to delete TikTok, is that it might be the most toxic poisonous substance of them all; because they are a century backed by a low-key evil mainland Chinese corporation, there is zero incentive for the company, Bytedance to moderate or to delete dangerous videos concepts and ideas; the amount of conspiracy theories and weird stuff on TikTok is alarming, even to me. And also, I’m a little bit concerned about all of the unregulated things which are happening on TikTok, at least YouTube Google Facebook Amazon and the like try to do some level of content moderation, with TikTok there is none.

Assuming that Donald Trump gets elected president or whatever, the first thing he should do is probably ban TikTok.  I almost find this to be a moral imperative; there is a terrible asymmetry here;

Why is it that America allows a Chinese corporation like TikTok to operate in America, but mainland China does not allow any tech company to operate on her shores?

Other stuff which are very scary; all of these video games like RIOT games and like, which once again are all run by mainland Chinese corporations, is essentially China’s plan to indoctrinate the heart the souls and the minds of the youth. The best way to spread bad propaganda is through soft propaganda; soft coercion, through entertainment media and the like.  Even a very very weird thing, watch Pacific Rim to the movie; I think they had some financing from a Shanghai backed venture capitalist fund or something; that paints China mainland China in a very favorable light? I recall watching this on an airplane and finding this to be an extremely bizarre thing.

Even apparently, the new Disney Mulan film the live action one, the main actress commended and praised the Hong Kong police for cracking down on the pro democracy student protesters?

And also, let us consider the biggest coward and pussy of them all, John Cena who had to publicly “apologize“, for calling either Taiwan or Tibet a country?

The same goes with any sort of NBA player, because there are so many people in mainland China who love basketball, even this one mainland China governmental official, who I met in Cambodia, super friendly and 100% fluent in English, told me that he named his first son Jordan, after Michael Jordan.

And this is what a lot of people who don’t understand we have never traveled to; the Chinese is the mainland Chinese, the everyday person loves America, American culture, and would honestly prefer to be here than in mainland China. But capital controls, the oppressive government prevents that. And this is once again, why any rich and smart mainland Chinese person will send their kid to an Ivy League school in the states, And or prefer to buy property or homes in Vancouver, because living in China sucks. You don’t want to be a billionaire in Shanghai or Beijing; the pollution itself will kill you.

Back to photography

Life without photography is not a life worth living. Or, a life without photography would be a mistake. 

I think for myself, the biggest draw and appeal of photography is that it is the great antidote to things; the great antidote to joy, driving, happiness and the like.

For example, I still do believe that traveling is good for the soul; better to spend $100,000 on traveling to planet, rather than buying a loser Tesla car. Or even a single-family home, I’m starting to think more and more, buying homes in America’s a scam. Better to just buy bitcoin instead, and see your money 100X from here. 

If I could tell you that buying $1 million a bitcoin today, which is about 16 or 17 bitcoin, would grow to be 100 million in 21 years, and I could tell you this with 100% certain to you, would you do it? Of course! Only an idiot wouldn’t.

But I think the problem is in America, even for us millennials, now that we’re getting older, having kids etc.… Is that having physical property like a single-family home is the Apex of humanly worldly success in America. But this is a 20th century idea, The baby boomers and before then. Or Gen X. A 21st-century idea, in the year 2024 and beyond, is the digital transformation of property, or digital energy which is bitcoin.

Hope

No no no, the world is not going to explode, there will be no World War III, Bill Gates is not trying to inject 5G into your butthole, and control your soul. And no no no, mainland China is not a threat; I think China only has one military base somewhere in Africa, in America has maybe 1000? The power of the US Navy is maybe 10,000 X to that of mainland China, I think the whole red herring of China as a threat is just a distraction, maybe by the US government to encourage increased spending for military budgets. But we all know that nobody can mess with America, even if they wanted to.

Even Russia, the lame duck with loser Putin running the show, obviously Russia is losing. Putin, with his Shorty guy Napoleon complex, thought he could take over Ukraine, and obviously he cannot. And I think sooner or later the people will overthrow him, exile him, or who knows maybe even hang him? Like Marie Antoinette?

Now what?

Once again, photography might be the most democratizing force. For example, like a Camera is very profitable in mainland China, this is why like a Brazil was forced to take down the Tiananmen Square commercial. But the truth is difficult to hide; once you’re rich mainland Chinese kid oligarch from a billionaire family goes to Harvard Yale Stanford UCLA UC Berkeley, and get access to Google or ChatGPT and Gmail; obviously they’re going to discover the truth, and prefer to be in America than China. The only rich mainland Chinese kids who go back to China because they are strong armed by their rich families to come back to inherit the family business, obviously against their own will.

How to Get Rich

I think I might be the richest millennial I know, or at least anybody who is born in 1988, besides Mark Zuckerberg.

How and why?

First, I think I am the only millennial I know with literally zero debt. Like zero mortgage, which is debt, zero car payments, zero college loans etc. Actually if I think about this in retrospect, growing up poor might have been the most beneficial things: seeing the evils of gambling via my dad, and crushing debt bankruptcy through my mom… Was probably the best indicator or learner that I had in terms of real life experience, in terms of how terrible the evils of debt is.

And also, even going to college… Essentially being able to go for “free”, because my family was poor, I got all these scholarships and grants, and work-study loans, which essentially means that I still have to work, but at least, I had to take on zero debt to pay for my dorm apartment etc.

Voluntary loans

The Only money I borrowed was about $10,000, more for fun; I used that money to backpack through Europe, travel the world in between my junior and senior year etc. But that was optional.

And also, I think the really really big thing; never spending more than $2500 USD on a car? I think that was the sticker price for the last car I purchased which was a 1990 Miata, when I was 21 years old, it might’ve been $3000 USD, getting it used on craigslist, ironically enough because the man selling it had a child on the way, and sold it because it was no longer useful to him having to raise a kid. Funny that I am in similar shoes now, now that Seneca is 3 1/2 years old.

Mindset

I think the number one critical thing is to just change your mindset. One thing which I have learned after the almost 15 years of being self-employed, ever since I was 21 until 36… Is truth be told, nothing in the world is really worth it. No amount of money eating out at a restaurant is ever worth it; purchasing beef ribs at Costco and baking it at home is at least a 100X superior yield than any restaurant, or even all all you can eat Korean barbecue; currently, my favorite spot is Chubby Cattle, but even though they issue there is they have a 90 minute time limit, I think my current record is about 70 plates of beef tongue. I just went to the recent little Tokyo branch which just opened, and the servers, their jaws dropped; asking me whether I was a bodybuilder, given how much I ate, even on the last call I asked for 20 plates of beef tongue, they were skeptical, but I finished it all quite easily.

Spartan is sexy.

True insights ,,, take real risks:

Y’all niggas still taking advances huh? Me and my niggas were taking real chances huh! – Jay Z

The ultimate mindset I suggest is going spartan. Just watch the movie 300, think about King Leonidas. Would King Leonidas blow his money on a Tesla, cybertruck, Lamborghini or Porsche? No! He would know that these things were just for the Persian slaves, those giving fellatio to King Xerxes.

Do you want to be one of the 300 Spartan elite, or do you be one of the million Persian slaves?

There is a motto in the US military, freedom is not free. I would refine this saying; freedom is expensive, very expensive.

The price is sacrifice

True freedom is what you decide to give up, forgo, or sacrifice. This is embodied via the fact that you never eat out, you don’t drink alcohol, you don’t smoke weed or do drugs, you don’t go on trips to Vegas, you don’t watch pornography, you don’t watch any media, you don’t listen to music, podcasts, etc. You don’t watch YouTube, Instagram or TikTok.

People think that being rich means to have millions of dollars, and I want to just spend it all buying stuff. But there is a difference between having $1 million in the bank, and going out and buying a $1 million Bugatti. 

Even Kanye West had a funny quote about being a multi billionaire; you don’t want to be a billionaire because if you are worth $1 billion, you go out and you buy a McDonald’s hamburger for a dollar, and now you’re only a $999,999,999-aire.

Investing

You want real real exposure to risk and reward.

For me, certainly there is a great surge of power joy when you see your investments yield. To see the number go up is good and to see it keep going on is a good thing.

For example, very surprising, people are starting to know that I am an investor, or a trader because I walk around super happy, huge grin on my face, like Arnold in his prime. A boyish grin. And smiles all around!

I think people can smell and sense high testosterone, high power and energy. Even though I dress like a homeless person, half of the time I’m not even wearing a shirt, but people they know.

So essentially the first rule on investing is simple: don’t lose money. Never put your money into anything that you think will cause you to lose money.

So for example, a lot of people think that bitcoin is super risky, but actually it is not. It is just very volatile. And funny enough, it’s a feature not a bug!

Higher volatility = higher returns

The volatility of bitcoin is a feature not a bug!

To quote Michael Saylor, volatility is vitality. The more volatile something is, the more energy they have. To quote the recent Bernstein interview that Michael Saylor had, the reason why LeBron James is the most potent force on the court is because he is the most volatile. Also, volatility is good when it comes to Tsunami because it has massive power. Look at the slides here.

Why are the traditional markets closed in the evening and the weekends?

And also, an insight I gleaned is the reason why bitcoin’s price goes up and down all the time, is that it is being traded 24 7, all the time in real time. Maybe the reason we see less volatility in the traditional markets is because they close! But imagine there was a Cuban missile crisis, Friday night, can you imagine the insanity; you’re not able to withdraw your money or sell your stocks until Monday morning?

“Why doesn’t the future look like the future?” – Elon

Currently we are in the year 2024… We are supposed to be so into the future. It still boggles my mind why in the year 2024, the markets close and open? I did some ChatGPT research on this, why this is, and there are some weird notions of work life balance, or maybe because back in day when stocks were actually traded on the physical floor, like the wolf of Wall Street, it is because they literally traded stocks like pieces of paper, and it was in the physical realm?

But now, because it is all digital… And half of the agents trading online are just bots and robots, there’s literally zero sense for anybody to trade anything that is not online.

Well let me give you a better example, we have all these hipsters telling us that film vinyl and analog things are better. But do they use an iPhone which is powered by gasoline? Or film cartridges?

Can you imagine living without the internet?


What’s more important, water or Wi-Fi?

Certainly water is more valuable, but I think the way that people treated nowadays is that Wi-Fi, having internet connectivity 5G is more critical.

I would actually say even with food; you could fast somebody for 40 hours, and even if they have water they will not die. But, if you try doing that with internet, I think the downsides would be much greater.

Easier to fast 40 days without food than to fast 40 days without Wi-Fi. 


How I became a trader

My first taste for investing was when I was around 15 years old, it was totally random, learning about stocks, mutual funds, etc. I remember buying about $900 worth of Adobe stock, in writing it up to around $1250, and then later buying some mutual funds. And holding it all in college, maybe it went up to around $1500 or something.

In fact, Dr. Ahmed my science teacher in high school first told me about aggressive mutual funds, and how I should become an emancipated minor and get into trading etc.

Financial freedom at the age of 16?

For me, I think the reason I first got into it was I wanted to feel superior, advanced, ahead of the curve. When most of the kids at school were still begging their parents for a PlayStation, I felt so advanced mature and superior,,, already knowing how to invest in the stock market.

In college, when I was hungry for my own financial freedom, I remember daytrading as a sophomore in college, waking up super fucking early to trade the markets, and note, this is me at around 19 years old. And feeling the hormonal rushes when my money would go up or down. And not being able to concentrate in class because I’m just thinking about the green or reds.

The best lesson of all time

Long story short, I ended up losing all of my money I think my senior year, maybe $3500 worth, because I accidentally misread some of the financials for this one oil company I was invested in (penny stock). I recall, I regretted this so much, and felt so saddened by this at the age of 21, thinking that I would never be able to recover. But now that I am playing with millions of dollars in investing and trading, I learned that it might’ve been the best thing that happened to me, with about 15 years of foresight. Why? I already got rid of the emotional roller coaster as a young child, and as a teenager, and a 21 year-old, which means now, as a 36-year-old man, I am far more calm collected stoic, and unemotional about it.

The stoic investor

My suggestion: don’t get too excited when your gains go up. Otherwise, you will become addicted to the gains. And you might lever up and take foolish financial risks, to see even greater gains.

Good greed, bad greed?

I personally believe there is a difference between good greed and bad greed.

What’s the difference?

Good greed is you’re trying to think 30 years ahead, ahead of the curve, see where the puck is going, not where it currently is. Chasing at least a 10X yield. Or even 100x, or 1000x. But over 30 years.

A foolish greedy person is into professional sports, sports betting, counting cards, playing poker and blackjack, and trying to “time” the market. And make gains in days, weeks, even months.

Michael Saylor and microstrategy has purchased bitcoin 40 times now, every quarter for the last 4 years.

30 years is the reason

If you think 30 years ahead, this cuts through the noise. This is the ultimate razor. ERIC KIM’s razor.

Certainly nobody likes to think 30 years ahead because they want immediate hedonic pleasure right now, through sexual and mental pleasure, physical pleasure, travel and exotic experiences, Omakase sushi, and the pleasure associated with driving a fast high-powered car.

But think about it, even if you have a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, or a Lamborghini with scissor doors, even a Tesla model S plaid, you have no skills. Any skinny fat loser can simply wedge his right foot all the way to the floor, and obviously it will be loud and go fast. This takes no courage besides the foolish fact that you might kill yourself or you might kill somebody else in their car with their kids on board.

Buy weights & bitcoin

My thought is the only true courage is physical courage, weightlifting, powerlifting, one rep Max lifting. The risk of physical injury is high, which motivates you to warm up, be cautious, and set up safeguards. I think one thing that people don’t understand is that weightlifting could actually be the safest activity out there because you could control all of the variables. For example if you’re tired and not in a good mood, the wise thing to do not is not do it. Compare this to professional sports, even when the players are exhausted, they are whipped like cattle to perform, apparently there are stories that back in the day in the NFL, it would be common for lineman to sniff lines of cocaine, before applying to hype themselves up. 

One day of victory is not worth a year of pain

For example, one foolish decision that I made doing an extremely heavy floor bench press, six plates, caused me to injure my wrist which has plagued me for a year and a half, the wise thing to have done was just to take the day off, one day of success is not worth a year and a half of misery. The only reason I did it was because it was my “off day”, and I wanted to stunt on other guys at the gym, very foolish.

Whenever you try to impress yourself, you shall succeed. Whenever you try to impress others you will fail.

I also think this is the wisdom of thinking long-term; nobody wants to be a Ronnie Coleman and be a cripple for the rest of his life, even if you win all the accolades.

What I learned from the book “Pumping Iron”

I think this is also where Arnold Schwarzenegger was very wise; he was on the juice and all of his buddies were, but he had the wisdom of getting out of the bodybuilding game in order to do more interesting ventures, like acting business etc. Because he knew that maybe, all of the bodybuilders taking steroids were doing irreversible harm on themselves.

People sometimes talk about the golden days of bodybuilding… But all these guys were on steroids! Now, it is kind of disgusting, the average female women’s Olympia might have been even buffer than Arnold in his prime.

Who is richer?

Talking to some homeboys from the Toyota dealership, when I ask them what is the difference between me and you? One of the guys said, genuinely, “You are free.” Possibly the best compliment of all time.

Even now, people do this big dick measuring contest, like who is richer. But, this is the wrong measurement.

Let us say you are a straight man, and you sell your soul in your butt hole for gay pornography, and you get paid $1 billion a year. Would you do it? Obviously not!

Certainly there is something sacred and profane here; there are certain things that one does not even for trillion dollars.

For example, if you could give me $900 trillion, but I had to sell my firstborn son into slavery would I do it? Obviously not. Not even if you took that $900 trillion and multiplied it by $1 trillion.

NASSIM TALEB Has this funny quote, to the person who says that they cannot be bribed, you’re just not offering enough money.

And I suppose this is the ultimate test, whether your ethics morality and your personal beliefs matter more than money. Or even the approval of your spouse, etc.

And I think the negative risk, the sacrifice, or the potential for downside is what truly dictates your real beliefs. And what you are willing to forgo.

How to get rich with bitcoin

Very simple, just opened up account with the Coinbase app on your iPhone or whatever, link it with your traditional bank, and just keep buying bitcoin, until the end of time. And the goal is to give it to your kids kids kids.

Become insanely Spartan and frugal, sell your second car, maybe remortgage or refinance your house to get more cash on hand, buy the bitcoin, and ride the 55% ARR until the end of time!

ERIC