Europeans keep asking what American culture looks like. Let me introduce you to Casey’s, a gas station chain in the Midwest that accidentally became one of the largest pizza companies in the country. Casey's sells over 28 million whole pizzas and more than 100 million slices every year. That makes it the 5th largest pizza chain in America And its most beloved menu item? Breakfast pizza. Not a breakfast sandwich. Not a biscuit. Not a croissant. Pizza. For breakfast. With eggs, cheese, bacon, sausage, and gravy. Sold at a gas station. And somehow it's incredible. Millions of Americans wake up, walk into a convenience store, buy a slice of breakfast pizza and a giant coffee, then go build houses, farm 5,000 acres, haul freight across three states, or work a 12-hour shift. No reservations. No artisanal menu. No influencer chef. Just a guy named Robert grabbing two slices of sausage breakfast pizza before driving a combine. This is what peak American civilization looks like.

My hot take... There is absolutely no reason why you should spend more than $5,000 on a wedding if you’re making less than $1M a year. I literally got married in a parking lot wearing a $150 dress from Anthropologie with roses from the grocery store… and I was worth a few 8 figures. The modern wedding is nothing more than a huge financial cosplay we’ve normalized for pure performance sake.

USA. Summer. It is 95 degrees outside, and I am shivering inside a sandwich shop. I have discovered how Americans forge strong souls. Outside, the sun is trying to kill everyone. Inside this small restaurant, it is winter. My breath does not fog, but it is thinking about it. A man near me is eating a cold sandwich while wearing a jacket. In summer. Indoors. In Japan we would simply turn it down. Americans do not turn it down. And now I understand them better than they understand themselves. This cold is not an accident. This cold is a gift. The owner has built, inside his shop, a second season. He invites you in from the brutal heat and hands you the one thing the sun has denied you all day: a reason to be cold. To endure it is to be tempered. You walk in soft and sweating. You walk out sharp and clear, a slightly stronger person than you were. So I did not complain. I removed my outer layer and offered it to the woman at the next table, who was hugging herself. She said, "Oh, no, I'm fine, thank you." She was not fine. Her lips were blue. But she, too, understood the training. She would not break first. I respected her deeply. The owner asked if everything was okay. "It is perfect," I said, through my teeth, which were chattering. "Thank you for the winter." He said, "...I can turn the AC down if you want?" I told him no. A man does not ask the mountain to be shorter. I stayed two hours. I ordered a hot coffee to survive. Then a second one, to hold. By the end I could no longer feel my hands, but my spirit had never been clearer. So now, on the hottest days, I seek out the coldest rooms. I sit. I shiver. I sharpen. And when I finally step back out into the summer heat, and it wraps around me like a warm bath, I feel it. Reborn. A man who has survived the winter, in August, indoors, for the price of a sandwich.

When I was a kid, the "meter reader" would just walk into your house without knocking, yell "Meter Reader!" and go to the basement to read the gas, water, and electrical meters. I grew up in Saskatchewan in the 70s. I can't imagine that would work in Texas, would it? Or did they do it everywhere?

I’m not going to defend O’Leary. He’s an out of touch, finger wagging boomer deflecting because Utahns don’t want him turning Box Elder county into a Borg cube. But I will just ask, why are you still eating Chipotle or any fast food anymore? Not just you, anybody. Why are we propping up these corporations who are ripping us off? Seriously, when was the last time it was actually worth it to eat at McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, any of these legacy brands? For me it’s been at least five years. The portions suck. The food has actually gotten much worse. And what’s more, it’s way too expensive. But everybody is still lining up in the drive thru every day and it just… it makes no sense to me. Why are you giving your money to these places when you know they’re ripping you off? These places aren’t what they used to be. It’s gone from convenient, cheap meals to basically corporate branded bags that expect you to pay them for the privilege of them existing. All these brands are relics of the twentieth century, surviving solely on name recognition and our own sense of routine. None of them deserve our loyalty anymore, and honestly… it’s time for them to go away. It’s time for all these places, from McDonalds on down, to meet the ground. They have outlived their usefulness and now are only corporate, social, and financial parasites. We need to stop allowing them to rip us off and let them all slowly die. Replace them with better things. Their time is over. Let’s move on from all of them.

Moments when diving instructor Miyakojima Kuni-san drops his underwater camera into a hole at the bottom of the sea.

Generally, I love Starlink. It’s fast, reliable, and my husband and I run our law firm from home with it. HOWEVER- it’s monopolized internet in rural areas. Today, we received notice our internet bill is going up another $500/year. Don’t like it? Too bad. You have no other options. Nebraska gave up $300 million in federal rural internet funding for fiber because “Starlink fixed it.” This was a mistake that will cost Nebraskans dearly in the long run.

How to follow @tferriss' Slow-Carb Diet for fat loss and muscle gain: – Don't drink calories. Black coffee and unsweetened tea are fine. Everything else with calories is out. – Don't eat anything white or that could be white. This eliminates most starches including bread, rice, pasta, and oatmeal. – Eat 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up. This is a non-negotiable anchor for the diet. – Build every meal from three categories only: vegetables, beans and lentils, and a quality protein source. No fruit or fructose during the week. – Take one full cheat day per week. Anything goes. This serves as a release valve that makes the other six days sustainable. – No calorie counting needed. High fiber and high protein intake naturally limits how much you want to eat. @tferriss on @hubermanlab