Most of the hate I get is understandable. Wealthy guy doing unusual things for health. Looks weird. Acts weird. Says weird things. Ok. There’s also something else going on. Ultraprocessed foods emerged in the 1970s. Those in adolescence / early adulthood (now 50-64) exposed to these foods now have nearly 2x the food addiction rates than the generation immediately preceding them (now 65-80). More than half of U.S. calories now come from ultra-processed foods: 53% for adults and 62% for youth. Contending only with tobacco and ultra-processed foods now seems quaint. In recent decades, the most dynamic economic engine in history, American capitalism, has pointed its powers at addicting people to their products. Using the best available science. It’s become a predator prey relationship. We are the prey. Social media, porn, nicotine, junk food, fast food, smartphones, streaming, energy drinks and gambling.  Each perfectly engineered to hijack our reward systems, enslaving us to their wishes. Might we be the most addicted society in history? Sleep deprivation is the silent amplifier. It wrecks willpower and deepens dependency. Yet it’s worn as a badge of honor, a cultural flex that rewards self-destruction. On some level, many people realize that they’ve become powerless amidst the ocean of addiction that engulfs them daily. They’re powerless over what they eat. Dependent on stimulants to function. Compulsively checking their phones. Unable to turn off the screen before bed, unable to go to bed on time. Scrolling through the night, trapped in a loop they can’t escape. As a result, they’re fatigued, depressed, anxious, metabolically unwell, and lack basic self-respect for the inability to do and become what they want in life. This helplessness is where I think the hate directed at me gets much of its fuel. Sure, some people just don’t like me. It’s the magnitude, variety and intensity of the acrimony that points at something else. Whenever a human finds themself in a situation they don’t like, they’ll search the world for moral frameworks that help them reassert dignity when they feel powerless.  Ideally, they’ll find something that makes themselves superior and others inferior. If you cannot win in strength, win in virtue. Examples of moral reversals throughout history 0. The meek shall inherit the earth. (Christian inversion of power) 1. My preferences prove my worth. (aesthetic and consumer moralism) 2. My pain grants me moral authority. (victimhood as virtue) 3. Attachment is the root of suffering. (Buddhist renunciation) 4. I transcend the game; therefore I win it. (ascetic superiority / Stoic-Daoist synthesis) 5. The worker is the conscience of history. (Marxist moral economy) 6. Freedom lies in mastery of the self, not possession of things. (Stoicism) 7. The oppressed are the voice of truth. (Modern political theology) 8. The last shall be first. (Christian moral reversal) 9. What I cannot have must be bad. (sour grapes, the original moral inversion.) 10. Body positivity. (victimhood and authenticity as virtue) Frameworks people use to try and wrestle their superiority over me: 0. Bro forgot to live (hedonic moralism) 1. I’m adding life to years instead of years to life (anti-optimization modesty) 2. What you’re doing is unnatural (purity moralism) 3. You spend millions and you look like shit (anti-wealth austerity) 4. Narcissist (communitarian morality) 5. You’re playing God (anti-hubris theology) 6. It’s worthless for the average person (equity absolutism) 7. Why when you can just get hit by a bus (fatalistic moralism) 8. Stupid, we all die (mortality leveling) Basically, to strive is neurotic; to coast is enlightened. You get the idea. People weaponsize moral frameworks to try and wrestle superiority and reconcile reality. Nothing is more painful than an unreconciled inner life. Here is the thing. I am trying to be your advocate. Years ago, I was owned by these addiction systems. I wish there had been someone in my life helping me see the situation for what it was and giving practical guidance on how to dig out. I’m on your team and I’ve got your back. If you’re going to be angry, be angry at the systems that create the pain. Then reclaim yourself.

You know what time it is.

Why is it that everyone (media especially) attempts to find a hidden agenda or meaning in dialogue from two men known primarily for having no filter.

🤣

Here's a cheat sheet for every tariff discussion going on these days. I hope you find it helpful. CR: Tariffs are taxes. Anon: But tariffs are paid by foreigners. CR: No, they are paid by the importing firm at US customs and passed onto US consumers as firms maintain margins. If they aren't passed on they're eaten by shareholders or labor. Anon: But tariffs can replace the income tax. CR: The govt makes $2.5T from the income tax and the US imports $3T of goods. We'd have to tax ~85% of imports to cover that, but that would also reduce imports so it's unrealistic and the basic math doesn't come close to working. Not to mention tariffs are a regressive consumer tax that disproportionately hurts the poor and middle class who rely on imported goods like clothing and household items. Anon: Yeah, but they'll bring back manufacturing jobs. CR: No, manufacturing has fallen from 40% to 7% of US employment since 1950 and robotics will decimate the remaining 7% in the next 50 years. Those jobs aren't coming back. Anon: But tariffs will level the playing field with foreign firms. CR: Higher taxes in the US don't "level the playing field" with places where taxes are higher. They just make our playing field more expensive by reducing competition and consumer options. They are anti free market, anti-Capitalist! Anon: But foreign firms aren't paying taxes on their exports to the USA. CR: No, states add a sales tax to foreign sales in the USA. Anon: But Americans will now buy from US firms. CR: Americans will have fewer choices because the government reduced competition and consumer options. This will drive UP prices. Especially when US firms realize they have more pricing power due to the government's manipulation of the market. Anon: But we need to reduce the trade deficit because we're getting ripped off. CR: No, it's a trade. We're getting lower priced goods, higher profit margins and foreign countries get our income and investment. Gold star for you if you made it here.

Steak n Stack

Let that sink in.

The amount of microplastics in my body cannot compare to the amount of love that’s in my heart.

What’s in the reserve?

I’m looking for a CFO in LA who wants to run a company on a bitcoin standard.

Any support for our friend and colleague Connor is appreciated: gofund.me/427a2070

Is there a bank that a business can use for operating on a BTC standard?

Infrared or traditional sauna?

Can y’all please stop selling your bitcoin so we can all see $100k and move on with our lives?

I have not considered publishing a book.

We are here.

$10k invested, compounding over 60 years: 8% yield = $1M 9% yield = $1.8M 10% yield = $3M

This week in markets, represented by a chart of the japanese interest rate.

Is the Fed pulling this off?