A big deal; October, 2024… Elon Musk uncovered the we robot Robo taxi cyber cab, cyber van future; 

The reason why I feel like this is an insanely big deal;

First, it looks fucking cool! Finally, the future actually looks like the future?

Tesla > Apple

First, the great thing is watching the announcement, Elon looks like he is in great shape! He looks 1 billion times happier, cheerful optimistic, and healthy.

And also… Charismatic leader; I think we all need some sort of figurehead to follow. For example, the reason why Apple is a bad bet is there is no longer a face behind it! Tim Cook, kind of boring like granola. Jony Ive has left, so nobody is left.

It’s essentially when we think about Tesla, SpaceX, we think of Elon Musk. Having a face behind a concept is critical.

Same thing goes with Kanye West, and also now Michael Saylor with bitcoin and micro strategies; I am very insanely impressed… Microstrategy stock has gone up 14.4X, over the last four years, which has even outperformed bitcoin!

A random thought; I think the future will belong to those or whom or the entities in which own the most bitcoin. Assuming that bitcoin is digital property, digital capital, the Apex form of property in the universe, then what that then means is assuming that you want to build a dynasty which last forever, call us to maximize your property, digital property right now.

Why?

I think the tricky thing is when do you think about property money wealth power etc.… The question that people often ask is why?

Assuming that property is capital, in capital is more critical than money… In that most US dollars and fiat currency is just credit running on 20th century rails… What that means is we must think digital, we must think cyber.

Why I’m still betting on bitcoin and microstrategy over Tesla 

Watching the new announcement has given me an insanely huge wave of motivation and optimism for the future! Essentially the future looks phenomenal; it looks super cool, and with the upcoming cyber car, cyber taxi, and cyber van… Finally… The future will look like the future!

And I also think that the insanely optimistic thing about cyber truck is that finally, a vehicle on the road which actually looks like the future!

I recall, in the year 2020, just a little bit before Covid hit, while in Providence Rhode Island I was meandering ,, it is the year 2020, technically we are living in the super future, why doesn’t the future look like the future? Why does the future look so lame?

Cyber upside

So the reason why bitcoin and micro strategies; even though I am a huge Elon Musk and Tesla fan, laws of physics are really hard. I think Tesla still has about 1 million cyber trucks they need to produce, and on top of that, having to produce all these new cyber taxis and cyber vans, Will be very very difficult. I am very confident that Elon and the Tesla team will pull it off, realistically it might take 10 to 20 years, because the laws of physics are hard. For example, physical manufacturing, lithium ion battery refineries, supply chain etc.

I think what Elon is doing is very admirable because he is currently addressing their real life, physical and bodily challenges we are facing today.  for nobody who has never lived in Los Angeles, never being stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic from Pasadena to the west side of Los Angeles, you’ll never know what Carmageddon, traffic will look like.

And also, something I have discovered whenever I drive to East LA, Koreatown and the like — fucking sucks. All of that concrete, no green spaces and trees — during the summer, it felt about 10 to 20° hotter there, and the pollution is practically unbearable now. Gavin Newsom and California trying to get rid of tailpipe emissions is a phenomenally great idea.

For example, the only thing I hit on the planet is maybe cigarette smoke, and the smell of tailpipe emissions, which is fucking toxic, and immediately gives me a headache. I’m currently on a Crusade to tell people who are smoking on the street to not smoking — the text a lot of wits, guts, and quick thinking, because it is something that is insanely important, not only does it immediately give me a headache, but come on come on I have a kid!

These fucking assholes

What I hate about smokers, cigarette smokers is that there are smoking on the street, in public, indignantly like they are not harming nobody else. You fucking assholes. At least you have a filter to smoke your cancer sticks through, but whenever you exhale your secondhand smoke, that shit goes straight into my lungs and my brains!

First, my vision is to just make smoking cigarettes outdoors illegal. In any public space. If you want to hotbox your house or apartment or car with the windows closed, and give yourself lung cancer that is fine; but the rule is to not allow smoking on the street, public sidewalks etc.

I think technically the law is you’re not supposed to smoke within 25 feet of an eating establishment, but my personal vision at least for Culver City and beyond and on the promenade is that it would be illegal to smoke cigarettes, anywhere which is not outside of your house!

why is everyone a bunch of pussies?

Essentially the thing that is insanely annoying to me is that nowadays, everyone is a bunch of pussies and cowards. For example, all of these fat losers with beards, buying guns in ammunition, they feel so tough watching their alternative right conservative media outlets, yet, they don’t even have the courage to speak up against people who smoke cigarettes?

People are often shocked by me because I actually have the audacity to stand up and speak up. Because everyone else is a coward.

I think the number one fear that people have, at least in Los Angeles and beyond is that if you somehow confront a smoker for being an asshole, they will somehow pull up a gun and shoot you?

First, maybe it might happen if you’re in South Central, or somewhere super hood, but very very unlikely if you’re in the west side or somewhere nice like Culver City? Especially since they’re a bunch of cameras around?

There is also a fear that when you tell people in LA while they are driving, to drive more carefully, they once again, they will somehow also pull up a gun and start shooting you up?

It’s tricky because it is true; there are some people with guns, conceal and carry guns, whether in their glove compartment, on their body etc. I suppose this is where trying to distinguish people is wise;

If somebody looks like they’re from the hood, or mentally unstable, better to just play it safe. But obviously if you see somebody who looks affluent, driving some sort of expensive car or whatever, then speak up! The funny irony is at least in America, and in Los Angeles, Rich successful people don’t really own guns. Guns are for poor people from the hood, or people who are from the right marginalized communities —

Well actually a lot of people don’t understand is a lot of right wing conservatives who own guns and live in the Midwest etc., or the south, or Idaho whatever… Actually tend to be poor, below working class? 

So for the most part, obviously there is crazy stuff in LA, but I would probably rate Los Angeles much safer than we think it is; honestly, you’re more likely to die getting hit by a car, or dying in a car accident from somebody texting while driving, rather than somebody shooting you with a gun. By a factor of 1 billion?

---

Cyber soldiers

 so one of my great points of optimism is that the future of warfare will not be guns bullet ammunition, not even drones or bombs. I think the future of warfare will certainly be cyber, cyber warfare, economic based.

For example, it seems that economic embargo are effective, because when it comes out to it, technically everybody on the planet wants world peace because more peace means more prosperity, economically. In all of these rich all the guards want to drive their Rolls-Royce, Lamborghinis, McLarens and the like.

For example, even rocket man Kim Jung Un, is apparently a huge connoisseur of fine whiskeys, and I think he owns about 100 high-end Mercedes Maybach cars in his garage?

Anyways, once again, all of these “evil “world leaders, they don’t technically want war either because most people, what they see is luxury, comfort and ease. I cannot imagine any world leader right now, on the frontlines of a war, on some sort of war horse or chariot going head onto battle.

The upcoming cyber war

So a simple way to think about bitcoin is the world‘s ultimate defense system. People don’t really think about bitcoin in terms of cyber security, but it is. 

For example, the bitcoin network is defended by many exahash– which means that it is essentially unhackable. And unstoppable!

For example, let us say that you need to send an encrypted safe message to somebody. You could actually send it through the bitcoin network; and it is unstoppable! It cannot be censored.

And also… Assuming that money is freedom, and bitcoin is free; whether you like it or not, even if the other guy is a bad guy or whatever… You cannot stop the exchange, peer to peer of money, between two individuals!

What Bitcoin fixes

A huge one; real estate. Let us say that I have a single-family home, and I want to sell it to you. Cindy‘s mom who is a real estate agent, I see it how tedious it is. All of these forms, regulations, and having to transfer money from the bank, is an insanely tedious and troublesome process. 

I am still shocked, also in the year 2024… Like a simple wire transfer via the swift network, like I’m sending my money to my mom in South Korea, why does it take so damn long, why do I have to go to a physical bank branch, I thought we lived in the future?

Even an insane annoyance, about a half a year ago when I just tried to wire myself $125,000 of money to buy bitcoin, I literally had to be on the phone with JP Morgan Chase, three or four times, being rerouted to some random people in the Philippines, having to see a bank teller in the flesh etc., Before having to verify my own damn money?

This is insane!

My vision

Very simple. Let us say that I have a single-family home and you want to buy my single family home. The easiest thing is that you just send bitcoin to me. The final settlement will just take a few hours, instead of a few weeks.

And also, proof of funds. If you show me your bitcoin wallet, I could immediately see how much money you have in real time. Even a funny thing was when we were signing the lease of our new apartment, when our landlord asked for our proof of income or whatever, I just sent him a screenshot of our bank account balance, proving that we could live in his property for about 10 years, just based off of our savings. 

Now, I walk around town with a grin, can enter a Lamborghini dealership or Ferrari dealership or Porsche dealership with a grin on my face, and touch and handle all the cars because technically I could afford all of them. And in fact, if anyone gives me shit, I could just show them that I could afford it, and they will shut up. 

What’s the point of money?

I think my view on money is that it is defensive; it isn’t to go out and buy yourself bunch of Lamborghinis, but instead, to use it like a war chest, a cyber defense fund.

Truth be told, growing up in poverty, seeing my mom go bankrupt at least twice, I’ve never really ever been that concerned about money. But now, I truly have zero concerns.

This is where money is a via negativa thing; money should be a means to cut or reduce concerns or cares, by reducing your expenses to a bare minimum.

I would actually say the only good use of money is for productive assets (The Fiat Standard book)–  essentially buying something that can be productive!

For example, a new iPad Pro, weightlifting equipment for your home etc.

Can it help you produce more?

Cyber digital capitalism and production–

The problem is with a lot of things that you buy, like trophy assets, is that it doesn’t produce anything– unless I suppose like you’re the one guy on YouTube who does all these videos and vlogs with an orange Lamborghini parked behind you, which you are leasing, which helps you indirectly make money? But even so, I think the financial risk isn’t worth the potential upside. 

So the problem is with cars, they don’t produce anything. The only productive car I could possibly imagine is like a full self driving Tesla car, but even that isn’t quite productive; it just helps you mitigate pain. Unless maybe of course, you’re allowing your Tesla to do the full self driving, and you’re vlogging on a GoPro or something,  and producing things while your car is self driving?

But then, optimal strategy then is to purchase the cheapest Tesla possible, the most based level Tesla model three, while purchasing full self driving.

But then again taking a step further, even more intelligent strategy is to never be inside a car, to just walk, and take the metro!

In fact, a few days ago, before Seneca and I caught a stomach bug, the greatest joy was we were able to walk to the metro line, and take the metro directly to our favorite library! 100% walking, and only two metro stops away!

And this is really my vision of a glorious future city; tons of spaces, trees, parks, recreation centers, and zero to minimum time having to spend inside a car?

---

Savings?

If we think about it, there is no real reason for anyone to have any incentive to save anymore. Why? As long as legislators continue raising the minimum wage, what that means is your savings is becoming devalued, in real time.

For example, the price of a single-family home skyrocketing is absurd. Even here in Culver City, very common to see single-family homes which are worth $3.2 million, all the while you could buy a condo in Michigan for only $70,000!

I think the critical issue we are having here is a mismatch of politics and fiscal policy.  

For example, if you are somebody trying to get elected for office, what do you promise people? An increase minimum wage, because that will get you elected! But the downside is your transferring inflation to future parties; for example, I called this the shake shack incident; There was a really really nice shake shack here in Culver City for a while, but to my great shock, it closed down very recently! I think the big issue was that because they raise the minimum wage to $20 an hour, maybe Shake shack cannot afford to Pay their employees!

Your $3.2 million home isn’t really worth $3.2 million 

I think this is also the thing that is difficult to understand; in theory, you see your single-family home price going up, and you think you’re getting super rich and whatever… But if you track that to inflation, in the global M2 money supply, what if in fact, your property value isn’t going up, but simply, The value of each US dollar is going less, and therefore your $3.2 million home isn’t really worth $3.2 million, but only $2 million?

And also the big problem is let us say that you have a really expensive home, you can’t really afford to live anywhere else, because the price of inflation makes it untenable for you to live anywhere else. Therefore I think a critical thing to consider is that You have to be a little bit more skeptical with money, this is where maybe thinking about hard digital assets and property like bitcoin is more interesting to me;

Also, currently we are tracking the value of a bitcoin to the US dollar. Because it is the closest measure we got. But, the more logical idea is equating a bitcoin to a bitcoin.

One bitcoin equals one bitcoin.

So right now for example we are currently valuing a bitcoin to the US dollar, but my radical idea is what we should be doing instead is valuing the US dollar in respect to the bitcoin. 

Which means the price of a bitcoin is not packed to the US dollar, the US dollar is instead pegged to the price of a bitcoin.

Why this is fun and exciting

For me, life is all about fun creativity and play. And also for me investing, speculation, bitcoin in the like is all fun and play!

Honestly at this point, there’s nothing really left I want to purchase or buy, besides maybe some weightlifting equipment, steel plates, or a new power squat rack. But besides this, there is nothing left in the physical realm that I really desire. The only desirable truly scarce asset and valuable asset, I desire is bitcoin.

How to make money from nothing

I recently copped around a $50,000 profit, taking about $150,000 of fiat currency, purchasing some microstrategy stock, MSTR, taking my initial investment and growing it to $200,000. I then sold about $50,000 of the micro strategy stock, and then just bought more bitcoin with it.

So an interesting technique or thought is the easiest way to make money out of nothing is to just put it in the traditional stock market, sell the gains in fiat currency, take that fiat currency and purchase bitcoin while you can?

Keep acquiring more and more bitcoin until you die

Assuming that wealth, true wealth is property, and assuming that bitcoin is the first and only property which is digital, and we all know that digital is superior to physical, and I think what is very very interesting is bitcoin crosses the chasm of the physical into the digital. Why? Because it takes real life analog power , proof of work, to convert analog energy and power and electricity into a single bitcoin.

What a lot of these fake environmentalist don’t understand is the only reason why the point has value is precisely because it takes so much energy intensive power to create! All these fake propaganda posters saying that bitcoin is bad for the planet, but you fool… Don’t you know that I think globally, air conditioning or the power for air-conditioning causes about 20% of the carbon emissions on the planet? And bitcoin might be .001%? I could also bet you that your virtual eating of almond nuts might cause more CO2 production than anything else.

Even another funny unorthodox theory; thought experiment, what if in fact producing pea protein plants, vegan protein powders, all these fake juices and sugars and almond nuts etc., caused 1000 times more worse carbon emissions for the planet than meat? If this were the case, would this change your anti-meat eating stance? Or would it not because you still invoke the moralistic aspect of it?

---

Wealth is a mental thing?

HANDSOMER.

I think in life, one of the most difficult things is change. Adapting to change, thinking about change considering change etc. 

First, a creativity innovation carte Blanche thinking first principles thing. 

First, to think new and become new is difficult. It takes great skill, innovation, and radical understanding, it is not for the meek of heart. 

Second, I think the difficult thing is a deseridatum thing, a desired thing. The big question we have to think is is it desirable to think new and become new? 

First if you think from a capitalistic consumer perspective… Obviously it thrives on the new. For example, if we were all stuck on the original iPhone three iPhone 3GS… I’m sure people will not be very happy. I would also be very unhappy if I still had the original iPad, The current iPad Pro M4 chip I’m using, is literally like 10 trillion times better.

In fact, going to Hong Kong later this year, and I was thinking and reflecting… Time and technology; also staring at my old G9 camera, how at the time in 2017, 2018… It was literally the best camera on the market at the time. But now times have changed, and also technology has changed. Therefore the most intelligent strategy is right now, looking at it from scratch… I’m thinking… Right now in this given moment, what is the best option for things?

For example, when I first really got into photography, a lot of of it was dictated by technology. For example, when I was in high school, as a senior graduation present my uncle got me a Canon point and shoot power shot digital camera, I think it had 1.2 megapixels or something, but still… I loved it! It was always in my front pocket, and I literally photographed everything I saw. So when I discovered the macro mode, the rule of thirds grid, and also how he was able to shoot black-and-white, it blew my mind!

Fast forwarding a bit, getting my first Canon rebel XT camera then my canon 5D full frame camera, and discovering the whole lot, and then progressing a bit and getting the Leica M9 camera,  traveling the world etc., getting into film, the digital Ricoh and now currently the LUMIX S9– wow, technology has changed things a lot.

My major critique about a lot of people who tend to give fellatio to the past is that the past is predictable, easy, requires no courage. It is very very easy to hide behind Hitler mustache, some ugly flannel, some ugly throwback clothing, baggy clothes, drive some sort of base level German car, And opine on the past. And say how analog was super superior filmless superior vinyl superior whatever, and trying to harden back to our ancestral pest.

What I think takes more courage is to instead, rather than pink by analogy, to think the present moment right now, not by analogy or metaphor or to oversimplify the past.

For example, a lot of people tend to think of the past, romanticizing the past etc.… But you fools, don’t you realize that the past was most definitely 1 trillion times worse than it is today? For example, industrial London, childbirth mortality was 70 to 80%, Colorado dysentery, and sanitation had not even been discovered; if you accidentally poked yourself, they would probably surgery on you with rusty unsanitized instruments, this is before they even knew that you’re supposed to boil water before drinking it!

Even now, our understanding of things is literally 1 trillion times backwards. For example, this insidious idea of calories in calories out, “burning” calories. You fool! Don’t you understand that it is hormonal, driven by sugar, insulin, insulin signaling and spiking? The only reason why this calories in calories out notion still exist is the evil Coca-Cola corporation, who wants you to have a “balanced diet”, “moderate exercise”, that you can sneak in 100 cal Coca-Cola a day, and not “gain weight”– whereas in fact, the truth is gaining or losing fat,,, not weight.

Some people think that these are lexical different things, but this is not the case this could literally be a life with that matter, type two diabetes and type three diabetes (alzheimers) has anything to do with you or your family or parents.

Wow, looking recently at my arms, my arms are super amazingly fucking jacked! Even without flexing, they look amazing! Very very full in the triceps, the biceps the shoulders and other parts of my body, which I cannot really notice.

And also, after getting a fresh haircut, from Cindy… Very very simple, shaving the sides clean, and just getting some cheap gel and slicking it back, Cindy calls it my “Lamborghini haircut”,– and also, this might be the lowest body fat percentage in my life! I think currently I’m at around 4% body fat, naturally without any weird stuff. And note, I might be the only weightlifter or bodybuilder or power lifter or strong man on the planet who doesn’t even take protein powder! Let alone loser creatine, which is the century just pulverized meat, why not just eat the meat?

And also, am I the only one on the planet who fast before weightlifting? Certainly the only one on the planet, may be out of all 8 billion of us, who was able to successfully lift 1000 pounds, that is over 10 1/2 plates on each side of the barbell, successfully, once again, without steroids, unnatural substances, and also no loser belt, wraps, knee wraps etc. 

Rack rack city bitch

Very simple; rack pulls are your best friend. Imagine like doing a dead lift, but you just put the barbell on the power rack or the squat rack, at around waist level, in between your knees and your hips, experiment at your height level, whatever feels comfortable, chalk up, and just lift the barbell off of the rack, even for half an inch or so! Literally after doing it with eight plates, I felt the good soreness in my biceps, my upper back, my traps etc.

Honestly the only reason people don’t do it is because people lack some sort of innovative mindset and creativity. People are still stuck on this loser thinking by analogy school in which everyone is just giving fellatio to Arnold Schwarzenegger, and all these loser bodybuilders on social media, for all injecting their assholes with steroids.

In fact, I’ve discovered a really really huge secret, the only reason you see more African-American and Caucasian people in the NFL professional sports etc., even I symbolize the NBA… Is all these guys are just using steroids! The only reason why you don’t see as many Asian guys in professional sports isn’t some pseudo racial things; genetics is fake; anyone who talks about genetics is essentially talking about he who is able to best use steroids and not get caught, or, to best use steroids with a stack of other strange drugs, to not have their breast tissue turn into “bitch tits” etc.

Finishing reading pumping iron  the original book I think in 1973, and with an updated afterward in 1980, when Arnold was 34 years old, super rich and successful, with his $700,000 house in Santa Monica, and just fresh shooting Conan the barbarian with a $15 million budget, and note, adjusted for inflation these numbers are huge, this was 1980! Which I think was 44 years ago? Wow. That’s even longer than I was alive; I’m 36 years old born in 1988.

Anyways, even back then — in this so-called “golden ages” of bodybuilding… 1973, now I do the math, it is 2024… This is about 50 years ago! Holy moly I’m 36 years old right now, if I added 50 years to my age, I’d be 86!

Anyways, just thinking consider if in 1973 all these dudes are already injecting their buttholes with steroids, anabolic steroids which at the time they didn’t even think that it was dangerous, or bad, imagine how much steroid technology has progressed in 50 years, to today.

And when I look at all these modern day bodybuilders and fitness people on Instagram and YouTube etc., it’s kind of like male prostitution; kind of how a lot of these influencer girls end up being these WebCam virtual prostitutes, to make money. Whatever I think it is fine; but if I had a daughter, no way in hell would I want her to do that kind of work. And also, no way in hell would I ever want Seneca do you ever inject his buttholes with steroids.

Giant or midget?

Also ,,, the least harmful major?

 so what is so interesting about looking at it in the past about Arnold Schwarzenegger and the like is that there is this notion of being a giant. I think it’s kind of a day term now, like Tony Robbins he has this seminar called awaken the giant within, which talks a lot to the baby boomer generation. And apparently the opposite of being a giant is a midget, which is not politically correct anymore, the nicer term to use is person of small stature or dwarf or something. Or you just pretend like they’re not a midget.

Anyways, whether this matters or not, is beyond my pay grade. Would I’m more interested in is how we could do things more naturally, get super fucking jacked and amazing without steroids or weird stuff.

The key is to consume more dietary cholesterol, a.k.a. beef liver and organ meats.

So I thought, maybe the whole keto ketogenic diet movement is a bit flawed because they do not emphasize the necessity for consuming dietary cholesterol in organ meats etc. For example, am I the first to propose this notion of 100% organ me to diet, which is 80% beef liver, beef beef kidney beef intestines etc.… And supplementing it with other stuff like eggs, including the yolk, or flesh meats?

The reason why I believe this to be such a big idea is that the loser vegan evil corporations like Bill Gates and James Cameron and the like promote this insane notion of a plant-based diet veganism, because it is so profitable. And let us consider, what is more profitable, to sell some sort of overpriced Pea protein powder, to these foolish millennial and zillenial and Gen Z folks, which makes them feel good about the planet or whatever? Or to sell them organ meats, which is not profitable. Even the American beef corporation, they cannot sell it effectively.

Just follow the money

ChatGPT is also a positive good for society because it is the number one way to smash inequality, racism sexism, and also… To overturn these ridiculous conspiracy theories?

For example, anybody with an iPhone and access to YouTube and podcast, who listens to Joe Rogan or whatever, well sooner or later fall victim to these weird conspiracy theories. Why? My theory is people cannot bear a society and world and universe which has no rhyme, no reason, which is just injustice. When people believe in a conspiracy theory, it feels just — it feels like it sets the order right.

Because once again, most feeble people cannot bear an injust world and society. 

It goes against everything that we have been taught about justice equality fairness etc. The world is not just.

---

The great solution

I have a very very simple solution; optimistic fatalism.

Fatalism simply means that everything is bad, injust, evil whatever.

Optimism, we all know what this means.

So my notion of optimistic fatalism is the ultimate hammer, the ultimate  solution. Both at the same time, put it inside your head and your brain and your soul and your body… That truth be told in fact, yes, it is all bad evil and injustice. But in spite of all that… How can you make the best of it?

Or even a step further, to think and understand that in fact, all of the badness injustice in the world etc., was positively helpful to make your life better?

The winner take all reality 

For example, I am the only winner in the world of street photography. The only one who was able to successfully do all the successful things, travel the planet and get all the accolades, and become a bitcoin millionaire out of all of it.

Now great upside is because now that I am financially independent, I can continue to give away all of my stuff for free open source, because I don’t have a profit incentive anymore. And now becomes more of an ethical thing; doing that in which I believe in, because I want to help humanity.

But, being a humanitarian, I think the only way to ethically do it is to be somehow self sponsored, financially independent, not having an office administrators and staff, and donors.

Why? As long as you have donors, it can never really be truly just. You’re going to have to parade around your poor kids at these annual dinners, to provoke sympathy, and a bad conscience to these rich donors, to keep them employed.

I could speak because I myself was one of these kids, KCCEB, Korean community center of the East Bay, I’m very very grateful for all of our mentors, but it has not lasted.

Nonprofits do not last.

---

Corporations don’t really last either

Only things which have lasted are the Vatican, the holy Roman Empire 2.0, Catholicism, independent wealthy families, endowments at Ivy League schools etc.

Clone Mentality?

One of the really big issues with clones is a clone mentality, which is so centered around being a clone. For example, you’re taught and made to think that being a clone, like a clone of Jesus or whatever, is virtuous and good. As a consequence, one is not permitted to simply create a model of himself. Anything which is similar to Jesus is seen as good and virtuous, anything which is seen as dissimilar to Jesus is seen as bad and evil.

And as a consequence, I think the general ethos and mentality of America is bad because it is too centered and focused on notions of imitating Christ, being a clone, etc.

“Y’all ninjas my clones!”

For example, in fashion, life, etc.… We seek to just emulate people that we already see in the limelight. For example, Kanye West, Jay-Z, all these modern-day rappers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. 

For example, ultimately what I discovered was my desire for a Lamborghini, with these doors, all matte black murdered out, was simply my desire to emulate Kanye West! His “Lamborghini Mercy” song was very influential to me.

Thinking Arnold

So I just finished reading the original Pumping Iron book, the one that preceded the influential Pumping Iron documentary, and ultimately what was very, very interesting was unraveling and revealing how essentially, Arnold Schwarzenegger invented bodybuilding, modern-day bodybuilding and beyond.

What’s the weather in about the book I think the original was written in the 1970s, a little bit added in the 1980s was a lot of the terms and the verbiage and the words typically used outside of the traditional context.

For example, mentally retarded, midget, giant, even referencing Schwarzenegger‘s Austrian German accent being a “Nazi” voice. I think what is so fun and interesting, at least in the context of the 1970s and ’80s, is that people were much more relaxed, and less grammar Nazis or less politically correct, than they are now.

Also, the reason why I kind of enjoy this is that ultimately, if you have ever lifted weights, done bodybuilding or weightlifting… We are all essentially children of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is the one who essentially invented and promoted modern bodybuilding and weightlifting as we know it, and all of his contemporaries, all of them have been forgotten, only Arnold remains.

I suppose the nuance is even Arnold, who is probably the greatest bodybuilder, weightlifter, and personality of all time, even Arnold has fallen a bit out of vogue now. It seems like he has dominated everything,  even politics, which was foreshadowed in the 1980s, and his whole strange affair with his housekeeper, his illegitimate son, whatever… I think he’s still acting as an influential role in politics and whatever, but for the most part, I think he has been forgotten already. Kind of also like today, Michael Jordan… All these kids who wear his clothes and sneakers, they don’t actually have any idea who the real Michael Jordan is, whether he is alive or dead or whatever. Michael Jordan has become a strange symbol in today’s world; a sign of dominance and flair, but once again, nobody thinks of him as a real human being anymore. Apparently, Kanye West is still on tour. I think Kanye West might be the most anti-fragile artist of them all, as he has been able to survive the most extreme controversies of them all, and still have a stadium packed with adoring fans in Seoul, South Korea! Very, very shocking and impressive to me; I had no idea he was so popular even in Seoul, South Korea!

Anyways, the reason why I think of this is so important is thinking about lasting, durability, and life. And also, the short side of the notion of achieving your life goals; Arnold has achieved everything, he has achieved all the major pillars of success in America, yet after all of that, he is kind of empty, kind of a shell of his former self.

Now the reason why I think this is so important is that when we think about American notions of success, the paths of success, etc.… What is it that we are truly seeking, and how do we know if and when we achieved it, and whether it really even matters at all in the end?

The problematics of ethics

So apparently, I think when all of us are done, it comes down to philosophy and ethics. Especially in today’s world, AI, the ethics of artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, etc.

I think what will make this forever an interesting topic is that there is no right and wrong in ethics; might makes right. 

What it means is he or she who is the most powerful, the most dominant shall win and conquer all! Even now… The way I see it, America is currently in a digital arms race against China, fortunately America has nothing to fear; for the most part, Chinese technology kind of sucks. For example, obviously a rich mainland Chinese oligarch would prefer to have an iPhone Pro rather than the newest Huawei phone. Huawei sucks.

And also… It still does seem that for the most part, the Chinese would still prefer American blockbuster Hollywood films rather than their own domestic film market. Why? The funny thing with the Chinese, the mainland Chinese is that they exoticize America – truth be told, I think if all the real mainland Chinese people have the option, they would take all of their capital wealth and money and power out of mainland China, buy some nice property here in LA, or possibly somewhere else, etc.

I think this is why all these rich men in China prefer to buy property in Vancouver, rather than Shanghai, Beijing, etc. Even driving to East LA Koreatown the other day… Oh my gosh, the pollution there is unbearable! And it is literally just a few miles east of West LA, in which the weather is 1 trillion times better.

Beef liver is the answer

Wow, I just finished eating a bunch of beef liver that I got from Gelson‘s yesterday. It is so cheap, maybe only $3.99 a pound, and also the interesting nuance is that even if I tried to, I cannot consume more than about 2 pounds of beef liver because it is so nutritionally dense.

I feel so phenomenally good right now. I recommend everyone to try it!

I would say in terms of a split, try to have 80% of your diet be beef liver, and once if it comes too much for you, switch over to  eggs or ground beef for some other type of steak flesh meat.

The immigrant mentality

The reason why Frank Colombo and Arnold Schwarzenegger became so successful is that both of them were immigrants, first to move to America as young adults. I think Arnold might’ve been only 16 or 18 when he moved from Austria to the States, and the immigrant mentality is good because they are hungry! The problem with the traditional American is they become too flabby, too fat, too appeased. 

This is why Americans are so lazy; they were raised with much privilege in the States, assuming that their family has been here for a generation or two or three, and essentially they could rely on the family wealth, the family trust fund, property, real estate, etc. For example, if your dad wanted to buy property somewhere in LA which is desirable and has made a killing… And you know that once your dad dies, you won’t inherit much of his wealth, what motivation do you have to work hard?

One of my greatest blessings ironically enough was being born in the States, albeit with a working-class mom. The upside is I knew that even if I wanted XYNZ, I couldn’t… Not because my mom was being mean to me or whatever, but literally, she couldn’t. For example, my mom was working two or three part-time jobs cleaning houses, waitressing, being a cashier, barely able to pay the rent with my dad stealing the rent money and going gambling to Reno in the middle of the night, not being home for about a week or so… I knew that money and resources were precarious. Therefore, if I wanted anything, I had to get a job and work for it to get it.

I think this is really the root of my success. If I wanted anything, I had to fight to get it!

Now that I am super rich and successful, the next stage becomes interesting. My son Seneca shall become the next prince and king of Los Angeles. He is already to go here in Culver City. There’s no other kid who was born in 2021 who is as tall, funny, handsome, strong, muscular, good-looking, and sociable as him. Shout out to my friends Noel, Lisa, and Ray, and especially Kevin! Everyone knows me and Seneca now here in Culver City, and I am excited to see him go through the Culver City school system before he goes off and becomes the next great entrepreneur.

Why bitcoin is the best investment right now

So I was reading Pumping Iron by this one author, and he’s writing this in 1980… Wow, that is almost 44 years ago… He talks about how Arnold Schwarzenegger purchased a $700,000 home in Santa Monica at the time, which I am certain that adjusted for inflation might’ve been close to what we imagine $10 million to be today.

Anyways, I was thinking about… If I was in a time machine in the 1980s, or specifically 1980… When Arnold Schwarzenegger was already 34 years old, I’m 36 years old right now. If that were the case, what kind of investment could you make for $700,000 at that time, that would yield a superior return from 1980 to 2024?

At the time, I think the only real investment you could’ve made was real estate, commercial real estate, maybe residential real estate. If you bought a bunch of property in Culver City, or Palos Verdes, back then knowing what we know now… You would have become a billionaire many times over. Because currently, looking at the whole market here in LA… It all sucks besides Culver City. Santa Monica used to be the best spot to be, but now it is overrun with homeless people, people high on crack, etc. Even if I was a billionaire today, I would not want to live in Santa Monica because it is super dirty, still too many homeless people, etc. Even worse, point to creatine, oh my God, all the homeless encampments, and homeless people around… And the pollution, insanely terrible.

Anyways, I think the hard thing is when it comes to investments, most people can only think by analogies, metaphors, or similarities to the past. Much more difficult to think carte blanche, first principles, because it is difficult to predict or anticipate that which has not yet happened.  Life is not like Back to the Future, in which you could predict everything with 100% perfect foresight!

But also… Even if things were like Back to the Future and even if you could predict things with 100% clarity, it might not always be a desired outcome. Why? Sometimes a problem can be that even if you get what you wish, it could positively be a bad thing.

For example, a lot of things end up becoming dangerous liabilities. For example, if you want to go to the Inglewood Public Library, or Ladera Heights or whatever… Can you pull up in a Lamborghini? You might get robbed at gunpoint, you might even die! I suppose the upside of driving a beat-up 2010 Prius is that it is the ultimate stealth car; nobody in real life knows how rich I am because I look like a poor person.

Look poor, think rich – Andy Warhol

Los Angeles becomes very interesting to me because it really is the center of the universe. Now that Apple is here, there’s really no reason to be anywhere else.

Only that, but Apple has that grand downtown LA theater store, so beautiful! Even though I am critical of a lot of things of Apple… Apple isn’t going away anytime soon, at least in the lifetime of myself or Seneca. Maybe the returns and the profits of Apple will not be as impressive in the future, much better to buy bitcoin or MicroStrategy stock instead,  but still, for the most part, Apple is the most practical strategy.

Until a competitor, whether it be OpenAI, Microsoft, Nvidia, or somebody else who makes a really, really good ChatGPT-first phone, Apple will still have the dominant market here. 

The true disruptor

After playing with a new iPhone Pro a bit, essentially my ultimate takeaway point is the only reason to have an iPhone now is because you just need something to run ChatGPT. Unfortunately at the moment, you cannot run ChatGPT without an iPhone or iPad or your laptop. And even Google Gemini sucks. I rate ChatGPT as 1 trillion times better.

And Apple Intelligence, I’ve been playing with it, and even me, the ultimate text nerd and advocate, even though I have no idea what Apple Intelligence is and how it is different from Siri? I think honestly it just seems like a rebranding of Siri, which is confusing for everybody.

Once you’re a bitcoin billionaire, then what?

When people ask me what I do, I often joke and I just say that I’m a bitcoin billionaire. But I almost say it half tongue-in-cheek, half true. I’m very certain that my bitcoin holdings will only 10x, 100x, or 1000x from here.

According to my aggressive calculations, my bitcoin should be worth at least $500B 30 years from now. It will be worth at least $1.2 billion, 15 years from now. 

Assuming that you have a perspective for the future, then how do you proceed in life?

Autotelic progressions

So the very, very basic notion is moving forward, it could all just be autotelic! Which means you just do things for the sake of it because it personally interests you, not because there is necessarily some sort of phenomenal payoff to it.

Because once again… Once you live in a world that money no longer concerns you, then what?

I’m the judge!

Pursue play & fun?

Stop buying them Ricoh, start buying those iPhone Pros!

The really really big issue here right now is supply chain issues. So this is where I am very very admiring of Tim Cook—the master of supply chain and logistics.

Problems with Ricoh, Fujifilm & these Japanese companies

So it seems the real critical issue here is supply chain issues. For example, I actually wanted to buy a new Fujifilm X100 VI, and also a new Ricoh GR III HDF… but the problem is they are all out of stock, all backordered… even if you want to buy it, you cannot.

Therefore, the critical issue here is availability. I want to buy it, I have the money for it, but I can’t buy it! Super annoying.

iPhone Pro thoughts

Looks like Apple listened to me, my idea for a “quick draw” idea… made available via the new camera control thing in the bottom right corner. It is a good idea because it makes it very very quick and easy and available to quickly quickly quickly take a picture, without delay. All those other strange touch-enabled exposure control stuff seems more like a gimmick, because it kind of looks like what a Samsung phone would do… Anyways, better than nothing. And also having it in the bottom right corner is a good idea because these damn iPhones are so big now… And also the ability to just make all of your apps sit at the bottom of your screen is an insanely great idea because most people have pretty small hands, their thumbs cannot reach all the way to the top.

NEW ERIC KIM APPLE TV+ SERIES: “Mastering the Art of Street Photography”

So I have this pitch idea for Apple TV+ (eric@erickim.com)—and the general idea is how can you use an iPhone, iPhone Pro, etc., to travel the world, be like ERIC KIM or Henri Cartier-Bresson, and make really awesome photos?

And also there would be a cool tie-in with the iPad Pro… The new M4 one… because I might be the only one I know, the only perhaps influential serious photographer on the planet who only uses an iPad Pro… I haven’t touched my laptop in about two years.

---

Learn on

To read some more in-depth thoughts on this subscribe to my podcast on Apple podcast here

More podcast stuff here. 

Also you could subscribe to me for free on Spotify here.

---

Full post

Also audio vlog > 

Learn more here.

---

Why is this such a big deal? 

I suppose this is a big deal because iPhone 16 Pro I think is finally probably good enough to replace the RICOH GR? 

Granted the truth is in terms of image quality and workflow… The Ricoh GR III, Ricoh GR IIIx, now the HDF’s… aesthetically probably look way better, but maybe from a innovation perspective it makes more sense for us to just burn the ships behind us, and buy some thing which has an interesting double dipping ability – AI, ChatGPT as well as photography?

Still artistic photography is the future

I really thought that the iPhone commercial with the weekend was very lame.  Apple is taking the wrong direction here… Come on… Your mom is going to have zero inspiration or motivation to use the iPhone pro to shoot a commercial or to shoot cinema. Apple going to whole cinematic route with iPhone is a very bad idea. A better strategy is instead… To focus on the still photography aspect. 

For example it looks like the new update on the photo styles is actually a super smart idea. No more needing to use loser Instagram or third-party apps — and actually… When are the things which inspired me to purchase some Apple stock at least with my Roth Ira accounts ,,,was the new iOS 18 is insanely great! And hats off to the apples photos team… It looks like what Apple is trying to do here is trying to cut out Instagram from the equation… And do the more smart strategy of making Apple photos look like it’s on social media platform?

I don’t think Instagram Facebook Metais a sustainable model. Sooner or later people are going to get sick of the ads, and want to bail and jump ship. I also think the same thing will happen with Google… There’s going to be a point where everything is this going to ChatGPT everything or searchgpt everything — no more lower click bait Google and YouTube videos — nobody likes ads! Especially kids, they hate ads!

Also a funny thought… Most google employees I know… Or IT tech workers, almost all universally have ad blockers on all of their devices. And almost all of them pirate stuff on VPNs and pirate bay etc. So it is a little bit ironic that Google is trying to crack down on AdBlockers now. My better suggestion is just try to make the YouTube premium app so so good on iPhone and Google devices… That you will actually make people happy to pay the $10 a month or whatever for YouTube premium! And also googles idea to monetize the pro version of Gemini AI is good idea. 

I think about Google will certainly find very very soon, I think she already knows… Is advertising on the Internet is not a sustainable business model. Rather I think subscriptions and to pay for things is the way forward!

---

Just buy it then return it?

Maybe the good idea is just buy the new iPhone Pro and return it if you don’t like it ,,,? And just test it out?

OWN YOUR CONTENT

If you live long enough, you’re going to wish you didn’t sell the rights to your content to some third-party.

Same to owning your own platform!

Create for 30 years from now!

PHOTOGRAPHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP 101: How to Become a Photography Entrepreneur >

---

Create your future!

“I bought every V12 engine, wish I could take it back to the beginning” – JAY Z

Also–

Subscribe to the $20 a month ChatGPT pro,,, and experiment with the new ChatGPT o1 preview — your mind will be blown!

AI ALL THE WAY!

ERIC

---

More AI thoughts here:

erickim.ai

---

Forward the turbo!

EK NEWS SUPPLY >

Also whenever in doubt,

START HERE >

---

Street photography isn’t just about capturing candid moments—it’s a philosophical journey that mirrors the complexities of life itself. As a philosopher with a camera, I’ve come to realize that conquering charisma in street photography is about more than technical skill; it’s about embracing a mindset that transcends the ordinary.

Embrace Existential Presence

To capture the essence of the streets, you must first be fully present. This echoes the existentialist belief that existence precedes essence. In the hustle of urban life, moments are fleeting. Being present allows you to seize these ephemeral instances that reveal deeper truths about humanity.

Actionable Insight: Practice mindfulness as you walk. Feel the ground beneath your feet, listen to the symphony of city sounds, and let your intuition guide your lens.

Overcome Fear Through Stoicism

Fear is the mind’s way of holding us back from potential greatness. Stoic philosophy teaches us to differentiate between what’s within our control and what’s not. You can’t control how people react to your camera, but you can control your intentions and actions.

Actionable Insight: Accept that discomfort is part of the process. Each time you confront your fear, you diminish its power over you.

Seek the Universal in the Particular

Hegel spoke of the universal manifesting in the particular. In street photography, a single image can reflect broader social truths. A solitary figure on a bench may symbolize isolation in modern society; a crowded marketplace might capture the chaos of urban life.

Actionable Insight: Look for scenes that resonate on multiple levels. Ask yourself what universal themes are present in the moments you capture.

Practice Minimalism

In a world overloaded with material possessions and digital noise, minimalism offers clarity. By simplifying your gear and focusing on the essentials, you free your mind to concentrate on creative expression.

Actionable Insight: Limit yourself to one camera and one lens. This constraint fosters creativity and forces you to see the world differently.

Cultivate Empathy

Empathy is the bridge that connects you to your subjects. It’s about understanding and sharing the feelings of another, a concept deeply rooted in phenomenology.

Actionable Insight: Before pressing the shutter, take a moment to connect emotionally with your subject. This connection will translate into more impactful images.

Reflect on the Impermanence of Life

Buddhist philosophy reminds us of the transient nature of existence. Street photography captures moments that will never occur again in precisely the same way. Embracing this impermanence adds depth to your work.

Actionable Insight: Let each photograph serve as a meditation on time’s fleeting passage. This perspective enriches your appreciation for each moment you capture.

Develop Your Authentic Vision

Nietzsche urged us to “become who we are.” In street photography, this means developing a style that is authentically yours, free from external influences and trends.

Actionable Insight: Spend time analyzing your work to identify patterns and preferences. Cultivate these elements to develop a signature style.

Engage in Continuous Learning

Socratic wisdom emphasizes the importance of acknowledging our own ignorance. The streets are ever-changing, and there’s always something new to learn or a perspective to explore.

Actionable Insight: Read widely—not just photography books but philosophy, literature, and art. Broadening your knowledge base will enrich your photographic vision.

Radiate Positive Energy

The energy you bring to the streets influences your interactions and, consequently, your photographs. A positive demeanor can open doors and create opportunities.

Actionable Insight: Approach each day with gratitude and enthusiasm. Your positive outlook will reflect in your work and attract charismatic moments.

Final Thoughts

Conquering charisma in street photography is a philosophical endeavor. It’s about delving deep into the human condition, confronting your fears, and expressing your authentic self through your images. By integrating philosophical principles into your practice, you not only enhance your photography but also embark on a journey of personal growth.

So grab your camera and step into the world with open eyes and an open mind. Let the philosophies of presence, courage, empathy, and authenticity guide you. The streets are rich with stories waiting to be told, and through your lens, you have the power to reveal the profound within the mundane.

Don’t just take photos—philosophize with your camera. The world is your canvas, and your vision adds meaning to the moments you capture.

Make a new iPhone, or create the iOS in it which encourages you to spend less time on it!

What Do You Really Care For?

The best way to live your life and carry it out is to do only what you care for, and to not do anything you don’t care for. This is the whole notion of care and curate… coeur; heart.

Maybe then the whole notion of following your heart is actually good advice!

---

There is no such thing as “planned obsolescence”

So one idea that these fake woke “thinkers“ like to push is this nonsensical idea of “planned obsolescence.” The basic idea is that Apple is some sort of ultra-evil corporation that tries to get you addicted to their iPhone devices, like nicotine or cigarettes, and intentionally stunts the performance of older devices, strong-arming you into upgrading your device because they intentionally slow down the older ones.

The reason why this is such a fallacy, a poor line of thinking, is that these skinny-fat losers who write about this are really just old, fat, with facial hair, no children… Maybe they have a dog. They want to come up with these supposedly high-concept intelligentsia thoughts, all critical of technology, while they’re jerking off to the nearest Apple rumor and fantasizing about the new iPhone Pro.

The truth of the matter is, there’s no such thing as planned obsolescence. Rather, Apple has an interesting strategy—her team of ragtag innovators are always striving to make the best iOS possible. Why? There’s a little bit of skin in the game… My theory is that Apple made the whole new focus feature because they themselves are addicted to their iPhones and have a vested interest in making a new generation of iPhone or iOS that makes them less distracted and less miserable in their everyday lives.

The next big innovation?

Also… unfortunately, it looks like 90% of modern-day work is just answering and sending emails for a living. As a consequence, it seems that Apple is trying to build out Apple Intelligence to make email less dreadful and less hateful.

In fact, I think there is still so much innovation that could be done in email. My personal vision is that your ChatGPT AI bot can simply do something very, very amazing… answer all of your emails for you without asking any questions. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

In fact, I see this as at least a $500 million opportunity… Eliminating email from people’s lives seems like the killer idea!

---

Sustain

Another thing that is super annoying to me is all these skinny-fat vegan losers talking about sustainability and the environment, etc. I think what is actually much more interesting is to think about and consider things that are sustainable in a more practical and pragmatic sense.

For example, sustainability should not be seen as this virtue-signaling thing. Instead, sustainability should be considered more from a perspective of pragmatism and practicality.

For example, vehicles. From a personal pragmatic perspective… the most sustainable option is actually driving a Prius. Ideally, just buying a used older Prius—the 2010 version is lit. Real men with big penises drive Priuses, only skinny-fat losers drive Porsches or Teslas.

One of the great things about modular designs, like in a Prius, is that if your engine goes kaput, you can just swap out the engine! Prius engines are a dime a dozen… In theory, you should be able to drive a Prius until you die.

Also, the virtues of driving a Prius are longevity, durability, and it’s for the ultra-hardcore. Not only that… it is the ultimate stealth car. The funny thought is, if you had to rob a bank in Los Angeles, what would be the ideal getaway car? A white Prius! Can you imagine the CHP or LAPD saying, “What car did the guy get away in?” and someone replies, “A white unmarked Prius!” Haha!

Anyways, when MPG is so clutch… When you have to pick up your wife in the middle of the night and you don’t remember if you filled the gas tank or not. But the great thing about living in Los Angeles is that you’ll never drive more than 5 miles a day. Five miles in LA traffic is still about 30 minutes. Therefore, it’s a virtue—you only have to fill up your tank once a month, for maybe about 30 bucks. I think this is almost similar to the price of a Tesla supercharger, which is maybe $10 to recharge your full battery?

And also, the virtue of driving a Prius is that because it’s an old, proven line, it won’t get outdated at all. The problem with any sort of Tesla is that you know that within 10 years, there will be a major redesign or refresh. Even now… I’m pretty sure a major redesign for the Tesla Model S, Y, and X is incoming—just like the new Tesla Model 3… 1 trillion times cooler than the previous generation. I feel bad for all those suckers who bought the older version. Even at the Culver City Toyota dealership, I see all these people who traded in their old Tesla Model 3 Performance just one or two years ago… I assume they bought the new version.

How people are foolish with money

One thing I’ve discovered is that a lot of people, or most people… didn’t grow up poor. Now that I am essentially in elite circles, now that Cindy is a professor and in scholarly circles, and everyone I know is a successful entrepreneur or Apple employee, most people came from money. Most of their parents have PhDs or doctorates, are doctors, etc. Even this one guy I met who is very successful, Justin Atlan—apparently his family has been in Los Angeles for three or four generations? He came from pretty modest beginnings, but he still grew up in the Palisades, which is considered a very elite neighborhood in Los Angeles. Certainly, if you grew up in the Palisades, Malibu, etc.… your family is not dirt poor.

Came from the mud

First to put the hood on a jet! First to put the hood on molly – Future the rapper

The reason why fake rappers like Drake will never get my respect is because they did not come from the hood, the bottom, or the mud. I think Drake is insanely talented and great, but he lacks authenticity. And it seems that the future is going to be all about authenticity. Even if you’re a bad person, immoral, dishonest, etc.

Why ERIC KIM?

I think the reason why I like and trust myself so much is that you cannot fake yourself… You know with 100% precision all the details of your life, etc.… Whereas when it comes to other people… you never know what skeletons they have in their closet.

And also… the critical issue here is that a lot of people, when you never meet them in the flesh, face-to-face, mano a mano, they just become figments of your imagination, and they become more metaphors than real-life individuals.

For example, I love Kanye West to death, but my problem and critique is he is a short guy. I think he might really be 5’6″ because personalities and famous people always overexaggerate their height by an inch or two. I think Kanye self-reports as being 5’7″ or 5’8″, but this is probably not the case. And I think Kim Kardashian is only 5 feet tall? She’s kind of a midget with big breasts and a big butt.

And now that I’ve been spending so much time outside, outdoors, walking around, etc.… the interesting thing is that we human beings actually have a very good height perception. You can spot people from half a block away and quickly gauge how tall they are, or how small and short they are. And I think ultimately, this is why guys like supermodels… they are all super tall, which is one of the highest markers or indicators of beauty. If you see a 5’11 or 6′ tall model in the flesh, it is actually really shocking. Their height adds to their beauty and mystique. The same thing goes with meeting really tall, handsome guys—they are almost like a different species. Let us note that the average man in America might only be 5’6″ tall, and the average woman might only be 5’2″?

I’ve met a lot of successful people, a lot of really successful men who work at Apple and stuff… and they are really small, almost looking like middle schoolers, like 5’5″ or 5’4″.

And the reason people hate me so much is because I’m tall, handsome, and good-looking. I think guys also hate me because I am such an insanely confident, charismatic person, who also happens to be Asian, Asian American, Korean American…

And now at the age of 36… this is the most jacked, handsome, and dominant I have been in my life. I can easily say I’m the most attractive man in Culver City right now. Maybe in all of LA?

In fact, if Marvel comes out with a new superhero movie and they need to cast an Asian guy, maybe they should just cast Eric Kim, eric@erickim.com—holla at ya boy.

---

Why does this matter?

We are all trying to chase the same things, but in different ways, using different strategies, etc. We all want the beautiful babes, we all want recognition and authenticity, we all want acknowledgment. We all want to feel valued, whether man, woman, or dog.

---

Why is luxury coffee not yet a thing?

---

If Steve Jobs were still alive today… What would he think of Apple?

OK… because I am the second Steve Jobs, the next Steve Jobs in the flesh… If Steve Jobs were 36 years old and alive today… this is what he would think of Apple, and this is what he would say:

First, he would call the new devices a piece of shit, and say they fucking suck. He would critique the design, the devices, Apple TV, everything.

Make the iPhone great again

The problem with Apple now is there’s too much fragmentation. Apple is trying to be everything, everywhere at once. But as we learn from Alexander the Great… to overextend yourself will always be a bad plan for an empire. The empires that are best and last are the ones that stay situated in one very critical spot and dominate that one small industry, rather than trying to become the Walmart of everything.

For example… the number one thing Apple needs to do is really make the iPhone desirable again. The new iPhone is lackluster. Nobody cares, nobody wants it, nobody even knows it exists. This is bad… I doubt you’ll be seeing lines outside the Apple store anytime soon.

The true critical innovation

Suggestion to Apple… ironically, you want to take a via negativa approach… Introduce a new iPhone that actually encourages you to spend less time on it.

Does it matter if you predict the future? It seems that the holy grail is that we desire to predict the future for the sake of some sort of financial gain. For example, I recall the time in which I was watching Back to the Future, and Marty McFly goes back to the past to predict the future and become super rich. But for the sake of what?

What if you could be 100% right?

So it seems that to some extent… We can easily predict the future. There are certain straightforward macro trends, which seem pretty obvious to me.

For example… It seems that post Covid… Everything is different. Everything is brand new, everything is a totally brave New World.

The other day I was watching a bit of an interview with Mark Beinoff, the CEO and founder of salesforce with the founder and CEO of Nvidia.  it was really funny, obviously now with the valuation of $2 trillion, Nvidia is the big dick in the room. 

Jensen Huang

Anthony, the new big AI dick in the room. It’s really funny when I was watching that interview conversation between him and Mark… Obviously Jensen is way smaller and shorter than Mark, and also appears to be older. But Mark is really really big tall and very very fat… Like I was shocked, Mark wearing all black, like a satin sparkly shirt, HUUUGE beer belly.  as a random aside, pretty bad but I guess I am a very judgmental person, seeing Mark so fat, and so out of shape… Makes me see him as less, because if you’re that rich and successful and powerful, and you’re that fat, and out of shape… It  might be a sign of moral degeneracy.

Anyways in the conversation, Jensen looks super gangsta, so full of pride and strength and vigor.  And also… You could see that Jensen was the new big dick in the room. Despite his smaller statue in size, and also his age… Jensen is now 61 years old, but he says he’s just getting started, he is still young.

Anyways, one thing that is interesting to me about Nvidia is how they have been around since I was a kid. I still remember when I was playing kind of 1.6, building my own computers, the goal was to have the top-of-the-line GeForce graphics card, I remember my rich friend Justin Wong,  he had it… And he was able to max out his frame rates, whereas I, with my hand built my own computer… I had a lower end graphics card a lower and GeForce, I was not able to squeeze out as many FPS as you did. And the thing that was actually very very unfair when it came to video games was he who had more frame rates, actually had a real tactical advantage. If you had faster frame rates, you could play better, because having a small edge in terms of a faster frame rate allow you to react quicker, and be able to spot the counter parties quicker, not be subjected to lag, in order to be more lethal. 

Real advantages vs fake advantages? 

It seems in today’s world, everyone is always trying to seek an edge. We want a little bit better information more information quicker information etc., in order to predict the future.

Why? The general idea is that if you could predict the future, then, you could make a lot of money.

What am I? 

For example, there are a lot of different categories you could  classify yourself as… Trader, day trader,  investor, speculator, etc. and some new terminology I got from Michael Saylor,  like Maxi, double maxi, triple maxi — maxi meaning Maximalist. 

For a while, when people ask me what I did… I would just say bitcoin and cryptocurrency speculator.  I like to use the notion speculator because everyone sees bitcoin and cryptocurrency with a suspicious eye… And by saying that I was a speculator, it was made more legible to the average person because it’s signal to them that in fact even I was skeptical of the whole thing, speculative, but at least the difference was I was 100% invested in bitcoin, all in, balls to the wall.

Also, I put some traditional money into microstrategy, – which has fortunately gone up since I bought it! And so now, maybe I just think of myself like a money manager, because I am managing the money and finances of the family, my money, Cindy‘s money, our own personal family war chest, and also my mom‘s money. Cindy is 100% full-time focused on her scholarship and academia, and because I have the privilege of being self-employed, my new focus in my current focus is towards money management and growth. Maybe I should think of myself like my own hedge fund manager, ERIC KIM hedge, ERIC KIM hedge fund.

Investing strategies 

Currently the two and only sexy companies on the traditional markets include microstrategy and nvidia. Michael Saylor is great, I’ve literally watched hundreds of hours of interviews with him, the more I watch him and learn from him the more I like him.

Jensen Huang is also very intelligent… also, he’s been in the game for over 30 years, he’s legit. 

But besides this, besides micro strategy and Nvidia… All the other ones suck. We accidentally had some Apple stock in our portfolio and I immediately sold it. I also sold Google. 

Problems:

1. Are you certain that the iPhone 55 Pro will be any good? Probably not. I like the new iOS, but still… It’s starting to become more and more weird like kind of a water down android. And also the new iPhone just came out the new iPhone Pro, and nobody wants it. Bad news.
2. Google is just moving sideways, I think it’s good that Sundar is all in for AI, but I think the big issue is that Google is dealing with a huge problem about information, notably the veracity of information. I am still shocked… Gmail with all the advanced AI features, why does Gmail still not know or why can it still not spot a Nigerian scammer? Shouldn’t be able to intelligently filter out Nigerian scammers from a random Gmail account asking you for money?

The future?

For a minute, with my Roth IRA,  I went all in on Tesla. But more recently I sold all of it and just bought micro strategy instead. Why?

This issue with Tesla, is it is still too dependent on physics. You have to deal with the physics of producing batteries cars and factories, and shipping them to customers. And also, the laws of physics are brutal… Even though cyber truck is the best thing invented of all time, This issue was there so many physics issues at play.

First, physics is very hard. To create a new process in which you are called rolling steel… I don’t think people understand or appreciate how difficult this is in terms of material sciences. And to produce cyber trucks fast enough, even if you injected Tesla with another hundred trillion dollars, the progress would be slow. Why? It is just very hard! And you have to create new robots and infrastructure and supply chains to make it possible. Just think, do you remember during Covid when it was so difficult to get weightlifting equipment? Imagine like that but on steroids.


---

Never buy a home

What if you were in a position in which you never desired to own a home? To buy a home or manage it?

Funny in the Iliad, … when Achilles is taunting Aenaes, he mentioned the issue that even if Aenaes kills Achilles, and is granted all of this wealth in terms of house home property… That Aenaes would not be able to even manage it. Even if he won it.

I cannot fix the hinge

Another super insanely annoying thing at my apartment which is super super nice, the issue is that beneath our kitchen sink, in which we store our instant pot, the hook latch hinge thing has broken off a bit, so every time I close it, I have to force wedge it up, to just close it. And it is so insanely annoying to me, every single time I do it. I have tried to fix it several times, but have given up in vain. Maybe I should just get rid of the covering, but then again that is ugly.

So a thought and a reminder to myself,… if it has been almost a year and have not been able to fix this super tiny hinge in my apartment, it is probably a signal that I am not fit for home management. Even the other day, walking by this new Orama minimal frames business,  and seeing this really really nice picture of this super nice home, overlooking a cliff or whatever in all glass, with these huge floors, I thought to myself:

Who is going to vacuum this?

Probably the best recent investment Cindy and I made was buying a brand new Dyson vacuum, for about 500 bucks, which actually has an on and off button, and this hardwood floor attachment thing which has this laser green LED light, which helps me spot dust on our hardwood bamboo floors, which makes it very easy to clean up!

And every single day, I vacuum the floors of our entire apartment, which is actually pretty modest in size,  and still… I am shocked that every single day, just literally in 24 hours, so much dust can settle on the floors? And I was thinking… Assuming that I do all the labor myself, just cleaning the floors, vacuuming the floors is so difficult for just a two bedroom one bath apartment, I cannot imagine the nightmare of having to managing clean a huge home or property? alone if you’re washer and dryer breaks, figure out how to deal with that and annoying day laborers and day contractors? 

#rentforever squad

What does assume that you are Elon Musk, actually, you would probably not want to own any property to yourself, because you’re too busy building rocket ships and going to Mars, you don’t want to deal with the annoyance of having to just maintain your property.

Well a lot of fools don’t understand is they say, oh “if you’re super rich, then you could just have maids and house managers do all the dirty work for you“. But actually, this is not true. The prime issue here is that even if you have a home manager and a house cleaner… Do you still need to manage your manager! And this is more labor and annoyance for you.

Even spending some time living in Vietnam and Cambodia, actually, the funny truth is to just clean your place yourself is actually far easier than having someone else do it for you. Why? The big issue here is that you’re essentially sitting on your butt twiddling your thumbs  until the day that your cleaner finally comes in. And not only that, the annoyance is that you have to evacuate and vacate your premises while they are cleaning, not to get in your way. That is super annoying because it adds a little bit more friction and complication to your life, having to just plan your life around your cleaner.

When we are living in Hanoi and we had Trang, who was essentially almost a live-in cleaner, who did all of her laundry and folded it for us, and even washed the dishes, the annoyance was she insisted that we didn’t do the dishes, and that she would do it for us, but after we would cook and the dishes were just to lie all greasy in the sink, I just thought to myself “this is unsightly, I would just prefer to clean it up myself!”

Anyways, the simplest life is best. The great virtues and simplicity of just renting a modestly sized apartment, and just cleaning yourself. 

---

More luxury, more headaches

True luxury should be simplicity. Not more labor! 

Don’t Hate Me Because My Physique is So Superior to Yours
By Eric Kim

Let’s get something straight right off the bat: my physique is objectively superior. Don’t be offended, and certainly don’t mistake this as arrogance. It’s just a matter of fact. We live in a world that celebrates mediocrity and finds ways to comfort those who fall short, but there is no need to sugarcoat reality. I’m here to offer you a glimpse of what it means to strive for physical excellence, unburdened by the fear of being too exceptional.

Growing up, I didn’t wake up one day and discover I had a superior body. It’s not like I was born as a Greek god, sculpted from marble by the hands of destiny. No, this physique is a product of relentless discipline, obsession with detail, and, most importantly, a mindset that refuses to settle for anything less than greatness.

You see, in our society, people have become all too comfortable with the idea that “everyone’s different,” as if that somehow erases the gap between those who are elite and those who are merely average. People shy away from competition, hide behind excuses, and tell themselves that “strength isn’t everything.” It’s amusing to me because these same people will turn around and obsess over superficial achievements like having the latest tech or driving the most expensive car, while ignoring the vessel that carries them through life—their own body.

What’s at the root of this discomfort, this quiet resentment? It’s simple: envy. Envy masked as disdain, sometimes even cloaked in pseudo-virtue. “You’re too obsessed with your body,” they’ll say. “Don’t you have better things to do than spend hours in the gym?” These are the same people who’ll rationalize their sedentary lives by calling fitness a vain pursuit, as if working to better oneself physically is some kind of moral failing.

But let’s not fool ourselves. At the core, they wish they had the same dedication, the same results, the same physique. It’s a classic case of sour grapes. If they can’t have it, then it must not be worth having. And if you have it? Well, then you must be the problem.

What they don’t understand is that physical excellence is not just about aesthetics, though I won’t pretend that’s not part of the equation. It’s about the discipline and mental clarity that comes from honing your body into a finely tuned instrument. It’s about the confidence that comes from knowing you’ve pushed past every limit society imposes. There’s something deeply spiritual about the pursuit of perfection in the physical realm. When your body is in peak form, everything else aligns—the mind sharpens, your goals become clearer, and you navigate the world with a sense of purpose.

Look, I get it. It’s easier to dismiss those of us who prioritize fitness and health as shallow or self-absorbed than to confront the truth that you could be doing better. But to hate someone for being better at something is simply counterproductive. My physique didn’t come from some magical gift bestowed upon me; it came from years of commitment, sweat, sacrifice, and, frankly, a refusal to live at anything less than my best.

And here’s the thing: I’m not asking you to hate yourself for not having what I have. But I am asking you to stop hating those of us who do. Use that envy, that discomfort, as fuel. Don’t resent the reflection of what you could be. Instead, let it inspire you to step up and improve your own physical self.

The truth is, there’s enough room at the top for everyone. But the climb is steep, and not everyone is willing to make the ascent. So, the next time you find yourself feeling bitter or dismissive of someone who has achieved physical superiority, ask yourself why. Is it because they are vain? Or is it because they’ve unlocked a level of discipline, strength, and resilience that you haven’t yet dared to reach?

So no, don’t hate me because my physique is superior to yours. Instead, join me. Compete with me. Challenge yourself to be the best version of yourself. Because, in the end, there’s nothing stopping you from achieving greatness but your own mindset.