Digital goods, digital products

–> proof of work digital goods which cannot be replicated?

There is currently a idea of NFTs, which stands for non-fungible tokens. The idea is creating a digital artwork or digital product which can be sold, in which an individual can prove their own ownership.

I suppose my thought, in regards to bitcoin, which isn’t entirely fascinating is that it is truly the first digital money. That cannot be replicated, you cannot fake it, because the proof of work network is so energy intensive, you cannot make something out of nothing.

I suppose the reason why proof of work is so critical here, and what a lot of these foolish pseudo environmentalist don’t understand is that if something doesn’t require energy to produce, whether human labor, material production, etc.… Then, it has no value.

For example, being born in 1988, and witnessing all of this digital rights stuff, protections against digital copying, as well as anti-digital piracy. 

As a kid, growing up, obviously I have no money, because I don’t work yet… The logic never seemed to make sense to me: 

if I download this video game book or movie or album which is digital… I don’t do any harm unto you.

But then the owner or the publisher or the business might say

“Well… It cost me a ton of money for me to produce this thing, and you are a morally evil and bad person because you are stealing this, because you might have paid $20 for this CD, if you did not pirate it.”

But the logic doesn’t make sense for a kid, because if you are a kid, there is no option to; because you don’t have any money, you wouldn’t have purchased it in the first place anyways! I suppose it is different as an adult once you got money… But still, I think for anybody who is in tech, IT, obviously we all have taunting software, we all know pirate bay, we all know how to turn on the VPN and cover our tracks, and download stuff etc.

I think even at this point in 2024… Truth be told pirates something is actually more cumbersome. It takes more time, you are at the risk of viruses and cyber attacks etc.… But I suppose the great convenience here you have access to the direct files.

For example, I have no problem paying $10 or $20 or whatever for you, Kendrick Lamar album, Jay Z album whatever, however, my primary annoyance is that let us say that I pay $10 on the iTunes Store or Apple Music to buy a new CD. But, I can only access it on my Apple iOS device! What if I want the files directly, to remix them, chop it up in GarageBand, or just use it as background audio for my photography slideshows? Then I am stuck. 

Selling digital products

I suppose hear the issue is, you could still sell digital products, whether they be digital e-books, digital PDF files, digital zip files, digital music files, whatever. But still, the only reason people actually pay money to purchase these digital products online is because they either believe and desire to support the creator, or they want access to it, or they cannot easily google and find it free online.

So I suppose, the real question here is how can we create a digital good? In which when you purchase a digital something, it actually does really have value? That you cannot replicated, not out of an ethical thing, but a physics based approach? 

For example, with digital products, is it possible to solve the double spending problem?

This is the primary phenomenal innovation of bitcoin; you cannot copy of bitcoin or replicated, like you can do as an MP3 file of Beethoven’s fifth Symphony. Or an e-book,.pub file, or PDF file of the Iliad. 

I think this is why I believe in open source so much; because it seems like the ethical, rational thing to do. My philosophy has always been simple:

Do unto to others as you would like others to do onto you.

For example I like free stuff, free files, free videos, and I hate these goddamn advertisements, is annoying banner pop-up ads, and I hate having to subscribe for some sort of email newsletter in order to download something I want access to.

Therefore as a result, in all of my personal endeavors, I try to make it as easy and direct for people to access my videos, photos, files, e-books whatever with direct links either or directly from my own website blog server, Google Drive links, dropbox links etc.

Once again, how can we create a new digital good on the Internet? Which can either be purchased with US dollars, or satoshis or bitcoin?

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Books

I’ll give you a good example with books; a book is a physical object, something you could hold in your hand. I cannot snap my fingers and then magically duplicate it into a thousand more books. 

I think the reason why books, printed books have value because we know that there was work and energy and labor and materials necessary to produce the thing: the physical pages, the ink, the binding, the packaging, the genius of the writer and illustrator, etc. And also we humans we still have a passion for tangible things; I think most people would prefer owning a physical book in hardcover for drama put it on their shelf, and think that it has value, rather than paying $30 for an e-book of the same sort.

Why ebooks

With ebooks electric book, maybe we should just call them digital books…  The reason why nobody likes to pay that much money for it because we are not stupid. We know that of course, it cost money and effort and time and energy for the writer to write the book, get it edited, proofread, distributed whatever… But we know that the marginal cost of having it downloaded, is practically zero. Therefore the rational human being would think to themselves: I know that it cost effort in time for the author to write the book, but if I download it as an e-book, it should be cheaper than the hardcover.

For example, let us say I want to purchase a new translation of the Iliad, for $30.  but let us say that I started reading it, and I hate how heavy and cumbersome it is.

Then let us say that I just want to buy it in the iBooks store, if that is the case… I expect it to cost less than $30, because I know that I don’t have to purchase the materials for the hardcover book. I might expect it to cost like $10, $9.99 or whatever.

Fiat money is a scam?

Currently the biggest issue we have is what the US dollar, essentially the Fed can just keep printing more of it! Then in someways, this is not too different than somebody pirating MP3 files for your favorite artist. They can keep inflating the digital supply of something, there is no hard cap.

I suppose the reason why the notion of cap is critical here is that it obeys the laws of physics! For example once again, if I have a physical book, there is a law of conservation of energy, I cannot snap my fingers and reproduce it with zero cost. Of course I could use energy and resources to print and publish more books, but once again, Hard caps, gravity, friction, the law of conservation of energy applies.

Think Bitcoin

If you believe in physics, first principles, and you are not a fool, bitcoin is for you! Why? Even Fernandinho Galliani in his treatise “On Money” said that true money has a hard cap, a limited supply. He talks about why gold is money, because of its scarcity.  however, he also knew that if you increase the supply of something, like when the conquistadors discovered tons and tons of gold in the New World, then he realized that the value of gold then plummets.

Because bitcoin has a hard cap of 21 million coins, and none will ever be produced ever again, for the next hundred thousand years, what that means then is  it is finally, the first scarce desirable good commodity or thing on the planet or the universe.

Once again, the reason why is so valued is because most people think of it as scarce, which is true, but it is not a true scarcity in so far much as they are still mining gold today, and still discovery new gold mines across the planet, Gold mines we did not know existed in the past!

So in theory, if you put 1 million workers to work, and employed thousands of geologist, and then let’s say you magically said that 1 ounce of gold was worth now $1 million, certainly we would discover more gold and produce more gold! But also consequently, when we discover more gold and we put it on the market, then the value of gold will plummet.

Karl Menger on monopolies

What Carl Manger says in his book the principles of economics, a section that is very very fascinating, a short section is on monopolies. Even then, he knew that there were certain industries that created artificial monopolies, by creating things into an artificial scarcity, for example diamond producers, and restricting the ability or the supply of Diamonds to enter the market, artificially.

Also in luxury goods, one of my good friend Stephanie who worked in the luxury goods market, also told me that a lot of these luxury fashion houses, when they produce too much of a luxury bag, throw it in the furnace and destroy it. Why? If you have too much real Louis Vuitton and Gucci bags on the market, it will become less valuable. Therefore it becomes more profitable to just take the unsold goods, and just incinerate it in a furnace! 

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So what now?

Just some general thoughts on life:

First, I am so insanely grateful for all of my world travels, my world campaigning, all of my accomplishments or whatever. Yet, the accomplish of begetting Seneca is 1 million fold more than any other thing I have achieved or accomplished in my life.

Certainly the work in the labor of actually carrying the baby, and birthing the baby, and breast-feeding the baby and your child is all on the woman. So then what is the role of the man? To create structures in which your partner or wife desires to beget a child with you.

In praise of kids

A lot of these ridiculous things like desiring to purchase a Lamborghini, a Porsche, a Porsche 911, a Porsche 911 GT three RS, a Bugatti or whatever… I think these tend to be fantasies or pipe dreams for people who are childless, don’t have a kid yet, or have no intentions on having kids. 

The walking dead

Now, when I see people and I meet people who are childless, and have no intention on having kids, to me they are like the walking dead.

Then, the whole impetus of their life is towards hedonism; maximization of sensory pleasures whether it be visual — such as traveling to Japan and seeing all the cool stuff, or like eating good food, omakase sushi in Japan, indulging themselves in art, travel, exploration, creating art and ideas, writing books, being “cultural”– or maybe backpacking with their dog or whatever… These people had zero interest to me. Why? They are the walking dead. They shall die and they shall have no living legacy.

Hedonism and kids?

Technically, the ultimate hedonic pleasure you can gain is actually from your kids! Your kid is the most wonderful, evolving growing, entertaining beautiful joyful thing!

For example, almost every single day, Seneca at the age of three years and four months, I am starting to see his language acquisition skills excel rate at a phenomenal rate! And I am so insanely proud because I see the things that I have taught him, and it sticks!

For example, my deep pride and joy that ever since he was born, only spoke to him in Korean, and now, he speaks almost 90% Korean fluently!

Also, when I look at his shape physique and form, the buff kid of all time, I am so insanely proud of him because he is also, the most physically dominant, tall handsome strong intelligent kid of all time.

I am also so proud because whenever I meet other parents, parents or teachers who work with kids, and they honestly remark that Seneca is tall, I feel so insanely proud! People telling me that I am such a great dad, doing a good job parenting, deep sense of joy.

Also, contrary to popular knowledge, having a child actually makes you more adventurous! For example, ever since Seneca was born, and now that he is getting older, I am being exposed to so many new wonderful activities and things, things I wouldn’t have never partook in before he was born! For example, exploring all these awesome science centers, becoming a kid again! Also, rediscovering the Lego Batman movie, other joyful things etc.

So actually the irony is if you want to maximize your hedonism in life, your happiness your joy your fun, don’t get the stupid dog, have a kid instead! 

Keanu Reeves needs to have a kid

For example, there’s also this weird bias that it is cool, more macho, more manly and masculine to be a forever bachelor. No. Only degenerates think this way.

once again, think king Leonidas and his son; have at least one male heir to continue your legacy. 

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The digital transformation of everything

So random thing is Seneca and I have been on Los Angeles Public library tour, hitting up all the local libraries, all these great free community events etc.

Something Seneca has been really into lately, is finding and discovering DVDs, especially the LEGO movie, and the LEGO Batman movie, which I find is so insanely funny and great, we need a little bit more humor in our lives. 

In fact, maybe the reason why the Lego Batman movie is so genius is that it is insanely fun, playful, irreverent,  humorous, self-referential, and actually feels more realistic ironically enough?

Anyways, some new thoughts on films; don’t watch any movies that you otherwise wouldn’t be happy with your kid, and also… Maybe in fact the best movies are kids movies?

And also; maybe the best films the only the good ones are the humorous ones, the comedic ones!

For example, why hasn’t a film like Zoolander come out recently? I still remember the notion of “Fragile” (Fra-geee-lleh) or on the Simpsons — “Boo-Uurns!”.

My critique about two days mostly hyper emotional emo world is that there is no more humor. Everything needs to be dark, Marose, emo, self-flagellation.

In fact, what is the main problem of Genzie, millennials, everyone in this generation? The young youth?

The issue is that everything is hyper; hyper sensationalized, hyper media. 

My simple tip for us incoming parents — some hard rules:

1. Never ever ever ever ever kid an iPhone or a smart phone. If you need to track them or call them or whatever… Just give them one of those Apple AirTags and attach it to them, or just buy them a phone. Yes you could just buy the phone on Amazon supercheap, and tossing in a Sim card. in fact I would even say the best dumb phone is the only one that could make phone calls only, no LCD screen. I find texting to be one of the most ineffective ways of human communication, and also hugely depersonalizing.
2. No electronics inside the home: I have a new rule with Seneca, if he wants to play games on the iPad, whether it be poly bridge, racing games (GRID AUTOSPORT, the paid one), pocket city, roller coaster tycoon classic, etc — I just tell him that he is only allowed to play it outside! So I toss the iPad in the backpack, we go on a walk, we go to some sort of social public space, and then I let him play there, and typically the funny thing is by the time we get to the public outside space… He doesn’t want to play the game, and instead he’ll just run around instead!
3. Maybe with movies films media etc. also, only let them watch it outdoors? Like if they want to watch a movie, have them only watch it at the local nature center or park, also funny thing; maybe the future will be more analog, this will be our new privilege. For example, Buy a USB-C DVD player for your MacBook laptop, as we don’t have DVD players anymore, and if your kid wants to watch a movie, just check it out from your local library? Adding some sort of friction in today’s digital world is a good idea; having Disney+ or HBO Max or Netflix or YouTube or whatever… With so much streaming movies shows and entertainment possible… It is almost like giving your kid a firehose of high fructose corn syrup laced with type two diabetes for kids. Parents will often be alone; well it is so hard… And it is true! But I think we’re having a new sense of elitism is good; let us consider that 99.99% of Americans are obese, morbidly obese, etc. Just because everyone else is shoving donuts into their mouth, and getting fat, doesn’t mean you should either.

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Digital property?

Every few thousands of years, comes a major paradigm shift which changes everything.

We are so insanely to be alive right now in 2024; two massive paradigm shifts happening at the same time: artificial intelligence (open ai, ChatGPT), and Bitcoin.

Also, I think a very fascinating innovation I’ve discovered is that to rebrand something, or to reimagine something, or to re-understand something is also a huge innovation.

For example, the critical insight by Michael Saylor is thinking and considering that bitcoin is not a cryptocurrency, but digital property.

The reason why Michael Saylor’s idea of Bitcoin being digital property is such a grand insight is that in the crypto world ,,, 99% of our efforts are being wasted on the fact that everyone wants to replace the US dollar or replace the entire visa network with their own cryptocurrency or alt coin or etc. 

Not going to happen.

I think for high velocity payments, like buying a cup of coffee coffee or a shot of espresso at your local coffee shop, going to Whole Foods Trader Joe’s or Costco, Amazon fresh whatever…  having high velocity money like your Visa credit card, or Apple Pay on your phone is actually much more convenient. And then we barbell this; bitcoin then is our digital property, low velocity. If you think of bitcoin like owning property on the upper East side of Manhattan New York City, the ideas you keep it forever in the family, and you pass it down to your kids kids kids. And the strategy is simple;

Never sell the property. 

You borrow money against it, maybe you rented out, you try your best to maintain it, upkeep it, pay the property taxes etc. But you never sell the property. 

I also suppose the same idea is in line with bitcoin, if we reimagined it as digital property.

One day, you will be able to rent out your bitcoin, like imagine if you were a landlord, renting out your property to millennials.

Or, imagining that it could be like a digital hotel of the future; renting it out, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, or maybe even minute by minute, to whoever wants to be there. 

Then, essentially we could become like the new digital slumlord; we just sit on our bitcoin forever, collecting rents and money, and we could just chill at the beach, chill at the pool, etc.

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Now what?

If you take things further, I think really long-term etc.… ultimate goal is durability as an artist, a creative a thinker etc.

Think peer to peer 


I think the problem in today’s world is because of iPhones, social media, entertainment, Netflix YouTube whatever… We engage with human beings only through media, while sitting on our butts, without any real risk.

My simple thought is always:

Better to risk a friendly social interaction and get rejected, rather than not attempted it at all. 

Simple thoughts: get rid of those losers sunglasses, those dark tennis sunglasses, throw your noise canceling headphones in the trash, and when you are out and about, “raw dog it”– no sunglasses, because sunglasses are for cowards. You will not get eyeball cancer. If the sun is too bright just get a baseball cap, or some sort of visor to protect your eyeballs from the sun.

Also, no headphones. No AirPods AirPods pros, whatever.

I think the critical issue here is that when you have AirPods, noise canceling headphones, AirPods pros on in your ears, or whatever your plug like Bluetooth device, the issue is that you block out 99.99% of the positive stimulation from the environment.

For example, I believe our sense of hearing is actually more acute and more primal than our eyes. For example, if you’re driving around Los Angeles, you will hear the siren of a firetruck before you see the flashing lights.

The reason why I hate Tomkin in LA so much, and I consider it extreme bad manners is that whenever people honk, there is always a fight or flight physiological response from us.  as a result, I’ve been going on a bit of a social justice rampage, whenever people honk, especially when they honk because the person did not drive immediately .1 ms after the light turns green, I give them a sharp that’s there, or I roll down my window, I stick down my hand, and I tell them to calm down. the hand jester for calm down is just put your calm down, and just motion it downwards. No need to give people the middle finger, I think some sort of shame , public shaming is a good idea. 

Also, smokers. Am going to go harder now, 100 X harder. To shame people for smoking in public. I’m just going to pretend like I’m a cop, I’ll tell people not to smoke when I have my weight vest on, because I look like a undercover cop or swat team or whatever. or, moving forward I’m going to do an experiment, whenever I am at a stoplight, and I see people texting on their phone at the stop sign, I’m just going to pretend like I’m CP and then make eye contact with them and tell them to keep their eyes on the road. Nowadays in Los Angeles and beyond people shielded by their cars and their tents, and their sunglasses, and they feel like they are abated for any sort of social responsibility. Even worse, people smoking marijuana while driving. I’ve seen this twice in Los Angeles so far. Rather than complaining, I’m going to do some sort of low-key Vigilante Justice, kind of like Batman. Batman, Batman not in the dark Maroso Way, but can you imagine a playful humorous and joyful Batman? My alter ego is like the Lego Batman, the Lego Bruce Wayne. 

No more compassion. I think the problem of people in Los Angeles, especially when they use their vehicles like cowards, is that they black some sort of exposure to the real world. No skin in the game.

Moving forward, I’m just gonna imagine like I am the super cop, the local city cop, CHP officer etc. 

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Better to preemptively serve justice and be wrong… Rather than be a bystander or don’t do anything?

When I was a kid, I wish that more blue collar job ideas were offered to me, like becoming a firefighter or a cop, CHP officer or whatever… I might have even enjoyed doing some sort of low-key form of ROTC as a highschooler?

For example, even Seneca… He loves firefighters, firetrucks, police cars, police, police SUV cars etc. And of course he loves the cyber truck, he also likes it with a matte Black wrap. 

In fact, getting a cyber truck, a cyber beast with a mat black wrap, and getting the black and yellow license plate… This is your metaphorical at mobile? If you think about the Christopher Nolan mobile, essentially it is like a matte Black military vehicle tank —  rather than some sort of sissy, or even muscle car.

The Batmobile in the most recent the Batman movie, with the emo Batman, was also interesting because the Batmobile was also kind of like some sort of muscle car on steroids. 

Even nowadays with vehicles, are you surprising to me, I am starting to get more into trucks, even even the new Toyota Land Cruiser looks super cool?

Once again, if you think about Carl Menger and Austrian economics,  one of the great ideas from Carl is that he talks about how our preferences change overtime; for example that which has utility or interest to us as a child, a mature man, or an old man is all different!

I think maybe it is cultural; I was born in 1988, born Asian American Korean American… And to have Asian pride was to drive some sort of Japanese car, lower it, pimp it out, and race it? Essentially like the early fast and the furious movies, Tokyo drift etc. 

I suppose this is where media is bad; any sort of media you watch and integrate into your soul as a child, has a deep impact on you.

For example, a really stupid thing I saw as an adult the other day — week three young boys, maybe around seven years old, all playing in the sandpit together, doing some sort of fake Godzilla versus King Kong pretend fighting. Eventually one kid falls to the floor, because he is playing, and then one kid starts to kick sand in his face, the kid who was pretending to act all tough, then started to cry, and I’m just watching this from the side with Seneca, and I’m just thinking… Wow this is also bizarre. I’m glad that Seneca has no idea what King Kong or Godzilla is; a lot of these modern are superficially violent, not even in interesting ways.

I also suppose that as a man, raising the sun… Being very very critical on what not to expose them to, you don’t want your kid to the lowest common denominator, become addicted to YouTube or YouTube kids like cocaine candy. 

In fact, I think I am very critical of Google Chrome books in the classroom. Why? Essentially you are getting kids hooked on advertising, and Clickbait at a very young age. I wondered… Is it possible that instead, I could send send cut to school with his own MacBook Air laptop, and not use one of these adware devices?

Let us consider this scam; teachers have their kids self teach themselves something, which they see on YouTube, and of course on the side is all this Clickbait related content that they will be tempted by. Let us also understand adults, the single best thing you could do is enable some sort of related video ad blocker on YouTube. In fact, I think the ethical thing YouTube should do is integrate some sort of toggle on YouTube the YouTube app, maybe you can make it a premium only feature, in which you could actually turn off related videos, turn off comments, and high metrics like video views subscriber numbers, number of comments etc. Why? Has the potential to teach you anything, which is good… But I’m starting to think that the trade-off is not worth it, if you support it with advertising, and Liz related content or videos on the side with all these clicky images, it is a very very dark hole.

My number one suggestion for parents: never ever ever ever ever show them YouTube in fact, uninstall it from your phone. Just think to yourself, if elite Apple CEOs and C officers, and also directors,  and also Apple employees and higher-ups send them to schools without any screens or devices… Also let us remember that Steve Jobs did not permit his kid to use an iPad at home… What is the rest of us plebeians don’t understand?

Also, let us realize this bad thought; why is it that all employees would preferred to use an iPhone over a Google pixel? Similarly… Why is it that Apple employees would prefer to have a Gmail over an iCloud account?

Also, why is it that Tesla sales people don’t actually own Teslas?

Maybe there needs to be some sort of skin in the game rules here.

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Digital x Physical

No no no, the future is not the meta-verse. Nobody wants to own a virtual Lamborghini, and live in your virtual house, and get virtual sunlight and virtual floor to ceiling windows, eat virtual steak, have virtual sex with your virtual babes, have virtual fans, go virtual hiking, and take virtual drugs. 

I am almost 100% Berish on virtual reality. The future is not virtual reality, the future is ChatGPT, and bitcoin. 

If in fact, we think about it… No amount of money could actually incentivize me to use that terrible Apple Vision Pro device. Even if you made it practically weightless, ability to use it with classes or whatever, even if you made it like glass, Nobody would really want it. The pain of having to always charge it, the additional bulk, even with my own eyeglasses, which are 100% titanium LINDBERG, Which I think I owned for almost 15 years,  are practically weightless. Now that it is Los Angeles summer, and the sun is strong… I’m starting to wear a baseball cap because I’m getting sunburn on the top of my nose bridge, and my forehead, even if I lather myself with SPF 60 sunblock. Kids and adults know… We don’t actually like having things on our heads or our faces. 

This is where Apple engineers, it may be also Mark Zuckerberg needs to understand… Having some sort of device that sits on our head or our eyes is not desirable. Unfortunately, the future is still some sort of smart phone like device.

In fact, my super grand idea is to create a smart phone without any screen; the true zen phone. Mybe I will call it the Seneca phone. 

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More digital thoughts 

Very very simple things here guys;

1. Digital photo books

Publish your photos as e-books, PDF e-books, PDF files, or even share the JPEG files with people in a zip file! 

One of the great things that I learned in the photo world, which is full of a bunch of loser fake art virtue signaling wimps. They are all a bunch of unhealthy, unwell artist, who seem to hate people and humanity, and when they are photographing people in the streets … they are not doing it out of a spirit of love of humans and humanity, but rather, they are seeking some sort of revenge on other people.

Digging deep; I’ll tell you all the dirty secrets.

First, Magnum is bad. Magnum photos, all bad. Eventually everyone is just petty and devious of one another, because everyone wants to be rich and famous, and adored.

And also, there’s this weird talking for position here; everyone wants to be seen as the most elite supreme and legitimate, yet everyone is broke as hell, Evyn look at these famous guitar furs constantly traveling and doing workshops, they only do it because they are broke, and need to pay their rent, They don’t do it for passion.

Maybe the best way to approach things is only take workshops or classes or do things with individuals who don’t even need the money. Maybe there is some sort of genuineness here;

Certainly everyone needs to make a living, but often when you have some sort of famous person or photographer teaching some sort of workshop or travel excursion or whatever… Being managed by some other booking company or individual … there is actually not a strong incentive for the Fatar for to do a good job or care about the well-being of their students because they are usually being paid some sort of flat rate, let us see $5000, by the booking organizing agency, so as long as they show up, and do the minimum viable amount of work, they don’t really care.

Then, maybe the filter in a more practical sense is only do workshops or workshops or whatever by photographers who host the workshops by themselves; without some sort of third-party booking agency.  because they are incentivized to have the students be repeat students, and also they want good news to spread about themselves!

So if you see photographers, private individuals who host their own workshops, travel excursions,  and individuals who have been doing it for a very very long time, years, maybe even decades, and they hosted themselves, they are the point person… Without some sort of assistant or third-party, typically it is a signal that they are doing something right.

Once again, durability and longevity here is key. 

Any artist musician photographer producer or whatever who has been around for decades, and who are still in the game… Even then they’re 40s 50s 60s and 70s, it is a sign that they are good.

For example, Kanye still coming out with new music (CARNIVAL) even after the whole antisemitism thing and break with Adidas. And after his divorce and losing I think custody of his four children?

Also, Eminem just came out with a new album! His road rage song, respect for Eminem, saying what he really believes in, even though he might get “canceled”.

Because isn’t that the point, that you become rich successful powerful enough that you are uncancellanble? 

How to be uncancelable

Very very simple, your own website, your own blog etc.

A website and a blog is the ultimate censorship proof platform. Evyn emails, email newsletters… Having to keep updating my self hosted sendy.co email newsletter platform, Gmail in Google is starting to put a new controls in which you have to add all these random tags to your email and newsletters in order for your emails to reach Gmail accounts, at this point, every intelligent human being that I know has a Gmail account. Gmail is essentially a monopoly on email.

I think at this point, maybe 90% of emails on the Internet or Gmail account? And close to 100% of Americans have some sort of Gmail, Google account?

This is where using a Gmail or a Google account for authentication behind things is so useful; I could almost guarantee that your Gmail account will be around 100 years from now, even though eventually they might fill up with all these advertisements and stuff. I’m starting to think, One day, Gmail just started to put the top three emails on top of your inbox as advertisements, but people stop using it? I certainly would stop using it, but I think 99% of other people will keep using it.

Even now, the reason why I will never ever ever buy an android phone ever again, or a Samsung or whatever is funny enough because of Apple Maps. Apple Maps is inferior to Google maps, but now, I’m being driven by all of these square pin advertising on Google maps, And even this new spamming thing that Google maps is doing one I am driving is asking me whether there are still speed traps ahead? Shame on you Google and Google programmers; I wonder if  you have actually caused a handful of accidents, or maybe even accidental deaths because you put a pop-up while people are using Google maps to drive?

Simple suggestions for the Google maps and the Google team

First, a very simple one to pull in Google, just make some sort of 999 a month, add free premium membership. I would very gladly pay for this.  and once you are on Google premium, there are no more annoying square advertisements on your Google maps.

Also, by default, disable that annoying pop-up about speed traps or whatever, and instead, when you first install the Google maps app, ask people as an option, whether they want it enabled or disabled. It is not a privacy thing; it is a pop-up distraction danger thing. 

Also, disable that feature of the five or 10 minutes slow down ahead things; once again, another dangerous distraction while you’re driving.

Also, a very telling note; one of my millennial friends used to work on the Google maps team, quit, and now on her iPhone, she only uses Apple Maps, she doesn’t even have Google maps installed on her phone. Hmmm….

Also about photography; all of the Apple employees I know, none of them use the iPhone as their primary camera, most of them don’t even use it at all. Instead, they have Leica M cameras,  the compact digital Hasselblad medium format camera, Sony a series cameras, they shoot film, a RICOH GR camera, have a like a SL camera, some sort of standalone digital camera. Also almost none of them use Fujifilm

Camera facts

The best camera brands are Lumix Ricoh Pentax. 

The Leica Q is essentially a Panasonic Lumix in disguise,  The only digital lighter worth owning is a Leica M camera.

Even though I like Fujifilm, and I’ve used all the cameras, still… I don’t recommend it to people. In my whole career, I have never purchased one with my own money, I have bought a ton of Ricohs with my own money,  I purchased a Leica M9 by myself, sold it (thank you Todd Hata) and traded it for a film Leica MP camera (thank you Bellamy Hunt, Japan Camera Hunter), and I think maybe 2017 or 2018 purchased a LUMIX G9 camera I purchased in Japan– which after all my Ricohs died, is the camera I am currently using.

In fact, the most exciting camera that just came out is that new Pentax film camera; it is the new film Ricoh GR camera! It has an integrated flash, and also, because it is half frame, it doubles the amount of exposers you could shoot on a single roll of film, pure genius! This is a very insanely innovative, economical way to extend the joy of shooting film photos, while minimizing the cost! 

Photography for kids

I’m planning on volunteering and just doing some free photography classes for kids, which has the ultimate zero barrier to entry. They could just bring their iPad, tablet, iPhone or smart phone, or stand alone digital camera if they have an option. Or even a film camera! 

Kids are the ultimate photographers. They shoot with joy, no need to share the photos? 

In fact, Seneca, he loves photography, just like myself. He shoots with no obstructions, no hesitations, sometimes he likes to look at the photos, sometimes he doesn’t care too. Maybe this is a more enlightened way we could approach photography?

Evyn as a fun thought experiment; if you had a film camera, or a digital camera or whatever, and you could actually not store the photos or view them later… Would you still do it? Maybe? 

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Free digital books

Just give it away for free! Free, as in zero cost, and also free as in freedom!

And also, don’t make people do some sort of annoying subscribing to your email newsletter or whatever to gain access; just do direct links! Hosted on your own FTP server, uploaded to your WordPress media library, share a Google Drive or a dropbox link, etc.

Make it as friction free as possible; because the truth of the matter is in today’s world, for anyone to see your photos or your artistic work, you almost have to pay people to look at your photos! Because the fact is, the world is so inundated with images now, especially now with the advent of ChatGPT and DALL-E, and these billions streaming shows… People don’t have the time to look at your photos! 

In fact, I only think that the reason why people sign up for Fatar a few workshops with these famous furs, is because they simply want some sort of affirmation from the famous guitar for that their work is good, legitimate, and they want to gain some sort of confidence?

For example if Henri Cartier Bresson were alive today,  would I care to sign up for workshop with him just to tell him that my photos are good? No. I think we should also consider Bresson as a failed photographer; somebody who secretly had penis envy towards all his famous painter friends.  let us also remember the fact that at the end of his life, he totally gave up photography, and famously said “photography is not a legitimate art form, it is only a means and path towards painting, and drawing, which is the true art form”.

Always study an artist from the backwards from the grave to the present.

Typically, whatever an artist or a thinker or creator believes in towards the end of their life is kind of like the final testament. Because they have had enough experience, and have distilled their wisdom long enough to gain some sort of deeper insight about things.

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The spartan economist:

We new Spartans, we shall inherit the earth!

TLDR; think spartan when it comes to money, economics, life.

A truly pragmatic way to think and approach life

I think my critical critique of 99.9% of economists is that all of their fake science and fake pseudo scientific mysticism on the economy whatever, none of it is really tired to practical reality.

For example, more important things; where you live, what car you drive, whether you own a single-family home or rent, what kind of groceries you buy, where, or how much, etc.

Or, where you invest your money, where you save your money, you decide not to spend money on, your own personal financial philosophy.

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Spartan investing

Some thoughts on investing;

First, I’ve always been interested in passionate about investing, ever since I was in high school. I still remember my high school science math teacher, Dr. Ahmed, told me about mutual funds back in high school, and told me this unorthodox strategy that I should claim being an emancipated minor, being able to borrow some money, and essentially, use that money to invest in an aggressive mutual fund. And this was junior year of high school, I think I was 16. 

Somehow I did get my hands on some money, maybe like $1000? Or $1200, or $1600? Anyways, somehow I was able to create an investing account when I was 16, my junior year, and I invested in the one thing that I knew was very important, Adobe, which made Photoshop, which I knew was very important because I pirated Photoshop as a kid, and I used it to create all of my images on my computer. I also invested some money into a mutual fund, and even the course of maybe two years, I saw the value of my stock in my mutual fund holding go up? I think I might have realized a $600 or $800 gain, and I was overjoyed!

Fast-forward a bit to college… I realized when I was in college I was able to take out some student loans, and I use some of that money to invest in the market, while I was still in school, my sophomore year. I suppose I was 19 at the time?

Anyways, very stressful; I will check market prices, on my laptop, note this was before the iPhone existed, and it was very stressful. I would see the price go up a little little bit, and I was overjoyed, full of euphoria, and then I would see the price go down, and I would feel my stomach shrink. I remember losing sleep over this.

Stoic training

Anyways, from the age of 19, I had to learn how to control my emotions, something part of my early stoic training. And also, getting into trading penny stocks my senior year, in which I accidentally misread the financials for an oil company, that when I thought they were making a profit, they were actually losing money because they would put the financials in parentheses, which I did not know at the time meant a loss. So I suppose my knowledge was good, but I misread the information, and therefore I saw my life savings of maybe $3200 go to zero. As a 20, 21 year old, this was the worst tragedy I ever experienced in my life.

Anyways, I still think I had some good intelligence. I remember during the subprime mortgage meltdown, I saw the price of Ford go almost to zero, and I saw Blockbuster about to go bankrupt. I knew that Ford was a good long-term investment because I knew that Ford would recover in the long-term, and also I knew that blockbuster would go to zero because Netflix was the future. I think the only problem at the time was at the time I didn’t have any access to, as I think I already lost all my money.

So if I had the opportunity and access to capital, I would habe bought Ford (which has gone up a lot since then) and I would have shorted Blockbuster, which as I predicted ,,, went to zero.

Skin in the game

So this is a big thing; being an armchair investor vs being a real Spartan investor, somebody with skin in the game, with their own personal money in the game.

For example, I think being a personal private investor, investing your own hard earned money is critical here; because that was your soul time energy over many hard hard years of your life. You should/can only take financial risks with your own money. If it is someone else’s money — easy to toss the money like confetti.

Money as your life soul energy

For example, I think about the decade plus in which I taught workshops, I worked hard to do much research, all the thousands of dollars I spent on photo books, writing reviews articles blog posts, videos, etc.… writing books, making presets giving it away for free etc — essentially the best way to think about money is it is your time force energy energy life soul energy imputed into some sort of concrete thing; let us say that it is solidified into a single US dollar.

However the biggest issue here is that Fiat currency, the US dollar, is like an iPhone battery. That slowly but surely, it slowly drains and loses charge and also ability to hold charge.

For example, everybody knows that if you take an iPhone or a laptop, and you just let us sit on your desk for a month without charging it, it will naturally die, even if it was turned 100% off.

Also a problem with batteries and recharging; if you permanently keep it charging all the time, I think also the battery loses the ability to retain charge, and the maximum capacity of the battery loses charges as well.

Think ahead

For example, my 2017 MacBook Pro, 13 inch touch bar space gray, which I bought for about $2000 maxed out refurbished at the time… I think the battery of it only last about five or 10 minutes now before shutting off.

I also heard the same thing with Tesla cars — if you just let it sit, and don’t charge it every single day… slowly it will lose charge. I suppose this is the upside of having a gasoline powered car, is that oil and petroleum will just sit there, and will not lose charge. Surely there are other things you still gotta worry about like the battery, but still… For the most part oil and gas is more stable than an electric battery and charge.

Funny random thought —

Manual is the future?

For example, a manual transmission car even in 2024– will probably still be functional 30 years from now? Electric cars and Teslas and even Hybrids ,,, maybe not?

Also manual focusing lenses, 100% still functional 300 years from now!

With digital cameras, you will always swap out the bodies … but the manual lenses will last forever.

For example, I am 100% confident my Leica 35mm f2 ASPH Summicron lens and my film manual and mechanical Leica MP camera will last 300 years from now … any other digital equivalent? No.

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Building capital for the sake of it?

Anyways, I think the general impetus behind investing is a bit misguided. I think in the past I had he thought, and also maybe the general idea that people have is:

“I will invest this amount of money in order for me to gain a return, in order for me to purchase XYZ in the future.”

For example children are taught of a piggy bank, you save your allowance and your birthday money in it, so one day in the near future, you could buy a scooter or something.

Once again this twisted logic; you should save money in order to accumulate money, in order to have enough money and purchasing power in order to purchase this thing in the future you want, rather than thinking about saving money as a vehicle for investing, to grow your monetary power. 

For example, only a moron would spend his whole life toileting and working hard, in order to save the $250,000 or so to buy the Lamborghini. This is insane; the second you buy the $250,000 Lamborghini, your bank account balance then goes to zero, and in theory you are now impoverished.

Let us say that we embrace the two Lamborghini rule;  which is only about a Lamborghini if you are rich enough to afford two of them. But then again, the critical issue here becomes let us say yeah $500,000, and you buy the Lamborghini, and now your monetary power is cut in half, now you only have $250,000 in the bank. I don’t know about you, but nobody likes to see their wealth go from $500,000 to $250,000 in a split second, even if in fact you did buy the Lamborghini and own it.

 actually, the only logical thing to do is to drive to the closest  Lamborghini dealership in Newport Beach, show the guy you’re a bitcoin balance on your phone, and then sit in all the Lamborghinis you would like, play with the steering wheel, see how it feels to be inside the Lamborghini, touch the materials, take it on test drive, enjoy the sound of the engine, the driving experience whatever, and then decide not to buy it. 

Or another option is to just rent it for a day! Whether it cost $1000 or $5000 or whatever, a much much better financial way to use your money than to blow $250,000!

 even if you were a Jay-Z; you would not go out and start buying expensive cars like I’m $1 million Bugatti or whatever. If you are a true capitalist, a true investor, somebody who really does care about money… The point is you invest your money, and you keep stacking it forever, and you actually spend as little money as possible, in order to indefinitely increase your wealth!

For example, you do not buy the $1 million Bugatti — no. Rather, you buy $1 million worth of bitcoin, and then you see it become 10 million, 100 million, 1 billion, 10 billion, 100 billion. Isn’t this what somebody who really cares about money… Isn’t this how they should think? 

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Toys are bad

We Spartans know that toys are bad. In fact, some things I learned about toys, in raising Seneca: 

1. Superficially legos seem like a good idea, but eventually, Legos are bad. Why? As a parent you got to clean up their mess, and also… when your kid grows up sooner or later you’ll just donate the Legos to another family. The ideal and optimal strategy then is to just play with Legos at the local library on the brick building day, and just leave it there, and go back home.
2. For Seneca’s entire life, I’ve only bought him two toy cars; I think two Lamborghinis, the small hot wheels style. I think we already lost them.
3. Almost by osmosis, kids, whether you like it or not, or gain all of these free toys by orbit. For example when they visit their grandma’s home, or play with cousins or whatever… They will pick up random toy cars here and there. Therefore, the simple ideas that you never have to purchase kids any toys, they will naturally get toys from friends and family, on their birthday holidays etc., even if you are a “anti toy household”.

Set a good precedence. 99% of things we desire to purchase as adults or just really really expensive toys. 

Are toys bad?

I think so.

Essentially the purpose of a toy for the most part, is some sort of thing to distract your kids while you as a parent to do something else.

And also, the problem and issue with toys is that it doesn’t make them anymore physically strong or capable.

When it comes down to it, the best things to prioritize for your kid is their physical strength, height, muscle mass, ability to climb stuff, run around, be out in nature, go on hikes, have a nice tan for actually being in the sun, ability to pick up heavy stuff and throw them, etc. Even one of the things I’m very proud of is ever since Seneca was very young, he would be really good at throwing rocks into bodies of water!

No, whenever I see other kids, the only thing I’m ever impressed by is to see how muscular they are! Or how they are in running climbing, doing physical things. 

Weapons & armor & shields

If we think about the ancient Spartans, what were their possessions? Simple: their spear and shield, even their sword was kind of more of an accessory piece.

Also, I think according to Plutarch, or some of the ancient historians, there are funny quotes like “why are spartan swords so short?” Spartan response: “So we could get close to the enemy”.

Also, one of the most critical things about being a spartan was your shield; the reason why the hunchback was not allowed to fight along the spartan army was because he could not raise his shield, and the critical thing about being a spartan was the ability to defend the man next to you.

Even when you consider the final duel or fight between Achilles and Hector, I think it comes down to throwing spears, at a distance, and having the other party defend themselves with their shield.

Helmets were also critical because there were many times in which having the right shield actually defended you from death.

Bow and arrows are for cowards

Or why guns are for pussies:

Even the ancient Spartans, when the ancient Spartans saw a castle with lots of archers on top one Spartan commented –

“Is it women who live there?”

Certainly when it comes to real military combat, typically the armies or the side with the strongest firepower wins. For example, the Roman legionnaires, I think 99% of their lethality was because they had catapults, and they were just sling massive rocks and destroyed 99% of the other side of the enemy, and then the Roman legions would then enter in phalanx form, and just tidy up the rest of the mess. 

And even now, the US military, they are essentially getting rid of real pilots, and just creating drone aircraft instead. Why? Human being pilots are a liability; it is always bad PR if your pilot gets killed in combat, or gets killed by an accident. if it is a drone, certainly people alone the financial laws, but when it comes down to it… a financial loss is always superior to a human life loss. 

For example let us say that it cost the US military $100 million to create a drone aircraft. And let us say that for one reason or another it gets destroyed. Or it fails, better to lose $1 million aircraft to lose the life of one single human pilot.

Armor up!

Anyways, in modern day life, the big issue that we have is all of these pussies who have guns. Or knives.

A real man, should only engage in hand-to-hand combat, and the only thing that a real man does is has body armor as a form of defense.

For example, if you’re really afraid of people shooting you up or whatever, just buy a bulletproof vest. This is what cops have. Technically as a private citizen, I think you are allowed to purchase and own and wear a bulletproof vest, if you so desire. 

For example, just think of Keanu Reeves (John Wick) in his Kevlar armor suit jacket, how he used his suit jacket as a shield or armor against incoming bullets. So gangsta.

And even now, the supreme way I feel tough is wearing my 60 pound weight vest around; I think even real cops, who wear bulletproof vest, a real bulletproof might only wear 10 pounds or 20 pounds?

Now I suppose because I do my daily walks with my 60 pound weight vest, I no longer really feel it on me. This is a very good thing. Let us say I get into a high conflict situation and I just put on my weight vest, I know that nobody could fuck with me or Seneca or Cindy.

Unfuckable with

A true Spartan; only has armor, no guns, no knives. His word is his sword.

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Money as a defense against slavery

“Fuck off money”– having enough money that you could just fuck off, and not have to do nothing. 

So my first Spartan economic thought is that the purpose of money is more of an economic shield, barrier, buffer, or armor to prevent you from working like a slave.

The purpose of money isn’t to buy stuff, purchase a home, buy superficial things, purchase a vehicle, travel to Japan ne eat overpriced sushi…but rather, via negativa; for you not to work.

As long as you got a job, a boss, a steady paycheck… you are not free. 

For example, doesn’t matter if you’re being paid $750,000 a year at Apple; as long as you have to stay inside your nice glass cube prison cage, you are not free. 

Also, as long as you got a mortgage on your home, payments on your car, and any sort of debt or obligations… once again you are also not free.

Also a Spartan ethic thing;

Don’t indebt others.

What it means is never ever ever let anybody borrow money from you. Because let us say you loan $1000 to somebody and they don’t have the means to pay you back like they promised in two weeks. What do you do, beat them up, or hostage their family members? No.

Never borrow money from others, never lend money to others.

The only type of money exchange should be gifts. No obligations. 

All debt is bad debt

More recently I thought I’ve been thinking through is in regards to the notion of debt; for example what some institutional investors do is take on debt to purchase things, property, bitcoin like Michael Saylor and microstrategy, in order to purchase more assets, in the promise that it will grow in the future.

I’m starting to think, maybe could work for the corporations, institutions etc.… but maybe this kind of leverage is not a good idea for us private investors, because it could cause you to lose your freedom.

So once again, never leverage debt, even “good debt” to acquire more property. 

The goal

1. NOT have a job
2. NOT have debt
3. NOT be employed by anyone else besides you (sole, sole proprietor — number of employees is 0– you are your only employee).

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Creating your own new Sparta

What is very interesting about Sparta, Kim Leonidas etc.… is that the point wasn’t to enslave millions and billions of people, rather, it was to think about committing to your own local population… for example, maybe the Spartan population was only 10,000 Spartans? And they had about 50,000 helots till the land?

A big thought: it seems that the modern day individual loves to complain critique and hate on everything, hate on global policies, politics, individuals, music, media, iPhones and social media, whatever. Whenever people talk about global warming, carbon levels, carbon footprint whatever… typically I see a lot of these people are either single, maybe they own a dog, certainly they have no children and kids.

Never trust any environmentalist who don’t have kids.

Propaganda 

In fact, the lamest thought is that kids contribute most to the carbon footprint of the planet… my ongoing theory is that these people are just humanity haters; they just want to take their dog to the grave with them?

Who knows, perhaps your kid, or some other kid who is born today is going to be the one who solves pollution on the planet; who creates a solar power panel which is 1 billion times more effective, or invent some sort of nuclear power fusion fission energy generator that could fit in your back pocket?

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Become the change in which you wish to see manifested in the world

Anyways, my simple thought is rather than complaining and critiquing about society whatever… more effective to just become the change in which you wish to see manifested in the world, and also a big thing; have kids! Create your own micro society, create your own cultural values, and insanely Spartan, stoic and staunch about it.

Niches are the future.

Creating new cultural norms

For example, I think giving presents and buying toys for kids on their birthday is ridiculous. I believe rather — gift experiences and time together. Therefore for my niece Amelia and Benji, I don’t think I’ve ever bought them any toys on their birthday or on any holidays. What I do instead is take them rockclimbing with me and Cindy, and also when I’m just with them… I just play with them! I leave my iPhone in my glove compartment of my car, and I just run around with them!

I remember Amelia saying a year or two ago saying “I miss Samchon ERIC,… Because he is the only one who plays with me”…

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How to raise your kids

I think in today’s world of hedonism and indulgence… this is my thought on how one should aspire to raise one’s kids–

The thought is to raise, train, and breed your kid to be creators, innovators, Spartan Stoics, with maximum physical capability, a 100% carnivore diet, with extreme vigor, play and joyfulness.

For example, would you give your kid heroin? Certainly not. Then don’t shove kids in front of their face Netflix or Disney+ or bluey or whatever when you just want them to stop crying. Let them confront their own emotions, explain things to them, let them cry it out; give them a kiss on their forehead if they fell on their head, and the big thing; don’t let any other loser adults punk your kid around.

Something that randomly caught me offguard being a new first time parent, is having these miserable old female librarians telling Seneca not to cry inside the library and that “he must go outside,” or even having random people in the apartment next to us passive aggressive things like complaining that Seneca was playing with his toy cars outside?

One thing that pisses me off is society has become maximally tolerant of dogs and their misbehaviors; but, no privileges to children? 

“Don’t smoke here! No smoking here!”

In fact, I’m starting to think more and more… perhaps I should become more aggressive, more of an asshole parent. For example, I’ve been on a bit of a rampage in which telling other people to not smoke in public places, when I’m with Seneca. Even though they might give me a dirty look, or even if I might feel bad about it… This is what a true Spartan would do. Essentially you take the brunt of badness, bad emotions whatever… And defend your kid, defend your wife, defend your family.

Also, never tell people sorry. Just tell them thank you. 

When to attack?

Also, I think America we could learn a thing or two about Sparta; for the most part, think America should just stop meddling in the business of other nations, other nation states, even if we want to maintain some sort of world peace for the interest of America.

For example, America needs to stop waging positive war. The only good use of military is defense. America needs to be well positioned in such a way that if anyone attacks us, we could defend ourselves. But I think ethically, America should not wage preemptive attacks on other nations and other nation states, in order for us to be like Machiavelli’s prince; the idea that often to defend oneself, you have to preemptively attack. We are strong enough.

Even when a foreigner visited ancient Sparta, the foreigner asked, why are there no walls? And the Spartan said, because our men and our children defend these borders.

One day your kid is going to find your gun 

I think this is also the thing that is so ridiculous about gun ownership in America, all these loser notions of “self-defense“. Everyone always wants a gun on them, because they are afraid of being shot or being attacked. And I think some people shoot another person preemptively, because they fear their life is in danger danger or whatever.

But, the law is, you are never allowed to shoot first. The only time you pull out your gun or whatever and start shooting is one the other person has already shot you, or has already shot something in the environment.

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The stoic Spartan investing strategy

Live Spartan. Essentially somebody who glorifies themselves and their own human body, their own physical strength, just think about how buff your muscles, your shoulders your back and your traps are.

Your pride joy and glory is your own body and muscles, not your possessions.

I trust no man who has tattoos, has a dog, and drives some sort of entry-level German car 

No dogs, no cats, no animals. Only children.

Ensure that you have at least one son to continue the family name. 

Perhaps foolishness is a virtue?

I’m also starting to think, being mad, being a madman is a virtue. Anybody who focused is too much on security, safety, prudence and rationality is a wimp.

Good for your wife, do it for your family, be a true mensch.

Throw your cares and concerns into the tailwind, burn all your bridges, burn your ships behind you, don’t look back. Only forward.

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What type of money would Spartans prefer?

Historically, the ancient Spartans would abolish money. Because they know that money corrupts.

I think one of the earliest Spartan legislators, Lycurgus, essentially made the law in which he converted all money into huge stones, which were essentially impossible, maybe it was made of iron etc. made accumulation of wealth so cumbersome, people eventually stopped chasing wealth for the sake of it.

Mandatory military duty?

I was always an anti-military, but now as an adult… I’m starting to see the virtues.

For example, in South Korea, all men are required to do a mandatory two year military service, even StarCraft players and BTS members are not exempt.

The good thing about this, as well as Singapore… it builds a sense of nationhood and camaraderie between men. Even one of my friends, Andrew, a professor I think he did some sort of part-time Navy officer reserve training when he was getting his PhD… and he said something like “I think if there was some sort of military duty amongst Americans, there would be a lot less divide and conflict”. I also agree.

Probably the most anti-racist training that I ever got in high school was accidentally; playing high school American football. Essentially, I was thrown in all rainbows of races; African-American, Latino, southeast Asian, east Asian, Caucasian etc. There was a strong sense of brotherhood, and everybody supported one another. And for the most part, we put aside all of our differences and our cliques.

Sports team unites

For example, I remember some of the white guys who were hefty lineman, I think they were into Cowboys and rodeos and wearing cowboy hats whatever, and African-American kids would just hang out with other African-Americans at school, and the southeast Asians were also part of their own crew etc., all my friends were Korean American, or east Asian… But when we all played football together, did practice, played games etc.… we would all sing the same ridiculous songs on the school bus, breaking windows on the bus, etc.

Sports teams eliminate race.

Jewish-Americans

Also, a very formative thing that I did was Boy Scouts; becoming an Eagle Scout, etc. Also here… all notions of race, religion whatever was erased; I remember that my scoutmaster was Jewish Jewish American, and his two sons were all in scouts with me would wear the little Hat, and I never knew what it really was, but I never really hated on it.

And also, I remember the Levee brothers; also two boisterous Jewish American kids, Ariel and Jamie, And once again, I didn’t even know what antisemitism was until I went to college?

We are all American

Anyways, my grand vision is that being American should be more of a nationality, more of a nation state thing, rather than a racial thing.

For example, the genius of Rome, was that as long as you paid taxes, you were Roman. It didn’t matter if you were from Spain, like Seneca the younger, who I named my own son after, Seneca was not a Spaniard — he was a Roman. 

Also, I have more in common with Kendrick Lamar who grew up to E-40, than I ever did with any Korean person I met in South Korea.

Also some funny nuances; I have far more connections with somebody I meet up in the bay area, in the 90s, doesn’t matter if they are Latino or black or whatever…

Even Southern California, LA South Koreans; they are different from me. 

As long as you grew up to underground rap, the Bay Area high E-40 hyphy movement, if you know who Keak da sneak is, if you know how to go stupid dumb and hyphy yellow bus retarded, if you over owned a pair of all white K-Swiss tennis shoes in high school, and just wore white T-shirts and dark blue denim, and never owned a pair of shorts until you’re late 20s… then you are with me.

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John Wick would like bitcoin

A very interesting scene, and also in the universe of John Wick; it is a world beyond money. For example, in the universe of John Wick, money is just like these gold coins, which are used to gain access, trade favors, clean up messy dead bodies, to protect or guard things, or for people to take a hit at somebody.

For example, when John Wick wants to get into the secret club, he has to insert a single golden coin, very much like putting a coin in some sort of arcade machine.

Also, when John Wick is first seeking revenge in the first film, and he opens up his war chest… It is all guns ammo and gold coins. No US dollars, no Fiat currency.

Why bitcoin is the way

I recently sold all of my Tesla stock, and purchased micro strategy stock instead (MSTR). Why? Some convincing arguments from michael saylor:

 first, product cycles. Certainly for the most part, purchasing Apple stock is a good idea, however, who knows if the iPhone 35 pro will be any good?

Also, CEO; let it say that one day, Elon Musk totally left Tesla. And no longer had any affiliations with Tesla. If this were the case, Tesla would not be worth anything.

I think the genius about bitcoin is that it is a religion. Satoshi, is essentially this metaphorical Jesus speaker, the savior, and he disappears forever. With any other crypto asset, Ethereum and Vitalik or even chainlink and Sergey; as long as you have a central spokesperson, a CEO, a president or a leader, a charismatic individual… You will not last.

For example, one of the very interesting things that I learn from my political sociology class at UCLA as an undergraduate with Mark Jepsen was that nations or nation states that are led by charismatic individuals don’t last. Once the leader dies off, there is no longer any vision.

For example the genius of America, is that even if we have a few bad apples, the whole thing will still chug along OK. Let us consider that after Mao Zedong died, after Ho Chi Minh died, both mainland China and Vietnam has slowly and surely started to delve into capitalism… The dominant world system.

In fact, that is consider that seems that 80% of the Chinese economy is still dependent on America. And essentially, the CNY, is pegged to the US dollar; because there are capital controls in order from the Chinese government, in Chinese mainland Chinese individuals cannot take their wealth out of the country, especially when they prefer to buy property and live in Vancouver Canada instead… It is a strong signal that duh , America’s on top.

Even though if you had currency is weak, America is still the strongest Fiat currency on the planet. I recently talked to a woman who just got her green card from Beirut Lebanon, and she told me that the whole lira thing is a mess;  that people prefer to just hold and trade US dollars instead.

Even when I visited Cuba, even though they have the local Cuban dollar currency, still at end of the day, things are priced in US dollars.

After the US dollar, all other currencies, nobody wants them. Nobody wants the euro, too much chaos in Europe. Nobody wants the pound, Britain’s isolationist policies make it the next Japan, they will still stagger on but will slowly become irrelevant, nobody wants a Korean won — their population is dying off, and it seems that the greatest market for new Hyundai cars are actually in the states, nobody wants the Japanese yen, once again their birth rate is practically zero now. Nobody wants Chinese yuan — I don’t know any non-Chinese person who would prefer using WeChat, we pay, or a Huawei phone.

As long as rich mainland Chinese people prefer to use an iPhone Pro over a Huawei phone, America will always be on top. 

Election cycle predictions 

I’m voting for our Kamala Harris, because she has more aligned with my ethical beliefs, even though she will lose. I’m almost 99.99% certain that Donald Trump win.

The good news is that Donald Trump is very pro bitcoin, bitcoin mining etc.; so after Donald Trump gets elected, after the dust settles… Your bitcoin value will blossom.

Even if bitcoin and crypto goes through another bear market, which eventually it will… Still, the US economy will be stronger under Donald Trump than Kamala Harris.

If anything, of Joe Biden stepping down and having Kamala Harris rotten instead is like the final hail Mary – and I have played enough high school football to know that Hail Mary’s never work 99.999% of the time. The only time a Hail Mary will work in an American football game is almost never; you only hear about it when you watch random TV clips, or YouTube videos, but I think the chance of a Hail Mary working is practically zero. 

---

So what is in your locus of control?

So I think the big thing to note here is that the stoic way is simple:

What is in your locus of control, what isn’t?

Politics, climate change, dual politics, etc. are not in your control.

What is in your control? Your own individual behaviors, what you write about to friends family and on the Internet, whether you decide to use social media or not, your own individual actions, and also… Your own individual non-action; what you decide not to do. 

For example, it seems that the words you refrain from, what you decide not to say, is more telling than what you decide to say.

Another stoic strategy; when you hear something which is very puzzling to you, restrain responding immediately… It works 99.9% of the time.

silence is golden, speaking intelligently is silver.

Nobody wants silver.

Just focus on one thing?

Spartans only focused on one thing; freedom. 

The lame thing about America is you have a bunch of these fake ass patriots, waving Trump flags, we have never done any military service. Freedom is not free, or live free or die.

The general ethos is that it is true… Freedom is not free. But what is the opposite of free? Skin and soul in the game; actually being on the front lines of something.

For example, I have a simple rule; you’re not allowed to talk about freedom or whatever or is some sort of fake ass patriot chest thumping flag waving coward, if you have never served military duty, or at least have done Boy Scouts and know how to properly fold a flag!

Also, if you really want to be conservative or Republican or whatever, the simple news is don’t watch Fox News, or any news.

Could be told, both sides are foolish. The left the right the center the moderates whatever… You gotta think like an individual. This means removing all news from your brain, all news which is run on advertising is toxic.

I have another big idea news agencies, website individual bloggers, magazines etc. except payments in bitcoin and Satoshi, no advertising.

The truth is as long as something is supported by advertising, the low-key bias will be to make it more sensationalist, less connected with reality, in order to get more eyeballs in order to make more advertising dollars.

Are there any newsies which do not run on advertising? No.

As a consequence, trust no news but yourself.

Where to get your news? 

ironically enough, maybe the best place to get your news is through intentional propaganda government portals, like going to the official US military defense.gov website, because you could smell the propaganda more critically.

Propaganda, propaganda, propagate just means to spread something. The French use the word propaganda, not in the evil way as we Americans think, propaganda just means to spread something.

and once again, realize that all is toxic, all news is bad. Injecting news into your brain and soul is almost like injecting type two diabetes into a healthy individual.

News is like type two diabetes for your soul.

---

Spartan theory?

To sum up, the spartan way simple: live like a spartan, like the hungry wolf, invest all of your money and earnings and into bitcoin, have at least one kid, derive your pleasure enjoy another human beings, conversation, love and charity, through physical activity exercise, Risky weightlifting, being outside in nature the greet outdoors, and think exposure;

Unless you got real exposure to something, you aren’t permitted to say nothing.

ERIC

---

Don’t opine about something you’re not invested in 

Put your money where your mouth is, or don’t put your mouth where your money is not.

***

Film club

Required watching for any aspiring Spartan Stoic is all of the John Wick movies, the movie 300, the matrix movie, maybe Blade Runner? I prefer the second one. 

---

EK BOOK CLUB

The sayings of Spartans, just Google it. Also, all of the books have Seneca, all of his letters. Also the meditations by Marcus Aurelius, and honestly all of the stoic thinkers are good.

Nietzsche, all of his books.

NASSIM TALEB– all of his books.  

Interview, podcast club

All of the interviews and podcasts in YouTube series by Michael Saylor , michael.com, or hope.com 

Economic theory

All economic theory is bad. The best is to just read the Iliad, think about the ancient Greeks about their life before money was invented. 

---

The Spartan Investor

We knew Spartans, we will inherit the earth.

Some thoughts about investing;

First, I’ve always been interested in passionate about investing, ever since I was in high school. I still remember my high school science math teacher, Dr. Ahmed, reverse told me about mutual funds back in high school, and told me this unorthodox strategy that I should claim being emancipated minor, Being able to borrow some money, in essentially, use that money to invest in an aggressive mutual fund. And this was junior year of high school, I think I was 16. 

Somehow I did get my hands on some money, maybe like $1000? Or $1200, or $1600? Anyways, somehow I was able to create an investing account when I was 16, my junior year, and I invested in the one thing that I knew was very important, adobe, which made Photoshop, which I knew was very important because I pirated Photoshop as a kid, and I used it to create all of my images on my computer. I also invested some money into a mutual fund, and even the course of maybe two years, I saw the value of my stock in my mutual fund holding go up? I think I might have realized a $600 or $800 gain, and I was overjoyed!

Fast-forward a bit, into college… I realize when I was in college I was able to take out some student loans, and I use some of that money to invest in the market, while I was still in school, my sophomore year. I suppose I was 19 at the time?

Anyways, very stressful; I will check market prices, on my laptop, note this was before the iPhone existed, and it was very stressful. I would see the price go up a little little bit, and I was overjoyed, full of euphoria, and then I would see the price go down, and I would feel my stomach shrink.

Anyways, from the age of 19, I had to learn how to control my emotions, something part of my early stoic training. And also, getting into trading penny stocks my senior year, in which I accidentally misread the financials for an oil company, that when I thought they were making a profit, they were actually losing money because they would put the financials in parentheses, which I did not know at the time meant to loss. so I suppose my knowledge was good, but I miss read the information, and therefore I saw my life savings of maybe $3200 go to zero. As a 20, 21 year old, this is horrific.

Anyways, I still think I had some good intelligence. I remember during the subprime mortgage meltdown, I saw the price of Ford go almost to five dollars a share,  and I saw blockbuster about to go bankrupt. I knew that Ford was a good long-term investment because I knew that Ford would recover in the long-term, and also I knew that blockbuster would go to zero because Netflix was the future. I think the only problem at the time was at the time I didn’t have any access to, as I think I already lost all my money.

Skin in the game

So this is a big thing; being an armchair investor versus being a real Spartan investor, somebody with skin in the game, with their own personal money in the game.

 for example, I think being a personal private investor, investing your own harder money is critical here; because that was your soul time energy over many hard hard years of your life.

For example, I think about the decade plus in which I taught workshops, I worked hard to do much research, all the thousands of dollars I spent on Photobooks, writing reviews articles blog posts, videos, etc.… Writing books, making presets giving it away for free etc — essentially the best way to think about money is it is your time force energy energy life soul energy imputed into some sort of concrete things; let us say that it is solidified into a single US dollar.

However the biggest issue here is that Fiat currency, the US dollar, is like an iPhone battery. That slowly but surely, it slowly drains and loses charge. 

For example, everybody knows that if you take an iPhone or a laptop, and you just let us sit on your desk for a month without charging it, it will naturally die, even if it was turned 100% off.

Also a problem with batteries and recharging; if you permanently keep it charging all the time, I think also the battery loses the ability to retain charge, and the maximum capacity of the battery loses charges as well.

For example, my 2017 MacBook Pro, 13 inch touch bar space gray, which I bought for about $2000 maxed out refurbished at the time… I think the battery of it only last about five or 10 minutes now before shutting off.

I also heard the same thing with Tesla cars — if you just let it sit, and don’t charge it every single day… Slowly it will lose charge. I suppose this is the upside of having a gasoline powered car, is that oil and petroleum will just sit there, and will not lose charge. Surely there are other things you still gotta worry about like the battery, but still… For the most part oil and gas is more stable than an electric battery and charge.

Anyways, I think the general impetus behind investing is a bit misguided. I think in the past, and also maybe the general idea that people had is “I will invest this amount of money in order for me to gain a return, in order for me to purchase XYZ in the future. For example children are taught of a peaky, you save your allowance and your birthday money in it, so one day in the near future, you could buy a scooter or something.

Butwhat if… We Spartans know that toys are bad? In fact, some things I learned about toys, in raising Seneca: 

1. Superficially legal seem like a good idea, but eventually, Legos are bad. Why? As a parent you got to clean up their mess, and also… When the kid grows up sooner or later you’ll just donate the Legos to another family. The ideal and optimal strategy then is to just play with Legos at the local library on the brick building day, and just leave it there, and go back home.
2. For Seneca’s entire life, I’ve only bought him two toy cars; I think two Lamborghinis, the small hot wheels style. I think we already lost them.
3. Almost by osmosis, kids, whether you like it or not, or gain all of these free toys by orbit. For example when they visit their grandma’s home, or play with cousins or whatever… They will pick up random toy cars here and there. Therefore, the simple ideas that you never have to purchase kids any toys, they will naturally get toys from friends and family, on their birthday holidays etc., even if you are a “anti toy household”.

Are toys bad?

I think so.

Essentially the purpose of a toy for the most part, is some sort of thing to distract your kids while you as a parent to do something else.

And also, the problem and issue with toys is that it doesn’t make them anymore physically strong or capable.

When it comes down to it, the best things to prioritize for your kid is their physical strength, height, muscle mass, ability to climb stuff, run around, be out in nature, go on hikes, have a nice tan for actually being in the sun, Ability to pick up heavy stuff and throw them, etc. Even one of the things I’m very proud of is ever since Seneca was very young, he would be really good at throwing rocks into bodies of water!

Weapons & armor & shields

If we think about the ancient Spartans,  what were their possessions? Simple: their spear and shield, even their sword was kind of more of an accessory piece.

Also, I think according to Pluto, or some of the ancient historians, there are funny quotes like “why are spartan swords so short?” Spartan response: “So we could get close to the enemy”.

Also, one of the most critical things about being a spartan was your shield; the reason why the hunchback was not allowed to fight along the spartan army was because he could not raise his shield, and the critical thing about being a spartan was the ability to defend the man next to you.

Even when you consider the final duel or fight between Achilles and Hector, I think it comes down to throwing spears, at a distance, and having the other party defend themselves with their shield.

Helmets were also critical because there were many times in which having the right shield actually defended you from death.

---

Defense?

So my first Spartan economic thought is that the purpose of money is more of an economic shield, barrier, buffer, or armor to prevent you from working like a slave.

The purpose of money isn’t to buy stuff, purchase a home, buy super things, purchase a vehicle etc.… But rather, via negativa; for you not to work.

As long as you got a job, a boss, a steady paycheck… You are not free. 

Also, as long as you got a mortgage on your home, payments on your car, and any sort of debt or obligations… Once again you are also not free.

All debt is bad debt

More recently I thought I’ve been towing with is in regards to the notion of debt; for example what some institutional investors do is take on debt to purchase things, property, bitcoin like Michael Saylor and micro strategy, in order to purchase more assets, in the promise that it will grow in the future.

I’m starting to think, maybe could work for the corporations, institutions etc.… But maybe this kind of leverage is not a good idea for us private investors, because it could cause dumb, and also cause you to lose your freedom.

The goal

1. NOT have a job
2. NOT have debt
3. NOT be employed by anyone else besides you (sole, sole proprietor — number of employees is 0– you are your only employee).

---

Creating your own new Sparta

What is very interesting about Sparta, Kim Leonidas etc.… Is that the point wasn’t to enslave millions and billions of people, rather, it was to think about committing to your own local population… For example, maybe the Spartan populations was only 10,000 Spartans? And they had about 50,000 helots till the land?

A big thought: it seems that the modern day individual loves to complain critique and hate on everything, hit on global policies, politics, individuals, music, media, iPhones and social media, whatever. Whenever people talk about global warming, carbon levels, carbon footprint whatever… Typically I see a lot of these people are either single, maybe they own a dog, certainly children and kids.

In fact, the lamest thought that kids contribute most to the carbon footprint of the planet… My ongoing theory is that these people are just humanity haters; just want to take their dog to the grave with them?

Who knows, perhaps your kid, or some other kid who is born today is going to be the one who solves pollution on the planet; who creates a solar power pan all that is 1 billion times more effective, or invent some sort of nuclear power vision Energy generator that could fit in your back pocket?

---

Anyways, my simple thought is rather than complaining and critiquing about society whatever… More effective to just become the change in which you wish to see manifested in the world, and also a big thing; have kids! Your own micro society, create your own cultural values, and insanely Spartan, stoic and staunch about it.

For example, I think giving presents and buying toys for kids on their birthday is ridiculous. I believe rather than experiences, tight. Therefore for my niece Amelia and Benji, I don’t think I’ve ever bought them any toys on their birthday or on any holidays. What I do instead is take them rockclimbing with me and Cindy, and also when I’m just with them… I just play with them! I leave my Phone in my glove compartment of my car, and I just run around with them!

I remember Amelia saying a year or two ago saying “I miss Samchon ERIC,… Because he is the only one who plays with me”…

---

How to raise your kids

I think in today’s world of hedonism and indulgence, the thought is to raise, train, and breed your kid to be craters, in invaders, Spartan Stoics, with maximum physical capability, 100% carnivore died, with extreme vigor, play and joyfulness.

For example, would you give your kid heroin? Certainly not. Then don’t shove kids in front of their face, or Disney+ or whatever when you just want them to stop crying. Let them confront their own emotions, explain things to them, let them cry it out; give them a kiss on their forehead if they fell on their head, and the big thing; don’t let any other loser adults punk your kid around.

In fact, I’m starting to think more and more… Perhaps I should become more aggressive, more of an asshole parent. For example, I’ve been on a bit of a rampage in which to not smoke in public places, when I’m with Seneca. Even though they might give me a dirty look, or even if I might feel bad about it… This is what a true Spartan would do. Essentially you take the brunt of badness, bad emotions whatever… And defend your kid, defend your wife, defend your family.

When to attack?

Also, I think America could learn a thing or two about Sparta; for the most part, think America should just stop meddling in the business of other nations, other nation states, even if we want to maintain some sort of world peace for the interest of America.

For example, America needs to stop waging positive war. The only good use of military is defense. America needs to be well positioned in such a way that if anyone attacks us, we could defend ourselves. But I think ethically, America should not wage preemptive attacks on other nations and other nation states, in order for us to be like Machiavelli’s prince; the idea that often to defend oneself, you have to preemptively attack.

I think this is also the thing that is so ridiculous about gun ownership in America, all these loser notions of “self-defense “. Everyone always wants a gun on them, because they are afraid of being shot or being attacked. And I think some people shoot another person preemptively, because they fear their life is in danger danger or whatever.

But, the law is, you are never allowed to shoot first. The only time you pull out your gun or whatever and start shooting is one the other person has already shot you, or has already shot something in the environment.

Maybe the only new ones is if that person has gunpoint to your kid or whatever… Then you headshot him in the head. But besides this, don’t be a pussy.

---

The stoic Spartan investing strategy

Lib Spartan. Essentially somebody who glorifies themselves under their own human body, their own physical strength, just think about how your muscles, your shoulders your back and your traps are.

No dogs, no cats, no animals. Only children.

Ensure that you have at least one son to continue the family name. 

Perhaps foolishness is a virtue?

I’m also starting to think, being mad, being a madman is a virtue. Anybody who focused is too much on security, safety, prudence and rationality is a wimp.

Good for your wife, do it for your family, be a true mensch.

Throw your cares and concerns into the tailwind, burn all your bridges, burn your ships behind you, don’t look back. Only forward.

what type of money would Spartans prefer?

Historically, the ancient Spartans would abolish money. Because they know that money corrupts.

I think one of the earliest Spartan legislators, Lycurgus, essentially made the law in which he converted all money into huge stone, which were essentially impossible, maybe it was made of iron etc. made accumulation of wealth so cumbersome, people eventually stopped chasing wealth for the sake of it. 

Mandatory military duty?

I was always an anti-military, but now as an adult… I’m starting to see the virtues.

For example, in South Korea, all men are required to do a mandatory two year military service, even StarCraft players and BTS members are not exempt.

The good thing about this, as well as Singapore… It built a sense of nationhood and camaraderie between men. Even one of my friends, Andrew, a professor I think he did some sort of part-time Navy officer reserve training when he was getting his PhD… And he said something like “I think if there was some sort of military duty amongst Americans, there would be a lot less divide and conflict”. I also agree.

Probably the most anti-racist training that I ever got in high school was accidentally; playing high school American football. Essentially, I was thrown in all rainbows of races; African-American, Latino, southeast Asian, east Asian, Caucasian etc. There was a strong sense of brotherhood, and everybody supported one another. And for the most part, we put aside all of our differences and our cliques.

For example, I remember some of the white guys who are hefty lineman, I think they were into Cowboys and rodeos and wearing cowboy hats whatever, and African-American kids would just hang out with other African-Americans at school, and the southeast Asians were also part of their own crew etc., all my friends were Korean American, or east Asian… But when we all played football together, did practice, play games etc.… We would all sing the same ridiculous songs on the school bus, breaking Windows, etc. 

Also, a very formative thing that I did was Boy Scouts; becoming an Eagle Scout, etc. Also here… All notions of race, religion whatever was erased; I remember that my scoutmaster was Jewish Jewish American, and his two sons were all in scouts with me would wear the little Hat, and I never knew what it really was, but I never really hated on it.

And also, I remember the Levee brothers; also two boisterous Jewish American kids, Ariel and Jamie, And once again, I didn’t even even know what antisemitism was until I went to college?

Anyways, my grand vision is that being American should be more of a nationality, more of a nation state thing, rather than a racial thing.

For example, the genius of Rome, was that as long as you paid taxes, you were Roman. It didn’t matter if you were from Spain, like Seneca the younger, who I named my own son after, Seneca was not a Spaniard — he was a Roman. 

Also, I have more in common with Kendrick Lamar grew up to E-40, then I ever did with any Korean person I met in South Korea.

Also some funny nuances; I have far more connections with somebody I meet up in the bay area, in the 90s, doesn’t matter if there are Latino or black or whatever…

Even Southern California, LA South Koreans; they are different from me. 

As long as you grew up to underground rap, the Bay Area high E-40 movement, if you know who Keak da sneak is, if you know how to go stupid dumb and hyphy yellow bus retarded, if you over owned a pair of all white case Swiss tennis shoes in high school, and just wore white T-shirts and dark blue denim, and never owned a pair of shorts until you’re late 20s… Then you are with me.

John Wick would like bitcoin

A very interesting scene, and also in the universe of John Wick; it is a world beyond money. For example, in the universe of John Wick, money is just like these gold coins, which are used to gain access, trade favors, clean up messy dead bodies, to protect or guard things, or for people to take a hit at somebody.

For example, when John Wick wants to get into the secret club, he has to insert a single golden coin, very much like putting a coin in some sort of arcade machine.

Also, when John Wick is first seeking revenge in the first film, and he opens up his war chest… It is all guns ammo and gold coins. No US dollars, no Fiat currency.

Why bitcoin is the way

I recently sold all of my Tesla stock, and purchased micro strategy stock instead (MSTR). Why? Some convincing arguments from michael saylor:

 first, product cycles. Certainly for the most part, purchasing Apple stock is a good idea, however, who knows if the iPhone 35 pro will be any good?

Also, CEO; let it say that one day, Elon Musk totally left Tesla. And no longer had any affiliations with Tesla. If this were the case, Tesla would not be worth anything.

I think the genius about bitcoin is that it is a religion. Satoshi, is essentially this metaphorical Jesus speaker, the savior, and he disappears forever. With any other crypto asset, Ethereum and Vitalik or even chainlink and Sergey; as long as you have a central spokesperson, a CEO, a president or a leader, a charismatic individual… You will not last.

For example, one of the very interesting things that I learn from my political sociology class at UCLA as an undergraduate with Mark Jepsen was that nations or nation states that are led by charismatic individuals don’t last. Once the leader dies off, there is no longer any vision.

For example the genius of America, is that even if we have a few bad apples, the whole thing will still chug along OK. Let us consider that after Mao Zedong died, after Ho Chi Minh died, both mainland China and Vietnam has slowly and surely started to delve into capitalism… The dominant world system.

In fact, that is consider that seems that 80% of the Chinese economy is still dependent on America. And essentially, the CNY, is pegged to the US dollar; because there are capital controls in order from the Chinese government, in Chinese mainland Chinese individuals cannot take their wealth out of the country, especially when they prefer to buy property and live in Vancouver Canada instead… It is a strong signal that duh , America’s on top.

Even though if you had currency is weak, America is still the strongest Fiat currency on the planet. I recently talked to a woman who just got her green card from Beirut Lebanon, and she told me that the whole lira thing is a mess;  that people prefer to just hold and trade US dollars instead.

Even when I visited Cuba, even though they have the local Cuban dollar currency, still at end of the day, things are priced in US dollars.

After the US dollar, all other currencies, nobody wants them. Nobody wants the euro, too much chaos in Europe. Nobody wants the pound, Britain’s isolationist policies make it the next Japan, they will still stagger on but will slowly become irrelevant, nobody wants a Korean won — their population is dying off, and it seems that the greatest market for new Hyundai cars are actually in the states, nobody wants the Japanese yen, once again their birth rate is practically zero now. Nobody wants Chinese yuan — I don’t know any non-Chinese person who would prefer using WeChat, we pay, or a Huawei phone.

As long as rich mainland Chinese people prefer to use an iPhone Pro over a Huawei phone, America will always be on top. 

Election cycle predictions 

I’m voting for our Kamala Harris, because she has more aligned with my ethical beliefs, even though she will lose. I’m almost 99.99% certain that Donald Trump win.

The good news is that Donald Trump is very pro bitcoin, bitcoin mining etc.; so after Donald Trump gets elected, after the dust settles… Your bitcoin value will blossom.

Even if bitcoin and crypto goes through another bear market, which eventually it will… Still, the US economy will be stronger under Donald Trump than Kamala Harris.

If anything, of Joe Biden stepping down and having Kamala Harris rotten instead is like the final hail Mary – and I have played enough high school football to know that Hail Mary’s never work 99.999% of the time. The only time a Hail Mary will work in an American football game is almost never; you only hear about it when you watch random TV clips, or YouTube videos, but I think the chance of a Hail Mary working is practically zero. 

---

So what is in your locus of control?

So I think the big thing to note here is that the stoic way is simple:

What is in your locus of control, what isn’t?

Politics, climate change, dual politics, etc. are not in your control.

What is in your control? Your own individual behaviors, what you write about to friends family and on the Internet, whether you decide to use social media or not, your own individual actions, and also… Your own individual non-action; what you decide not to do. 

For example, it seems that the words you refrain from, what you decide not to say, is more telling than what you decide to say.

Another stoic strategy; when you hear something which is very puzzling to you, restrain responding immediately… It works 99.9% of the time.

silence is golden, speaking intelligently is silver.

Nobody wants silver.

Just focus on one thing?

Spartans only focused on one thing; freedom. 

The lame thing about America is you have a bunch of these fake ass patriots, waving Trump flags, we have never done any military service. Freedom is not free, or live free or die.

The general ethos is that it is true… Freedom is not free. But what is the opposite of free? Skin and soul in the game; actually being on the front lines of something.

For example, I have a simple rule; you’re not allowed to talk about freedom or whatever or is some sort of fake ass patriot chest thumping flag waving coward, if you have never served military duty, or at least have done Boy Scouts and know how to properly fold a flag!

Also, if you really want to be conservative or Republican or whatever, the simple news is don’t watch Fox News, or any news.

Could be told, both sides are foolish. The left the right the center the moderates whatever… You gotta think like an individual. This means removing all news from your brain, all news which is run on advertising is toxic.

I have another big idea news agencies, website individual bloggers, magazines etc. except payments in bitcoin and Satoshi, no advertising.

The truth is as long as something is supported by advertising, the low-key bias will be to make it more sensationalist, less connected with reality, in order to get more eyeballs in order to make more advertising dollars.

Are there any newsies which do not run on advertising? No.

As a consequence, trust no news but yourself.

Where to get your news? 

ironically enough, maybe the best place to get your news is through intentional propaganda government portals, like going to the official US military defense.gov website, because you could smell the propaganda more critically.

Propaganda, propaganda, propagate just means to spread something. The French use the word propaganda, not in the evil way as we Americans think, propaganda just means to spread something.

and once again, realize that all is toxic, all news is bad. Injecting news into your brain and soul is almost like injecting type two diabetes into a healthy individual.

News is like type two diabetes for your soul.

---

Spartan theory?

To sum up, the spartan way simple: live like a spartan, like the hungry wolf, invest all of your money and earnings and into bitcoin, have at least one kid, derive your pleasure enjoy another human beings, conversation, love and charity, through physical activity exercise, Risky weightlifting, being outside in nature the greet outdoors, and think exposure;

Unless you got real exposure to something, you aren’t permitted to say nothing.

ERIC

---

Don’t opine about something you’re not invested in 

Put your money where your mouth is, or don’t put your mouth where your money is not.

***

Film club

Required watching for any aspiring Spartan Stoic is all of the John Wick movies, the movie 300, the matrix movie, maybe Blade Runner? I prefer the second one. 

---

EK BOOK CLUB

The sayings of Spartans, just Google it. Also, all of the books have Seneca, all of his letters. Also the meditations by Marcus Aurelius, and honestly all of the stoic thinkers are good.

Nietzsche, all of his books.

NASSIM TALEB– all of his books.  

Interview, podcast club

All of the interviews and podcasts in YouTube series by Michael Saylor , michael.com, or hope.com 

Economic theory

All economic theory is bad. The best is to just read the Iliad, think about the ancient Greeks about their life before money was invented. 

---

How to deal with the high price of living:

Some quick thoughts:

---

First, it seems that everyone loves to complain about the high cost-of-living. When they talk about this… What do they really mean to say?

First, there are certain nonnegotiables you must do, like feed yourself. No matter how rich intelligent or wise you are, if you don’t feed yourself yourself you will die.

However the nuance; playing defense, and also realizing that a lot of things are negotiable.

Your options

For example, you must eat, but it is not an imperative that you must eat out at a restaurant or order takeout.

Or another thing — it is illegal to be naked out in public, but the funny nuance is as a man, legally you are not forced to wear a shirt in public, that is technically optional. You only gotta put on a shirt when you go inside a private business or restaurant or establishment. But if you are out in public, then, shirts are optional.

Big deal, because the funny thing about clothing is that it could be essentially free, people seem to like to give away free clothes, or it could be insanely expensive, in fashion and fashion it is not uncommon to purchase a $300 white T-shirt.

---

2010 Prius is the way

Second, your vehicle. If you live in LA, I suppose you don’t really need a car; actually, you could probably get by by just using Uber, walking, public transportation, the bus, the metro. However it is true that if you want to improve the quality of your life, having a car is superior, because you could do stuff like go hiking, go to nature, drive to other public libraries, science centers etc.

However the nuance with cars is that once again, it could be however cheap or expensive you want it to be. 

For example, if you live in LA, by far the most intelligent option is to own a Prius, a hybrid vehicle, etc. Why?

The funny realization; the other day I just went to Arco and filled up my 2010 Prius from zero to the max, maybe it only cost me $38. And I looked at my odometer thing, and it said that a full tank I guess would be 410 miles of range! This struck me as very funny, as that is technically 10 miles more range even than the Tesla model S! 
So wait … let us do the math:

I inherited the 2010 Prius from Cindy‘s family for free, put $2800 to purchase a new catalytic converter, $2000 for a new automatic braking system … essentially a “brand new” car for only $4800! And what is insanely great is that the Prius was purchased brand new by Cindy‘s older sister in 2010, maybe when it comes around $30,000 or something, and so because it kept itself in the family, we know that it was not used and abused, and the maintenance was super spot on, always maintained properly, never used and abused. Also, we actually had the Prius for about two years when Cindy and I lived in Berkeley, I think we actually ended up finishing off the finance payments on it as well.

Not only that, but due to a recall, Cindy‘s younger sister actually got the whole Prius repainted with brand new blizzard pearl, sparkly tri tone white paint! Cindy recently got a quick detailing Maguire spray from the Facebook buy nothing group, and after putting it on, the paint on it is insanely beautiful, especially when the bright sun is out! 

I think this is where I still like beautiful paint on a car, rather than the current modern trendy approach with matte black, matte black vinyl 3M wraps, or even these boring concrete gray colored cars; really beautiful paint on a car after you wax it is insanely beautiful!

For example my neighbor has a brand new Porsche 718 cayman in the concrete grey color, which I find very boring as a color. In direct light, the blizzard pearl on the Prius looks 1 million times more beautiful! Why? When you look closely… You could see the tiny speckles of purple pink and blue inside the white blizzard pearl;

Beautiful paint jobs

Also, when I am on the road, I think actually the most beautiful paint I have seen on cars is probably on Lexus vehicles, for example Lexus has this really beautiful silver atomic color that they put on some of their vehicles, and even the brand new Lexus RX in silver looks insanely beautiful! Similarly speaking, the darker silver color looks great on the IS 250 cars. 

Even though I love Tesla and Elon Musk to death, in terms of supreme and the most high quality, Lexus is the way. For example, what is the most important part of a car, in terms of the design? I say it is the back of the car, which you always look at, as well as the driver side door, whenever you enter and exit your vehicle. 

For example, on the Lexus LS cars, the detailing the side mirror trim, the door side trim, the door handles on the Lexus LS series is so well crafted, and beautiful. Even though I love the Tesla cars, honestly if you look really really carefully at Tesla cars, look closely, The trim actually looks very very cheap. And feels cheap.

Even on the Tesla model Y, something I was so shocked about when test driving Cindy’s dad’s Tesla model Y, was the rear passenger door window thing; it is literally wiggling so hard that it looks like it will fall off!

I then suppose there is a contradiction of quality here;

There are certain things which we think is very very high-quality in terms of branding, our minds, etc.… Then there tends to be a little bit more objective reality at play, which you cannot really understand until you have seen and touched it yourself in real life. 

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Expenses?

So back to the whole issue of the cost-of-living;

First, delete all subscriptions. Unsubscribe from everything.

Delete and unsubscribe from all of your music and TV and show and film streaming services, and also depending on your situation… Cancel your gym membership. I think the gym membership is good if you go there every single day, it is not too trafficky to get there, and you can get in and out quick, and also you don’t have to wait for equipment. Otherwise, it seems wise to start investing in building your own home gym; why? Time. I have probably recovered at least 2 to 3 hours a day by not going to my local gym, as I could skip all of the lines by simply working out on myself, in my ghetto backyard, parking lot gym.

Also a funny thing that I have discovered is that ever since I have been working out at home, I think I have become a little bit more honest. What does that mean? Now that I no longer have anybody to impress, literally for myself, nobody else. So all the exercises I do is truly for myself.

Suckered by “quality”?

Also a very big issue here; I think we often think about this abstract notion of “quality”, but what does that really mean?

First, it seems that the most objective measure here is durability. What does durability mean? That’s something will last a long time!

Typically durability has to deal with hardness, but I think hardness is simply means of something to last a long time.

For example, durability, duration; all the same thing.

I haven’t come up with a good definition of “quality” yet, but it seems that this notion of quality needs to be re-examined.

Amazon, Amazon prime, Amazon fresh?

How long until you could purchase a home on Amazon prime? Or purchase a car through Amazon prime? 

A recent discovery that Cindy and I found is Amazon fresh. Interestingly enough, I think it is actually cheaper and more convenient and time saving than Costco!

I’ll get example; for some reason whenever we go to Costco, it is easy that we drop 500 or $600 on a bunch of random stuff. But Amazon, Amazon fresh is much more targeted, almost like a precision laser strike; you only select items you want from the Amazon app, and then you pick it up, either curbside, or you just go in store and just ask the friendly people there that you’re picking up. Or, you could subscribe to the Amazon fresh thing, which is only $10 a month, and you could just have it delivered straight to your door!

Jeff Bezos said something interesting, which was essentially “We want to make it so that by not having Amazon prime, you are doing something financially irresponsible”.

Also with clothing, my younger sister Annette Kim has recently been buying all of her clothes on Amazon, and I am shocked; it all looks great, and it is like 10% the price of buying stuff at a traditional retailer or a Lululemon etc.

I think what is so interesting about Amazon Amazon prime is that effectively, the goods are all produced by some anonymous factory somewhere in mainland China, and you cut out the middleman which is the publicly listed corporation which is inflating prices to make a profit, let us not forget that Lululemon is a publicly traded corporation, as a result… Cutting out the middleman seems like a good idea.

Certainly Lululemon does a lot of investing in innovating and creating new types of fabrics, which is probably in fact superior to that which you buy on Amazon, but, I suppose the question is if you are purchasing the products just for fashion, then just buying it on Amazon directly makes more sense.

Or I’ll give you another example, a month ago we got invited to a wedding and I realize that I have forgotten where I put my nice dress shoes. So I just went on Amazon, and I ordered these all black, “L run” minimalist zero drop shoes, which only cost me maybe $28! And boom delivered to my door in a day, instead of having to sift through all of these tedious dress shoe brands, which can easily cost you about $200. 

When in doubt, first order it on Amazon prime.

Even with Seneca and his shoes, Cindy just orders the “L Run” kids water shoes ,,, the minimalist essentially slippers for kids… each is only like $10! And when he outgrows it, or gets a hole in it, you could just throw it in the trash. 

Cut out the middleman

Has there been a good film on Stoicism yet?

I think the best we got so far is John Wick; John Wick is probably the uber-stoic.

And then we have the movie 300, also, insanely great.

My ideal film or concept would be if John Wick and 300 had a baby; essentially my only critique about John Wick and Keanu Reeves is that he is too muscularly wimpy; why doesn’t John Wick have a six pack and is insanely buff like king Leonidas and Gerald Butler in the movie 300? Or at least look like something like ERIC KIM? 

Very very simple ways that Hollywood producers and directors you could beef up your actors, without shooting their butt holes full of steroids; 

1. 100% carnivore diet — feed them nothing but the finest bone marrow, beef liver, ribeye steak, beef ribs
2. Have them quit all sugars starches, fruits vegetables, etc. The only non-meat item to eat is arugula or kale or dark leafy bitter greens
3. Have them fast; no breakfast no lunch, only a 4 pound carnivore dinner. This will also be good because it could be productive throughout the whole day, they don’t need breakfast or a lunch break.
4. Extremely heavy one repetition maximum style lifting — “If the bar ain’t bendin, you pretending” – Hugh Jackman, Wolverine

In fact, how much productivity is lost because people have to buy a mediocre $25 salad and sandwich, and waste an hour or 45 minutes or 20 minutes eating lunch? For them to maybe instead, just going on a walk around the block, get a quick pump lift some weights, drink some water, or maybe even take a nap instead.

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Think 30 years ahead

Far seeing:

A big thought I currently have is the notion of trying to think at least 30 years ahead.

Why?

First, if you think 30 years ahead, you gain a lot of clarity to and behind things. 

I suppose one of the greatest blessings of having Seneca, having a kid is now finally… I have a reason, or have an impetus or approach to think long-term ahead.

For example, trying to think about my strength physique and health 30 years from now, as well as the health of Cindy, my mom, Seneca, the whole family empire.

A very very simple idea is keep stacking those bitcoins. I have about 100% certainty that 30 years from now, bitcoin will be a raging win.

I think the hard thing with a lot of people is that they cannot stomach the volatility. However, what I find so fascinating about bitcoin is that it is insanely volatile, but actually not very risky. In fact, I believe bit bitcoin to be the only crypto asset Which actually has zero risk. After bitcoin, all of the other crypto‘s have huge risk and downsides; for example I think Ethereum is a lame duck, the only other crypto worth mentioning is chainlink, but the biggest issue here is that they are to heavily on marketing and PR, which is always a bad sign. Even getting Sergey Nazarov the founder to wear a suit and tie, bad idea. Just let him walk around in his classic blue flannel!

Building something which will last 30 years from now?

There are certain things that you built today which will exist 30 years from now, in certain things… Will no longer be around 30 years from now.

For example, very unlikely that your neighbor will live live in the same apartment building for the next 30 years.

Also, very unlikely that Instagram or TikTok will be around 30 years from now. I think Facebook will still be around 30 years from now, as it is essentially the core product for Facebook and the medical corporation, but beyond that, maybe no.

Apple will still be around 30 years from now, people will still be using iPhones.

Google will still be around 30 years from now.

Amazon will most definitely be around 30 years from now. Same goes with Microsoft.

Websites and blogs will still be around, with the classic HTTPS: and www. and .com domains. I think most apps won’t be around 30 years from now.

Apps will come and go, websites will stay.

Building your own empire for the next 30 years 

Nothing that you buy today, will probably have any utility 30 years from now.

For example, there is no car vehicle thing or truck that will still be trendy or sought after 30 years from now, without dealing with extreme maintenance costs.

Also, I am still not 100% certain about investing in property or real estate; the maintenance cost are too high, as well as vacancy rates, having to rent and manage your property, maintain and paint and fix things, hire staff, pay for taxes and property taxes etc. 

Even right right now, currently I am living in LA, but will I be in LA 30 years from now? Probably not.

So what is ultimately portable you could always take your wealth with you? Bitcoin!

Also let us think about the US dollar and inflation; what will be the price of 30 years from now? A lot. Let us assume that you have $100, and you save it in a safe somewhere,  what will be its purchasing power 30 years from now? Maybe 30 years from now, $100 will buy you a burger and a soda?

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What does it mean to be a stoic investor? 

I think thinking 30 years ahead is the great filter.

For example, all these degenerate millennials, hedonists, and their dogs will all die off, the only people left standing and thriving will be people with kids and families.

First, have kids. At least one, ideally two, also, desirable to have at least one male heir if you are a man.

Second, just think to yourself when it comes to financial economic or just like decisions… “What would king Leonidas do, say, or think?”

For example, if I had a King Leonidas ChatGPT bot, just ask him, in regards to any purchasing decisions… should I do it, should I not do it? You already know what he will say! 

–> “King Leonidas… Should I buy that Tesla, that cybertruck, that Tesla model 3 performance, the Tesla model S plaid, the Porsche, the Porsche 911, the Porsche 911 GT 3 RS?”

King Leonidas would say:

“Only women drive vehicles”– a true man would only engage in hand-to-hand combat, no chariots, no horses, no vehicles. 

Actually this is really really fascinating, if you think about it, go back to the Iliad, Achilles versus Hector. Essentially when it comes down to it, Achilles is just chasing around Hector, ready to kill him, no chariot.

And also, if you think about the Iliad, and also the Spartan 300s; they don’t even use horses! 

Subtraction?

Typically the entire economy thrives on addition. For example you positively add, produce things goods product services etc.… And people positively purchase, and add it to their homes their wardrobes etc. 

For example, let us consider and think about the closet of the average American or individual; just count it out… How many shirts, pants, socks, jackets, shoes do you own?

And also… What other random stuff have you screenshot it on your phone that you might like to buy in the near future?

Or let us stay with cars and vehicles… If you became a billionaire, cars would you like to purchase and add to your garage?

Or if you are a homeowner, what new appliances would you like to purchase or upgrade in your home, or how would you like to renovate your home?

This issue here is it is all additive; we always try to add something, rather than thinking about subtraction.

Why isn’t subtraction in vogue?

The issue is that first, I think people lack the experience the wisdom or the critical thinking in regards to subtraction.

Also, my personal theory is whenever you purchase something, there is a small power rush. When you purchase something or add something to your store house, it makes you feel more powerful.

For example, why is it that king Priam had 1000 oxen, and wanted 10,000 more, even though he could never eat or consume all of that oxen? Because with wealth and power … Typically speaking… More is better.

Put in today’s world, more is worse. The more stuff you buy, the more stuff you have to maintain manage, organize etc.

For example, even if you have more than one vehicle, you have to think about maintaining more than one vehicle, a massive pain in the ass.

For example, I often see my brother-in-law he has a Toyota 4 runner and Toyota sienna hybrid, and I often see him have to charge the battery of his 4 runner, because having to maintain two vehicles is a lot of work. 

Also, clothes; the more clothes you purchase, the more you have to manage it. For example I do have certain articles of clothing which I prefer, but I always have to rummage through my random shelf randomly scattered clothing in order to find it.

Or let us say that you own a lot of electronics, or phones or laptops or iPads devices whatever; more crap you have to charge and maintain.

Even properties; imagine that you have property in the south of France, and also a French bank account; and you get locked out of your French bank account, and you have to pay taxes on your property. A big pain in the ass.

True wealth is subtracting duties, obligations, work

Negotium means “neg+otium”– negative leisure or otium.

The ancient Romans and Latin were wise; they knew that any sort of business was bad. They knew that it were required more maintenance, more work, and it was seen as a bad thing to do business, even the word for business is “negotium” which literally means “negative otium”–  anytime spent away from you being able to enjoy your leisure.

The problem is in today’s world and cult of capitalism, work in productivity, we have essentially defied this slave-like notion of work productivity, hard work is a virtue, being busy as a virtue etc.

The ancient Spartans had the helots (peasant slaves) do the dirty work of tilling the lands, maintaining stuff, etc.  Apparently they would even use the helots for target practice.

That, the wise thing to do is to unlearn or to disconnect yourself from this slave-like mentality of work, busyness, duty, responsiveness, responsibility, following up and following through etc.

The only true freeman is only somebody who does not have email installed on their phone. Better yet doesn’t even own a phone. As long as you have to attend to email, you are not free.

If anything, the killer app would just be a ChatGPT email but which automatically answered all your emails for you! Which knew your preferences, etc. And would just do all the work for you!

Even as a risky experiment, would you trust ChatGPT and your inbox? Maybe. 

Big ideas for Apple

Maybe even the next step for Apple intelligence is for Siri or your phone or whatever to automatically respond to your text messages or your iMessages or your emails. This would be the real killer feature.

I think the average worker be maybe spends four hours a day just attending to email. If AI could just do that all for you, and you could save yourself four hours of stress and mental cognitive load day, isn’t this ideal?

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Subtraction

What is the best way to “upgrade” your home? Not by buying new furniture or whatever… Very simple, just get rid of stuff! Throw old furniture in the trash or put it on the curb or give it away, and subtract dust grime; Vacuum the floors wipe the floors, clean the bathroom and the toilet and the bathtub etc.

Also, a simple thought about clothes; the best clothing is subtractive.

Instead of buying a new outfit, just take the clothes that you already have, and just cut it with scissors! Cut off the sleeves of your T-shirts and make it into a tanktop, or even take your shirts and cut it into a crop top.

Apparently it is even popular for jean shorts now — just take an old pair of jeans and cut off the legs! 

Do people not know that you could just take scissors and cut up your own clothes?

Cameras

Also in the realm of cameras, the best upgrade you could do is actually to reduce file sizes; just shoot JPEG, small or extra small JPEG, and in terms of your lens, the most supreme light compact cheap and pancake lens possible.

Weight is a nonnegotiable.

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The only real upgrade is reducing size weight

For example, if you want to upgrade your camera, or your camera set up or whatever… The only really empirical thing that you could do is subtract the weight, subtract the size, also subtract the overall footprint of it.

For example, even your automobile car, technically the real upgrade especially when living in Los Angeles or a city is to actually spend money to reduce the size of it?

For example, let us say that you have a Tesla model S plaid, or cybertruck or a Tesla model X, the real upgrade here is to reduce the size of it, in order for it to be a smaller to fit in more parking spots.

If this is the case, then the Tesla model 3 is the perfect car for LA. 

If you want to stick to hybrid for maximum convenience, Prius is the way.

Stoic training

If you want to become more stoic, first you must train your body, the mind will follow.

For example, assuming that you’re sleeping insanely good, 10 hours a night, and you could lift 1000 pounds… Certainly there will be nothing which will be able to stir you.

Or, when I’m walking around town and my 60 pound weight vest, I feel like a beast, a boss, kind of like one of those Pacific Rim robots, armored core, a Titan, Titanic, a giant mech robot, a gundam on steroids? 

In terms of overall physique, and strength and power and mass… I am more Ronnie Coleman than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Granted that Ronnie Coleman juiced out his eyeballs and essentially is now permanently crippled. Not worth it.

> Lift heavy, eat a shitload of meat, sleep like a god

This is my simple formula; first the sleep aspect. I’ve been experimenting a little bit with my sleep set up, now it is summer. The last two nights I slept insanely poorly, which made me feel absolutely horrible for about two days. But finally last night, I slept with the air conditioner on a little bit cooler, I slept like a god.

Without 8 to 10 hours of sleep, you cannot do anything godlike.

In fact, the only three things I care for Seneca is also, that he sleeps 12 hours a night, finishes a whole Angus beef burger patty, and that he has maximum physical activity and exercise and climbing outside. All this stuff on education and learning or whatever… That will come naturally.

You are the special!

Recently from the LA public library in Chinatown… Seneca found the Lego Batman movie, and also the Lego movie, and we watched a little bit of a together, and I think those two films might be on my new list of must watch films.

Why? A little bit of parody and humor and turning things into Legos… Makes you think a lot more big picture.

For example, the Lego movie fun at the matrix, Neo, “the one”– or “the special”. Also, it does a very very good job of critiquing mainstream culture, capitalism, corporations, even better than how fight club did it.

The humorous stoic

Typically when we think about stoicism, we think about dark morose EMO people. But my notion of stoicism is actually much more lighthearted, happy and fun. A stoic with a grand sense of humor, and a belly-full laughter! Dionysian joy. 

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Takeaway points

1. Think 30 years ahead as a filter
2. Poor is sexy — go for a reverse flex; the richer you become, live a more “poor” lifestyle.
3. Just first buy it on Amazon prime
4. Try out Amazon Fresh for groceries
5. The most gangsta car has the maximum MPG’s!
6. Save money and keep stacking those bitcoins

ERIC

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How to deal with the high price of living

Some quick thoughts:

First, it seems that everyone loves to complain about the high cost-of-living. When they talk about this… What did they really mean to say?

First, there are certain nonnegotiable you must do, like feed yourself. No matter how rich intelligent or wise you are, if you don’t feed yourself yourself you will die.

However the nuance; playing defense, and also realizing that a lot of things are negotiable.

For example, you must eat, but it is not an imperative that you must eat out at a restaurant or order takeout.

Or another thing — search and Lee it is illegal to be naked out in public, but the funny nuance is as a man, legally you are not forced to wear a shirt in public, that is technically optional. You only gotta put on his shirt when you go inside a private business or restaurant or establishment. But if you are out in public, then, shirts are optional.

Big deal, because the funny thing about clothing is that it could be essentially free, people seem to like to give away free clothes, or it could be insanely expensive, in fashion and fashion it is not uncommon to purchase a $300 white T-shirt.

Second, your vehicle. If you live in LA, I suppose you don’t really need a car; actually, you could probably get by by just using Uber, walking, public transportation, the bus, the metro. However it is true that if you want to improve the quality of your life, having a car is Superior, because you could do stuff like go hiking, go to nature, drive to other public libraries, science centers etc.

However the nuance with cars is that once again, it could be however cheap or expensive you want it to be. 

For example, if you live in LA, by far the most intelligent option is to own a Prius, a hybrid vehicle, etc. Why?

The funny realization; the other day I just went to Arco and filled up my 2010 Prius from zero to the max, maybe it only cost me $38. And I looked at my odometer thing, and it said that a full tank I guess would be 410 miles of range! This struck me as very funny, as that is technically 10 miles more range even than the Tesla model S! 

So wait … let us do the math:

I inherited the 2010 Prius from Cindy‘s family for free, put $2800 to purchase a new catalytic converter, $2000 for a new automatic braking system … essentially a “brand new” car for only $4800! And what is insanely great is that the Prius was purchased brand new by Cindy‘s older sister in 2010, maybe when it comes around $30,000 or something, and so because it kept itself in the family, we know that it was not used and abused, and The maintenance was super spot on, always maintained properly, never used and abused. Also, we actually had the Prius for about two years when Cindy and I lived in Berkeley, I think we actually ended up finishing off the finance payments on it as well.

Not only that, but due to a recall, Cindy‘s younger sister actually got the whole Prius repainted with brand new blizzard pearl, sparkly tri tone white paint! Cindy recently got a quick detailing Maguire spray from the Facebook buy nothing group, and after putting it on, the paint on it is insanely beautiful, especially when the bright sun is out! 

I think this is where I still like beautiful paint on a car, rather than the current modern trendy approach with Matt Black, Matt Black vinyl 3M wraps, or even these boring concrete gray colored cars; really beautiful paint on a car after you wax it is insanely beautiful!

For example my neighbor has a brand new Porsche 718 cayman in the concrete grey color, which I find very boring as a color, and indirect light, the blizzard pearl on the Prius looks 1 million times more beautiful! Why? When you look closely… You could see the tiny speckles of purple pink and blue inside the white blizzard pearl;

Also, when you were on the road, I think actually the most beautiful paint I have seen on cars is probably on Lexus vehicles, for example Lexus has this really beautiful silver atomic color that they put on some of their vehicles, and even the brand new Lexus RX in silver looks insanely beautiful! Similarly speaking, the darker silver color looks great on the IS 250 cars. 

Even though I love Tesla and Elon musk to death, in terms of supreme and the most high quality, Lexus is the way. For example, what is the most important part of a car, in terms of the design? I say it is the back of the car, which you always look at, as well as the driver side door, whenever you enter and exit your vehicle. 

For example, on the Lexus LS cars, the detailing the side mirror trim, the door side trim, the door handles on the Lexus LS series is so well crafted, and beautiful. Even though I love the Tesla cars, honestly if you look really really carefully at Tesla cars, look closely, The trim actually looks very very cheap. And feels cheap.

Even on the Tesla model Y, something I was so shocked about when test driving Cindy’s dad’s Tesla model Y, was the rear passenger door window thing; it is literally wiggling so hard that it looks like it will fall off!

I then suppose there is a contradiction of quality here;

There are certain things which we think is very very high-quality in terms of branding, our minds, etc.… Then there tends to be a little bit more objective reality at play, which you cannot really understand until you have seen and touched it yourself in real life. 

---

Expenses?

So back to the whole issue of the cost-of-living;

First, delete all subscriptions. Unsubscribe from everything.

Delete and unsubscribe from all of your music and TV and show and film streaming services, and also depending on your situation… Cancel your gym membership. I think the gym membership is good if you go there every single day, it is not too traffic to get there, and you can get in and out quick, and also you don’t have to wait for equipment. Otherwise, it seems wise to Start investing in building your own home gym; why? Time. I have probably recovered at least 2 to 3 hours a day by not going to my local gym, as I could skip all of the lines by simply working out on myself, in my ghetto backyard, parking lot gym.

Also a funny thing that I have discovered is that ever since I have been working out at home, I think I have become a little bit more honest. What does that mean? Now that I no longer have anybody to impress, literally for myself, nobody else.

Suckered by “quality”?

Also a very big issue here; I think we often think about this abstract notion of “quality”, but what does that really mean?

First, it seems that the most objective measure here is durability. What does durability mean? That’s something will last a long time!

Typically durability has to deal with hardness, but I think hardness is simply means of something to last a long time.

For example, durability, duration; all the same thing.

I haven’t come up with a good definition of “quality” yet, but it seems that this notion of quality needs to be re-examined.

Amazon, Amazon prime, Amazon fresh?

How long until you could purchase a home on Amazon prime? Or purchase a car through Amazon prime? 

A recent discovery that Cindy and I found is Amazon fresh. Interestingly enough, I think it is actually cheaper and more convenient and time saving than Costco!

I’ll get example; for some reason whenever we go to Costco, it is easy that we drop 500 or $600 on a bunch of random stuff. But Amazon, Amazon fresh is much more targeted, almost like a precision laser strike; you only select items you want From the Amazon app, and then you pick it up, either curbside, or you just go in store and just ask the friendly people there that you’re picking up. Or, you could subscribe to the Amazon fresh thing, which is only $10 a month, and you could just have it delivered straight to your door!

Jeff Bezos said something interesting, which was essentially “We want to make it so that by not having Amazon prime, you are doing something financially irresponsible”.

Also with clothing, my younger sister Annette Kim has recently been buying all of her clothes on Amazon, and I am shocked; it all looks great, and it is like 10% the price of buying stuff at a traditional retailer or a Lululemon etc.

I think what is so interesting about Amazon Amazon prime is that effectively, the goods are all produced by some anonymous factory somewhere in mainland China, and you cut out the middleman which is the publicly listed corporation which is inflating prices to make a profit, let us not forget that Lululemon is a publicly traded corporation, as a result… Cutting out the middleman seems like a good idea.

Certainly Lululemon does a lot of investing in innovating and creating new types of fabrics, which is probably in fact superior to that which you buy on Amazon, but, I suppose the question is if you are purchasing the products just for fashion, then just buying it on Amazon directly makes more sense.

Or I’ll give you another example, a month ago we got invited to a wedding and I realize that I have forgotten where I put my nice dress shoes. So I just went on Amazon, and I ordered these all black, “L run” minimalist zero drop shoes, which only cost me maybe $28! And boom delivered to my door in a day, instead of having to sift through all of these tedious dress shoe brands, which can easily cost you about $200. 

When in doubt, first order it on Amazon prime.

Even with Seneca and his shoes, Cindy just orders the “L Run” kids water shoes ,,, the minimalist essentially slippers for kids… each is only like $10! And when he outgrows it, or gets a hole in it, you could just throw it in the trash. 

Cut out the middleman

Has there been a good film on Stoicism yet?

I think the best we got so far is John Wick; John Wick is probably the uber-stoic.

And then we have the movie 300, also, insanely great.

My ideal film or concept would be if John Wick and 300 had a baby; essentially my only critique about John Wick and Keanu Reeves is that he is too muscularly wimpy; why doesn’t John Wick have a six pack and is insanely buff like king Leonidas and Gerald Butler in the movie 300? Or at least look like something like ERIC KIM? 

Very very simple ways that Hollywood producers and directors you could beef up your actors, without shooting their butt holes full of steroids; 

1. 100% carnivore diet — feed them nothing but the finest bone marrow, beef liver, ribeye steak, beef ribs
2. Have them quit all sugars starches, fruits vegetables, etc. The only non-meat item to eat is arugula or kale or dark leafy bitter greens
3. Have them fast; no breakfast no lunch, only a 4 pound carnivore dinner. This will also be good because it could be productive throughout the whole day, they don’t need breakfast or a lunch break.
4. Extremely heavy one repetition maximum style lifting — “If the bar ain’t bendin, you pretending” – Hugh Jackman, Wolverine

In fact, how much productivity is lost because people have to buy a mediocre $25 salad and sandwich, and waste an hour or 45 minutes or 20 minutes eating lunch? For them to maybe instead, just going on a walk around the block, get a quick pump lift some weights, drink some water, or maybe even take a nap instead.

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Think 30 years ahead

Far seeing:

A big thought I currently have is the notion of trying to think at least 30 years ahead.

Why?

First, if you think 30 years ahead, you gain a lot of clarity to and behind things. 

I suppose one of the greatest blessings of having Seneca, having a kid is now finally… I have a reason, or have an impetus or approach to think long-term ahead.

For example, trying to think about my strength figure and health 30 years from now, as well as the health of Cindy, my mom, Seneca, the whole family Empire.

A very very simple idea is keep stacking those bitcoins. I have about 100% certainty that 30 years from now, bitcoin will be a raging win.

I think the hard thing with a lot of people is that they cannot stomach the volatility. However, what I find so fascinated about bitcoin is that it is insanely volatile, but actually not very risky. In fact, I believe bit bitcoin to be the only crypto acid Which actually has zero risk. After a bitcoin, all of the other crypto‘s have huge risk and downsides; for example I think Ethereum is a lame duck, the only other crypto worth mentioning is chain-link, but the biggest issue here is that they are to heavily on marketing NPR, which is always a bad sign. Even getting Sergey Nazarov the founder to wear a suit and tie, bad idea. Just let him walk around in his classic blue flannel!

Building something which will last 30 years from now?

There are certain things that you built today which will exist 30 years from now, in certain things… Will no longer be around 30 years from now.

For example, very unlikely that your neighbor will live live in the same apartment building for the next 30 years.

Also, very unlikely that Instagram or TikTok will be around 30 years from now. I think Facebook will still be around 30 years from now, as it is essentially the core product for Facebook and the medical corporation, but beyond that, maybe no.

Apple will still be around 30 years from now, people will still be using iPhones.

Google will still be around 30 years from now.

Amazon will most definitely be around 30 years from now. Same goes with Microsoft.

Building your own empire for the next 30 years 

No thing that you buy today, will probably have any utility 30 years from now.

For example, there is no car vehicle thing or truck that will still be trendy or sought after 30 years from now, without dealing with extreme maintenance costs.

Also, I am still not 100% certain about investing in property or real estate; the maintenance cost are too high, as well as vacancy rates, having to rent and manage your property, maintain and painted and fix things, hire staff, pay for taxes and property taxes etc. 

Even right right now, currently I am living in LA, but will I be in LA 30 years from now? Probably not.

So what is ultimately portable you could always take your wealth with you? Bitcoin!

Also let us think about the US dollar and inflation; what will be the price of 30 years from now? A lot. Let us assume that you have $100, and you save it in a safe somewhere,  what will be its purchasing power 30 years from now? Maybe 30 years from now, $100 will buy you a burger and a soda?

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What does it mean to be a stoic investor? 

I think thinking 30 years ahead is the great filter.

For example, all these degenerate millennials, hedonist, and their dogs will all die off, the only people left standing and thriving will be people with kids and families.

First, have kids. At least one, ideally two, also, desirable to have at least one male heir if you are a man.

Second, just think to yourself when it comes to financial economic or just like decisions… “What would king Leonidas do, say, or think?”

For example, if I had a King Leonidas ChatGPT bot, just ask him, in regards to any purchasing decisions… should I do it, should I not do it? You already know what he will say! 

–> “King Leonidas… Should I buy that Tesla, that cyber truck, that Tesla model 3 performance, the Tesla model S plaid, the Porsche, the Porsche 911, the Porsche 911 GT 3 RS?”

King Leonidas would say:

“Only women drive vehicles”– a true man would only engage in hand-to-hand combat, no chariots, no horses, no vehicles. 

Actually this is really really fascinating, if you think about it, go back to the Iliad, Achilles versus Hector. Essentially when it comes down to it, Achilles is just chasing around Hector, ready to kill him, no chariot.

And also, if you think about the Iliad, and also the Spartan 300s; they don’t even use horses! 

Subtraction?

Typically the entire economy thrives on addition. For example you positively add, produce things goods product services etc.… And people positively purchase, and add it to their homes their wardrobes etc. 

For example, let us consider and think about the closet of the average American or individual; just count it out… How many shirts, pants, socks, jackets, shoes do you own?

And also… What other random stuff have you screenshot it on your phone that you might like to buy in the near future?

Or let us stay with cars and vehicles… If you became a billionaire, cars would you like to purchase and add to your garage?

Or if you are a homeowner, what new appliances would you like to purchase or upgrade in your home, or how would you like to renovate your home?

This issue here is it is all additive; we always try to add something, rather than thinking about subtraction.

The issue is that first, I think people lack the experience the wisdom or the critical thinking in regards to subtraction.

 also, my personal theory is whenever you purchase something, there is a small power rush. When you purchase some thing or add something to your store house, it makes you feel more powerful.

For example, why is it that king Priam had 1000 oxen, and wanted 10,000 more, even though he could never eat or consume all of that oxen? Because with wealth and power … Typically speaking… More is better.

Put in today’s world, more is worse. The more stuff you buy, the more stuff you have to maintain manage, organize etc.

For example, even if you have more than one vehicle, you have to think about maintaining more than one vehicle, a massive pain in the ass.

For example, I often see my brother-in-law he has a Toyota 4 runner and Toyota sienna hybrid, and I often see him have to charge the battery of his 4 runner, because having to maintain two vehicles is a lot of work. 

Also, clothes; the more clothes you purchase, the more you have to manage it. For example I do have certain articles of clothing which I prefer, but I always have to rummage through my random shelf randomly scattered clothing in order to find it.

Or let us say that you own a lot of electronics, or phones or laptops or iPads devices whatever; more crap you have to charge and maintain.

Even properties; imagine that you have property in the south of France, and also a French bank account; and you get locked out of your French bank account, and you have to pay taxes on your property. A big pain in the ass.

True wealth is subtracting duties, obligations, work

Negotium means “neg+otium”– negative leisure or otium.

The ancient Romans and Latin were wise; they knew that any sort of business was bad. They knew that it were required more maintenance, more work, and it was seen as a bad thing to do business, even the word for business is “negotium” which literally means “negative otium”–  anytime spent away from you being able to enjoy your leisure.

The problem is in today’s world and cult of capitalism, work in productivity, we have essentially defied this slave like notion of work productivity, hard work is a virtue, being busy as a virtue etc.

The ancient Spartans had the helots (peasant slaves) do the dirty work of tilling the lands, maintaining stuff, etc.  apparently they would even use the helots for target practice.

That, the wise thing to do is to unlearn or to disconnect yourself from this slave like mentality of work, busyness, duty, responsiveness, responsibility, following up and following through etc.

The only true freeman is only somebody who does not have email installed on their phone. Better yet doesn’t even own a phone. As long as you have to attend to email, you are not free.

If anything, the killer app would just be a ChatGPT email but which automatically answered all your emails for you! Which knew your preferences, etc. And would just do all the work for you!

Even as a risky experiment, would you trust ChatGPT and your inbox? Maybe. 

 Maybe even the next step for Apple intelligence is for Siri or your phone or whatever to automatically respond to your text messages or your iMessages or your emails. This would be the real killer feature.

I think the average worker be maybe spends four hours a day just attending to email. If I could just do that all for you, and you could save yourself four hours of stress and mental cognitive load day, isn’t this ideal?

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Subtraction

 What is the best way to “upgrade” your home? Not by buying your furniture or whatever… Very simple, just get rid of stuff! Throw old furniture in the trash or put it on the curb or give it away, and subtract dust grime; Vacuum the floors wipe the floors, clean the bathroom and the toilet and the bathtub etc.

Also, a simple thought about clothes; the best clothing is subtractive.

Instead of buying a new outfit, just take the clothes that you already have, and just cut it with scissors! Cut off the sleeves of your T-shirts and make it into a tank top, or even take your shirts and cut it into a crop top.

Apparently it is even popular for jean shorts now — just take an old pair of jeans and cut off the legs! 

Do people not know that you could just take scissors and cut up your own clothes?

Cameras

Also in the realm of cameras, the best upgrade you could do is actually to reduce file sizes; just shoot JPEG, small or extra small JPEG, and in terms of your lens, the most supreme light compact cheap and pancake lens possible.

Weight is a nonnegotiable.

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The only real upgrade is reducing size weight

For example, if you want to upgrade your camera, or your camera set up or whatever… The only really empirical thing that you could do is subtract the weight, subtract the size, also subtract the overall footprint of it.

For example, even your automobile car, technically the real upgrade especially when living in Los Angeles or a city is to actually spend money to reduce the size of it?

For example, let us say that you have a Tesla model as plaid, or cyber truck or a Tesla model X, the real upgrade here is to reduce the size of it, in order for it to be a smaller to fit in more parking spots.

If this is the case, then the Tesla model 3 is the perfect car for LA. 

If you want to stick to hybrid for maximum convenience, Prius is the way.

Stoic training

If you want to become more stoic, first you must train your body, the mind will follow.

For example, assuming that you’re sleeping insanely good, 10 hours a night, and you could lift 1000 pounds… Certainly there will be nothing which will be able to stir you.

Or, when I’m walking around town and my 60 pound weight vest, I feel like a beast, a boss, kind of like one of those Pacific Rim robots, armored core, a Titan, Titanic, a giant mech robot, a gundam on steroids? 

In terms of overall physique, and strength and power and mass… I am more Ronnie Coleman than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Granted that Ronnie Coleman juiced out his eyeballs and essentially is now permanently crippled. Not worth it.

> Lift heavy, eat a shitload of meat, sleep like a god

This is my simple formula; first the sleep aspect. I’ve been experimenting a little bit with my sleep set up, now it is summer. The last two nights I slept insanely poorly, which made me feel absolutely horrible for about two days. But finally last night, I slept with the air conditioner on a little bit cooler, I slept like a god.

Without 8 to 10 hours of sleep, you cannot do anything godlike.

In fact, the only three things I care for Seneca is also, that he sleeps 12 hours a night, finishes a whole Angus beef burger patty, and that he has maximum physical activity and exercise and climbing outside. All this stuff on education and learning or whatever… That will come naturally.

You are the special!

Recently from the LA public library in Chinatown… Seneca found the Lego Batman movie, and also the Lego movie, and we watched a little bit of a together, and I think those two films might be on my new list of must watch films.

Why? A little bit of parody and humor and turning things into Legos… Makes you think a lot more big picture.

For example, the Lego movie fun at the matrix, Neo, “the one”– or “the special”. Also, it does a very very good job of critiquing mainstream culture, capitalism, corporations, even better than how fight club did it.

The humorous stoic

Typically when we think about stoicism, we think about dark morose EMO people. But my notion of stoicism is actually much more lighthearted, happy and fun. A stoic with a grand sense of humor, and a belly-full laughter! Dionysian joy. 

Something interesting I thought from Michael Saylor; before we think about space, thinking cyberspace, that is the ultimate friction free, digital Internet-based, waitlist world and concept:

Space

Honestly anyone who criticizes or critiques Elon Musk is simply envious or jealous of him. Don’t hate Elon because you are no match for him!

If you think about crazy innovators, engineer artist, it is probably only Elon Musk, Kanye West who is of note.

What is a ingredient for a truly great person? You need a bit of the Dionysian, the crazy. For example, all of the bad sides of Steve Jobs is actually what made him great, and what made apple great. Now, no crazy people left at Apple, only suits.

In fact, if you think about Nietzsche’s Dionysian vs Apollonian concept — Steve Jobs was the Dionysian, and Steve Wozniak was the Apollonian. Or Steve Jobs was the Dionysian, Jony Ive was the Apollonian.

Even if I think about myself, perhaps Cindy is my Apollonian, the God and goddess of wisdom, clarity, prudence, rationality, logic, levelheadedness, pure white.

The Dionysian; the irrational, not connected to reality, harnessing some sort of frenzy like craziness.

“Name one genius that ain’t crazy!” – Ye

“With every great genius is a hint of madness” – Aristotle

Why is it that in modern daytimes, the dietitian is no longer permitted? We are not allowed to be loud, boisterous, full of anger and irrational, violence aggression etc.

Now, all of these Dionysian things are now imputed into sports, UFCMMA fighting, TV shows media and films and movies and comic book characters, never in real life. There’s a separation between media and every day reality.

I’ll give you an example; I’m probably the funniest most comedic, unpredictable person that I know in real life. People seem uncomfortable by me, and sometimes feel insecure whether they should laugh or not. But, I see them in their apartments watching these trashy or these Lame comedy TV shows on HBOHBO Max or Netflix… In private, without any exposure to real life.

Cowardly vs Courageous?

Now, for men,  no longer characterize people as good or bad, whatever… Rather, what separates the Eagles from the lambs is this:

Are you courageous or cowardly?

For example, I only rate anybody who is courageous who attempts to lift over eight plates, nine plates, or 10 plates on the squat rack. To even touch or attempt or look at it, is something to wonder.

Even more recently in my open air garage gym, some of my neighbors an apartment made saw me racking up the rack with six plates on each side, which was technically only my warm-up, their jaws dropped. Apparently I’ve been starting to be noted as having a “sleeper frame” or “sleeper body”– somebody who is inanely strong but doesn’t necessarily look that strong. 

For example, an ex power lifter told me that he did 20 repetitions of a 4 plate, 405 pound deadlift, and he was amazed by my ability to lift 1000 pounds off the rack, because he said that the typical bodybuilder weight lift or power lift or who that strong typically has 19 inch or 20 inch arms. I’m not even sure what that looks like.

Anyways, my general thought behind things is that with enough insane desire, anything is possible, as long as you obey the laws of physics.

You cannot fake true desire

Or in other words, you cannot fake hate. 

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The internet?

It looks like there is currently another big shake up happening in the world of social media, the Internet etc. Even now apparently people are starting to flee Instagram, which only just a few years ago seemed unstoppable. Now apparently TikTok is destroying or gobbling up the massive market share of Instagram, TikTok is usurping Instagram.

How did TikTok become so dominant? Let us not forget that TikTok is effectively owned by a super mega mainland Chinese company, Tencent — my general theory is that essentially mainland China perfected TikTok back home in mainland China, and then once it was unleashed in the states like a virus, it’s spread like wildfire. Even my friend Todd Hata had the foresight and the wisdom to get on TikTok pretty early, becoming an early TikTok foodie influencer restaurant review in Mexico City and beyond.

But with enough sight, you all know when we all know that TikTok will eventually get banded America, perhaps maybe when Donald Trump gets elected into office. Remember when Trump was an office, he saw TikTok and was threatened by it and saw that he didn’t trust a super mega mainly Chinese corporation, taking over the App Store? Initially I think he tried to shut it down, or have it blend with an American company? 

Let us consider the asymmetry here; mainland China doesn’t allow America to use any American tech companies mainland China which include Google Facebook Amazon YouTube, Gmail you name it. Yet… America we allow mainland Chinese corporation apps to be used in America? Seems to be a bit of an asymmetry here. 

What is the big problem here? I think the number one critical issue here is advertising. Don’t forget when the first election cycle happened, the whole Putin Russia, influencing the US politic election cycle, I think Russia was able to inject only maybe $1 million worth of advertising into the Facebook platform, Creating a huge title shift of a opinion in American politics? I think Mark Zuckerberg testified in Congress, saying that Facebook was not at fault and just saying that “Facebook is an advertising platform.”

I think all of the ills of society maybe could be tracked back to advertising.  When you offer a service a product or utility for free, what is the easiest way in the 2000s to monetize it? Advertising, display advertising, pre-roll advertising etc.

But now, in the year 2020 and beyond.. what will be the path forward in terms of monetizing in Cypress space in the Internet? I native Internet currency, a native money, Satoshis and bitcoin. 

Follow Jack

Jack Dorsey might be one of the most underrated entrepreneurs out there, which must mainstream people don’t really know about it. He is the genius behind Twitter, square and now the cash app.

Jack is very very bullish on the lightning network, Satoshi‘s and bitcoin. If Jack Dorsey and Jay Z supports it, block.xyz — it is easy to see that the lightning wallet, bitcoin and Satoshi‘s are the way forward.

In fact, almost the last decade or so,  I’ve been thinking very very hard about this very question:

How do you monetize on the internet without advertising? 

I think I got the answer: the lightning wallet, the lightning network, Satoshis and bitcoin.

Why?

In the traditional economy, the traditional marketplace, before media was invented, was money. Or barter and exchange, peer to peer.

I’m currently reading Karl Menger’s principles of economics, and I’m currently in the section which he is building up the idea or the concept of how and why money makes sense.

Essentially Menger Is building up a case in the limits of barter and exchange, let us say that I have horses and you need a horse, and you have cattle, and you need a horse. 

The big problem here is there’s a certain part that I cannot cut up my horse and divide my horse up anymore. There is a certain limit  in which trading and exchanging or selling and buying horses and cattle as means of exchange in trade and economy no longer is productive. I think what Menger is then building up to Is that essentially the invention and innovation of money, which is economic value divided subdivided into infinitely smaller parts simply a way to increase productivity of exchange, value, etc.

For example, if I have a horse, let us say that I could take it to market and then I could sell it for $100,000. Then, this becomes very useful because instead of just trading it for 10 heads of cattle, I can now Subdivide my money to procure other useful valuable things to me, taking out the tedious exchange cycle. 

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Increasing Productivity

Very interesting in Singapore, what they do to try to discourage traffic is first, they charge a very very high tax on cars, to discourage people from purchasing automobiles. Second, even if you have a car, if you want to have the privilege to drive it on the freeway, Especially at certain peak times, you gotta pay money for it with the transponder on your car. 

I think South Korea also has a similar model; you could drive your car on certain days of the week, but on other days you cannot. 

If you wanted to fix the whole 405 traffic issue, in Los Angeles, very very simple; essentially you would have to pay a nominal sum of money to use their freeway at certain times, or in general.

It doesn’t even have to be that much, let us say that you would only charge a dollar for you to use the 405 to the 10 intersection, or, at peak rush-hour, you might have to pay two dollars or something.

Essentially it is a very very small fee, very very small, not enough to impoverish somebody, but, to give people a little bit of skin in the game, adding a little bit of friction or financial economic friction in order to simply generally slow down or reduce the number of cars on the road.

Maybe even the first venue we could do this for commercial truckers, who seem to be paid anyways by corporations, so maybe they could pay the fee first.

How to fix email

So now with ChatGPT, we are currently facing a huge problem: anybody, even a robot or a robot can spin up a very very intriguing and intelligent email, which command your attention, or which depletes your energy.

However a big problem that I personally faced my own life is the more famous and popular I got, the more my email inbox started to balloon. The same thing went with text messages I would get, messages on all the social media platforms, etc. And I am only just one human being.

First I would try to create some filters; I stopped putting my private or personal email on my website and blog, and instead direct them to my manager to filter the emails and the opportunities. But also in this issue here is that I still need to figure out how to respond to my manager‘s messages, which also is another thing I must attend to.

Thus, this becomes an interesting thought experiment, seems that everybody wants to just get super super rich, by your mansion, just have a bunch of people maintain your property for you, maybe buy or get a house manager or property manager whatever… But eventually, you still have to manage the manager. Which is more work for you.

I read from NASSIM TALEB that one piece of advice that he got from another successful guy he met was this: don’t have a personal assistant. Why? Even if you had the world‘s best personal assistant, they might be really really good at organizing your schedule, slotting in appointments for you or meetings or whatever, but still the big downside here is I think if you have a personal assistant, eventually you will end up creating more work for you; Let us assume that you work eight hours a day, and you have 850 minute timeslots. An assistant might help you perfectly slot in all eight individuals to meet you on the given day.

However, the true desired path and outcome is to not have any meetings at all; so having a personal assistant might sucker you into doing these boring and waste of time meetings, which could otherwise be better spent just hanging out and playing with your kid instead!

Real men have children

Are you watching the movie 300, there is a scene in which King Leonidas is about to march off with his valiant 300, and before he marches them off to battle, essentially foreshadowing their death, he made sure that each of them had at least one son to carry on the lineage and the families name.

This is interesting because the general thought of bloodline;

It doesn’t matter if I die, as long as I have a son to carry on the family bloodline and lineage, it is OK! 

I suppose this is why it is such a big deal for families to have at least one male heir;  or the strong desire for a man or a father to get at least one son.

I’ve always wanted two kids as a kid, an older son, a younger sister. Very similar to how I have a younger sister who is two years younger than me.

If you’re man,  and you get a child, and your first child is a man, a boy or a son… Consider yourself infinitely blessed. After this, life is all upside no downside.

Then after this, certainly you could choose to have more kids, if you desire. If you desire not have any more kids, it’s still seems that you are solid, assuming that your kid does not tragically get hit by an intoxicated driver — either drunk or high while driving. Or running red lights or speeding like crazy.

In fact, spending more more time living in Los Angeles, and seeing some of these insane drivers, I’m almost tempted to get a job, a part-time job as California highway police, in order to deliver justice to these insane drivers. Why? One crazy driver could mean the potential death of your child.

Maybe time for me to become vigilante justice warrior– Batman style!

Smoking?

A random unrelated note, in the context of smoking.

First, I have zero respect for anyone who smoke cigarettes. I have an insanely strong aversion to cigarettes smoke and smoking, because my father was a chronic and horrific smoker, I hate the smell smell like the devil.

Now special with Seneca, when we are out walking in public, the problem is if somebody is smoking on some sort of street corner, and they happen to be upwind or downwind or whatever… Even if that person is 50 m away, that horrific cigarettes smoke will blow down to you and your kid.

One recent proud thing that I stood up was when I was in Santa Monica, Ocean Park, playing at a beachfront playground with Seneca, and there was a random asshole maybe 100 m away smoking a cigarette. I could instantly smell the smoke, and even though he was far away, the smoke was directly blowing into me and Seneca in the playground, and technically we are trapped.

I then yelled at the guy, for him to smoke somewhere else. He then looked at me disgruntled, slowly walked away, and then started to me mugged me, I stared at him back, waiting until he moved very very far away. True balls.

Another case when I was in Vietnam with Seneca and Cindy, and this is one Seneca was super small, and we were all stuck under a canopy when  a random downpour started hitting us. And then suddenly there was a random middle-age guy who randomly lit up a cigarette and started smoking, giving secondhand smoke to all 40 of us trapped inside the canopy. I then said in Vietnamese for him to please not smoke because my kid was there. He was shocked, put out the cigarette, and looked back curiously at me… I was the hero of the day.

Now, even when I’m walking on the street with Seneca, and there is a random person smoking on the street corner… In a public or a semi-public space, I almost wonder if I’m going to start being the asshole and telling people to not smoke there. Or to not smoke in public.

“No smoking in public!”

Or

“Don’t smoke in public!”

I’m just gonna pretend like I’m an undercover cop, or some sort of law enforcement individual. 

I was randomly studying the laws of smoking in public, and it seems to be grey. Here, maybe studying laws not useful; but rather, some sort of bottom up ethics. 

if you want to smoke cigarettes, smoke yourself in an enclosed home or space or car, give yourself lung cancer, don’t pollute my air.

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Other thoughts

 I think irregardless of what your opinion is about space, look at the space camp, the star ship SpaceX camp they have in Texas, a whole thriving micro economy in space within that tiny plot of land. Very inspirational!

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Now what?

The other day I did a lot of driving, it totally sapped my energy.

Let us not be fools– our energy, our lifeforce energy and physiological energy is limited. Every 20 minutes or 30 minutes you spend driving on the road is draining your metaphorical life force energy battery. Maybe we should start getting “energy anxiety“ about potential things which can drain our life force energy battery.

My simple thought about living the best possible life in LA:

Never drive more than five minutes a day!

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Range anxiety

Let us say that you have a Tesla, or some sort of electric vehicle, and you start off the day with only a limited amount of battery in your car, and let us say that the rule is during the middle of the day you cannot recharge your car at a supercharger or whatever. if that were the case, wouldn’t you more conserve your life force energy?

They taking that analogy to your physiological energy. You start off the day with 100% battery energy charge, but as you proceeded through the days activities, drive or sitting in a car, it depletes your life force energy.

Then, the goal is to only direct your energy towards things you truly care for, and whenever you do decide to do something, realize that you’re sacrificing a zero sum energy source to accomplish your certain tasks or goals in a certain day.

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Now what?

First thought is then I think the way we should think about money is that money is essentially Lifeforce energy.

Let us consider, earning money, earning income, building up money, accumulating money is very very difficult. Essentially it comes down to your own labor life force; in whether you do physically demanding physical labor, or mentally intensive labor. It is all labor, and typically, any sort of labor in which you get paid, a paycheck, a salary or whatever… You are essentially trading your own physiological Lifeforce energy into obtaining income money.

Let it say you sacrifice 10 years of your life working really really hard, traveling the world, dealing with Jetlag, putting a lot of great energy effort to provide some sort of service or something. And then you accumulate $1 million.

I think for anybody who has ever had to really really work really really hard for their own money, you will not squander your money. Why? Because you know how hard it was to earn it! This is typically why when people gain an inheritance, or win the lottery or somehow get free money, the typically below it foolishly Because they don’t know how hard it was to earn that money.

Also this is why trust fund kids become so degenerate because they never had to work hard for the money, the trust fund etc.

So what should you do instead?

 first, you don’t have a trust fund and you don’t promise a trust fund to your kid. Irregardless of how rich you are.

Rather, you are directly involved in the life of your old kid, and if your kid grows up and has some sort of entrepreneurial business idea, then you use intelligence to use your hard earned money to invest in that thing.

For example, something that I learned from taking out a student loan, I think what else I used to say undergraduate, I took out a five or a $10,000 loan, and it was insane how quickly I blew through the money. I was shocked. And I was only maybe 20 years old?

Truth be told, I think I only really became lies about money once I had a kid. So if I were to leave my inheritance to Seneca, the role is he only could unlock that inheritance once he has a kid?

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so what is the purpose of money?

I think a very very simple one it’s too essentially have a war chest, to give yourself buffer, in order not to work. 

For example, the proper use of money is to have enough money that you don’t have to work, and spend maximum time with your kid.

For example, let us say that you are a billionaire, the fullest strategy is to pay somebody else might need to take care of your kid, while you go off and you try to earn more money, which is a foolish trade. What do you do instead it is just chill with your billion dollars, and just direct 100% of your life force energy to your kid!

True success?

True success I think is being able to take your kid to the public library in the middle of a workday! Other day I was so blessed that I was able to take Seneca to the Chinatown Public library at 10 AM, for him to watch a Korean drumming event, I looked around the room, no dads, maybe a handful of moms. Just me.

---

no shame

It seems the trend in today’s world is to and towards maximization. You want to maximize our utility of things, we want things to do more, for it to be more multivariagated,  perhaps to hedge or to predict or to feel secure in a world of insecurity chaos and randomness?

Hoarding? 

So it seems that the ethos of hoarding has its origin in fear. Fear of the future, unpredictability, and always wanting to be prepared for the worst. I think this is a lot of the refugee mentality, especially when I observe Cindy‘s families journey, being part of the refugee boat people, in which saving money and being frugal was literally a life or death matter. It probably takes at least two or three generations to unlearn this behavior.

Also, local family ethics. For example Cindy‘s family, 4 children. There needs to be some sort of calculus in which everybody has the maximum optimum amount of something… no winner take all here. For example, if I have six pieces of meat, everyone gets just one piece. 

For myself, essentially I was raised as the king. All the choice meats were always given to me, I was spoiled silly by my grandmother. I’m grateful for this, because she is the one who helped me gain my self-confidence and also my ego. So for myself, I was probably given all of the meats, maybe my sister just got one.

New unlimited ethics

In today’s radical world of abundance, we need to relearn new ethics. 

For example in the context of food… the only reason people consume rice, starch pasta grains, cassava root vegetables etc. is that 99.9% of the past was risen and raised on poverty. For example, if you were an Aztec God of the Maya people, you would not eat corn flour tortillas; you would just have unlimited oxen to feast on.

“Respect” for the past?

But now, we try to follow our cultural heritage, and to consume white rice and whatever… because it is “true” to our culture. But even Asian people now and Korean people know that white rice causes type 2 diabetes obesity and causes us to get fat, get heart disease, heart attacks, etc.

A lot of Latinos and Mexicans are also starting to learn that Tortillas, flour or corn similarly also causes obesity, and also Coca Cola — the evil corporation, in which there is a strange bias that when you consume Mexican meal, you must have a Coke, a Mexican Coke, which has “real” sugar, which apparently “not as unhealthy for you” as the typical high fructose corn syrup, and also you must have it in a glass bottle?

If anything, the evil Coca-Cola corporation is probably costing taxpayers billions if not trillions of dollars of medical issues because they have marketed Coca-Cola so hard, which causes people to get heart attacks and get into the hospital… and the healthcare system has to support this? 

Climate change 

For example, it does seem that climate change does feel real… It does appear to be hotter now than it was in the past. Also, empirically does look like pollution is a big problem to be tackled; for example living in Vietnam in 2017 and visiting a year ago… It definitely feels much more polluted in Saigon. I could taste it in the air. 

Also, in LA… The good thing is that looks like pollution could be reversed to a certain extent; apparently decades ago, the pollution and smog was so bad you couldn’t even see the sky. Now it is better… But when you drive through Inglewood or La Cienega, it is terrible. You always have to roll the windows up and run the air conditioning because the air outside is toxic.

Ultimately, I am the optimist here; I think with more stringent controls on things, climate change or heat change or pollution could be reversed; for example I think the whole California clean air thing of the future which requires that by a certain year all the cars have to be either fully electric or whatever… a very good idea. 

Economic Principles

Anyways, what is and should be the role of economics here?

I’ll give you example; your car, your vehicle. It seems that the trend in today’s world is to maximize utility anywhere and wherever.

For example, a new category of automobile which did not exist when I was a kid, the sports utility vehicle. It is kind of weird chimera between a truck and a car; the original SUVs were bulky ugly and gas guzzlers. Also, in terms of handling, the driving experience was terrible, they always felt too top-heavy, and being so far off the floor, felt very insecure.

As a kid growing up, the only cars which really existed were two-door coupe sports cars, which had a small profile, and was close to the floor. Ideally the best sports car was wide, load to the floor, and did not weigh much.

For cars, family cars… either you had a four-door sedan, so the kids could easily get in the back, or maybe a minivan if you had tons of kids? But beyond this, there were not that many category of cars. Maybe a station wagon?

But in today’s world, things are starting to get a little bit ridiculous. There are so many sub categories of sub cars; we have many SUVs, mega SUVs, compact SUVs, micro SUVs whatever. It seems that the trend is everyone wants some sort of hatchback, which I think is a positive good… But in terms of sizes, they come in infinite flavors.

But my simple thought:

Any sort of “crossover” is bad. 

For example these horrible bridge cameras; that offers a zoom lens that goes from 18 mm all the way to 300 mm… we all know these cameras suck. 

Length

Here is where the laws of physics are critical, especially when living in Los Angeles; when you really want to take your kid to the park, and there is literally only one parallel parking spot very tight… no amount of wealth in the world can magically shrink your car to make it fit the spot. in this case, this is the worlds smallest most compact car possible.

I suppose this is also where if you live in LA… even if you were a trillionaire, assuming that you had a kid, and you wanted to maximize your kids ability to enjoy the park, go on adventures, visit Ocean Park in Santa Monica, the best here is to have the maximally small and compact car possible. In this case, the Tesla model S and the model X is out, and also my beloved cybertruck is out. 

Nobody cares how cool your car is, until the moment you need to park it.

---

Maximum utility?

Typically speaking, tools which serve too many purposes are poor; for example, if you have ever used one of those Swiss Army knives, you’ll find that it has about 30 blades for every single purpose, but they all kind of suck.

Also with cameras, the reason why the iPhone Pro has become such a monstrosity is when you use it, the Apple photos operating system camera tries to trick you that it has like 10 lenses and one? And all the lenses kind of suck. Better to have one prime lens, a compact fixed lens, which is best, rather than a bunch of mediocre lenses shoved into one.

In fact, my vision for the next iPhone Pro Titan is for the Apple design team to have the balls to just get rid of all these other loser lenses, and just consolidated all into one mega lens. Maybe they could call it the iPhone “One”.  

Pick up truck or nothing 

This is where I think the SUV car is bad — it doesn’t really do anything that well.

For example, if you really need to haul something, better to have a pick up truck. If you want to take the family on adventures and you have a lot of kids, more than three kids… Better to have a minivan.

911 or nothing 

If you just want the best sports car of all time, better to just have a two-door coupe or a Porsche 911, instead of one of these strange AMG G wagon cars? 

Better yet, I have a simple rule; if you want a sports car, it must have a manual transmission. If you want the pure joy of driving, manual or nothing. Even when you think about cinema, cinematics… There is always much romanticism behind shifting gears when racing or speeding up. Nobody cares for paddle shifters, or automatic transmission cars, even though they are better.

The aesthetics and the ethos is supreme.

No loser 718

Anyone who buys a 718 or whatever Porsche car… everyone wants the 911 but is too poor to afford it? 

I say if you’re going to buy a Porsche, either 911 or nothing.

Stick or nothing

In fact if it is your aspiration to purchase a Porsche 911 or Porsche 718 car… it must have a manual transmission. More respect for the guy who drives the civic type R with a stick shift, rather than the pale and sickly impotent man driving the auto tragic Porsche 911.

Even something which is worth to note; is there any manual transmission Lamborghini? I think they are all automatic?

Some skill?

I think the romanticism of manual transmission is that at least it takes some skill to drive it. Knowing how to drive a stick shift car is a new modern day privilege.

Even Seneca, he loves stick shift cars! Whenever we go to the Honda dealership he likes to look at the civic type R stick shift, even the civic SI stick shift! And whenever I ask him whether he wants to learn how to drive stick shift or not, he says yes! Maybe the time he turns 15 years old, I’ll buy some sort of beater Japanese car for him, and I’ll teach him how to drive stick shift, his first car! Other random stuff I want to teach him is how to work on a car, how to fix it up how to maintain it etc.

And also I wonder if the irony in the future will be that the new modern day privilege will be teaching a kid how to drive a stick shift car.

---

Why do we want it to do all the things? 

This is where money, bitcoin, and currency is so useful; it is the ultimate transportable, shape shiftable thing possible.

For example, difficult to sell 1000th of your property in Manhattan to buy a cup of coffee,  we’re also, trying to weigh and judge how much something is worth or of value. 

Also, the problem with expensive things, like expensive trophy assets like your portion 911 car, your property is that you cannot just instantly sell it and consolidate it instantly, for other purposes.

If you have some sort of trophy asset like your Porsche 911, it is a dead asset. You might only drive it once a week or whatever… better to just rent it for fun instead. 

And this is where money is amazing; it is the ultimate enabler of optionlaity. 

---

A peer to peer future

I recently reread the bitcoin white paper, and I was so pleased to see how short, succinct, and well crafted it was. Especially the note on peer to peer.

The biggest issue in today’s world is that Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, all has an intermediary of some sort of newsfeed algorithm, which tries to promote stuff that it thinks that you will like, and also… to discourage controversial things which might be considered too dangerous for advertisers.

This is bad. It is almost like if you want to give your kid fresh drinking water and there is a hose, and then suddenly you had a guy in the middle, with a valve controlling the flow of freshwater to your child.

Even worse, imagine if they had a hinge in the center, which allows them to change the water composition at will, and whether or not to add corn syrup to the water, toxic things, etc. I just want to give my kid fresh drinking water, yet you are adding nicotine, cocaine, Coca-Cola, high fructose corn syrup, and sugar to it? This is essentially YouTube, YouTube for kids.

We all know that the best path to health is through fasting, what to cut out. Nothing in moderation.

For example I think we all agree that heroin in moderation is bad.

Craigslist is now bitcoin and crypto friendly

Also a simple thought; let us see that I have 10 bitcoin, and somebody is willing to trade their Lamborghini Aventador with the scissor doors to you for your one bitcoin. This is good because you don’t have to go through a third-party or a bank we’re having to withdraw $250,000 worth of cash from your bank, which often does not even allow you to access your money.

So here, peer to peer is great. 

Buying homes with bitcoin

Also, homes. Let us say that I want to buy that $1 million home, which is worth 10 bitcoin. If I could just send bitcoin from my wallet to your wallet, you would get rid of all of these unnecessary from real estate agents broker sellers some sort of closing cost etc. This be a much better way to trade?

And this was my personal vision about bitcoin; you say when you hoard your bitcoin for a very very very large purchases or, you could just sit on your bitcoin, and let the value just keep going up.

For example, if you have 16 square blocks in the middle of Manhattan, or fifth Avenue, you never saw that property. And you also inform your children to sell the property, and also the rule of the family a simple semi; never sell the property, even to your kids kids kids. Maybe even the wise ideas to take on debt and hedge it against the property value. 

And then also… maybe same thing with bitcoin. 

Or let us say that you really really want to buy that single-family home; my personal vision is when when one bitcoin is worth $1 million … the calculus will be simple; one bitcoin, one house. 

***

Just in time economics

Do you need it right now or not? 

It seems that planning too far ahead for the future is bad. For example, I currently got one kid… maybe it is not yet worth or useful to plan having 2, 3 or 4 kids… in which I would need a minivan?

And technically, the whole notion of “need” is superficial. For example if you have only two kids… you don’t “need” a minivan. Certainly it makes things a little bit more convenient, but then again it makes a lot of things inconvenient if you live in the city – once again, trying to parallel park it in a small neighborhood. I think for the most part minivans are only useful if you live in the suburbs?

Prius until I die

Anyways, one thing I am so grateful for my 2010 Prius is that there are three seats in the back, and if I really need to… we could easily fit two kids there and possibly even three! For example my friend Kevin has a Tesla model 3, and he has three kids, and he bought this compact car seat thing which allows three kids to all sit in the back? I am very impressed by how economical he is. 

And the more I think about it… even that I have over an M in Bitcoin, I want to drive my Prius for another 100 years? 

“Nice to have” vs critical

The only big optimization gotta make in life is whether you have four kids, or less than four kids. 

If you have four kids or more, you buy the minivan, not the loser cramped SUV because you don’t want to seem less manly.

Once again, I think a lot of foolish decisions in our lives arise from this need of optimization, or “just in case“. No.

---

Extreme Economy

It is positively better to simply articulate things you already got, rather than trying to find some sort of thing to buy. 

For example, I have currently maxed out my weights, for my one rep Max lifting at home. Part of me just wants to buy some new weights, to increase my one rep max numbers. 

But before that, what I’m trying to do is first innovate and what I already got to the maximum, and to re-articulate what I already got in clever ways. For example, by changing the height of my rack, changing my leverage, and making things progressively more difficult, with worse leverage– is certainly another type of training.

Or another ones; doing my infamous Atlas lift, with my eight plates, But doing it at different heights. It feels different at different heights, my body positioning and my leverages are different, and so changing things up certainly adds a new spice and variety to things.

Or even another thing… doing all my lifts, but having a 60 pound weight vest strapped on.

Don’t be tied to past numbers

For example, the current number I currently have in my head for my atlas lift is 1000 pounds, which I believe to be about 10 plates, a 25, and a five on each side. Yet I did this in the maximum optimize environment at my beloved crunch gym in Orange County, with maximum space, safety, ability to grunt and slap myself in the face etc. But now that I’m just working out in my Off the grid parking lot, I cannot. And also I do not want to?

---

Arbitrary goals?

I think in life it is good to have arbitrary goals to look forward to, setting yourself up arbitrary challenges.

For example, I have some other random weightlifting is at home, including a rickshaw Farmer’s walk dead lift thing, which changes things up a bit. I have less leverage with it, but currently my record on it is only six plates, some new goals are seven plates and eight plates on the open hex bar.

The other day I also met an older powerlifter who was 67 years old,  and he was just curious about how much I could squat and dead lift in the standard sense. I’m not really sure, I’m not too interested… But maybe I could work towards that? This is where my innovation in “partials“ is so interesting; 

for example, everyone talks about how you have to squat parallel, hit parallel below parallel a little bit above parallel etc. But to me this seems bizarre and pseudoscientific; it makes no sense. A better approach is instead, just see the maximum amount of weight on the barbell you can un wreck, walk out, and re-wreck. Currently my record is around seven plates, I could easily lift eight plates, but I don’t think I have enough strength or training yet to actually walk it out of the rack.

I’m also suppose this is where the yolk walk is kind of interesting to me because it does seem like to be the ultimate functional fitness; picking up something very very heavy on your shoulders, and seeing how far you could walk it out or seeing how quickly you could do it.

---

Future economics?

I saw today that the number one free app in the iPad App Store is HBO Max. Super fascinating because it looks like at the end of the day, entertainment is king.

Apparently a lot of people are afraid of whatever of artificial intelligence AI taking their jobs or whatever. However — not true.

For example, no artificial intelligence would have the genius of a Jay Z, or Kendrick Lamar, ultimately, human beings prefer human beings, for example I would pay money to show up to Kanye West Jesus concert, to see him real life in the flesh live… Never some sort of pre-recording or AI bot.

Same thing goes for Kendrick Lamar, who is essentially the superhero of all of Los Angeles. And the problem with generative artificial intelligence is that it could only use past language models and patterns to create use… It cannot create brand new information, carte blanche.

Also… ChatGPT could probably write articles that sound like ERIC KIM… But, there’s no way that ChatGPT could have predicted five years ago that ERIC KIM would get into bitcoin? Or even powerlifting? 

Charge money for human things

 very very simple thought is if you want to monetize your passion, charge money for real life human things. In life workshops, flesh to flash experiences, concerts etc.

Information has practically already always been free, now with ChatGPT and artificial intelligence… It will become even more free. Or even worse; people who are desperate to watch their show, will actually pay you to watch it, and review it.

For example, I see all of these billboards that’s a quote for your consideration”… Which means–

“Please watch my show or film!”

 For example, killers of the flower moon produced by Apple… I’m sure it was a great movie, had Leonardo DiCaprio and was produced by Martin Scorsese… But it still seems that nobody really watched it or cared for, even though it won a bunch of awards. 

I think the next step, also a good business idea is having verification that the review for thing is a real human review, not some sort of bot, or having a review or just use ChatGPT to produce a review.

For example, if you go on Amazon, almost all of the reviews … seem fake. I know Amazon has a vine program in which certain individuals are sent free products in order to exchange a review. But… How do you not know that the person who is writing that review is just using ChatGPT to leave a random five star review?

Currently it looks like the mass public is still not catching up to this yet… But I think within five or seven years, there will be need for a new more verification thing that the reviews were in fact written by real human beings, and based front real human experiences. Maybe reviews of the future will be some sort of short Snapchat like video selfie reviews of the human and the product, not the text.

And hopefully live captioning becomes so good that people could just watch the videos on mute, and see the captions for the text.

---

Now what?

I think the primary issue with economics is that we think too much about the future. Why not the now?

ERIC

---

 

I think ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to be dominant. The best, the biggest, the strongest, the smartest, etc.

I think as a kid, it is interesting because for the most part everyone is kind of on an equal footing. Because nobody has jobs yet or salaries or money, money is not yet a metric to gauge balance or to judge one another as kids. Certainly there are superficial things like certain kids who have cooler clothes whatever… But we all knew still that was a function of how rich your parents were; the rich kids would have cooler cars and clothes, and those of us who were More scrappy… We pried ourselves on our annuity, or our cleverness, or our culture.

Or example, the Bay Area hyphy movement, which was at its peak when I was a teenager, middle school in high school. Essentially E-40’s “Tell me when to go” song was our anthem, and in order for a kid to be cool, all you needed was a white tee (t shirt) and some dark blue denim jeans, and you could be cool. And also at the time, the cool and popular shoes to have or the case whiz classic white tennis shoes, which for the most part all the kids could afford. And then even more disruptive notions like vans; in which it’s only became cool to wear vans sneakers, the skateboarding shoe which I think at the time was only $35 a pair? 

Anyways, now that we are all adults… The world becomes a little bit stranger. For example, I’m currently 36 years old, the other day a very friendly gentleman thought I was 26 years old… But anyways nowadays I have no idea how old people are. I often ask people how old they are or what year they were born or what year they graduated college to get a better sense of things.

Age is interesting because I think it is important because on one hand, if you discover that somebody’s about your age, then it is useful because you know that you grew up in a similar cultural mill you, and obviously the other basic things like if somebody is a decade or too older than you, certainly their income will probably be higher than yours, and also, there’s also likelihood that they have more money in the bank than you, Whatever. 

Nuances

A superficial way that men seek dominance or signal their dominance is through their vehicles. But here this is where things get interesting; it is all different.

For example, maybe on one hand, people want to signal their dominance by whoever has the most expensive or rare car. For example, truth be told I have almost 0 interest in Ferrari cars, I don’t really think the design is all that interesting. Typically the Ferrari cars are the most expensive. I prefer the design of Lamborghini cars.

But then I also supposed to issue here is that you don’t know if somebody owns the car, they’re leasing the car, or whether they’re just renting it for the weekend or the day.

Also let us assume that they did in fact purchase the vehicle, all cash or whatever… Then again doesn’t really matter either because you start to feel bad for the guy; all that expensive insurance you have to pay on it is bleeding them to death, or the high maintenance cost which is also slowly bleeding them to death, or the ultimate thought: 

Wow — that $250,000 they put into that car, maybe $350,000 after taxes etc.… is money they could have put into bitcoin. 

Assuming that bitcoin has an average growth rate historically of about 50% year over years; just do the math, and plug it into a table. I think in the context of money, we are only ever happy if we see the number go up and grow; when we see the number getting depleted and going down, we feel like we are losing power?

Double your money and make it stack!

I suppose here is where money in economics and capital, capitalism is a bit bizarre; I think the ultimate name of the game is infinite. Let us say that your money is a metaphorical skyscraper, essentially what is all about is who could keep building ever higher skyscraper. For example, let us say that you have a 100 story skyscraper, I want a 1000 foot Skyscraper! 

Also for the most part, money is not really based in physics anymore, more or less ones and zeros inside the machine, or Fiat currency is essentially like cotton candy being printed by the US government.  Therefore, the upper wealth in terms of US dollars and Fiat currency in a monetary value is infinite. For example, my net worth could be 1 million, 10 million, 100 million, 1 billion, 1 trillion, 100 trillion etc.

And this is also something weird and bizarre that I’ve discovered; I am so reticent to spend even $500 on something, even $150 on something, even $79 on something; yet watching my bitcoin balance, I could easily have a $50,000 gain in a single day, or a $250,000 gain in a matter of a week or two. Yet I am still reticent on spending money? Why?

“You can take the kid out the hood, but you can’t take the hood out the kid” – Kendrick

I think this is where I think your family history, how you were raised as a kid, and also historically numbers are so critical about money.

For example, I still remember when I was in high school… In the bay area, and I learned how critical buying brand new brakes and tires were for the safety of your car… My mom‘s old Nissan Maxima had old bear tires, and I was afraid that my mom would die in a car accident, yet we still didn’t even have $300 USD to pay for new tires?

Even a shameful thing, having to buy used tires because you can’t afford to buy new ones? And this is literally a life or death situation. Same thing with brakes.

Why do we seek dominance?

This is where I think sex is important; my critical thought is men, biological men, if you were born with testicles and a penis,… We all see some sort of dominance. We either seek social dominance, knowledge or intellectual based dominance, economic dominance, social dominance, artistic dominance etc. 

For example, this is where all the strange hips are dumb notions come from; whenever you meet antisocial guy in LA, sporting a Hitler mustache, some sort of obscure dark tinted sunglasses, a baseball cap or a trucker hat, secretly thinking they are superior to you… They use their obscure taste in vinyl records, music arts and culture to seek dominance over you?

I think this is also where the whole notion of revenge of the nerds comes from; all these kids were once bullied as nerd kids, now have the hand because they are so much richer and more successful than the jocks of yester year … now as adults, he or she who has the most money is the most supreme dominant and powerful. Yet here are some nuances:

First, debt. Debt is hidden. And also, I think the problem here is that a lot of people hide their debt in sneaky ways, in order to somehow assert that they are richer than the actual are. But if we have a purely mathematical physics based approach behind it… All debt is negative. There’s no such thing as a good dad. That is almost like a parasite or a disease in your body, which is slowly draining what your life force, or slowly letting your blood. As long as you have a mortgage or you have to pay off… You’re getting slowly getting bled to death. 

The opposite of death

This is also where things get a little bit bizarre to me; apparently a lot of really rich wealthy families what they do is their own property in highly desirable places,  and their property value keeps going up, and somehow they are able to borrow US dollars fiat currency at low percentage points, which essentially means that they are just printing free money for themselves? And they never pay taxes, because technically in terms of their taxes is that they always file as a loss. Even the founder and the head of related companies I don’t think has ever filed a profit Oregon; even though he probably owns about $100 billion worth of property in New York City the Hudson yards etc.

Even Michael Saylor said something interesting; ideally what you would do is use your bitcoin as your property digital property, and then you borrow cheap US dollars against that; which seems to be a wise leverage because assuming that bitcoin is gaining 50% year over here, and if you could borrow US dollars at about 5%… You still have a 45% hedge. I think that difficult thing about this is that it is just too complicated to do; I have no idea how to do it. Kind of similar how people we finance or re-mortgage their homes, and suddenly have a bunch of cash on hand? I think we will be able to do this soon with bitcoin cryptocurrency, crypto assets soon. 

How I lost faith in fiat currency 

Fiat means Faith; Faith and your government, faith in institutions etc. 

For example, a really downside mistake I made a few years ago is selling some of my bitcoin for some US dollars. A poor bet. Essentially over the course of four months, I withdrew about $5000 USD a month, and at the time, a single bitcoin is worth around $20,000. Now it is conservatively in the $60,000 range, which means  I essentially lost $40,000 in a shortsighted mistake. And $40,000 to a lot of parts of the United States could be a yearly salary. 

---

Numbers vs health?

Certainly more important than money is health. Also peace of mind. For example, you could still have $100 million in the bank, and have poor health, and still live in fear; the fear that your hundred million dollars will dwindle down to only $10 million or $1 million etc. He who climbs higher can suffer a more precipitous fall. 

so what should we do about this?

I think this is where philosophy becomes interesting —

The first very simple thing is think Spartan. Spartan economics.

What would King Leonidas or a Spartan hoplite say if they encountered modern day man? I think a highlight or Spartan would just be befuddled and confused and scratch their head.

Also, let us consider that for Spartans, it was about manliness, courage, dominance on the battlefield. I suppose the issue is in today’s world, we don’t really have the opportunity to exhibit Spartan virtues, unless you’re at the gym, drink some sort of powerlifting, HYPELIFTING, or if you’re an MMA, UFC fighter? 

I think the reason why bodybuilding is a poor approach is 99.99% of it is steroids. And grinding “hard work“. But don’t we know that hard work is just for slaves? Ancient Greeks, work as a vice. Only slaves worked and toiled the lands, the Spartans had the helots to do their dirty work, while they worked on more virtuous things like hanging out topless, training, engaging in fun banter etc.

The modern day Arena

Currently, social media, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, has hijacked the world.  The metrics of dominance are centered around how many likes followers etc. do you have? But the biggest issue here is that ultimately, even if you had 1 trillion followers, as long as you are a slave to the platform, you are still a slave.

For example, if you were a slave, with a gold crown on your head, decked out in the finest jewelry, driving all of the exotic sports cars, but you were still a slave… With no freedom… Would you take this exchange? Certainly not. Better to be a free spartan a Persian slave.

New ways of thinking of the world

First, I think we have to stop getting so obsessed about cars. Especially in today’s world where everyone has full limit all around the car… It is impossible to see who the driver is. Whether he is a 4 foot 10 man, or a dog… You have no idea. 

Or, in the near future we already see it now… Whether it is a self driving way more car? With no driver?

Imagine if you saw the coolest loudest Lamborghini slowly cruising through the streets, revving attention, you might feel some sort of petty envy towards the driver. But what if the windows roll down and it was a fully autonomous self driving car? 

---

Your “net worth”?

I think the new secret is not your net worth, but you’re not freedom. What is freedom? Whether you could go two years without checking your email inbox, or whether you could just go out, and leave your phone at home or in the car.

So the first thought is this; Via negativa signals of freedom — 

he who walks around town without a phone on him is in fact the most successful person.

“Success”?

Then another line of thinking; rethinking the notion of success. Once again it is not a success notion here, it is a freedom one.

Even when you think about the declaration of independence, and the founding fathers talk about life liberty and the pursuit of happiness… First the notion of life is too ambiguous. Pursuit of happiness is also too fuzzy. Liberty, liberty is a good one… but I think freedom is a better one. 

I think the real issue here is that freedom and capitalism are at odds. For example, typically speaking, individuals with more US dollars in their bank account, or individuals we have higher salaries typically have less freedom. For example, if you’re earning $1 million a year salary at Apple Amazon Facebook or Google… Most likely it is a signal that you have no freedom. Why? You can’t suddenly just stop checking your email, and just randomly in the middle of the day go on a hike in the middle of Malibu without any sort of Internet connection. With higher salaries implies higher responsibilities, less freedom.

And for the most part, what is having a job? What is careers? The simple thought is the higher you climb in the corporate ladder, the higher your income and salary… Conversely less your freedom?

For example, I remember when I was working my first tech job out of college, at demand media, ehow.com as an online community manager, now the company is rebranded as the leaf group, … I met a lot of programmers who refused to become managers, even if it would come with a pay bump. Why? They had the intelligence that with a nominal bump and salary, let us say a 20% raise in salary… Came with a 2000% increase in rate of responsibilities, other people to manage, etc.

Also one thing I’m starting to learn about academia and the universities fear; typically when academics take higher positions and salaries, get tenure, become full professors etc.… Even though they have a higher salary, they are also bombarded with more community-based responsibilities and labor. I suppose this is where it was nice that Cindy was a postdoctoral fellow, when you are a post doc, you have almost no responsibilities. 

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The best schedule?

The best schedule is no schedule. Which allows for maximum option reality, you could do whatever you please, whenever you please. 

I also suppose if your passion is travel, whatever… Ultimate is having the ultimate freedom schedule which means you could travel and fly anywhere whenever you want to, and you could often save thousands of dollars on airfare if you decide to travel somewhere during an off. Period And this is where I suppose it is nice to not have any obligations back home, maintaining your property, pay your mortgage, pay double rent etc.

And certainly not having to worry about your car, where to park your car, how to maintain your car etc. Even the downside of a lot of gasoline cars is that if you have gasoline car part or too long of a period of time, with turning it on occasionally, the battery dies. Also I suppose with electric cars, the battery will slowly drain overtime, I’m not sure what the half-life is, but I think even the best Tesla, assuming that you don’t always charge it, and you leave for a year or two… It will probably run out of charge.

Laser eyes!

My new motto is laser eyes, from Michael Saylor.

I think he also follows the Steve Jobs thoughts; focus and laser your eyes on 11 single thing… And the maximum out of that one thing, instead of getting distracted by too many things.

For example, in the crypto sphere… Bitcoin is the only one worth following. All the stuff on Ethereum is a distraction, even chain-link which I like, is still a distraction.

The reason here is that time attention and focus is limited; one hour you spend on studying the second best loser is the time you could spend spending an hour studying the best.

Time with your kids 

This is also where I find things a bit bizarre; people who make this bizarre trade-off:

Pay money to have their kid in daycare, instead of spending the time with their kid?

Certainly if you have nonnegotiable 9 to 5 job, you don’t really have an option. But if you do have an option… Why would you want to have a bunch of strangers look after your kid when you can spend that time with your kid?

Time spent with your kids and loved ones is the ultimate investment. For example, I am very certain that my mom will be dead in 40 years, maybe she’ll make it to 100, but not 110. And isn’t the best way to Peter out the end of your life just to be around your loved ones?

***

Attention

There’s something I call fake time spent with your kids; it is when you take your kids to the park and you’re just on your iPhone the whole time, checking and answering email, looking at news, on Facebook Instagram or YouTube… Looking at financial things etc.

I think a lot of parents have the rational that they’re working hard to make money to provide for their kids. However they realize that the ultimate investment is just to directly cut out the middleman, lock your phone in the glove compartment, in the car, and just spend your precious limited time with your kid 100%?

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Now what?

Nihil admirari (admire no man)

All man, irregardless of how great, is flawed. For example, Elon Musk who is the greatest entrepreneur of all time, a man I greatly admire… Still has lots of problems of his own. For example, his poor health, the demons he has with his father and his kids, etc. I would not want to be him. 

Or even Jeff Bezos, richest man on the planet, I think he’s only 5 foot seven? And now that he is older? Youth is the ultimate desired thing — would you trade your glorious 36-year-old body for the body of a 85-year-old billionaire with dementia? Probably not.

Time and money

It is not just time and money but health.

For example, why is it that IT guys make so much money? It is because they cannot sleep at night; they will often have to randomly wake up at 2 AM or 3 AM or 4 AM, dealing with some sort of data outage. Or, if you are working at an investment bank or whatever… Having to routinely work beyond midnight, always on call for your clients.

If you are a CEO of $1 billion company; as long as you have a publicly treated corporation, you are still a slave to the board of directors, shareholders, etc. If you like to sit on your butt and be in the middle of boring meetings for a profession… or send and answer emails for a living .. might be more fun to be a cop or a firefighter, or even work for California Highway Patrol.

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Be humble?

Being humble, humility, being close to the floor… Is the general notion of being humble. But maybe instead of being humble, being spartan is a better strategy?

ERIC

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Think physics:

Some real world thoughts:

First, I still believe infinitely… the best possible place to live is a place where you love to walk! When you pound your morning espresso, hungry and voracious for the adventure of embodied reality.

The problem

I think the sad tragedy here is that truth be told… 99.9% of reality sucks. Especially if you live in America… you’re just stuck in a car 99.9% of your day. Or inside an office building, or inside a crappy school room, University class etc.

In fact, we knew modern day humans, with the new zoo animals. In fact, maybe zoo animals have it better than us; at least they have a little bit more physical space, and also room to spare.

First

I believe the first optimization, at least living in America is deciding which Geo location or space to live. Currently speaking I believe Culver City, downtown Culver City, the Culver City arts district to be the best. The best place to immediately pop out of your apartment, and immediately start walking! 

Or, if you have the option, living in some sort of city in Southeast Asia, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Hanoi, Saigon etc.

The reason why I believe it to be so intelligent to live in Southeast Asia is economic leverage. For example even trolling homes here on Zillow, it is insane; $2.2 million for these half-assed remodeled homes? Things which comes standard in Vietnam or Southeast Asia?

Hardcore economics

I recently re-watched the movie 300 again, some thoughts:

First, I think the best way to live is through extreme economy. What that means is no matter how high or low your income… to hardcore leverage your money seems like a good idea.

For example, it seems human nature that we will typically meet match or perhaps supersede our income. What that means is when it comes to “lifestyle creep”, or “hedonic adaptation”– most people do the foolish thing— when anybody touches any money, the very foolish thing they first do is buy a car, some expensive clothes, jewelry, etc.

What they should do instead is buy bitcoin. And live like a low-key poor person.

Spartan economics

Ever since I was a teenager, and a kid, I’ve always really been into fashion, clothes etc. However, the enlightening thing about watching the movie 300, first, the Spartans are essentially bare chested, no shirt on, and just wearing cod pieces–speedos. The only thing to note is their crimson cape which goes to the floor, and during battle, their bronze Spartan helmets, with the frightening horse hair on top, their spears, swords, battle greaves, forearm armor, shield, … that seems to be about it.

Certainly there are some clothes and accessories which do improve your life. But assuming you’re a man… unless you’re going indoors, a shirt is optional. I say go shirtless as much as humanly possible.

Khalil Gibran on Clothing

At the LA public library, Cindy just picked up paperback of Khalil Gibran the prophet, the classic. I think Cindy and I read it back in college.

What was very interesting was his thoughts on modesty and clothing; essentially back in the day, modesty was just another word to describe hiding the ugliness of your body.

I see today; all these guys who wear trucker hats, fully tinted sunglasses, have beards and lots of facial hair and maybe mustaches … , flannel and trucker jackets, bunch of tattoos, body hair, fat, and drinking beer? Essentially it is to hide the ugliness of their bodies. I still find it very very bizarre that somehow having a strong opinion about craft beer is what makes one manly? 

I find tattoos to be the most ridiculous proposition; it is expensive, takes a long time, and it actually positively makes your body uglier. Even Nietzsche wrote that the trend for people to get bodily tattoos was a march towards barbarism.

I say instead of getting body tattoos, just build bodily muscle. Just buy your own weightlifting equipment – Titan.fitness and workout at home.

Real men have muscle!

Property

I’m currently reading the father of Austrian economics, Karl Menger — and his principles on economics. It is a bit of a dry read, but I enjoy it and so far much as it is simple, clean, and direct, and just like Aristotle, lays the foundation of first principles in economics, talking about goods, needs, human economizing, stock etc.

One of it is property, property accumulation, and connections with human desire to accumulate obtain and hold property.

Karl Menger talks about property almost a bit of a metaphorical sense, it doesn’t have to be physical property, the property in the minds of men?

I think when you go back to first principles thinking for philosophy humans economics etc., things become very interesting.

The first thought I had is maybe the intelligence of buying your own weightlifting or gym equipment is that in technicality, you are accumulating property, weightlifting property, weight property, plates etc.

Also the good thing is that weightlifting will never go out this style, because it is the most OG, original gangster way of getting stronger. A simple barbell and weight plates is all you need. If you want cheap ones, just get some cast-iron plates, in the 45 pound range. Also for a cheap weightlifting squat rack, the Titan.fitness T3 independent squat stand, apparently it could withstand up to 1000 pounds… I’ve already loaded it up with 775 pounds and it seems fine.

I think the problem with going to the gym, is that you’re pissing away your money, especially in Los Angeles where a gym membership could be in the $150 a month to $200 a month range. If you’re on a budget, you could buy a cheap barbell for me about 100 bucks, and two weight plates will only set you back around 150 bucks. If you do the math, within the year, you can invest at least $1000 into weightlifting equipment, which will stay with you forever.

For very very cheap options, just buy sandbags; you could purchase 50 pounds of playground sand for only about three dollars! 

Stainless steel

What is the apex metal? Stainless steel. Stainless steel is what allows us to create 100 story skyscrapers, and also, which creates your beloved Cybertruck. The more I think about cybertruck, the greater it is. At least in terms of material and form, it might last you at least 100 years. Maybe 300 years if you take good care of it.

Also, I think the cybertruck is actually positively bulletproof; just watch the videos with it. If John Wick was alive today, he might drive a cybertruck?  Or some sort of baby sports car muscle car stainless steel cyber truck, imagine if you took a Camaro or a Dodge charger and just outfitted it with stainless steel? 

Make your body like stainless steel

I had the epiphany and the realization that this is why they call Superman the Man of steel; at the time, when Superman was invented, steel, stainless steel was a big deal.

Also, public restrooms and bathrooms etc.… It seems that stainless steel is the way. The easiest to keep clean, maintain etc. Stainless steel toilets, hand washing stations etc.

Also, at Cindy‘s family’s house, Cindy‘s mom has a stainless steel kitchen sink, which I think she’s been using for over 20 years with no problems!

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The future

First principal is thinking; what is the purpose of saving? For the future.

I think the very clarifying and positive thing is once you have a kid, future becomes a more concrete notion. Your building property and betterment for your child, and their child, and their kids kids kids.

But why? I think a lot of modern day thinking is too focused on the individual; what makes more sense is focusing on beyond the individual– the clan, the tribe, the collective. 

Leaders and followers?

“See there’s leaders and there’s followers but I’d rather be a dick than a swallower”– Ye

Even NASSIM Taleb talks about how there are individuals or academic, intellectual “swallowers“. 

What should be the purpose of education? Critical thinking. To challenge convention, to think first principles etc.

In fact, I think the best thing that Aristotle does when fleshing out some ideas is he first starts off by first principles, by defining things – to challenge things, why they are important, why they are critical etc.

The reason why I find this to be so important is that we spend our whole lives working, and living… but yet we never challenge why we do it, why is important, why is significant etc.

For example, let us say that you are a modern day tech worker, or a banker, and what you’re trying to do is accumulate as much US dollars, currency, the highest salary possible. But towards what ends? Buying a certain car you want, a single-family home, etc.? Having the freedom in the power to travel the world? Before you sacrifice 30 years of your life, maybe a deep critical introspection is needed; thus the Why App?

The upside of sociology 

The more I think about the benefit of studying sociology was simply to challenge all social norms. In fact, the other day we were inside a public library, and Seneca was upset that we had to return the books, in which I cleverly stated and said, no, we are not “returning” the books, we are recirculating them.

Anyways, certainly Seneca was upset, because if you think about it… the notion of checking out a book, and then having to return it is not natural and it doesn’t really make much sense. As a consequence he was crying loud, and this pretentious librarian tell me that “he has to go”, or “he has to go (outside)”.

Like a true mensch, of course I did not forcibly make him exit the library. I calmly stood there, while he was still crying, explaining to him the notion of recirculating over returning the books.

Anyways, the librarian was confused, because I think in the past, whenever the library tells a parent that their kid is being too loud, a parent somehow feels bad, or embarrassed or something and forcibly removes the kid from the library. No. I stood there, taking my sweet time, and explaining to Seneca, and the library being confused came up to me to approach me a second time.

Anyways, thinking back first principles… Why is it that a library should be quiet? Why not loud?

The first line of thinking is that the purpose of a library is for a quiet contemplation. Why not loud contemplation?

Anyways, that loser library and library will no longer get my patronage. Onto the next one.

Society?

Also, even modern day society in today’s world, the law is “thou shall not make eye contact with strangers, engage in small talk, be friendly etc.”

Also, modern day society says that we shall be, antisocial, introspective, cowardly, quietly consume our fake ass plant-based food, and try to minimize our “carbon imprint”, on the planet. 

Says who?

Fuck that!

Seeing humans in the flesh?

Now I have a new rule; before I’m about to read any book, listen to a new podcast or whatever… I want to kind of get a full body glimpse of said individual.

For example, this seems cruel, but I don’t really care for the opinion of anybody who is overfat, skinny fat, physically weak, doesn’t have muscle, doesn’t have strong legs.

The problem in today’s world is that there is a hijacking of knowledge, legitimacy and information towards the nerds, the Shorty guys, the Shorty fat skinny old bald guys, etc.

Only trust thinkers who are also weightlifters. 

So far, modern day times … maybe only NASSIM TALEB? But now he is even too old, and still kind of a fatty guy (his history).

Who else?

They not like us!

Creating your own tribe? All you need is 300?

Let us even think about King Leonidas… Certainly would have been impossible for him to fight back millions of Persians himself. However, him being able to leverage the train, the hot gates and the choke point… Assuming he was not betrayed… He would have probably been able to hold the hot gates, With his Spartan 300. 

Create for yourself

My simple line of thinking is create things, design things as if you were the only end user.

Also, follow your own personal curiosity irregardless of how irrational or impractical or uneconomical it may seem. 

True innovation happens out of pure self curiosity, things which at the time seem very very impractical… But, can create insane value for society and others.

The camera as a self defense weapon?

Looking at cops, one of the interesting things is that they always have some sort of chest mounted video camera that is always recording. I wonder if this is also a good accessory for ourselves. A simple thing is having a GoPro chest mount, and a GoPro mini. 

Also, if you became swat, swat team… How would you look and how would you train?

First, armor. I think my joy of having my 60 pound weight vest on all the time is that is like real world training. If you had a bulletproof, 60 pounds is good.

Also, a bulletproof body.

SWAT TRAINING?

If you are swat team… How do you train?

Once again, 60 pound vest, and also some sort of notion of hunger. And fearlessness.

Also a cool visual I have is from John Wick 4, the all black samurai kabuki guys at the Osaka hotel, trying to kill John Wick.

The ideal form of training would be caring heavy stuff, for relatively short distances. Also if fearlessness. And pure power. Imagine if you were a swat door kicker. 

Unkillable

I think what is so awesome about John Wick is that he is practically invincible, unkillable. All four movies, everyone tries to kill him, and even at the very very end… he allows himself to get killed, in order to get the final sweet sweet revenge on his arch nemesis.

In fact, John Wick is fascinating because he is almost like the modern Achilles; it is his lust for revenge which drives him.

Thought– somebody should reboot the movie Troy, or a film centered around Achilles? 

New ethics and morality


Also, this is where things become interesting to me; for us to think carte blanche, to create new morals and ethics for ourselves. All is permitted, said the famous assassins. This is the real assassin’s Creed.

All is legitimate, all is permitted — as long as it does not disobey the laws of physics.

ERIC

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Think physics

Ultimately if you want to think about growth, life, things in general… Think physics!

Weight lifting also a fun physics game and experiment?

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Travel and physics

If you think about reality from a physics or space approach, the logic and the rationale is that when you’re moving your human body across time and space, geo location and climate… having a novel environment changes you.

For example, even a simple weekend getaway to San Diego, the beachfront, the ocean, looking into the infinite sea, and having a different change of climate from LA, it changed my thinking, or allowed the genesis of new and unique thoughts.

I think this upside of traveling to Southeast Asia, ironically enough I think best when it is hot and humid? For myself, I find it very difficult to think well when it is cold and humid and wet. I hate the winter. Even the Los Angeles the winter is not super nice. I wish I could live in Southeast Asia forever.

You know yourself the best

Everybody has different preferences. I find it insanely annoying when people try to “educate” you that somehow your preferences are illegitimate? And they try to tyranny their own preferences upon you?

Fuck that! Become more stoic and staunch in your approach.

so where do you want to travel to?

1. SF BAY AREA, THE MISSION SF —
2. Downtown LA
3. CAMBODIA, ANGKOR WAT Experience the planet with EK > ERIC KIM EXPERIENCES

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Photo assignments

If you want infinite inspiration and motivation to make photos, just have a kid!

If you already have a kid, cross pollinate your passion for street photography photographing your kid!

Also, undefine photography; all photography is legitimate!

Also, delete Instagram, irregardless of how many followers you have. It is like I’m telling you that you had terminal cancer, but, you would be able to magically cure yourself if you justdeleted Instagram. Wouldn’t you do it?

Instagram is cancer for the mind and the soul. 

In fact, the only people I trust in the ERIC KIM clan is those without an Instagram. Also if I had to create an initiation ceremony, the first step for STREET CLUB would be deleting your Instagram. 

Keep stacking those Bitcoin not those followers. 

“You got 1 billion streams, I got $1 billion!” – JAY Z

You got 1 million followers? I got 1 million bitcoin!

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The ocean is infinite– infinite energy, power, waves… forever into the distance:

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Only Slaves Use Phones

Creating the most sublime human body?

A turbo thought about phones —

Only slaves use phones?

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Vietnam experiences

Probably the big takeaway point I got from Vietnam, living in Vietnam without a phone, only iPad is this: 

You don’t need a phone.

In fact, let us consider… If you’re walking around in the real world, looking at how big it is, it is such a great tragedy that so much of our human existence is centered around a tiny 4.5 inch screen.

Also, the problem with phones, you can’t be that productive with phones. Most people text with their thumbs, which is maybe 40 words per minute at best. Very slow. On the laptop I can type close to 140 words per minute, and now using iPad Pro with voice dictation, maybe 200 words per minute. 

I think perhaps what is exciting about the new Apple intelligence and AI in the future, is actually ironically not the AI generating text, or giving me information, but the simple thing, which is actually centered more around accurately representing the words I actually want to voice dictate.

For example, often when I’m doing voice dictation with the iPad Pro, the built-in keyboard, the little microphone button… the big issue I have here is that a lot of the typos certain words in the English language which sound like something else, but are not.

Consequence, perhaps the greatest upside of artificial intelligence would be quickly scanning the nuance of the whole sentence, while I am actively voice dictating, and through this process, discover what I am really trying to say. 

AI & photo curation

Another interesting use case for artificial intelligence is simply being able to help me curate my images, help me go through them quicker.

For example, I have lots of visions for image curation; the big issue we are having in todays world is we shoot too many images, too quickly, and we haven’t the time the techniques or the skills to view them quickly enough. 

For example, currently I average 1000 to 2000 photos a day. I think this is generally a good thing, because it signals that I am living a grand life. However the downside is that I seem to have a difficult time finding the opportunity or the time or the chance to review these many photos a day.

The basic person might say, “Shoot less“; but I find this to be too flaccid of a solution. What we need instead is more effective image creation tools, devices, or things.

More convenient film developing, processing etc?

Also as a random nuance, now that Pentax just put out that new film camera, wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was either a free or practically free solution to image processing, etc.?

Or, the upside of film without the downside; perhaps this is the main upside or the intrigue with the new Ricoh HDF camera ? The idea that your digital photos could look like film photos without the hassle of developing film photos? 

Why film?

For example, there is no doubt that film photos, especially color film photos, are far more aesthetically beautiful than the often too perfect digital photos. Yet, at the end of day, the inconvenience of shooting film is what makes it the loser. Sooner or later, no matter how dedicated of a film photographer you are, it still seems that the tide eventually makes its way back into digital. 

Some nuances:

First, if you perhaps live in Vietnam or some sort of developing country, where labor costs are cheap in which you could just give somebody else your film photos, and have them cheaply develop process and scan it for you. However it seems that now in America with the $20 an hour minimum wage at McDonald’s, labor costs in America are too prohibitive.

As an example I remember when living in Hanoi, there were some scrappy kids who would develop a rule of film, and also scan it for you for only five dollars a roll! In America this is almost $20-$30 a roll. 

Convenience is key

Even if you’re stupid rich, millionaire or billionaire level, then once again, the inconvenience is what makes it bad. For example, I still have about 50 rolls of Kodak PORTRA 400, and Kodak Trix which I shot maybe three or four years ago, which I still haven’t yet had the impetus to send it off to go process it, even though I could easily afford it. I just got too many other things on my plate at the moment.

Therefore a consequence, the realization is once you’re very wealthy, costs no longer become a problem, it is more of a time energy mental space, time space thing. 

Elon?

For example, if you’re Elon Musk, do you have the time convenience or the leisure to simply stroll into a Costco, browse the products, and spend about three or four hours checking out? No.

I think this is where Amazon and Amazon prime is so great for people both rich and poor alike; rich people still use Amazon prime because it is so convenient. Once you’re rich, a lot of people don’t have time to go places or to physically purchase the products. They would prefer to order it in just a few seconds from their phone. And then poor people like Amazon prime because they get prices; and end up “saving” money.

Visions for the future

Some simple visions:

First, a phone free future. I think one thing that really annoys me about a lot of these new modern cars is that you somehow need a phone in order to unlock it, to open the door of your car, access it, etc. I think with Tesla cars, as long as you have your Tesla phone in your pocket, you could access your car, but also you could access it if you have the Tesla valet key thing.

Funny enough, one of the upsides of my glorious 2010 Prius is that it still has the key fob; which means when I go to the park with Seneca, I could just lock up my phone inside my glove compartment, just take my keys and Prius car with me, and lock up my car. 

New productivity?

I have some radical new ideas for productivity:

First, it seems like a very very very simple one is ironically “via negativa” approaches and technology. 

For example, ironically one of the best ways you could be more productive is by not having a Wi-Fi enabled device. For example, maybe if you’d like the smaller form factor of an iPhone, just have two phones; one with Internet cellular data, the other as a Wi-Fi only device. Maybe this would be a good idea for who just prefer shooting photos using an iPhone, but don’t like getting interrupted by text messages.

I think the reason why this is such a good idea in Asia, and a lot of the world… many people have multiple devices with them at once. For example my friend Chu Viet Ha, because he is often testing out so many new phones and phone cameras, often has five or six phones with him.

The hybrid approach

In fact, if you really wanted to be the ultimately productive person, having the best world of both android and iPhone iOS is a good idea. 

For example, my friend Darren Wong — impressed me when he had both a Google pixel and an iPhone in each of his front two pockets. Truth be told, almost every single iPhone user I know has a Gmail account. And Gmail works for better on android in Google pixel then on iOS. As a consequence, using a Google pixel, which is the ultimate expression of android, should be optimal for doing Google related things; Google calendar, Gmail etc. Even Google maps.

What is iPhone, iOS good for? FaceTime, iMessage, Apple photos, iA Writer, etc.

Road trip down to San Diego

This weekend had a quick trip to San Diego, and something that was so impressive to me was the upside of having a Prius and a hybrid car:

First, driving from LA to San Diego, only consumed about 3 ticks of gasoline. And the other day we spent all day driving around, going to Torrey Pines and the beach, seeing the ocean and the waves etc.… and in total we have only consumed about 40 to 50% of gas. We’re going to head out later today, and technically I still have half tank of gas and I could make it all the way back to LA if I wanted to.

However if I had a Tesla or a long range Tesla or electric vehicle, maybe even a cyber truck, I would probably have to stop by a supercharger somewhere along the line, or find a supercharger back home in LA… given that my apartment doesn’t have an electric charging port station, so the moral the story is simple:

If you truly do want to live a more adventurous life, Prius and Hybrid is the way. 

Autopilot is the killer app

The only thing I really wished on the drive down is having some sort of auto pilot or at least lane keeping assist distance being; some sort of super basic self driving thing. The future which allows you or allows your car to cruise control itself, but also maintaining the distance with a car in front of it, and also staying within the lane. And the optimal strategy is just having your car drive itself down from LA to San Diego, while staying in the second to left lane. 

I don’t know yet… but certainly there must be gasoline or hybrid cars that already allow this? 

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The upside of movement

So I’m about eight months in living in Los Angeles, kind of figuring out how to live there. But still not 100% settled yet.

Hitting the road again, just going on a road trip down to San Diego has been great; walking along the downtown San Diego waterfront, going to Torrey Pines State Beach and dipping my legs in the water with Seneca, and staring into the deep ocean, having the waves crashed directly towards me, has been extremely inspiring.

Also even checking out some parts of old San Diego has been super inspirational because it taught me and show me that there is still so much of the world left to explore.

I think this is where I am inspired by my friend Tim Flanagan — he is still traveling the world, nomadically, South America, Asia and beyond; did the wise and brave thing of taking an early retirement. People often tell him that “I wish I could do that, but I cannot because XYZ”. Tim is a good example, because he already has two grown sons, a handful of grandchildren, and some obligations back here in the states, but still… is doing the courageous and wise thing of traveling the globe.

I also think a lot of people often say is that I need more money in order to do that. But Tim, choosing an early retirement certainly does not have a fat pension like a lot of other teachers or administrators; but still… perhaps the best way to travel the world in the globe is through this intelligent frugality time and money leveraging; the wise, hard spartan approach.

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Capital thoughts 

I think one of the hardest things that people have to do is to think about cyberspace because it is so intangible.

For example, I’m currently 36 years old, and I think most of my technological beliefs have been embedded into me ever since I was 18 years old, maybe 21 years old. So assuming that I graduated from college around 15 years ago, I’m almost 2 decades in the game.

First, maybe this is where I am such a wise bitcoin investor. I know how to think in terms of bitcoin and digital and cyber things, because technically I started all of my capital in my website, which is a cyber digital commodity. Or cyber real estate.

Also, conservation of time energy space and power.

Life leverage

I didn’t the reason why I quit email is because it doesn’t scale well.

For example, now that I am such a notable and famous entity… I simply do not have enough time units in a day or a lifetime to respond or continue any sort of conversations of anything that comes in my inbox.

I also suppose this issue is with generative AI… It is kind of impossible to know whether the email you are receiving is from a real human being or not.

Maybe this could be a great filter in brave new digital world; some sort of “orange check” from a given email address, to prove humanity. A simple thing or more radical thing… Have an email address verified by a certain bitcoin wallet or balance, some sort of cyber digital ation, which could prove that is a human being, and how much worth they have. 

Public bitcoin balances?

Imagine this cyber future world in which you could meet people glance at people, or maybe even ask… making it socially acceptable to ask people how many bitcoins they own. And from this information you could tell how wealthy they really are.

For example, the shortcut we have about this is maybe the car people drive, where they live, their clothes accessories etc. But technically this is not a very good indicator, because every dime you spend on material things is actually capital and money you have invested in something else, or more bitcoins.

For example if I had any financial advice to young rappers, is for them not to buy any car just Uber around everywhere… And all that money they would blow at the strip club or on cars, just buy bitcoin.

Also, instead of them blowing all that money on jewelry, buying bitcoin instead. I wonder if in the near future, instead of wearing diamond chains and necklaces… Young rappers will simply have bitcoin icons tattooed into their body?

Bitcoin on wheels?

For example, whenever you some see somebody pull up in a cybertruck, a Lamborghini Ferrari or Porsche or whatever… Let us say the car is worth $200,000 — irregardless of how rich you are,  assuming you could have 10x’d, 100x’d or even 1,000x’d that money …. anybody who invests money into things which will not accrue and value over time is a fool.

For example, that $200,000 car could be a $2 million investment vehicle, a $20 million investment vehicle, or $200 million investment vehicle. Something that appreciates in time forever!


The true investor and capitalist is actually very frugal and economical?

Once again, if I told you with 100 precision today that any money you put into bitcoin would multiply itself by a factor of 1000… wouldn’t this change your purchasing behaviors today?

Of course! Even if you time-discount things, if you knew your money would 10 X, 100 X, 500 X  within a year, two years, five years, 10 years or 20 years… the most rational or wise people would just put all of that money US dollars or fiat currency into bitcoin. 

For example, if you knew that your $1000 invested in that thing you purchased today might be worth $100,000 10 years from now… then make that decision–

“Is it really that worth it to you?”

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Now what?

I still believe Zack Snyder‘s magnum opus thus far has been the movie 300. This is when he was still a young scrappy director, still with a limited budget, and made one of the best films of all time. I think in terms of courage, manliness, and overall valor, this film has not yet been reached by any other film. Not even the steroid infused Rock comes close. 

Re-watching the film, now as a 36 year-old adult with a 3 1/2 year-old son,  similar to the fictitious age of King Leonidas, and the movie… some interesting observations: 

1. One of the greatest blessings of man is to beget a son. If you have birth your first born child as a son, consider yourself infinitely blessed. The greatest blessing that reality could bestow you with. For the most part, I think the more kids, the jollier the better. In fact, nowadays whenever I see families with 3 kids, 4 kids, 5 kids… I think “Wow… that family is grand”. Then what that signals is not that the family is “rich“ in the traditional sense, but has their priority in their future generations, and cares more about begetting children than their “career”.
2. The best clothing is no or minimal clothing. The whole film, all of the actors and the Spartan hoplites and King Leonidas are simply wearing loincloths, or reinforced speedo’s. Therefore, the best pants are short shorts. And the best shirt or top is bare chested, no shirt. I suppose the nuance is back then, they wore a cape– a crimson cape. Is there such thing as a modern day cape?
3. Ultimately, it comes down to physical valor and courage. Note, in movie 300… all the Spartan hoplites what they had — their muscles, their courage, their helmets, their sword spear and shield. No vehicles.

The Spartan way

I then suppose if you want to become a true Spartan, have at least one son, to carry on your name. In the movie 300, king Leonidas confirms with all of his 300 Spartan hoplites whether they had at least one son to carry on their name, because they all essentially knew that it would die in combat.

So it seems to me that the logical strategy in life is to beget at least one son, and then direct all your money resources time and power to raise that son with the greatest of benefits. 

Before I had a son, before I had Seneca… I would look at all these guys who looked super rich and drove all these expensive cars as being some sort of “competition” with me. But now, they are all invisible to me. Why? a lot of them are single bachelors not even married, no kids. When they die, their whole lineage is dead. So to me I look at them like the walking (to be) dead.

Then I look at more older richer “successful“ looking parents in LA; and then I look at their kids, and I weigh Seneca against them; Seneca is much stronger, bigger, taller, more handsome, more muscular, more physically adept then them. The Spartan warrior boy who eats picanha at Fogo de Chão, with a carnivorous diet, versus all of these emaciated feeble looking children who are fed on grain and Cheerios.

So now, the only comparisons I do is looking at young boys around Seneca’s age, and looking at Seneca. Everything and everyone else is invisible to me.

The role of a father?

I think the simple role of a father is to simply raise, train, and battle ready your child. 

Simply put, I think the best strategy of raising your son is maximum time outdoors, in the direct elements, maximum time with physical activity exercise and the great outdoors, climbing, being in the water, throwing rocks in the water, eating meat etc. All this nonsense about “education” is overrated.

Just ask yourself:

What would king Leonidas do?

Howard King Leonidas raise his son?

“Education”?

If your kid is born in America, and has two educated parents… certainly whether you like it or not, they will learn how to be fluent in English, learn the English language, without even trying.

In fact, the ultimate education and learning happens in the real world.

I have the ultimate pride in Seneca, from a via negativa perspective:

1. Since he was born, he has never watched any YouTube, Disney+, YouTube kids, Netflix etc.
2. Since he was born he has never been put into preschool, daycare, “Montessori” school etc.
3. He has never eaten candy, ice cream, desserts or cake, etc.
4. He has never been exposed to movies films TV shows Marvel etc.

Then the irony is to privilege your kid, it isn’t about “adding“ activities or extracurricular activities for them; but rather what not to give them or what not to allow them to do.

Life?

I think the ideal life is not being employed, being self-employed and being a sole proprietor. If you see people who have to make zoom calls for a living, go to any office, or send emails for a living… they are not free. Freedom is the goal, not wealth. 

During the day, the ideal is to just be outside all day. If you are worried about the sun, just wear a lot of sunblock, wear a hat, baseball cap, or one of those funny wide brimmed hiking hats. I used to think that they were really lame, those hats which are really really big and long in the front, and really really long in the back to protect your neck. But now, I understand the rationale. And if you want to protect your body just wear long pants and long sleeves. 

An epiphany I also had about weather; even the most glorious of weather, not that the sun is in full blast in Los Angeles, the big issue is now the sun is almost too strong — even wearing SPF 60 sunblock, the UV rays of the sun feels like pins and needles on my shoulders and on top of my forehead. And also watching the Dune movie, all of the fighters of Arrakis essentially look like Middle Eastern people, all covered up, besides the eyes – Paul Atriedes at the very end, full battle gear, head and face covered besides the blue spice-infused eyes.

Then what that also means is when it is cold or the winter… Dress intelligently. Lots of layers. If you get too hot just take off layers. Just like when it is too hot, just keep taking clothes off until there are no more clothes to takeoff. 

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What else?

If you have the privilege, hit the beach! Just go barefoot in the sand and the water, just dip your feet and your legs and your body into the ocean. And then just stare into the deep ocean, with the waves crashing directly into and at you.

The big epiphany I had about the ocean is this:

Infinite power and horizons, never ending … forever.

I even thought, maybe the best bitcoin mining rig would just be a mega computer in the middle of the ocean, harnessing the forever power of the ocean, gravity and the solar system.

Now what?

If you want a simple trip that is not too difficult, just go on a hike in nature, or just hit the beach! I think there is a grand connection between man his environment and nature; he spent too much time in a cramped city, I think your horizon narrows. Even the simple action of staring into the sea… You know that your future is infinite. 

ERIC

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INCOMING!

Conquer the planet and beyond at upcoming ERIC KIM WORKSHOP:

1. SF: Conquer your fears, October 26, 2024
2. DOWNTOWN LA– the OG: Conquer your fears in street photography and beyond November 16, 2024

For the insanely bold–

CAMBODIA 2025 ANGKOR WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE

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Now what?

Never stop shooting!

ERIC

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