This is what happens when you fall down the last step — as this lady did.
And this is what you break — your tibia, one of the strongest bones in your body, as she did.
The good news is that you can buy a Knee Rover for only $90. Google it . You’ll find many.
I hope you never fall down The Last Step Going Down.
All about entrepreneurs
When I was a full-time entrepreneur (in the 1980s-1990s) I’d say, “What the world really needs is…” And I’d think of a new product — magazine, book or trade show — for our business.
The idea most often worked. We had great people. A great culture. Gerry, my partner, could sell the idea to success. He was the world’s best salesman. Still is.
Then we sold the business. I became a blogger, which I enjoy, and an investor, which I don’t enjoy.
Except on days my portfolio goes up. Like today.
I can’t will my stocks to go up. So I spend much time finding companies I admire (Nvidia) while saying no to companies I don’t admire (e.g. Intel).
I love the search for great products. I will obsess until I have found one. (Stay tuned, I’m getting to investment opportunities in AI, in a moment.)
We have a pantry in our house. Lately it’s been invaded by a family of ravenous, creative mice.
Solution: The standard.
My ravenous creative mice love this trap. They lick the delicious peanut butter I had as bait. They are careful not to set off a single trap.
Yuch. Off to the hardware store. Victor makes this plastic version. Maybe it’s the better mousetrap?
Bingo, it killed three mice and I get to re-use the bait and the trap. Don’t tell Susan.
Research is my middle name. Guess what I find?
But at five times the price, so I don’t see the charming dead mouse!
Forget it.
We have mice up the ying-yang. Catching them must be a growth business.
There’s got to be a public company I can buy shares in and get rich. The Peter Lynch Theory of Buying The Company which makes what you like.
Well there is. It was originally called The Animal Trap Company of America. Then it was called Woodstream. Then a private venture firm got it…
Woodstream sold a rodent monitoring system to Envu, which allows users to retrofit traditional rodent traps with sensors and a central portal to display data.
Now called digital pest management. (I don’t make this stuff up.)
There’s already a company called Samsara (IOT) which slaps monitors on trucks, earth movers, cranes, and other items of value and tells you were your stuff is 24/7.
Why not for mice? Add some cameras, some AI, the Internet, fiber, the cloud, maybe a few of Elon’s satellites, I could sit at my desk and watch my mice being bludgeoned in real time. I’ll outsource the cleanup to that company, Servpro, that advertises on TV to clean your house after a flood..
There is method in this “madness.” I’m totally obsessed with finding companies benefiting by AI — Not just Nvidia, and the magnificent seven — Tesla, Meta, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Apple.
I’ve broadened a little with stock now in Oklo, Oracle, Palantir, KRKNF and SMCI.
I will buy some Salesforce (CRM) because of its Agentforce, which I think has major potential once I understand its benefits. Marc Benioff calls it “digital labor.” He gives enthusiasm (and salesmanship) a whole new meaning.
There’s so much happening with AI today I get excited by what I can do with it. I can’t find another stock reaping AI’s potential as Nvidia does. Which is still my biggest holding.
I’m still looking. Check out my holdings on the web site – here.
Want a good start? Go to Perplexity.AI (which I love) and ask it What are the biggest applications for AI today. Its long answer will blow you away.
Bitcoin hit $100,000 today, again
The Wall Street Journal wrote that Bitcoin was going up because supply was limited.
Nonsense.
It’s going up because of “buzz,” also called enthusiasm. Lately there’s been a lot of it.
During the election, the crypto “industry” spent $135 + million lobbying everyone and their uncle that crypto was for real. Trump, who once said crypt was garbage, now says he’ll make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world. He will be the crypto king, or words to that effect.
Can crypto go higher still? Absolutely!
The same reason that the red shoes worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 movie Wizard of Oz just sold for $28 million.
I remember what my boss in Australia told me as I was leaving to go to business school in the U.S.
He said that I would love the Americans because they were just like me. They substituted enthusiasm for intelligence.
I own only one bitcoin, which I’m up only 14.3%. I also has some Microstrategy (MSTR) which I’m losing 3%.
Now, having written this and got myself pumped up, I should buy more?
Which I will.
A very old, but wonderful movie
It has oodles of lessons for today.
This is a truly wonderful presentation on AI
Ben Evan’s presentation has oodles of wonderful slides. Among my favorites:
What joy my inbox brings
Bread and Circuses
The Roman poet Juvenal is credited with saying, “Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt”.
According to my AI search engine, the phrase “bread and circuses” is used to describe a situation where a government tries to distract people from real problems by providing things that make their lives more enjoyable. The Roman Empire used this phrase to describe the extravagant entertainment (gladiator sports etc,) they used to distract people from imperial policies that caused widespread discontent.
Trump Rally in Freeland 2024. Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com
Trump Rally in Freeland 2024. Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com
Big time circus here.
Acquired’s latest podcast:
The Complete History & Strategy of IKEA
IKEA may be the most singular company we’ve ever studied on Acquired. They’re a globally scaled, $50B annual revenue company with no direct competitors — yet have only ~5% market share. They’re one of the largest retailers in the world — yet sell only their own products. They generate a few billion in free cash flow every year — yet have no shareholders. And oh yeah, they also sell hot dogs cheaper than Costco! (Sort of.)
Tune in for an episode flat-packed with counterintuitive lessons about how this folksy mail order business from the Swedish countryside came into your living rooms (and bedrooms and dining rooms and kitchens and bathrooms and patios and garages and backyards) all over the globe!
Pick up this podcast at your favorite podcast service. I use Pocket Casts on my iPhone.
Fun cartoons
Ill be back in a day or so. — Harry Newton
