Justin Thibault (F3 Kilowatt)

I’m a pharmacy tech. Chain store. We have a policy. No prescription, no medication. Period. Man came in. Late fifties. Asked for insulin. “I ran out. My prescription’s expired. Doctor’s appointment isn’t until next week.” Checked his records. Type 1 diabetic. Last fill was on time. He wasn’t scamming. “I can’t give it to you without a prescription. Policy.” He nodded. Started to leave. Knew what would happen. Diabetic emergency. Hospital. Maybe worse. Called his doctor’s office. Closed. Left a message marked urgent. Called the pharmacist over. Explained. She looked at the man. Looked at me. “We can do a three-day emergency supply. I’ll authorize it.” Gave him three days of insulin. He tried to pay. She refused. “Get your prescription filled next week. This one’s on us.” He left crying. Thank you over and over. Came back the next week. Prescription filled. Brought us flowers. “You saved my life. I would’ve ended up in the ER. Or dead. For following policy.” That pharmacist got written up. Corporate found out. Medication given without valid prescription. She didn’t care. “Write me up every time,” she told the district manager. “I’ll break policy every time to save a life.” She still works there. Still breaks policy. For people who need insulin. Inhalers. Heart medication. Three-day supplies. Emergencies. Corporate stopped writing her up. Decided it was easier to look away. Because sometimes policy kills. And sometimes breaking rules saves lives. —Andrea, pharmacy tech

Them: “Nuclear takes too much time to build” @AaloAtomics : *Hold my drink*

Don't forget your sunscreen today, stock your tornado shelter tonight and leave the water dripping so it doesn't freeze tomorrow.

this is actually insane > be tech guy in australia > adopt cancer riddled rescue dog, months to live > not_going_to_give_you_up.mp4 > pay $3,000 to sequence her tumor DNA > feed it to ChatGPT and AlphaFold > zero background in biology > identify mutated proteins, match them to drug targets > design a custom mRNA cancer vaccine from scratch > genomics professor is “gobsmacked” that some puppy lover did this on his own > need ethics approval to administer it > red tape takes longer than designing the vaccine > 3 months, finally approved > drive 10 hours to get rosie her first injection > tumor halves > coat gets glossy again > dog is alive and happy > professor: “if we can do this for a dog, why aren’t we rolling this out to humans?” one man with a chatbot, and $3,000 just outperformed the entire pharmaceutical discovery pipeline. we are going to cure so many diseases. I dont think people realize how good things are going to get

@rsimmons11234 @CathyYoung63 I serve 100s of people and belong to several “tribes”. Our interests are aligned for commercial, civil, and political reasons. There are about a dozen people whose opinions of me really matter. They are diverse, but I respect their character and we know each other deeply.

@3rdGenNuke @CathyYoung63 I get it, but the idea that we are all forming tribes of 10 may be part of our issue that we can’t seem to cooperate on anything.

Watch it. You won't regret it.

@rsimmons11234 @CathyYoung63 Choose your 10 carefully

@CathyYoung63 I tend to agree with the sentiment, but if this advice is followed, doesn't this run the danger of intense tribalism? How many terrible decisions were made bc people only cared what the ten people with their values thought?

@OIuwatosin “Everything is always working out for me” - @JonAcuff.

It’s an elite mindset to live like everything is going to work out. Not necessarily being blindly optimistic, but just knowing whatever happens, you’ll figure it out

there is a rhetoric in ai rn that vibing and half-assing is the future of technology. do not fall for this psyop. the future is deep understanding and mastery. always has been

Senior backend architect making $280k just found out his entire microservices platform is getting replaced by an AI agent that costs $47/month He spent 6 months building "AI-enhanced developer tools" for his team. Trained the junior devs on Cursor. Set up the Claude integrations. Automated the code reviews. What he didn't realize: management was watching how much work the AI was actually doing Turns out that AI agent he built can handle 73% of the platform's complexity with zero human oversight. The remaining 27% gets routed to a contractor in Romania making $28k/year His manager pulled him aside yesterday: "Your AI tools work so well we don't need the team anymore. Just the tools." They're keeping 2 people out of 11. He's not one of them. The brutal part? His performance review literally said "exceptional work on AI integration - you've revolutionized how we approach development" He automated himself out of existence and got praised for it Stack Overflow co-founder making $400k+ just got managed out after building the AI training pipeline that ingests developer conversations His replacement? The pipeline he built plus a $89/month API subscription The irony is suffocating

If you guys thought scoping IAM perms was fun imagine how much of a blast it's going to be to follow principal of least priv for agents that need access to enough stuff to be useful but not too much to take down your entire production website and delete all backups. Humans will be in the loop for a while

@CAgovernor California’s only operating nuclear plant supplies ~8–9% of the state’s electricity & ~15–20% of its carbon-free generation. If the goal is climate leadership, nuclear has to be part of the toolkit - bring more nuclear!

hello i would like to start pushing experts’ technical blogs out to a larger audience on my video social accounts, especially *network engineering* related (no offense but there’s already so much cybersecurity stuff out there, im not interested in pushing hacking or pentesting or blueteam or anything of the sort rn) pls send me yr blogs🙏🏼 or yr fav expert(s)’ blogs will also give shoutouts to youtube channels but NOT influencers or content creators with big followings—experts who have purely technical content thank u!

OMG he did it. He really did it! (Turn captions on)

IMO the thing that's confusing people about productivity gains from AI coding is that it's totally non-linear: * Non-programmers (0x engineers) are now 0.8x engineers * 1x engineers are now 1.2x * 2x engineers are now 4x * 10x engineers (they exist) are now 1000x engineers

People getting People getting Snow: Ice:

COMMANDER: We’re fighting for freedom. And part of that freedom… is the freedom to retire with dignity. So we’re going to start accounts called 401(k)s. SOLDIER 1: What’s a 401(k)? COMMANDER: It’s a retirement account. You put money in, it grows tax-free, you take it out when you’re old. SOLDIER 2: So I don’t pay taxes on it? COMMANDER: Well, you pay taxes later. When you withdraw. SOLDIER 2: So it’s not tax-free. COMMANDER: It’s…tax-deferred. SOLDIER 2: What’s the difference? COMMANDER: You pay taxes later instead of now. SOLDIER 1: What if I want to pay taxes now? COMMANDER: Then you do a Roth 401(k). SOLDIER 3: What’s a Roth? COMMANDER: You pay taxes now, and it grows tax-free. SOLDIER 2: That’s what I thought the first one was. COMMANDER: No, the first one you pay taxes later. SOLDIER 1: Which one’s better? COMMANDER: Depends on your tax bracket in retirement. SOLDIER 1: …How would I…know that? COMMANDER: You don’t. You just guess. ⸻ SOLDIER 4: What if I don’t have a 401(k) through my employer? COMMANDER: Then you open an IRA. SOLDIER 4: What’s the difference? COMMANDER: One’s through your job, one’s on your own. SOLDIER 4: Can I have both? COMMANDER: Yes. SOLDIER 4: Should I? COMMANDER: Maybe. SOLDIER 3: Can I do a Roth IRA? COMMANDER: Only if you make under a certain amount. SOLDIER 3: What’s the limit? COMMANDER: Changes every year. SOLDIER 2: What if I make too much? COMMANDER: Then you do a backdoor Roth by putting it in a Traditonal first. SOLDIER 2: …Is that legal? COMMANDER: Surprisingly, yes. SOLDIER 1: What’s a backdoor Roth? COMMANDER: You contribute to a traditional IRA, then convert it to a Roth…but watch out for “pro rata”. SOLDIER 1: Why wouldn’t I just contribute to the Roth directly? COMMANDER: Because you make too much money. SOLDIER 1: But this way I can? COMMANDER: Yes. SOLDIER 1: That feels like a loophole. COMMANDER: It is. But the IRS is cool with it. ⸻ SOLDIER 5: I just changed battalions. What do I do with my old 401(k)? COMMANDER: You roll it over. SOLDIER 5: Into what? COMMANDER: An IRA. Or your new 401(k). Depends. SOLDIER 5: On what? COMMANDER: The funds. The fees. Whether your new plan accepts rollovers. SOLDIER 5: What if I just take the money out? COMMANDER: You’ll pay taxes plus a 10% penalty. SOLDIER 5: What if I’m 59? COMMANDER: Penalty. SOLDIER 5: 59 and a half? COMMANDER: No penalty. SOLDIER 5: …The half matters? COMMANDER: The half matters. ⸻ SOLDIER 3: What’s a mega backdoor Roth? COMMANDER: Okay. So. Your 401(k) has a limit of how much you can contribute. SOLDIER 3: Right. COMMANDER: But the total limit including employer contributions is higher. SOLDIER 3: Okay… COMMANDER: So if your plan allows ~after-tax~ contributions, you can put in more, then convert that to Roth. SOLDIER 3: Does my plan allow that? COMMANDER: I don’t know. You have to ask Betsy. SOLDIER 3: Will Betsy know? COMMANDER: Probably not. ⸻ SOLDIER 2: Can I deduct my IRA contribution on my taxes? COMMANDER: Are you covered by a retirement plan at work? SOLDIER 2: Yes. COMMANDER: Then only if you make under a certain amount per year. SOLDIER 2: What’s the amount? COMMANDER: Depends if you’re married. SOLDIER 2: What if my wife has a plan but I don’t? COMMANDER: Different limit. SOLDIER 2: What if neither of us has a plan? COMMANDER: Full deduction. SOLDIER 2: So it’s better to not have a 401(k)? COMMANDER: No… ⸻ SOLDIER 1: Can I just keep my money in a sock? COMMANDER: You could. But inflation will slowly destroy it. SOLDIER 1: What’s inflation? COMMANDER: (sighs)…

Your credit card rewards exist because someone else is paying 25% APR. Cap that at 10% and the points don’t survive. I spent years working inside fintech and card programs. That interest margin is the invisible buffer that makes rewards, lounges, and credits pencil out. Capping credit card APRs at 10% sounds like an obvious consumer win. Cards charge 20 to 30%, many consumers revolve balances, and the system feels punitive. But credit card economics are not just about interest rates. They are a cross-subsidized system where revolvers subsidize transactors, rewards rely on behavioral inefficiency, and risk-based pricing subsidizes access. Remove one leg of that stool and the system does not become fairer; it rebalances. And the costs show up where consumers notice most. Lets look at how this would impact 3 programs 1. AMEX Platinum A 10% credit card APR cap would not make your card cheaper or better. You would still have access, but you would almost certainly get less value for the same or higher price. The Platinum brand survives because its customers are affluent, pay in full, and tolerate high annual fees. What quietly supports that ecosystem is portfolio-level profitability, which allows AMEX to tolerate loss, overuse, and inefficiency in premium benefits. When that margin shrinks, the cost shows up directly in your (lesser) benefits. In a world where: - Rewards economics tighten - Devaluations become more likely - Flexibility is reduced Points become a liability to the issuer, and liabilities get repriced. So what this likely means for you as a Platinum cardholder: - Lounges do not expand to fix crowding. Instead, access tightens or amenities are reduced. - Statement credits become harder to use, more fragmented, or less generous. - Annual fees go up - New approvals become more selective, even for high earners. Your card still works, but the value proposition shifts. Platinum becomes more explicitly pay-to-play, with fewer hidden subsidies propping up premium perks. You pay the same or more, and you get a little less in return. Which is why some people are already warning that points devaluations become more likely in this environment (like @BowTiedBull this morning saying "Dump ALL your credit card points. All of them.") 2. Bilt Card This program is the canary in the coal mine for what to expect. Bilt’s super popular rent rewards worked because Wells Fargo was willing to subsidize them. The card offered 1 point per dollar on rent with no fees because Wells Fargo paid Bilt roughly 0.8 percent (80 bps) of each rent payment to fund rewards... despite earning little or no interchange on those transactions. But that is some actuarial level math with a number of variables at risk that proved wrong/ unsustainable. Wells Fargo was getting hosed $10 million a month on the program, so they exited the partnership years before the original end date and forced Bilt to restructure its rewards with a different bank What does that teach us? - When interest and interchange margins shrink, banks stop tolerating loss-leading reward programs. - Interest income does not fund every reward directly, but it provides the buffer that allows experiments like Bilt to exist at all. - Remove that buffer and rewards must be paid for explicitly. Bilt’s shift to a three-tier lineup with annual fees is not an anomaly. It is the direction rewards go when credit stops quietly absorbing losses. Pay-to-play rewards. What feels like consumer protection will shows up as fewer perks, pay-to-play rewards, and less room for innovation. 3. Credit One & other Subprime Cards Now the least glamorous corner. Subprime cards get criticized for high APRs, annual fees, low limits, minimal rewards. But they exist for a reason. They serve thin-file borrowers, damaged credit, people shut out of conventional loans, households using cards for liquidity not perks... but they charge high APRs because charge-offs exceed 8-10%, fraud and servicing costs are higher, and credit limits are small while fixed costs remain significant. A 10% cap makes these products mathematically impossible. These cards don't become cheaper. They cease to exist. As @sytaylor noted this morning - "You realize this will push many more customers towards loan sharks?" The demand for credit doesn't disappear... it migrates to BNPL with opaque effective APRs, chronic overdraft usage, fee-heavy installment loans, and less regulated lenders like loan sharks/ payday loans. So who WOULD win? Debit-First Fintechs One of the least discussed consequences: where would reward customers migrate? I think 1% cashback programs are an obvious winner. Chime, Varo, Current and niche cards like Greenlight and Privacy. (If you have not worked in a fintech or a bank you probably don't know what the Durbin Amedment is - but the TL;DR is that very large banks (BoA, Wells, JPMC) have capped interchange rates of around 27 bps on debit swipes. Small banks with < $10B AUM, however, do not - they can earn 1-2% on interchange (avg was 160 bps or so last I checked). Which is why all of the debit card fintech companies you've heard of are partnered with these smaller banks - they can offer rewards like 1% cashback programs and still have margin sufficient to build a business around.) In a world where credit rewards shrink, access tightens, and annual fees rise, debit-based fintechs look better by comparison. But consumers lose: credit protections, payment float, stronger dispute rights, credit-building opportunities. TL;DR An APR cap feels like consumer protection. In practice it reshapes the market in ways that are easy to miss: - It will shrink access to credit - Eliminate rewards programs that aren't tied to high annual fees - Force risk into less regulated channels - Unintentionally advantages debit over credit - Help affluent transactors more than vulnerable borrowers Credit doesn't become cheaper. It becomes scarcer, less flexible, less transparent. But banks will adapt. Fintechs will adapt. Consumers caught in the middle do not get protected. They get fewer choices, worse products, and priced out.

@mridenhour @BillAckman @realDonaldTrump You called it! He already deleted it!

@BillAckman @realDonaldTrump I can't wait for the Bill Ackman Flip, where within 7 days you flip to supporting this! It's what you do!

I made a good living into my 30s fixing what I called “Bubba Code” - code written by someone’s “best good friends” who was a “darn good plant engineer” or “knew computers”. This is going to happen at scale. There’s a solid future in tech: it’s just gonna look way different.