D E V I N 👋🏼

These people were not skinny they were lean and athletic with good muscle tone, bone structure, and posture. They don’t really exist anymore due to modern food and weightlifting trends so people now are either very muscular, very skinny, or fat. This is normal and healthy.

My wife mentioned a nice private school over dinner this week She said the campus was beautiful I asked what's the tuition She said we should look at it as an investment in him not a cost I made a note She said don't make a note I said I always make notes She said this isn't a deal I said everything is a deal She closed her eyes She said we'd discuss it Saturday I agreed Saturday 7:02am She came downstairs in her Saturday robe Coffee in hand I had my cargo shorts on The dining room had been cleared The projector was on The analyst was at the head of the table Quarter zip on, three iced coffees, a legal pad, and two laptops He had been there since 6:44am I texted him at 11:14pm Friday The text said dining room 6:45am bring the model He sent a thumbs up My wife stopped in the doorway She said what is this I said you said you wanted to discuss it She said this is not a discussion I did not respond She sat down anyway The analyst stood He said good morning ma'am She did not respond He sat back down A printed deck in front of each seat A fourth copy in case Slide 1 Tuition Schedule $38,500 per year Thirteen years $500,500 nominal Before escalators The school has raised tuition 4.2% per year for a decade With escalators $648,000 My wife said okay I said I'm not done Slide 2 Opportunity Cost Even before escalators $38,500 invested annually 10% nominal return S&P long-run average since 1928 By his eighteenth birthday $944,000 My wife said we can afford it I said I know that's not the slide Slide 3 Terminal Value at Age 65 $83 million She was quiet The analyst slid the sensitivity tables across the table 8% return $31 million 10% return $83 million 12% return $222 million She did not look She said this isn't about money I said it's always about money She said no it isn't I said then what is it about She did not answer She said you can't put a dollar value on his teachers his classmates his environment I said I can the analyst already did slide 6 He flipped to slide 6 She did not look She said the school is the best in the city I said best is a feeling She said it produces the best students I said the students were already the best before they got there She said our son deserves it I said our son deserves $83 million My son walked in He is five Dinosaur pajamas He looked at the projector He looked at the open deck on the table He looked at slide 3 He said are we modeling pre-tax or after-tax The analyst opened a new tab My wife looked at the ceiling He said what's the discount rate The analyst set down his pen She closed her eyes He said is this the same return assumption from the 529 conversation The analyst stopped typing He looked at me I did not say anything She stood up Sat back down He said dad can I help I said yes He pulled up a chair The analyst handed him a printout He started reading My wife watched him read She watched him for a long time She said his name He looked up She said do you like school He said the work is too easy and the kids don't ask questions She did not respond She looked at the ceiling She walked out of the room The analyst started packing up He said should I follow up Monday sir I said no follow up needed He'll be fine Sent from my iPhone

The reason why I listen to an inordinate amount of podcasts instead of having AI just condense datapoints is because what I find most valuable is being able to deconstruct people’s mental frameworks and then insert my own datapoints through them later on. My day job is filled with max density of datapoints. It’s all I do. Countless research reports, news headlines, transcripts and filings. But data is only as useful as the framework it fits into. And I also have to solve for my brains tendency to tune out if sufficient dopamine isn’t being generated. So I digest the slop. And with enough reps and a creative mind you can extract a lot more than you think. But it’s mostly the meta. If you want pure datapoints you are far better off reading a semianalysis substack from top to bottom.

If you hate billionaires, go all the way, pussy. Ditch the iPhone, the laptop, the tablet. Get off the internet. No Amazon, no big box stores, no Starbucks. Grow your own food. Thrift your clothes. Walk everywhere. And obviously no working for, buying from, or interacting with any company that scales beyond a farmers market. Enjoy your abundance.