Netgarden

The vibes in SF feel pretty frenetic right now. The divide in outcomes is the worst I've ever seen. Over the last 5yrs, a group of ~10k people - employees at Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, Nvidia, Meta TBD, founders - have hit retirement wealth of well above $20M (back of the envelope AI estimation). Everyone outside that group feels like they can work their well-paying (but <$500k) job for their whole life and never get there. Worse yet, layoffs are in full swing. Many software engineers feel like their life's skill is no longer useful. The day to day role of most jobs has changed overnight with AI. As a result, 1. The corporate ladder looks like the wrong building to climb. Everyone's trying to align with a new set of career "paths": should I be a founder? Is it too late to join Anthropic / OpenAI? should I get into AI? what company stock will 10x next? People are demanding higher salaries and switching jobs more and more. 2. There’s a deep malaise about work (and its future). Why even work at all for “peanuts”? Will my job even exist in a few years? Many feel helpless. You hear the “permanent underclass” conversation a lot, esp from young people. It's hard to focus on doing good work when you think "man, if I joined Anthropic 2yrs ago, I could retire" 3. The mid to late middle managers feel paralyzed. Many have families and don't feel like they have the energy or network to just "start a company". They don't particularly have any AI skills. They see the writing on the wall: middle management is being hollowed out in many companies. 4. The rich aren’t particularly happy either. No one is shedding tears for them (and rightfully so). But those who have "made it" experience a profound lack of purpose too. Some have gone from <$150k to >$50M in a few years with no ramp. It flips your life plans upside down. For some, comparison is the thief of joy. For some, they escape to NYC to "live life". For others still, they start companies "just cuz", often to win status points. They never imagined that by age 30, they'd be set. I once asked a post-economic founder friend why they didn't just sell the co and they said "and do what? right now, everyone wants to talk to me. if i sell, I will only have money." I understand that many reading this scoff at the champagne problems of the valley. Society is warped in this tech bubble. What is often well-off anywhere else in the world is bang average here. Unlike many other places, tenure, intelligence and hard work can be loosely correlated with outcomes in the Bay. Living through a societally transformative gold rush in that environment can be paralyzing. "Am I in the right place? Should I move? Is there time still left? Am I gonna make it?" It psychologically torments many who have moved here in search of "success". Ironically, a frequent side effect of this torment is to spin up the very products making everyone rich in hopes that you too can vibecode your path to economic enlightenment.

I was talking to the CEO of a large food service company. He believes 2026 will set the record for most restaurant closures in a single year.

On this day in 1980, the Lakers won the NBA title after defeating the 76ers 123-107 in Game 6. With Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sidelined, rookie Magic Johnson stepped in at center and delivered one of the greatest Finals performances ever: ✨ 42 PTS 💪 15 REB 🎯 7 AST His 42 points are still the most ever scored by a rookie in an NBA Finals game.

Trump on Taiwan: When you look at the odds, China is very, very powerful, big country. That's a very small island. Think of it, it's 59 miles away. We're 9500 miles away. That's a little bit of a difficult problem. Taiwan was developed because we had presidents that didn't know what the hell they were doing. They stole our chip industry.

Reasons I suspect LeBron will return to the Lakers on a discount: - Likely his last season, uprooting his wife and daughter to play elsewhere for a single season feels unlikely, especially on the East coast. - Opportunity to continue playing with his son. LeBron and Bronny shared the court in high leverage moments to end the season. It still remains a huge drawing card. - Proof of concept as a third option. It might still feel a little bizarre, but LeBron knows how beneficial it is to play third option throughout the regular season from a body preservation standpoint. He’s seen it work in real time. He was fresher this year for the playoffs than he was last season. The degree of burden he’ll carry elsewhere is unknown. - Everywhere he’s gone, he’s won within two seasons. It’s one of the great nods to his legacy. Putting that in jeopardy may not be wise, because the weight of expectations will inevitably follow him. He’s not physically in a position to single handily shift the balance of power in his favor in his 40s. - There will come a point in this offseason where the Lakers realize they need him. There comes a point where you realize it’s not just LeBron walking out the door, it’s his production, IQ, versatility and leadership too. The combination of attributes he brings is incredibly hard to find and not easily replaceable. - Despite what people might try and convince you of, the trio of Doncic, Reaves and LeBron is quite dynamic offensively. James understands that. - There is unlikely a destination he can go to where he’ll play with a co-star that can carry as big of an offensive load as Luka. Doncic’s high usage at this stage of LeBron’s career is a plus. That is hard to walk away from. - The Lakers want to host the retirement tour. - The Lakers (unlike some other potential suitors) in theory are well placed to put together a team that can compete with the Thunder and the Spurs with cap space and draft capital at hand. - He has a very close relationship with Austin Reaves. Perhaps closer than anyone else in the league right now. - LA has some of the best golf courses in America.

When you listen to Trump talk about Taiwan (or many other topics) it’s the stuff he doesn’t say that is more revealing. Asked about Taiwan he blathers on about how big and strong China is, how tiny Taiwan is, about tariffs and dumb American presidents who didn’t use them. What doesn’t he talk about? Alliances, obligations, democracy, values, honor, etc. Keep in mind, if you don’t care whether Trump throws Taiwan under the bus, that wouldn’t be the only betrayal involved. We’d be screwing Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Australia too. I’m not saying we should get into a shooting war over Taiwan. I am saying Trump shouldn’t betray our allies, our values, and our national security and national honor just because he’s got a man crush on Xi.

By far his worst postseason as a Cavalier Doesn’t look like the same athlete who went to war against Orlando and Indiana in previous years. The burst and vertical explosiveness isn’t the same

Julius Randle’s last 5 games this series: 12 PTS, 4/10 FG, 5 TOV, -26 12 PTS, 3/12 FG, 0/3 3PT, -20 12 PTS, 5/12 FG, 6 TOV, +12 17 PTS, 6/17 FG, 0/4 3PT, -25 3 PTS, 1/8 FG, 0/2 3PT, -37 (!!) Insanely bad 😳

META LAYOFF UPDATE - ACTUALLY 22,000, NOT REPORTED 8,000 We are getting a lot of incoming questions about the latest with META, who are expected to layoff 8,000 employees next week. Here's the thing: It's not just 8,000 cuts. It's 14,000 positions gone right now. 6,000 open roles have been quietly cancelled on top of the layoffs. Furthermore, Reuters reported 20% total workforce cuts for 2026. Only half have been announced. Zuckerberg won't rule out more. SO THAT IS 22,000 TOTAL 2026 CUTS. Meanwhile, since January 2025, Meta filed 4,851 H-1B visa applications. Every single one certified. Zero denials. They also restarted green card sponsorship with 415 PERM filings after freezing the program entirely in 2024. Record quarter. $56.3B revenue. $26.8B profit. Cutting Americans. Importing replacements. Training the AI that finishes the job.

Head coach Nick Nurse will continue in his role into a fourth season with the 76ers, sources tell ESPN. Four-time NBA championship architect Bob Myers, the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, will be tasked to lead the search for the new head executive for the 76ers and he will oversee the franchise's basketball department in the interim.

Pelinka says one will be scouting/development and the other will be data/strategy/analytics