Over the holidays I had the fortune of catching up with an old friend and basketball teammate, Derek King. Expect to hear about how he first came across Bitcoin and why it has stuck with him since, the potential outcomes of a Bitcoin ETF and the upcoming halving, his basketball journey from JUCO to UC Berkely to playing professionally throughout Asia, and why individual sovereignty and controlling your own destiny is so important to him.

Expect to hear my thoughts on the recent trend around the Roman Empire, how I've used ChatGPT to help me with a variety of tasks, the inflation phenomena that is happening in our country and abroad, the failures of Establishment Democrats and why they've dramatically lost support over the years and how that has led to the emergence of legitamate presidential candidates like RFK Jr. or Vivek Ramaswamy, and why I think the concept of The Network State coined by Balaji Srinivasan is really interesting and worth serious consideration as the next step in the evolution of societies.

Expect to hear what having a summer break has been like, how all things basketball related have been going, getting a Golden Retriever puppy, mentally preparing to get back to teaching, quality family time, and my continued appreciation for the Stoicism philosophy.

Wes is a close friend I met in our time together at UCLA and someone I've learned a lot from over the years. We covered a lot and still had plenty to discuss for another time. Expect to hear about the roots of his ambitious nature, what it was like growing up around Sacramento, why the city and its sports team - the Sacramento Kings - instilled a sense of loyalty in him, his experience at UCLA, the arc and lessons of his career in his twenties, the passion he has for staying active, navigating turbulence in life, and his relationship with authority.

Mr. Gabriel is another colleague I've gotten to know over the past year through many interesting conversations. In this conversation we get into his upbringing in Peru, how studying linguistics led him into his teaching career, what he appreciates about travel and different cultures, and his relationship with conservatism. Limited on time, we were just getting started so I hope to have Mr. Gabriel back on sometime in the future.

Expect to hear how I try to conduct myself when I'm feeling both tired and moody, why the teacher memes/videos out there are so relatable, the challenge and importance of sticking to my principles in turbulent times, and the difficulty I have answering the question "How are you?"

Expect to hear why I look forward to having more free time after work in these next few weeks, why I think having a complete skill set in your sport is essential to playing at a high level, the joy I get from playing against the best, my thoughts on the latest around the NBA playoffs, and the gratitude I've felt for the opportunities I've had.

Expect to hear what its been like learning about World War I & II with my class, some brief thoughts on Elon Musk, the story of Jeffery Epstein, my thoughts on the potential lack of presidential primary debates on the Democratic side, my thoughts on a four minute compilation of public figures demonizing the unvaccinated, and taking breaks.

Expect to hear what the past two months have been like, what it's been like playing in organized basketball games, why I relate playing formidable opponents in basketball to the boss fights in video games, why I think having fun is essential to remember, my relationship with leadership, and a reminder to myself about the concept of "Amor Fati" aka loving your fate.