Sunday Essentials 🪥 by JAD (5/19/24)
Your weekly reminder to brush and floss every day - and more!
Gm gm everyone~
Another week, another post from JAD.
Just want to take a moment to thank each of you for allowing me to take up precious space in your inbox.
Enjoy~ ☕️
Meme stocks like GME, AMC, and BB have exploded over the last week due to RoaringKitty’s return to Twitter 🚀
If it is the real RoaringKitty 🤔
Optimism announced that L3 solutions can now be built on the OP Stack 👀
937 institutions have disclosed investments into BTC ETFs ✅
Jack Dorsey predicts that BTC will hit $1M by 2030 🙏
Metaplanet, a Japanese company, has added BTC as a reserve asset (~117 BTC) to its portfolio, in a move that is similar to MicroStrategy 👀
A recent report revealed that 1 in 5 Americans have maxed out credit cards 😬
🇺🇸 Crypto has become a political issue that will likely sway voters in the upcoming election
Will we see a rise in single-issue voters this time around?
🇺🇸 The State of Wisconsin’s Investment Board disclosed a ~$160M investment into BTC ETFs for their state pension
🇦🇷 Argentina’s state-owned mining company, YPF, will begin mining Bitcoin using flared gas
🇷🇼 Rwanda’s central bank completed a study on CBDCs and will be continuing towards a cashless society
🇨🇳 China’s CBDC is showing a lack in traction; most people who receive digital yuan have been converting it to cash
🏴 The Bank of England has hinted at a summer rate cut, as interest rates have stayed steady at 5.25%
🇸🇻 El Salvador launched a “proof of reserve” website, tracking it’s BTC reserves
And they have continued their “buy 1 BTC a day” for the past ~450 days
🇪🇺 The EU is reaching out to stakeholders regarding potentially adding crypto to its $12T investment market
This week’s interesting chart:
S&P500 Record High
This chart, by Bloomberg, shows the growth of the S&P500 since 2020, and it’s current record-high status.
It’s interesting - since I’ve begun my professional career and earning my own income, my head has been wrapped around crypto.
While crypto has been in bear territory since mid 2022 to early 2024, the juxtaposition in comparison to index funds and tech stocks has been interesting to watch on the sidelines.
I have other thoughts on the overall stock market and its relation to crypto that I’ll save for another time.
But for now, I’ll keep my bags in crypto-land.
The state of Wisconsin has begun offering graduates from the Marquette University School of Dentistry a privilege diploma, guaranteeing a license 3 days after graduation for those looking to work in-state.
This is a drastic change to previous licensure requirements for the practice of dentists.
Initial thoughts:
This is a net positive for the Wisconsin population, as Marquette is the only dental school in the state. Offering a perk like this to its students/ future residents will foster an easier transition period for graduates and practicing dentists.
This also shines a light on current licensure examination protocols, which have been scrutinized in the past.
Pre-pandemic licensure exams were conducted on actual patients (which caused it’s own set of problems and ethical dilemmas), while post-pandemic licensure exams have transitioned towards typodont exams such as below ⤵️
We’ll have to see how this plays out in Wisconsin over the next several years to see if its a good decision 👀
What I’m Learning About
OpenAI’s GPT-4o
OpenAI’s “Spring Update” came with action-packed improvements to ChatGPT through it’s omni protocol and new Desktop App.
Consumer AI has become scarily good in such a short amount of time.
I’ll be tinkering around with it over the next few weeks to see how it can improve my daily life.
Weekly Challenge
Discord Hiatus
Since getting back from Japan, I’ve been on Discord….maybe twice?
And I haven’t checked it in several weeks.
One thing I’ve realized…I don’t need (nor do I crave) the extra noise that once dominated my life.
Very freeing.
Mental Model I’d Like To Adopt
I first learned about this idea during the latest My First Million podcast, featuring Mohnish Pabrai.
Bonus for his amazing quote: “An idea is like an asshole - everyone has one.” 😂
Afterwards, I went to read some articles and papers about this concept to get a better understanding of where I fit in (for those who know me personally, I can bet exactly which camp they’d put me in 😅)
This article from Ness Labs broke everything down simply.
Give it a read and find out how shift your reciprocity style.
Miscellaneous
Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal’s Core Values Campaign with Louis Vuitton
Very wholesome content including my two favorite athletes. The relationship between these two over the years is something that isn’t seen too often in professional sports.
From rivals to true friends, watching this develop over the years has been nothing short of inspirating.
Quote I’m Pondering
“A break and time spent not working are very different. One fosters focus, and the other snaps it.”
Photo of the Week
Stay safe out there and be happy~
Best,
Philip
Disclaimer:
All thoughts and opinions are my own; please DYOR (do your own research) and remember that this is NFA (not financial advice). After all, I’m just another dentist.