Allow me to share one of the coolest things I've done with my kids this year Last month, I saw a video where these graduating seniors were shown interviews their younger selves had conducted when they first entered the school. Some of their answers were similar, others not so much. It was awesome to see how much they had grown during their time there. I have countless pictures of my kids but I realized I don't have any conversations with them recorded. So I told them I'd get them a kid-friendly drink, we'd sit in comfy chairs, and we'd do an interview on camera. They were free to skip any questions (they didn't) but it would be fun, if only to look back on it when they were older. It was AMAZING I pretended I was a podcast host. It felt a little hokey at first, but my older one quickly settled in. I started with a few softballs and then asked her questions like these: • How do you define success? • What’s one thing you hope never changes about you? • What’s something you’ve learned from your parents that you hope to pass on someday? • What do you believe is true that most people your age might not agree with? • What are your biggest hopes for yourself in the next 5 or 10 years? For the younger, I made the questions more age appropriate: • What does being kind mean to you? • What’s something you’re really good at right now? • What do you think adults don’t understand about kids? The best thing about this exercise? During the conversation, my kids unconsciously forgot they were talking to a parent. It felt like they were speaking to an interviewer, so they were much more open and honest. The setup Jedi mind-tricked them into sharing more and going deeper than they would over a dinner table. My teenager even later admitted she fought back tears at one point. I do have great relationships with both my kids and we already talk a lot. But this interview was different and quite enjoyable. Suspect we'll appreciate it even more down the line when we look back on it.

Making a private equity investment is like buying a boat The best two days are the day you buy it and the day you sell it

My oldest starts high school today. I told her two things: Work hard and make good friends. Social skills are underappreciated in high schools today. They'll be even more valuable by the time she enters the workforce. Combine strong relationships with simply showing up and following through, and success is inevitable.

Our school counselor is paying his teen $4,000 to stay off of Instagram and TikTok until she is 18. In fact, he believes the mental health effects of social media on young minds are so bad that he would have gladly paid three times that amount. That got me thinking. What about X and YouTube? As adults we justify these as "networking" or "educational." Are they actually different? The same dopamine loops exist there too. Would you let your child have their own X account or unfettered access to YouTube? We tell ourselves YouTube is educational, but let's be real about what kids actually watch (short-form brainrot) vs. what we hope they'll watch. Genuinely curious where other parents draw the line, especially since every household with a teenager will face this issue. For context, we let our teen start a faceless YouTube channel last year to practice video editing. It's been mostly harmless, though she's used this as a gateway to endlessly scroll on Shorts. She doesn't have an X account.

My mother lives in an Independent Living community She recently complained to me that her fees are going up 4% next year, a figure she can comfortably afford I told her she should be happy and grateful for the modest increase. That means she can be sure they'll continue to invest in the property and retain valuable employees. In fact, my history with the community is just that - it's extremely well kept, well-amenitized, and the staff is competent and caring. This post is not just about senior housing

Three years ago, my best investment idea was a commercial HVAC deal. I thought it was a sure thing. At the same time, my buddy was joining a crypto venture fund. It sounded crazy but we went way back, so I threw money at it just to support him. Fast forward to today. HVAC company went bust. The crypto fund is up 5-6x and has distributed nearly 2x so far. It's my biggest winner in a long time. Two takeaways: despite 20+ years of investing, I still have no clue what I'm doing. And it's better to be lucky than good.

An influencer outside ReTwit with 200K followers hosted a meetup this weekend. No one showed up. ReTwit has seen stronger days, no question. But name another corner of X where people regularly leave their keyboards to actually meet face-to-face. While other communities live purely in the replies and likes, we've built something that actually gets people in the same room. Real handshakes, real deals, real friendships. That still counts for something.

Three years ago I made an ill-fated decision to invest in an HVAC company. The deal went south fairly quickly and, long story short, equity holders were wiped out. The primary lender took over this summer. Business remains soft. They regularly inject money just to make payroll. I asked the original sponsor: why don't the new owners just shut it down? The answer surprised me. The debt holder owns this position in a larger fund. They'll eventually take a zero, but they also have winners that will double their money. Here's the kicker: they're currently raising capital for a new fund. They can't show poor performance while fundraising. So they'll keep this zombie alive until they can monetize their winners, then declare this loser simultaneously to soften the blow on their track record. The fund would rather light money on fire than hurt their marketing story. Be careful out there!

Last week, a family member (who will remain nameless) drove my car and sideswiped a trash bin, destroying my Tesla's side mirror A couple button pushes on the app and 48 hours later, a mobile technician rolled up to my driveway and replaced the mirror. Whole process took about ten minutes. Billed to card on file, literally no muss no fuss. Whatever you think of Tesla the car company, they have it right with mobile car service. Every other car manufacturer is living in the stone ages.

Had lunch with a friend who develops ultra high-end custom homes in the Pacific Palisades. He's one of the go-to GC's for a well-known local architect who is currently designing 30+ homes. Up to 5,000 homes need to be rebuilt. Architect is now charging $45 psf for plans. That's north of $200K for his typical size home. The GC is planning on building 12+ homes over the next two years. Actual build costs for his product have risen 40% since 2021 to about $700 psf before his 15% developer fee. He is able to build at $350-400 psf in other areas for rental product, just to give you an idea of what homeowners expect in the Palisades. His construction timeframe is about 18 months for homes without basements, 24 months with. Right now, permitting has been reasonably responsive but it's the inspectors that are the bottleneck. Apparently city inspectors can be assigned to any of the neighborhood despite each area having different building codes. Building in the Huntingtons is different from the Alphabet Streets which is different from Marquez Knolls. Easy fix is to assign specific inspectors to each area to speed the rebuilding process.

Teen wants to learn how to value individual stocks She knows about the benefits of index investing but it can't hurt to know how to value a business Whatcha got for me?

Activity in Pacific Palisades homesites Approximately 5,000 parcels were affected in the January fire. One market expert is expecting only 30-50% of landowners to rebuild, either to return or sell. Expect more land inventory in coming months.

Sharing my restaurant rotation, Westside LA edition. Not necessarily the names you'll see on lists, but the ones we frequent often. Chime in with your favorites! Dumplings: Din Tai Fung Neighborhood Italian: Oste Quick lunch: Kazunori Special occasion: Lawry's The Prime Rib Special occasion sushi: Sushi by Scratch Casual sushi: Sugarfish Sushi market: Yama Sushi Ramen: Daikokuya, Ramen Nagi Udon: Marugame Thai: LaLa Rice Boba tea: Odd One Out Coffee: Series A Chicken wings/salad: Feast from the East Neighborhood pizza/salad: Pitfire Casual chain: California Pizza Kitchen Business brunch: The Roof Garden Business lunch: Sasabune, Sushi Tama, Crustacean Best newcomer: Si Mon

One of the unexpected joys of parenting is sharing movies that bring back my childhood. Star Wars, Home Alone, Groundhog Day. The clear favorite? Back to the Future. Did I miss any classics?

14 yo is taking her first unaccompanied flight today Hug em tight, it happens in the blink of an eye

Have been thinking about this quote all week. It's so much easier to go a mile wide, inch deep on everything. We're all guilty of this. But Will nailed it. The payoff and joy comes from picking a few things and going deep. Depth over breadth.