Tremendous

An angel investor's take on life and business

  • Filming a Netflix Show in NYC

    “We’re having brunch in Moscow! F—! St. Petersburg!”

    Anonymous

    5:25am: Phone erupts. I spring out of bed instantly, knowing that if I rest another minute, I’ll sleep for hours.

    5:45am: I step out into the cold. I’m on my way to film a Netflix show in New York City.

    This is a day in the life of a working actor.

    6:15am: I report to “holding,” where background actors, also known as “extras,” wait before filming.

    6:22am: Rapid COVID test. This is in addition to a PCR test I took 3 days prior. No one gets tested more than actors and film crews.

    7:30am: Wardrobe, hair and makeup. Wardrobe lets my fashion sense pass without comment.

    8:00am: Breakfast. The crew forgot about us and most of the background actors never got so much as a cup of coffee!

    A few renegades and I raided the crew-only breakfast truck. Eggs, hashbrowns, and hot coffee soothe us in the cold morning.

    8:30am: Go to set. This is the big moment!

    We are pretending to eat brunch outside an upscale Manhattan bakery.

    Although it’s mid-November and 45 degrees, the scene is supposed to be occurring in late summer. So we can’t wear jackets or hats, only shirtsleeves.

    We quickly begin to freeze in the grey cold.

    “This is like a Communist country! It’s freezing cold and they’re telling us what to do!”

    So begins a salty older lady with a long acting resume:

    “We’re having brunch in Moscow! F—! St. Petersburg!”

    Everyone is cracking up, grateful for some distraction from the frigid climate. A young man joins in:

    “I’ve frozen my nipples off. Nips gone.”

    11:15am: At last, we get a hot coffee and a brief rest in the warmth of the holding area.

    11:30am: Back to set, but inside this time! One of the other extras is searching for a word. I chime in:

    “Frostbite!”

    “That’s it.”

    1:30pm: Lunch time! We wolf down delicious shrimp, salad and chocolate cake.

    2:50pm: Outfit change.

    3:00pm: More filming inside the bakery. One of the principal actresses bumps into another, dropping her books and meeting someone new.

    How does this fit into the story? This show was supposed to be about a massive robbery.

    I guess we’ll have to wait until it airs!

    4:30pm: Final outfit change. I go through numerous shirts, belts, and undershirts until wardrobe finally signs off.

    4:50pm: Back to holding.

    6:57pm: Finally wrapped for the day! I wasn’t on set for a second in that last outfit.

    The production just paid dozens of people overtime to do nothing for 2.5 hours. The disorganization of film sets always amazes me.

    7:34pm: Finally home! I strip down and head into a hot shower.

    I hope we made a show people will like!

    I hope you enjoyed this little window into what actors really do.

    Most of the time, it’s not glamorous. It’s early mornings, cold sets, and long days.

    If you have questions or comments on acting, please leave them at the bottom!

    More on entertainment:

    What It’s Like to Be on Law & Order: SVU

    Filming a TV Show in NYC in a Pandemic

    My Family in Japan Saw Me on TV!

    Photo: Photo by Roger Jones via Flickr Creative Commons

    If you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/Facebook/etc. using the buttons at the bottom of the page. This helps more people find the blog! 

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Amazon Business American Express Card

    You already shop on Amazon. Why not save $100?

    If you’re approved for this card, you get a $100 Amazon gift card. You also get up to 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, 2% on restaurants/gas stations/cell phone bills, and 1% everywhere else.

    Best of all: No fee!

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 and returns have been good so far. More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get your management fees waived for 90 days. With their 1% management fee, this could save you $250 on a $100,000 account.

    Misfits Market

    My wife and I have gotten organic produce shipped to our house by Misfits for over a year. It’s never once disappointed me. Every fruit and vegetable is super fresh and packed with flavor. I thought radishes were cold, tasteless little lumps at salad bars until I tried theirs! They’re peppery, colorful and crunchy! I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $10 on your first order. 

  • AMC Stock #2 News Story, #7 Overall Search on Google

    I knew AMC was popular. But wow.

    AMC stock is the number #2 most popular search on Google News and the #7 most popular search on all of Google for 2021, the search engine reported today. That is an incredible achievement for any stock, much less a modestly sized theater operator!

    What strikes me is how many different things people search for. “Thai food near me.” “Why is my toenail brown?” You name it!

    To see this formerly obscure stock top those charts is truly amazing.

    New AMC projects like minting NFT’s could keep that buzz going into 2022 and beyond. I just hope AMC can convert the enthusiasm for its stock into ever more moviegoers!

    What do you think about AMC topping Google search for the year? Let me know in the comments at the bottom!

    More on markets:

    Citadel Holding Nearly $500 Million in AMC Options

    How Elrond Could Take Over Payments Worldwide

    Citadel Suppressing Critics with Legal Action

    If you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/Facebook/etc. using the buttons at the bottom of the page. This helps more people find the blog! 

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Amazon Business American Express Card

    You already shop on Amazon. Why not save $100?

    If you’re approved for this card, you get a $100 Amazon gift card. You also get up to 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, 2% on restaurants/gas stations/cell phone bills, and 1% everywhere else.

    Best of all: No fee!

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 and returns have been good so far. More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get your management fees waived for 90 days. With their 1% management fee, this could save you $250 on a $100,000 account.

    Misfits Market

    My wife and I have gotten organic produce shipped to our house by Misfits for over a year. It’s never once disappointed me. Every fruit and vegetable is super fresh and packed with flavor. I thought radishes were cold, tasteless little lumps at salad bars until I tried theirs! They’re peppery, colorful and crunchy! I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $10 on your first order. 

  • An Investor’s Dream Cold E-mail

    If you’re a startup founder raising money, you’re going to be sending cold e-mails. Lots of them.

    So what pitch gets angel investors and VC’s excited, and what turns them off?

    Here’s the e-mail I’d like to get:

    From: travis@ubercab.com
    To: jim@filthyrich.vc

    Subject: UberCab intro – everyone’s private driver

    Hi Jim,

    Do you hate taking taxis? Me too.

    That’s why I started UberCab. UberCab lets anyone get a private driver in minutes, right from their smartphone.

    We’re seeing some great early traction with 21% CMGR in the last 3 months.

    We’re currently raising a seed round to help us take over the taxi industry.

    If you’re interested in learning more, let’s set up a time to talk!

    Thanks,

    Travis Kalanick

    Why is this such a great e-mail?

    1) Clear value proposition. It’s right in the subject line. Who wouldn’t want their own driver, if they could afford it? And it’s restated beautifully in more detail in the first two paragraphs.

    If you can clearly articulate your startup’s reason for existence, you will do much better finding investors, employees, and customers.

    2) Hard data showing real traction. Travis gives us the plan and the big picture “why.” But he also gives us solid data we can’t argue with.

    Real people are paying real money for this product. Revenue is growing an average of 21% a month (Compounded Monthly Growth Rate), an outstanding track record.

    That chart alone will get a response from almost anyone. And if you don’t have great revenue growth, how about user growth, or even visits to your landing page?

    3) It’s short. Investors like me get countless e-mails a day. So if a message is long, it’s not likely to be read.

    4) It’s bold. Travis doesn’t talk about modest growth. He talks about completely taking over a major industry.

    VC’s and angels are in the business of finding giant successes. It’s the only way to pay for all the losing bets!

    You need to show them you will be huge.

    4) Company is actively raising money.

    Investors are in the business of making investments. While they may be interested in just meeting and talking, they’re probably going to be more interested if you’re actively raising a round.

    What isn’t here:

    1) Irrelevant details like winning a pitch competition, being in Forbes 30 under 30, etc. Save that for page 7 of the deal memo, if at all. Focus on product and customers.

    2) Every fact on the business. You will want to write a detailed deal memo including lots of info on the product, key metrics, future plans, etc. But an e-mail intro isn’t the place for it.

    3) Just an idea. No knowledgeable investor is interested in funding an idea alone.

    I hope this helps! And if you have questions or thoughts on finding investors, please leave a comment at the bottom!

    More on tech:

    The Biggest Challenges for Startups Now

    Why I Just Invested in Gauge, the Best Way to Sell Your Car

    Key Metrics for Startups: Consumer vs. Enterprise SaaS

    Photo: “Like A Boss mini dog tag” by ylmworkshop is licensed under CC BY 2.0

    If you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/Facebook/etc. using the buttons at the bottom of the page. This helps more people find the blog! 

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Amazon Business American Express Card

    You already shop on Amazon. Why not save $100?

    If you’re approved for this card, you get a $100 Amazon gift card. You also get up to 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, 2% on restaurants/gas stations/cell phone bills, and 1% everywhere else.

    Best of all: No fee!

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 and returns have been good so far. More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get your management fees waived for 90 days. With their 1% management fee, this could save you $250 on a $100,000 account.

    Misfits Market

    My wife and I have gotten organic produce shipped to our house by Misfits for over a year. It’s never once disappointed me. Every fruit and vegetable is super fresh and packed with flavor. I thought radishes were cold, tasteless little lumps at salad bars until I tried theirs! They’re peppery, colorful and crunchy! I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $10 on your first order. 

  • How New York Winters Helped Put Gotti in Prison

    No one could touch John Gotti. Prosecutors went after the Gambino crime family boss repeatedly, only to see him acquitted.

    Rather than give up, they went after Gotti in his inner sanctum: the Ravenite Social Club.

    As the Gambinos eventually learned, an FBI surveillance team, over Thanksgiving weekend 1989, had secreted bugs throughout the apartment two floors above the Ravenite Social Club at 247 Mulberry Street. The Gambinos had been using the apartment, which was owned by Nettie Cirelli, the widow of Gambino wiseguy Michael Cirelli (Nettie was away on vacation that Thanksgiving holiday), for years. In fact, Gambino underboss Aniello (Neil) Dellacroce also had used that apartment for secret meetings.

    Gravano also is asked whether the Gambino bosses ever considered going outside to discuss topics like murder in order to avoid possible bugs.

    “We had most of (those discussions) outdoors,” but it was “impossible to have them all outdoors.” This was because, as he said, sometimes the weather didn’t permit it and sometimes they were too tired.

    I was struck by how something as simple as a cold night foiled this wily mafia boss.

    It shows me how when we lose our discipline and lower our standards, we open ourselves up to catastrophe. This is a valuable lesson for those of us on the right side of the law, even if it comes from a notorious gangster.

    This story comes from the excellent Cosa Nostra News blog. I’ve been speaking with the author lately, and he has some outstanding content on organized crime.

    If you’re interested in the mafia, I strongly recommend checking out his site. Another great post: a fictional account of a mysterious mob hit.

    It begins with a body floating in the Hackensack River.

    Enjoy!

    More on the mafia:

    The Mafia’s Hoboken Fortress

    Paul Castellano’s Last Day

    A Notorious Mob Informant’s Hoboken Headquarters

    Photo: John Gotti

    If you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/Facebook/etc. using the buttons at the bottom of the page. This helps more people find the blog! 

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Amazon Business American Express Card

    You already shop on Amazon. Why not save $100?

    If you’re approved for this card, you get a $100 Amazon gift card. You also get up to 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, 2% on restaurants/gas stations/cell phone bills, and 1% everywhere else.

    Best of all: No fee!

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 and returns have been good so far. More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get your management fees waived for 90 days. With their 1% management fee, this could save you $250 on a $100,000 account.

    Misfits Market

    My wife and I have gotten organic produce shipped to our house by Misfits for over a year. It’s never once disappointed me. Every fruit and vegetable is super fresh and packed with flavor. I thought radishes were cold, tasteless little lumps at salad bars until I tried theirs! They’re peppery, colorful and crunchy! I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $10 on your first order. 

  • The Biggest Challenges for Startups Now

    Lately, I keep seeing startups running into the same problems.

    As an angel investor, I work hand in hand with numerous startups. I also see presentations and deal memos from hundreds more.

    Let’s dig into some of the biggest challenges they have in common:

    Recruiting

    The labor market is red hot, especially for top tech talent.

    So how can you get an edge in recruiting? One tactic I’m seeing successful startups use is hiring worldwide.

    The pandemic has most of us working remotely anyhow, so an engineer being in Canada or India is less a barrier than before.

    Startups probably don’t have the resources in house to handle the complicated legal and tax implications. But fortunately, International Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) can help.

    These companies hire your employees, wherever they are, and handle all the regulatory issues. You just cut them a check.

    So you’ve got the tax and legal down pat…but how do you get that amazing engineer to accept your offer?

    Amazon sends a gift to prospective employees who do well in interviews. They generally choose the “book bomb,” or a bunch of books they think the prospect will like.

    I might favor some yummy food through SnackMagic or Goldbelly. 🙂

    CAC Expansion with the iOS 14 Update

    For consumer companies in particular, the iOS 14 update stung. iOS devices now prompt users to block ad tracking, and most do.

    If you were advertising on Facebook or Instagram, that tracking data helped get your ads in front of the right people.

    Let’s say you are a D2C underwear brand for women and only ship in the US. Without tracking, you could be spending your precious ad dollars advertising to men in Germany!

    The upshot: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) expansion. The cost to get a new customer increased by 3x or more at a lot of companies I’ve seen.

    So what should you do?

    How about YouTube ads? One successful startup I saw recently doubled their YouTube ad spend with a mere 5% increase in CAC.

    Users on platforms like YouTube are often searching for something, not scrolling through a feed. There’s greater intentionality.

    If they’re searching for information on women’s underwear, you know that they could be a good prospective customer, and you can show your ad.

    This would be even more true for search engine ads.

    Another great option is influencer marketing. Platforms like GRIN or Outfit Talent make it easy to find and pay influencers whose audiences are interested in products like yours.

    Wrap-up

    Being a founder can be lonely. You always want to tell everyone “how great things are going.”

    Being an investor is different. You see countless companies struggling with the same issues.

    So know that you’re not alone and there are good solutions! The main thing is to keep trying.

    I hope this was helpful to someone. And if you have any feedback, please leave it in the comments at the bottom.

    Have a great weekend everyone!

    More on tech:

    3D Printing a Human Ear

    Why I Just Invested in Capbase, The Startup in a Box

    Inside a Startup Accelerator Demo Day

    Note: I am not an investor in any of the companies mentioned

    Photo: “defeat” by katiew is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

    If you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/Facebook/etc. using the buttons at the bottom of the page. This helps more people find the blog! 

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Amazon Business American Express Card

    You already shop on Amazon. Why not save $100?

    If you’re approved for this card, you get a $100 Amazon gift card. You also get up to 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, 2% on restaurants/gas stations/cell phone bills, and 1% everywhere else.

    Best of all: No fee!

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 and returns have been good so far. More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get your management fees waived for 90 days. With their 1% management fee, this could save you $250 on a $100,000 account.

    Misfits Market

    My wife and I have gotten organic produce shipped to our house by Misfits for over a year. It’s never once disappointed me. Every fruit and vegetable is super fresh and packed with flavor. I thought radishes were cold, tasteless little lumps at salad bars until I tried theirs! They’re peppery, colorful and crunchy! I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $10 on your first order. 

  • 3D Printing a Human Ear

    What would it be like to not have ears?

    Unfortunately, for patients with microtia, this is no hypothetical. Microtia, or lack of a fully developed ear, is a congenital condition affecting about 1 in every 6-8,000 people.

    Spectrum of microtia severity

    Some patients have a malformed outer ear. Others have almost no ear tissue at all.

    The only treatment is taking cartilage from the rib and fashioning a new ear. This requires multiple painful surgeries and tends to produce an unsatisfying outcome.

    But now, an incredible NYC startup called 3D Bio can use the patient’s own ear tissue to 3D print a new ear! The patient’s sample is expanded in a cell culture and printed.

    The ear can be attached in a simple outpatient procedure.

    This treatment is now in early clinical trials. If it works, it could change medicine forever.

    What if we could print new hearts, lungs, or livers? Imagine making a new, functional eye for a blind person.

    Such technology could alleviate enormous suffering and greatly expand human life expectancy. And I’m extremely excited about it.

    Best of luck to the incredible team at 3D Bio!

    More on tech:

    How Tech Could Stop Wildfires

    Why I Just Invested in Kippo, Where Gamers Find Love

    Male Contraception With an Ultrasound Device?

    If you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/Facebook/etc. using the buttons at the bottom of the page. This helps more people find the blog! 

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Amazon Business American Express Card

    You already shop on Amazon. Why not save $100?

    If you’re approved for this card, you get a $100 Amazon gift card. You also get up to 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, 2% on restaurants/gas stations/cell phone bills, and 1% everywhere else.

    Best of all: No fee!

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 and returns have been good so far. More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get your management fees waived for 90 days. With their 1% management fee, this could save you $250 on a $100,000 account.

    Misfits Market

    My wife and I have gotten organic produce shipped to our house by Misfits for over a year. It’s never once disappointed me. Every fruit and vegetable is super fresh and packed with flavor. I thought radishes were cold, tasteless little lumps at salad bars until I tried theirs! They’re peppery, colorful and crunchy! I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $10 on your first order. 

  • Citadel Holding Nearly $500 Million in AMC Options

    Hedge fund Citadel LLC is holding nearly $500 million in options on AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., per the fund’s latest SEC filing.

    Citadel’s position consists of $191 million in puts and $272 million in call options, along with a small position in common stock. This massive position has not been reported elsewhere, to my knowledge.

    Citadel’s position indicates they may be executing a “long straddle” strategy. This strategy involves buying put and call options on the same stock.

    If the stock drops, you profit. If it jumps, you profit too.

    But there’s a catch:

    The risk of the long straddle is that the underlying asset doesn’t move at all.

    AMC’s meme stock investors are generally dedicated to holding for the long term. That provides a stable source of demand for the shares.

    If AMC shares don’t move, Citadel could suffer substantial losses.

    We’ll see who wins this test of wills.

    More on markets:

    CITADEL SUPPRESSING CRITICS WITH LEGAL ACTION

    ROBINHOOD VS. INTERACTIVE BROKERS: SMACKDOWN!

    CITADEL SUES TO CRUSH COMPETITORS

    Photo: Citadel LLC CEO Kenneth Griffin

    If you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/Facebook/etc. using the buttons at the bottom of the page. This helps more people find the blog! 

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Amazon Business American Express Card

    You already shop on Amazon. Why not save $100?

    If you’re approved for this card, you get a $100 Amazon gift card. You also get up to 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, 2% on restaurants/gas stations/cell phone bills, and 1% everywhere else.

    Best of all: No fee!

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 and returns have been good so far. More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get your management fees waived for 90 days. With their 1% management fee, this could save you $250 on a $100,000 account.

    Misfits Market

    My wife and I have gotten organic produce shipped to our house by Misfits for over a year. It’s never once disappointed me. Every fruit and vegetable is super fresh and packed with flavor. I thought radishes were cold, tasteless little lumps at salad bars until I tried theirs! They’re peppery, colorful and crunchy! I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $10 on your first order. 

  • Citadel Suppressing Critics with Legal Action

    Evidently unsatisfied with his billions, Citadel LLC CEO Ken Griffin has won an arbitration case against a parody website:

    Investment firm Citadel has won a cybersquatting dispute it brought against the owner of CitadelAir.com.

    The domain owner operates a Twitter account called Citadel Air, where he parodies the investment firm and promotes the short selling of meme stocks such as GameStop (NYSE: GME).

    The website shows a fleet of jets with the Citadel logo photoshopped onto them, parodying the fund’s vast wealth.

    This ruling flies in the face of free speech protections.

    Though Citadel claims there is a “risk of confusion,” Citadel offers no flight services. It’s a hedge fund!

    If critics can’t parody a company, a key avenue for criticism is closed. And no massive institution like Citadel should be beyond criticism.

    It strikes me how thin skinned Citadel is. Someone makes a website to goof on your multibillion dollar hedge fund and your response is legal action?

    We saw similar unhinged behavior from Citadel when it likened its critics to deniers of the moon landing.

    This is not the behavior of a well-managed company. Can you picture Procter & Gamble doing this?

    No.

    If Citadel is so sensitive, perhaps it means they’re hiding something. And secrets having a way of coming out.

    Today marks one year for the blog! We’ve gone from 0 to nearly 300,000 views and had a lot of fun along the way!

    I look forward to another great year with you guys. And if you have any ideas for content you want to see, leave a comment at the bottom.

    Thank you for a great year!

    More on markets:

    Citadel Sues to Crush Competitors

    How Solana Could Wipe Out Visa and MasterCard

    AMC and GameStop Short Sellers Down $10 Billion for 2021

    Photo: “Ken Griffin” by DanGPhotos1 is licensed under CC BY 2.0

    If you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/Facebook/etc. using the buttons at the bottom of the page. This helps more people find the blog! 

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Amazon Business American Express Card

    You already shop on Amazon. Why not save $100?

    If you’re approved for this card, you get a $100 Amazon gift card. You also get up to 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, 2% on restaurants/gas stations/cell phone bills, and 1% everywhere else.

    Best of all: No fee!

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 and returns have been good so far. More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get your management fees waived for 90 days. With their 1% management fee, this could save you $250 on a $100,000 account.

    Misfits Market

    My wife and I have gotten organic produce shipped to our house by Misfits for over a year. It’s never once disappointed me. Every fruit and vegetable is super fresh and packed with flavor. I thought radishes were cold, tasteless little lumps at salad bars until I tried theirs! They’re peppery, colorful and crunchy! I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $10 on your first order. 

  • The Tremendous Tapas of Barcelona!

    My wife and I just returned from a wonderful vacation in Barcelona! It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.

    The warm weather, palm trees, beaches and museums make for an outstanding visit. But what stands out most is the food!

    Spain has a tradition of small dishes called tapas that let you sample many tasty morsels at a single meal. I indulged big time.

    The spot I’d recommend is Txapela. There are several around Barcelona and Madrid, all with delicious food at an excellent price.

    Above are a couple of my favorites. Camembert cheese and truffle oil atop thinly sliced apple and toothsome bread (foreground) and a piquant shrimp dish (background).

    Txapela also excels at patatas bravas, a classic Spanish potato dish with an unctuous mayonnaise sauce. The potatoes are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, perfect.

    Since Txapela is Basque, their small dishes are technically pintxos, not tapas. But the concept of sampling many small plates is the same.

    These small plates aren’t actually all that small…I was full after just two pintxos and an order of patatas bravas. Total bill: about $12.

    Spain, I love you. 🙂

    But Spain has far more to offer than tapas. Behold the paella at El Corte Ingles, the greatest department store on the planet.

    Its depth of flavor, likely coming from shrimp stock, blew away any paella I’ve had in the US.

    Some times, you just have to go to the source.

    Spain also turns out an incredible breakfast. And at the H10 Art Gallery hotel where we stayed (highly recommended), this smorgasbord was on the house!

    My favorite was the pork pate (right). I found myself getting up over and over for “just one more piece.”

    If you haven’t been to Barcelona, I can’t recommend it highly enough! Great weather, great food, and far cheaper than the US!

    Do you have any recommended spots in Barcelona? Let me know in the comments at the bottom of the page.

    Great to be back!

    Basilica de la Sagrada Familia

    More on travel:

    I Went to Japan’s Magical Kingdom of Eyeglasses

    Where I Was Last New Year’s

    What International Travel Is Like Right Now

    If you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/Facebook/etc. using the buttons at the bottom of the page. This helps more people find the blog! 

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Amazon Business American Express Card

    You already shop on Amazon. Why not save $100?

    If you’re approved for this card, you get a $100 Amazon gift card. You also get up to 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, 2% on restaurants/gas stations/cell phone bills, and 1% everywhere else.

    Best of all: No fee!

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 and returns have been good so far. More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get your management fees waived for 90 days. With their 1% management fee, this could save you $250 on a $100,000 account.

    Misfits Market

    My wife and I have gotten organic produce shipped to our house by Misfits for over a year. It’s never once disappointed me. Every fruit and vegetable is super fresh and packed with flavor. I thought radishes were cold, tasteless little lumps at salad bars until I tried theirs! They’re peppery, colorful and crunchy! I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $10 on your first order. 

  • Citadel Sues to Crush Competitors

    “You’re the one who’s trying to regulate your way into a market victory”

    Judge Justin Walker

    Citadel Securities LLC is suing the SEC to stop curbs on high frequency trading:

    A federal judge challenged a lawyer for Citadel Securities LLC about its efforts to thwart a new kind of market order from IEX Group Inc., the stock exchange operator made famous by “Flash Boys.”

    “It’s you who’s going to a federal agency and saying stop a private entity from doing what they want to do,” U.S. Circuit Judge Justin Walker said at a hearing in Washington on Monday, after attorney Jeffrey Wall argued that the order type interferes with the natural course of the market.

    The order type, known as D-Limit, has a roughly 350-microsecond delay to blunt the advantage of high-frequency traders.

    Citadel makes massive sums from high frequency trading.

    Brad Katsuyama created the IEX to stop high frequency traders from front running mutual funds and other investors. Now, IEX is offering a new technology, the D-Limit order, to help.

    So Citadel sues the SEC to make them stop!

    Imagine if Blackberry could’ve sued the government to make it stop the iPhone. Well, Blackberry might be doing a whole lot better today.

    But the average person wouldn’t.

    In Citadel’s defense, they’re having a tough time lately. Average investors in meme stocks like AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. are suing them in Florida.

    And the SEC is considering a ban on payment for order flow, one of Citadel’s main sources of revenue.

    It’s interesting to see who’s for the D-limit order. One proponent is Vanguard Group, which holds the savings of many individual investors, including me.

    Vanguard is evidently convinced that circumventing high frequency traders will help the average investor. But for Citadel, Vanguard is competition in the market.

    And Citadel will stop at nothing to win.

    The only real question is: will we let Citadel lobby and sue its way to total control of markets?

    This is the last blog for this week. There will be no blog next week; I’ll be visiting Barcelona!

    See you on Monday, November 29th.

    Until then, enjoy a few of my favorite posts. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

    Starting a Financial Plan from 0

    Citadel Builds Huge Position in AMC Call Options

    Male Contraception With an Ultrasound Device?

    NJ’s Best Apple Cider Donut

    The Painting I Love the Most

    Photo: “Ken Griffin” by DanGPhotos1 is licensed under CC BY 2.0

    If you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/Facebook/etc. using the buttons at the bottom of the page. This helps more people find the blog! 

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    Misfits Market

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    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $10 on your first order.