“The construction of software and technology is an observational art and science, not a theoretical one.”

— Alex Karp, The Technological Republic 

The Case for Commercial-Grade Laundry Appliances

As I get older, I find it VERY rewarding to research commercial-grade appliances.

As a consumer, I love buying things that were never really meant for me.  

This all started with a washer and a dryer.

For the record, I think consumer-grade washer and dryers are TOTAL shit. They've turned into computers. And computers break. I don't need my washer and dryer to sing a lil' song when the cycle ends. I don't need a bunch of buttons, 12 modes, or a touchscreen that is trying to make eye contact with me. I need it to wash. I need it to dry.

The best washers and dryers aren’t at Best Buy or Home Depot.

They’re in laundromats. Built to run all day.

So I went DEEEEEEEP researching the absolute BEST laundromat washers and dryers, and then figured out a way to get them into my home. If you are still reading, I present to you Speed Queen. The best commercial-grade washers and dryers on the planet. GTFO Samsung. I don't need someone making smart TVs making my washer and dryer. I need something that is typically coin-operated and has been cleaning clothes since 1908! 

Buuuuuut the new thing. The thing I juuuuuuuust ordered is another item that I've spent quite a bit of time researching. And that's a commercial-grade steamer. Introducing the Jiffy® Garment Steamer - Professional Duty J-2000i. Whoaaaaaaa babaaaaaaay! 

According to my research is one of the best steamers on the planet! Like the ole' speed queen, Jiffy J-2000i is built the same way everything good used to be built. Mechanical as all hell and boring in the best possible way. It is made in the USA, uses all brass fittings, a stainless steel heating element, and a tank big enough to run for the better part of an hour without thinking about it. It was made for hotels, department stores, and fashion shows, and it will probably outlive me. 

If nothing else, I hope one day Sonny will find this in an attic and say (in this order):

"Wow, this thing is heavy as hell."

"Wow, I can't believe this thing still works!"

Then, as he is steaming his clothes, he'll realize... this wasn’t about clothes. It was about how you moved through the world.

He’ll probably smile and admire the chrome that still shines, knowing I only used it maybe 4 or 5 times max. 

And he’ll understand something important about me without anyone ever having to explain it:

That his old man preferred things built to last. Things that didn't perform for attention. Things that just did their job quietly, over and over. Like he did... talking to his computer screen, sending emails, and making his little jokes on the internet.

📼 Forgot to post this before the new year... Best movies of 2025 easily Bugonia and One Battle After Another. Bugonia was like nothing I've ever seen before. One Battle After Another was one of the wildest movies I've ever watched. The narrative and chaotic pace are a masterclass. You can't look away. I also thought it was some of Leo's best acting. Also, Sean Penn is incredible.

💩 This Liquid Glass iPhone OS update sucks. Apple has almost become completely unrecognizable — what happened to simplicity? If the rumors are true, I would be excited to move off of the iPhone and back to a Jony Ive designed product. I imagine he HATES what Apple has become since his departure. 

🎶 Bob Dylan – Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands

The Palantirization of everything
High-touch, forward-deployed engineering is not a flaw, it is the product. Palantir’s use of embedded engineers was not “expensive services disguised as software,” but a deliberate strategy to bridge complex environments and accelerate outcomes. What started in defense is moving everywhere. Enterprises now operate under regulatory pressure, fragmented tooling, and real consequences for failure. The article argues that the future belongs to platforms that can operate inside chaos, not just analyze clean data after the fact.

Series D Fundraise

2026 Predictions

TLDR...

• AI Bubble bursts wide open
• We finally emerge from the oversized trend and return to form-fitting clothes
• American Heritage/Prep returns in a big way – think Ralph Lauren / Brooks Brothers 
• The defense tech influence – companies move away from virtue signaling and the performative language/posture that has dominated the last 10 years

AI Reckoning 

The AI bubble will become clearly visible in 2026, and the inevitable IMPLOSION will officially begin! The surge in AI investments and INSANE valuations has outpaced real-world deliverables. Most companies can agree... There has been a lot of experimentation, but relatively little quantifiable impact. The result is disillusionment. 2026 will likely be the year when enough enterprise AI pilots will have reached the renewal or cancellation stage. Investors and boards will begin to demand unit economics, not narratives. 

What happens next?

I don't think it's a big public crash. 

First, renewals quietly fail. In 2025, enterprises were largely experimenting and piloting AI. In 2026, those contracts come up for renewal. Boards stop asking “Are we using AI?” and start asking... “What did it replace? “Are we saving money?” “Are we more efficient?" Copilots and agents that sounded impressive but did not eliminate headcount, reduce spend, or materially change cycle time get cut. This is the first leak in the hull, and it won't make headlines.

Many startups have down rounds and silently shut down. They won't fail publicly. They will merge, pivot, acqui-hires etc.. We will stop seeing these MASSIVE rounds of investment. The valuations will reset. And we will all return to reality.

During all of this, credibility begins to fracture. Conflicting outputs, hallucinations, and governance failures move from edge cases to board-level concerns. Trust dwindles. 

The market quickly moves away from "AI First" language. 

Finally, capital consolidates. Spend is consolidating into a small number of platforms. Everyone else is squeezed. This looks less like a pop and more like the established players reasserting themselves. There will be a very small handful of startup winners, but for the most part, the big companies win again. 

American Heritage!

AMERICAN HERITAGE is back in a BIG way. Suddenly, everyone is cosplaying WASP and prep is back. We finally emerge from this oversized trend. We see waistlines again. Pants are straight-leg. Ties come back into the mainstream. A return to formality and form-fitting clothing (praise be to he!). It's cool to dress like a grown-up again! Ralph Lauren is the brand in 2026. HORSE POWER!

The End of Neutral!

This past year, defense technology moved from a fringe category to mainstream, with record venture funding flowing into startups developing next-generation military and national security technologies. Startups like Anduril, Shield AI, and Palantir became household names (for households following this type of stuff at least)... They looked and behaved more like consumer brands – they had merch, cool websites, and founders with big personalities. 

The rise of defense technology reflects more than just venture capital chasing a new category. I believe it mirrors a deeper cultural shift away from the liberal ideal of consensus and neutrality toward a worldview that embraces purposeful power, decisiveness, and things that actually work. In 2026, more companies will quietly drop the performative language and virtue signaling that defined the last decade. The empathy statements, purpose decks, and neutral-sounding fluff give way to clearer positioning and a more direct explanation of what a company actually does and why it matters. 

At the same time, in 2026, you’ll see more startups outside defense adopt defense-adjacent aesthetics. Hard edges. Monochrome palettes. Utilitarian typography. Fewer gradients and smiles, more schematics and systems. The huggy, cartoony shit (the new, but equally shitty version of corporate memphis) that has dominated the last 5-10 years of design is officially out. We see design language becoming a proxy for seriousness (whereas in the past, a lot of corporate design language has veered more towards friendly, open, inclusive, etc.).

A few more predictions...

• Google is the biggest winner of 2026 (AI, Waymo, YouTube)
• Apple buys something (maybe perplexity) and the foldable phone is a hit 
• Midterms are insane. Both sides are convinced the other side is cheating
• I wrote about this last year, but still relevant this year... phone bans
• Big tech turns on Trump (happens really fast)
• Aliens... I'm not gonna say much more, just aliens
• The prediction markets... something is gonna happen with Kalshi
• Vice signaling/Mad Men aesthetic resurgence (cigs, ties, booze)

Social Media Regulation

A year ago, I predicted a wave of phone bans and cultural shifts around social media, and Australia is now leading the charge. Their landmark Online Safety Amendment, which went into effect on December 10, 2025, requires major platforms to bar users under 16 or face significant financial penalties. 

While Australia’s move is a massive step, broader phone and social media regulation hasn't quite kept pace with my expectations. I believe the public is starting to view phone addiction through a mental health lens, and the tide is certainly shifting just more slowly than I thought. But that is the nature of change: it rarely moves as fast as we anticipate.
*worth calling out that banning any form of communication, even if it is detrimental to health, is a slippery slope... Instead of sweeping bans, change in the U.S. is more likely to come from evolving social norms, local policies like school phone bans, and cultural shifts that reduce teen social-media use without outright legal prohibition.

Holidays in Laguna 2025