Digital Coffee (Free) #7 — thinking about day trading, AI filing patents & what I’m currently reading
The weekend is almost upon us — good luck today! 📈 Remember think of three things that you want to get done today. Focus on achieving those things. When you’re at home in the evening, think back and tick them off — you’ll feel a good sense of satisfaction, with measured progress.
Something to ponder 💭
As Revolut starts to rollout their Trading function (with Monzo, N26, etc. all to surely follow suit) I thought I’d dig into my notes and share some basic investment tips... keep in mind I am far from being an expert:
What’s not in the news? Most people buy what’s hot. All over the news. Then are surprised when it burns out. By the time an investment is popular the music is getting ready to stop. Buy what’s not in the news. That gives you an opportunity to own the next hot tip. At a good price, before everyone discovers it.
What you want to hold for the next 10 years? Most people hold investments around a year. They chase the next fad right at the top. A perfect prescription for underperforming. Instead look at what’s valuable and hang onto it for the long haul. If selected well, over time, you’ll be rewarded.
What you buy in the next recession? Most people buy growth investments at the peak of the bull market. Then when it collapses into a recession they sell at the bottom. They buy high and sell low. So turn that around and buy exactly when everything is on sale.
What will grow? Most people buy some hot investment tip. They then get burned. Then to be wise, put what’s left into investments with guaranteed interest. Only after taxes and inflation they go backwards each year. To get long term growth you have to suck up short term volatility. There’s no way around it, but it is worth it.
What isn’t guaranteed? Most people jump into investments that they hear, “it’s the future”, “the sky's the limit”, “you can’t lose money”... so they jump in only to find out you can lose money. Instead look for investments you can lose money in. Yet probably will be part of in the future. Then wait for the future to happen, and be surprised.
Five interesting reads for your Friday 🤓
🇺🇸 A treaty that helped end the Cold War is dead. Today marks the end of the US withdrawal process, announced by Donald Trump’s administration in February, from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The treaty was signed by the US and the then–Soviet Union in 1987, banning certain nuclear and conventional ground-launched missiles.
💰 Wish raises Series H at $11.2B valuation. Ecommerce company Wish announced that it closed a Series H round led by General Atlantic at a post money valuation of $11.2 billion. Round size was not disclosed, but news reports pegged it at around $300 million
🤷♂️ 6 Reasons we make bad decisions, and what to do about them. Research has shown that that the typical person makes about 2,000 decisions every waking hour. Most decisions are minor and we make them instinctively or automatically — what to wear to work in the morning, whether to eat lunch now or in ten minutes, etc. But many of the decisions we make throughout the day take real thought, and have serious consequences. Consistently making good decisions is arguably the most important habit we can develop, especially at work. Our choices affect our health, our safety, our relationships, how we spend our time, and our overall well-being
🛠 Build a Raspberry Pi powered live train station sign for your desk. Yesterday I bought all the stuff required to build this train station sign. In the past I’ve bought a couple of Raspberry Pi and have always been intrigued by hardware. This will hopefully be a fun project to see how progress has evolved. Also it seems like the infrastructure around pushing apps out to the IoT has improved significantly — glancing at the author’s company — Balena. I will be sure to report back on how it all goes. Hopefully the apartment hasn’t burned down.
🤖 First patents filed for inventions created by artificial intelligence. Academics have filed patent applications for two inventions created by artificial intelligence without a human inventor, in what is believed to be a world first. The multi-disciplinary international team at the University of Surrey, led by Ryan Abbott, have submitted applications to the Intellectual Property Office and the European Patent Office asking for the artificial intelligence, named Dabus, to be listed as the inventor. One invention involves a new type of beverage container, while the other is a device for attracting attention. Both patent offices have indicated that the applications appear to be new, inventive and industrially applicable, which are the primary requirements for receiving a patent. However, the issue of AI inventorship has not yet been considered.
Current reading
Bitcoin Billionaires (▪️▪️▪️▪️▫️)
I’m about half way into book — achieved over two or three days, so it isn’t an arduous read — and I have to say I’m impressed with it.
It really is a page-turner that rattles together — and tries to make some sense of — the mystifying world of cryptocurrency, fintech and overnight millionaires barely out of their board shorts, who “want this Bitcoin thing to overturn everything”.
This is also a complete reversal: Mezrich says he painted the Winklevoss twins, 6ft 5in Olympic rowers Cameron and Tyler, unkindly in Accidental Billionaires (his last book, that became the hit movie ‘The Social Network’. He thought he had them pegged as “buttoned down ‘Men of Harvard’, privileged jocks” who tried to employ the brilliant Zuckerberg to code a college social network for them. He now recognises their own genius for spotting the next big thing.
I’d recommend you go grab a copy.