Senyondo JR Sr. @JrSenyondo

Shaquille O'Neal revealed he had to figure out two things: either intimidate you or make you laugh. I was always a bully, until one day in fifth grade, I had a spitwad. I threw it at the chalkboard, it splattered, and this kid rats me out. But prior to that, my father said, "If you get suspended again, I'm gonna kill you. I'm gonna beat you like you've never been beaten before because you're irresponsible, you're a medium-level juvenile delinquent, and moving at this pace, you're gonna be nothing in life. I'm not having that in my house." So, I wait for the kid I mean, first I go to the office. Three days. Graham Bensinger: You were suspended for three days? Shaquille O'Neal: Suspended for three days. So now I gotta go home, and I already know what I'm getting when I get home. But before I go home, I'm gonna whoop your ass. So I'm beating this kid up, and I'm kicking this kid, and he has an epileptic seizure. It was just me and the kid out there, and he's on the ground shaking, and now I'm frightened because... uh oh. So then a guy comes and he saves the kid. And, you know, but after that, I go home, I get disciplined, and my mother pulls me to the side and says, "You're too big and too strong, you can't ever do that again." And that kind of... that kind of stayed with me. I was like, "I don't want to do that no more." So then I was like, "You know what, I'm not gonna beat people up. Let me... let me go to part... Plan B on how to get them to like me." Because I'm already... I was always a class clown, funny guy. So now, let me just, you know, do this a lot to get people to like me. And I just stuck with that rather than being a bully. Graham Bensinger: Before that, how would people tease you? Shaquille O'Neal: "Shaquille," "Sasquatch," "Big African"... I stuttered when I talked. "Big dummy." And I was always shy. You know, like, I would look at you, and I would look at your test scores, and you'd probably have a... you look like a smart, smart ass. You'd probably have a 90 or a...

A small clique of the Parliamentary Commission quietly sat in a meeting where they deliberately didn't invite all the members of the Commission, and then distributed money among themselves. The public was livid about this, a censure motion ensued, and the small clique found someone through whom they took the matter to court for "cleansing" Unfortunately for them, while the court tried to cleanse the small clique, the same court said the clerk to Parliament must be punished for the money shared by this clique. The clerk did not propose the award or even partake of it, he simply received orders from the Commission and his job was to implement. Ofcourse this should be a lesson to civil servants, that you can be used and then thrown under the bus! As far as we are concerned, the culpability of the clerk was occasioned by this small clique, and this clique ought to be brought to book. It is no wonder that the person who chaired the meeting of the small clique is the one trying to save them. However, we shall not tire until the thuggery at Parliament is dealt with.

STEVE JOBS ON THE MOST IMPORTANT JOB OF A CEO: “THE GREATEST PEOPLE ARE SELF-MANAGING. ONCE THEY KNOW WHAT TO DO, THEY'LL FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT. WHAT THEY NEED IS A COMMON VISION. THAT'S WHAT LEADERSHIP IS.” STEVE CONTINUES: “THE MOST IMPORTANT JOB OF SOMEONE LIKE MYSELF IS RECRUITING. WHEN YOU GET A CORE GROUP OF TEN GREAT PEOPLE... THEY BECOME SELF-POLICING ABOUT WHO THEY LET INTO

Tim Cook reveals a surprising truth about hiring at the world's biggest tech company: You don't need to know how to code to work at Apple. "We hire people from all walks of life and people that have college degrees, people that don't. People that code, people that don't." Tim is a vocal advocate for learning to code, but not because it's a prerequisite for getting hired. He sees it as something far broader: "I do recommend coding for everyone to learn because I think it's a form of expressing yourself and it's a global language and it's the only global language that we all share is coding." So if coding isn't the golden ticket, what is? Tim explains that the traits he values most have nothing to do with technical credentials. There are three that matter above all else. The first is collaboration. Not just the willingness to work with others, but a deep, genuine belief that teams produce better outcomes than individuals ever could: "Can they really collaborate? Do they deeply believe that one plus one equals three?" The second is curiosity. @tim_cook gravitates toward people who are relentless in their need to understand, people who never stop probing how the world works and why people think the way they do: "I think curiosity is a trait that I love about people, about people that ask questions that are so curious about how things work, how people think. All of the why and how questions." The third is creativity. This is where everything comes together. Apple's entire model depends on anticipating needs that consumers haven't even recognised yet: "We're looking for people that can see around the corner because ultimately we want to create products that people can't live without, but they didn't know they needed." Collaboration. Curiosity. Creativity. None of them show up on a résumé, and none of them require a degree. But according to Tim Cook, they're exactly what makes a great team player at Apple.

“Wealth has two definitions. First is how many things you own and second is how many things you can do without.” “Even second one is a wealthy person. All our forefathers were in this category.” “Do you think our ancestors would’ve bought car on credit? Because the day you buy that it has lost 35% of its value.” “They would rather not spend at all.” - Parag Parikh. 2011

Warren Buffett lo pudo decir más alto pero no más claro: "Si logras distanciarte, por temperamento, de la multitud, te harás muy rico. Tampoco necesitas ser muy inteligente". "No se necesita inteligencia. Se necesita temperamento".

Warren Buffett turned $9.7 million into more than $370 million on a single stock, and the setup was sitting in plain sight for anyone to see. This is Buffett explaining the trade that made him, and the simple math almost nobody else acted on: In the mid-1970s, the entire Washington Post Company was on sale for $80 million. Its actual properties were worth at least $400 million. In his words, "no one would have argued with you about the properties being worth $400 million." So why was it that cheap? "The price was there for all to see, but people just didn't feel very enthusiastic about the world then." Buffett did. In 1973 he bought 1.7 million shares for $9.7 million. As a boy he had delivered that same newspaper. Now he owned 13% of it. He never sold. By the time of this interview, that $9.7 million was worth $370 million, and he still called it a holding he would keep forever. Bookmark & watch: _______ Follow @firesidetapes for more highlights of key business and investing conversations.

Elon Musk: Manufacturing a product is ten thousand percent more work than designing it. “Manufacturing is underrated and design is overrated. People generally think of this Eureka moment, where you come up with an idea and that is it, now it is good. But there is literally a thousand percent, maybe ten thousand percent more work that goes into the production system than the thing itself. The amount of effort that goes into the design rounds down to zero, relative to the effort that goes into the manufacturing system. If people have not been in manufacturing of something relatively new, they do not understand. They think production is like a copier. This is completely false.” Starbase Tour with Everyday Astronaut, July 30, 2021.

Peter Thiel turned $500K into ~$1B on Facebook, built PayPal, and then told a room full of Stanford students that competition is a trap - if you're fighting for scraps in a crowded market, you've already lost His whole framework: escape competition, build something so different it becomes a monopoly, and capture the value nobody else can 50-min and you'll see why investors quietly hunt for the boring businesses that own their entire market Bookmark & watch - required viewing before you start or back another "me too" company

st1ne @SolSt1ne

6 days ago

The founder of Bridgewater - the biggest hedge fund on Earth - says America just crossed a debt line it can't walk back - $38 trillion and counting, and the biggest buyers of US debt are quietly disappearing His 2026 call: no default, but a slow devaluation of every dollar you

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the guy who runs the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, $2 trillion, says the hardest part of the job is doing nothing. Nicolai Tangen has a rule he calls the "inertia analysis": take your portfolio from january 1st. calculate what it would've returned if you never touched it again. then compare it to what you actually did all year. "so often you actually have detracted from your performance by the things you've done." every system you build is fighting the same urge. often the edge isn't the next trade. it's the trades you talk yourself out of.

Bill Ackman literally gave a 44-minute masterclass that explains money better than any business school.

Warren Buffett on what actually makes a life successful: 1. "if you get to be 65 or 70 and the people you want to love you actually love you, you're a success." i've met very rich men. testimonial dinners. schools named after them. and nobody loves them. their own kids say "he's in the attic." 2. the best investment you'll ever make is in yourself. learn to communicate. on paper and in person. if you can't get your idea across, it's like winking at a girl in the dark. nothing happens. get good at it and you raise your own value 50%. and nobody can ever take it from you. 3. you get one mind and one body. that's the whole deal. say i gave you a car and told you it's the only one you get for the rest of your life. you'd read the manual. keep it in the garage. baby it. you get exactly one body like that. you can't start caring for it at 50. by then it's rusted out. 4. you become whoever you spend your time with. you drift in the direction of the people around you. so pick people better than you. the biggest pick of your life is your spouse. marry someone a little better than you. and hope they don't figure it out too fast. 5. with money, doing nothing beats doing something. a farm or an apartment, you can't sell it tomorrow. so you just hold it. stocks you can sell in a second. so people can't help themselves. but moving your money around isn't smarter than leaving it alone. buy a piece of america and stop touching it.

And now for my least favorite 4 from this WC: 4: Portugal Away. I really dislike it. The biggest talking point is the manufacturer. After 27 consecutive years with Nike (a partnership that started in 1997), Portugal officially switched to PUMA starting in 2025. This 2026 World Cup kit is their first-ever major tournament away shirt designed by the brand, representing a historic shift in soccer fashion. 3: Ghana Home. Looks like they dipped a spider in paint and fed it cocaine. Kente & Folklore Inspiration: The jersey incorporates a bold graphic design inspired by traditional Ghanaian Kente woven cloth and the legendary spider trickster, Kwaku Anansi. 2: Korea Away. I really strongly dislike this one. Mugunghwa Floral Graphic: The jersey is covered in large-scale tonal petal graphics honoring the Mugunghwa (Rose of Sharon), the national flower of South Korea which signifies beauty and resilience. I am glad they got sent home before we had to see too much of it. 1: Belgium Away. Burn it with fire. Hate the colours the look all of it. Designed by adidas for the Belgium National Football Team (Red Devils), the jersey explicitly pays homage to the legendary Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte.

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Luke Highone High @LukeHighoneHigh

3 weeks ago

I have now checked every world cup kit. Here are the top 4: 4: Canada Away. Clean. Lead designer Holly Gallacher based the graphic texture on close-up photographs of ice rinks, capturing the blade marks left by hockey skates 3: France Home. If done wrong it is a train seat

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yooo, GPT Image 2 on ChatGPT makes this brand merch drop setup look way too real, showroom racks, canvas backdrops, and product stacks all hitting 🔥 full prompt: aiistudio.com/prompt/2015862… [BRAND NAME]. Act as the creative director and still life photographer for a hypebeast fashion magazine. TASK: Create a premium showroom still life photograph for a limited merchandise drop by [BRAND NAME]. PHASE 1: AUTONOMOUS BRAND CURATION Analyze [BRAND NAME] and identify its industry, visual identity, and most recognizable physical product. For example, Spalding means basketballs, McDonald's means burger boxes, Visa means metal cards, Michelin means tires, Kappa means soccer balls or apparel. Build the visual palette from the brand: Background color: choose a deep, rich, textured studio color from the brand's secondary palette, such as navy, burgundy, teal, forest green, slate grey, or dark blue. Merch color: choose a warm or neutral contrasting tone, such as cream, camel, orange, tan, or off-white, so the apparel pops against the backdrop. Merch item: select a high-quality apparel piece that fits the brand's culture, such as a varsity letterman jacket, heavyweight hoodie, wool scarf, canvas tote, or premium sweatshirt. PHASE 2: SET DESIGN, THE DISPLAY RACK Use a simple modern white powder-coated metal rack or shelf unit as the main prop. It should stand cleanly in the frame and feel like a curated studio showroom display. Arrange the scene like this: Hanging item: place the chosen merch item on the rack or drape it casually over a hanger. Show clear tactile material detail, such as wool, felt, fleece, leather, embroidery, ribbed cuffs, or heavy cotton. Stacked products: place multiple units of the brand's core physical product on the shelves or floor around the rack. Use stacks, pyramids, rows, or clean retail-style groupings depending on the product type. Backdrop: use a hand-painted canvas backdrop in the selected deep background color. Make the brush texture, subtle uneven paint, and studio surface visible. PHASE 3: PHYSICAL BRANDING AND TEXTURE On the merch, add premium physical branding for [BRAND NAME]. Use chenille patches, embroidered logos, stitched sleeve lettering, applique graphics, or high-quality screen print. The apparel must look like a real expensive garment from a limited drop. On the products, make the [BRAND NAME] logo visible and correctly integrated on the stacked core items. The products should feel real, not like generic placeholders. PHASE 4: PHOTOGRAPHY AND LIGHTING Shoot it as a high-end editorial still life photograph. Lighting: soft directional window light from the side, with natural realistic shadows on the rack and rich highlights across fabric, packaging, and product textures. Lens: 50mm or 85mm editorial product photography look. Keep the merch sharp and let the background fall off slightly. Composition: refined, minimal, balanced, with enough negative space on the left for logo and slogan text. PHASE 5: GRAPHIC OVERLAY, DROP ANNOUNCEMENT LAYOUT On the left side, place a large clean white [BRAND NAME] logo floating in the negative space. Below the logo, add small white text using the brand's official slogan or a short authentic campaign-style line. Final image should look like a real luxury streetwear collaboration announcement: a polished showroom rack, branded apparel, stacked signature products, rich painted backdrop, soft side light, expensive textures, and a clean editorial advertising layout. #AIart #GPTImage2

The Symphony of Life in The Sound of Music: How the "Do-Re-Mi" Octave Decodes Cosmic Order and the Human Journey 1. The Cosmic Order Reflected in Primeval Resonance Within the framework of traditional thought, music is by no means an arbitrary pastime born of fleeting human emotion; rather, it is a supreme science that mirrors the foundational laws governing the cosmos. The Immutable Geometrical Ratios of Sound: Since antiquity, philosophers have observed that musical intervals are fundamentally quantified by unchanging mathematical proportions ($1:2$, $2:3$, $3:4$). The natural cycle of acoustic frequencies dictates that following precisely seven steps of progression, the notes organically culminate in a foundational, self-contained loop. The number seven thus represents a natural boundary wherein sonic frequencies achieve their utmost equilibrium—offering sufficient variety for melodic expression, yet maintaining a profound unity to prevent any descent into chaos. The Reflection of Celestial Spheres: Ancient philosophy held that each planet among the seven independently moving celestial bodies observed in the sky—the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—corresponded precisely to a distinct acoustic frequency, namely a specific note from Do through to Ti, determined by its physical distance and rotational velocity. This celestial symphony (Musica Universalis) was deemed too sacred for the mortal ear to perceive directly; hence, the seven-note musical system was established on earth as a microcosm of the cosmos. The Harmonisation of the Human Soul: When the character of Maria initiates the children into the seven foundational notes (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti), they are replicating the precise vibrational movements of the stars. In doing so, they align both the human soul and physical being with the timeless order and eternal laws that govern all of creation. 2. The Consonance of Man, Nature, and the Universe The unique synthesis within the song "Do-Re-Mi" serves to anthropomorphise and naturalise these seven otherwise abstract notes, weaving them into a harmonious tapestry of creation that charts a course from primordial origins unto spiritual elevation: The Evolutionary Ascent of the Created Order: Do (Doe – A female deer): A symbol of pristine, uncorrupted life roaming the earth. This is the root note—the vital fountainhead from which all subsequent currents flow. Re (Ray – A drop of golden sun): The heavenly energy poured down from the skies to nourish all living things and awaken the latent potential of existence. Mi (Me – A name I call myself): A critical turning point that shifts the focus from the natural world to human consciousness. Man awakens to his own ego, acknowledging his distinct presence between earth and heaven. Fa (Far – A long, long way to run): An allegory for the mortal journey and the experience of spatial existence. Man remains not stationary; he must move forward, enduring tribulations to seek ultimate truth. Sol (Sol / Sew – A needle pulling thread): A symbol of labour, craftsmanship, and worldly creation. Man employs his hands to fashion beauty upon the earth and bind the social fabric together. La (A note to follow Sew): A testament to the principles of order and deference. This note exists solely to follow and sustain the one preceding it, mirroring a harmonious, yielding society where each member knows their rightful place. Ti (Tea – A drink with jam and bread): The final harvest reaped from human toil. This denotes the rightful enjoyment of material sustenance, intimately bound with a spirit of thanksgiving for the bounties of creation. 3. The Perpetual Cycle of the Human Odyssey The crown of this philosophical structure resides within the concluding refrain: "And that will bring us back to Do." In the science of harmony, the seventh note ("Ti") functions as a leading tone, possessing an inherently unstable frequency that yearns for resolution, pulling the melody inexorably toward the "Do" of the succeeding octave. This acoustic law establishes a flawless, closed circuit: [The Source: Do] ➔ [The Mortal Journey: Re through Ti] ➔ [The Return to Origin: High Do] Life issues forth from a state of absolute purity, traverses a path of gathering awareness, industrious labour, social concord, and devout gratitude, and ultimately does not vanish into oblivion. Instead, it ascends to a higher plane—a loftier octave—returning to merge with the primordial source from whence it came. This cinematic sequence is deeply revered because it beautifully encapsulates a universal truth: life is not a series of fragmented, accidental occurrences, but a journey directed by a sacred, higher order. Within this grand design, music, humanity, and nature share a single, unified pulse, moving in absolute concert within a flawless and indivisible whole.

Kelissa Uncovers ‘The Good Side of Things’ on First Studio Album in Almost a Decade: ‘I Created the Music I Wanted and Needed’ billboard.com/music/features…

Warren Buffett: "If I gave you a car and it would be the only car you get for the rest of your life, you would take care of it like you can't believe. Any scratch, you'd fix that moment. You'd read the owner's manual. You'd keep it garaged and do all these things." "You get exactly one mind and one body in this world. And you can't start taking care of it when you're 50 — by that time, you'll have rusted out if you haven't done anything."

Carl Johan Persson inherited an empire and then slowly let it collapse. The third-generation H&M CEO had something no founder ever gets: a head start. His grandfather had secured H&M's survival. His father had scaled it into a global powerhouse through the '90s. By 2009, when Carl Johan stepped into the CEO role, the hard work was already done. And that comfort may have been the problem. He was born into a family of billionaires. He lacked by his own account, objectively the paranoid hunger that drives self-made operators. Compare that to someone like Uniqlo's Tadashi Yanai, who grew up in rural Japan as the son of a roadside tailor. The difference in disposition wasn't just personal. It would eventually show up in the strategy. On the product side, Carl Johan ran the classic reactive playbook. Athleisure took off. They launched H&M Sport. Collaborations became the thing, they brought in Alexander Wang and David Beckham. He experimented with moving H&M upmarket, hosted fashion shows in Paris, rolled out rewards programs, embraced e-commerce. These weren't bad moves. But they were tactics, not strategy. The real decision, the one that would define his tenure was a different kind of bet entirely. Rather than setting a sales goal, Carl Johan made store count H&M's north star. He publicly committed to opening 10 to 15% new stores every year for the next decade. By 2014, H&M was opening a new store somewhere in the world every single day of the year. A pace never before seen in the industry. But as they chased scale, they drifted further and further from what had made H&M matter: the product. The lesson isn't that growth is bad. It's that metric selection is strategy. What you measure, you optimise for and what you optimise for, you become. Carl Johan chose stores. H&M became a store-opening machine. The tragedy of inherited advantage is that you don't always develop the instincts that survival builds. The paranoia. The obsession with the actual thing you sell. The willingness to sacrifice scale for quality.

This is the time to know your true friends in all spheres of life. 🤔

Bill Ackman made one of the best investments of his career in 4 hours while eating breakfast at a Brooklyn diner. It was the financial crisis. A Reuters headline crossed his BlackBerry: Citigroup was acquiring the Wachovia banking subsidiaries for $2 in Citigroup stock. Most people would have moved on. Ackman asked a different question. "Hmm, this is interesting. What happens to the holding company?" He went upstairs to the office, cracked open Wachovia's 1,000-page 10-K, and got to work with a colleague, Mick McGuire. What he discovered changed everything. Of that 1,000-page filing, roughly 900 pages covered the banking subsidiary being sold to Citi. Fewer than 100 pages described what remained, the holding company that Citi was walking away from. And what Citi was walking away from was extraordinary. The holding company still held cash. It held Wachovia Securities. It held A.G. Edwards, a firm Wachovia had paid $6–7 billion for just six months earlier. It held Evergreen Asset Management. And because Citi was booking a $27 billion loss on the subsidiary sale, the holding company could carry that loss back to recover cash taxes already paid. A massive tax refund in the making. Then there was the liability side. In this case, was almost no liability at all. "It also had a liability called non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock, which if you ever want to have a liability in your life, this is the single greatest liability to have. It's a form of equity where you never have to pay a dividend, and when you don't pay them, they don't accumulate. And the worst case is they get a couple directors on the board, and you say hi to them each meeting." After 4 hours of work, Ackman and McGuire had their number: the holding company was worth at least $11 to $14 per share. The stock opened after its halt at $1.84. "We bought 42% of the volume for the next 4 days." Shortly after, Wells Fargo stepped in with a topping bid of $7 in Wells Fargo stock, a deal that required no government assistance. The trade was done. Media: Investor Talk