The WSJ The Journal podcast episode, Made in America? Shoe companies already tried that, describes the complexities in trying to bring shoemaking back to North America. It tells the story of the failure of the heavily automated Nike plant in Guadalajara, Mexico. This was all pre-tariffs on Vietnam, Indonesia, and China.
It turns out making sneaker requires a lot more skilled manual labor, than one originally thinks. The materials are squishy and stretchy, and are highly susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity. Humans are great at adjusting to those changes. Machines are not.
When Nike wanted to bring shoemaking back to North America, one mantra was
We’re getting rid of all the toothbrushes
This referred to the toothbrushes required to apply various glues.
Automating the process wasn’t as easy.
We spent 8 months to add the Nike swoosh onto the shoe. And then the model changed.
When design is lead dog, it is a challenging environment for technology to keep up with.
Let’s tariff the heck out of them, so that manufacturing comes back the US. Let’s use robots. Err. Let’s train manual labor. Sure. And now let’s keep the price low. Err. You see the flaw in this logic?
The only option is to all wear Mao-style outfits and shoes. One model. One design. No swoosh.
Last Friday, I finally took the plunge. Kicked off my Crocs, peeled open what looked like a giant cosmic egg, and slipped into what can only be described as a WTF machine.
This wasn’t just a fancy bathtub, the cocoon was a floating tank. Floating therapy (or sensory deprivation therapy in geek speak), involves lying in a dark, soundproof tank filled with warm water and Epsom salt, allowing the body to float effortlessly. Dead Sea style. The goal is to minimize sensory input to promote relaxation and mental clarity.
Some of the benefits (supported by both anecdotal and scientific evidence) include:
Stress Reduction: The sensory deprivation environment calms the nervous system. Cortisol levels (a stress hormone) may drop, promoting deep relaxation.
Pain Relief: Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) may reduce muscle tension and inflammation.
Enhanced Sleep Quality: Floating can improve sleep patterns and help with insomnia. Who still counts sheep anyway?
Improved Focus and Creativity: The brain enters a theta wave state—associated with deep meditation and inspiration.
Faster Recovery for Athletes: Reduces lactic acid buildup and muscle soreness. Encourages quicker recovery after intense training or competition.
Anxiety and Depression Relief: Cheaper than therapy, but still not a replacement (my therapist made me add that).
Increased Magnesium Absorption: Absorbing magnesium through the skin may support cardiovascular, muscular, and nervous system health.
My virgin voyage was mind-blowing. I turned off all lights and floated in complete darkness (rookie mistake—apparently there’s a “stars” button that projects a mini-galaxy on the ceiling). I tried listening to meditation music while wearing earplugs to avoid water in my ears, which is like ordering a diet coke with your super-sized meal—somewhat contradictory. But it worked.
The experience wasn’t entirely soundproof: I could the jets from a nearby hydro-massage chair that sounded like someone was making espresso in the next room. Luckily they left half way into my 45 minutes session.
I floated as if in space. It was a very relaxing experience, and I even slept for a bit.
10/10 will float again. Next time with stars and a rubber duck.
Ladies and gentlemen, in one corner we have Joe Rogan and RFK Jr. And the other corner we have a scrawny lad with an Afro hairstyle by the name of Malcolm Gladwell. At stake is the rotavirus and RFK Jr’s credibility.
In a recent episode of his Revisionist History podcast, Malcolm Gladwell digs into the efficacy of Rotateq, a vaccine against the Rotavirus. Rotateq is apparently also the subject of the third chapter in RFK junior‘s book, The real Anthony Fauci.
The podcast episode presents facts and scientists. The book on the other hand cites unverifiable numbers and leaves a lot of doubt. The origin of the numbers is questionable, even after contacting the office of RFK Jr.
Supporters in the camp of Joe Rogan and RFK Jr are dazzled by the data and take them face value. They live in happy-happy land. The notion that the I-am-just-asking-questions-guy isn’t really asking questions is not unsurprising, as Malcolm covers in The Joe Rogan Intervention episode.
I, on the other hand, don’t live in happy-happy land. Even when faced with data by Malcolm Gladwell, I remain skeptical. If Malcolm got this data fairly easily, why didn’t the New York Times, the Washington Post, or CBS 60 minutes or any other reputable no news source? Did they never even attempt?
If it was this easy to take apart chapter 3, how hard can it be to take apart the other chapters? Or is Malcolm Gladwell not telling us the full story?
The bottom line after listening to this podcast is that you shall be very skeptical of any numbers RFK Junior recites.
And I know there are some out there who still think: “Well, RFK is weird about vaccines, but he knows a lot about health-related issues.”But you would be surprised by just how wildly wrong he can be when he is spouting alarming, official-sounding statistics:
[KENNEDY] We are 4.2% of the world’s population. We buy 70% of the pharmaceutical drugs on Earth. 15% of American youth are now on Adderall or some other ADHD medication. When I was a kid — I always say this — a typical pediatrician would see one case of diabetes in his lifetime. Today, it’s one out of every three kids who walks through his office door. 20 years ago, there was no diabetes in China. Today, 50% of the population is diabetic.
Okay, so here’s the thing: all the numbers you just heard him say are wrong.
Americans don’t buy 70% of the drugs on Earth. We buy around 6%. 15% of American youth aren’t on ADHD meds — estimates put it closer to 5%. One in three kids don’t have diabetes — it’s actually 0.35% or 1 in 285 kids. And the rate of diabetes in China is roughly 12% — not, as I think you already know, 50%. Half of all the people in China do not have diabetes
Malcolm Gladwell and John Oliver have the resources and staff to investigate these claims. Most folks don’t have the time nor energy to do the same. Joe Rogan could have, but didn’t. He decided to not be a ringmaster, as he is from time to time known to do, but to join RFK Jr in his corner. And they are getting beaten up.
This past weekend in San Diego, we hopscotched between several coffee shops. The two local chains are Better Buzz and Bird Rock. There are several located throughout the city. Their coffee tastes great! The locations are welcoming with great seating. They are open late and full of students and people “being productive”.
Photo courtesy of Better Buzz Coffee.
We also loved Trident Coffee in Pacific Beach and Il giardino di Lilli in La Jolla. The latter is truly for hanging out and having coffee. No laptops allowed.
After a weekend here, I am convinced there is hope post-Starbucks. San Diego is leaving Starbucks and Coffee Bean behind. Dare I say that San Diego’s coffee scene beats Seattle’s? Let’s hope we can restore the Bay Area and South Bay scene soon.
“A lot of us are hoping there’s a revolution coming,” Joe Lonsdale, founder of software company Palantir and startup investor said at a recent defense forum, “where we hold the bureaucracy accountable, where we shock the bureaucracy.”
Palantir and Anduril are the darlings of this movement, and can show a lot of success, winning contract after contract.
The list of companies goes beyond Anduril. Vanity Fair’s Boys and their toys, on the hypermacho, Bible-thumping alt-tech universe trying to take on Silicon Valley—from El Segundo, introduces to a slew of starts ups, most of them in the Southern California El Segundo region: Rainmaker technologies, Valar Atomics, Neros, and Dirac. El Segundo brings a history of defense companies and manufacturing.
The article also introduces a new term: Gundo Bros, a special kind of tech bros: god-loving and patriotic.
Gundo is for hard tech what Florence was for art during the Renaissance
There are of course the skeptics to the drone and AI revolution.
“Warfare is always a human endeavor,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said at the Reagan forum. “My own belief is that the future is really about the most effective human-machine teaming.”
David Allvin appears to be somebody who watched Top Maverick a few too many times. Yet, he is not the only one.
“What’s on Twitter is not based in reality,” Chris Power, founder of Hadrian, which has raised more than $100 million and automates the manufacture of components for military hardware, told Forbes. “Like all great momentum waves and venture capital, you gotta turn hype into reality,” he said. “And it’s mostly determined by how many of the founders are serious versus those that can’t transition from a running start.”
Delian Asparouhov, a partner at Founders Fund who has raised more than $180 million for his space drug-testing company Varda, recently said it more forcefully, dismissing a group of El Segundo-based entrepreneurs as “unserious people,” he wrote on X. “Go do something meaningful with your life before throwing stones.”
Pogacar dropped Alaphilippe and sets up for a solo last 40 kilometers. It seemed like another boring ending. … but …
Van Wilder pulls a large second group and keeps them within 30 seconds of Pogacar.
Counter attack Mattias Skjelmose.
Counter attack Remco Evenepoel, who picks up Skjelmose, and together they go after Pogacar. 23 seconds. 15 seconds. 24 seconds. 10 seconds.
Final climb of the Cauberg with 3 strong riders.
A sprint for the win between Pogacar, Evenepoel, and Skjelmose. Skjelmose wins!
Final conclusions:
Pogacar is not invincible. He’ll start to think twice before taking of for a long solo. He also is need for some important rest, even through Liege-Bastogne-Liege is around the corner.
Remco returned to racing with a vengeance. He is strong. He won the Brabantse Pijl. He could have won today, had he not crashed earlier in the race.
Van Aert rode a great race and had a strong sprint finish for the 4th place.
The two giants in cycling have made men’s professional cycling less attractive. Tadej and Mathieu won 12 of the past 13 cycling monuments. With the exception was a rare attack - counter attack scenario, as recently in Milan San Remo, these races have been decided in a split second. One rider attacks and creates a gap. That’s it. In Dutch we say boeken toe, the books are closed.
There is no cat and mouse game. The positions rarely change much after that one attack.
These two riders can easily outpace a charging chase group. And between them, there is a little difference. A 20 seconds gap will remain 20 seconds for 20 kilometers.
Today’s Paris Roubaix unfolded in similar fashion. A small group, including the big 2, break away over 60 km from the finish line. In a split second, Tadej misses a corner around kilometer 38. Mathieu is able to continue and creates a 20 seconds gap. Boeken toe. Mathieu wins his third cobble stone. That’s the summary of the race.
Oudenaarde delivered a double rainbow! Both male and female elite world champions, Tadej Pogacar and Lotte Kopecky, won their Ronde Van Vlaaderen. Their win wasn’t stolen as they both rode a strong and excellent race. It was win number 2 for Tadej and number 3 for Lotte.
I expected a bit more excitement from the men’s race: an earlier attack from Lidl-Trek with Mads, and a stronger Mathieu Van der Poel. However, we found out, understandably only after the race, that he had been sick earlier in the week.
Wout Van Aert’s performance and late surge in the race was a happy surprise. He was struggling earlier in the race, yet had a strong resurgence towards the end. However, I don’t understand his race tactics in the final 10 kilometers. With Mads and Jasper from Lidl-Trek team, and with Mathieu, why did he choose to pull? There was little chance in catching Tadej. Therefore, let Lidl-Trek pull the train, and save your energy for the sprint. It was obvious from my position at the kitchen table ;)
EF Pro Cycling is rapidly becoming one of my favorite cycling YouTube channels. Their documentaries are perfect when grinding through a zone 2 indoor training ride.
Today’s entertainment choice is: Transcordilleras, or the 8-day 650 miles 91,000 ft self-supported bikepacking gravel race across the Andes in Colombia, brought to you by madman Lachlan Morton. The whole experience seems anything but a race, and a lot more an adventure of a lifetime, riding with friends in a crazy place.
If I had a little more time and gravel experience …
This week is the Holy Week for cycling in Flanders, with Sunday, our Easter: De Ronde van Vlaanderen (the tour of Flanders). Hallelujah!
I’ve listened to the pundits on podcasts and on Belgian TV. I’ve read the interviews. The likely scenario is simple and easy to predict: a duel between Mathieu and Tadej. Yet, we are all secretly hoping for a surprise element. A strong early break away? Mads? Filippo? And with some luck, Wout.
The women’s race will be equally exciting: a lot of strong riders of different teams are present: Longo Borghini, Vos, Reusser, Kopecky. The previous female races this year have been boring. That page is turned heading into Flanders. Team SDWorx also has an ace up their sleeve with Wiebes.
