A local business ignored me on several occasions. Then one day, as I was walking down the street, someone there greeted me with a “hello.” I was surprised. When you ignore someone often enough, they make other plans. Whatever service you offer can become redundant.

I’m not a bitter person, so if there’s a next time, I’ll greet them with a smile. Everyone has to learn there’s a price to pay for being rude.

The markets have been more unsettled. AI and semiconductors have fallen considerably since the Democrats won both chambers. I’m concerned, but I still believe in the AI trade. The robot trade has another 10 to 20 years to run, I think, so I’ll be buying.

I also got stopped out of Amazon during a freak percentage-point fall. I don’t know whether bad investments make good teachers, but as a Mag 7 stock, it should not probably have had a stop on it.

I’ll be investing during the week. I’m glad some balance has come back. The midterm results show there’s more than one way to get to where we want to buy.

I was also reading some investment advice with plenty of paid subscribers. The phrase that stuck with me was “radical left.” Who in investment would say that when there are only two choices in American politics? That has to be some kind of intellectual deficit.

As always, buyer beware.

Below is Ai's recommendation for Living on the Isle of Man. I will be trying some of these in the next couple of months and seeing what comes back.

Living on the Isle of Man (situated at approximately 54° N latitude) represents a highly unique, specific case study within Dr. Jack Kruse’s bio-physics framework.

Because your maternal uncoupled lineages (Norway and Northern England) are indigenous to the North Atlantic and Irish Sea geographic regions, your cellular blueprint is inherently designed for this specific ecosystem. However, living on an island at this latitude requires playing by very strict environmental rules to keep your mitochondria healthy.

1. The Power of the North Atlantic Boundary

According to Kruse, living on an island like the Isle of Man gives you a profound advantage: immediate, zero-resistance grounding.

• Because you are surrounded by the Irish Sea, the air and land have a massive negative ionic charge.

• Stepping barefoot into the cold Manx ocean or onto the wet shoreline instantly pulls positive electrostatic charges (inflammation) out of your body.

• Marine life in the cold Irish Sea provides an abundance of cold-water seafood and DHA (Docosahexaegenic Acid). Kruse states that a high-DHA seafood diet acts as a direct liquid-crystalline semiconductor inside your cell membranes, allowing your Northern "uncoupled" genes to transform local light into electrical current much more efficiently.

2. Navigating the Low-Light Manx Winter

The major challenge of living at 54° N is the lack of ultraviolet (UV) light for a large portion of the year. Your uncoupled mitochondria are designed to shift gears when the sun goes down. [1]

• The Winter Rule: In winter, your body expects total darkness and cold temperatures. If you spend winter nights inside a house under artificial LED lighting, or staring at blue-lit screens, your suprachiasmatic nucleus (the brain's clock) panics. It thinks it is a tropical summer while your skin senses winter, dropping your cellular charge and inducing a state of chronic inflammation. [1, 2]

• The Cold Mandate: To offset the winter darkness, you must embrace Cold Thermogenesis (CT). Your Norwegian/Northern English genes are meant to utilize cold temperatures to stimulate fat burning and release infrared energy internally to repair your organs when the solar supply is gone. [1]

3. High Latitude Optimization Strategy

To thrive on the Isle of Man using Kruse’s framework, your lifestyle needs to mimic the ancient rhythmic constraints of the Irish Sea:

• Sunrises over the Sea: Regardless of cloud cover, view the sunrise outside with naked eyes every morning. The early morning spectrum contains vital red and infrared light that structures the water layers inside your cells, preparing your clock genes for the day.

• Eat the Local Ocean: Prioritize wild-caught, cold-water seafood (oysters, mackerel, herring, salmon). Your uncoupled genetics require an intense concentration of marine fats to insulate your cardiolipin from the low solar environment.

• Winter Cold Exposure: Do not shelter from the Manx elements in winter. Cold exposure, sea swimming, or cold showers force your uncoupled respiratory proteins to generate raw thermal energy, keeping your body's magnetic alignment clean.

• Blackout Modern Tech: Limit indoor non-native EMF (Wi-Fi, 5G) and install blue-blocking software or wear amber-tinted lenses after sunset to respect the true northern light cycle

At some point, of course, we realise or notice something odd — why would X do that, what could be the reason for it? And then we might discover that we’ve been holding a long, false assumption. Trickery or foolery. The goods were not delivered; the potential was never there. We can only hope that our investment was small.

Of course, you can apply the same thought process to investing. It all comes down to real potential. You can often see it expressed in small things, because small things matter. It could read like this: they might have a great mind, but if they can’t greet you in a positive way, how is this going to work?

So this week I am beginning the process of reducing the number of positions in my portfolio, focusing on founder‑led businesses. I’ve always thought that there would be some manipulation in the push for the ‘hot’ ideas — run it hot, so to speak. When something gets too much attention, it often appears they’re going the opposite way. Today we’ll find out this afternoon what new or recycled idea they have to run hot again.

Is volatility our friend? Ultimately no because you’re just putting a finger in the air and guessing which way things will go. Of course, there’s the overarching principle that whatever direction comes from the White House is expected to push markets upward.

Let's take a look at the world first. Clearly, we are living in more volatile times than certainly I have ever experienced in my life. Just a few weeks ago, one debated whether interest rates would go up or down. Twenty years ago, it would have been inconceivable that they could go down or even stay the same. They did go up, which restored confidence back to the markets—or perhaps, better said, some confidence.

Of course, we've still got the Trump administration trying to demonstrate that they are different. However, the market rules, and the market appears to be saying: stop being a prat, invading shit; higher oil prices are a problem for one. Not least because it means inflation, which means higher interest rates that no government, for sure, can afford.

I have been traveling the last week. I was down in Brighton for an exchange and was really struck just by how many happy people there seemed to be when I got off the train. It's the most well-known Green constituency in the UK and clearly a very happy, successful place. The place was buzzing. What I really liked about Brighton was its commitment to the circular economy. Proving the obvious really.

While we have an election here in the Isle of Man, I wonder how to decide our future. There are no Green candidates, unfortunately, so laughter and happiness may be in short supply. However, it is highly contested, and that comes first as we rattle on down the roads of democracy, keeping the wagon on the road.

So, investing-wise, I am moving more into small-caps and seem quite struck by Rob Vinall's approach. There are still things that I would like to do, and I think a big part of life is being able to decide when and how you get things done. I have been a momentum investor for the last couple of years; however, I may be moving back from that. The idea of creating space to be and think has quite a lot of drawing power and is the most efficient use of time.

One of the issues she raises is that we now live in a society where many people have no idea what is actually going on. With the advent of AI, you can create anything, at any time, about anything, and people can, or possibly will, believe it. That’s a problem.

Of course this will resolve itself over time, although I’ve no idea how. One thing’s for sure: it’s exhausting living in Alice’s Wonderland. We’ll probably end up with technology or systems that help verify what’s actually going on. I recommend giving the letter a read — I thought it was timely and very much in tune with the current moment.

This video made the same point. I firmly believe that you have to practise democracy or, as they say, practise it or lose it. When it’s actually practised, as the podcast below demonstrated, it rights the boat. It puts things in a reasonable order and gives us a chance to make a success of the future.

Darren Faber explains https://t.co/YxNyOwMbp8

Maybe even write something to bring one's active focus back to where it should be. The market is complicated at the moment. I am starting to side with the idea that the straits will open sooner rather than later. How secure they will be, only time will tell; however, there will be an extra premium payable to pass through, whether through insurance or the Iranians themselves.

I always like the concept of looking at what is cheaper. If the straits open, would retail bounce back? The biggest question of all is: when will we get the next drop in Semis?

Another matter: today I sold some positions in two major software companies Fig and Adobe, and here is why.

If a stock goes down by 50 percent in a few months, it is concerning. The thesis here is that AI will find cheaper alternatives or better ways of doing things. There is perhaps some truth in this. On the other side, humans still need to interact and do something, so they will need tools to do that. I have stepped out here. Perhaps I should have done it at 41 for Fig. However, I will be watching this area over the next 6 months.

Strategic Angle, Instead of focusing only on whether AI replaces existing tools, consider which firms are building the bridges between automation and human interaction. Look for signs of resilient demand: companies that remain indispensable even as AI reshapes workflows. - Track partnerships and adoption rates — these often reveal whether a company is adapting or being left behind.

The older you get, the answers perhaps become a lot clearer. It’s about sitting down and taking 20 minutes a day to be with that thought. To live in that place that you want to be in the future.

It is often said that 'blondes have more fun,' or put another way, optimistic people get more out of life. Of course, we are living in a period of change. The Second World War was a period of change. The Industrial Revolution was a period of change. The Romans leaving Great Britain was a period of change. These changes brought forward things that could not have been thought possible. The level of healthcare we have today simply could not have been imagined even 200 years ago. So, the future is hard for us to imagine. However, at the basic level, we will keep doing the things we have always done."

Here are two very different takes on the next five years:

Buy here: https://amzn.to/4b18UbQ

Here on the Isle of Man we have an election year. So that could mean some kind of change. Or change disguised and hidden in not even fancy words. Seriously, I do think people want change. I don’t think it’s about left, right, or being in the middle any more. I just think people want things that work. Not just about an ordinary or mediocre way, but in an efficient, deserving manner.

They want health care that works and gets the job done. Nobody wants to be in hospitals any longer than they have to. However, to make that efficient would mean some uncomfortable truths about the price and quality we receive. Still, I think this is going to be an election point.

Boats and the cost of getting off the Island. One is always surprised that a private operator has not stepped in and offered a high-speed passenger boat to Liverpool. A hundred people at £50 is £5,000 per trip. Take off your costs—there has to be a good margin in there.

Accountability—this is where it gets really difficult, though. If 1/7 of the population works for the government, how much accountability do they really want? When everyone is your sister’s best or brother’s best friend, what are you going to do? Despite all that, I think that a large proportion of the island wants to know that they are paying market rates when a road is being resurfaced or that the Financial Ombudsman is value for money.

As always, time will tell.

With the development of prediction markets, you will even be able to put your money where your mouth is instead of venting on social media. Interesting times indeed.

Perhaps an important question to ask yourself, and indeed any other party involved, is: Where do they see the effect of this decision in 5 to 10 years’ time? At that point, the consequences of the decision will be well known.

Some people will say that the only concern is to get the best deal for yourself. However, therein lies a fault. If you know that there will be fewer retail shops in the future, then negotiating a high-level rent is only going to end in tears for all parties. Sometimes you have to be the grown-up. Because at some point, you may want to exit from the deal, and having to spend time and resources renegotiating the wrong deal is simply inefficient.

I expect that the market in 10 years will be broadly positive. However, it will also be very different. The effects of AI and digital currency will be comparable to the information revolution of the 1960s and the industrial revolution of the 1880s, depending on where you lived.

I like the motto: only do business with people you like. At least if you get taken advantage of, you won’t mind so much. One thing is certain: doing business with people you are unsure of is a road to suffering. We live in an age where there are more choices than ever. If you don’t like the deal, you can go and find another one. The world is not going to be short on deals — there is a never‑ending, infinite supply of them.

“what is a deal”, it’s not just a transaction — it’s a commitment with consequences. The real wisdom lies in looking beyond the immediate terms to how that deal shapes the future.

So, as we begin the new year, let’s take a look at what to expect. I’m ready to put my money where my mouth is.

1. I expect commodities to be a good investment this next year. For the simple reason that they can maintain pricing power. Debasement of currencies is a real thing that is happening everywhere.

2. Tech will keep doing its thing — because that is what it does. However, you want to stick with the big players for safety, unless you have an interest that could be called an edge. I expect some of the biosciences to be pretty interesting if you have the interest.

3. Investments made in EVs and solar are about to start paying off in a big way. Battery prices are already falling, and energy demand is set to climb. Beyond the financial gains, you’ll also be helping the world move toward a cleaner, more sustainable future.

4. To be continued...in part 2

It struck me that this isn’t just a local issue. I imagine it’s a UK-wide problem too.

Here’s why.

Large companies — Tesco, Amazon, and the like — dominate the market. Tesco alone made £1.6 billion in profit last year. They can steamroll prices and products in a way that small, independent shops simply can’t compete with. If Tesco decides to sell cards, paint, or ironing boards, they don’t even need to make a profit on those items. They just do it to keep the overall machine running, ensuring their billions keep climbing.

And yet, these corporations present themselves as community champions. They donate money, sponsor events, and talk about how much they care. But at the same time, their sheer scale and strategy stamp out businesses that have truly been part of the community for generations.

It makes me wonder: are they contributing to a generation that doesn’t care? A generation that sees convenience and low prices as the only measure of value, forgetting the deeper role that local shops play in our towns and villages.

The second experience was out at Glen Maye fair in Patrick — a craft fair put on by local residents. There were handmade Christmas decorations, sponges, soaps, dresses, reusable Nollick Ghennal ornaments, hats, and more, all lovingly created.

I spent quite a bit of money there, but more importantly, I was reminded of something: we mean more to each other than global business ever could. Our relationships with one another are what help us survive the dark winter days and the endless rain we get on the island.

There will be change. I don’t know when, but I don’t think the big companies are going to get their way forever. Because in the end, it’s not about prices. It’s about something much more important than that. It’s about the value we bring to each other.

It’s almost meditative, isn’t it? Like, the phone exists only when you need it — not as a portal to endless distraction.

Mist sprays at Bus stops in hot city. Why not. You want people to go some where make comfortable.

I like the inside of these metro trains a rch green in Kyoto. They felt some how tranquil and relaxing.

Why not if you like it travel on the elegant saloon. Public transport should be top class a first choice not a second.

you got it

flaunt it a lovely bird on display. Ecosystems are not about one entity but a mix of entities.