So the time has finally come: Tim Cook is retiring later this year and has named his successor, John Ternus, senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. I liked that someone in hardware is going to lead Apple in its next phase in this new AI paradigm. I've been trying to find a Mac Mini the past couple of weeks; the Apple Stores have a backlog until July and all the marketplaces (Craigslist, Facebook, Swappa, eBay) have Mac Minis or M1 Max Macbooks priced quite high relative to their pre-OpenClaw prices.

Given the successor announcement and my difficulty in locating an affordable Mac Mini, I decided to place a small buy order of AAPL today. I opened a small position of $10,000 to start tracking the stock. From my research, I've noted that the Apple hardware differs from Windows in that the memory is unified (or shared) across OS and GPU. What that means in practice is that the memory can be used flexibly across CPU and GPU which is a powerful combination. In the Windows world, which I am most familiar with, my computer RAM and Nvidia GPU RAM (aka Video RAM or VRAM) are separate. 

When loading up local AI models, I'm limited by my GPU's RAM. Since I have an Nvidia 5080 that means my max VRAM is 16GB which is not that much; I can accommodate a model that is has about 13B parameters or so. Whereas a Mac with 32GB can use a much more powerful model. 

In my experience as a consumer trying to run AI models, my first preference would be use a local model since my costs are fixed. I don't see a massive market for on-demand inference where consumers are paying for tokens. People like Netflix and YouTube because the costs are known upfront. Given the pace of open source AI models, I expect that Apple silicone is going to be able to power ever more powerful open source models within the next 3 years. That will create demand for Apple hardware. Of course, cloud inference will always be around but will mostly be used by enterprises.

I'm excited for Apple. Having a hardware guy at the helm is the exact type of person they need to lead the company now. 

Back in 2021, during Covid, I purchased an Artem RM-style deployant hoping to pair it with my IWC Big Pilot. But, alas, I couldn't get the fitting just right and the deployant required a tiny flathead screwdriver which I didn't own at the time.

Fast forward ~5 years later I finally found a screwdriver that fits the screw. I had it all along and never thought of using it until now. I actually bought an eyeglass screwdriver kit off Amazon for $4.50 but the flat edge was too thick so it didn't work. Of course, I was 3 days past the return window so now I have an unused, brand new screwdriver kit for whenever someone's eyeglasses' screw comes loose. 

The deployant is actually quite easy to install once the pin screw is screwed in. If makes a secure fit, much better than simply using a spring bar.

Here is the final result, which I quite like. The buckle is quite thin so it doesn't feel bulky. One thing that was surprising to me was that the deployant adds a bit of length so I actually had to size down. I'm now using the last strap hole. Shoutout to Holben's Watch Strap  for selling me the Fluco Alcantara watch strap for $45. You can get a coupon for signing up as a new customer.

I'm not usually a day trader, but I couldn't help myself when Trump and his team informed the public earlier this week that the President is going to make a speech to the American public on Wednesday at 9 pm ET. 

Leading up to the speech, Marco Rubio released the following 2 min video:

His tone made me feel less than 100% confident in the administration's plan, so I decided to follow my gut and place an order to buy two put options on $QQQ at $575. In other words, I'd only make money if $QQQ traded below the strike price of $575; the stock closed April 1 at $584.31, which means it would have to dip 2% before I make any money.

Here's the Trump speech:

This morning, I saw that $QQQ was trading at or just below $585, so I immediately placed a market order to close my position. I pocketed nearly $400. It feels good to make money and even better following my gut. However, as Drunkenmiller has said, it doesn't matter that you're right: You need to be right AND have conviction (by putting up a big position). It's fine to lose (a little bit of) money and be wrong, but not that great if you're right and made only a few bucks. 

Thankfully I sold in time (hey, making money is still making money) as $QQQ has since recovered from this morning's low:

Over a sufficiently long period of time, VTI has always had a positive return. There's something to be said about a buy and hold mentality and the American economy's innovative spirit. If you have the patience, the power of compounding even works in your favor because of the dividends that are paid that generate a return when reinvested. Bet on America.

On the other hand, buying single stocks and holding may not necessarily get you any returns. In this case, I've held Disney for over a decade and actually LOST money. Who would have thought that Disney, known for its parks and movies, could have negative returns after holding for a decade??