So quick review of the new Ricoh GR 4:

The anti iPhone, anti AI?

So a new thought about the new Ricoh GR 4–> one holding it in my palm, in the palm of my hands:

The first interesting observation is, they made it a lot lots smaller in terms of the overall dimensions, which means, actually… It looks smaller than an iPhone? Maybe smaller than the iPhone Pro?

Ultra insanely , insane zen presence

This is the second thought: and this is something that I’ve observed for myself, for a while when I was both simultaneously using ChatGPT and grok, I just stopped moving whenever I was using it, which means, my observation: 

Any technology that you’re using which actually disrupts your movement is bad.

For example, even with X, and financial bitcoin news… a big problem that I’ve observed is, whenever I’m on my iPad Pro, and I have all these tabs open on X…. the big problem is, I like stop moving. Even though I’m outside, topless, in the direct sun, intermittently lifting weights, I stop moving, which is not good.

So what I did was, I logged out of my X account, and a funny thought:

perhaps the virtue of using an iPhone is, you’re actually a lot less efficient on it which means you spend less time on news and websites? Because you can only single task. 

Movement

The best camera is the one that fits in your front right pocket, and also the one that you don’t really have to think about using. The truth is any camera that is not a Ricoh gr,,, is pouring disregard. All Leica cameras, all Fujifilm cameras etc… no. And at this point, it’s actually not even a money thing, at this point I could afford any Camera on the planet, regardless of price, but ultimately at the end of the day what do I care most? Creating art, artwork, and my primary tool for creating art and artwork is a camera.

standalone digital cameras are cool now?

Something that no one really saw coming is, this funny hilarious irony that actually… If you really really think about it… You would think that all the Gen Z,,, and maybe late stage millennials would all about being using the iPhone but actually… Interesting thing is because they started with it so early, everyone already kinda knows that using an iPhone is not really that good for them… And actually, Gen Z is not really addicted to their phones, they know how to manage and moderate their use, whereas millennials like myself, or maybe even Gen X… They have no self-control?

So I see a lot more young people, what they do is actually use standalone digital cameras, … and I’ve seen a lot of them! Which is a good news.

speed

I think the biggest shocker in terms of performance for the new Ricoh GR 4 is,  how much faster it is. It might not be that much faster if you do the math, but when you’re using it, in terms of the improved turn on and turn off speeds, the new GR processor, which means it feels like practically zero lag zero shutter lag and zero image writing buffer lag… feels like upgrading from a Toyota Camry to a Tesla model S plaid.

And I think this is also my realization:

better to have worse durability, but superior performance over a shorter horizon, rather than having the thing that will last forever but less performance.

For example, it’s probably better to have an all carbon fiber road bike or racing bike that might only last you a year or two, but give you like 50% more speed rather than having an old-school flange 2, all steel that will last you like 30 years but, be 50% slower,, and like 70% heavier.

And this is the thing with the Ricoh GR camera… Honestly if you’re heavy user like myself, I think my last camera had about 700,000 actuations on it before it died… it is not meant to last more than like two or three years at Tops? Kind of like an iPhone? 

So then the issue comes with the whole thing, the annoyance of having to keep by a new version, whenever your old one dies. But f’ing c’est la vie. 

So why does this matter?

This matters a lot.

For example, … as photographers… I think there’s like so much wasted energy time resources, brain power, attention whatever which is directed towards purchasing whatever X optimal camera. And it matters, and I suppose what I am looking for as a photographer is maximal truth-seeking. Or “truth-maxxing” as I’ve heard online, maybe from Elon.

Who to trust, who NOT to trust?

I suppose now, my opinion on things, cameras photography and the lake has become much much more “truthy”, because … pretty much like 99.9% of my income now comes from bitcoin, bitcoin related investments, yield, MSTR, MSTU, MSTX, MTPLF (Metaplanet, 3350 in Japan,,,, buy it Hiroaki!). If anything, I had a thought the other day,

Powered by bitcoin.

So as I’m preparing my Japan trip, and also Japan workshop, but then becomes interesting is, this idea of life, the purpose of life whatever, and a simple one is to just keep traveling, and witnessing as many diverse landscapes as you can until you die.  I think a paleontologist who dug up dinosaur bones at the natural history museum in LA said something like this.

So a very very simple formula is purchase bitcoin on Coinbase, then use the “borrow” feature,,, essentially, posting your bitcoin as collateral, and essentially you can cash out any amount of money against your bitcoin whenever… To finance your lifestyle your travels, etc. And this becomes a super genius move because, this is what all the wealthy investors in the past, I think Robert Kiosaki, the rich dad poor dad guy, had this strategy in the past:

borrow money at low interest rates, to purchase real estate, and as the value of your real estate goes up, you can then use that new leak gained collateral, to keep purchasing new rental properties or whatever, rinse and repeat.

Or it’s kind of like purchasing real estate in Manhattan. If you’ve never been to fifth Avenue, if you’ve never seen Rockefeller Square in person, …  look for the Atlas statue, it’s kind of insane. And the strategy is simple:

If like 100 years ago, your family were finance years, worked in real estate whatever, and you were able to take out like a small loan from the bank at a small interest rate like 5%, borrow $1 million to purchase like 10 square blocks in Manhattan, on fifth Avenue… Would you do it?

And, assuming in like five years the value of that real estate in Manhattan doubles, what you then do is, using that new accrued capital value, then, unlock that money to then purchase another 10 square blocks of Manhattan, rinse and repeat until you own like all of Manhattan, and then your heirs heirs heirs heirs heirs will be happy and rich forever.

You can do the same with bitcoin, the only thing you gotta be careful is the LTV, loan to value. 65% or less is the “good” green zone. I think like 86% LTV like the liquidation danger zone in which, if the price of bitcoin drops like five or 10% in a night, while you’re sleeping, you can get forced liquidated overnight in your sleep, or randomly in the middle of the day, when you’re at the dentist,… and then… You’ve essentially suffered economic death, which is probably the worst thing that could happen to you assuming that you have a family a wife and kids.

But anyways, … my ultimate goal for you, is for you to become like the best or the most liberated the most empowered photographer possible, without all of the fake or unnecessary noise. Ideas:

1. If you already have an older Ricoh GR, don’t upgrade it, just shoot with it until it dies and no longer turns on or charges.
2. If you do not yet own a Ricoh GR, purchase the newest one.
3. If black and white is your passion, and you literally want the best black-and-white camera on the planet, possibly even superior to the Leica Q and Leica M monochrome,,, Ricoh monochrome is, in my opinion,,, the best camera on the planet. irregardless of price. And it’s only like $2200!

What next

Adventure is calling you, the only other thing that is more important than your camera is actually probably your clothing.

100% merino wool , all merino wool everything still seems like the best bet, if you travel, planning on traveling etc.

Exofficio underwear, 2x when you travel, … if you want maximum hip mobility just get the underwear version (looks like a “V”). The upside is maximum hip mobility and also, because it is less material it should wash and dry faster in the shower or sink overnight.

Merino wool leggings

Was kind of interesting with 100% Marino wool, is that kind of acts like some sort of buffer, to sweat and stuff.

So typically, when you sweat in cotton or other fabrics or whatever… The material sucks and wicks the moisture and then all the sweat becomes absorbed in the clothing. This happens with linen cotton etc.

What’s kind of interesting with Merino wool is that like this what kind of becomes deflected, and maybe dries naturally quicker? After much experimentation and thinking about it… When it comes down to it… Animal made fibers or products are supreme because, like if you’re a sheep mountain goat or something, the material you naturally use are gonna be best produced to protect yourself from the elements, whereas linen from flaxseeds, or cotton… While repurposed for human clothing and use,… trust animals over plants.

So just go on Amazon and just buy the cheapest 100% merino wool leggings available. And once again guys, 100% merino wool has poor durability … don’t expect it to last for longer than like one or two years. Whenever it wears out you’ll always have to buy a new one but once again, that’s the name of the game.

And for shirts, just a simple 100% merino wool tshirt, tank top or whatever is fine. If you just want one merino wool T-shirt to travel the world with, live nomadically,… off the grid, just get the cut 1 version on outlier.nyc.  if you have a home or a house and you’re not always on the road just buy the cheapest 100% merino wool tshirt on amazon.

In fact, the truth is… And this is my observation, it’s better to buy clothing stuff on Amazon with the most supreme materials booked by a random brand from China rather than purchasing some overpriced polyester from a name brand in America.

So for example, better to buy a $50 100% merino wool tshirt from Amazon made in China,  rather than a 100% polyester lululemon shirt from “America” (the truth is it is all made in Vietnam now or Cambodia).

What else?

We’re kind of going through this weird phase where, AI is disrupting everything including social media. Nobody cares about Instagram anymore, even TikTok seems tired. Yet ChatGPT OpenAI apparently closed Sora, … and there’s kind of like this rush of confusion right now. Everyone is dumping their money into Nvidia… Thinking that AI is going to take over the planet but the truth is… I’m starting to think more that, AI is kind of more of a gimmick. For example I’ve canceled and stopped my subscription to ChatGPT and Grok,,, for like a month and a half, and I actually haven’t noticed any real downsides to my life. If anything, I have less carpal tunnel on my thumbs because I’m doing less copy and pasting and chatting with AI. 

so then where is the future?

If you just want to maximize your investment and returns, just buy bitcoin and/or MSTR, ironically enough I think investing in Nvidia and AI is actually more risky because once again, if Trump puts out another tariff against foreign made chips, or a new disruptive way is created how to produce AI chips, not going to be good for chipmakers. And also the funny thing is even though AI is ephemeral, the chips are still a physics physical made product which once again has too many risk factors. If the US government can blockade or seize a ship of chips made for AI made in China or Vietnam, investing in a chip producing company is too risky. 

A simple leverage you could do, and what I have done is purchase a lot of bitcoins, then borrow against your bitcoin to purchase MSTR,,, and just chill and wait for it to moon. 

Apple?

Now that Tim Cook is moving onto better things, well done Tim, the future of Apple seems bearish. I honestly think the new guy will actually do more innovative things take more risks, but once again, who knows if the iPhone 26 Pro Max is going to be any good. And I’m also sure that ChatGPT 30 years from now will be probably more interesting than the newest iPhone.

noGoogle

In terms of investments, people are pouring their money into Google but still… Gemini is lame. The UI-UX sucks, and they try to pay too much respect to copyright.

photo future

So then, my simple solution to life is like some sort of hybrid-centaur of photography & travel. All you gotta do is drop like $1500 to $2200 on a Ricoh gr camera,,, and you’re set… and then just use the rest of the money to travel the planet?

ERIC

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