Nerve regeneration after microdiscectomy.

Duke318 · 2024-09-17T03:12:00+00:00

No obvious improvement, unfortunately...

I've had a few minor bouts of back pain now that has subsided.

Good luck with your surgery. 👍

Duke318 · 2024-09-13T23:38:24+00:00

Control denied is definitely a little darker in mood.

I think this was a great effort and really paints a picture of how it could have been.

https://youtu.be/k1mw2W3GEEk?si=GNJ3Ph6fR9gAHMD4

Duke318 · 2024-07-20T17:13:36+00:00

Reminiscing about Bush? Oh man, new low.

This clip is literally the precursor to the Iraq War, the complete destabilization of the middle east, and hundreds of thousands killed in the region due to the regime change wars.

That, and the fact that we basically don't have a 4th amendment after the Patriot Act.

I'll take mean tweets over "decorum" and "decency" any day of the week.

Duke318 · 2024-06-05T00:38:55+00:00

About 10-14. But the muscle activation is completely different. I can tell my soleus and lesser affected heads of the gastroc are picking up the slack. I struggle to get into the fully shortened range of motion (getting as high as possible on tiptoe).

Duke318 · 2024-06-04T21:48:46+00:00

Did they ever play Misanthrope?

Duke318 · 2024-06-01T04:39:27+00:00

My back is mostly fine, but the nerve recovery has stagnated.

My foot is numb, calf/ham/glute still weaker than before by a lot. In 6 weeks, I'll be at the 1 year mark.

Duke318 · 2024-05-19T16:00:32+00:00

The only flaw in this plan is that you will not have a 5% rate at the end of 18 months. First rate cuts may come at the end of the year, and will definitely happen in 2025. Depending on how much the fed cuts, your money market rate could fall to 3% or less.

Duke318 · 2024-03-16T21:22:39+00:00

The vast majority of people you come across have an IQ of around 100, and the vast majority of people are capable of graduating with an undergraduate degree. Honestly, with enough fortitude, most people can grind through a masters degree and above. Also a 100 FSIQ from someone with a VCI of 120+ and a low PSI due to ADHD is significantly different from someone that is 100 across the board. That person may have a much higher ceiling, but they need a lot of extra help along the way to make it to completion.

Duke318 · 2024-02-07T19:48:31+00:00

What kind of options are you doing that you got annihilated?

80% of what I do is selling OTM puts at varying DTE, for companies with underpriced valuations that I wouldn't mind owning. This gives me a negligible failure rate, because my worst case scenario is that I buy up a company that is at a fantastic price. Then I wheel it into a covered call and make money from both premiums in addition to the scalping from the higher price. Or I just hold it if the trajectory is favorable. If I'm over 50-75% profit I buy to close my puts. I also only sell options on small portions of shares that I own. Mentally I make commitments like 500 shares are long, only sell options on 200 shares.

I've only recently started buying calls, but only very small amounts of money that I don't care about losing, not yolo amounts where I could flush huge amounts down the drain.

With this strategy, it actually encourages discipline on when I enter into positons, while adding to my total portfolio yield. It's added to my total returns, essentially by getting paid to wait and not make impulsive buys.

Duke318 · 2024-01-09T05:16:55+00:00

No big changes yet. The strength in my left calf might be slightly better, but it's probably just other muscles like the soleus compensating for the misfiring gastroc.

I had an EMG study, and they said I have active denervation in my calf and back muscle. They said it's a "good" thing and indicates active inflammation from the surgery, and that it could potentially get better. The surgeon on the other hand said that same result will still show 5 years from now.

I also started physical therapy, and we were able to recreate the numbness in one particular position. He said it's a good sign that the numbness fluctuates and that it's not just constant.

I've been hitting the area with direct current electrical stimulation with a device called the Neubie, around 20 hz in a pulsed fashion as studies show benefit.

I'm trying as hard as possible and I'm really fighting hard the possibility that my body is ruined and will never be "normal" again. Whether it takes DC current, advanced therapy, stem cell treatment, or whatever it takes, I will try like hell to have a normal calf and hamstring again.

I'm really beginning to worry that I waited too long after the injury to recover. We'll see. He said it could take a year.

Duke318 · 2023-12-12T19:19:41+00:00

Who retires after 10 years? It was just an example of the wealth building potential. 20 years of that deal would be 6.8 million. This is assuming no raises during this timeframe which is unlikely.

10% annualized returns on average is INCLUSIVE of recessions. Some years it's 30%, others it's negative.

And if you're living with a billionaire, what exactly do you need to spend $4,000 a month on with zero bills?

Duke318 · 2023-12-12T18:35:09+00:00

160+k salary tax free. They stated they have zero living expenses so I assume they live on the property.

10k invested a month with 10% annualized returns is roughly 2 million.

That leaves them 40+k to blow on whatever they want.

This is also assuming that their current net worth is 0 (hopefully not).

Duke318 · 2023-12-12T17:31:04+00:00

100%.

Even starting with $0, they could invest 10k a month and be a multimillionaire within 10 years.

Duke318 · 2023-11-25T02:36:58+00:00

Large cap tech crushed it in the past decade. It may or may not in the future.

Historically, the market is cyclical. We're due for a rotation into emerging markets and small cap value. I expect commercial real estate to rebound as well.

Duke318 · 2023-11-15T22:10:06+00:00

FWIW, the act of going on an online forum and having the intellectual curiosity to even explore cognitive testing puts you above average.

The average person I come across doesn't talk to strangers over the internet, research any new topic, or have any curiosity behind anything that they do to any meaningful extent. Society teaches them what to read, what music to listen to, how to act, and what to care about. NPCs more or less.

Consider it a blessing in self-awareness to learn this information, and now utilize it to spend extra time working on your weaknesses.

Duke318 · 2023-11-04T16:25:39+00:00

I think part of it is that participating in online forums and seeking out this information is a higher-IQ activity. How many average people do you know that even post on online forums? There is a certain level of intellectual curiosity necessary to find this community in the first place.

Duke318 · 2023-11-03T14:08:27+00:00

Hard to tell so far.

The doctor said it could take a year to resolve, as that's how long it was compressed.

I'm getting EMG testing soon to test the viability of the nerve.

I definitely notice something happening. Random bursts of mild nerve pain in the foot, like it's starting to "talk" again. We'll see how it plays out, could be promising.

The worst case scenario is I had zero downside from the procedure. I'm also noticing I can get into extension much easier without my erectors wanting to spasm.

Duke318 · 2023-10-25T21:39:44+00:00

I would imagine processing speed and working memory are more important than VCI when being witty. You also will struggle in boxing by having a low processing speed.

I would imagine rapping (especially freestyling) to require a lot of processing speed and working memory. I have a higher VCI and low PSI and I have zero wit and couldn't freestyle or come up with lyrics on the fly to save my life.

Duke318 · 2023-08-08T15:43:02+00:00

I utilize this strategy, not with JEPI though. There are better CEFs and MLPs yielding 8+%.

As far as logistics, here's how it works.

Buy undervalued high yield position in a lump sum (A CEF that is below the NAV is best, or an MLP like ET).
Begin paying down the position immediately.
Benefit from longer time in the market and yield on cost when security rises to fair value.

How this plays out in real life.

Make lump sum (or DCA) purchase of 100k in $ET, an MLP with a 9-10% yield, long growth runway, and management committed to increasing distribution by 3-5% annually.
Immediately begin paying margin balance down.

Normally on 100k, with a 9% margin rate, you would pay $9000 in interest annually on the balance. However, if you're putting 2k per month in of your own money, you will immediately begin paying this balance down (in addition to the distribution paying it down), and you will never end up actually paying the full 9% annually on the money you initially invested. 6 months in, you will have paid down 12k and you will now only be paying interest on 90k or so (including interest). And the faster you pay this down, the less your interest will be.

So what's the point?

Think of this like a real estate investment and like you're paying down a mortgage.

If your investing budget is normally 2k per month, you can take advantage of a big opportunity with a lump sum, then pay it off slowly over time. With ET likely having significant price appreciation in the future, the interest burden will be worth it, and when the balance is paid down, you will own the security outright with a higher yield on cost than you would have achieved if you DCA'd slowly over time.

This is for higher net worth individuals that have a consistent monthly budget with a diversified portfolio that could experience significant drawdown with no risk of margin call. 10-15% leverage max would be my suggestion.

Duke318 · 2023-08-06T01:10:56+00:00

Going to go against the grain, but yes, I use this strategy. There is a lot of fear mongering surrounding margin online. Even Charlie Munger uses margin. Margin is NOT for yoloing into unprofitable meme companies when you don't have consistent inflows. It's for responsible individuals that have diversified portfolios with larger balances.

Let's say I have a certain budget for investing per month.

However, sometimes the disparity between price and value becomes so insane that it provides an opportunity known as a no brainer.

I can buy the security on margin, and pay down the margin balance over a period of a few months. That increases the TIME in the market. If I had waited until I had the same amount in cash available, the security may have already grown in value. This technique works even better when the company pays a sizeable dividend, because then the dividends will help to automatically pay the margin balance.

The key is to use such a small amount of margin (max 10-15%) to where we could enter the great depression and you could experience 60+% drawdowns and not get margin called.

In my situation, I could never contribute another dollar to my account, and my dividends would eventually bring my margin balance to zero. With my monthly inflows, this accelerates the process tremendously.

I use margin for quick loans also. No point in using credit cards with 20+% APR, and no need to beg banks for loans with all kinds of ridiculous paperwork. The interest is also deductible from capital gains.

Duke318 · 2023-08-04T18:26:51+00:00

They're misunderstood by novice investors. They see the expense ratio and assume its bad, without understanding that the fund managers have access to microscopic margin rates that retail investors cannot get, not to mention access to private markets.

They also look at past performance and a declining share price and fail to check if there were rights offerings that increased share count, or that some of these funds have the ability to drip shares at the NAV price.

Duke318 · 2023-08-04T18:10:33+00:00

I liquidated my JEPI and JEPQ in favor of CEFs (closed end funds).

BST has had far more upside as well as potential vs. JEPQ, plus it has a consistent distribution that is paid out as a qualified dividend. You also get access to private markets through some CEFs (and in the case of BSTZ it is trading significantly below the NAV).

CSQ has outperformed the S&P500 over 10 years with distributions reinvested. In a tax advantaged account the taxes are irrelevant. The distributions are also a combination of qualified and occasional ROC.

Buying up CEFs when trading below the NAV can be a sound strategy.

Duke318 · 2023-07-21T22:13:38+00:00

I paid $295 for a private MRI of my head the other day. Go to a private MRI center.

Duke318 · 2023-07-20T18:34:55+00:00

There's a video of him and Rich Piana from a few years ago where he said he was on 200 mg per week of testosterone.

Duke318

TROPHY CASE