Last Week I Learned

A Peek into Pittsburgh and Nerdy Tools | Week 3 of April 2026

Jimmy Cerone — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 20:11:41 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Link of the Week

Neighborhoods of Pittsburgh - Hazelwood - It is rare that a neighborhood, let alone a city, get rich visual love letters written to them. Dean Bog made 23 of them, just in Pittsburgh. I've spent every morning of the last week teleporting around the city of Pittsburgh with Dean. What a joy. Start here with the Hazelwood tour, which bleeds love for the neighborhood.

Product of the Week

Git-AI - Every once and a while I have to do a product for my nerds out there (me being one of them). AI is blitzing through our industry and many times it is hard to figure out what the hell it's even doing. Git AI slides into your existing workflows and helps you keep track of the chaos with no change to your setup. Runs locally so your data isn't slipping out the door. Give it a try!

Cause of the Week

The Odin Project - This week is just Pittsburgh and developer heavy isn't it? I got my start in software by working through tutorials on Code and Kahn Academy. There's a soft spot in my heart for folks giving away the tools that helped me create the life I live today. Please consider supporting the Odin Project as they help train up the next (the last?) generation of software engineers!

Supply Chains in China and Flooding in Hawai'i | Week 2 of April 2026

Jimmy Cerone — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 15:29:56 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

I took some time off of the newsletter as my life became a swirling tornado. I am moving (to a spot with a dog), switching jobs, and spent a month gallivanting around the West Coast. I'm now back to the Burgh and settling in.

In my time away from the newsletter, I learned what it meant to me. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to share what caught my eye each week, to connect with friends over what resonated for them. Thank you for reading all these years and here's to the next few of them!

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Link of the Week

Trivium China Podcast | A Stress Test at the Worst Possible Moment - The more I learn about China, the more I know I don't know. I loved this podcast, which contains a transcript to read if you prefer (I do), because it was so wide ranging. China is a complicated place, making complicated trade offs that are fundamentally different than those we make in the US. I found it fascinating to compare the strategic benefits of each approach, especially in light of Breakneck, which I'm reading with a good friend.

Joe: Yeah. So, what’s quite interesting on China’s industrial side, but particularly manufacturing, which I’m going to talk about, and that manufacturing specifically grew by 6.6% in the first two months of the year. That’s pre-pandemic levels of growth. So, when we think of the structural slowdown that China’s facing, that’s only happened on one side of the economy. Consumption is structurally slow in consumption growth. But manufacturers continue to increase their output at the same rates as before the pandemic. And this is exacerbating this huge supply-demand gap we’re seeing, which leads to all these issues like overcapacity, deflationary pressures, and over-reliance on exports.

Product of the Week

The Brick - In many ways, I'm behind the digital times. Mix an addictive personality with the jumpiness of ADHD and you get a phone glued to your hand at all hours of the day. I love my phone, even as I wrestle with how to use it well. I do some basic digital hygiene: no games, no social media, no notifications. But even so, I find myself reaching for the damned thing at all hours. The Brick, so far, changed that. For hours of the day, it turns my phone into... a phone. It cannot do anything but call people. If I want to change that, I've got to rush home and tap this stupid thing on my fridge. So far, it's been shockingly effective for an impulse buy. I'm finding focus at work again! I cannot wait to lock myself out of my phone at social events so I can transform myself into the most awkward person alive with more ease than ever.

Cause of the Week

Hawai'i Community Foundation - When it comes to donations, I try to stay about a month behind the news. In a world where focus shifts like the wind, it's useful to circle back on causes that still need help after the cameras leave. This week I'm joining a close friend of mine in supporting foundations that help Hawai'i as they struggle with extensive flooding. Please consider offering your support as folks continue to face historic rains.

Scary Hacker Robots Are Coming for Our Digital Lives | Week 3 of February 2026

Jimmy Cerone — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 15:05:02 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Link of the Week

He called himself an ‘untouchable hacker god’. But who was behind the biggest crime Finland has ever known? - I consider myself a fairly sophisticated digital user and a touch paranoid. But I'm yet more paranoid after reading this. The particular hack is disturbing in and of itself, but the scarier consideration is how many vulnerable companies like this exist. In an unfortunate twist, so far AI is better at hacking than defending against hacking, making it all the more likely we will see catastrophic exploits in the coming years.

Meanwhile, he began inspecting Vastaamo’s server, looking for clues as to who might be behind the hack – and one of the first things he noticed was how lax security had been. “It was definitely unfit for purpose for storing this kind of information,” he says. He tells me that the patient records database was accessible via the internet; there was no firewall and, perhaps most egregiously, it was secured with a blank password, so anyone could just press enter and open it. Kurittu determined that whoever had hacked Vastaamo had probably just been scanning the internet in search of any badly secured databases that could be monetised. “They tried a bunch of bank vaults to see which ones were open, and just happened to stumble on this one.”

Product of the Week

Standard Kernel - I am thinking about improvements you can build on of late, which I call compounding. I'm on the hunt for them as I am convinced they are the building blocks of a better world. I love what Standard Kernel is doing here. They are throwing AI at a measurable problem which benefits from many unique attempts at the same problem: low level computing principles. If you can make low level software faster, you can do all your computing faster with more energy efficiency. Wins all around. Hats off to the Standard Kernel team. I hope we see more of these companies using AI to take on fundamental problems soon.

Cause of the Week

Emergency Rental Assistance Fund from Church of the Incarnation of Minneapolis - I am enamoured with the leverage that is emergency rental assistance. If you lose your home, it is a quick and sad descent. It can take years to recover. Thus preventing an eviction is a low risk (on the order of hundreds of dollars) way to save a life, or the life of a whole family. Please consider helping the Church of the Incarnation of Minneapolis give people a valuable backstop.

Can You Save Money by Taking Political Action | Week 2 of February 2026

Jimmy Cerone — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 23:50:53 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Link of the Week

5 Ally Actions - Jan 23, 2026 - Like the debt snowball method, changes in our communities and workplaces happen one pebble at a time. Subscribing to this newsletter is an easy way to see small changes you can adopt in your work and daily life to help make people feel more welcome and at home.

Product of the Week

Resist and Unsubscribe - I'm not sure if this counts as a product, but I write the newsletter so I'm counting it. I love Galloway's approach to creating social change through targeted economic boycotts. Carefully designed to minimize economic damage to the average American, Resist and Unsubscribe is a powerful way to send a signal to US leadership and save some money along the way.

Cause of the Week

The Young Center - One of the few things everyone can agree is the importance of protecting children. Without the ability to fend for themselves, children need our protection. Please consider supporting the Young Center this week, which helps children dealing with the maze that is our immigration complex. Children should not pay for the failures of our lawmakers.

Immigrant children who travel to the United States without their parents or are separated from their parents at the border often face a complex immigration system that is adverse to their best interests. Once they are released from federal custody, many of these children remain caught in additional legal proceedings where decision makers ignore their needs, their safety and their well-being.

Malaysia: The Land of the Semi-Conductor | Week 1 of February 2026

Jimmy Cerone — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 01:24:26 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Link of the Week

Malaysia: Truly Asia - While I am still slowly working through the backlog of travel writer Matt Lakeman, I rediscovered this piece by another writer I've grown to adore, Noah Smith. In studying technology across cultures, I fear I've been rather overzealous in my devotion to understanding China and overlooked Malaysia. I hope to rectify that imbalance over the coming months. Malaysia is a place to keep an eye on.

In fact, tiny Malaysia exports almost twice the total amount of semiconductors that the United States of America does — $74 billion to $43 billion. In per capita terms, that’s almost 16 times as much chip exports per capita as the U.S. Not bad for a post-colonial Muslim country in an underdeveloped region, eh?

Product of the Week

Readwise Reader - I'm highlighting Readwise Reader as I finally have an affiliate link to share! You get a generous 60 day trial with my link. My first read it later app, way back in the day, was Pocket. Then came what may be the most beautiful app out there, Matter. While I loved Matter, I found it difficult to build on. I wanted my reading app to be the core of my digital life, the basis of my Jarvis. And Readwise is flexible enough to be just that. With Readwise I've built tons of fun little tools which help me read more and more deeply.

Cause of the Week

I've written about this before, but my family came to this country and they were not particularly welcome. My great grandparents struggled to find housing as no one would rent to "dirty Italians." By the time I grew up, being Italian was fun and fashionable, so I do not know first hand the pain of being in a land that does not accept you. But I can empathize and I hate to imagine anyone facing the struggles my family did when they first arrived. It is my ancestors that motivate the cause(s) of this week. First are Red Cards from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, which help all people, regardless of status, understand the rights granted to them by the Constitution. Second is Frontline Dignity, an organization ensure everyone is treated with dignity in their interactions here in the Pittsburgh. I love both of these organizations because they show a bipartisan path forward. There are many different views on immigration policy, but kindness and dignity is something we can all agree upon.

Post Script

If you would like to go a step further than giving, you can write your State Representative to encourage them to create oversight for federal detention centers. You can find an example I wrote to my PA State Representative here.

An Actual AI Agent in the Wild | Week 4 of January 2026

Jimmy Cerone — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 02:33:46 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Link of the Week

The Ultimate Guide To Linear Actuators - Jeremy Fielding is one of those people who is so talented that watching them do anything is interesting. Fielding is a savant in the world of home robotics projects. He is one of the few people who can sit at the intersection of mechanical and electrical engineering with ease. Here he explains the tech that underpins much of the automation around us, from escalators to assembly lines.

Product of the Week

Yutori - The more I dig into AI, the more I'm bullish on agents. To be clear, agent != automation. Zapier workflows are not agents. Agents are self starters. And unlike most, I want agents to augment, not replace my work. I want agents to attack my code, suggesting improvements. I want agents to scour the web for me and suggest information I might find useful... As I contemplated how to build a research agent, I found one in Yutori. You can see what I've been learning about here. So far I'm impressed. Yutori proactively monitors the web like a smarter version of Google Alerts and creates smart concise round ups. Hats off Yutori. Here's hoping I can finagle API access.

Cause of the Week

DDH Church - It seems there is not a lot we can agree on these days. But it is hard to disagree with helping people stay safe, warm and fed come winter. DDH is doing all of this and more, keeping people safe in trying times. While I have my qualms with the church, I have to respect the dedication to taking care of people who need it. Please consider helping DDH help others.

Lots of Notes from Matt Lakeman | Week 3 of January 2025

Jimmy Cerone — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 02:10:01 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Link of the Week

Notes on Saudi Arabia - Matt Lakeman's most recent piece Notes on Afghanistan made the rounds on every link newsletter last week. I hesitate to recommend something that:

Has already been recommended by everyone else
Takes 2.5 hours (~5 days for me) to read

So instead I'm recommending Notes on Saudi Arabia as an hour and a half appetizer of sorts. I'm not sure what it is about Matt's writing, but I feel like I'm finally starting to understand the complicated region that is the Middle East through it. He weaves personal context in with history in such a way that it sticks in my pea brain. I can't wait to read his thoughts on the Balkans and the Hundred Years War next.

Product of the Week

Provider Agnostic Agentic Coding with OpenCode and Letta - Cheated a little bit this week and did a double dip with OpenCode and Letta. These tools are basically open source Claude Code and so far, I'm a huge fan. Super exciting to be able to switch models at will and feel like I have some semblance of control of my AI overlords.

Cause of the Week

Purple Leash Project - The quote below says it all. Please consider making a donation!

Purina and the Purple Leash Project are helping create more pet-friendly domestic violence shelters so survivors and their pets can stay together and heal together.

Making Tech History As It Happens | Week 2 of January 2026

Jimmy Cerone — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 01:54:29 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Link of the Week

The NodeJS and Vite Documentaries from CultRepo - Tech moves so fast it is hard to capture the history behind it. For so much of my career, technical projects were faceless monoliths devoid of meaning. I've been binging these Honeypot documentaries because they add flesh and bones to the history of tech. There's an anchoring that happens when you know where a technology comes from that makes it easier to understand. In a world where AI is moving faster than ever, we need more of these. Hats off CultRepo team.

Product of the Week

Graphite - Recently acquired by Cursor, today we talk a look at Graphite. What started as a wrapper for the GitHub CLI to enable "stacked PRs" could become the way we interact with AI agents. Ever been intimidated by the wall of text Claude Code generates in a one shot? Stacked PRs with Graphite just might be the answer. I made a little YouTube video showing how it works!

Cause of the Week

Defy Ventures - There isn't much that is more American than starting your own business. I love Defy Ventures because it equips folks impacted by the criminal justice system with the tools to create prosperity for themselves and their community. Please join me in supporting this organization, which gives so many a second chance.

My Favorite 2025 Review | Week 1 of January 2026

Jimmy Cerone — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 14:00:39 +0000

Hello folks,

Happy New Year and welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Link of the Week

2025 Letter - If you are like me, you are probably seeing this referenced everywhere. I've yet to fully finish this 45 minute marathon, nor have I finished what I've heard is an excellent book in Breakneck. But. But. Man oh man is this so good. I was trying to explain why I love these yearly letters so much to a friend. It's hard to put a finger on it. Wang is an incredible memoirist and yet still sees huge trends clearly. Reading Wang feels like knowing a secret about how the world works. Every yearly letter feels like catching up with a mix of your smartest and most entertaining friend. It's long, but boy is it worth it.

One way that Silicon Valley and the Communist Party resemble each other is that both are serious, self-serious, and indeed, completely humorless.
Dan Wang

Product of the Week

Yoga Body - My good friend Joey Dawson showed me this course and I'm spellbound. I was an avid yogi when I lived in Los Angeles and I credit it for helping me find my body and mind again after a hard breakup. Yet I always struggled to connect my analytical mind with my yogi mind. Yoga Body is like watching an explainer video while doing Yoga. I finally know exactly why I'm doing every movement.

Cause of the Week

United We Dream - There's many reasons I love this organization, but the first reason hits close to home. My grandparents found the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. so motivating, so inspiring, that they traveled from their home in Chicago to march on Washington. I love this organization for fighting for the dream, for keeping the faith even when times are hard. I am here thanks to the American dream of my Italian ancestors and I would love if you joined me in supporting this organization, which makes it possible for more families like mine to find their place here.

Skating to the Puck | Week 4 of December 2025

Jimmy Cerone — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 03:32:06 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Link of the Week

Came for the AI Tool, Waiting for the AI Network - In many ways, the best way to deal with a new trend is to stay both in front of and behind it. I've gotten the most out of AI by avoiding the current hotness. Instead, I try the tool that was hot 6 months ago (it's now polished) and read about what might happen in the next year (rather than 2030 AGI predictions). Rex Woodbury offers an interesting look here at the direction AI is headed in the near future.

Most people won’t dedicate hours to painstakingly crafting fake music videos. My friend is special that way (in the best possible way). But most people will use AI tools to make stuff. And they can make that stuff more quickly, more cheaply, and of higher quality than in past technology eras. This is a long-standing thesis in Digital Native: the arc of technology bends toward more accessible tools and higher quality output.
Rex Woodbury

Product of the Week

Impulse - Ostensibly a stove top, Impulse is fascinating because it offers a vision of the electrified home. We are nearing a world where the grid is more flexible than ever, with energy stored up during peak renewable hours kept in reserve in your car and stove. Not only will we be more resilient to disasters, we may just crack the large scale energy problem in a decentralized way.

With 3 kWh of battery capacity, your products become part of the energy system, offering demand flexibility and resilience. Appliances powered by Impulse can choose when to charge, when to use stored energy, and when to intelligently support the electric grid.
Impulse

Cause of the Week

Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights - More and more of my giving is focused on immigrants. I am here thanks to the brave choice of my great great grandparents to leave Southern Italy at the turn of the 20th century. It would be an honor if you'd join me in supporting the next generation of folks finding our shores.

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) builds power with over 100 member and partner organizations representing diverse immigrant and refugee communities. Together the coalition works to win policies to ensure a more equitable society rooted in dignity and respect for all.

Breaking Down China's Mega City Cluster | Newsletter 2

Jimmy Cerone — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 19:23:16 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Link of the Week

China’s Mega City Clusters: Jing-Jin-Ji, Yangzte River Delta, Pearl River Delta - I am working to improve my knowledge of Chinese Geography and this article felt like a breakthrough for me. I've been searching for mental models that help simplify the vast geography of China and this article delivered. Why in Chinese geography important? As China grows as a technology hub, understanding where things happen gives critical context. In America, you can understand the qualities of a company depending on its geography. A startup from New York will look much different from one coming out of Silicon Valley. Knowing these geographic differences in China will give you a head start when it comes to understanding the AI tech coming out of China. I highly recommend perusing China Briefing as a whole. The fact it's targeted at investors means there is less spin than in most Western media.

Product of the Week

My Tax Receipt - Debates about tax code can feel far away. I love this tool for its simplicity and the way it brings tax policy to everyday life. Enter your zip code and you can see how much of your time last year to pay off the US debt (I clocked in at 44 hours...).

Cause of the Week

Brighton Heights Free Fridge - I love to see community organizations that serve their neighbors. Run by the Brighton Heights Citizen Brigade, the "Freedge" provides fresh foods to folks living on the North Side of Pittsburgh.

User Experiences to Die For | Newsletter #1

Jimmy Cerone — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 02:42:06 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stand out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Link of the Week

Photograph your bookshelf - As AI slips more and more into our lives, quality user experiences are still hard to find. AI can help bring innovative UX designs to life faster, but this link is a reminder that all the AI in the world can’t replace a deep understanding of user needs.

Product of the Week

Oboe - I found this on the Random Show with Tim Ferriss and Kevin Rose. I'm excited to see how my own home grown "build me a course" tool compares. So far the variety of ways I can learn about CloudFlare's infrastructure.

Cause of the Week

Emergency Food Pantry - Community Forge is an incredible coalition of organizations running out of a stunning elementary school the nonprofit revitalized. In response to SNAP cuts and economic hardship, they're running an emergency food pantry. If you've already supported your local food pantry, please consider helping ours!

The Future: Solar Cars & Better Voices | Week 2 of October 2025

Jimmy Cerone — Sat, 18 Oct 2025 16:52:04 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Newsletter: https://lastweekilearned.com/2025/10/18/the-future-solar-cars-better-voices-week-2-of-october-2025/

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Thank you for your time,
Jimmy

Cutting Through the AI Hype | Week 2 of September 2025

Jimmy Cerone — Sat, 06 Sep 2025 18:56:49 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Newsletter: https://lastweekilearned.com/2025/09/06/cutting-through-the-ai-hype-week-2-of-september-2025/

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Jimmy

My Newsletter's Favorite Newsletter | Week 2 of June 2025

Jimmy Cerone — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 12:21:00 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Newsletter: https://lastweekilearned.com/2025/06/09/my-newsletters-favorite-newsletter-week-2-of-june-2025/

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Jimmy

The Beauty of Regulation and the Limits of Productivity | Week 1 of June 2025

Jimmy Cerone — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 23:38:22 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Newsletter: https://lastweekilearned.com/2025/06/02/the-beauty-of-regulation-and-the-limits-of-productivity-week-1-of-june-2025/

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Jimmy

Career Advice for the AI Apocalypse | Week 4 of May 2025

Jimmy Cerone — Mon, 26 May 2025 23:19:06 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Links

AI is changing the world fast. New careers are popping up, old ones are falling away. In the chaos, I find it hard to chart a path forward. This week I've assembled some of the best writing on careers. I'm using these to guide my next steps and I hope you find it as helpful as I have.

Why you probably have a low leverage career (and how to create more leverage) - I look for "mental models" that cut through complexity. Rick Foerster describes high career leverage as, "your work is valuable, hard to replace, high impact relative to the input, and high upside." To my eye, becoming high leverage is the safest path forward in a changing world. The concept is counterintuitive, but clear and useful once understood.

Please note: I do not mean that having high leverage equals “good,” as in morally. There are many important, high value careers that are unfortunately low leverage in our system today. But I am here to talk about what you can do about it.

How to Do Great Work - I keep coming back to this one. The main thread is to find work you’re curious about, allowing you to work hard and stay original. If leverage is the end goal, curiosity is the map to get you there.

For example, while you must work hard, it's possible to work too hard, and if you do that you'll find you get diminishing returns: fatigue will make you stupid, and eventually even damage your health. The point at which work yields diminishing returns depends on the type. Some of the hardest types you might only be able to do for four or five hours a day.

Acquired Season 3, Episode 4: Recode (with Kara Swisher) - Kara Swisher is a perfect example of someone who used curiosity to find a high leverage career. No one else can do what she does. In the 1990s, Kara moved towards her curiosity, eschewing politics for the dinky (at the time) Silicon Valley. She was there in the beginning thanks to her curiosity and tolerance for risk. In this interview, she lays out her pathway to career success.

Kara has been called one of the greatest interviewers of our time by Ezra Klein and once interviewed Bill Gates and Steve Jobs in their only ever combined interview, actually in the chairs we're sitting in. I actually vividly remember where I was when I watched this for the first of many times. She's interviewed President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, the mooch, and famously made Mark Zuckerberg sweat through his Facebook Illuminati hoodie on stage.

A Deep Dive into a Couple of Misunderstood Foods

why nobody knows what curry is - Food is at the heart of everything. We all eat. I love this video for its nuanced take on a dish that is both ubiquitous and misunderstood. There is so much here to dive into: history, cuisine, and geography.

What even is a curry? A dish? A spice? A colonial mistake? Or something that’s always been part of who we are? In this video, Melissa unpacks this messy debate, tracing how a single word came to define (and flatten) an entire world of flavours, histories, and identities.

Is Caviar a scam? - I did not grow up in a world where caviar ever found its way to the table. Now that I'm older, I'm hesitant to dive into the deep end with caviar. So I found it convenient to let Ethan do the expensive testing for me.

In this video we're doing a deep dive into the world of caviar which at upwards of $400 for just 30 grams is easily one of the most expensive foods in the world. But I'm approaching this video as a bit of a skeptic and asking the question is caviar actually worth it or is it just popular because of its status as a luxury product? So I bought six different fish egg varieties at drastically different price points.

Prediction of the Week

More than 60% of Chatbot Arena top 100 models will use permissive licenses by EOY2026 - My thesis is that we’ll see a bifurcation in AI based on model type. Text-based models will become a commodity since so much data is publicly available. The lack of a moat (proprietary data) and stiff competition will drive down margins. As a result, companies will increasingly open source their text-based models.

Cause of the Week

Defy Ventures - One of the most difficult (and troubling) impacts of incarceration is the dearth of employment opportunities upon release. Defy steps in to help formerly incarcerated people develop businesses that give them the economic security to change their lives. I worked as a coach with Defy and can testify to their transformative impact. Please consider giving your time or money.

Defy’s entrepreneurial programs enable one of America’s largest forgotten communities to defy the odds. We equip them with new skills, new connections, and a new belief to match their new purpose, and succeed in their new life of economic independence.

What if Advertising Was Illegal? | Week 3 of May 2025

Jimmy Cerone — Mon, 19 May 2025 17:31:00 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Newsletter: https://lastweekilearned.com/2025/05/18/what-if-advertising-was-illegal-week-3-of-may-2025/

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Thank you for your time,
Jimmy

A Trip to China with a Detour to the World of Banking | Week 1 of May 2025

Jimmy Cerone — Tue, 06 May 2025 02:19:55 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Newsletter: https://lastweekilearned.com/2025/05/06/a-trip-to-china-with-a-detour-to-the-world-of-banking-week-1-of-may-2025/

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Jimmy

Some Humble Leaders and a Beehiiv | Week 4 of April 2025

Jimmy Cerone — Sun, 27 Apr 2025 15:51:12 +0000

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

Newsletter: https://lastweekilearned.com/2025/04/27/some-humble-leaders-and-a-beehiiv-week-4-of-april-2025/

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Thank you for your time,
Jimmy