Caracal Daily | Feb. 11

WATCHING TODAY:

1. WP: Paris and Brussels to ban ‘Freedom Convoy’ inspired by Canadian protest

2. The DOJ’s $3.6B bitcoin seizure shows how hard it is to launder crypto: Wired reports a couple allegedly used a “laundry list” of technical measures to cover their tracks. They didn’t work.

3. Silicon Valley’s tech monopoly is over. Is the future in Austin, Texas? LAT reports the Bay Area’s hold on venture capital remains solid, but the loss of Tesla and other companies could threaten California’s economic future.

4. The Snoop Dogg has bought control of Death Row Records, the label where he began his career, from a group owned by Blackstone.

5. 100 million Americans can legally bet on the Super Bowl. Sports will never be the same: Bloomberg reports the first Super Bowl of the online betting era is upon us, and it’s going to be wild.

Saying no wins

What's the difference between executive A and executive B?

Executive A:

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Executive B:

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

The difference?

Constraints.

Seth Godin often talks of constraints:

"Every project worth doing comes with constraints. Our natural inclination is to fight them.

"When we fight constraints and eliminate them, we often gain access to new insights, new products, and new solutions. It also makes it easier to compete against people who don't have those constraints.

"'Give me constraints' is rarely heard, except when talented and passionate designers go to work."

In an interview with Tim Ferriss, Godin went on about the power of constraints:

"Constraints used to frustrate me so much, and now they are the core of my useful working life.

"I've set up constraints all around me, constraints about how I choose which projects, constraints about what I eat, constraints about what a project can entail and what it can't entail, constraints about how many people work with me, constraints about which media I'm going to be in and which ones I'm not going to be in.

"They're all arbitrary.

"I just made up rules because having constraints lets me get to the edge. It lets me get to the boards without breaking my nose."

Consider your favorite sport if you don't think constraints are powerful and productive.

Sport is all about constraints.

Size of the playing surface.

Length of the contest.

Equipment for the game.

Number of players allowed.

Sport without constraints would be a pointless mess.

This post is riddled with constraints.

So I will stop now.

I will embrace the constraints.

-Marc

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Caracal Daily | Feb. 10

WATCHING TODAY:

1. Vladimir Putin is a product of modernity: Tom McTague writes why the tension in Ukraine may feel deceptively regressive.

2. European scientists set nuclear-fusion energy world record: WSJ reports the findings suggest this approach can be scaled-up for use in power plants.

3. In praise of unglamorous American invention: Virginia Heffernan writes forget Blue Origin, Silicon Valley, and unicorns—small but mighty innovations are the true breakthroughs of human ingenuity.

4. Can old sneakers really be a legitimate investment? DW reports many online resellers and even one of the oldest and biggest auctions houses in the world think so. Recent astronomical prices may prove them right.

5. Esports to be included as pilot event at Commonwealth Games: BBC reports the inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championships will have separate branding, medals and organization. But there is hope within the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) that esports could become a part of the full program by the 2026 Games. Hamilton in Canada, frontrunners for the 2030 event, are also understood to be keen on esports being included.