# Pulp Conversations > The economics of friendship: how money, relationships and culture is made. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. Use `/llms-full.txt` for consolidated page and post context. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages - [About Pulp Conversations](https://pulpconversations.com/about.md) - Biography: Vinay Gupta ## Posts - [The Field School of Hvar](https://pulpconversations.com/the-field-school-of-hvar.md) - A conversation with Carolyn Zelikow - [When Taste Matters](https://pulpconversations.com/when-taste-matters.md) - Taste is not just prescient. It's also a lagging indicator. It shows up when engineering alone is not enough. Conventional wisdom is that taste enables you to see into the future. Tastemakers are meant to see ahead. Yet, they often don’t have the opportunity to influence tastes until a market reach… - [Data Exhaust](https://pulpconversations.com/data-exhaust-6a86112a03b965000fc87b1c.md) - What happens when you give Claude skills - [Die With Zero](https://pulpconversations.com/die-with-zero.md) - A book club discussion with Brown Papas Unite - [Paying People To Get Out Of The Way](https://pulpconversations.com/paying-people-to-get-out-of-the-way.md) - Last week at dinner, the conversation shifted to Universal Basic Income (UBI): Are we building systems to help people keep up, or to pay them to get out of the way? Someone referred to it as the permanent underclass. The conversation got quiet because this outcome is plausible, and many believe it… - [Some Places](https://pulpconversations.com/some-places.md) - The Clash of Inspiration and Order - [Control The Food](https://pulpconversations.com/control-the-food.md) - And why governance tends not to be dynastic in America. - [Teaching Your AI to Get to the Point](https://pulpconversations.com/teaching-your-ai-to-get-to-the-point.md) - Tokens Don't Lie - [Collision Economics](https://pulpconversations.com/collision-economics.md) - Why Transactions Build Relationships - Part II - [Members Only](https://pulpconversations.com/members-only.md) - How the U.S. is managing the dollar for higher margins and why the UAE just became the first premium customer - [The AI Commodity Layer](https://pulpconversations.com/the-ai-commodity-layer.md) - How they locked out competition before consumers even arrived - [Fear and Greed](https://pulpconversations.com/fear-and-greed.md) - Where is the equilibrium point? - [Us versus us](https://pulpconversations.com/us-versus-us.md) - If you wanted to slow a civilization down ... - [Us versus them](https://pulpconversations.com/us-versus-them.md) - They say aliens might already be here. - [John Ternus: new Apple CEO](https://pulpconversations.com/john-ternus-new-apple-ceo.md) - And the physics of volatility decay - [Information vs. Execution Asymmetry](https://pulpconversations.com/information-vs-execution-asymmetry.md) - How AI Changes One but Not the Other - [The Jungle Method (Part I)](https://pulpconversations.com/the-jungle-method-part-i.md) - Once you see the bars, you can’t unsee them. - [Politeness And Face-Work](https://pulpconversations.com/politeness-and-face-work.md) - Implemented in an artificial, always-on way - [MVPs](https://pulpconversations.com/mvps.md) - Require applied friendship - [Linguistic Literacy](https://pulpconversations.com/linguistic-literacy.md) - I know a plumber ... - [Fake Music](https://pulpconversations.com/fake-music.md) - Or is it a leak? - [What Is The Point of AI?](https://pulpconversations.com/what-is-the-point-of-ai.md) - pattern matching you to opportunities you’d realistically act on - [Whatever Works](https://pulpconversations.com/whatever-works.md) - Why maximizing shareholder value starts with one person. - [#COMPANYMAN](https://pulpconversations.com/companyman.md) - Fun experiment - [Bo Rode A Bike](https://pulpconversations.com/bo-rode-a-bike.md) - Perth immediately popped into my head after seeing Bo ride a bike for the first time without any help. I was fortunate to enjoy and capture the moment. I felt joy, but like the song also haunted by the awareness of time, fragility, and what it took to get here. Beirut wrote the song after a breakdo… - [Pantone Politics](https://pulpconversations.com/pantone-politics.md) - Fuel your fire, give you ballot (Kala) - [You Can Bet On Yourself](https://pulpconversations.com/you-can-bet-on-yourself.md) - Is That Bad? - [Algorithm Malls](https://pulpconversations.com/algorithm-malls.md) - Linkedin, Substack, Reddit, TikTok, Instagram ... you name it. - [The Story of Rick Ross](https://pulpconversations.com/the-story-of-rick-ross.md) - Pulp x Prelinger E1 - [Have You Met This Guy](https://pulpconversations.com/have-you-met-this-guy.md) - What did he say to you? - [Z Score](https://pulpconversations.com/z-score.md) - Don't get rich selling hope to the hopeless - [LinkedIn Is Just Human](https://pulpconversations.com/linkedin-is-just-human.md) - And it will give her alpha. - [All Day](https://pulpconversations.com/all-day.md) - Activity versus Progress - [Unapologetic Realpolitik](https://pulpconversations.com/unapologetic-realpolitik.md) - A story about Google.com - [The Cost-Benefit of Being Available](https://pulpconversations.com/the-cost-benefit-of-being-available.md) - This week I started a short course on AI led by my friends Scott and Hunter. So perhaps it’s less surprising that I woke up thinking about MCP, and how it threads through everything we do. MCP stands for “Model Context Protocol”. Recently it became an open standard that defines how AI models (like… - [Colby's Prerogative](https://pulpconversations.com/colbys-prerogative.md) - 1989 - 2026 ... now what? - [My Name Is My Name](https://pulpconversations.com/my-name-is-my-name.md) - “Brand Beckham comes first.” David Beckham’s son recently posted about being pressured to sign away rights to his own name. He ignited an ancient debate with a modern twist. Names have always been more than syllables we answer to; they carry lineage, reputation, and social capital. A name marks kin… - [Honest Money](https://pulpconversations.com/honest-money.md) - Shout out to Gary North 🪦 - [The Consensus Mechanism](https://pulpconversations.com/the-consensus-mechanism.md) - Without consensus there would be no human progress. We need to share assumptions in order to collectively agree on what to build. This metaphysical cooperation enables us to coordinate markets and maintain order. A species can’t progress without it. When we share models of reality with each other w… - [No One Is To Blame](https://pulpconversations.com/no-one-is-to-blame.md) - The unraveling of old bureaucracy for a new moneyed class ... - [The Venezuela Operation](https://pulpconversations.com/the-venezuela-operation.md) - The mission to capture Maduro - [The Globalist](https://pulpconversations.com/the-globalist.md) - Redefined - [From Delay To Disclosure](https://pulpconversations.com/from-delay-to-disclosure.md) - Finally, we learn to see what society THINKs. - [Beasts of Burden](https://pulpconversations.com/beasts-of-burden.md) - To Bear Or Not To Bear, That Is The Question - [We Are All Editors](https://pulpconversations.com/we-are-all-editors.md) - If we are not first; And we are not last; Then we are editors. 1960 - 1970 I asked AI to help me figure out what movies and television to watch to learn about the 1960s. My goal isn’t to figure out the most viewed or critically acclaimed - although I think all of them are - but to estimate which sh… - [WYI](https://pulpconversations.com/wyi.md) - Would You Invest #1 - [Beloved](https://pulpconversations.com/beloved.md) - After years of postponing a personal promise, I started reading Man’s Search For Meaning. I’m in the middle of it now while on a flight to visit someone I love. Maybe I’ll have more reflections about the book, but for now I’m getting emotional over a passage detailing the power of love. In the pass… - [A Chrismukkah Story](https://pulpconversations.com/a-chrismukkah-story.md) - A Founder's Job Is To Make Every Employee A Millionaire - [The Power Of Presence](https://pulpconversations.com/the-power-of-presence.md) - And Its Perils - [In Praise Of Friction](https://pulpconversations.com/in-praise-of-friction.md) - Since birth I’ve seen the world treat friction as the enemy. Removing it makes markets more efficient and our services more convenient. Life has become easier. In fact it has become so easy that major sources of stress emanate from being asked to do too much … because now we can. Friction slows tra… - [I’ve Died More Than A Dozen Times](https://pulpconversations.com/ive-died-more-than-a-dozen-times.md) - I’ve already died. I mean there are multiple moments in my life that probabilistically could have been the end. But here I am; privileged to share these thoughts, obligated to be alive. As a 3-year old I faced a 33% of death by the age of eight. I grew up a lifetime’s worth during those five years.… - [Leading vs. Lagging](https://pulpconversations.com/leading-vs-lagging.md) - A framework for markets, decisions, and life - [Why We Separate](https://pulpconversations.com/why-we-separate.md) - Honor Versus Emotion & How To Avoid Grin Fuckers - [Numb To Truth](https://pulpconversations.com/numb-to-truth.md) - The story of Limitless.ai - [Evocation in the Age of Machines](https://pulpconversations.com/evocation-in-the-age-of-machines.md) - To evoke is the deliberate act of calling something into being, in another’s mind. By telling a story or performing an act we tingle sensations and conjure images; making people remember that feeling or simply the quiet confirmation of being heard. This morning I used AI and then reflected I was “n… - [Gliding](https://pulpconversations.com/gliding.md) - A friend called it equanimity - [When Why is Gaslighting You](https://pulpconversations.com/when-why-is-gaslighting-you.md) - Pathology rarely provides answers to the why - [Life Is A Gamble](https://pulpconversations.com/life-is-a-gamble.md) - HEY How many men, got hmn? How many men, got high? How many men know truth? How many know their price? How many know what they look like out of the mirror besides their eyes? -Tame Tiger Those sunflowers in Italy were enormous; they made me feel small and somehow more possible at the same time. I r… - [Name My Price](https://pulpconversations.com/name-my-price.md) - The new possibility of invention - [Borderline](https://pulpconversations.com/borderline.md) - A.I. Is Not A Bubble - [Lowe di L, take di W](https://pulpconversations.com/lowe-di-l-take-di-w.md) - We build conviction on the way down ... - [Effin Wild](https://pulpconversations.com/effin-wild.md) - Or is it just following the rules? - [B*tt Cheeks and Farts](https://pulpconversations.com/btt-cheeks-and-farts.md) - Kindergarten meets A.I. Voice Mode ... - [Mystery Lady](https://pulpconversations.com/mystery-lady.md) - Don't bet against yourself - [The Point Of Owning A Home Is Not To Own A Home](https://pulpconversations.com/the-point-of-owning-a-home-is-not.md) - and why that's the point ... - [Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is](https://pulpconversations.com/put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is.md) - On Prediction Markets - [Invest Within Friends](https://pulpconversations.com/invest-within-friends.md) - Have you found the signal? - [Place-based Learning](https://pulpconversations.com/place-based-learning.md) - with Emily Puetz - [Job #1](https://pulpconversations.com/job-1-6a86112a03b965000fc87b1b.md) - On Being A Dad - [The Real Investment Show](https://pulpconversations.com/the-real-investment-show.md) - w/ Lance Roberts - [Signal Chats](https://pulpconversations.com/signal-chats.md) - A perpetual futures bet on friendship. Betting with perps is a never ending wager on friendship, where you pay a small fee every couple of hours to keep your bet alive, ensuring everyone’s stakes are aligned as fortunes shift. Share a laugh. Make a deal. At any time. Across time and space. Receive… - [Shmoney Dance](https://pulpconversations.com/shmoney-dance.md) - 1971 - 2025 - [Our Life Is A Spark Of Light](https://pulpconversations.com/our-life-is-a-spark-of-light.md) - The Wisdom of Insecurity - Pt. 1 - [RICO Story](https://pulpconversations.com/rico-story.md) - R.I.P. Speaker Knockerz - [The Fixins](https://pulpconversations.com/the-fixins.md) - "Your [last post] was enjoyable but for the first cursing sentence for me." - Mom - [Lotus-flower Bomb](https://pulpconversations.com/lotus-flower-bomb.md) - We gonna have so many fuckin' fixins up in this motherfucker - [Exercising With Drones](https://pulpconversations.com/exercising-with-drones.md) - I read a cool article about the benefits of play vs. homework for youngins’. If you are looking for a fun activity regimen for your kid I recommend getting a drone and having it chase you around. It’s a good workout and a fun way to teach film-making, camera technique and running away from bad guys… - [I'm Curious.](https://pulpconversations.com/im-curious.md) - Writing is a mechanical process, and by practicing daily mechanical maintenance, i.e. writing, I’m inherently increasing my capacity to perform. I’m building skill through action. Now, compare and contrast that to Curiosity. Not simply a a mechanical process; I can’t sit in a empty room every day a… - [Return To Normalcy ...](https://pulpconversations.com/return-to-normalcy.md) - Currently the ratio of NHS dentists refusing new pediatric clients: 80% - [Disciplined Execution vs. Radical Focus](https://pulpconversations.com/disciplined-execution-vs-radical.md) - I caught up with the future Mayor of my village today and we were discussing performance objectives and accountability. I mentioned Radical Focus as a worthwhile book to read; as it glorifies the concept of OKRs - Objectives and Key Results. The book became popular within startup power circles abou… - [Livi Redden](https://pulpconversations.com/livi-redden.md) - Embrace The Chaos - [Marcel Breuer House at Pocantico](https://pulpconversations.com/marcel-breuer-house-at-pocantico.md) - for The Bauhaus In You - [Transactions Build Relationships](https://pulpconversations.com/transactions-build-relationships.md) - Not the other way around ... - [Liberating Our Inner Muse](https://pulpconversations.com/liberating-our-inner-muse.md) - The fall of cultural monopolies 🤞🏽 ... - [Holistic Finance](https://pulpconversations.com/holistic-finance.md) - wtf is it? 🤷🏽‍♂️ - [Small Acts That Matter](https://pulpconversations.com/small-acts-that-matter.md) - On supporting your friends ... - [It's A Bitter Sweet Symphony](https://pulpconversations.com/its-a-bitter-sweet-symphony.md) - You're a slave to the money and then you die ... - [Market Cap Multiple](https://pulpconversations.com/market-cap-multiple.md) - Beware of volatility sponges ... - [Failure To Disclose](https://pulpconversations.com/failure-to-disclose.md) - The dirty business of real estate agents ... - [Cult vs. Commodity](https://pulpconversations.com/cult-vs-commodity.md) - Are you in the former or relegating yourself to the latter? - [Kanye West x A.I.](https://pulpconversations.com/kanye-west-x-ai.md) - A Most Overlooked Cultural Reference for Understanding A.I. - [Context Engineering: My Two Cents](https://pulpconversations.com/context-engineering-my-two-cents.md) - In plain language ... - [How To Belong](https://pulpconversations.com/how-to-belong.md) - Hint: you can be a person of many places ... - [Pomodoro Pricing](https://pulpconversations.com/pomodoro-pricing.md) - ... is in Vibe Coding's future - [10 x the E.B.I.T.D.A.](https://pulpconversations.com/10-x-the-ebitda.md) - BTC Treasuries and Ethereum DATs - [O.P.C. - Retreat in Panama](https://pulpconversations.com/opc-retreat-in-panama.md) - Yup it's happening ... December 3 - 7, 2025 - [That Thong Th-thong thong thong](https://pulpconversations.com/that-thong-th-thong-thong-thong.md) - A tale in screenshots ... - [Ello, Guv’nor!](https://pulpconversations.com/ello-guvnor.md) - Miran T Bill To The Face - [It Could Be Nice](https://pulpconversations.com/it-could-be-nice.md) - ... if you invested in bitcoin 10 years ago but even better if you did in November 2022 - [Cobalt Red](https://pulpconversations.com/cobalt-red.md) - How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives - [Introducing the Stablecoin Liquidity Ratio (SLR)](https://pulpconversations.com/introducing-the-stablecoin-liquidity.md) - A proxy for “dry powder” ... - [Who's Holding UST?](https://pulpconversations.com/whos-holding-ust.md) - Tether saves more US Dollars than India ... - [Growing Up in Hotels](https://pulpconversations.com/growing-up-in-hotels.md) - A unique childhood ... - [No Empathy](https://pulpconversations.com/no-empathy.md) - Instead be curious & intelligent - [You Can't Outsmart The Market With A Leveraged ETF](https://pulpconversations.com/you-cant-outsmart-the-market-with.md) - Wall Street always gets paid ... - [Harvard's gonna be aiight](https://pulpconversations.com/harvards-gonna-be-aiight.md) - It's like Bezos complaining about ATM fees ... - [How to Make Japanese Iced Coffee (at home)](https://pulpconversations.com/how-to-make-japanese-iced-coffee.md) - Droppin' it like it's hot .... new coffee launching next week - [The Fed’s “Wealth Effect"](https://pulpconversations.com/the-feds-wealth-effect.md) - Not just a theory. - [No Place Like Hope](https://pulpconversations.com/no-place-like-hope.md) - Parting Shots ... or ... Parting Gifts - [Fannie Mae is hereby directed to accept Bitcoin](https://pulpconversations.com/fannie-mae-is-hereby-directed-to.md) - Yuge ... but probably nothing 🤣 - [Mutual Admiration Society](https://pulpconversations.com/mutual-admiration-society.md) - RCV is spreading ... - [The Day the Earth Stood Still](https://pulpconversations.com/the-day-the-earth-stood-still.md) - Why Is the Wall Street Journal dissing UAPs - this weekend? - [How To Name A Start-up](https://pulpconversations.com/how-to-name-a-start-up.md) - Claim it; Don't Name it. - [How To Exit A Startup](https://pulpconversations.com/how-to-exit-a-startup.md) - Multiple Multipliers - [If You Can't Blind Them With Brilliance; Baffle Them With Bullshit](https://pulpconversations.com/if-you-cant-blind-them-with-brilliance.md) - Hat tip to the OG: Bob Holleron - [Sold (for) vs. Valued (at)](https://pulpconversations.com/sold-for-vs-valued-at.md) - Paper Boy is not part of Cash Money ... - [Adaptive Lab: A Lyrical Deconstruction](https://pulpconversations.com/adaptive-lab-a-lyrical-deconstruction.md) - So Be It .. so be it ... - [People are outraged. 🤷‍♂️](https://pulpconversations.com/people-are-outraged.md) - University funding is being cut - 👻-hoo - [A Holotropic Session](https://pulpconversations.com/a-holotropic-session.md) - The ROI of inner peace is invaluable ... - [AI never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death.](https://pulpconversations.com/ai-never-sleep-cause-sleep-is-the.md) - AI is Technology made By Generations of Smart Humans Enabling Humans to Avoid becoming Boring by Eliminating Boring jobs A.I. is, at its GPU FPGA ASIC core, a product of cumulative human ingenuity. A.I. is also this 🐐: Each generation been building on the last, making tools that extend our capabil… - [Wanna Be Part Of The Power Circle](https://pulpconversations.com/wanna-be-part-of-the-power-circle.md) - There's a difference between under-rated and hasn't made it ... - [Enneagram Style Seven](https://pulpconversations.com/enneagram-style-seven.md) - Life is a wheel of fortune, it’s your chance to spin it ... - [The Cantillon Effect](https://pulpconversations.com/the-cantillon-effect.md) - A Hidden in Plain Sight force shaping the world ... - [Who's Your Plug?](https://pulpconversations.com/whos-your-plug.md) - Or maybe it's you ... - [Slowing Down](https://pulpconversations.com/slowing-down.md) - Why going fast isn't always forward ... - [VC: More A&R than Wall Street](https://pulpconversations.com/vc-more-a-and-r-than-wall-street.md) - They wanna be down with the Kiiiiiiiiing ...... - [The Power of Laughter and Friendship](https://pulpconversations.com/the-power-of-laughter-and-friendship.md) - Marco ...... POLO ! - [Find the Harry Mack Within You](https://pulpconversations.com/find-the-harry-mack-within-you.md) - A different kind of animal ... - [Cycles In Nature](https://pulpconversations.com/cycles-in-nature.md) - Time can be seen as chaotic, cyclical, or linear. - [3 Marriages in 10 Years](https://pulpconversations.com/3-marriages-in-10-years.md) - Beyond Contracts and Expectations - [23andMe](https://pulpconversations.com/23andme.md) - Self-sovereignty means you have to make your own decisions 😱 - [How I Met Your Mother](https://pulpconversations.com/how-i-met-your-mother.md) - On a steel horse, I ride - [TRAD-FI](https://pulpconversations.com/trad-fi.md) - Money-making(losing) in the middle - [Bo and Daddy in L.A.](https://pulpconversations.com/bo-and-daddy-in-la.md) - Hope you don't have a bad guy mommy or daddy tellin' you what to do ... - [The White Lotus: Extractive or Aspirational?](https://pulpconversations.com/the-white-lotus-extractive-or-aspirational.md) - "Human interaction is the most important currency in travel." - Charlie Scott - [The Leah Way](https://pulpconversations.com/the-leah-way.md) - A very raw and honest exchange between two old friends who are getting wiser - [Escalation of Commitment](https://pulpconversations.com/escalation-of-commitment.md) - Power Struggles, Communication problems; and Unresolved Emotional Issues - [$40-off Limitless.ai](https://pulpconversations.com/40-off-limitlessai.md) - My advocacy pay-day 💰 💰 💰 💰 - [Is Snow White?](https://pulpconversations.com/is-snow-white.md) - No, obviously. - [Playing Professional Hockey As A Black Man](https://pulpconversations.com/playing-professional-hockey-as-a.md) - "I don't think about that" - [Don't Put Me In The Box](https://pulpconversations.com/dont-put-me-in-the-box.md) - Introducing Spiral Dynamics - [Code Switching: A Necessary Skill](https://pulpconversations.com/code-switching-a-necessary-skill.md) - Pulp Conversations S1E2: Jordan Owens - [Embracing Change](https://pulpconversations.com/embracing-change.md) - What's in Store For Me? - [Darkness Retreat: A Surprise](https://pulpconversations.com/darkness-retreat-a-surprise.md) - Have you ever been scared straight? - [The Power of Men's Groups](https://pulpconversations.com/the-power-of-mens-groups.md) - Pulp Conversations S1E1: Omar Samra - [](https://pulpconversations.com/hello-world.md) - Seeing America with New Eyes: Finding My Voice After 15 Years Abroad ## Optional - [RSS Feed](https://pulpconversations.com/rss/) - [Sitemap](https://pulpconversations.com/sitemap.xml) - [Full content of pages and posts](https://pulpconversations.com/llms-full.txt)