Latest / Black Box Theory Podcast / BBT #08 | Success, Loneliness & The Performance: What Nobody's Saying

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BBT #08 | Success, Loneliness & The Performance: What Nobody's Saying · Black Box Theory Podcast

• Black Box Theory: Hello, hello, hello. We're back man, we are back. Long at last. It's been like two weeks. If not three, I don't know. This is episode eight, Yeah, ⁓ Yeah, bro, we're back, bro. ⁓ We do, as always, man, we appreciate you guys. We just had some, you know, schedule hiccups, misalignments, work schedules, stuff just be coming up, man. But one thing is for sure, we're definitely gonna stay consistent. Like, ⁓ we definitely appreciate everybody that's still interacting with our content that we kind of been posting in the meantime between our last episode and now. ⁓ Yeah, nah, we always are, like I said, we said this from the jump, bro. This isn't a, something we have started up to do a couple episodes, get some clips, and then cut it out. So ⁓ we definitely appreciate y'all if y'all still tuning, y'all still listening. Yeah, we definitely here for the long run for sure. So, yeah, how you been, man? What's going on? I mean, man. mean, like you said, it's a lot going on. It's a lot going on in the world, a lot going on in life, work, you know, whatever it is. But here, blessed, you know, just appreciative, like you said, of everybody interacting. You know, it was interesting to see all thoughts. And for those who don't know, you know, we interact with our people over on Instagram and things like that. So put up polls and questions every now and then. It's great seeing everyone's thoughts on... Mm-hmm. what you would do if you were given 10K, you know, as far as high yield savings versus investing. Also, you know, just the facts and stats around ⁓ having a, like an ethnic name, like a black name versus a non-black name and, you know, just things like that. So we interact in different ways, but been good, man. You doing all right? Mm-hmm. Living the dream, bro. Living the dream. But nah, I mean, like I said, just been booked and busy, bro. I think we both kind of are in that point in our very early on careers where we kind of like just are hitting the road running. And I've seen it, I don't know about you, but like, I think I've hit that kind of point where it's like days are just starting to overlap and it really does start to feel like the same thing every day, but not in a bad way. robotic like I have no life outside of this, but it's just becoming like I think more of you know, I think I'm just I think that's a actually a pretty good sign because I think that says I'm one getting more comfortable in my role and then two I Think like that just kind of routine of you know, getting to work every day just kind of Becoming a lot lot easier to adapt to and kind of integrate You know, so I kind of operate day to day But yeah, like I said, definitely been busy, bro. Yeah, we, it's been busy, bro, but. So you're the road, the road hitting back, bro. Yeah, it's been tough for sure. But I think that there have definitely been a ton of really good learnings, a ton of kind of like, just kind of like key pieces of advice and insight that I think I've kind of like been able to gather from these first what? It's been how many months? August? Four? That's four months, and then seven. Yeah, seven months. Seven months, bro. Seven months. Seven months. You know, ⁓ we should talk about that. mean, today, today, think we're going to talk about those seven months learnings. Got to get a few things lined up. Just kind of getting back at you guys. But I guess before we go any further, I just want to give give that quick disclaimer. You know, we always give you we are your hosts, ⁓ Thomas, myself and Malcolm co-hosts. And the views in this podcast or the views expressed on this podcast are strictly our own and do not represent our employers or any affiliated organizations. We are not financial advisors, tax professionals or legal experts. We're sharing our personal perspective perspectives and deconstructing these industries in real time. But none of this is professional advice. Always do your own due diligence to consult with qualified professionals before making major moves or learning out loud. Join us. But the plays you make are your own. ⁓ So, you know, in the day and age of AI where you just do what you're told and the human brain is actually losing activity statistically, ⁓ don't do that. Think. Use critical thinking skills. ⁓ If your ancestors thousands and thousands and thousands of years ago could do it, let's practice those things today. Thank you. Yeah, man, we just want to kick this episode off with just touching base on our biggest takeaways from our first half a year sequence working at one of the largest companies in the world. I think we both have had pretty distinct experiences, but there are definitely a lot of shared challenges, wins and losses I think we both experience. But think that, know, kind of like, you know, taking them objectively, think that regardless, I think there's definitely plenty of sound advice between the two of us and what we've kind of been able to accomplish, we've been able to learn, ⁓ kind of like do's and don'ts, just kind of like big, you know, things that we'd like to consider gems that we think that people who are interested in, you know, kind of getting their foot into the door and getting into this space as well, ⁓ I think this will serve you very well. ⁓ So... ⁓ Yeah, just to, we can kind of go back and forth on this just to kind of jump in. My, my first, these first two months bro has really been a whirlwind. I think I went from kind of like just being the guy who went straight from an internship to full time to kind of like one, just trying to figure out where he fit in ⁓ to kind of like really kind of like taking ownership of a product of a service. ⁓ kind of being able to lead and work cross-functionally. I think it's definitely been a lot of development and growth as far as how I've been able to contribute, provide value, provide impact to my team and to my organization. But I think more importantly, it's been the, some where I think just some of the more inward, intrinsic changes that I've seen in myself as far as confidence, as far as being able to communicate effectively. But one of the biggest, Takeaways I've had thus far, bro, ⁓ you gotta ask questions. Like, you have got to ask questions about everything. And I know to sound cliche, like, bro, you sound like my teacher, you sound like my professor, you sound like blase, blase, but when it's just you, ⁓ before you have anyone to advocate for you, you have to prove why you're supposed to be there. No one's gonna advocate for you unless they see something, unless you see like, Unless they see something in you and they see the value and the quality and the impact that you can provide. Nobody's going to advocate for you just because they feel sorry for you or because you're on the team. That's not how you build ⁓ relationships with colleagues. That's not how you build, kind of like that board, those board of advisors, those mentors, and those people that you kind of keep close to in the workplace. When you're first starting out at a place like this, your best friend is going to be asking questions. You can play the I'm New card. for X number of months, but after a while the expectations that you're going to ramp up and be really good at your job. So what I say, your biggest tool, your biggest leverage, your biggest advantage is going to be the ability that you don't know anything. you not knowing anything is, this is going to be one of the very few times ever that not knowing anything is going to work in your favor. Axe everything. Axe, understand, right? Like you're going to have managers, you're going to have, you know, CVPs, you're to have skaters, you're going have all these guys who are like... Thank Thanks. people, not guys, men and women, in positions of leadership in your company. Yes, obviously they kind of accepted the vision and the strategy for your organization, but it doesn't mean that you aren't allowed to ask questions. Obviously there's a level of professional respect that you give to people who are levels way higher than yourself, but at the of the day, you're still an employee at the same company, but you have the right to understand why a business makes a decision. have the right to understand. why we're doing this, why we're doing that. Understand the technology, understand your team, how it functions. Understand why your team does what it does, ⁓ how it impacts the company, how it impacts customers, how it impacts the public. What type of revenue do you provide? Understand how your organization fits into the broader company. Two, understand what everyone on your team does, what their direct projects and ownerships are, where you can fit in, where you can add value to. And then three, ask questions just to understand. When you receive tasks, when you receive projects and assignments, don't just say, okay, I have to do this because it's been given to me. Understand why you're doing it. Because it's a difference between being given work for the sake of being given work. And there's also work that actually provides direct value and impact to the people that are in your organization, in your company. So understand why everything that's given to you, understand why it's being given to you. Just understand. ask as many questions there is no, depending on like some managers and some relationships are very different and distinct and some don't have that type of lead. But I think that if you are like a manager and you are really invested in someone new in your team's growth and development, they'll be more than happy to answer your questions and kind of like walk you through and really ramp you up properly to make sure that you are a ⁓ quality contributor and employee. So I think that's one of my biggest. my biggest takeaways from these first few months for sure. No, I think that's real. I definitely agree with that in the sense of asking questions. A lot of things happen, especially in that PM TPM role, where in my experience, it's just a lot of liaising. Like, I mean, obviously we have two different roles. So like for me, it's like one big thing is just like taking information from one place, putting in another and people to people like you, kind of have to know what's going on and have to know why. Hehehe. And it's like it's so overwhelming at times as well. Like and they say the AI helps. AI is so useful because it's so much faster and efficient than the human. So if it's so much faster and more efficient, that means there's going to be a gap between human processing and memory versus AI processing and memory. But I guess like in my own, like a big learning for me, ⁓ I don't know, like I started as a program manager on one team and then moved to like a brother sister team as a product manager about two months in. So I started in August and this is in October. ⁓ So yeah, about about two, two and half months in. ⁓ And man, my biggest learning, I'm going be honest, man, when you're in tech in my experience, like so far, biggest thing is just figuring out Like Malcolm said, like how you can add value, asking questions, being a meaningful person on the team, because that's really how things work out. Everything's about relationships. Now I'm not saying to go in there and have fake relationships. I'm not saying to go in there and smile on people's face. mean, I don't, I'm gonna be honest, like I don't go in there and talk to everybody. I'm not sending messages in the teams, chats all day, trying to, you know, play buddy, buddy, because I mean, you can do that, but like, what are you contributing? What are you doing? I like to let my work speak for itself. So I would say not just put your head down, but like you gotta let things speak and people eventually understand what you're doing through the impact. They'll see what you're adding ⁓ and really separating work from your life. Like for all my people, even if you're not in tech, bro, like this is not everything, bro. Like handle your business. If you got to work a little extra, do that. like this stuff is being stripped away. you. so quick bro like coming in right now like AI is moving at rampant paces. The role of the product manager itself is shifting and changing in the next six to 12 months. We don't even know what that's going to look like. ⁓ companies are laying off you know Metas facing layoffs. ⁓ know other big tech companies are seemingly preparing for changes and shifts as well. Org flattening is happening. So there's a lot going on. You just have to try to navigate. and figure out how to just go to work, collect your check, contribute, make people happy. That's what it comes down to. So. Yeah, and ⁓ I guess I hope people that are listening to this don't kind of take this as our lives are just doom and gloom and it's nothing but work. Because another thing I wanted to kind of touch on was just the importance of having outlets and having things to do outside of your nine to five. ⁓ I can't stress that enough because you have to make sure that you have an identity outside of your full-time job. You have to make sure that you have an identity and a purpose. and a passion outside of your full-time job, whether that's a hobby, whether that's a side hustle, whether that's a passing project that you're working on, that's working out, playing a new sport, picking up a new hobby. It has to be something. Your life cannot revolve around the work that you do because you won't be able to separate when those... And that was something I struggled with when I first started. I couldn't... I was so kind of like... And I still am ambitious and kind of like... I want to make sure that I put forth very good quality work. But I was finding myself, like those lines between my personal life and my work life became, like those, especially those hours became very blurred to me when I first got out because I was in such this rush to kind of prove myself and show like why I belonged on this team, why I was selected for this role, et cetera, et cetera. And that took a, definitely took a negative, you know, toll on me mentally. ⁓ And when you are working in these demanding roles, and this isn't even just for someone in big two, this is anybody, right? Anybody working, putting in time, putting in 40 plus hours a week, you deserve this, right? Like, you deserve to have an outlet. You deserve to have something to look forward to outside of, you know, your nine to five, whatever your hours are. You deserve to have something to kind of take that stress away, to be able to decompress, to be able to put your energy into. Because without that, you're gonna lose yourself. You're not gonna be able to have an identity for yourself outside of work. And that's the last thing that I want for myself or anybody listen to this to believe that their purpose and their extent on this earth is to just be an ⁓ employee of a company. I'm not saying that everyone is bound to be the next freaking Sam Altman bound to be the next Y series, Combinator, startup founder, or the next big Shark Tank competitor. I'm not saying that, but I know that everyone has a purpose. In one of those ways that you find those purposes, or that you find your purpose, ⁓ you know, for being here is, it's through different outlets. It's through finding ways to keep yourself entertained, to keep yourself stress-free, to keep yourself healthy, to get your mind off of the thing that consumes, you know, most of your time during the week. ⁓ that's something I've definitely taken seriously, like, you know, like things that I've, you know, been more consistent than ever, ⁓ counting in the gym. I've taken up a few side projects I'm working on and interests I've had for a while, but I didn't really just have the free time to do the research that I needed to. Things like that, I've been able to put time towards things that I really want to and put my money and energy towards things that I'm actually interested in. ⁓ Obviously, I still put forth my best foot at work, but... It's just kind of like making sure that you have that distinction, you have that kind of line in the sand to understand like, okay, this is enough for this. And it's time for me to kind of like, you just have to know how to separate those things. that's just another thing I wanted to call out. But I mean, outside of all the, obviously it's demanding, it's tough, it's rigorous, ambitious. It's been, I think, definitely been a blessing for the both of us, I think for. what it's kind of provided for us financially, the network of people we're able to meet, being able to kind of like just work at one of the most cutting edge, one of the world's most valuable companies. ⁓ It's a once in a lifetime, like it's definitely a privilege. Like it's a blessing to be here. You know, I don't want, you know, it's very easy to get comfortable in roles like these and just take it for granted and just kind of look at it as like something that you are entitled to and that something you are privileged to, but. I am very aware that anything that has been given to me can be taken away. So I just take every day with a... I have this sense of purpose with me every day, knowing that I worked my tail off to be here. So that's just kind how I view it. And I think that when you give yourself that sense of purpose going into each day, it makes your working days a lot more enjoyable and purpose-filled, instead of just kind of dreading every day waking up like a... freaking robot or something like that. ⁓ Yeah, man. It's facts. I will. Yeah, I agree. I agree with what Michael said. It's very positive. It's very... There's a lot of benefits. There's benefits to everything. And for my people who potentially feel like their employment or whatever is going on in life is blocking them from achieving or having those happiness aspects, then work towards... you the window on the other side. I ⁓ just pray and have a good mindset, good attitude, look at the positives. I mean, it's a lot going on. If you have a job now, even if you hate it, let's say if you do hate going to work every day, find something you like, think about the healthcare you're getting. Hopefully you're getting that, because I know some jobs are actually not paying for healthcare right now. ⁓ Just make the most out of everything. there. Good boy. keep playing it and just ⁓ about what you want long term. No cap, man. Keep working for sure. know, everything's going to come into fruition, bro. It's just a matter of staying down, being patient long enough for it to actually kind of like see it happen. So that's kind of, think, the route that the both of us are on. But yeah, we are, you know, hopefully, you're able to get something from that. Y'all enjoy that a bit. ⁓ Like I said, we don't want to nerd-jive out too much for the whole episode, so we're going to shift gears real quick. Definitely. I know. I mean, if you just even been on the internet for a second, I'm sure you've seen all this crazy news with Iran and Russia and the oil. mean, you don't even have to read the news to see the oil, to see the gas. You can go to your gas station down the street and that's all the news you need to know. Like, ⁓ it's so much going on. We kind of like just the, by the time we recorded this episode, we a little late to the party for like when everything really, really kicked off for us to really do like some, some deep digging in like. Yeah kind of like live reporting as we would call it. But no, I'm sure everyone is very aware of kind of like that entire battle and ongoing war in the Middle East for the regime change in Iran and whatnot. So if you haven't followed the news, I'm sure you're kind of familiar with it. I'm sure it's definitely been hitting your pockets as far as like crude oil prices skyrocketing. some people predicting that they hit $200 a barrel. Lord knows what them gas prices are going to look like. I personally have been spamming, BJ's, Costco, Sam's Club. think I drove by Wawa today. I'm in Maryland, 535th of a gallon. I was like, hell no. Wait, wait, wait, wait, 535 for basic? Bro, for 87, dog, I was like, hell no. That's worse than a bit. I'm like, is I was like, is this diesel? I was like, this is diesel, bro. I'm like, no, y'all are trolling, bro. I'm like, y'all are trolling. I literally went and waited in the BJ's gas line. I was like, y'all are trolling, bro. So, nah, but like, nah, yeah, it's overly, I ain't gonna fake it, it's overly, it's overly this away. You know, and it's crazy. I was listening to this podcast by New York Times because they do daily podcasts or something. I think it's called The Daily, actually. And they were saying like back in the 70s, something similar had happened where basically they were fed up. think somebody had did the similar thing with the port or something related to the Middle East. were like, yeah, screw y'all. We tired y'all, right? So they blocked the oil. Obviously, that's different from now. Now it's a whole different reason than everything. People know the real reason. Stop watching. What's that thing? Stop reading New York Post. Go actually look at some facts and news. But yeah, basically. So I think back then it was so bad. Like they had to limit people on how much gas they got at the pump. I don't know if we're heading back that. I don't know if modern day America could handle that. I think people would like crumble if they were told they can't get the amount of gas that they want to get or they have to be limited. But like this stuff is real. The gas that's 535 gallon in Maryland on the East Coast. Yeah, I was genuinely awesome like That's West Coast prices bro. That's- I'm like, man, you got me messed up, bro. I'm about to move to Mississippi or something. Pop out of West Virginia, lowest cost of living in the country. Yeah, something like that. But, now speaking of which though, like on this whole wars piece, so had a cool little topic. There's some digging around on and it's about betting on death. Just kind like the moral implications of would you profit off a war? So I'm sure if, ⁓ you know, if you kind of are like, not, you don't have to necessarily be tapped in, but if you just kind of been following the growth, the very expansive growth of the prediction market. space, ⁓ you can see how while yes, it gives unprecedented accessibility and the ability to like essentially bet on just about anything. It of course opens up an entire door unethical, absolutely like very low moral kind of like decisions and obviously insider trading to an extra two levels like never but like to very extreme levels, right? So as an example, right? Someone made a $500,000 bet on Polymarket betting on when the US would bomb Iran, an hour before it was announced. ⁓ Trump Jr. is on their advisory board. His VC firm, Venture Capital, for people that don't know, his venture capital firm invested a million dollars in the company. And here's the uncomfortable question that we want to ask ⁓ regarding this topic. If you could legally bet, legally bet. on military strikes, elections, or disasters and make serious money, would you? At what point does prediction market just become profiting off strategy and if it's legal, is it really wrong? And to me, I think this is simply a question of morals. Now. I think it's interesting because I've seen so many Twitter posts and news articles about the Cauchy and the Polymarket. People would literally rack up money just betting no, no, no, no, no every day on... They'll ask the question every day, like, will the US bomb Iran today? Will the US bomb Iran tomorrow? Will the US bomb Iran on Wednesday? On Thursday? On Friday? They keep on making them with these live data points and these ever-changing... favor ⁓ percentages towards each outcome. But it's like. Well, let's just break down this question. We can do it in three parts. First, would you bet on something like that on military strikes, elections, or disasters and make serious money? Is that something that you would do? Meh. Bro, no, me personally, no. I mean, okay, right? Everything is a bet on those things, right? So like if you buy gold, like if I'm gonna go buy gold, then I'm kind of betting on these things happening, because I'm betting on chaos and weakening dollar. But I'm not necessarily, it's not like I'm buying Palantir or I'm putting literal calls and stuff on people getting slaughtered. It's just like, there's gonna be global disruption, even if it's not murder. However, I think... as a society, these bets have been happening. Now it's just changing who is able to bet now because all this stuff is about money. Every single war and every single US war has been about money. then people want to talk about World War II. They didn't jump in until they were forced to. It wasn't like they cared to stop what was happening overseas. It was... It's just accessible. Yeah, it's just more accessibility for sure. Yeah. Hey, I started messing with us. Now we're going to go over there and, you know, commandeer. We're going to do whatever we got to do in this money. But to answer the question, I would not directly bet on these things and disruption of war. ⁓ I do not. mean, I would like to be able to bet on defenses and, ⁓ you know, aerospace companies with the thought of those going towards an improved Earth. you know, and making money other ways. But yeah, no, just short answers. No, I'm not betting on blowing up schoolgirls in another country. I can't morally know. I mean, yeah, no, no, that's for sure. I know you're not laughing at that. I was just saying like that's literally like that's just one of the things they're doing. I can't get behind that person. That's not funny. That's not funny. I'm not that Yeah, no, no, no, I agree. I would say I would don't think on this list. I think I would bet on would be like elections. But honestly, I don't even bet all that much if at all. haven't bet in years since I started like I think I was like a junior in college. I was like trying to make like a little five dollar bet some underdog and prize picks getting my shit stolen. but no, no, I definitely agree. I think that there is a first of all, I feel like stuff like this. You are never going to profit unless you like, I like, I wish there was a tracker for the amount of times that Trump has made an announcement. even last week, Trump so clearly manipulates the market. It's not even like, like, like, it's just blatant now. think, believe last Friday, like the S &P was down all year, it trading around like 666, 665. And then out of nowhere towards the end of the day before the market closes, he goes, hey, Um, we're just about done with the war on Iran. Like we're going to wrap, like it looks like it's about to be over. The S and P jumped up to $672. That for people that don't understand the S and P 500 does not just jump up. Like for the S and P 500 to jump, that means like something has to like, like, like something like, like an announcement that has the potential to change the global economy, to change, like, like the U S is like GD like, like It has to be like a cataclysmic level announcement for the S &P to just jump like the sky. These are the type of fluctuations in price I expect from individual stocks that may have had like a crazy earnings call, or they just had a crazy partnership, or they just had something that warrants that level of a spike price because it's only that company. But for the S &P 500, which actually 500, you know what saying, largest market cap weighted companies, for it to jump up like that, three, four percentage points off an announcement. You You can bet your balls Trump had some type of call, some type of some type of heads or some type of bet to back up his announcement. He knows what he's doing. He's not like and I believe it's all post. think Trump's net worth. Hold on. How much has it gone up? Yeah, since he's been president, Trump's net, according, yeah, that's what I'm saying. According to Forbes, right? Trump is up 1.4 billion from last year and about 2.2 billion from early 2024. Well, I didn't know the $400,000 a year presidential salary was that great. Wow. He has netted, like just to give you guys some more context, he has netted an estimated $550 million over the past year through seven cryptocurrency tokens known as stable coins. The Trump family receives 75 % of the net proceeds when the World Liberty sells these tokens, according to the Wall Street Journal. Like what do we talk like this is the only president has there ever been another not even want to speak like from and if someone please do fact check me you're getting me from Rome. don't think I've ever seen a president's wealth grown grow this substantially since they've been taking over office since this dude every decision he makes everything that he does every policy he implements it's literally like the only thing that stops him in his tracks is when the the S &P goes red when the market goes red when trillions are wiped out. in market cap, in value in the stock market. Everything else he does strictly for the fact of manipulating the market for his own advantage, for his own purpose and just to make the Trump family. People don't realize he's not a good businessman, bro. That's low key one of the worst pieces of propaganda, stupid narratives that go with him and his supporters that genuinely believe this stone cold truth. He's a successful businessman. My God, if you did a simple Google search on Trump's business interests, bro, my man, he business ventures. They're cooked Trump steaks. Trump Airlines acquired this Trump shuttle, failed within three years due to debt. Trump University closed following lawsuits regarding its business practices. Trump Mortgage, a financial services company that closed quickly. Trump Vodka and Steaks, lifestyle brands that ceased production due to lack of interest. My guy. Just because he has large hotels and towers with his last name plastered across them does not mean that he's a good businessman. inherited an insurmountable amount of wealth and made a ton of bad decisions, but he capitalized on being the most powerful man in America by manipulating the market at his will and doing what he wants to make insider trade bets and calls and sit. I can go on about this, but. And it helps to have a last name that's as marketable as that. mean, ⁓ you got to Trump. Come on, man, like, he can slap his name, he slapped his name on a crypto coin and made hundreds of millions of dollars off of it. And nobody sees the problem with that. I'm going be honest, if Obama did that, like granted all of these politicians make money after office, right afterwards, but. Obama did it. Bro. After being best-selling authors going on tours or being speakers They would crucify Obama at the White House on the American flagpole If his if his net worth went up by billions of dollars in a sit, it hasn't even been a full for it's been a year since he's taking office bro Obama would literally be crucified on the American flag in the White House in the White House lawn Yeah. And he would be, he would be strung up. And let's just talk about this. Trump, he's moving so fast that he's avoiding the legal repercussions of the things he does. That's why there's all these lawsuits against him by states, companies, and he's suing back. People don't understand how illegal what he's doing is. And if people say, well, why are you focusing on this? There's so many things he's doing. He's never gonna like it's crazy He brought out the Epstein files. So what? Who cares if they were released under him and if Biden had acts? That's not the, that is ⁓ a piece of a larger puzzle. You got, like some people are just so wrapped up in certain things. He's making so much money. That's why he says the market's doing great when everyone else is getting screwed over. So all the people say, ⁓ well Trump did this, did that. Okay. For every one thing that you can name that he did that you might've liked or he might've agreed with or that might've been good. I promise you it's all for self interest. He's like growing things in his own way and trying to set his family up. I know there was talks where considering his son being put on the TikTok board or something, being CEO of TikTok, something, either way, family's getting set up. You look at a lot of these deals, look at EA, look at this other stuff with UAE, a lot of the family connections and how things are being moved. mean, the guy just said he would endorse Jake Paul for Congress. Like guys. And also, what some of the people are doing. What's his name? ⁓ Pete Hexeth. That guy was spent how much money on ⁓ king crab legs? Bro, they have spent 10... Bro, they have spent what, 10 billion dollars on this war? Yes, in just a week or not even a week or is it more? 14 days a week. And it's been 14 days. They spend $10 billion on this war. This could have paid off student loans for millions. This could have built infrastructure. This could have funded health care. But instead, we got missiles, And anyone, I hope anyone with a functioning brain that suits off neurons, that actually is a working brain, I hope you understand. Actually, no, I'm not even talking to people with brains. People without the brains. I hope you understand this is nothing more than rug being pulled over your eyes from what was actually the problem at hand, which was the stagnation and the straight up doctoring of hundreds of thousands of pages of Epstein files. That was what the focus was. Now, all of a sudden, all of our attention has shifted to this Iranian war, to bombing small schoolgirls who haven't even got a chance to live their lives, to killing multiple supreme leaders. of a country that just wants their own independence, their own sovereignty. I'm not even going to jump into the ... I don't even understand. I personally have not ... I've tracked this war enough to understand why we're going back and forth and why we're partnering with Israel, but I still do not understand ... I understand that we wanted to stop them from making a nuclear weapon or just to stop regime change, this and that, but bro, we're bombing kids, bro. they they crucified Obama like I had people the first time I ever really heard something negative about Obama when I was younger it mind you this is when I was in high school with other like minorities as program I was in ⁓ some the pilot topic of Politics came up mind you this is when Trump was president right and they said well Obama wasn't that great. He blew up a school So I'm not gonna say so every president for one Obama do I made I might be wrong I don't think there was children in the school Come on. No. ⁓ It might have been a school being used for, I don't think there were children. I don't think he would knowingly blow up a bunch of kids. This other guy on the other end, treats the war like it's a video game, like it's Battleship. I mean, they're posting videos of movies and video games to promote blowing stuff up. And then people want to talk about morals and Obama. Obama's probably the most morally sound president we've had in the last 30, 40 years. Not saying that all politicians are morally sound, but I mean, think about it. Biden. I can't. I don't think any too much happened, but. OK, even if you don't say morally sound, as far as like a decent politician, like like ⁓ just a quality politician, like someone who could actually sustain a conversation and argument and keep things level and talk back and forth with you, even if he wasn't the best in the last 30, he's the last one we had that could do that. What? I think Biden was just too old and Trump, mean, he. I mean, there's definitely an argument. dudes like Jimmy Carter and like, yeah, but I mean, yeah, in our area, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was a Ben the God thing. like, I mean, like bro, Obama caught hell over wearing a tan suit because it wasn't appropriate for discussing. We can't even compare the type of stuff that he caught hell for and he got scrutinized over. Jimmy Carter was in the, that was over 30 years ago, right? Those are the early 90s. felon and nobody cares. I'm telling you if Obama had a tenth of the convictions of the accusations of the trauma scandals things that just he's involved in that Trump is bro he would be impeached without hesitation without hesitate without us without a bike bro like it's just so crazy how nobody sees this but hey man this is the country that we live in it's the world that we live in you know Wait, real quick. I just need to correct myself. I've lost my mind. It said Jimmy Carter presidential term was 1977 to 1981. I know he was. We just did it. Jimmy Carter was a little, little minute ago. I don't think it was a 90. That was like, you know what saying? Like, uh. He was the 39th president and Trump is on his 47th. Yeah, yeah, I must say, because Reagan Reagan was after him. After. I think yeah, like yeah. Yeah, Reagan. Cooked. ⁓ That guy. Holy s— Yeah, maybe we should stop putting politicians in office who are not politicians. Let's stick away from the actors and the business people. Let's get people to actually have a background in law and politics. ⁓ Yeah, he was the 80s. Yeah, that guy's, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, man, that's our kind of politics take for the week, I love America. No, we are, bro. It's crazy, dog. But yeah, we are. I didn't know what else to touch on. Hey, what about Bam, man? Let's talk about the hate Bam is getting. ⁓ because we didn't talk about that. What are your thoughts about that? Oh, hold on. Yeah, yeah. I ain't gonna lie. I was actually having this, this, this argument with my man. She was like, Oh, you know, it's 83, but it's unethical because he got 40. He took attempted 43 free throws, this and that, this and that. I'm like, bro, 83 points is 83 points. Like I don't want to hear that it's unethical. Nobody has ever had a single game scoring record has played ethical basketball. Basketball is a team sport. So for anyone to amass, 70 plus points in a game is unethical by nature of the way the game is structured. However, I think that for Bam to get credit, think a lot, for one, a lot of this is people getting butt hurt about Kobe's record being broken. That's really what it is. And it's just the fact that it's Bam and people don't respect the way that he plays basketball. He's a really good basketball player. If it was Kevin Durant, if it was LeBron James, if it was Luca, if it was Ant, if it was SGA. You ⁓ of all people to break his record. That's why a lot of people are feeling this way. But I'm like, you cannot discredit this man. Like to drop 83 points in a national these aren't like yes, the Wizards are a terrible team. at end of the day, these are all professional basketball players. These are first and first round picks that are going up again. These are grown men playing basketball. If anybody's getting criticism, it should be the Wizards, right? Like they're a terrible basketball team for allowing him to do what he did. But to discredit that Hahaha! and say it's unethical bull. Bro, the record, like, you cannot take that away from this man. Oh, he took free throws. They fouled him. Oh, he took all these free throws. They fouled him. And then they keep trying to compare it to Kobe's 81 and then Bands 83. if I, bro, and it's like, if you, like what, like that's how you know a lot of these people have never played sports before because who in their right mind, if you were, first of all, he dropped like 30 some points in the first quarter. By the time you get to 70 points and you see there's time left on the clock, why would you want to come out of the game? Dead exciting. because you don't want to touch Kobe's record. Records are meant to be... Every one of Kobe's records got broken this week. Nicholas Batum passed him in the all-time three-point ⁓ Bam broke his record for ⁓ freaking, you know, single game scoring record. Freaking Cooper Flagg just broke his record for being the teenager with the most 20-point games. Luca just broke his record for, I think it's like... ⁓ I forgot what it was in the Lakers. It was either 50-point... ⁓ Yeah, points. are like some triple double games, something he passed something for him for Kobe as well. ⁓ Like all his records are getting passed up this week, but it's like records are meant to be broken, bro. And it's like, people do all this and that about ethical basketball and what's ethical, what's not. But you also like root for SGA, root for Luca and all these dudes, they all do the same thing, bro. ⁓ and like people are one diluting with the word ethical actually means. I understand what it means in the sense of like pure Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Here who she's talking about tough buckets clean shots good basketball band plays a good like band plays a good like degree of that band plays good basketball, bro But it's like you cannot in the same breath root for these dudes that flop after ever for every single call get every single whistle and get free throws but just because of the fact that they didn't get 83 they don't have the same star power. They don't have the same bag Bams is unethical at the end of the day Yeah. dudes play the Wizards every night. Dudes get the same 48 minutes that Bam got every single night and nobody else has done it. So say that his unethical, oh it don't really count. me someone else with a three point game. You man that's and that's they these haters email you doka bro that that was big time hating hating Yeah, he was riding. He was hating, bro. Some old, old, only made six threes, always the wizards. Man, that guy didn't he not? Was he the one that didn't even make the lead or somebody played against LeBron or something early on? it the Celtics coach or was it Emea Yuduck? Somebody used to, Joe Mazzullo, okay. think it was Joe, I think it was, it's about Joe Mazzullo. But no, I ain't gonna lie, may just been salty since he lost Neil Long, and I ain't gonna say she's doing anything. He's been true since, but he's a great coach. Yeah, but I'm like, bro, you can't take that away from him, bro, because I've seen so many different arguments about, ⁓ I've seen some people say, ⁓ he shouldn't have kept playing out of respect for Kobe. ⁓ he should have, his 48th year was on Apple. I'm not trying to hear none of that, bro. I'm not trying to hear none of that. He mad bam ⁓ winning. Kobe wouldn't have did that. Kobe wouldn't have done none of that, bro. Kobe would have went out and won the game, got the record. Yeah, bro. That's what I'm bro. People are so like, and I hate how discourse has become around basketball and all sports. Everything is so like, stats driven now. Everything is so like, analytical, efficiency, true suiting percentage. It's all this nerd, like, Excel sheet stats. And it's like, I'm cool. Obviously, stats are good for when you need data driven evidence to prove something. But when that's your only argument every single time, bro, I feel like when you're having objective basketball conversations, it has to be a mix. accolades of eye tests just watching someone on the court and seeing if they are gifted and just really good at basketball and then stats stats to never be the one and only like like bro like Who cares? 8 degree points, bro Yeah. I feel like, you know, like back to your point, like people, can't hate on Bam and then like Dwayne Wade, who actually I think is one of the most foul baiting players of all time, like statistically, which I love Dwayne Wade's game. Like Dwayne Wade's, to me, I think he's consensus third best shooting guard of all time. But like Dwayne Wade is, he's a dog. Like I love everything about his game. ⁓ And you know, like if your name's not James Harden or Shay Gilder, just Alexander, then I'm cool with it. anything. Those guys for some reason, I just don't... I know they don't foul bait as much, especially statistically they don't... ⁓ Statistically they're not the top, the worst are like... Cool. Statistically they don't but if you watch the games in the way that SGA gets fouls, bro, it is freaking ⁓ it's like granted actually I think is as had one of the best point guard seasons I've ever seen back to back. I think he's the Topping player in the league like his talent undeniable but like like I said, you can't root for him in the same breath and then hit on bad because it's just like it just doesn't make sense to me bro, and it's like ⁓ yeah, nah, it's cooked. Hit on them, yeah. Or if you like James Harden, prom James Harden. Yeah, like, come on, bro. It's like they don't even play the same brand of basketball either. Like, Bam is a big, they just can't guard him, bro. Like he goes up in the paint. He's not doing step back threes fouling for like, he granted he did take like 22 threes, but this is like, and the whole, and the thing I really hated was just the Kobe fans trying to defend this. Like their logic just makes no sense to me because some way in their mind, like, okay, you'll compare Kobe's five championships to Lebron's four and they say, ⁓ no, five is greater than four. But then when you compare Bams, 83 to his, 81, it's none of those. 81 is bigger because he had a harder fault. It's like, people pick and choose arguments when it fits their narrative and when it makes their argument look more justified. But when it really doesn't make sense, they have a harder time actually flipping that and being objective about it. So you just have to understand when you're dealing with somebody who can't see past the fact that their favorite player's record got broken. And when you're talking to somebody who's just an actual basketball fan and enjoy seeing like, Yeah. momentous things like this actually happened. Like yeah, like, and if you actually go back and watch the game, watch his highlights, he was frying. Like the fourth quarter, you can debate about how that went around. Like there were some questionable things like with the heat filing, with the Wizards, like that. Okay. I get it. But them first two quarters, bro, he was straight killin, bro. Good hoops. BLEH And everybody does that too, We've all seen Yanis threw the ball off the backboard to get the extra rebound. Yeah, like everybody's that path everybody does this and that but it's the fact that it's your favorite players record that got broken. Now it's a problem about ethics. Now it's a problem about what's real basketball and what's not. And I think all the real Hoopers know, like people who really play, even if you're not a Hooper, if you played sport, you played any level of organized sport, not only do you respect this, but you understand like how challenging it even is to accomplish this feat. And if you're a Hooper, you like good ball. you can just see, like back to what Michael said, like people trying to compare everything with stats, like Jimmy High Roller. Yes, I'm sure a lot of us still like watch the video every now and then, or like grew up watching his videos. Like you... I was a strong. And even if you watch the videos, he goes through all the stats. He always has a graph or a visual and a bunch of stuff. But at the end of the video, he's always basically saying like, it's really still difficult to tell. Like there's no real way to categorize or analyze all this stuff. So pretty much basketball. Yes, the game has changed. This is the game that they want. They want high scoring. These records are going to be broken because that's the way the NBA is set up now. But at the end of the day, if you know ball and you like good ball, like that's That's what you're here for. you can tell by the eye test, like, who's tough. Like, there's a lot of tough dudes from the NBA who are not considered all time greats because they didn't achieve accolades, they didn't do this, didn't do that. But they're tough and everyone knows that they're killers on the court. And you got to remember, it's a business, right? They needed this to happen. They needed BAM to hit 83. They needed people to talk about the stuff. Playoffs are coming up. ⁓ March Madness is heating up, so there's going to be split viewership a little bit there. So, you know what saying? ⁓ Thank It's by design. Shout out Bam. Shout out Asu Wilson. Shout out the whole camp they got going on over there. That dude, I've liked him since, what was it, the heat, when the heat made the run to the playoffs. I'm not gonna say I cared a whole lot before. I always knew he was a dog, but that was really when I paid attention. You've never said bad things. Bams, I got them on my fantasy team right now. I direct them. I like BAM. I like, I bro, I'm just, I'm not saying I'm an OG BAM supporter, but he's from North Carolina. BAM's from North Carolina, bro. I'm not saying I'm an OG BAM supporter. I think he's from Raleigh. I think he's from the trailers. Hold on. You have never said BAM's name ever. You- you- you- you- my god. Nah, he is from NC, because I seen hella dudes fake claiming where he from, everybody from the 252 or something. They say he from Newark. He is not from Newark. He raised by his mother in North Carolina in Pinetown, attending a school at Northside High School, Pinetown and later high school, High Point Christian Academy. That's not this. No, John Wall went to ⁓ Word of God. OK, never mind. But yeah, I'm just saying, bro, I'm not saying I'm the biggest BAM fan. I'm not saying I'm like a super fan or anything. I'm just saying I've been a supporter since they made that run to the finals. I'm just, just, I'm just sorry. Yeah, nah, I'm not checking for BAM every week. My favorite player is Derrick Rose. My favorite current player is probably... ⁓ I don't really check in on anybody, but I guess the big names like Ant Wembee. I like those dudes, young dudes that set the tone in the future of the league and stuff. ⁓ But yeah, Bam's solid. Personality, you don't ever hear nothing about him, bro. He handle business. You can die. I'm just saying like Bam is a solid dude, bro. That's all I'm saying. Do you mention every NBA player that you support? ⁓ It's out the mud, man, with Raza MacKenzie, y'all. You ever seen that clip, bro? It's out the mud, Raza MacKenzie. We never seen that, bro. When Raza MacKenzie was like, I would break Kobe's record, I would get Kobe's 81. And he's like, it's out the mud, y'all. With Raza MacKenzie. And end the episode. You never seen that clip, bro. I don't think I have. Nah, I had to look up who, I know who he is now. I I recognize his face. He's on a... Bro, look up. Bro, look up. It's out the mud where we saw McCance. I promise you, you're gonna know what I'm talking about. There's no way you haven't seen that clip. It's out the mug, Rashad. He's wearing a crown. Yes. He's in there telling him like, oh, he was like, if I get 15 in the first quarter, that was easy. Next, I can get 81. And Tony Allen was like, 81 you talking about? Kobe's 81. It's out the mud. we're a style of a catch, man. We appreciate y'all tuning in. like, you're on culture, bro. don't know how you have it. I see. Hold on, y'all might not get what I'm left with, I just watched the clip, I've that clip before. Yes, I'm saying bro like bro you have to bro you got to pick up with this bro, but We should have showed that on here, If y'all don't know, go look it up. Y'all get a good laugh out of We're gonna figure out how put clips on here eventually, but you know, we still botched right now. But hey man, it's Black Box Theory, with Thomas and we out, man. We definitely appreciate y'all tuning in for our first episode back. We back consistent, we back dropping, we are not stopping. We still here, we still working, we still dreaming. We appreciate everybody tuning in, staying with us, sticking with us, listening to us, day. And we got some more cooked up for y'all, man. shore. Absolutely. Man, y'all be blessed. Yeah, be blessed man, make sure I hit church tomorrow, read your Bibles or respect to all religions. Do what you must, but yeah man, just stay tapped in, stay blessed, stay prayed up for sure. And we will catch y'all next week. Peace. Peace.