Our family lived in Japan for a summer. Of the many surprises was the extensive use of cash. The most shocking thing to me was the mailing of cash for transactions. Even more surprising, people who mailed cash used special envelopes, I suppose so that the postman would be more careful. This would never work in the US, or most places I have been. From the Guardian (UK)

Tokyo citizens hand in record ¥3.99bn of lost cash

Took the train downtown to check out the SXSW scene. Didn’t seem as vibrant as other years, but still fun. Had lunch at the Iron Works BBQ. Helped an out of towner behind us in line ordering. He joined us for lunch. A Brazilian Israeli founder of a tech outsourcing company. Went to meet up with some old friends from Japan. Good to see them after all these years. They even brought us some SXSW swag. Went to have a drink at the Four Seasons and saw a guy who looked like Bill Walton in the lobby bar. Seems it was him. He had just come from the opening of the new ESPN documentary on his life and career. Had some salsa and queso and listened to a band sound check for the upcoming Grammy party. A good day.

This week the Silicon Valley Bank (SVC) collapsed in what looks like a good, old fashioned bank run / panic. But why SVC and why now? It seems VC funding is down 30% from last quarter and 50% from last year according to Forbes. So all of these startups are still spending but not getting new funding. For SVC this means lots of withdrawals and fewer deposits. Not a disaster, but something that could trigger a panic. This might be more true in a highly connected group that closely watches such financial information, like Silicon Valley venture capitalists.

Is this a one-off? I hope so, but the Irrelevant Investor has concerns:

The Fed has been trying to break things. Mission accomplished. They broke tech and housing and startups. How much more damage do they want to do? We’re starting to see cracks in the commercial real estate market too. If that goes, forget about it.

A Reverse Minsky Moment

My favorite comedy.

‘The Big Lebowski’ Turns 25: “People Didn’t Get It,” Jeff Bridges Recalls

Noam Chomsky takes on AI. From the New York Times.

Noam Chomsky: The False Promise of ChatGPT

I thought I knew pretty much everything there was to know about the early days of the semiconductor industry. A very, very good article from London Review of Books that covers a few of the aspects of the story I didn’t know about, particularly the military side. All of this is more important today than ever.

Putting the Silicon in Silicon Valley

Basically nobody is selling because they don’t want to lose their 3% mortgage and get a 7%. From A Wealth of Common Sense.

Why Aren’t Housing Prices Crashing?

Never sure what to make of these things. I think of wolves and sheep getting together to plan the future. Perhaps more like the hot dog guy. So American billionaires on the far right are finding common cause with non-billionaires on the far right. Contrary to what the article implies there doesn’t seem to be anyone resembling a liberal anywhere to be found. A cult of cults perhaps. By coincidence they are all converging in tonier parts of the American West. From Vanity Fair.

INSIDE THE DISSIDENT FRINGE, WHERE THE NEW RIGHT MEETS THE FAR LEFT, AND EVERYONE’S BRACING FOR APOCALYPSE

I have always been a big fan of Jimmy Carter. Robert Reich explains the pivot that too place circa 1980. Sometimes called the Reagan Revolution, it was the start of the corporate conquest of America.

Jimmy Carter and the End of Democratic Capitalism