Notes From Spain at 110°F

A rare earth five-bagger, the essay that broke my inbox, a risk rule I never break, and what I've been building.

It’s Lau here, writing to you from Spain.

It's 43 degrees outside my window (about 110°F). Between settling in, getting the kids sorted, and finishing what I've been building this past month (more on that below), it's been a full couple of weeks.

Interestingly, there are no “air conditioning wars” in Spain. If you’re American, or really anyone outside Europe, and that sentence made no sense to you, you clearly haven’t been following the EU’s latest insanity.

Much of Europe is in the middle of a heated debate (pun intended) about whether air conditioning is an environmental luxury or a basic necessity. Germany has what WELT magazine called an “AC-phobia.” Good Morning Britain ran a segment asking whether using AC is “selfish.” European X is full of people earnestly trying to prove to the world that Europeans don’t need AC because they’re simply more in harmony with nature. And French politicians, who can barely keep their own power grid running, have taken to blaming American energy habits for Europe’s climate problems.

Source: The Telegraph

But leave it to EU officials to lay bare the absurdity of the whole “look at us, we’re so environmentally virtuous” act. Last week, the European Commission shut down the cooling system in its Brussels headquarters, the Berlaymont building. Staff on floors 1 through 7 (about 3,000 people) got a midday text: “BERL — URGENT — Due to extreme weather conditions, forced shut down of air cooling system from floor 1 to 7 for the rest of the day.” Meanwhile, floors 8 through 13, where Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her 26 commissioners sit, kept their AC running. You can't make this stuff up.

The Berlaymont building in Brussels. AC for floors 8-13. For everyone else: drink water and start work earlier.

In Spain, despite being an EU country knee-deep in its own brand of environmental posturing, none of this is a conversation. It’s 43 degrees. You turn it on. Yes, most of the buildings here are old and weren’t designed for central air, which seems to be the excuse for not having AC in other parts of the EU. Sure, it has some inconveniences. The condensate has to go somewhere.

But the Spanish solved this the way they solve most things: innovating with what they have. Run a drain pipe into a plastic jar on the balcony, empty it when it fills up. Not elegant. Works. Would I rather not do it? Sure, but it beats waking up at 3 AM in a puddle of your own sweat.

The Spanish approach to the EU’s air conditioning dilemma.

All that aside, I wanted to thank everyone who read and especially those who reached out about my “what happened” essay. I’ll be honest, I’m a little overwhelmed by the response. Thank you.

Since many of you asked: yes, I’m launching my own investment service. I’ve been busy putting the final touches on it so it can see the light of day this week. A philosophy, first picks, and everything I wanted to do at my old shop but couldn’t. Keep an eye on your inbox.

For now, here are the top essays from recent days, and a few reader comments that caught my eye.

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From the Comments

One of the things I've come to appreciate most about writing here is the conversation that happens in the comments. Here are eight that stood out, for different reasons. Each one links back to the piece or note it appeared on, so you can click through if you're interested in the context, including my replies and the conversations that followed.

Thanks again to everyone who left a comment recently. I read all of them, even the ones I don't get a chance to reply to individually. Once this week’s launch is out the door, I'll catch up on the questions and the longer threads.

Regards,

Lau Vegys