August 16, 2026, Issue 33

Logic vs Emotion in Real Time

There are moments in life when your head knows exactly the right thing to do, but your heart fills you with sadness, regret, and doubt. The Dadsadvice team is currently living one of these moments. For the last 8+ years we have been living in what can best be described as anyone’s dream home. A brief description: 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, and a kitchen that a chef would fantasize about. On 1.6 acres outside sits an oversized swimming pool, a pool house with a fireplace and bar, and a full-size basketball court.
For over two years now, the only people living here are Mr. and Mrs. Dadsadvice and Hazel the golden retriever. The upkeep of the house, lawn, and pool is more than a lot. And so, with heavy hearts we have accepted an offer to purchase our dream home. I can tell you that I am grateful for every day we spent in this house, and for the times we have shared here with family and friends. I know full well that it is people that make a house a home, and I also know that wherever we land we will be truly happy. But I know all of that with my head while my heart keeps saying nooooo…..

Politics Seems Hopeless

I see our president advocating less vaccines at the recommendation of his appointed head of the Health and Human Services department, who in turn will stand on a stage and drink raw milk, and I think oh, good I was hoping for a return to a simpler time. What I wasn’t hoping for was a time when measles, mumps, and rubella were a super fun dangerous part of early childhood, or when the explosive diarrhea from drinking unpasteurized milk would make you wish for some iceberg lettuce. I mean, what are we doing here??
Surely there’s a better alternative, right? Well, let’s take a look at the left. Now in order to do this you’re going to have to turn your heads really far left. Why? Because Bernie and his merry band of socialists also want to bring us backward. Way back to Karl Marx in the mid-1800s. This group is taking its talking points from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Some notable members of this faction are Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and of course the smiling mayor of NYC Zohran Mamdani. The talking points? Public ownership of major industries, restructure the constitution so that the president and the Supreme Court are subordinate to Congress, while abolishing the Senate altogether. Abolish ICE, defund police, phase out prisons, and fully open the borders. Yikes!
Now here’s the thing folks. Politics today is not meeting people where they live and offering the things they want. The vast majority of people would like to have a home, food on the table, and a little cash left over to go somewhere or do something. Do I oversimplify? Of course. But it seems that politicians are in the game today to make a name for themselves, or as we see daily make money for themselves. I still see way too few of them taking the will of their constituents into account when drafting policy.

Is Anyone Listening?

Those that know me know I do not toot my own horn. Those that read that sentence know that I am about to. Since the beginning of this newsletter, I have recommended 35 stocks to buy. Of those, we have fully closed 19 positions. Only 4 have produced any losses ranging from 6% to Biomea Fusion at 51%, which also told us to watch out for early-stage biotech companies. The 15 winners ranged from a modest 6% rise on Pfizer to 103% in Palo Alto Networks, with an average return of 55% over a holding period of just under one year.
Now that the horn has been blown, we’ve created the perfect segue to look at the current portfolio.

Current Portfolio

STOCK	SHARES	AVG. COST	CURRENT PRICE	FIRST PURCHASE
SNAP	500	$7.58	$5.41	8/5/2025
GOOGL	5	$238.74	$345.90	10/10/2025
AMZN	10	$135.49	$262.65	2/10/2023
AAPL	5	$258.98	$305.93	1/9/2026
NVDA	20	$47.72	$225.16	1/02/2024
NKE	50	$66.02	$40.73	9/11/2025
PLTR	10	$135.03	$174.04	2/19/2026
SOUN	445	$4.94	$7.43	2/15/2024
ARKB	45	$19.46	$20.85	5/1/2024
MSFT	7	$408.79	$495.40	10/31/2024
BA	15	$210.44	$231.67	5/20/2025
EROC	400	$10.79	$16.72	7/20/2026
JOBY	450	$12.33	$7.92	8/19/2025
PTON	1,200	$6.09	$5.63	10/14/2025
META	8	$623.57	$589.85	10/30/2025
COF	20	$203.37	$227.34	1/23/2026
MU	8	$925.89	$971.66	6/23/2026
HOOD	20	$79.00	$95.56	2/19/2026
RITM	300	$9.51	$10.36	4/29/2026
SPCX	14	$135	$140.00	6/12/2025

While we remain disappointed in the lagging turnaround story at Nike, we are staying with it for now. Same story with Peloton which had a really nice quarter, but the guidance was somewhat weak.
We mentioned Erock in our last letter, and in the following 2 weeks it rose 60%. We are poised to take profits but remain intrigued by the story of power for data centers.

Odds and Ends

Are there any companies you’re interested in researching? Let me know and we will dive deeply into the numbers.
Did anyone pick up any EROC shares? Hoping you did.
After the successful splash made by CW Properties, I expected the emails to be backed up by potential sponsors. I figured we’d be sold out until the new year. Alas, the lines have been silent. We are still offering the same prices to place your ad, inquire and find out how you too can reach 32 people free of charge!

Thought of The Day

While it is bittersweet to sell our home, it is the bigger picture that provides the heartache. The memories of family, of kids needing us, of the importance of being parents. Clearly, we have done our jobs well, and that is noted by the less frequent calls and questions. The kids are all on paths to success, and wedding(s) are in our future. The transition is what creates angst.
For my older readers, how did you deal with this stage of life?
For my younger cohort, how do feel about adulting and moving forward in the real world?