565: Constellation Software 2025 AGM, Anthropic, Ben Thompson, OpenAI ≠ Facebook?, Google AlphaEvolve, Nintendo Switch 2, Microsoft + Doctors, and Shōgun

"No, the answer is no."

Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously.

—Hunter S. Thompson

🦟 🪄🚫⚡️I first wrote about this electric device for treating insect bites last September, in Edition #525. But mosquito season was over, so I didn’t get a chance to test it out.

Two days ago, while doing some work around the backyard, the little vampires got me — feet and ankles, ugh 😩 — which reminded me of the device. Thanks to Amazon’s rapid delivery, I had it in my hands the next day.

Bottom line: It’s surprisingly effective!

My first reaction was: What sorcery is this?!

Your mileage may vary, but the gadget is cheap enough ($20-30) to be a no-brainer if you react to mosquito bites the way I do: weeks of inflammation and itchiness.

A small ceramic plate heats up to 122℉/50℃, so it’s a little painful, especially the first time when you don’t know what to expect, but the discomfort is brief. There are two modes: 3 seconds and 6 seconds.

If you want to better understand the science, this 2018 study goes into more detail.

📺 ‘Max’ will be renamed back to ‘HBO Max’.

No big surprise.

“Max” is such a bland word. It means nothing, it has no brand equity, no emotional resonance.

HBO, on the other hand…

I get that they were afraid of diluting the brand with content that isn’t to HBO’s standard, but while that’s a real risk, the bigger risk is having no brand at all.

🇩🇪🔌⚛️ Next week, I will fly to Germany for the first time.

I’m going to Berlin to attend the Anschalt-Konferenz, which is sponsored by an OSV Fellowship awarded to Mark Nelson for his efforts, along with his many collaborators, to persuade the German people to reverse the DUMB decision to decommission the country's recently closed nuclear power plants.

"German reactors were among the best in the world three short years ago, and German engineers are still the best," said Nelson. "Restarting the reactors is the fastest way to restore German energy independence while making a better future for Europe."

If you’re anywhere near Berlin, please come! I’ll see you there.

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🏦 💰 Business & Investing 💳 💴

✨📑 Constellation Software 2025 Annual Meeting: Runway, Style Drift, and Deploying Billions at High ROIC (Part 1) ✨🧙‍♂️💾

I thought I would give you my highlights from the annual meeting, which is now sadly held online over video rather than in person. I used to love having an excuse to go to Toronto every year and see my friends face to face…

First, here’s Mark Leonard on investing outside of VMS and style drift, and runway for capital deployment: