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Hi! I'm David.

Beyond the Cove - Field Notes #10

Published 3 months ago • 2 min read

Welcome. đź‘‹

Every two weeks, I share my writing on investing, career transitions, meaningful work, parenting, living intentionally, and other topics that engage me.

I'm still trying to figure stuff out.

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Field Notes Edition #

Welcome to another Field Notes edition of Beyond the Cove. I’m experimenting with a looser approach that's quicker to write and, hopefully, just as interesting for you to read.

In these emails, I’ll share a few things I noticed lately that made me think, smile, or look twice. Maybe they’ll do the same for you.

Please share any feedback or ideas. Just hit reply.

Over the next few weeks, I'll decide what this newsletter becomes. What bits should stay? What needs to go? Any new ideas?

For now, let's go...

  • Arbor Small Multifamily Investment Trends Report Q3 2025 Key quote: "Several of its core performance metrics, including valuations, originations, and credit standards, have shown measurable improvement as a multifamily market-wide normalization takes shape." Is the delayed recovery FINALLY here? 🤞🤞🤞 Read the report here (NOTE: you'll need to enter info to access the report.)
  • Things I Used to Believe, but Don't Anymore I'm a sucker for reflections from investors who change their thinking over time. I enjoyed this note by Adam Parker (graciously shared with permission), long-time Wall St. strategist and founder of Trivariate Research. Pair this one with Little Rules About Big Things, a recent essay by Morgan Housel.
"We pride ourselves on trying not to anchor to a thesis, and on constantly learning and reacting to new information, but still, we find ourselves increasingly viewing something the exact opposite of the way we used to view it." - Adam Parker
  • Class Dismissed A fascinating (and verrrrryyyy long - like more than an hour to read) profile of Joe Liemandt and Alpha School from Colossus. The snippet below (emphasis mine) hooked me. Read the full article here. Or, hear Patrick O'Shaughnessy's Invest Like the Best podcast interview with Liemandt.​
The one thing Liemandt will talk about for hours on end is Alpha School: the teacherless, homeworkless, K-12 private school in Austin, Texas, where students have been testing in the top 0.1% nationally by self-directing coursework with AI tutoring apps for two hours a day. Alpha students are incentivized to complete coursework to “mastery-level” (i.e., scoring over 90%) in only two hours via a mix of various material and immaterial rewards, including the right to spend the other four hours of the school day in “workshops,” learning things like how to run an Airbnb or food truck, manage a brokerage account or Broadway production, or build a business or drone.

Small Sparks of Joy Sometimes it doesn't take much. Just over the past few days, I've felt a spark from each of the following:

  • Thanks to several readers who replied to the last edition of Field Notes to share their college drop-off stories. Others texted or called to check in. These connections and conversations they foster are the main reason I keep this going.
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  • An iPhone Message easter egg I hadn't seen before - type "Pew Pew" in your text and send a laser show
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  • My occasional career coach and friend, Kathy Vines, is launching Surfing the Quicksand, a podcast "helping midlife women get unstuck – at home, at work, with family, in our bodies, hearts, and minds."
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  • A quote from "Difficult Conversations" resurfaced on Readwise, hitting me at the right time.
  • Mini Golf on the Jersey Shore! So simple. So fun.

And a Farewell Photo...

Hi! I'm David.

Every two weeks, I share my thoughts about investing, career transitions, meaningful work, parenting, living intentionally, and other topics that engage me. I'm in my fifties and still trying to figure stuff out.

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