Ed Howard Models

Model maker. First Principals Aficionado.

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

For those who celebrate...
Eight years ago today, February 6, 2018, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy maiden flight thundered off from KSC's Pad 39A, launching Elon's red Tesla Roadster into space with Starman at the wheel, grooving to "Space Oddity." Mars awaits!

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@CuriousPejjy Great presentation, great numbers.

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@Chesschick01 Collect your 1% reward. Sweet.

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@nicksortor So the Somali snitches are everyday Americans?

[Handre @Handre]

LASIK eye surgery costs roughly $2,100 per eye today. In 1998, it cost $2,200 per eye. Adjusted for inflation, you are paying about 60% less for a procedure that has simultaneously become faster, safer, and more precise. That is what markets do when left alone.

Now compare that to a hearing aid. The FDA classified hearing aids as prescription medical devices for decades, locking you into audiologist appointments before you could buy a $3,000 device that a manufacturer could produce for $300. Or, look at insulin. Heavily regulated, patent-extended, and politically manipulated, a vial of Humalog ran over $330 in 2024 versus roughly $21 in Canada for a biosimilar. Same molecule. Different regulatory environment.

LASIK sits in a peculiar gap. Insurers rarely cover it, which means third-party payment schemes never severed the price signal between provider and patient. You shop, clinics compete, manufacturers race to improve technology. The feedback loop that markets depend on functions exactly as it should.

Regulated medical markets break that loop deliberately. The FDA's approval process costs pharmaceutical companies over $2.6 billion per new drug on average, erecting barriers that protect incumbents and punish smaller competitors who cannot absorb a decade of compliance costs. Patients then pay the premium on the back end.

LASIK is the control in the experiment. The market won.

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@toledonews Only for the City of Perrysburg!

[tetsuo @tetsuoai]

America innovates 🇺🇸
Europe regulates 🇪🇺

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[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@elonmusk SI will have arrived when SI can seamlessly convert an IOS app to an android app and it just works.

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@signulll Google went from pretty good 10-12 years ago to crap more recently. This trajectory does not bode well for the AI future if it gets monopolized by 1 or 2 corps.

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@Hesamation 4. Spend money on safety.

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@toledonews My 1954 red stop sign is still doing the job and is not being ignored.

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@toledonews $65 million for a "Could"?

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

Not a fan. @BigAssFans

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@tunguz Clean

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@KatieMiller Sounds like she should sue OpenAI also.

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@jvbonaiii @JK_Lundblad And in that case, still do heat shield, catch first flight, 2nd flite disposable.

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@StephenFleming @Tesla Agree. Also a grab handle up top. Probably an airbag problem.

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@DanielDiMartino 66yo me approves.

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@realMeetKevin Wife watching the Roadster event "WOW, but why?"
Me "Its a recruiting event."

[Ed Howard Models @HowardModels]

@Erdayastronaut @Tesla I morn also. So sexy lost to so futuristic.