Tom's Top 3: July 1, 2025
Rekindling an Old Flame
Hi everyone! Welcome to this week’s installment of Tom’s Top 3 Tuesdays, where I highlight three pieces of content (Podcasts/Shows/Songs/Articles/etc.) that I found interesting or noteworthy from the prior week.
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[YouTube] Renaissance Periodization - All Protein Is Not Created Equal
I don’t actively track my macros or calories these days, but I roughly aim for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Dr. Mike Israetel points out that, as the title suggests, not all types of protein are going to be absorbed and utilized by the body in the same way.
He refers to the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) to highlight which types of food are the “best” or “more complete” protein sources. Foods with higher PDCAAS scores have an amino acid makeup that is better suited for building muscle.
That is not to say that foods with a lower score are not going to help hit your protein goals, they just do not contain all of the necessary building blocks for protein muscle synthesis. You would have to combine foods with complementary amino acid profiles to “round out” your nutrition.
Who really has time for that? That is exactly Dr. Mike’s point. He suggests having one of the staple protein sources with a higher PDCAAS score as the base of each meal, and then fill out the rest of your meal with whatever you’d like.
The list of foods with higher scores may not be all too surprising: Whey (1.04), Eggs (1.00), Casein (1.00), Pork (0.97), Beef (0.96), Chicken Breast (0.95), Fish (0.95), Tofu (0.93), Quinoa (0.92), and Soy Protein Isolate (0.90). These are just the high-quality protein sources that Dr. Mike listed, but he suggested that any food with a score over 0.90 can be considered a complete protein.
Well, if you saw my post from two weeks ago, you’d know that I have been excitedly waiting for the release of the revamped Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. I noted that I had last received the Sapphire bonus four years ago, so per Chase’s 48-Month rule, I was eligible for the Reserve sign up bonus in August, shortly after the revamp was to occur.
So much for that.
Chase has now reneged on their promise to the young, naiive 2021 Tom. Instead of having to wait 48 months like before, now you just have to wait ~forever~.
Much like Amex, Chase has instituted a one bonus per lifetime rule for each of the Sapphire cards (Reserve and Preferred). So if you have previously received a sign up bonus for the Reserve (as I have), then you are ineligible for another sign up bonus on that card.
This is really a bummer, because I have been patiently waiting out my 4 year sentence. With this card revamp, I was looking forward to a perfectly-timed high welcome offer. Chase ironically will lose my future business due to this change, because I cannot justify adding a $795 credit card without a sign up bonus as incentive. Even with the copious amount of credits, I am primarily excited about the Chase airport lounge access that the Sapphire Reserve provides. I will instead wait for my upcoming upgrade to the Ritz Carlton credit card to get the same lounge access privileges for a lesser price tag.
[YouTube] Nintendo of America - Super Mario Strikers - Nintendo GameCube - Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack
It’s not all bad—I also got some great news this week.
One of my favorite video games from childhood (and adulthood), Super Mario Strikers, is now available to play via the Nintendo Switch.
Originally created for the Nintendo GameCube in 2005, Strikers more or less flew under the radar, outshined by its more flashy Mario Sports cousins like Mario Baseball, Mario Golf, and Mario Tennis. But every single person that I have introduced to this game has absolutely fallen in love with it. It’s all the fun of FIFA, but with Mario. What’s not to love!
Our biggest complaint is that, since it was only available on GameCube, there was no way to play online. Now that’s changed! The boys will undoubtedly be firing up a couple Super Bowser Cups soon.
That wraps up this edition of Tom’s Top 3 Tuesdays. If you made it to this point, please drop a 1️⃣, 2️⃣, or 3️⃣ in the comments to let me know what you found most interesting/useful. And as always, please like and consider sharing with a friend who you think would enjoy! I’ll be back next week. ✌️
1️⃣
Sign me up for the Cup, brotha 😤