thoughts of food

America’s first menus.

America’s first menus. “Menus are maps: of taste, of economy, of immigration, of aspiration.” The Pudding uses early American restaurant menus to show what people ate, what they could afford, and what they wanted to signal about themselves. ~ learn […]

under the microscope

CRISPR as a suicide pill for cancer cells.

CRISPR as a suicide pill for cancer cells. “In bacteria, this CRISPR acts as a suicide pill, intentionally killing a cell that has been infected by a virus to prevent its spread.” Researchers reengineered that idea so once a cell […]

under the microscope

Recent advances in Alzheimer’s disease.

Recent advances in Alzheimer’s disease. “In this review, we summarize the most recent updates in AD research on pathologic disease mechanisms and therapeutic strategies, highlighting advancements in apolipoprotein E (APOE) biology, neuroimmunology, biomarker discovery, and initial experience with new disease-modifying […]

to your health

Wellness Disney World.

Wellness Disney World. “It’s like a wellness Disney World.” Therme is bringing its giant European-style bathing complexes to the U.S., including a planned $500 million Therme DC on federal land by the Anacostia River (but not soon). ~ learn more

better doing

Counting geese at work.

Counting geese at work. “I spend, to a first approximation, half my life counting geese.” In 2022 that meant endless reconciliation across GitHub, Linear, Drive, CRM, and slide decks. In his 2026 version, “The AI counts the geese now.” ~ […]

better doing

Change the habit loop.

Change the habit loop. “About 40 to 45% of what you do every day, according to studies, is a habit.” Charles Duhigg made this great solo video overviewing the keyconcepts from two of his books, The Power of Habit and […]

tech, startups, internet

Civilization tech we do not build.

Civilization tech we do not build. “i asked some frontier models to make a top 10 list of civilization-level tech we already have but don’t build” Then he shares the models’ answers, ranging from “high-speed rail and maglev” to “fully […]

tech, startups, internet

Robotics slop.

Robotics slop. “Still, he is keen to test consumers’ tolerance for what he calls ‘robotics slop’: tasks that are clumsily executed.” Robot company 1X’s Neo looks elegant and quiet in person, but some of the impressive demos are tele-operated, and […]