retail therapy
Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition
“COVID-19 safeguards have created a black market for gyms.” | learn more
retail therapy
How four brothers allegedly fleeced $19 million from Amazon
“The scheme involved 7,000 $94 toothbrushes, according to law enforcement.” | learn more
to your health
What is SalivaDirect?
“It is an RNA-extraction free, dualplex PCR for saliva to detect #SARS-CoV-2. It is meant to make sample collection and testing simpler and cheaper for large screening needs – like any “return-to” program.“ | learn more
to your health
Pandemic loneliness is better than expected
When the pandemic-induced quarantines began earlier this year, many worried that loneliness would increase. Well, good news! “Surprisingly, it seems that levels of loneliness around the world have remained generally stable. How have we avoided a social fallout?” | learn more
better doing
The Straussian reading
“The idea is that when you read something, there are sometimes two layers of meaning. There is the “exoteric”, most-obvious meaning, which is the normal meaning that normal meaning would reveal. After you understand the exoteric meaning, if you keep […]
tech, startups, internet
Palantir: on business, cults and politics
“Normally when a company files its S-1, we have the standard debates: is this a good business, or a bad one? Are they going public to get capital or provide liquidity to employees, or is it a money grab? Occasionally, […]
tech, startups, internet
Tesla was target of a foiled ransomware attack
A Russian criminal attempted to bribe an employee to introduce malware in the company’s network. Notable here is the bribe amount: $1 million. The employee informed the company and collaborated with the FBI in a sting operation. It makes me […]
tech, startups, internet
Amazon: a new kind of antitrust risk
I’m always on the lookout for things that might knock Amazon’s flywheel off balance. After all, it’s (pretty much) the only public company stock I own. Here’s a good one: “Amazon is the company most at risk from antitrust action, […]
oh, chicago
Are people really leaving Streeterville?
Well, yes. But for how long? “Ald. Brian Hopkins warned of a mass exodus following looting on Michigan Avenue. But it may take more for people to flee the utopia built by Mayors Rahm Emanuel and Richard M. Daley.” | learn more
fun facts
Space mystery: the interstellar object ‘Oumuamua
“In 2018, our solar system ran into an object lost in interstellar space. The object, dubbed ‘Oumuamua, seemed to be long and thin—cigar-shaped—and tumbling end over end. Then, close observations showed it was accelerating, as if something were pushing on […]