better doing
Are we really more productive working from home?
“Data from the pandemic can guide organizations struggling to reimagine the new office.” | learn more
better doing
When costs are nonlinear, keep it small.
“We like batching. Batching is more efficient doing ten at once is faster than doing one, one, two, one, one, etc. I don’t wash my socks as soon as I take them off, because lumping them in with the next […]
tech, startups, internet
Cost of $499 Starlink terminal set to plunge.
“One of the major barriers to entry to using SpaceX’s Starlink satellite-based ISP has been the cost of the terminal, which uses a phase-array antenna and which costs $499 (and reportedly costs Starlink more than $1300 to manufacture.)” | learn more
tech, startups, internet
Daikin’s scared of Tesla, launches ‘pay-per-day’ AC takes off in Africa.
This isn’t a startup, but it’s certainly innovation. “Japan’s Daikin has kicked off an air conditioning “subscription” service in Africa that let’s users turn on the AC – only on days they need it – through a smartphone app. … […]
oh, chicago
How Chicago lifted itself out of the swamp and became a modern metropolis.
“In 1833, Chicago was a wilderness outpost of just 350 residents, clumped around a small military fort on soggy land where the Chicago River trickled into Lake Michigan.” | learn more
fun facts
Yale’s 367-year-old water bond still pays interest.
“A 1648 Dutch water bond housed at Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library is unique among the tens of thousands of manuscripts that reside there. … It still pays annual interest more than 367 years after it was issued.” | learn […]
fun facts
Troll Research Station: how to operate an airport in Antarctica.
“Before 2005, getting personnel to the Norwegian Polar Institute’s Troll Research Station (AT27/QAT) in Antarctica involved a weeks-long boat ride followed by a 250 kilometer trek over snow, ice, and rock. But in 2005, the research station opened its 3000 […]
fun facts
Gutta percha, the hardened latex of the Palaquium gutta tree.
“Gutta percha was introduced to Europe in 1842 by Dr. William Montgomerie, a surgeon serving with the British army in the East Indies who had come across the substance in Singapore, where it was being used to make handles for […]
on the blockchain
Visa buys a CryptoPunk.
“Visa bought CryptoPunk 7610, one of 3,840 female punks, for around $150,000 last week. CryptoPunks are considered the original NFTs, launched in 2017 by Larva Labs.” | learn more
big ideas
Afghanistan, rare earths, and China.
“In this week’s Where Stuff Comes From Briefing: How and why Rare Earth Elements and Afghanistan are a massive opportunity for whoever seizes it (re: China).” | learn more