“Greenland appeared to have roughly 9 people living there and maybe 5 things to look at. Even professional travel personalities seemed to be scraping the bottom of the barrel. … It reminded me a lot of driving through Indiana. For those not in the US, Indiana is a state in the US famous for being a state one must drive through in order to get somewhere better.” ~ learn more
“But despite being very deliberately hand-drawn, Taback’s illustrations include a really wonderful amount of detail. If he draws a dump truck in profile, he’ll be clear to capture the wires and hydraulics. Wheels have clearly-delineated rivets. Vehicles have model numbers. Construction helmets have tape with the owners’ name scribbled on them as well as labels with the brand name.” ~ learn more
“Wikipedia claimed Roth’s book “The Human Stain” was inspired by the life of writer Anatole Broyard. Roth said this was “in no way substantiated by fact.” He should know: he wrote it. … Roth contacted a Wikipedia official, who put him in touch with a site admin, hoping to get it rectified, and Roth wrote a letter to the admin (probably by typewriter). The admin responded that he, Philip Roth,…
Perplexity’s Comet Browser. This is now available to the general public, of which I am an upstanding member. I downloaded it last night and played around for a bit and it’s neat! In the future your browser will surf the internet for you, doing things on your behalf and aggregating data for your digestion. One example: I joined a professional club this year. I prompted the browser to “Use my…
Not long ago I shared an optimistic take from Tomas Pueyo. His point of view was that technology may soon make it easier and more desirable to have more kids. This Economist article doesn’t offer any potential for hope. “All over the world, in poor and middle-income countries as well as rich ones, fertility is in much sharper decline than most projections had expected.” ~ learn more
“But here’s the twist: if we plan them intelligently, the very data centers driving costs today could become one of our best defenses against rising rates. The reason is this: whether a new load triggers additional costs isn’t primarily about how much electricity it consumes, but when it draws power.” ~ learn more
This seems great! “New Mexico, long at the bottom of state rankings for child well-being and educational outcomes, is on the verge of launching a first-in-the-nation program aimed at helping reverse those trends: free child care and preschool for all resident families, regardless of income.” ~ learn more
“An emotional research team became tearful as they described how data shows the disease was slowed by 75% in patients. … The new treatment is a type of gene therapy given during 12 to 18 hours of delicate brain surgery.” ~ learn more
“The first America is the speculative class, and its engine is artificial intelligence. … The second America is the real economy. With 75% of new jobs in healthcare and social assistance, our workforce is being absorbed by the essential but underfunded ‘maintenance economy’ of an aging population. … The third America is the bridge between the other two, acting somewhat as a psychological gold sink for those who are priced…
“Every Friday night we’d make plans to go out together and party. But Anna would always refuse to come. She’d say something along the lines of “I have to study” or “I just don’t feel like it tonight.” Eventually, we stopped inviting Anna out. Everyone except Alexei.” ~ learn more