Well, it’s been over six months and life is crazy, but I thought it might be fun to do one of these again. I’ve been sharing more links on Twitter, but it’s just not the same, you know? Anyway some of these links are incredibly old but I think they’re still interesting, and it’s a nice look into what mattered before everything fell apart.
Part of the reason I prefer to write posts instead of just linking things on Twitter is that these feel more permanent than Twitter, and I have the illusion of looking back at these some day. Or maybe I get a stronger feeling of accomplishment in collecting links and writing up a post instead of tapping Retweet. But I hope you enjoy these!
- Michael Pollan Explains Caffeine Cravings (And Why You Don’t Have To Quit) – yeah it affects your brain, but as long as you’re not drinking too much (especially close to bedtime) it’s not a big deal. Hooray! (also given the state of the world there’s no way I’m giving up caffeine no matter what the side effects…)
- An app can be a home-cooked meal – I have written a few things like this, although mostly just for my/David’s use. (our “budget” is a series of somewhat maintainble Python scripts) It’s a good feeling! Also, I read this article and thought “hey, a kindred spirit”, then realized the author is Robin Sloan who wrote “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore” which I really liked. Yay the internet!
- This chart is the best explanation of middle-class finances you will ever see – look at that “health care” slice grow!
- Mysterious Light Sources – I guessed one of these but not the other two!
- Poverty isn’t a lack of character. It’s a lack of cash – includes quotes by the author of a book about scarcity I really liked. This is also the idea behind GiveDirectly.
- How Working-Class Life Is Killing Americans, in Charts – keep in mind this was before the pandemic which is almost certainly increasing the divide between college-educated and non college-educated people.
- Can You Guess How Popular Bernie Sanders’s Policies Are? – hey, remember when it looked like Bernie Sanders might get the nomination for President? Anyway, I love the “guess how popular these ideas are” game because it’s always pretty illuminating.
- Doordash and Pizza Arbitrage – this is hilarious!
OK, I did save a few pandemic links for the end:
- Your ‘Surge Capacity’ Is Depleted — It’s Why You Feel Awful – just a reminder that our bodies weren’t meant to undergo stress like this for months, and it’s OK to feel crappy all the time.
- Preschoolers are mask-licking germ bombs — yet few catch the coronavirus, data show – interesting…
- The discovery of germs changed American life, especially parenting. Will covid-19 do the same? – I think it’s way to early to tell how “life” is going to change one the pandemic proper is over, but I didn’t realize that in the early 1900s many parents were cautious about touching their children!
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