my story π
I had a quick visit to Chicago this week just in time to see the season shift, and now am back in Austin where itβs still peak pool weather. If anyone has any great water park recommendations (near Austin) please let me know!
fun facts π
If you have never paid close attention to how a dog drinks water, today is your day.
Diamonds donβt hold their value forever. βDe Beers has cut prices in the category by more than 40% in the past yearβ¦The impact on De Beers was clearβ¦first half profits plunged more than 60% to just $347 million, with its average selling price falling from $213 per carat to $163 per carat.β ~ learn more
Beer goggles may be a myth, but liquid courage isnβt. βA new study that investigated the effect that drinking alcohol has on menβs perceptions of attractiveness may have disproven one well-known drinking-related phenomenon while providing supporting evidence for another.β ~ learn more
Whatβs a hell strip? Itβs the strip of land between the sidewalk and the street thatβs notoriously hard to grow plants in. ~ learn more
oh, chicago π
Wicker Parkβs Debonair Social Club closing permanently. Now the only vestige of this mainstay bar from my 20s is the Debonair Yacht, named in homage, that frequents the cityβs floating party at Lake Michiganβs Playpen. ~ learn more
tech, startups, internet β‘
Startup studios. This is by far the most complete collection of research into the venture studio model that Iβve seen. Youβll have to give up your email address for access and I think thatβs a worthwhile trade. ~ learn more
SpaceXβs approach to exponential growth. VP of Launch Kiko Dontchev captures attention with a scrolling timeline depicting SpaceXβs launches since inception 13 years ago. The 100x ramp from rare to really really frequent launches is awesome. Watch this video for stories about how their βfirst principles approach to technologyβ helps engineers solve the right problems. ~ learn more
better doing π―
Less is more. On podcast Hidden Brain, Niro Sivanathan of the London Business School talks about how to make a convincing argument. If you have several points in support of your argument, itβs best to ignore the weakest ones. Instead of adding to your case, research shows they dilute the strength of your best points. ~ learn more
Scale, the Big-O problem. One of the problems Iβve had growing up in the small business world is underestimating the impact of scale. For example, when I ran eComfort, we mostly only needed one server to host our website. My lack of experience led me to believe my experience applied to bigger websites, but it mostly didnβt. βIn computer science, Big-O notation is a way of talking about what happens to a solution method when the inputs start to increase.β ~ learn more
to your health β
Why donβt multivitamins work better? βThe majority of multivitamin meta-analyses havenβt found benefit, for uses ranging from cognition in cognitively healthy people to prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease. This might be hard for you to believe. Vitamins have a sheen of efficacy powered by tradition and ubiquity thatβs hard to look past.β ~ learn more
retail therapy πΈ
What happens to all the stuff we return? Hereβs a well-researched piece about the reverse logistics industry. βA century ago, the average return rate at Penneyβs was probably something like two per cent; before Internet shopping truly took hold, retail returns had risen to more like eight or ten per cent. Returns to online retailers now average close to twenty per cent, and returns of apparel are often double that.β ~ learn more
under the microscope π¬
Quantum computer put to a real use. If anyone can explain how this works to me Iβd appreciate it. "Using our quantum computer, we built a system that allowed us to slow down the chemical dynamics from femtoseconds to milliseconds. This allowed us to make meaningful observations and measurements.β ~ learn more
Recycling of used lithium-ion batteries. A team of researchers have developed a method of recovering lithium from anodes, rather than cathodes, without that pesky risk of fires and explosions. ~ learn more
big ideas π
How to produce green hydrogen for $1/kg. Iβm really excited that we were able to join an investment syndicate into this company. βAt Terraform Industries we believe in a future where energy is universally cheap, clean, and abundant. Weβre developing a scalable electrolyzer to deliver the cheapest possible green hydrogen, which we use as a precursor chemical to make cheap synthetic carbon neutral natural gas in our Terraformer.β ~ learn more
on the blockchain β
Scammers keep on scamming. These folks are playing a long game. βThe scammers then create a transaction that mimics legitimate transactions from the wallet address prefix to the number of tokens sent to the address. This makes it look like their target has been the one constantly sending transactions to the wallet address they planted.β ~ learn more