P.S. You Should Know... | Issue #364

One last ski trip

my story 🚀

This felt like way a way bigger jump than it looks like

fun facts 🙌

The absurd problem of New York City trash. From this article I learned that the reason NYC doesn’t have alleys is because the architects responsible for the grid system were preoccupied with another project — the Erie Canal. Lots more detailed discussion about the gross garbage problem of NYC inside. ~ learn more

Low-background metal. “One odd consequence of humanity’s 77-year flirtation with atomic weapons is that the steel we produce is now ever-so-slightly radioactive. The radiation isn’t strong enough to pose a health risk, but it does interfere with some sensitive scientific and medical equipment. … This quirk of the nuclear age has created a lucrative but sometimes controversial industry for steel produced before 1945 and centuries-old lead—often sourced from shipwrecks. These “low-background” metals (referring to their low levels of background radiation) have played a key role in treating patients at hospitals, advancing the field of physics, and exploring the cosmos.” ~ learn more

Most common domesticated animal by county. Based on USDA Census of Agriculture. Humans, who count as an animal here, win 1,495 counties. Pheasants win 2. ~ learn more

Why is it so hard to build an airport? “Of the 50 largest airports in the US, the average age is 82 years, and only three have been built in the last 50 years. The US has built more commercial nuclear reactors in the past 25 years (two) than it has major commercial airports (none), even though air travel increased by almost 50% over that period.” ~ learn more

oh, austin 🤠

How the unchecked power of judges is hurting poor Texans. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided to you. But in some places (including Austin), that lawyer will have a ridiculous caseload with very low pay rates paid by the government. In those cases, it seems you can’t expect them to do much of anything except get you to take the prosecutor’s plea bargain. And if they do try to fight for you, the judge might become annoyed and retaliate against them by taking away cases (and the income they provide). ~ learn more

tech, startups, internet ⚡

High-speed humanoid robot hands in action. This link offers both a video of the robot in action (autonomously) and of researcher Suzanne Gildert explaining the technology. “When you train on data coming from hands, you find that all hand movements are combinations of these basic movements we call Eigengrasps, which, if you combine them in different ways, allow your hands to do anything.” ~ learn more

Are we watching the internet die? Here’s a very opinionated piece worth reading. The author, Ed Zitron, is not a fan of the content created by generative AI. “[The internet executives’] ideal situation isn't one where you visit distinct websites with content created by human beings, but a return to the dark ages of the internet where most traffic ran through a series of heavily-curated portals operated by a few select companies, with results generated based on datasets that are increasingly poisoned by generative content built to fill space rather than be consumed by a customer.” ~ learn more

Aggregator’s AI risk. From Stratechery: “Generative AI flips this paradigm on its head: suddenly, there isn’t an abundance of supply, at least from the perspective of the end users; there is simply one answer. To put it another way, AI is the anti-printing press: it collapses all published knowledge to that single answer, and it is impossible for that single answer to make everyone happy.” ~ learn more

These companies have a plan to kill apps. Wired reporting from the cutting edge… “There’s a wave of companies building so-called app-less phones and gadgets, leveraging artificial intelligence advancements to create smarter virtual assistants that can handle all kinds of tasks through one portal, bypassing the need for specific apps for a particular function. We might be witnessing the early stages of the first major smartphone evolution since the introduction of the iPhone—or an AI-hype-fueled gimmick.” ~ learn more

to your health ⚕

Live a healthier life. This was an interesting interview with Jason Carp, founder of Hu Products, Hu Kitchen, and HumanCo, a private holding company that invests in and builds brands focused on healthier living and sustainability. Listening to this, I was reminded exactly why I prioritize organic fruits and vegetables. ~ learn more

retail therapy 💸

Brookings makes the case that shoplifting is mostly down in the US. They write, “the problem with the current retail theft crackdown is that it is not based on actual crime trends nor the evidence on what works to reduce theft.” The data they point to certainly supports their claim. That data also, at the very very end, discloses this study limitation: “Without detailed information on the specific anti-shoplifting measures or reporting procedures taken by the retail industry, it is difficult to determine whether and how these practices affected the results.” As a non-data anecdote, I got a front row seat to a shoplifting at my local CVS yesterday. The staff’s immediate reaction was to determine if the value of goods stolen was above $100, I presume because that’s the reporting threshold. ~ learn more

Cargo planes are full of cheap Shein & Temu stuff. “Shein and Temu together send almost 600,000 packages to the United States every day, according to a June 2023 report by the U.S. Congress - is boosting air-freight costs from Asian hubs like Guangzhou and Hong Kong, making off-peak seasons almost disappear and causing capacity shortages, the sources said.” ~ learn more

under the microscope 🔬

A hair growth breakthrough powered by keratin microspheres. Our bodies produce keratin, and it’s already added to shampoos to strengthen hair. When researchers encapsulated it in microspheres, good things happened. “In the keratin microsphere-treated group, hair regrowth commenced on the second day after treatment, with the growth rate subsequently accelerating. The effect was similar to that seen in minoxidil-treated mice.” ~ learn more

Studying flow states with an EEG. “For the high-experience musicians, the high-flow state was associated with increased activity in auditory and visual areas and reduced activity in key parts of the default-mode network. This suggested that the default-mode network wasn’t contributing much to flow-related idea generation. In contrast, the low-experience musicians showed little flow-related brain activity.” ~ learn more

thoughts of food 🍔

How Pacific Island states are securing the future of tuna. “The largest tuna fishery in the world is also the most sustainable. How do the small island states of the Pacific prevent overfishing, develop their economies, and prepare for the imminent effects of climate change? Our report from the Marshall Islands.” I don’t love that this entire article is couched in climate change context, but I do love that the rest of this article is full of interesting info! ~ learn more

profiles of people 🚶

He’s a renewable-power billionaire, not an environmentalist. “Invenergy founder Michael Polsky created the largest U.S. private renewable energy developer from scratch and says politics should get out of energy.” ~ learn more

staying thirsty 🚰

Towing icebergs to arid regions to reduce water scarcity. Originally presented to me as a low-carbon alternative to flying arctic ice to Dubai for cocktails. “Here, a numerical model is used to simulate the deterioration of icebergs towed to Cape Town, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Moved at a speed of 0.5 m/s, an iceberg able to reach Cape Town must be at least ~ 300 m long and ~ 200 m thick at its time of capture. An iceberg this size would only require ~ 1 to 2 vessels to move and would deliver ~ 2.4 million liters of water.” ~ learn more

thanks for reading!