On Saturdays we catch up with the non-finance related items that we didn’t get to earlier in the week. You can check out last week’s edition here. Have a great weekend!
Quote of the Day
"One of the most important things I didn't understand about the world when I was a child is the degree to which the returns for performance are superlinear."
(Paul Graham)
EVs
- The case for plug-in hybrid vehicles, i.e. PHEVs. (ritholtz.com)
- Tesla ($TSLA) prices are down some 25% year-over-year. (axios.com)
- States are taxing EVs to make up for lost gas tax revenue. (washingtonpost.com)
- Big cities have unique challenging providing EV charging support. (politico.com)
- How much do EV batteries cost? (visualcapitalist.com)
Transport
- Fatality rates for the youngest drivers have fallen over the past 20 years. (apnews.com)
- Electric school buses make sense but there are practical issues with the rollout. (fatherly.com)
- Making mass transit free in this city actually backfired. (fastcompany.com)
- Cruise and Waymo are not slowing down their rollouts. (theatlantic.com)
Wildfires
- Wildfires as a symptom of climate change, but also a cause. (nytimes.com)
- On the importance of cleaning after wildfire smoke. (thenation.com)
- Brazil is awash in wildfire smoke. (grist.org)
Environment
- Is 2023 a sign that global warming is accelerating? (axios.com)
- It's hard to be optimistic about the fate of the Amazon rain forest. (vox.com)
- Disposable vapes end up in landfills. (theguardian.com)
Travel
- Business travel is capped by poor airline performance. (wsj.com)
- How this town fought back against travel influencers. (bbc.com)
- Cruise lines are boosting opportunities for solo travelers. (wsj.com)
Animals
- How jellyfish, without a brain, learn. (arstechnica.com)
- Sea squirts are a problem. (modernfarmer.com)
Space
- It's not just volume, but the type of satellites being launched is changing. (wsj.com)
- Settling Mars is a horrible idea. (scientificamerican.com)
- How stars die. (daily.jstor.org)
Apple
- Apple ($AAPL) needs to simplify the iPad line. (daringfireball.net)
- Apple ($AAPL) needs to re-think iCloud limits. (macworld.com)
Behavior
- How to have more positive thoughts including 'cultivate kindness.' (bakadesuyo.com)
- Five insights from "The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves" by Alexandra Hudson. (nextbigideaclub.com)
Covid
- Long Covid seems to be a result of tamping down on serotonin levels. (pennmedicine.org)
- On the prospects for a nasal Covid vaccine. (erictopol.substack.com)
Health
- Not everyone is a good candidate for GLP-1 drugs. (wsj.com)
- The goal should be lengthening health span, not life span. (scientificamerican.com)
- Visualizing the common causes of death by age in the U.S. (flowingdata.com)
- Meet the doctors who helped get over-the-counter decongestants with phenylephrine off the shelves. (wsj.com)
- Is there a nursing shortage in the U.S.? It depends on who you ask. (statnews.com)
- Dental insurance isn't really insurance. (vox.com)
Fitness
- Why it's so important to find a type of exercise that you actually like to do. (wsj.com)
- Exercise is good for your mental health, but let's not overstate the effect. (slate.com)
- Rucking is having its moment. (wsj.com)
Food
- Fruit growers are rethinking a warmer world. (npr.org)
- Is the future of salmon in land-based tanks? (nytimes.com)
- Chain restaurants are making a comeback. (eater.com)
- Great spots make everyone feel like a regular. (kottke.org)
- Girl Scout cookie prices are going up. (npr.org)
Drink
- The upscale spirits pandemic boom is over. (ft.com)
- Why you may be drinking more than you think. (wsj.com)
- The bourbon industry has a white oak problem. (modernfarmer.com)
- How hop growers are struggling with higher temperatures. (wired.com)
- What happens if bourbon loses its cool factor. (fingers.email)
Sports media
- The future of live sports is over the air. (nytimes.com)
- We finally know the size of ESPN's business. (axios.com)
Children
- Childhood hardship has long lasting effects. (marginalrevolution.com)
- What does the data say about the impact of day care on children? (emilyoster.substack.com)
College
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Podcast links: timeless principles. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you missed in our Thursday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Are you a financial adviser looking for some out-of-the-box thinking? Then check out our weekly e-mail newsletter. (newsletter.abnormalreturns.com)
Mixed media
- 15 books worth a read including "Expectations Investing: Finding Stocks Poised to Beat Expectations" by Michael Mauboussin and Alfred Rappaport. (investmenttalk.co)
- Five insights from Shane Parrish's new book "Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Outcomes." (nextbigideaclub.com)