A note for the reader: Before this newsletter moved to Substack it was an email thread between friends. I’m posting the previous emails here for completeness, and so that if I invoke a previous comment readers can refer to them.
Happy Sunday!
Caro and I took the kayaks out yesterday. One of the horses that live on the barrier islands off the coast of Beaufort came within a few feet of us. It was a great day. Today is rainy and sleepy, the perfect weather for some light reading.
Here’s the best of what you might have missed this week.
1) Politics: Say it louder for the people in the back, there is no evidence that vote-by-mail favors one party.
2) Environmental health, inside: Gas stoves appear connected to indoor air pollution do you have proper ventilation in your cooking area?
3) Sports: The table that is the focus of this article is weirdly formatting and confusing, but perhaps more interesting is that there are so few baseball fans who do not go to baseball games…probably because it is much more of a social event than engaging entertainment. Also, sadly, my wished-for takeover of soccer as the premier sport in America looks like its got a long slog ahead of it.
4) Uncanny Valley: What do you do when you want a full restaurant but don’t want people to fill it? Add mannequins, of course.
5) History of Science: How did we first study human circadian rhythms?
6) Living with ‘Rona: Fewer passenger flights have not only disrupted shipping services, they’ve made us worse at predicting weather (s/o Noah Duncan)
7) Harrison’s Soapboxes: You’ve probably heard me complain about fiscal drag at the state-budget level during the Financial Crisis (you can thank Ben Delsman for hoisting me onto this particular soapbox)…well folks, what was old is new again, we’re going to experience significant delays in our recovery if we do not unlock state budgets through federal funds.
8) Not news: In 2016 it appeared very probable that USA Today was stealing NYT Crosswords.
9) Across the pond: What do you do when your nation’s fate is not in the hands of your voters? You engage in some soft diplomacy.
10) Design: Did the precursor to the CIA lead us to 99% Invisible? Bonus…the Situation Room photo by Pete Souza was mentioned. Here’s a great comparison of that and one taken under similar circumstances in the Trump White House.
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Your Weekly Recommendation: Do a Crossword. Caroline and I love to do the Monday NYT Crossword together. Today we ventured for the Sunday and though we needed many many hints we eventually solved it. Fair warning, they can be very addicting.
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Charts of the week
1) Saying that this is the worst X since the Great Depression != this is as bad as the Great Depression. In the case of industrial production, neither are true, but it is useful to see just how bad of a comparison that would be (yet people make it anyways).
2) Americans seem to be sleeping in, according to data released from PJM, a regional energy grid operator. Whereas before you may have had to wake up at 8 to get to work on time, it appears many Americans are getting a later start.
Speaking of great photos…here’s a photo of young Barack and his grandfather at the beach.
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Harrison