Saturdays are the day we catch up with all the non-finance related stuff we didn’t get to during the week. You can check out last week’s edition here.
Quote of the Day
"Like most parents, I want my kids to be successful and lead happy lives. But mostly I just want them to be good people and kind to others. That’s a win in my book."
(Ben Carlson)
Autos
- The affluent are bypassing entry-level luxury vehicles for EVs like the Tesla Model 3. (washingtonpost.com)
- Despite efforts, drunk driving rates have plateaued. (wsj.com)
- How the trolley problem applies to self-driving cars. (technologyreview.com)
- Why buses will be the first class of vehicles to go all-electric. (businessinsider.com)
Energy
- If only we could swap coal for natural gas... (sl-advisors.com)
- The churn between fresh and salt water is opportunity to generate electricity. (popularmechanics.com)
- "Dominion Energy Inc. has struck a $200 million pact with a renewable energy producer and the Dairy Farmers of America Inc. to extract natural gas from cow manure." (wsj.com)
- The California wildfires are demonstrating the necessity of independent electricity sourcing. (reasonstobecheerful.world)
Environment
- Americans increasingly believe increased extreme weather events are due to climate change. (ritholtz.com)
- Insurance companies are increasingly dropping coverage on houses in at-risk areas. (wsj.com)
- Humans are forgetting how much more wildlife there used to be. (newscientist.com)
- Dairy farmers who feed their cows this supplement can sell greenhouse gas credits. (npr.org)
- Microfibers are the new microbeads. (wired.com)
Travel
- How to simplify your business travel. (kitces.com)
- Europe is running into more air traffic control issues causing delays. (wsj.com)
Archaeology
- "Archaeologists have discovered an ancient buried town in Ethiopia that was inhabited for 1400 years." (newscientist.com)
- "Archaeologists working in Indonesia say they have discovered the earliest artwork that depicts a story." (washingtonpost.com)
Technology
- Biased algorithms are easier to fix than biased human brains. (nytimes.com)
- Your broadband provider is likely juicing their download numbers on tests. (wsj.com)
- A list of the 100 most interesting gadgets of the past decade. (theverge.com)
- On oral history of the Motorola Razr phone. (fastcompany.com)
- Visualizing Moore's Law in action: 1971-2019. (visualcapitalist.com)
Motivation
- We value those things we work hard to achieve. (elemental.medium.com)
- Start now to get a jump on your New Year's resolutions. (nytimes.com)
- You need to protect the time of day when you are most productive. (fastcompany.com)
- Do the things you wish to become. (traderfeed.blogspot.com)
The brain
- On the relationship between brain inflammation and dementia. (news.berkeley.edu)
- Companies working on psychadelic-based treatments are in a regulatory quagmire. (fastcompany.com)
Health
- The IVF industry is peddling 'add-ons' with little research backing their validity. (nytimes.com)
- Restricted eating windows can be effective for weight loss. (npr.org)
- This study shows that running doesn't ruin your knees. (insidehook.com)
- How an IRS letter ended up saving lives. (nytimes.com)
CBD
- The FDA is finally catching up to the CBD hype. (modernfarmer.com)
- The US is facing a glut of hemp. (wsj.com)
Food
- The federal cod fishery in the Gulf of Alaska is closing for the 2020 Pacific cod season. (npr.org)
- Is Dairy Farmers of America, a farmer-owned cooperative, working for or against dairy farmers' interests? (nytimes.com)
- For some reason people keep racing to grow even hotter peppers. (wsj.com)
- A history of soybeans. (bloomberg.com)
Restaurants
- How much do cooks and chefs earn? (eater.com)
- The biggest fast food chains in America, ranked. (visualcapitalist.com)
Drink
- How an Indiana microbrewery revived a pre-Prohibition beer, 'Champagne Velvet.' (insidehook.com)
- How the idea of 'natural wine' got co-opted by marketing. (nytimes.com)
- Why are people drinking less craft beer? (fsrmagazine.com)
Movies
- The best movies of 2019 including 'Parasite.' (wsj.com)
- The best movies of 2019 including 'Marriage Story.' (nytimes.com)
- The best movies of 2019 including 'Uncut Gems.' (theringer.com)
- More critic top 10 lists. (hollywoodreporter.com)
- The 10 best movies of 2019 (and the decade). (slate.com)
- 5,276 films from the past decade ranked. (vulture.com)
- Every Best Picture nominee of the 2010s, ranked. (gq.com)
- Here are the worst movies of the past decade including 'Cowboys and Aliens.' (hollywoodreporter.com)
Music
- The best music of 2019. (wsj.com)
- The best albums of 2019. (slate.com)
- The 54 best songs of 2019. (nytimes.com)
Sports
- Researchers want to know if there is a link between athletic performance and the gut microbiome. (espn.com)
- Want to run a faster marathon? Then get a pair of Nike Zoom Vaporflys. (nytimes.com)
Children
- Four things you should teach your children including: self-reliance and gratitude. (humbledollar.com)
- Why young children love the garbage truck so much. (theatlantic.com)
College
- Four simple pieces of advice for college-aged kids. (nytimes.com)
- College enrollment is transmissible among siblings. (papers.ssrn.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Longform links: hacking bad tests. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you missed in our Friday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: creating business culture. (abnormalreturns.com)
- The best way to invest is the way that works for you and your unique situation. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Brands are not your friends. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Time arbitrage and the art of reading a book. (abnormalreturns.com)