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
"If you get a flu shot and then get the flu, you may be less likely to get a severe case. That could make it less likely you'll head to the doctor or the ER — just when they're filled with COVID-19 patients."
(LJ Tan)
Autos
- Pick-up trucks just keep getting bigger. (wsj.com)
- Tesla ($TSLA) want to be a platform, not just a car maker. (inc.com)
Energy
- In lockdown energy costs are shifting from businesses to individuals. (wsj.com)
- Wireless device chargers are a lot less efficient than old fashioned plugs. (onezero.medium.com)
- Gas flaring is at a decade-high. (ft.com)
Air travel
- The big airlines had sophisticated pricing models. Then the pandemic hit. (wsj.com)
- As the pandemic strings along, the risk to airline jobs increases. (newyorker.com)
- Trying to put some odds on getting Covid-19 on a flight. (msn.com)
Technology
- Incognito mode may not do what you think it does. (wired.com)
- It's hard to believe but custom ringtones were once a thriving business. (onezero.medium.com)
Behavior
- How hourly work makes you unhappy. (wsj.com)
- There's really no upside to loneliness. (theconversation.com)
- Research shows Vitamin D doesn't do much to help ward off depression. (newatlas.com)
Health
- Childhood trauma can a big effect on health later in life. (sciencedaily.com)
- Rates of dementia are on the decline in the US. (nytimes.com)
- Virtual medicine has the benefit of providing doctors with additional context. (theatlantic.com)
- If you end up in an ER in Scotland you will be met by a 'Navigator' in a pink shirt there to help you get on a different path. (reasonstobecheerful.world)
Fitness
- How an Apple Watch is getting one writer through pandemic. (gq.com)
- Public pools that have reopened have taken steps to limit crowds. (nytimes.com)
- Why you should be doing farmer's walks. (medium.com)
- Good luck trying to cancel your gym membership in pandemic. (wsj.com)
Dogs
- Unfortunately, Covid-19 sniffing dogs are not going to save us. (slate.com)
- Why dogs are scared of thunderstorms. (mentalfloss.com)
Food
- Food workers are having to sue to get their employers to take the proper steps to keep them safe. (eater.com)
- How caterers are scrambling to try and make it through the pandemic. (nytimes.com)
- If fine dining is trouble, then we have too many sommeliers. (wsj.com)
- How to make Miles Davis' famous chili. (kottke.org)
- How to re-heat leftover french fries. (artofmanliness.com)
- How a cheese goes extinct. (newyorker.com)
Drink
- The hand sanitizer boom has petered out for independent distilleries. (nytimes.com)
- Inside the unofficial wine club inside the NBA"s bubble. (espn.com)
- A gin and tonic is not a meditative drink, it’s a restorative drink. (nytimes.com)
- To-go cocktails is a different game. (detroit.eater.com)
Entertainment
- Let's not kid ourselves about Netflix ($NFLX) original show quality. (thebulwark.com)
- A great story about Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cameron Crowe and the making of 'Almost Famous' (awealthofcommonsense.com)
- Cord cutting is accelerating under pandemic. (protocol.com)
Sports
- MLB has a pitcher injury problem this year. (theringer.com)
- Where did all the star first basemen go? (si.com)
- Facial recognition is coming to your local stadium. (wsj.com)
- 2020 is going to prove as a tipping point for college football. (theringer.com)
- How an Olympic speedskater came to play in MLB. (wsj.com)
Relationships
- How the pandemic may destigmatize childless couples. (theatlantic.com)
- The pandemic is putting unique strains on marriages. (wsj.com)
College
- Universities are scrambling to establish criteria on when they may need to re-close. (wsj.com)
- The “Abolish Greek Life” movement is gaining steam around the country. (nytimes.com)
- Some colleges are still scrambling to get students their stuff back from last semester. (wsj.com)
- The cost of college is a lot more than just tuition and room and board. (nytimes.com)
Schools
- Given the conditions on the ground, school reopenings are bound to fail. (theatlantic.com)
- How an engineer would go about building a system for school reopenings. (theconversation.com)
- Single parents are acutely affected by school shutdowns. (wsj.com)
- Reopened schools are going to see increased absenteeism from students and teachers. (fastcompany.com)
- School reopenings have come along with outbreaks. (washingtonpost.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: social repercussions. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: radical uncertainty. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you missed in our Thursday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Gold 3: The Return of Inflation Expectations. (abnormalreturns.com)
- August ESG links: minimizing mistakes. (abnormalreturns.com)