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
"A precision ranking is nothing but a number, an inaccurate and ultimately useless stand-in. These proxies are created and spread and relied upon by a system that craves certainty and order."
(Seth Godin)
Autos
- Want an EV? More models are on the way. (nytimes.com)
- Why Toyota ($TM) is still betting on hybrids. (axios.com)
- This California city has banned new gas stations in light of EV uptake. (fastcompany.com)
UK energy
- How Great Britain decabonised energy production faster than other developed countries. (economist.com)
- The UK is essentially out of the business of burning coal for energy. (marginalrevolution.com)
Energy
- Texas utilities knew they were at-risk and failed to act for years. (propublica.org)
- There is a fundamental flaw in Texas's energy market. (wsj.com)
- Properly designed wind turbines can work in extreme cold temperatures. (vox.com)
- Deregulation did not make for lower uitlity costs for Texas consumers over the past decade. (wsj.com)
- Making the case to unite the electric grid in the U.S. (wired.com)
Environment
- Bill Gates is working to help validate and scale technologies that can be used to reduce carbon emissions. (fortune.com)
- China has launched a new market for carbon emissions. (economist.com)
Air travel
- A lot of demand shifted from commercial to private in pandemic. Will it stick around? (wsj.com)
- Qantas has pushed back its timetable for international travel. (fortune.com)
- Air taxi, Joby Aviation is going public via a SPAC (techcrunch.com)
Science
- Poor scientific literacy plays a role in vaccine misinformation and conspiracy theories. (scientificamerican.com)
- Tyler Cowen talks with Patricia Fara author of the forthcoming book, "Life After Gravity: Isaac Newton’s London Career." (conversationswithtyler.com)
Animals
- Why the octopus is so interesting - reason #324. (nytimes.com)
- Is it possible to raise fish on the moon? (hakaimagazine.com)
Technology
- Why QR codes are making a comeback. (avc.com)
- 10 breakthrough technologies for 2021 including lithium-metal batteries. (technologyreview.com)
- Why water utilities are lagging in cybersecurity. (wsj.com)
Behavior
- Want to compliment someone? Don't hold back. (hbr.org)
- How exercise can help with depression and anxiety. (theconversation.com)
- 5 key insights from Dilip Jeste's new book, "Wiser: The Scientific Roots of Wisdom, Compassion, and What Makes Us Good." (nextbigideaclub.com)
Health
- What happens when people stop going to the doctor? We are about to find out... (nytimes.com)
- More evidence that coffee is good for your heart. (sciencedaily.com)
Food
- Beyond ($BYND) has signed deals with McDonald's ($MCD) and Yum ($YUM). (wsj.com)
- The pandemic once again highlighted the issue of tipping restaurant workers. (nytimes.com)
- Why does cheese get such a bad (health) rap? (wired.com)
- Will meat kits go away once the pandemic is over? (london.eater.com)
Drink
- Blacks have a long history of brewing beer in America. (eater.com)
- Hard seltzer is still a thing. (wsj.com)
Entertainment
- Why does every streaming service have a '+' in their name? (nytimes.com)
- Why 'Ted Lasso' became a hit for Apple TV+. (vox.com)
Sports
- Why baseball front offices are obsessed with Daniel Kahneman's "Thinking Fast and Slow." (nytimes.com)
- 'Super spikes' are having a big impact on middle distance runners. (theguardian.com)
Children
- How the debate about school reopenings has shifted over time. (epsilontheory.com)
- The pandemic has pulled kid's friendships apart in different ways. (npr.org)
College
- Why is college so expensive? And what you need to know now about merit aid. (awealthofcommonsense.com)
- Enrollment is down at community colleges in pandemic. (axios.com)
- Not requiring SAT scores helped increase applications to elite colleges. (nytimes.com)
MBA
- MBA rankings are going to look weird for the next few years. (wsj.com)
- Is a mid-career MBA pivot still worth it? (wsj.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: human behavioral factors. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you missed in our Friday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: modern value investing. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What to do when everything seems weird in the markets. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Did you miss the bottom in mortgage rates? Don't worry too much about it. (abnormalreturns.com)
- E-mail is different you have to earn the permission of your audience. (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)
