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
"In fact, perfectionism and the fear of failure go hand in hand: They lead you to believe that success isn’t about doing something good, but about not doing something bad."
(Arthur C. Brooks)
Autos
- Traffic fatalities jumped in 2020 in the U.S. despite fewer miles being driven. (nytimes.com)
- WFH is going to change how we spend on transportation infrastructure. (city-journal.org)
- The U.S. needs to build out its network of EV chargers. (wsj.com)
- Having an EV as a second car kind of defeats the point. (fastcompany.com)
- Just how green are electric vehicles? (nytimes.com)
E-bikes
- The pandemic has been a boon to e-bike adoption. (nytimes.com)
- Everybody seems to be getting into the electric bike business. (nytimes.com)
Energy
- If we electrify more technologies, like transportation and heating, we need a better electric grid. (bloomberg.com)
- Bankrupt oil companies don't have the money to clean up abandoned well sites. (texasobserver.org)
- Look to Berkshire Hathaway ($BRK.A) as prime investor in infrastructure. (bloomberg.com)
Travel
- Venice, Italy is rethinking its future after a year without tourists. (ft.com)
- It's been awhile since you've been on a flight. What to do to prepare a return to the air. (wsj.com)
Technology
- Google ($GOOGL) is going to stop selling ads based on individuals’ browsing across multiple websites. (wsj.com)
- Why Macbook resale prices are falling: M1 chips. (om.co)
- The future of navigation isn't GPS. (wsj.com)
- Software isn't forever. (world.hey.com)
Behavior
- The best way to get happy is to help other people. (theatlantic.com)
- Why you should embrace mental novelty. (primecuts.substack.com)
- You can't make yourself think faster. (fs.blog)
- Media portrayals of OCD don't help. (thewalrus.ca)
Health
- mRNA technology is being used to create a malaria vaccine. (academictimes.com)
- Another example of the power of placebos. (wired.co.uk)
- If you can, donate blood during pandemic. (nytimes.com)
Food
- Why Slice is making headway against the big delivery companies. (businessofbusiness.com)
- Some chefs are selling meals on Instagram to get by. (pdx.eater.com)
- The animal welfare movement is shifting its focus to fish. (vox.com)
Streaming
- A visualization of the streaming services landscape. (visualcapitalist.com)
- Every new streaming service starts off with a problem: everyone already has Netflix ($NFLX). (vox.com)
Sports
- What the pandemic revealed about our interest in sports. (theatlantic.com)
- Kids just aren't as interested in playing, or watching, sports as they used to be. (axios.com)
Dating apps
- How dating apps make money. (businessofbusiness.com)
- What dating apps do with your personal data. (slate.com)
Children
- A Q&A with Michaeleen Doucleff author of "Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans." (theatlantic.com)
- We have no idea what was lost from missed schooling in pandemic. (wsj.com)
- An excerpt from Abby Freireich and Brian Platzer’s new book, "Taking the Stress out of Homework." (theatlantic.com)
College
- Will the elite college amenity race end any time soon? (townandcountrymag.com)
- Colleges that test most frequently had better pandemic outcomes. (nytimes.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: whatever vaccine available. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you missed in our Friday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: talking SPAC. (abnormalreturns.com)
- March ESG links: sustainable momentum. (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
- Steven Levy, "So when it comes down to it, NFTs are simply an evolution of our imaginative machinations of making common stuff worth paying a lot for. The only objects of true value are ones that would keep you alive and warm when the power goes down for good." (wired.com)
- NFTs have an antecedent in the world of photography. (bloomberg.com)
- A NFT reading list. (ospreyfunds.io)