D&F 3/12/23
The rain is back in Oakland and everything is wet as. I rode up Tunnel road on Friday and there were multiple landslides across the road, which created some interesting challenges. If you talk to any Californian, even they are starting to say something other than “well, we need it.” At this rate, I’ve reverted to my Portland attitude of semi-sun-worshipping. People here are going to party hard when the sun is out again.
If you don’t watch survival competition shows you can skip the next bit, even though I think you’re missing out:
It’s Outlast weekend! As a Survivor and Alone fan, I love the idea of a show that makes weirdo survivalists hang out with each other to succeed. Almost immediately after banding together, these dorks start falling apart. It rules. In other show news, the latest Survivor season is two episodes in and my Fantasy Survivor league has me mid-pack. Friend of the newsletter Drew is currently dominating with strategic picks. The show has a strange new medieval theme that surely is down to a sponsorship from the new Dungeons and Dragons movie, but they’ve said nothing about it so far which makes me hope something fell apart in negotiation. It would be truly incredible if they never explain the theme for the entire season.
The other big news of the week is the complete collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Tons of startups are effected, with some struggling to make payroll, but I think my own exposure is limited. Talking with friends about the failure yesterday I suggested the end-result will be that very rich people get even richer, and the middle-class/semi-rich will lose out, while the average American won’t lose anything because they have nothing to lose:
According to Bankrate data from January 2022, 56% of Americans would be unable to cover an unexpected $1,000 bill with savings. In other words, Americans are very much, in general, under-saved — even though those who do save are often saving enough.
Without a larger shift to end capitalism, we need way stronger regulation on how these banker/gambler idiots risk other people’s money for profit.
Fortunately, even if the financial market collapses, the link market will be going gangbusters.
Links
- I’m skeptical about most VR technology, but still pretty amped for AR. VR with its promise of a wholesale new world to explore could eventually be cool, but the bar is incredibly high because recreating human motion that includes walking or running you control is dependent on either a treadmill or a neural cutout. With AR, the world stays the same, but the information or context can change. Maybe you see the weather, or constellations, or even the wifi strength around you:
- Proving that old school is sometimes the best type of game, Lander dropped this week with a deceptively simple challenge: land on the moon. Once you master landing, you might try completing trick flips or other things to add to your points. As a browser-based game you can easily play in between meetings, it rules.
- This week I suddenly remembered an incredible scene from King of the Hill which was transformed into a song 8 years ago that asks a simple question: “do I look like I know what a JPEG is?”
- This week I saw two videos that included “rhabdo” or Rhabdomyolysis as the result of higher-altitude effort with poor hydration. I hadn’t heard too much about the condition before, but it’s scary, and something I will watch closely for if I ever ride for a while in the mountains. It’s almost fascinating how the human brain can push our bodies way past their breaking point. I learned while digging around the internet that Rhabdo has also struck people diving deep into CrossFit or indoor spin classes. The key takeaway, I think, is to listen to your body, and focus on consistent improvement over one epic workout.
Closing
This week was a little light on the links, but I’m headed back to the URL mines during this rainstorm to collect gems for our next edition. Now that you’re done reading, it’s time to go change all the clocks in your life again in the ridiculous dance we do called Daylight Savings Time. On the upside, there’s now one more hour for me in the evenings to ride bikes, which rules. On the downside, I have to wake up earlier again. There’s no way to convince animals that time exists, but at least we can read about different conceptions of time in a cool new book from a friend. My stack of unread books continues to grow. Keep reading, and keep steady, space cowgirls~