things i learned

Opioid crisis fact of the day

2023-10-25

The opioid overdose crisis has been ongoing for over two decades in Canada and the U.S. The current mortality rate is greater than the worst years of the HIV/AIDs epidemic in these countries.

From The Conversation

The US Armed Forces as a family business

2023-10-18

Moreover, in some ways the military has become a “family business” with over half of enlistees having a close family member with military service.

From The draft ended fifty years ago. Can the all-volunteer force survive another fifty?.

One of my less conventional beliefs is that the draft, while annoying for individual people, would be good for the United States because it ensures that the population is more broadly represented in the military.

Ironically, since the draft was ended, the military is the one US institution to see public trust in it increase.

Lego VC

2023-10-17

I wonder to what degree this will carry forward.

That's a big pigeon!

2023-10-17

The dodo, the giant, flightless, extinct bird was actually a type of pigeon. Imagine St. Mark's square being full of Dodos!

Semaglutide fact of the day

2023-10-16

United Airlines Holdings Inc. would save $80 million a year if the average passenger weight falls by 10 pounds, Sheila Kahyaoglu, a Jefferies Financial analyst, estimated in a report Friday.

From Matt Levine's newsletter last week.