HIV in Australia
2023-07-26
HIV transmission in Sydney has plunged more than 88% from the 2008-2012 average to just 11 cases per year.
It seems it will be possible to greatly reduce or even eliminate HIV transmission.
Via Tyler Cowen.
jdilla.xyz
Square watermelons
2023-07-24
From Wikipedia:
Square or cube watermelons are watermelons grown into the shape of a cube. Cube watermelons are commonly sold in Japan, where they are essentially ornamental and are often very expensive, with prices as high as US$200.
They are grown in boxes, which form them to their distinctive shape. I discovered these via the Kroger app, which has distinctly wonderful food facts as it's loading screen.
Where trust comes from
2023-07-21
I found this video to be a helpful distillation of concepts I'd heard before with a couple things that were new to me.
I'd known that trust is a combination of credibility, reliability, intimacy, and self interest, but I hadn't heard the sub components before:
Credibility
- The words we use
- The skills / credentials we bring
- How other people experience our expertise
Reliability
- Actions we take
- Our predictability
- Will others find us dependable
Intimacy
- Empathy
- Discretion
Self interest (destroys trust)
- Do you seem to be prioritizing yourself over the group / others
Illegal Chinese border crossings into the US are increasing
2023-07-20
The numbers are really small, both in comparison to US boarder crossings and (especially) the population of China. Still the increase is an interesting in what it suggests about the situation in China.
The longevity of infrastructure
2023-07-20
The Whiting hydroelectric power plant was built in 1891 and still operates today, and the 2018 Camp Fire in California was caused by a PG&E transmission line built in 1921.
From The Grid part IV by Brian Potter