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π Hi friends,
Welcome to the latest edition of Newley’s Notes, a weekly newsletter containing my recent Wall Street Journal stories, must-read links on tech and life, and funny dog videos.
πΉπ π Image of the week, above: a license plate I spotted recently here in Hong Kong that says “good” in Thai. That’s “dee” (ΰΈΰΈ΅), “good,” followed by “krup” (ΰΈΰΈΊΰΈ£ΰΈ±ΰΈ), a word often used by male speakers for added politeness.
Here are 10 items worth your time this week:
1) π π§ I was on our “The Journal” podcast Tuesday talking about my recent story on India, Covid–19, and accusations that the government is censoring social media. You can listen online here, or find the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other services. [WSJ]
2) π¦ Is “herd immunity” in the U.S. a pipe dream? Experts say the answer is yes. The consensus is that “the virus will most likely become a manageable threat that will continue to circulate in the United States for years to come, still causing hospitalizations and deaths but in much smaller numbers.” [New York Times]
3) π· “Progressive communities have been home to some of the fiercest battles over COVID–19 policies, and some liberal policy makers have left scientific evidence behind.” [The Atlantic]
4) π Bill and Melinda Gates are divorcing after 27 years. What will happen to their $49.8 billion foundation? What about their 66,000-square-foot, $131 million Seattle mansion? [WSJ, New York Times]
5) π How Google, which like many firms has long used open office plans, is redesigning its workspaces for a post-pandemic world. [New York Times]
6) πΈ “For decades, flying saucers were a punch line. Then the U.S. government got over the taboo.” [New Yorker]
7) π Aesthetics Wiki is a compendium of personal styles ranging from the more well-known (preppy, brocore, normcore) to many I’d never heard of (dark academic, cottagecore). Who knew? [aesthetics dot fandom dot com]
8) π A state senator in Ohio participated in a Zoom meeting while driving, apparently adjusting his background to make it look like he was at home. [Gizmodo]
9) π¦ Lights at Sea is a clickable map of the world’s lighthouses. More info here. (Github, Big Think)
10) π Epic: “A 4-year-old cartoon fanatic from Brooklyn went a little overboard by buying nearly $3,000 worth of nonrefundable SpongeBob SquarePants Popsicles on Amazon.” [New York Post]
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𦴠Dog-related video of the week:
πΆ President of Ireland’s Dog Steals the Show [YouTube]
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π‘ Quote of the week:
βI canβt tell you how to get rich quickly; I can only tell you how to get poor quickly: by trying to get rich quickly.β – AndrΓ© Kostolany
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π Fist bump from Hong Kong,
Newley