Every year I like to let go of these links I wanted to write about but never found a way to and likely never will. They’re interesting still. Last year it was 60 or so. This year it’s a little less.
A few travel stories I liked were this, 21 US airports that let you walk to a gate without a ticket, and this, The longest train journey in the EU.
I enjoyed these historical pieces, such as this 13th-Century Cookbook Featuring 475 Recipes from Moorish Spain that recently was Published in a New Translated Edition, and these Historical Photos Taken Just Before The Iconic Moment. I found this fascinating piece from February 1970 in the Vassar Newspaper & Magazine that was critical of IBM during the Vietnam war to be worth a read.
Lloyd Alter also has interesting ideas on his Substack. For example, this one on how it’s time to dump Railway Time and War Time and go Local Time, and this one on why we need deposits on everything.
Shirting over to matters of privacy, I thought this collection of Dark Patterns and Unethical Design was useful. Some examples of such things were the Ring Cameras, with Ring launching AI features for recognizing people, finding lost dogs and yet this as leaked email suggests, Ring had Plans to Expand ‘Search Party’ Surveillance Beyond Dogs. Another example of abuse is this: ICE, Secret Service, Navy All Had Access to Flock’s Nationwide Network of Cameras and this Zenni’s Anti-Facial Recognition Glasses are Eyewear for Our Paranoid Age. No doubt such abuses lead people to ask Hackaday: How Do You Detect Hidden Cameras?
I started to collect articles on getting older, like this one, When You’re ‘Fired From Retirement’. It was a bit grim. Less grim and easier to read is this post about a 72 year old woman who graduated medical school and was starting residency. This was also positive: I’d Like to Stay 85 Forever.
Parenting is a difficult job, to say the least. Some might say impossible at times. I thought that when I read this, consider the parents caring for adult children not in work or education, and also this, This could happen to us: Parents who see themselves in the Reiner case
I don’t imagine too many will want to read about Lee Geun-an, Infamous ‘Torture Master’ Under South Korean Dictator who recently died at 88. I like to remember things like that. Likewise, I like to remember what Michael Ignatieff said about torture in Macleans: here. Never forget.
Finally, I liked this, on Nudge theory. I agree with Russell: In Praise of the Useless: Bertrand Russell’s Salve for Hard Times. I agree with the idea that there is a paradox of tolerance I am sad we are Saying Goodbye to the Mass Market Paperback. I am glad I got to use this guide not too long ago: Paris Travel Guide: Where to Stay, Hotels and Neighborhoods to Visit – The New York Times
Smart People I Know 