The same question probably passed the lips of everyone who heard about the catastrophic flooding in central Texas that killed at least 88 people, including 27 children and counselors at a single camp. How could this have happened? How could a summer storm cause the Guadalupe River to surge 27 feet in an hour? In the era of supposedly all-powerful technology and AI, how could our warning systems fail so dramatically? How could we be cutting jobs related to weather prediction, warnings, and emergencies when we know that climate change is making things more dangerous? Even after you watch the timelapse videos and read the expert analyses on a perfect storm of natural disasters and human shortcomings, the question persists. So we dig into these evaluations and try to figure out what went wrong, in part to get some answers before the story moves off the front pages and people stop asking questions, and in part because the science and the politics are easier to consider than the human tragedy, which, like the raging waters of the Guadalupe, is almost impossible to absorb. 2Friend (of) Mine"It would be an understatement to say that I had not expected this. In fact, I was in the midst of preparing for a potential move to Washington, D.C. to take on a new position at FBI headquarters. But, it turned out, I had made a terrible mistake: I had remained friends with someone who had appeared on Kash Patel’s enemies list. How did Bongino find out about this private friendship? I honestly don’t know. What business was it of his? None at all. Was I accused of any sort of misconduct? No. It didn’t matter." Michael Feinberg on his resignation from the FBI. Goodbye to All That. 3A Kiss Goodbye"The Eaton Fire started at the location of my first kiss. We used to park on the shaded lane across from the mountains and sneak past a cliffside house, through a fence, and between some brush to perch on a concrete slab that overlooked the canyon. There, above the narrow watershed, we drank peach schnapps, listening to the Cure, or Prince, or Erik B. & Rakim, and fooled around." The LA fires burned more than just houses. They burned an entire community; schools, synagogues, playgrounds, storefronts, and the sites of so many memories, including a first kiss. In this excellent piece, Josh Bearman captures what was lost when a hometown burned down. NY Mag: Mark’s House Is Gone. Heather’s House Is Gone. Eddie’s House Is Gone. (Here's a web-archive version if you're blocked.) "The symbolic loss of Altadena feels even more acute now, as we see the failed promise of America being channeled into a cynical, populist nightmare. Because Altadena was a place where that promise had been fulfilled. What we lost in the fire wasn’t just a town; it was a historical arrangement — living evidence of the postwar American compact, that brief window between the Great Depression and Reagan, when there was a shared national project, and the story behind it felt true because there was the sense that, someday, that story could include anyone. Altadena embodied that durable civic optimism. A place where middle-class America was not a fantasy, where a teacher’s salary really could get you your own yard and a lemon tree. Our childhood was exploratory, not preparatory. We were not brands-in-progress. We were just kids. The world was porous. Altadena was how things were supposed to be. And suddenly, it was all smoldering debris." 4Murder MysteryIf my Netflix stream is any indication, people are obsessed with murder mysteries. But unlike the ones featured in episodic dramas, a lot murders remain mysteries forever. Nearly Half of America’s Murderers Get Away With It. "A murderer’s chance of getting caught within a year essentially comes down to a coin flip. For other crimes, clearance rates are even lower. Only 8 percent of car thefts result in an arrest." 5Extra, ExtraNose Candy: "Swarms are injected into the sinus cavity via a duct threaded through the nostril and guided to their target by electromagnetism, where they can be made to heat up and catalyse chemical reactions to wipe out bacterial infections. There are hopes the precisely targeted technology could eventually reduce reliance on antibiotics and other generalised medicines." Swarms of tiny nose robots could clear infected sinuses, researchers say. People are going to let tiny robots into their bodies when they won't even take the vaccines that have saved millions? U.S. measles cases reach 33-year record high as outbreaks spread. 6Bottom of the News"When you’re handing out £53.5 million in prize money, you wouldn’t have thought there was any incentive for Wimbledon players to steal one of the championship’s £40 towels. You’d be wrong." The net gains of Wimbledon stars — stealing 500 towels a day.
|
Monday, July 7, 2025
The River
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Growth Newsletter #307
The Growth Newsletter #307 When does a growth advantage turn into a flywheel? Here's a pattern that's co...
-
17 Personal Finance Concepts – #5 Home Ownershippwsadmin, 31 Oct 02:36 AM If you find value in these articles, please share them with your ...
No comments:
Post a Comment