Curated Commons // Edition 25
Thank you for subscribing and welcome to the Twenty Fifth edition of Curated Commons.
One change from this edition on - I’ll be linking the headlines directly to the URL. That will help reduce the length of each edition.
In defense of idleness
We take pride in being busy. Is it worth it? Thoughtful read in defense of doing nothing.
Songs are the new real estate
For Wall Street, that is. Investment firms are increasingly trying their hand at acquiring and monetizing copyrights. How it impacts music’s cultural impact though is an open question.
It’s possible to screw up the gig worker model. Further.
If you thought gig workers globally, largely, get a raw deal, read this story from Italy on how it is possible to make it worse. How a new set of exploitative intermediaries have come up between tech companies and gig workers.
Cold war, spies, and a stolen satellite
The Russians brought a Satellite to Mexico to show-off. The Americans stole it, disassembled it, took pictures and kept it back. In the space of a few hours. If you love a good spy story, this is it.
Revisiting sports photography
This photographer stitches together thousands of pictures shot from the same spot for various sports. The results are fascinating. Do visit the online gallery for more.
Some love stories…record themselves
Tesla, but for keeping you warm
Cars of the future will have a very different set of features. Some of which Tesla already has - like bioweapon defense mode or camp mode!
Good design Matters!
Citibank recently sent out money to the tune of almost a billion dollars, when it did not intend to. All thanks to poor interfaces and poorer interpretation of what a selection on the screen implies! The software was FlexCube.
You enter lean, then you bloat
Who hasn’t experienced this on Chrome! Good set of metrics comparing Chrome/Safari.
Great tech in hands of bad people is terrible
The story of our times - some use tech to push intrusive ads by invading privacy, others use it to trample on speech. Illuminating article by someone inside ByteDance (which apparently has over 20,000 content moderators!)
Social engineering hell
When an algorithm is your boss, and companies invest in purely automated support means, it’s not hard to find yourself chasing shadows. Be it for customers or, more so, for gig workers. Worrying read.
Big gas does not want you to give up your gas stove
Climate emissions from gas and oil-powered buildings make up a full 12 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions
No wonder gas companies are pushing back hard against the shift to electrification. Very good read on how the industry’s lobbying and PR efforts over the years.
Growth, at what cost?
Never trust the sound of your own voice. Brilliantly told story of a business that grew too fast, burnt too much cash, and came crashing down!
Getting things done, in style
A 90-year old took a quarter-page ad in the WSJ complaining about poor AT&T broadband speeds. In a week, AT&T got it fixed!
More good stuff:
The ethical life means being good to ourselves, to others, and to the world. But how do you choose if these demands compete? - https://aeon.co/essays/how-should-you-choose-the-right-right-thing-to-do
Dogs can detect the most aggressive forms of prostate cancer and could help develop a "robotic nose" to find the disease in the future, a study says - https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-56040672
Good deep-dive into the myth and reality of the ‘super soldier’ - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-55905354
Good interview (also, Linux is now on Mars) - How NASA designed a helicopter that could fly autonomously on Mars - https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/aerospace/robotic-exploration/nasa-designed-perseverance-helicopter-rover-fly-autonomously-mars
Meet DeepFuckingValue aka TheRoaringKitty from the Reddit/Gamestop saga- https://financialservices.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hhrg-117-ba00-wstate-gillk-20210218.pdf
How some prison inmates are playing chess in their minds - https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-were-channeling-the-queens-gambit-in-prison
Google Earth, but for radio stations! - http://radio.garden/
Christie’s is selling a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) - https://www.christies.com/features/Monumental-collage-by-Beeple-is-first-purely-digital-artwork-NFT-to-come-to-auction-11510-7.aspx
This is a story on a single hyper-active stop-sign camera that issued fines of $1.7Mn in four months. Likely due to some recalibration gone wrong - https://defector.com/a-predatory-stop-sign-camera-is-terrorizing-my-neighborhood/
It’s taken some time, but Instagram reels is getting a flavor of the creativity that abounded in TikTok
Stay safe, and happy reading! And if you liked the newsletter, please do share on your social networks. My DMs on Twitter are always open for any feedback.