š« Birch Bark Issue #74
Hello! A bunch of links this week and a few more videos than usual because Iām feeling especially good this Friday and Iām not sure why. Either way, I hope you have a great weekend, and if you felt like it, go ahead and share this post so more people can jump on board!
Links
The top link this week has to be Joy Generator from NPR. Just click for joy! What more could you ask for?
What Does Gen Z Have Against Question Marks really hit home as someone in their mid-30s who very much does not keep up with how the kids are talking these days. An interesting phenomenon Iāve experienced (which is not unique to me, of course) is that when I was a kid I thought it was crazy when older people didnāt keep up with what was cool with the kids. Now, still a āyoung personā in the grand scheme of things, I find I just donāt care.
There is new research out this week showing that vaccinated adults are remarkably more protected from the latest Delta variant of Covid-19 than those with natural immunity. this is on top of natural immunity being very closely tied to how large of a viral load you got in the first place, of course. Long story short, if youāre holding out on ānatural immunity is just as good as a vaccine,ā then I would really suggest reconsidering.
āDisagree and Commitā is a great concept for work or any collaborative process, and I canāt recommend it enough. Before making a decision that impacts numerous people in your company, foster some debate. This helps avoid silent dissent that can poison projects, and at times, companies. Even if you donāt take someoneās ideas, they will be a better team player knowing they were heard and seriously considered.
Iām not a virologist, and Iām not going to play one on social media, but I did nod my head and think, āthis makes sense,ā when I saw this headline about Moderna working on mRNA vaccines for the flu. The Covid-19 vaccines came together in record time and with efficacy rates we could have only dreamed of a few years prior. Why not chase this direction for protection from other deadly afflictions?
Ryan Broderick on the constant wave of failed āfree speechā Twitter clones:
Iām also beginning to wonder if all these apps are their own grift in a way. Loudly launch a site no one will ever use, claim itās a free speech sanctuary for Republicans, do the rounds on all the right-wing news outlets, and wait for it to fill up with the worst people on Earth, refuse to moderate it, wait for Apple to ban it from the App Store, and then go back to the right-wing news outlets and screech about liberal cancel culture impacting your ability to share hentai with white nationalist flat earthers or whatever.
This same week also saw a former President sue social media giants to remove their freedom of speech to protect his freedom of reach. This too will be a massive failure, but thatās not the point, it will be a talking point in conservative media for months, and surely on the 2024 campaign trail.
And some quick links:
Here are some good ideas for improving how polls are displayed to readers.
Iceland experimented with 4-day work weeks and the results were very positive.
OnePlus has been caught throttling performance in popular apps on their latest phones. Whether thereās a good reason or not, the community is not pleased.
Expiration dates are a scamā¦sometimesā¦itās complicatedā¦
Videos
Canoopsy is one of the best tech YouTubers out there, and his latest video on the M1 iPad Pros is a master class. Watch this.
It looks like a royal pain to replace the glass back of an iPhone.
Was Covid-19 born in a lab? Who knows, but Johney Harris has a good explainer on why itās not a far flung idea. But again, we donāt know anything for sure, and anyone who says they do know is full of it.
My bud Chris Lawley goes a little crazy with an iPad-oriented desk setup š
And bringing it how is the Brie Larson version of Black Sheep from the classic film, Scott Pilgrim vs The World.