Thursday Thoughts, June 17, 2021

The Department of Tech:

• Kudos to Facebook for enabling most of its employees to work remote . And, in a sign that remote work is the top perk for tech workers, now Amazon is moving to enable more remote work for employees .
• Go figure: Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. have been supporting efforts to lob antitrust complaints at tech companies and to propose new antitrust laws aimed at limiting platforms . More on those laws here . Speaking of antitrust, Lina Khan was confirmed as an FTC Commissioner (she'll be the FTC Chair).
• Speaking of mis-used political power, a group of telecoms have quashed NY's plan for affordable broadband . They're going to run into bigger challenges, as the Biden administration is prioritizing enhanced and widened broadband access across the U.S.
• Lots of newer social networks have gained traction during the pandemic. TikTok, Clubhouse, and ... Nextdoor ? Maybe it's just in my area but Nextdoor, much like Facebook, seems to bring out both the best and the worst in people.
• You might see some changes in your Google Docs, Gmail, etc. soon as Google ramps Workspace to consumers .
• Some experts are proposing that the changes wrought by the past year+ of WFH may kick of a 'new industrial revolution .' Part of this is because of the massive disruptions that are still impacting daily lives across the U.S. and around the world.
• LOL. After lots of snarky comments on the latest Xbox design (comparing it to a fridge), Microsoft announced there is going to be an Xbox mini-fridge coming out later this year .
• Twitter is going to expand its controls to enable users to 'unmention' themselves .
• In a sign of the times, the OG "Doge" meme sold in an NFT for $4 million .
• Not good: right wing groups have impersonated progressive or leftist political groups on Facebook to divide political opponents . Speaking of Facebook, Pink Floyd's Roger Waters has some thoughts .
• A big claim, and it'd be great if it's true: OpenAI claims to have found ways to mitigate bias/toxicity in GPT-3 .
• Maybe Jeff Bezos stepped down from Amazon so he could push for expanded space travel and take space flights himself ?

Privacy and Security Matter:

• The CJEU has issued a nuanced opinion on the status of the GDPR's 'one-stop shop' construct that re-emphasizes that lead regulators should manage inquiries into complaints (but also outlines where additional member state regulators can bring cases) .
• It's a good thing that Amazon is raking in money these days, because they're facing a potential $425 million fine for alleged GDPR violations .
• The UK is on the road to data transfer adequacy .
• Be on the watch for knock-offs: EA's source code was stolen . How it was stolen is pretty interesting (and again reveals that social engineering is a persistent problem).
• Want fries with that? McDonald's was hit by a big hack .
• In the future, AI models might help protect against cyberattacks .
• Microsoft recently took down a massive phishing operation that was targeting sensitive financial information.
• The Trump administration used gag orders to prevent companies from letting people know that the government had accessed their data . At least one major tech company is arguing that there should be limits on those gag orders .
• The EFF does a deep dive into the topic of the GDPR, interoperability, and competition in the tech sector.
• Forbes has a 3 year retrospective on the GDPR , looking at the winners, losers, and the "too soon to tells."

Sports are awesome:

• Shelby Houlihan, U.S. record-holder for the 1500m and 5000m was banned for four years by the Athletics Integrity Unit . This raises tons of questions (many of the best are summarized here by Mario Fraioli ), particularly about how to handle potential false positives and what the repercussions are when advanced testing techniques could potentially measure trace substances from food (in this case, apparently, an anabolic steroid that has few if any known running benefits and may have come from a pork burrito ). The case seems to be in limbo , and Shelby will be competing at the U.S. Olympic Trials .
• Now that everyone is basically accepting super-shoes, we should gear up for the debate over the use of WaveLight pacing in track events . It certainly takes some of the classic elements out of a race, and I imagine it makes it mentally easier to try to stay ahead of a light beam rather than mentally calculating paces.
• Mo Farah is giving the 10,000m one last Olympic go .
• It's on! The Golden Trail Series kicked off last weekend in the Pyrenees .
• Here's an interesting look at why some of the late bloomer runners are crushing long-term runners in the senior racing age groups .
• As a follow-up to the terrible, deadly ultra in China a few weeks ago, the Chinese government has penalized officials who had some nexus to the event .
• David Roche, writing for Trail Runner, has a good rundown of theories about improving fatigue resistance for distance runners .
• If you wanted to put together all of the 'best' components for a trail shoe, it might look like this Speedland shoe (and cost $375). Not sure if it's really worth it, especially since you could instead buy Salomon Pulsars and TNF Flight Vectivs to alternate (and still have leftover cash). Or, alternatively, you could rock Crocs and run a 1:06:33 half marathon (probably the most amazing/ludicrous thing I've seen in a while).
• Scary: Christian Eriksen collapsed due to cardiac arrest in the middle of Denmark's match against Finland. Thankfully, the outcome was good.
• By and large, MLB's pitchers have been having a banner year. The league is now going to investigate whether there's any ball tampering .
• Given the rules for next season, expect a lot of NFL players to get vaccinated .
• Runner's World won a Pulitzer for its long piece on Ahmaud Arbery and the challenges of running while Black . It's as powerful and poignant as it was last year, and it's a good reminder of the work that needs to be done.
• If you're looking to get outside and explore the National Park System this summer, be prepared for crowds and closed gates .
• Turbolito is making a big claim: they say their bike tubes are 'unpuncturable.'

Covid is a battle we can win:

• Great news: Novovax's vaccine shows tremendous progress and will likely enter the field soon . It's a great addition to the arsenal of vaccines/treatments, and might serve as a good booster shot for the already immunized.
• We are still learning more about the origins of covid, including the recent discovery that covid may have been circulating in the U.S. at the end of 2019 . The G-7 has, meanwhile, called for a more thorough probe of the virus's origins in China .
• SF may be the first American city to reach herd immunity to covid.
• As California opened up on Tuesday, public health experts warn of 'spot fires' of outbreaks in California (and that'll probably happen across the U.S. as the Delta variant takes hold ). Meanwhile, the UC system will mandate vaccinations , and the Chron is warning of "people behaving badly." It may be even worse in the air .
• I suspect we'll see and learn much more about this in the coming months: pharma execs are seeking higher immunity by mixing different covid shots .
• Hawaii is going to be opening up. Here's what to expect .
• As the pandemic wanes in the U.S., the eviction moratoriums across the country will start expiring. There are fears that millions might face foreclosure or eviction .
• The mask mandates are going away. Many people will still need or want to wear masks. Don't give them grief for doing so .

Climate Change is a challenge we must meet:

• Lake Mead is at the lowest level it's seen since 1937 (shortly after the Hoover Dam was built). The NYT digs into how climate change is exacerbating the heat and drought even before summer technically begins .
• Climate change is devastating wineries in France .
• In a terrible opinion (both for its reasoning and consequences), a federal judge in Louisiana says the Biden administration cannot block new leases for drilling on public lands .
• Bloomberg has a deep dive into the dirty backstory for 'green steel.'
• California's state water regulators are cutting off the taps that draw water from rivers to farms . The situation doesn't look like it'll get better unless we have a nice wet winter .
• Uh-oh. There may be a large Antarctic glacier about to break up and head into the Southern Ocean.
• A simple proposal: wildland firefighters deserve better pay and benefits .

California is a fascinating state:

• Enough of the doom and gloom. Let's focus on California's boom : as Bloomberg explains, "the Golden State has no peers when it comes to expanding GDP, raising household income, investing in innovation and a host of other key metrics." Forbes piles on with a primer on how California is holding strong despite the naysayers .
• A columnist for the Press-Democrat explains why people still love living in Sonoma County , despite the risk of fires. Conversely, many people are moving out of SF to nearby cities and towns, creating a 'doughnut effect' in housing prices .
• As California's drought deepens, we face increased risks of interruptions to our power supply as the hydropower supply fades . To learn more about our water supply and how it's distributed across the state, click here .
• Speaking of rivers, the Klamath River is being utterly devastated by the drought .
• After being closed for 13 years, the trail to Pfeiffer Falls in Big Sur will re-open tomorrow .
• The Washington Post dug into the local media's pillorying of SF DA Chesa Boudin and found stories were often misreported or over-editorialized .
• In more excellent coverage from the WaPo, they've highlighted how the Salinas Valley farmworkers have transformed their public health scenario through vaccination drives .
• California has a massive budget surplus. Environmental advocates are pressing for the state to align the budget with conservation and climate change goals .
• The housing market in California (and elsewhere in the U.S., Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, etc.) is 'frothy' and flashing warning signs of a bubble .
• The high speed rail line project connecting SoCal and NorCal is alive again .
• Smelling smoke outside? Much like the heat this week, it's coming from Arizona .
• In case you've ever been to a Giants home game, you know that the late innings are often the scene of a gull feeding frenzy. Finally, the local news does a deep dive into the seagulls of Oracle Park .
• A photo went viral this week of a recent UC grad posing with her farmworker parents. Here's the inspiring backstory .

Everything Else:

• Very, very cool: Polynesians likely discovered Antarctica over 1,300 years ago . That said, if researchers had listened to--rather than discounting--Maori stories, this wouldn't be 'news.'
• A bad situation: the U.S. has two political parties and only one is committed to our present system of government (whereas the other is apparently committed to power by any means necessary ).
• Ezra Klein has a thought-provoking essay in the New York Times regarding policy choices that have led to millions of Americans remaining in poverty .
• Great work by the Department of Energy in developing a shoe-scanning service to enable U.S. travelers to keep their shoes on when going through security . It may save 15+% of time spent at TSA security checkpoints.
• Axios does a deeper dive into the unemployment fraud that's been plaguing states during the pandemic. Speaking of employment, it looks like a significant number of white-collar workers would rather quit rather than go back to M-F offices .
• A whale of a tail? A Massachusetts lobster diver claims to have been nearly "krilled" by a whale when it swallowed him alive but some experts are skeptical .
• There are a lot of hard, tough jobs out there that will be critical to combatting climate change and bringing better technology to the broader U.S .
• Awesome: Juneteenth is the twelfth U.S. federal holiday .
• Scary: scientists have run simulations showing how easily an advanced civilization could colonize a galaxy even without light-speed travel . Making it less scary: Fermi's Paradox is bolstered by this simulation (the fact that they aren't here suggests maybe no such civilizations exist).
• Great news: scientists have found a way to stop mosquitos from spreading dengue fever .
• Scientists are continuing to be amazed by the degree of neuroplasticity that human minds demonstrate .
• Great news! More research shows even more benefits to drinking coffee .
• Outside Magazine dives into the recent viral story of the old-growth tree felled in BC .
• Scientists discovered a new organ in a very well-studied plant species.
• Bummer: new, comprehensive research shows that we're very unlikely to be able to live forever .