Weekend Reads

December 2021

This week on the Lindy Newsletter, I wrote about whether the CEO of JPMorgan is right when he said his bank will outlive the Chinese Communist Party. Will it? Large corporations are fragile to internal divisions and black swan events. What are the tricks they play on government and people to survive? I also give my own Lindy Bets.

Ever notice movie dialogue is getting more difficult to understand? Something happened 15 years ago and now most movies are hard to hear. I have no clue why. Take Dune as a recent example of a hard to hear movie. Perhaps it is part of movies also looking the same, becoming darker and more saturated. During the pandemic, I started re-watching older movies (anything pre 2000). I've discovered, and in some cases re-discovered, how much I prefer the older movies over newer ones.

This person bet $400,000 on a single stock on Robinhood and lost it all. Robinhood is an interesting app because it makes buying stocks so easy and addictive. It's really easy to get into the habit of checking it every day and making trades. Fifty percent of users check it every day. An incredibly high figure.

Professional car thieves are using AirTags to track luxury cars back to the homes where they're parked overnight

My shoulder finally healed after about 4 months. I've gotten back into doing the overhead press. It's a great exercise for your bones and skeleton. The key is the hip thrust.

Plagues have been a driving force throughout history. There's a reason the Europeans did not colonize Africa before the 19th century. Malaria was a big concern.

The continent of Africa is extremely wide. But maps trick you into thinking it is not.

Nassim Taleb is back with a new article explaining why Covid is not just an old person's problem

I remember playing this game. Just driving around. Such a mood game. Has a story but its short. You can just roam around enjoying the mood.

A lot of dog "breeds" are basically just genetic deformities being perpetuated through in-breeding. For example, some French bulldogs have a face that is so deformed it can barely eat or breathe. Some people think such deformed animals look "cute" but various Kennel Clubs are starting to penalize them in dog shows.