Tomato Wine, Holiday Gift You Didn't Know You Needed
Notes for Week 47 of 2024
In The World
Oldest direct evidence of hot water activity on Mars found
Scientists have discovered that a 4.45-billion-year-old zircon grain from a renowned Martian meteorite, known as "Black Beauty"
The finding suggests the red planet may have had conditions suitable for supporting life in its ancient past.
TAKEAWAY - Science based on Earth based research, imaging what we can discover from Mars planetary research.
In The US
Pizza Hut Is Selling a 'Tomato Wine' — and It's Meant to Taste Just Like Pizza
The tomato wine "captures the essence of your favorite slice in every sip." - Pizza Hut
Tomato Wine by Pizza Hut retails for $25; minimum purchase of two bottles is required
TAKEAWAY - Why does the wine so bright red?
Pentagon Fails 7th Audit in a Row but Hopes To Pass by 2028
Congress required all federal agencies to submit annual financial reports in 1990.
The Pentagon finally got around to complying in 2018, and it still hasn't passed an audit.
TAKEAWAY - A poor result right at a time when there is a call for government efficiency audits
In Tech
Instagram rolling out a user reset for content recommendations
Reset feature is particularly aimed at teen users, addressing parental concerns about exposure to inappropriate content
In addition Instagram has introduced tools to combat financial sextortion, which disproportionately affects teenagers.
TAKEAWAY - Proactive step for teen safety, but honestly a feature we could all use
Google Drive hates developers now
Sources:
TAKEAWAY - Theo's deep dive on the difficulty of dealing with the Google Play store and using Google Drive an application. (It's really bad)
The AI emperor has no DAUs why most devs still don't use code AI: Quinn Slack
Sourcegraph CEO Quinn Slack presentation at the San Francisco at the AI Engineer World's Fair based on real work statistics from Cody, Sourcegraph's AI code assistant
Worth watching because he breaks down daily active usage numbers, how AI companies make money and where they stand revenue wise. He also dives into how Sourcegraph prioritizes AI feature development.
In Business
More tech acquisitions?
“I get the sense M&A is going to be on fire over the next few years. Something seems to have happened this week — getting all sorts of inquiries. We're not for sale, but interesting to see an uptick from all corners.” - Jason Fried
This accords with the prediction that mergers and acquisitions will increase following the end of zero percent interest rates.
TAKEAWAY - A lot of capital on the sidelines, and a lot companies in need to a buyer
Billionaire Investor Howard Marks on Ownership vs. Debt | At Barron's
When investing think about ownership and lending
"There are no bad assets, only bad prices"
"It's not what you buy, it's what you pay"
"Good asset != good investment"
"Sea Change" almost everyone investing now has only know declining and ultra low interest rates for 40 years
TAKEAWAY - 2 years on Mark's "Sea Change" memo and what investors should be focused on.
In Other Worlds
Bots are secretly taking over the internet | Dead Internet Theory
TAKEAWAY - It’s incredibly easy to write a bot for most platforms, and you probably interacting with a bot today
The Offspring - The Kids Aren't Alright (8-BIT VIDEO)
TAKEAWAY - The band reimagined their hit song as a video game (now with official music video)