Mark Falkenberg, deputy managing editor:
Vancouver writer Kate Black explores the pandemic-driven collision of work and life, and how it can sour us on the look and feel of our homes. “At best, a well-organized home is a sign of the times, an idealized cure for the anxieties that ail us,” Black writes “At worst, it’s a bad cure for a bad world.” – The Walrus
https://thewalrus.ca/livingrooms-what-diy-couldnt-do-for-me/
In an interview, former George W. Bush lawyer Richard Painter warns that Trump’s bid to overturn the U.S. election results might have succeeded had he been a little brighter and a little less catastrophically incompetent:
“The warning to the United States, is that we better get our act together pretty damn fast…. The next person who has Trump’s aspirations to power may be a lot shrewder, more manipulative and therefore more effective. – Salon
Timothy Renshaw, managing editor:
Anybody for some good news coming out of 2020? Believe it or not, it has not been all disease, depression, recession, lockdowns, cutbacks and political lunacy and larceny over the past 12 months. Mostly but not all. Here are a couple of glimmers of hope in the darkness. – The Smithsonian and Discover Wildlife
https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/wildlife-success-stories/
And: electricity and energy market insights U.K.-style. – U.K. Energy Research Centre
https://ukerc.ac.uk/news/the-price-of-power-electricity-markets-in-the-energy-white-paper/
Glen Korstrom, reporter:
Sometimes it is a challenge to get a handle on what something is worth. This former Forbes reporter remembers a time in 2013 when she was tasked with an assignment to live for a week using nothing but Bitcoin. Struggles ensued as few businesses accepted the novel currency. At the end of the week, she had excess Bitcoin and found a restaurant owner willing to take it in exchange for a lavish dinner she hosted for people who were in Internet groups with her. The cost then: $957. Now, that currency would be worth in the $200,000 ballpark. It’s an engaging read at a time when investors are similarly struggling with how to value technology, electric-vehicle and other companies. – New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/style/bitcoin.html?referrer=masthead
