The American Abyss - The New York Times

A little late Jack. The damage has already been done.

Shocking. We opened hospitality for 3 weeks and this is the result. One of the most consequential cabinet decisions in the history of the State.

2020 letter - Dan Wang

This is a fascinating and informative piece on China.

A Significant Agreement

Finally. A deal. I still think the ultimate consequence of this will be an independent Scotland, and a re-united Ireland. Both, sooner than we might think.

Inside the Whale: An Interview with an Anonymous Amazonian

Interesting view of Amazon from the inside.

Bio Eats World: The Machine that Made the Vaccine - Andreessen Horowitz

From Schooling to Space: Eight Predictions on How Technology Will Continue to Change Our Lives in the Coming Year - All Things Distributed

EMA recommends first COVID-19 vaccine for authorisation in the EU - European Medicines Agency

Good news.

Winter Solstice - YouTube

Awe inspiring. Livestream again tomorrow.

Ordnance Survey Benchmark

Given what the science tells us, opening pubs and restaurants earlier this month was an error. We’re already seeing the results of that decision. How many lives is a pint worth?

Facebook Is a Doomsday Machine - The Atlantic

French CNIL fines Google Ireland €40m euro

Am happy to see France take direct action against Google. Europe has been waiting too long. Bravo CNIL. The winds of change are coming for the way US platforms operate in Europe. Read also Karlin Lillington’s piece today EU legislation is coming that could greatly improve the web

What Twitter can learn from Spotify Very thoughtful and informed analysis by Om Malik. My own use of Twitter is now exclusively around topic lists, which I curate myself. This process is is now more valuable to me than my rss newsreader.

Small Data, Big Implications - Insight

After six weeks of a level 5 lockdown, Ireland just moved back to level 3 and restaurants opened yesterday for indoor dining. I’d recommend reading this if you’re trying to understand the risks.

ESA - Gaia’s new data takes us to the Milky Way’s anticentre and beyond

Cool science.

My Phone Was Spying on Me, so I Tracked Down the Surveillants

Eye opening.

Leader: Reimagine the high street

Much of this applies to Ireland as well. Good piece.

Why is Apple’s M1 Chip So Fast?. Real world experience with the new M1… - by Erik Engheim - Nov, 2020 - Medium

Reading this, even if I don’t have the knowledge to completely understand the details, leads me to wonder about the future of Intel in Ireland.

China’s Chang’e 5 enters lunar orbit for historic attempt to return moon samples - Space

So many interesting missions happening in space that we don’t hear enough about

Still Waters

Enjoying this evening Fip : écouter la radio Jazz, Reggae, Rock, Electro, Soul - Actualités et radios

Shopify’s BFCM Live Map

Stacey Abrams on minority rule, voting rights, and the 2020 election - Vox

Reading this makes me appreciate our Proportional Representation electoral system even more.