Victor Loux Bookmarks

A feed of interesting articles and websites I have recently read. Check out my newsletter for a digest of the best!

Wake up and smell the fraud : Planet Money

npr.org/transcripts/1119606931
Sometimes online shopping can feel a little unsavory. There are the listings that make you question if you'll really be getting exactly what's advertised. And there's no worse feeling than paying for something and then not getting it. But when Nina Kollars ordered coffee pods and got WAY more than she asked for, it made her feel just as uneasy. Her quest for answers and what it teaches us about a new generation of online fraud. | Subscribe to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

Markets in power

bam.kalzumeus.com/archive/markets-in-power/
How physics and infrastructure combine to generate (ba dum bum) the power market.

CAPS LOCK

valiz.nl/en/publications/caps-lock
How capitalism took hold of graphic design, and how to escape from it

How to make stainless steel pans non-stick | Popular Science

popsci.com/diy/make-stainless-steel-non-stick/
You can turn your stainless steel pan into a non-stick one in minutes. You'll need heat, a drop of water, and some good ol' science.

plant machete — David Bowen

dwbowen.com/plant-machete
plant controlled robot holding a machete

Heat your House with a Mechanical Windmill

solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2019/02/heat-your-house-with-a-water-brake-windmill.html
Given the right conditions, a mechanical windmill with an oversized brake system is a cheap, effective, and sustainable heating system.

Same-sex couples from China are getting married in Utah over Zoom

restofworld.org/2022/chinese-same-sex-couples-married-zoom-utah/
Utah County introduced weddings over Zoom during the pandemic, unintentionally providing a valuable service for China's LGBTQ+ community.

The GIF Is on Its Deathbed - The Atlantic

theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/10/using-reaction-gifs-over-tumblr-giphy/671680/
The internet’s file format has been diagnosed as “cringe,” but there are other threats to its existence.

The Real Name Fallacy - Coral by Vox Media

coralproject.net/blog/the-real-name-fallacy/
The Coral Project is an open source project to help publishers of all sizes build better communities around their journalism. We’re creating tools that help everyone to feel safe, respected, and heard.

There are three types of meetings.

camdaigle.com/posts/three-types-of-meetings/
Not more, not less – just better.# I'll go ahead and tell you this up front: my system isn't necessarily a path to having fewer meetings. After all, everyone's threshold for 'too many meetings' is different based on what helps them feel effective at their role, and every company's need for meetings is dependent upon the work they're trying to accomplish. I'm hoping this system helps you have better meetings – that the people running the meeting feel like it's worth their time to run...

Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse reflects our world today - New Statesman

newstatesman.com/ideas/2022/10/metaverse-mark-zuckerberg-in-retrograde
For Meta’s business model – which has long proven to be successful – is to cater to the normies. Our “real” world remains a normie world. It demands little in the way of aesthetic excellence from the various platforms through which content is delivered, and as long as profit is the only motive for its delivery, creators have no more reason to pursue aesthetic excellence than normies have to expect it.

Amazing Marvin - Customizable Task Manager and Daily Planner

amazingmarvin.com/
Highly customizable Task Manager that allow you to find your perfect workflow. Todo list with a daily planning approach.