∞ Analysis: Clean Energy Was Top Driver of China’s Economic Growth in 2023
Lauri Myllyvirta and Qi Qin from CREA wrote a guest post for CarbonBrief:
Solar power, along with manufacturing capacity for solar panels, EVs and batteries, were the main focus of China’s clean-energy investments in 2023, the analysis shows.
Without the growth from clean-energy sectors, China’s GDP would have missed the government’s growth target of “around 5%”, rising by only 3.0% instead of 5.2%.
I went back to China last year for a month. I saw so, so many EVs.
∞ Hospitals owned by private equity are harming patients, reports find
Beth Mole writes for Ars Technica,
Private equity firms are increasingly buying hospitals across the US, and when they do, patients suffer, according to two separate reports. Specifically, the equity firms cut corners, slash services, lay off staff, lower quality of care, take on substantial debt, and reduce charity care, leading to lower ratings and more medical errors, the reports collectively find.
We need more reports like this, and more media attention.
∞ Just Do What You're Excited About
Simon Peng from his Robot Fan Club newsletter,
The other way I find I can motivate myself to start is by looking for inspiration not in other people's work, but in the people themselves.
This is very true for me. I'm often motivated by other people. This effect doesn't last long for me though, and I have to consistently remind myself about other people's existence to keep the motivation up.
To me, the lesson here is to be inspired by excitement. Be inspired by the ability people have to be energized into action.
There's a place in our lives for being moved to create by the profundity of great works of art, but more often I feel people hold great works up as an excuse not to make something. They'll fall short. They'll fail. They don't know where to start.
Instead, look at all the things people do in spite of these feelings and embrace that bold rejection of the box that you're in. Often we put ourselves in that box to help us articulate who we are to others. Often we put ourselves there to help explain who we are to ourselves. But we're always more than that. We're people. We can do whatever we want. So shouldn't we do what excites us?
Maybe excitement is the key here? Tonight, I'm very excited to get a visionOS build for Mango 5Star. And I'm just doing that.
What excites you?
∞ Distributing apps in the U.S. that provide an external purchase link
After Supreme Court refused to consider Apple's (and Epic's) appeals today, Apple published its guideline for apps in the U.S. that provide external purchase links:
In addition to using Apple’s convenient, safe, and secure in-app purchase system, apps on the App Store in the United States that offer in-app purchases can also use the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement (US) to include a link to the developer’s website that informs users of other ways to purchase digital goods or services. To use the entitlement, you’ll need to submit a request, enable the entitlement in Xcode, and use required StoreKit APIs. Apple will review your app to ensure it complies with the terms and conditions of the entitlement, as well as the App Store Review Guidelines and the Apple Developer Program License Agreement.
Among other things, the following screen will be shown to the user each time the app calls the StoreKit External Purchase Link API:
Apple is so good at following the text of the ruling.
What's more,
Apple is charging a commission on digital purchases initiated within seven days from link out, as described below. This will not capture all transactions that Apple has facilitated through the App Store, but is a reasonable means to account for the substantial value Apple provides developers, including in facilitating linked transactions.
Apple’s commission will be 27% on proceeds you earn from sales (“transactions“) to the user for digital goods or services on your website after a link out (i.e., they tap “Continue” on the system disclosure sheet), provided that the sale was initiated within seven days and the digital goods or services can be used in an app. This includes (a) any applicable taxes and (b) any adjustments for refunds, reversals and chargebacks. For auto-renewing subscriptions, (i) a sale initiated, including with a free trial or offer, within seven days after a link out is a transaction; and (ii) each subsequent auto-renewal after the subscription is initiated is also a transaction.]
L.O.L. How would any developer actually adopt this?
This is not surprising though. This is so modern-day Apple.
∞ Migrating from Substack to self-hosted Ghost: the details
Molly White wrote in great detail on how she migrated her [Citation Needed] newsletter from Substack to Ghost, including a number of hiccups along the way.
After a brief moment of panic, my soul returned to my body and I remembered how widely Substack had advertised that all writers retain control over their subscriber lists and can take them with them if they leave.
I responded:
No, I intend to migrate my paid subscribers from Substack (as is a selling point of the platform: "A Substack is the writer’s property: the email list, content, and payment relationships (should you choose to monetize) is the writer’s and the writer can take all of it with them if they ever decided to leave the platform.") I don't wish to cancel their paid subscriptions, I just wish to remove the Substack fee as I will no longer be using the platform. See: https://ghost.org/docs/migration/substack/#removing-substack-fees I then proceeded to spend five days in terrifying limbo as I awaited a reply (which was, in fairness, over the holidays).
I then proceeded to spend five days in terrifying limbo as I awaited a reply (which was, in fairness, over the holidays).
Ouch. That's actually a terrifying experience. Glad it worked out in the end.
TSA Finds Recording Breaking-Firearms, Every Single Year Since 2010
From a TSA press release on January 10, 2024:
During 2023, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) intercepted a total of 6,737 firearms at airport security checkpoints, preventing them from getting into the secure areas of the airport and onboard aircraft. Approximately 93% of these firearms were loaded. This total surpasses the previous year’s record of 6,542 firearms stopped at checkpoints and represents the highest one-year total in TSA’s history.
In my mind, 6,737 is mind-boggling. I mean, we are talking about airport security checkpoints here. Whenever I saw the signs of firearms at security checkpoints, I've always thought, who would be so dumb to carry firearms?
This got me interested in the historical numbers. Luckily, last year's press release is very handy and includes a chart for number of found firearms since 2010:
Except for 2020, due to the pandemic, it's been record-breaking every fucking year. Last year was six times that of 2010.
It's just mind-boggling. I hate this part of America.
∞ Chino Yang - San Francisco Our Home [ OFFICIAL MV ]
Beautiful music.
∞ How California’s New Pedestrian Signal Law Makes Biking Safer
Alvin Holbrook writes at VELO,
Implementing an LPI at an intersection is an easy way to make streets safer for people walking. There’s no major infrastructure building that needs to happen, just a comparatively inexpensive adjustment to signal timing to prioritize the safety of people walking. And now in California, an LPI also prioritizes people biking.
How low cost is it? The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) says that reprogramming traffic signals to accommodate an LPI can cost between $200 and $1200 per intersection, a drop in the bucket compared to how much pedestrian or bicyclist injuries cost a city.
When I'm driving, I actually also appreciate LPI as that makes me more confident that I would drive safer. So this seems like a no brainer to me.
∞ Drink Free Beer in Silence at This New San Francisco Barbershop
David Sjostedt writes,
Catering to the overworked, the introverted and the way-too-baked, a new barbershop in San Francisco offers silent haircuts so that you no longer have to talk to your barber as they line you up.
At Beyond the Pale barbershop in the Mission District, there’s no need to say a word with the shop’s “silent mode” service, which was designed especially for shy techies and stoners, according to shop owner Anthony Larrasquitu.
“Ultimately, it’s about the freedom here. You get to pick the experience you want,” Larrasquitu said.
I love this. Ever since I can remember, I have always hated going to barbershops. I don't like the idea of having to talk to people while they are cutting something off my head. Then 7 years ago, I found the perfect solution: long hair.
This San Francisco Barbershop can be another great alternative!
∞ Devon Dundee’s Apps of 2023
Devon has a great list of apps:
But one of Devon's Apps of 2023 is not like the other:
Mango Baby
The app that’s had the most impact on my life over the past year has to be Mango Baby, a newborn tracker by Yilei Yang. It’s not a new release, but since my son Noah was born, Mango Baby has been an indispensable tool for keeping track of his care.
The app is so well-designed and makes it simple for me to log feedings, diapers, and more. The information I need most is always right at hand, often not even requiring that I open the app thanks to Mango Baby’s extensive set of widgets. Shortcuts actions allow me to log diaper changes hands-free, and the iCloud-based collaboration is rock-solid, keeping everything in sync between my devices and my wife’s.
I’m a fan of anything that helps my kid and makes my life a bit easier. Mango Baby does both of those things every day.
I'm always inspired to hear how Mango Baby is helping parents. It has motivated me to keep improving the app for years.