∞ Mini ponds are 'tiny universes' of biodiversity for gardens and windowsills
Katherine Latham writes for BBC:
Back in our garden, we were visiting our mini ponds daily, excited to see what might have made its home there. We practiced patience – as Thomas advised – which was difficult as at first the ponds grew thick with algae. But then, in just a few days, the waters cleared again. In week two, we were somewhat surprised to find aquatic life – water fleas and mosquito larvae darting about under the surface.
On the Sunday afternoon of week three, I heard squeals of delight and my children came sprinting in from the garden unable to contain their excitement. They had found a fully grown common frog, which they affectionately named "Froggo". Now, we are on tenterhooks, waiting to see if we get any frogspawn.
I always wanted a pond in our garden. I should start executing on my idea real soon.
∞ Google Gets the Message, Launches Gmail
Happy 20th birthday, Gmail!
Sure Apple, we now have https://apps.apple.com/us/vision.
But how about actually show all the categories available and give us the ability to browse non-featured apps?
There is still no way to find Mango 5Star 🤷🏻♂️
Indie App Sales, March 2024 Edition
Indie App Sales is back again with a March 2024 edition! More than 250 indie apps are participating, and of course it includes the ones under the Mango Umbrella:
- 👶🏻 Mango Baby Lifetime $9.99 -> $4.99 https://apps.apple.com/app/mango-baby-newborn-tracker/id1512238725
- ⭐ Mango 5Star $2.99 -> $0.99 https://apps.apple.com/app/mango-5star/id1473088658
- 📸 Mango Exposure Remove Ads $1.99 -> $0.99 https://apps.apple.com/app/mango-exposure-the-calculator/id1487020105
Head over to indieappsales.com to discover the rest of the apps.
Rest in Peace, Akira Toriyama
From Bird Studio's statement today:
Dear Friends and Partners,
We are deeply saddened to inform you that Manga creator Akira Toriyama passed away on March 1st due to acute subdural hematoma. He was in age of 68.
Akira Toriyama's work has been a significant part of my childhood. May your soul rest in peace.
Update on 2024-03-10: App Store published a story remembering Akira Toriyama with a collection of apps and games featuring his works and characters: https://apps.apple.com/story/id1734943876.
Mango Is the King of Fruit - Phil
A great quote from Somebody Feed Phil.
I'm in total agreement with Phil. Also, his smile is so infectious!
∞ Movie: The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon
I'm giving the movie 4/5 ⭐
One hour later I'm still in shock. It's too damn dark.
∞ 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.
i may not have pre-ordered Vision Pro today,
but January 19, 2024 is still important to me,
that Mango Umbrella LLC is formed 🥭
∞ 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.