For Less Anxiety and More Life, Treat Your to-Do List Like a Diner Menu ✦
Lists are menus
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Everything I share — writing, short curated lists, and links. You can also find me on Threads.
Can Enhanced Street Lighting Improve Public Safety at Scale - Marginal REVOLUTION ✦
Over 10 months, 34,374 streetlights were upgraded across 13,275 street segments, converting roughly one-third of the city’s street segments to new LED fixtures that provide clearer and more even illumination. We assess the effect of these upgrades on total crime, violent crime, property crime, and nuisance crime. Results show a 15% decline in outdoor nighttime street crimes and a 21% reduction in outdoor nighttime gun violence following the streetlight upgrades. The upgrades may account for approximately 5% of the citywide reduction in gun violence during this period, or about one sixth of the 31% citywide decline.
70% > 100%
One of my themes heading into this new year has been 'bias toward action.' For too long I've let myself get stuck in analysis paralysis.
Shortlist #7 – Odds and ends
Odds and ends from the last few weeks.
The End of Productivity ✦
They’re the people who make things that are wonderful, original, weird, emotionally resonant, and authentic. As our feeds become flooded with instant, AI-generated content, the most dangerous thing you can do is play it safe.
The Most Powerful Life Hacks I've Found ✦
Spend more time in rooms where you don't feel like you belong. Those rooms are all around you, but your fear of being “found out” holds you back from stepping into them. Remember: That feeling of uncertainty, fear, and discomfort is usually a sign of growth.
‘This Is Not the End of the Road’ Says Former Eviation CEO ✦
The problem certainly lies in a lack of funding. *“I said it at the Revolution.Aero event in 2022, just after our first flight, it is investment. Whether VTOL, CTOL, whatever, we are all pulling from the same pool of money. So, unfortunately it is the same problem for everyone right now,”* says Davis.
Trump's Shock and Awe Month ✦
In his first term, Trump ran up the deficit with glee; and in the first 30 days of this term, his spending per day is $4 billion higher than Biden’s was a year ago. Go read Riedl for how Trump is set to bankrupt the US still further.
Act Fast ✦
So here’s my question: what’s something you could do, right away – not in the tense spirit of Facing Your Fears, but merely by stepping gracefully out of the way, with all your usual overcomplicating nonsense, and letting action happen? “Life completely unhindered by anything manifests as pure activity,” the Zen teacher Kosho Uchiyama observed. What action could you simply decide *not to hinder* today? I bet there’s something. Go on. Act fast.
Na Kim Designs Your Favorite Book Covers. Now She’s Painting for Herself. ✦
I really do think anyone could do anything if they work hard at it. You get better at things if you actually try them.