When the crisis started, most of us thought the toilet paper shortage was temporary and due to panic buying. Many weeks in, with shelves still empty, the reality is clear: the toilet paper supply chain was built to accomodate both home and away from home sales, and the balance has shifted drastically. Supply chains are struggling to adapt to the current reality.

It is not easy to replicate them purely with grit and the hacker ethos, as they are fine-tuned devices with a variety of complex sensors and systems. And even if we make more, they take experts to run and maintain, and we can’t easily get more of those.

Excellent choice.

No. And there is no such thing as an “expiration date” on a car seat.

Absolutely devastating.

Because reality has a surprising amount of detail, a quick overview of the many innovations and advances in equipment, technique, travel, and knowledge that were needed before Alex Honnold was in a position to “free solo” El Capitan. Everything builds on everything, and it’s turtles all the way down.

Qatar is trying to condition the outdoor air to offset daytime temperatures that often top 130ºF.

Dissecting a conservative myth that contends middle-America tradespeople can be as or more successful than college-educated city dwellers in the modern economy. In reality trades are rarely lucrative, and the underfunding of public education means that trade schools leave students deeply indebted even as they face a lack of opportunity.

Beef is the most wasteful food on the planet. It’s bad for the environment, bad for our health, difficult to keep free of contaminants, and, of course, bad for the cows. Sixty percent of the beef we consume is ground beef — nothing gourmet about it. In a few years time, the ground beef market could be made extinct by plant-based alternatives.

Because it is good for the world, but just as (if not more) importantly, because it makes financial sense to do so. They are starting to see the writing on the wall — the rise of renewables and decline of coal is leading to market uncertainty, while possible government regulation could pose huge risks to the profitability of fossil fuel companies.

A nuanced take on a storied neighborhood grappling with the modern homelessness epidemic.

Yeah, this will go well…

I’ve spent the entire last week being upset about this epic television show’s finale, indeed the entire final season. I’ve read dozens of articles, tweetstorms, memes, and hot takes, discussed it with many people. There is a lot I could say, but I’ll just post this one article that sums up some of my key frustrations, and leave it at that.

This advice bears oft repeating: comfort IN, dump OUT

Finally, some sanity!

Elle revisits the “Kayak Killer,” Angelika Graswald. In addition to everything else weird about this story, I’m struck by how much misunderstandings about kayaking contributed to a presumption of guilt. Investigators fixated on a missing drain plug and that she rescued his paddle while ignoring that he was intoxicated, wearing inadequate clothing, sans PFD, in dark, windy conditions, and he hit 40º water.

“Politics as usual” does not matter when the fate of the world is on the line. You either believe it or you don’t. If you do, you recognize the need for radical action:

[I]n the case of the environment, the opponent is not the Chamber of Commerce. The opponent is physics, and physics doesn’t negotiate. It’s not moved by appeals to centrist moderation, or explanations about the filibuster. And it has set a firm time limit. Scientists have told us what we must do and by when, and so legislators must do all they can to match those targets.

No offense to Feinstein, but she is 85 years old – she won’t have to live through the consequences. But her grandchildren will. Or, put another way: