Kickoff For February 14, 2022
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I’ve found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.
Let’s get this Monday started with these links:
Crime
To Catch a Turtle Thief: Blowing the Lid Off an International Smuggling Operation, wherein we take a peek into a corner of the world of wildlife crime: the international trade in baby terrapins, and why that trade is potentially lucrative.
A physicist studied Ben Franklin’s clever tricks to foil currency counterfeiters, wherein we learn a bit about the history of passing fake currency and how people have tried to fight back against those efforts.
The Notorious Mrs. Mossler, wherein we learn about the 1960s trial of a glamorous Houston socialite who was accused of killing her husband, and what happened afterwards.
Technology
Screwed Over, wherein Arianne Shahvisi looks at how planned obsolescence is core to the logic of capitalism and how we need to be able to repair what we buy and own.
Can big tech ever be reined in?, wherein John Naughton explores whether or not it’s too late for governments for governments to curb the power and influence accumulated by technology giants over the last 20-odd years.
Half a Billion in Bitcoin, Lost in the Dump, wherein we hear yet another story of a lost Bitcoin wallet, and the efforts of the person who lost it to excavate the hard drive containing his wallet’s private key from a Welsh dump.
Odds and Ends
To Be Happy, Hide From the Spotlight, wherein Arthur C. Brooks explains why fame is terrible for happiness, regardless of what we may think.
The anchor-outs: San Francisco’s bohemian boat dwellers fight for their way of life, wherein we learn about a water dwelling subculture in San Francisco’s bay area, one that’s gradually being destroyed in the push for gentrification.
The Dust That Measures All Our Time, wherein Steven Connor pens a paen to sand, that quasi-choate matter that has so many literary, mythical, and practical uses.
And that’s it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.