Sea Stars are vicious predators
Personal news! I spoke at the Customer Show Australia in melbourne. That was fun, and inside Marvel Stadium concourse, which was weird but cool. Definitely the oddest setting for a random keynote.
I also got to catch up with old friends from my Advertising days in Shanghai. Great hang, lots of memories.
In Today I learned - Sea Stars eat Sea Urchins.
Also, poisons are wiping out Sea Stars,
Starting in 2013, a mysterious sea star wasting disease sparked a mass die-off from Mexico to Alaska. The epidemic has devastated more than 20 species and continues today. Worst hit was a species called the sunflower sea star, which lost around 90% of its population in the outbreak’s first five years.
A lack of Sea Stars has led Sea urchins to multiply and decimate kelp forests. As far as I can tell from half-assed googling, there has not been a substantial impact on Uni prices.
Podcasts
Every economics and markets nerd loves Odd Lots, and they got a nice write up in the NYT. It’s a great podcast! But with the popularity, the # of embedded ads increases. Sigh. If you’re new to oddlots, the episode that got me hooked was about shipping pallets.
Speaking of Podcasts, I loved Tyler Cowan’s discussion with David Robertson. I don’t keep track of famous conductors as some might, but this conversation was a lovely reminder of why Classical music is always relevant. He also discussed his dyslexia and difficulties as a child with reading. During that portion he recommended Proust and the Squid, which is a book that blew my mind several times over. Highly recommended!
Also podcasts that lead to books→ The Politics of Smell, an Ologies episode that left me dumbfounded. The book isn’t out yet so I’ll just have to wait!
Movies
A few months ago I saw Universal Language, which I can only describe as the Canadian Immigrant experience filtered through a Wes Anderson movie and a few stems of magic mushrooms. It’s funny, touching, weird and almost entirely in Farsi. I have no idea what happens, and I highly recommend it.