one.point.zero

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Essays that became books.

One of the best ways to find good things to read is to look for the essays that were so good that they eventually became books.

An interesting list of essays that eventually became books, with links to both. I've read a few and, honestly, the essay is usually fine. Non-fiction books have a tendency to add filler in order to hit a minimum page count.

Linked on 7th August 2022 Details

The old "I've go nothing to hide" argument.

Note: playing video here allows YouTube to track you across sites. View directly on YouTube to avoid this.

Another video concerning online tracking and all the data about you constantly being hoovered up. This one takes a good look at the difference between privacy and security.

Added on Aug 7, 2022 Details

How palm oil ended up in everything.

An interesting history of palm oil and its presence in an obnoxious amount of processed products, not just food.

Campaigners tend to be more hostile towards palm oil than towards other tropical products such as cocoa and soy which also pose threats to ecosystems. He suggests that this hostility comes down to the fact that ‘palm oil is perceived as being in things, rather than a thing in its own right.’

Linked on 28th June 2022 Details
The oldest house in Antwerp. The oldest house in Antwerp.
Added on 5th June 2022 Details

Spite buildings.

I thought I'd mentioned spite buildings here before, but it doesn't look like it. This is an article showing several examples of these buildings built to annoy others, usually by blocking views.

Linked on 5th June 2022 Details

The inside story of Chernobyl during the Russian occupation.

The Russian troops had expected their “special operation” to be brief. Soldiers had brought scant supplies: one admitted that he’d packed only a single uniform, because he thought he was on a training exercise. Some asked Semenov where they could buy cigarettes. “They said, ‘Why are there no shops near here?’ I said, ‘This is a restricted zone!’ They didn’t understand where they were.”

Great read about Chernobyl under Russian occupation during the recent invasion. Where senior staff had to keep up quite a balancing act in order to save lives and avoid disaster.

Linked on 29th May 2022 Details