Sarcasm alert!
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/technology/personaltech/apple-app-tracking-transparency.htmlThis has been a week of interesting tech and healthcare information. On the tech side, Apple's reIease of IOS 14.5 has thrown advertisers into a tizzy because it gives consumers more control of their data. This, of course, is long overdue. Google and Facebook, which control most of the digital ad dollars, both crushed their earnings this quarter, and they are two of the biggest sellers of our data.
Yet I bet there are apps into which people will opt. I wouldn't mind being followed around the web by apps that can teach me something about my health, for example, or apps that give me updated news. And some people are just curious. We will definitely not see a 100% opt out as the ad tech industry fears.
https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/27/bruno-argento/#pharma-death-cultDo not get me started on big pharma. As I get older, I begin to realize how few pharmaceuticals are ultimately useful, and how much they have forced us to ignore homeostasis. However, in the case of vaccines that prevent disease, I believe pharma has been helpful. It's the lobbying and the price controls I truly dislike.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/28/magazine/human-lifespan.html?smid=em-share I'm not a fan of living a long useless life. As long as I am useful, life is worth living, but I believe one day I will find that the quality vs. quantity equation has shifted, and I'm ready to go to sleep. When I was younger, I never felt this way, but one of the great things about the life I've lived is that I don't have a long bucket list.
In Arizona news, Governor Ducey just planted the responsibility of caring for disabled babies squarely on the shoulders of their parents by making abortion of children with several kinds of disabilities illegal. I am pro-life if the parent wants the child. I am pro-choice if she doesn't. It's not as if most people were such fantastic parents.
The guards caring for Chernobyl's abandoned dogs - BBC Future
The descendants of pets abandoned by those fleeing the Chernobyl disaster are now striking up a curious relationship with humans charged with guarding the contaminated area.
No newsletter is complete without an animal story, and these dogs of Chernobyl are strangely gripping.
And here's your good news. You CAN be happy. https://www.forbes.com/sites/traversmark/2021/04/26/happiness-comes-from-making-others-feel-good-rather-than-ourselves-according-to-a-new-study/?sh=4e7c221c2fd9