Can't Believe Day Trading Is Back

I observed the foolishness 20 years ago, in the original 90s dot-com bubble. If you don't know better, and want to believe, I suppose it is easy enough to confuse a broadly rising market with being a skilled stock picker. Compounded by the ever-greater convenience, pandemic-driven doldrums, and gambling-like-thrill.

After 11 years of using Android phones, I decided to try iOS. The hardware is very good, if pricey, but still questioning that decision from a software standpoint. My favorite bridge and crossword apps are unavailable. My favorite keyboard, Swiftkey, is available, but works differently in ways I hate (mainly no symbols available via long-press). Many other things.

But the gap that is driving me nuts at the moment is an Alarm Clock app. I have gone though a few on Android, but have always been able to find one that is 90% of what I want. Key features are:

• Gentle alarm (this should be table stakes, but many lack it)
• for extra credit, ability to tune the gentleness of the gentle alarm
• Ability to set an alarm for a specific date, in advance
• Skip Next shortcut option. Very convenient in 2 common use cases, related to recurring alarms:
• Holiday or PTO tomorrow, want to do a one-time skip of recurring alarm (an even better implementation is "Skip Until __").
• Wake up before alarm, want to silence it proactively.

Part 1: Smart Trainers Turn Your Road Bike into a Versatile Home Exercise Bike

Cycling has been my primary form of cardio for 30 years. I started riding the exercise bike in a health club in my early 20s, and continued through many moves and many different clubs. About 15 years ago, I became a committed road cyclist, but in the 4-5 cold months, I continued with the ex bike at the gym. Fellow cyclists would sometimes ask me if I used a trainer indoors, but I wasn't interested, I liked the electronic exercise bikes.

Although a dedicated ex bike user, I was never fully satisfied. I liked variation, and the offerings were not great. The original Lifecycle had a "random" mode, which I don't think wasn't really random, but offered more variety than almost anything else I have encountered since.

Well, fast-forward to Covid times, and I have become a trainer convert! Some weeks ago, I ordered a Saris M2 smart trainer. A smart trainer is controlled by a device (app on your phone). When riding in ERG mode, it makes you ride at the effort you signed up for. Start pedaling slower, and it increases the resistance. And you can create any profile you want.

There are three somewhat distinct types of app-driven stationary cycling. One is the augmented reality approach, where you cycle through an imaginary route, and the resistance matches the topography. Another is competition, where you ride a virtual road race. The third, the one I personally use, is more mundane; you simply pick a program, and the resistance shifts accordingly over the course of the ride. Just like my Lifecycle from 30 years ago--except I get to create the program.

Like so many things cycling, the apps are pitched toward the super-serious cyclist. The claim to analyze your performance and present optimized training plans. I suspect there is a lot of hype in there, but it is easy to ignore. I just created a bunch of different programs I like, and I have plenty of variety.

(see Part 2 for my tips on getting started, including some important accessories.)

Building distributed tech hubs to drive economic prosperity

Devolution of infotech in the US away from Silicon Valley/San Francisco is a topic I've been sporadically obsessed with for a while. So absurdly ironic that the industry which makes things virtual has such a strong value on physical centralization. This article covers the issue, hoping that Covid-driven remote work arrangements break the cycle. I sure hope so...though I do remember a similar sentiment at the dawn of the internet, but perhaps we weren't ready then. 

So many benefits to geographical diversification:

• Ability of employees to live where they want--both in a different part of the metro from the office, and different metro entirely (or not in a metro per se).
• Diffusion of entrepreneurship, wealth and concommitant benefits to other parts of the country--some of which really could use it.
• Optimization of the labor market, both for employees and employers
• Savings to employers on the high cost of office space. Savings to employees on 
• Savings of time can benefit employees and employers. As a 10+ year full-time-telecommuter, that was my rough philosophy--I get half the time saved, employer gets half the time saved. 
• Nuances, such as the fact that (salaried, mostly) employees can adjust working hours to match their personal productiivty. Even for jobs that have core hours, you can decide whether to "stay late" to finish a backlog, or come back to it when you get a second wind at 10:00pm.

Before It Became a Hell-Hole, Bosnia Was a Peacful, Multi-Ethnic Place

The Equilibrium Principle

Covid stats are through the roof. Sad, but predictable, if one understands equilibrium states. The average person, I think, isn't equipped to have a mental model of how a highly contagious disease works. The USA went into "lockdown" in March and April, just in time to prevent exponential spread from getting out of control. It worked. The curve was flattened.

Then we came out of lockdown, with mixed results. Overall though, while Covid numbers were bad enough, they remained well short of exponential. Mask usage--which has vastly out-performed expectations--very likely helped, as did good weather.

As the months wore on, a combination of complacency and fatigue set in. Complacency, that Covid, while still a problem, seemed to be bubbling along at a bad but tolerable level. Fatigue, for all forms of social isolation, including mask-wearing.

And then in the blink of an eye, the combination of change in weather, resumption of college, and the fatigue has got us in the worst state yet. 2 months ago, my pessimistic scenario was that we might be in 70% as bad a situation 2 months from now, in the depths of winter. Given that in many places we are close to maxing out ICU capacity, I can hardly bear to think of how bad it could be come January.

Covid Questions I Would Like to See Answered

Why Haven't There Been More Outbreaks at Health Clubs?

How Likely Is It That a Sleeping Partner Will Catch Covid?

Does CPAP Help Prevent Getting Covid?

What Is the Equation for Viral Load Over Time?

Charisma: More of a Negative

Given the incidence of narcissism in very important leadership roles in the US and around the globe, I believe organizations should get more deliberate about screening for narcissism,” she tells Quartz. One way to do that: Contact several people who have worked with the candidate in the past, but were not named as references by the applicant. “Finding out what the candidate’s true track record is in terms of developing people and giving them credit for accomplishments is essential. Narcissists will over-claim credit and are significantly less likely to help other people develop as leaders,” says Chatman.

I think charisma is a more a negative than anything in leaders (political, business, religious). Yes it can be powerful. But more often it may be a sign of personality problems--present or future. Greatness, let alone workaday competence, comes in many packages. It is a human weakness (understandable, but a weakness nevertheless) that we are so drawn to judging on quickly identified characteristics such as charisma, appearance or life-story.

(The article only mentions Trump in passing. I can't imagine why they chose his picture for the lede. 😅)

Why I Am Trying iOS After 11 Years of Android

I was an early adopter of Android. I pre-ordered the second-generation Android phone, HTC Magic, mid-2009. I have long been pro-Android, anti-iPhone/iOS. For a few years, I even taught Community Ed classes on Android and deciding if you need a smartphone. I have never purchased any Apple product of any kind for myself. So why did I just pre-order an iPhone 12? 

Cost

The most I have ever paid for an Android phone is $450. That was for my current, 3-year-old Essential PH1. The idea of paying $600 for a phone that might last 2 years or less has always been hard to swallow. When the iPhone X came out, with Apple testing the $1000 price point, I was more sure than ever that I would never own an iPhone. 

But then the next year Apple did quite an about-face. They released the unheralded, under-appreciated iPhone XR for $300 less than the prior year's flagship. And by most measures, the XR was a small but solid upgrade, rather than an "economy model". And finally Apple increased the bottom-tier memory to 64 Gb, which I think (fingers crossed) remains adequate.

Then last year's iPhone 11 really got me thinking. At $700, it was $50 less than the previous years' XR, while again being a modest upgrade. 

The clincher on price is the fact that our carrier, T-Mobile, seems to have established a very reliable pattern of offering very generous trade-ins for even 3-year-old iPhones. $300 the last couple of years. Since my goal is to keep a phone for 3 years, that means, after the initial purchase price of $800, the replacement cost is $500 every 3 years. Not dirt-cheap, but very tolerable, especially if you don't hate the phone the last 9 months.

Battery life

iPhones always had decent battery life, due to Apple's tight control and integration. But for a long time, Apple seemed very satisfied with just being above average. Every generation, instead of improving battery life, they held it constant, choosing instead to make devices ever-thinner. Totally a case of style over substance.

But the XR changed all that. The XR even had slightly better battery life than the pricier XS! I noticed my wife (not the most careful person about obsessively charging her phone) could routinely go all day without worrying about power! 

I have grown very sick of devoting mental cycles to considering the state of my phone's battery. Battery life is definitely a weak spot for the PH1, which in many other ways is a good Android phone. The whole time I've owned it, I keep it on battery saver. Mostly that works okay, but it messes with navigation and things like my Tile bluetooth tracker. Last year's follow-up with the iPhone 11 appears to have cemented Apple as a battery-life standout (though I fear the iPhone 12 may be a small regression, probably blame 5G).

iOS Parity

Areas where Android had a clear lead have finally disappeared or diminished. Such as ability to select default apps for things like browsing, mail, navigation. Also multi-tasking and inter-app communication. 

Screen size and ratio

I was all-in from Day 1 that larger screen sizes are a big win. I had a Samsung Vibrant, which had one of the largest screens at the time (all of 4"). But Apple stubbornly, smugly stuck to small screens, claiming that it was better, because your thumb could cover most of the screen area. Totally a BS post-hoc justification, of which I was (and still am) contemptuous.

Even when iPhone went big, with the iPhone 7 Plus, it still had comically huge bezels, for a very poor screen:body ratio. That was another thing I was into from early days--minimum bezels, most screen for the size. A big part of the reason I got the PH1.

But finally, with the iPhone X, Apple started putting the pieces together. I say started, because for one thing, the iPhone X was too long and thin. And as mentioned before, at $1000, too expensive. But also as mentioned, one year later, they totally fixed those problems with the XR.

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So that takes care of the negatives that till now had kept me very uninterested in the iPhone option. Now on to the positives. 

Hardware

Even at my most anti-iPhone, I envied the hardware. The smooth, fast, performance from full vertical integration. Innovations that almost always "just worked", and usually led the way for the industry (Touch ID, Face ID). Consistently phenomenal cameras and screens. Great waterproofing.

This is in contrast to the highest-end Android OEM, Samsung--king of the gimmicks. Samsung is a great manufacturer, and they have produced some great phones, but they are inconsistent and unpredictable. Many Samsung-originated innovations are features in search of a need.

Tired of one-off problems

The fragmentation of the Android world is a drag. Especially if you are on anything but the Samsung flagship, any problem you have is hard to pin down. Is it your unique phone or configuration? Not that the iOS world is perfect, but if you have a problem, you also likely have lots of company. Meaning that a fix is more likely to be forthcoming, and if not full-on fix, a much better chance of finding a reasonable work-around.

Updates

Apple has long shone in this department, and Android has long lagged. The Google phones have done reasonably well, Samsung is I think getting better, but the lesser OEMs often don't even ship with the latest version, so the one upgrade you get is just to go to the latest version--12 months late.

Apple's one little black mark was that older phones that were nominally supported were sometimes crippled by the upgrade, because they simply lacked the hardware to run the newest iOS well. My impression is that recent iPhones are so damn fast that this is no longer an issue. That is certainly the sentiment in the iPhone 12 reviews--the performance improvement is not noticeable today, but is nice insurance against future upgrades.

Curiosity

I've been all-Android so long, I am curious to see how the other half lives. My impression is the apps are better. Possibly more expensive, but better. 

Overcast (podcast App)

On the subject of apps, as a heavy podcast user, having a great podcast app is important to me. I have tried a few on Android, and they are all fine, but none seem great. iOS has a podcast app, Overcast, that gets rave reviews. I listen to the developer's podcast, and have recommended it to my iPhone-toting friends and family. But I have never actually used it, because it is iOS-only. So I am looking forward to trying Overcast, and saving time with its Smartspeed feature that eliminates silences.

Repairability

The few times I have looked into repairing Android phones, it has been cost-prohibitive. Like a car that has light damage but is nevertheless "totaled". In the case of the PH1, that applies even to replacing the battery. By contrast, iPhones have a pretty good record for cost of basic repairs, such as screen or battery replacement.

Fareed Zakaria Even Likes the Same Books I Do!

I've loved Fareed Zakaria for a few decades, going back to the days of his Newsweek column. So I was delighted to see he was a guest of another podcaster I also really like, Ezra Klein. The episode did not disappoint!

Highlights for me:

[America has] A degree of local variation that you see almost nowhere else.

Definitely is a pet topic. I think most of the arbitrary variation between states is unnecessary and pointless. It's a fine line, I know. "Laboratories of democracy".  Or these days, a few states are the bulwarks of democracy. But maybe if we didn't have so much crazy local variation, we wouldn't be in the dis-united position we are in.

America compared to what? America as least bad hegemon.

Zakaria isn't one to whitewash America's history or foreign policy. But he does make the vital observation that the behavior of most great powers, let alone superpowers, isn't good. That should never be an excuse, but it is a reason for a modicum of American pride and optimism.

The Adventures of Kavalier and Klay

This was the bonus. Klein always asks guests to recommend 3 books. The rules of recommendation are totally open, but typically guests recommend non-fiction books related to the topics of conversation. Zakaria's third pick was one of my favorite books of all time, Michael Chabon's The Adventures of Kavalier and Klay. (Klein also seemed to have read and enjoyed it.)

Simplism, Denialism, Populism

 I can add "simplism" to denialism and populism as horridly destructive -isms that are currently very prevalent. Though I suspect the Venn diagrams for simplism and populism are 95% overlapping. Unsurprising to see sloganeering called out as a hallmark.

Economizing on your Amazon Audible Account

PSA on some things to make Audible more cost-effective. I had an account for maybe 6 months, and decided it was too expensive. I initiated an online cancellation, and the offered me a few different deals. One of them was $99 up-front for a year's worth of credits. Considering that at the normal $16/month price, a year costs $192, that is about a 50% discount. That's a deal-maker, so I took it ($8.20/book).

But did you know that you can gift Audiobooks? So if you only need a few books a year, several people could split the cost of one account.

We will see if this sweet deal gets extended when my year is up!

Tweet from a Canadian: I've voted in every Canadian election since I was 18 and I've never registered for shit. "Voter registration" is voter suppression. Just to clarify for the pedants, yes I'm technically registered but the gov does it automatically. I've moved 6 times in the last 10 years and never had to lift a finger to register myself.

I love this tweet for a couple of reasons, beyond the fact that it illustrates a sensible that I agree with. It illustrates a couple of my favorite beliefs. One, a different kind of American nationalism. A kind that values American citizenship, and what is best for America, far, far above state politics and policies. The privileges of American citizenship should follow seamlessly, wherever one relocates in the country.

Second, the value of empirical inquiry into how it is done in other places. The US, like any government, would be wise to cast a broad net of intellectual inquiry, look for what works elsewhere, and consider how it might be applied here. Completing your income taxes is another good example. Or, uh, firearms regulation.

Ireland Lacrosse Bows Out Of 2022 World Games So Iroquois Nationals Can Play

Great story of extraordinary sportsmanship. 

Face masks Phase II

KN95 Notes

CDC testing results (scroll down, expand + sign to see list).

CDC updated results

Here are some articles on fakes (1,2,3). They are on Medium, so I can't be 100% certain of the author's bona fides.

I have been using Purism for 5 weeks. They were originally on the approved list, as of 09/22/20 on the "no longer authorized" list. But they did very well in the original testing, so I think the no longer authorized means that they didn't quite meet the highest standards, but they are still much better than any random paper or cloth mask. They go in and out of stock. When available, I have seen them 20 for $40. They passed the "blow out a flame" test and the "holds water" test. They are durable, and have held up very well to repeated wearings. The ear loops are definitely on the tight side (I have a really big head), but that is more a feature than a bug, b/c they have to be tight to be effective.

Do not be put off by the price. $2 per may be very inflated compared to pre-Covid prices, but well worth it. Honestly, given how quickly paper masks deteriorate, these may be cheaper in the long run. I have one that I keep in my car. I have probably donned and doffed it 50 times, and it is still in great shape. 

I also bought some Holodeal, when Purism were out (just to have more--I have been handing them out to family). They seem equally good, but I have less wearing experience, and couldn't find the brand rated. Price about the same.

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In the USA, we have more or less gotten to the point where most evidence-oriented individuals understand that face masks help stop the spread of Covid 19.

But not all face masks are equal in effectiveness. It certainly *does* seem the case that even make-do face masks have significantly over-performed. But we are past the extreme shortages of PPE, and KN95 masks--arguably as good as N95, so long as they are genuine--are available.

I have been using KN95s for over a month. They seem very good. I subjected my batch to a few of the tests to detect counterfeits, they passed. They are maybe 20% harder to breathe through. The an offsetting benefit, at least for me, is that they form a peak in front of the nose. Whereas the flat masks seal against my nose when I inhale.

A well-fitted N95/KN95 is theoretically a total Coronavirus barrier, whereas make-do masks inhibit viral load, but don't reduce it to zero, so they buy time, but cannot absolutely prevent transmission.

My point is--let's not rest on laurels. Let's up mask-wearing to the super-effective masks.

(A bonus--although they are more expensive, they are much higher quality, so last through many, many wearings. Unlike the cheap ones, which tend to break a strap the first time I fiddle with them!)

Covid-19 Risk Is Respiratory

It is shockingly hard to get people to absorb basic public health facts related to Covid-19.  Most fundamentally, that is is 95-100% RESPIRATORY. So handwashing and face shields can't hurt, of course, but the risk is that they are a distraction that creates a false sense of security(1). Zero surprise that this Swiss case investigation found face shields didn't confer much protection, while masks did. 

Another point that has been massively and unnecessarily confusing is the idea that "the (sole/main) reason to wear masks is not that they protect the wearer, but that doing so is a pro-social act to protect others". While the protect others part is certainly true, I am baffled as to the belief they don't also protect the wearer(2). Good to see this article take on that point.  

(1) The false sense of security factor was, I believe, one of the reasons masks were originally downplayed by some public health experts. Best of intentions, probably, but clearly a devastating mistake, in hindsight. 

(2) It may come from the established practice in some countries, mostly east Asian I think, of wearing masks when one is sick, yes, in order to protect others.

Hoarding by Marquee Art Museums

In this recent episode of his terrific podcast, Revisionist History, Malcolm Gladwell starts to explore a topic that has always bothered me: the fact that marquee museums typically have vast storerooms of artifacts that are seldom, if ever, displayed. I don't want them to be sold to private collectors, but wouldn't everyone be so much better off if they were viewable in second and third-tier museums?

(I say "starts to explore", because that is the intro to the episode, but then it segues into an examination of hoarding behavior, the NY Met merely serving as an attention-grabbing example.)

Orange Wine?!

Pretty interesting article on "orange wine". When I saw the headline I first thought it referred to a fruit wine. I am down on fruit "wine" of course. "Down on" as in fruit wine:real wine::margarine:butter. I.e., I would never buy or consume it, at any price, if I had the alternative of the real thing!

But orange seemed such an improbable fruit for fruit "wine", that I took a second look, and realized it was more like "Rose++".

Frequent Password Reset Requirements

For a while, conventional wisdom was that making users change passwords frequently was an anti-pattern—encourages users to choose simple passwords. But with the risk of data being moved offline and brute-forced, has that changed? If the password is used on multiple sites, all it takes is for one careless site to have their encrypted passwords stolen, for offline cracking.

Of course, unique, complex, randomly-generated passwords from password managers such as 1Password are better still.

I went for PT recently and it was pretty helpful. Each week for 4 weeks they gave me additional exercise. They sent me home with printed diagrams like this (random link, not my actual exercises). Exercises seemed to help. What I wish they had also given me were links to each of the recommended exercises. Ideally, all compiled into a personal master URI for me, for my future reference if needed.

Ethical e-Commerce UI Never Tries to Trick the Consumer

I loathe apps and companies that use UI to trick me. Examples:

When transferring my Venmo balance to my bank, the app always presents the expedited option that carries a 1% fee. This is a terrible deal, and unless you absolutely have to have the money quickly, nobody should use it. But Venmo presents it first, in a way that makes it look like it is the standard. More than once I have almost chosen it by accident.

What would an ethical approach be? Bare minimum, make the no-fee and fee approaches at least equal in the UI, so the user isn't tricked into choosing the one that is almost surely a bad deal. Better yet, create a setting where the user can set the no-fee option as their default, so they don't have the UI friction of making a choice between a good deal and a terrible deal.

LinkedIn is a huge offender. They do this horrible bait-and-switch thing with invitations. After executing on their periodic prompt for connect with people you might know (annoying, but to be expected with any form of social media), almost instantaneously, the UI automatically populates the screen with all the contacts that you just deliberately un-checked! It happened so fast, it was hard to notice. In fact, if you weren't paying close attention, you might think the first SEND INVITATIONS did not work, so you would re-click. They have been doing this for over a decade.

One of the pleasures of doing business with Amazon is that I find it never nudges me in a direction contrary to my best interests. Even when they offer shipping options that would be cheaper to them than honoring my Prime membership, they default correctly, to Prime, and merely give me the option to select the alternative shipping methods.

Full Size Range Hood Should Be Construction Code

The benefits of having a good kitchen exhaust fan is under-rated. Especially desirable when you burn something so much it smokes, or when cooking something extra pungent or messy. But day-in, day-out, they are good to use when doing any amount of stovetop work that involves oil. Get the aerosolized oil droplets out of your house, instead of letting them disperse and much things up.

The worse situation, of course, is to have an un-ducted fan. That does basically nothing but make noise for the placebo effect. But I think a microwave is a poor substitute for a full-size range hood. Unfortunately, it seems like over-the-stove microwaves have replaced range hoods in most kitchens these days. Ours included. I think replacing the microwave with a good hood would be pricey, and then also we have a space-inefficient kitchen layout, so counter space is somewhat limited, and so no good home for a countertop microwave.

If we ever move again...

My Mint Transaction Review Process

I've been using Mint.com for a few years now. I imagine I am a typical, lightweight user--I don't try to categorize things, I just use it to pull all my transactions into one journal, that I can review weekly (especially important for couples who share accounts).

For a while, I reviewed them directly in Mint, and that works okay, but its interface is not exactly snappy. I eventually hit on the idea of exporting them all to Excel (effortless, built-in, just scroll to the bottom of the transactions window for the "Export All" option). That has worked much better.

In Excel, I have all the responsiveness, power and speed of that very familiar application. Search, filter, it's all there. I review transactions, flag things that my wife needs to review, or that I may need to follow up on (e.g., Reimbursable), make an occasional note. Takes maybe 20 minutes per week, total.

There are little glitches, that mostly don't bother me, but would get in the way if you were trying to do true accounting. The main thing is that some transactions appear to be repeated, but aren't. I think this must have something to do with the timing of the credit card clearing process. 

Retirees Should Still Have a Heavy Stock Allocation

I've seen a few articles like this recently: Retiring Into a Shaky Market? Think Long Term Anyway

I am always 100% equities with retirement savings, and always envisioned to continue to be heavily allocated in stocks through retirement.

The one thing that troubles me a little is really bad timing. Market goes down 40% the very year you retire. So this article makes two points that seem like good tweaks.

I like the buffer asset idea. Carve out a relatively small amount of your portfolio in cash. Then as the advisor says:

A really simple rule that I found works quite well and does just as well as more complicated rules, is that you just look at your portfolio balance on the date you retired. Whenever the current balance is less than that number, draw from the buffer asset. Otherwise, you withdraw from your portfolio. This is simple and works well.

I wish they would have given some guidance about how big the buffer should be. I'm going to say, enough to fund 2 leaner-than-ideal years.

I also like this idea:

Some retirement experts have found that an even more conservative mixture at retirement may be ideal. What they suggest next is counterintuitive, but underscores the long game that is the stock market: Instead of maintaining that lower allocation to stocks, they suggest you gradually increase it as you age.

So one thing that could imply is, starting to convert your buffer steadily to equities after, say, 5 years.

Coronavirus: Help Flatten the Curve by Deliberate Early Exposure?

The importance of "flattening the curve" of Covid19 seems to be sinking in, with "social distancing" being the single most important means. Nothing to argue with there. But I have an idea for another, complementary public health measure: what about selective, deliberate early exposure? (NOTE: This assumes that once you get it, you are immune for a while--I think that is a solid assumption.)

Why not expose voluntary cohorts of people to the disease, much sooner rather than later? And then put them in quarantine together (in a motel or whatever).

From a societal/public health standpoint, this would help flatten the curve. But why would people volunteer? I think there are a number of benefits (beyond knowing you are making a contribution to the greater good):

• Early exposure guarantees sufficient resources for your treatment. Versus getting it at peak, and maybe the hospital is full, or out of respirators.
• Choosing your time and place of quarantine ensures you aren't stuck on a cruise ship for weeks.
• Similarly, since the entire cohort would be infected together, the duration of the quarantine would be a predictable 2 weeks. Versus the cruise ship scenario, where every time a new case pops up, it would reset the clock.
• By getting it over with, you no longer have to endure weeks or months of social distancing--you are free to go about your business.
• You would have company in quarantine--the rest of your cohort.
• And of course you would know you are making a major, pro-social contribution by volunteering to be exposed. Ideally, maybe this could earn credits for those near and dear to you who are at high risk--should rationing be required.

I think it would be super-beneficial to do this with healthcare workers. Because that famous curve-flattening graphic? The one that shows the Healthcare system capacity as a fixed, steady-state horizontal line? Well guess what? If healthcare workers are infected, that line plunges downwards.

There would also be a big scientific/clinical dividend. Early data on the disease progression. If done really carefully, it might be possible, to some degree, to group the cohorts in statistically useful ways (vs random) to provide even better data.

Compromise for Blog-Length Tweets

Twitter is famously minimalist for tweet length. For over a decade, they rigidly stuck to 128 characters. I found that to be way too short, most tweets required severe editing to fit. Longer tweets used the ugly hack of screenshotting the text. Among the many drawbacks to this approach is that it is usually impossible to read on a phone. I almost never bother.

The expansion to 256 characters significantly eased the pain . But there are still a lot of screenshots out there. Also, I detest reading long tweet chains. I have an idea for a compromise:

• The Twitter client should allow you to create an arbitrarily long post (>>256 characters).
• The Tweet body should consist of the first 128-256 characters.
• The remainder of the tweet content will be automagically turned into a post (sort of like Tumblr).
• The tweet will end with a more link that provides the rest of the post.
• The author can either explicitly specify the break point, otherwise it will be algorithm-based (e.g., nearest complete sentence to 256 characters).

Technically it seems very reasonable. Not sure from a business model point of view. I don't see anything obviously bad about it. In pursuit of ad-based monetization, the Twitter client could do annoying things like throw an ad up when you click to more link. It might have a pretty good payoff--anyone clicking the more link is obviously a motivated reader.