Why Is It So Hard to Make a Website for the Government?
A story about the Code for America team behind CalFresh (CA’s food stamp program). Turns out the government is really not good at computer. Along those lines, please send me your fax number to make sure you get the next issue of this newsletter.
Throughout the read I was reminded of The Atlantic piece from a year ago about the team that rebuilt Healthcare.gov and ultimately birthed 18F and the US Digital Service.
Storm Sentinels
I spent much of my childhood skiing and playing in Windham, NY which is just a few towns over from Prattsville. I remember Hurricane Irene hitting hard a few years ago in August 2011, and the devastation it left on that collection of upstate NY towns can still be seen and felt today.
This longform from The Verge explores the intersection of weather forecasting and emergency management against the backdrop of Irene’s affect on the town of Prattsville.
Auto Correct
This article is a few years old now, but relevant to recent Uber news.
Making Sense of Modern Pornography
A thorough catch up on a (taboo) topic we don’t normally read about.
This is interesting with Prop 60 on the ballot this week in California.
The article takes you through how the internet has changed the industry over the last 40 years (similar effects as music) and how the opponents and proponents approach the issues.
Every Noise At Once
You could spend a few hours on this site exploring your favorite artists and the full graph of the sub sub genres they’re in. Apparently I’m really into deep indie r&b.
Along those lines, enjoy this HONNE interview.
What HBO’s Westworld gets wrong (and right) about human nature
On many recommendations I tried getting into Westworld. The pilot didn’t hook me given a few too many logical jumps that didn’t check out. Bullets don’t kill humans? Probably caught up on the wrong things, but I’ll continue to analyze and discuss Black Mirror Season 3 instead.
The Economics of Dining as a Couple
Short and fun. Applies economic trade systems to dining out.
Sure, protectionism would guard your pommes frites. But free trade ensures that the best goods reach both sides of the table.