With Guests Annie Duke, Kassia St. Clair, and Adam Grant

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Silver Linings: With Guests Annie Duke, Kassia St. Clair, and Adam Grant

5/10/21 by Adam Grant, Annie Duke, Katy Milkman, Kassia St. Clair

Web player: https://podcastaddict.com/episode/122894018
Episode: https://chtbl.com/track/224G4/https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/cdn.simplecast.com/audio/46d9ff78-39b5-4502-a5e9-0df217e1b3a7/episodes/35b47f5c-9468-4577-8014-2c5d98d86287/audio/9e0493f2-4c1b-40a3-a0a8-e9613f74b8ae/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=66QlUXEg

If you’ve ever lost a job, or been through a breakup, or failed an exam, you’ll know that the aftermath can be painful and disorienting. But for some percentage of those who experience these disappointing outcomes, unforeseen opportunities will arise. In this episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman, we look at the occasional upside of being forced to quit a career, or a relationship, or even a favorite route to work. Kassia St. Clair brings us the story of William Henry Perkin. As a young man in 19th-century London, Perkin had set his sights on a career in chemistry and medicine. He devoted his time and energy to the search for a treatment for malaria, which was a growing problem around the world. Unfortunately, he failed in his quest, but his failure opened the door to a surprising new discovery that transformed an entire industry. Kassia St. Clair is a design journalist and the author of The Secret Lives of Color. Next, Annie Duke joins Katy to explain how events like a shutdown of the London subway system, or the COVID-19 pandemic, can sometimes surface new and previously unexplored options. She also discusses how our identities can be wrapped up in our choices, blinding us to alternatives that may actually serve us better.

Radon ☢

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I wonder if in the next 50 years there will be a noticeable uptick in lung cancer deaths in Upstate NY due to increased radon exposure. ☢

I was reading that increased soil moisture from climate change is leading to higher radon levels being detected, and this part of the country already has high levels of radon.

Americans Under 30 Have Rapidly Turned Against Gun Control Laws, Poll Finds

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Americans Under 30 Have Rapidly Turned Against Gun Control Laws, Poll Finds

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll released Tuesday from among more than 1,000 U.S. adults found that Americans overall are less supportive of new gun control legislations than they were just three years ago. People between the ages of 18-29 saw the sharpest decline in backing for new weapons laws, with fewer than half now saying new legislation is needed to reduce the risk of future mass shootings or to block "red flag" buyers.

In April 2018, the last time the ABC/Washington Post survey was conducted on this issue, 65 percent of these young Americans said they support gun control laws. That percentage is now 45.

New York Removed a Governor in 1913 for Laundering Campaign Funds and Withholding Evidence – The New York Times

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New York Removed a Governor in 1913 for Laundering Campaign Funds and Withholding Evidence – The New York Times

Two days later, eight articles of impeachment were voted, two charging, that Sulzer had filed false statements of campaign spending and had committed perjury; three charging “mal and corrupt conduct” in connection with keeping witnesses from testifying at the committee hearings and failing to produce subpoenaed documents; one charging diversion of campaign funds to purchase stocks; another charging use of influence to alter stock prices, and the last charging that the Governor had attempted to twist legislators' arms to pass his legislation.

The most serious impeachment article alleged that Sulzer had listed contributions of $5,460 and expenses of $7,724.09 for his campaign. but had failed to report contributions totaling $9,000, among them $2,500 from Schiff and $1,000 from Morgenthau. Sulzer said that neglecting to report the money had been an oversight and that the money had been given to him by friends eager to help him out of financial difficulties.

According to Mr. Seitel's study, “Governor Sulzer showed unusual skill in ‘laundering’ money long before the practice and the term became more commonplace. Funds were transferred through a number of banks and securities transactions were carried out in the names of various brokerage firms.” But Sulzer insisted that his troubles stemmed from his battle with Murphy.

Hacked Pipeline May Stay Shut for Days, Raising Concerns About Fuel Supply – The New York Times

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Hacked Pipeline May Stay Shut for Days, Raising Concerns About Fuel Supply – The New York Times

While the shutdown has so far had little impact on supplies of gasoline, diesel or jet fuel, some energy analysts warned that a prolonged suspension could raise prices at the pump along the East Coast and leave some smaller airports scrambling for jet fuel.

Colonial Pipeline, the pipeline operator, said on Sunday afternoon that it was developing “a system restart plan” and would restore service to some small lines between terminals and delivery points but “will bring our full system back online only when we believe it is safe to do so.”

The company, which shut down the pipeline on Friday, acknowledged on Saturday that it had been the victim of a ransomware attack by a criminal group, meaning that the hacker may hold the company’s data hostage until it pays a ransom. Colonial Pipeline, which is privately held, would not say whether it had paid a ransom. By failing to state a timeline for reopening on Sunday, the company renewed questions about whether the operations of the pipeline could still be in jeopardy.

May 10, 2021 Morning

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Good morning! Happy Average High is 70 🐮! Happens earlier this time of year now that we’re using the earlier climate normals. But today certainly won’t hit seventy, it will be cold and damp. Next Monday is Pack Rat Day 🐀 . Cloudy, damp and 47 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a north-northwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Rain is done but the clouds and dampness will stick around until the evening. The skies will clear around 5 pm.

A nice morning for the walk 🚶🏻 before the new routine kicks back in. 🚍 It’s going to be tough for a while with the reduced bus service, no express bus and the local route I normally would take runs earlier due to reduced service. But I’ll make it work, just have to set my alarm ⏰ clock earlier.

I am going to work downtown 🏢 just one day this week, but starting next week I’ll be downtown three days a week. 🚽 Landlord is working on my plumbing midweek so it would be distracting plus I want to get back to the office before most staff is there so I can clean up my desk and make sure my office computer 🖥 still runs and has time to make updates.

I need to order more of the Jackson Mask, 😷 and I am planning to reduce my Hotspot plan 📱 come next week. I don’t think it will be long before the library reopens for inside computer use and being in the office half the week means I won’t be needing nearly as much data. I’ll probably drop it entirely come the end of June.

Today will have a slight chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 60 degrees at 4pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 17th. Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 58 degrees. The record high of 92 was set in 1970. 5 inches of snow fell back in 1945.❄

While working from home 🏡 if I have downtime, I need to get my dress shirt and pants ironed. 👔 I also need to do some cleaning again in preparation for the landlord’s arrival and because I don’t like for things to be too dirty all of the time. 🚿

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 65.1° from the due south horizon (-5.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:26 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (289°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (295°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:06 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 11 seconds with dusk around 8:37 pm, which is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:17 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 54 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 8 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 27 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 14 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 40 degrees at 4am. Seven degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 24th. West wind around 8 mph. In 2020, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 38 degrees. The record low of 29 occurred back in 2010.

I’ve also been looking at Bluetooth speakers 🔊 to replace the one I bought five years ago that isn’t charging well. I like listening to tunes and podcasts up at camp and my phone isn’t loud enough with the background noise in the woods and sometimes I like to listen to music 🎶loud which kind of wrecks the drivers.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, a chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 44 at 7pm. Sunday, a chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 46 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 71 degrees.

I was on the fence but I’m thinking this weekend of heading up to the Adirondacks, ⛰ starting on Thursday before work, and then working Thursday, Friday and Monday up in Speculator. A lot depends on the weather. I was thinking about Madison County but I’m not that big into campground camping, as I like to be able listen to music and shoot guns, etc. 🎵

As previously noted, next Monday is Pack Rat Day 🐀 when the sun will be setting at 8:13 pm with dusk at 8:45 pm. On that day in 2020, we had mostly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 74 and 54 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 72 degrees. We hit a record high of 92 back in 2017.

Hudson River Below Henderson Lake