Assorted Links Saturday

Short advice from Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett:

1. Don’t fall in love with your first idea.
2. To become passionate about something, get good at it.
3. Don’t pick a fight with reality.

U.S. cities with the most economic growth in 2021.

Hot zones - urban heat islands:

Urban heat islands are metropolitan places that are hotter than their outlying areas, with the impacts felt most during summer months. About 85% of the U.S. population lives in metropolitan areas. Paved roads, parking lots, and buildings absorb and retain heat during the day and radiate that heat back into the surrounding air. Neighborhoods in a highly-developed city can experience mid-afternoon temperatures that are 15°F to 20°F hotter than nearby tree-lined communities or rural areas with fewer people and buildings.

Can we channel speculation?

Imagine if all the speculative fervor in 2020 and 2021 could have been channeled into a productive venture or asset that benefitted society as a whole. What if, for example, the Robinhood / Reddit crowds were investing in opportunity zones (or something of that ilk) instead of meme stocks? If there was a way to get these traders excited about investment opportunities benefitting society, imagine what could get funded and accomplished?