This made me chuckle

Throughout 2024, Apple promised a new version of CarPlay.  But they didn't deliver.  And then on January 24th of 2025, they finally updated their website to say "oops its not coming in 2024."

https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/24/24350909/apple-next-gen-carplay-missed-2024-launch-deadline

The Walmart Effect - The Atlantic

It makes communities it operates in poorer. Because it displaces other businesses, so unemployment goes up. And their wages are lower, so people have lower incomes. 

But they offer low prices! Isn't that enough? Sadly. No. 


https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/12/walmart-prices-poverty-economy/681122/

Disney CEO Bob Iger’s Total Pay Jumps 30% To $41.1 Million

That's just insane. 

How many rank and file workers saw a 30% increase in pay? (hint: none)

And if we make a bold assumption that the average Disney employee makes around $40k per year, that means he's making about 1,000 times their salary. 

Ain't nobody. NOBODY. Who is that much more valuable than anyone else, regardless of what they will tell you.

https://deadline.com/2025/01/disney-ceo-bob-iger-2024-pay-jumps-41-million-1236265804/

Smart glasses

Gotta love the idea of glasses that can track your eye movement and then present information based on where you look. And to be able to do it non invasively with a small device is pretty cool. 

Now if they could adapt that so those of us with myopia could automatically adjust the lens so we didn't need to have a new prescription for changing eyes, I'd be all for it. 😉

https://www.hackster.io/news/looking-to-the-future-of-smart-glasses-941d9a0fcaf8

Better solar panels

Here's an intriguing article about how black silicone can be used to create a more textured surface than traditional silicone used in solar panel development. 

And that surface can then absorb more radiant energy and be more efficient in a panel, and at a lower cost. 

This could possibly change the market for solar, though we'll see how it goes  

https://www.ecoticias.com/en/black-silicon-is-the-end-solar-panels/10308/

Disney Hit With Copyright Lawsuit For Moana 2

Here's a story about how an animator believes that Disney stole his work for the Moana movie. 

It's not the first time Disney has been accused of stealing someone else's work; they were sued over most of the animations that came out in the 90s. Those were settled out of court or Disney won, so they didn't get a lot of press. 

"Buck Woodall claims that the Moana movies infringe on the copyrighted screenplay for his movie Bucky, which was given in 2003 - along with a concept trailer and other materials - to Jenny Marchick, Mandeville Films' Director of Development, who had a first look deal with Disney."

Still, it's worth following this story. 

https://screenrant.com/moana-2-copyright-lawsuit-disney-buck-woodall-report/

Seeing maps differently

Here's a fun collection of people showing us how maps can be deceptive. 

This is due at least in part to an inability to adequately reconstruct a 3D sphere on a 2D flat surface.  

We wind up centering things, and enlarging the scale (North America I'm looking at you!) on maps, and it makes everything more confusing to visualize correctly.  

https://pleated-jeans.com/2025/01/19/funny-interesting-maps/

It's no wonder some people get confused about geography in a spatial sense. And since I'm on that topic, here are some thoughts about what we often get wrong. 

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/why-your-mental-map-world-probably-wrong/

And just because I have a pet peeve about it,  the earth is a globe. Anyone who suggests that it's flat is …. well … stupid.