This week’s highlights: Ultraviolet lithography, TikTok, and the Ford Bronco’s Return

Issue 385

by David Wells – Nashville TN

Greetings –

FoF went on the road for the last week to offer our kids a socially-distanced change of scenery – more palm trees and lizards, less of the backyard.  Same face masks and hand sanitizer…

Just a quick note of gratitude – this past week I was named part of Nashville Post’s 2020 All-Star Board, recognizing service on Boards of Directors. It was a tremendous honor to be included on the list.  The Post was quick to highlight Fifteen on Friday in its blurb on me, so I wanted to express gratitude to you, the reader, for your support of this newsletter. 

Food for Thought

• BusinessWeek – Millions Are Hounded for Debt They Don’t Owe. One Victim Fought Back, With a Vengeance Andrew Therrien wanted payback. He got it—and uncovered a conspiracy.
• Guardian – How Nespresso’s coffee revolution got ground down Nestlé’s sleek, chic capsule system changed the way we drink coffee. But in an age when everyone’s a coffee snob and waste is wickedness, can it survive?
• WSJ – Women and Men Age Differently—in More Ways Than Just Longevity  – This may be behind a paywall – Researchers find important gender-based distinctions in how aging affects cardiovascular health, immunity and the brain
• Brookings – The chip-making machine at the center of Chinese dual-use concerns An extreme ultraviolet lithography machine is a technological marvel. A generator ejects 50,000 tiny droplets of molten tin per second. A high-powered laser blasts each droplet twice. The first shapes the tiny tin, so the second can vaporize it into plasma. The plasma emits extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation that is focused into a beam and bounced through a series of mirrors

Business

5. Stratechery – The TikTok War  Over the last week, as the idea of banning TikTok in the U.S. has shifted from a fringe idea to a seeming inevitability (thanks in no small part to India’s decision to do just that), those opposed to the idea and those in support seem to be talking past each other.
6. GMO – Why We Are Not Worried About Elevated Profit Margins
7. TBP – Interview with Bill Miller
8. BCG – Meetings and Email Are Here to Stay, So Make the Most of Them

Culture/Tech/Science:

9. TheRinger – “Hot Route! Red Seven!!”: How the ‘Wedding Crashers’ Football Scene Came Together – Credit CM – The movie’s touch football game is emblematic of everything great about ‘Wedding Crashers,’ from Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson’s bromance to nuanced storytelling
10. Outside – To Delay Death, Lift Weights  Two studies remind us of what we already know (but sometimes forget).
11. BusinessWeek – The Bronco Is Back, Thanks to a Group of Obsessed Ford Employees  The SUV that O.J. made famous is finally getting a makeover.
12. NYT – How Ultra-Black Fish Disappear in the Deepest Seas