Linked List: October 2, 2020

Friday, 2 October 2020

How to Protect Yourself From the Aerosol Spread of COVID-19 ★

Jason Kottke:

A group of scientists who believe that WHO and the CDC are being too slow in acknowledging the role of aerosol transmission in spreading Covid-19 have written up a Google Doc of advice for the public: FAQs on Protecting Yourself from COVID-19 Aerosol Transmission. […]

Right now, in my opinion as someone who has done a ton of reading about Covid-19, the most best accessible information on how individuals and societies can protect themselves and others during the pandemic (and why) is available in Jimenez’s Time article, Aaron Carroll’s NY Times piece about how to think about risk management, Zeynep Tufekci’s piece in the Atlantic about dispersion and superspreading, and now this Google Doc by Jimenez et al.

‘Schadenfreude’ ★

Merriam-Webster:

Schadenfreude was our top lookup on October 2nd, by a very considerable margin, following President Trump’s announcement that he and the First Lady had tested positive for COVID-19.

When the Client Specs Arial ★

From Shane Goldmacher and Katie Glueck’s report for The New York Times on Joe Biden’s preparation for this week’s debate:

Given Mr. Biden’s current polling edge, his advisers have been downplaying the debate’s significance even as the former vice president has plunged himself into days of intense preparations. He is rehearsing and studying his briefing books — Mr. Biden has long preferred the Arial typeface, 14 point — in a process overseen by his longtime adviser and former chief of staff, Ron Klain, who similarly ran Hillary Clinton’s debate camp.

This too came up on my podcast this week, and my take is simple. When someone says they like Arial, what they mean is that they like Helvetica and they don’t know the difference. Any designer worth their salt, when asked for Arial, uses Helvetica instead.

Dithering October 2020 ★

Speaking of podcasts, new cover art for Dithering, the new-ish thrice weekly podcast from yours truly and Ben Thompson:

$5/month or $50/year, three episodes per week, 15 minutes per episode. Not a minute less, not a minute more. And, for the curious: a free monthly compilation preview show, available in your favorite podcast player.

Email Addresses It Would Be Really Annoying to Give Out Over the Phone ★

This 2004 classic by Michael Ward for McSweeney’s came up at the tail end of my podcast this week with Underscore David Smith, and is well worth a re-link.