Sunday Reads...
- Greg McNeilly
- Sep 7
- 4 min read
An irregular roundup of thought-provoking reads. Most made me go “hmm…”
Quote of the Day:
"If people only wanted to be happy, it would be very easy; but they want to be happier than others, and this is almost always hard because we imagine others are happier than they actually are." - Charles de Montesquieu
College football generates $11 billion annually. Here’s a look at the impact on a single town.
Unemployed people exceed job openings for the first time since 2021.
The manufacturing recession continues.
Where do rights come from? This was once an issue of non-debate. Now?
House Oversight Committee releases DOJ Epstein Files, here.
Quality of dorm rooms ranked – oddly, zero correlation to learning quality.
Research suggests that married with children are a happier cohort than those in the opposite group.
Remembering the remarkable life of George Raveling.
Another Member of Congress supercharging their wealth while in office.
Paul Graham’s essays collected here.
“Blueskyrism” unpacked.
The ideal number of children? The answer only a pollster can serve up: 2.7.
Another study suggests artificial sweaters might accelerate aging.
The growth of pickleball tracked here.
Can Awe-bait beat Fear-bait? Let’s hope so!
Frederick Douglass escaped slavery on September 3rd. You can learn more here.
Mapping air quality in the U.S:
The curious revival of high-school reunions in the age of social media.
Stephen Hawking’s final interview, here.
A (prison) life well examined. Indeed, Socrates would be pleased.
9 traits of children raised by helicopter parents.
10 iconic Gen X tomes to (re)read.
A recap of the history of the New York Stock Exchange.
Down under! What’s inside a manhole?
Is mixed-age youth culture a new challenge in parenting?
European socialism sucks, and Capitalism rules as outlined in this fact-filled essay.
Is this the only truly bipartisan issue left?
Check out, by state, the cost of home insurance.
May it please the Court:
Younger brother to ex-Justice Breyer, Judge Charles Breyer rules America’s top federal administrator cannot deploy troops for law enforcement.
Federal Judges let threat-making nuts loose.
A three-judge panel reminds America’s top Administrator that tariffs are the prerogative of the most powerful branch of government: Congress.
A visit to Lisa Cook’s home in Ann Arbor is an adventure.
Giuliani was injured after performing a good Samaritan deed.
Nobel paradox: Global shortage of TNT due to the Ukraine War.
Is XI making “China Great Again?”
The harm to the unborn from antidepressants is noted here.
The surge in learning in government K-12 schools in southern states is noted.
Mourning the death of the public intellectual.
What if everyone stopped reading?
Queens: Who wants to live forever? XI and Putin.
America has spent a trillion dollars funding a failed “war on poverty.” When in fact, all it takes is a culture that supports the “success sequence.”
The debate, which is better/worse: Alcohol v THC?
Reflections on the history of slavery.
Medical schools step away from objective science in pursuit of cults.
Is our world too big?
Why we need boredom.
America’s food supply is over-processed, notes nearly everyone.
Government schools are filled with too much doom-and-gloom, argues this piece.
Recalling that period, the population got worried that “artificial ice” was a signal of a dystopian future.
People tend to reflect, in adulthood, the religiosity of their youth.
The etymology of “Oy Vey.”
A deep dive into Socratic Persuasion.
What can we learn from “e-government,” look to Estonia a case study in competent bureaucracies.
AI:
Visualizing the LLMs most used, here.
AI hype predicted – in 1988.
Experts, a.k.a. “licensed professional” therapists, are backstopping their yak therapy by getting coached up by AI with your case studies.
The sick and lonely are turning to Dr. AI.
Words that indicate AI authorship mapped here.
AI 2027 unpacked. Fascinating.
Counterpoint: AI is all over hyped. Watch here.
Thoughts on how not to lose your job to AI advancements.
Fast food architecture goes from quirky, expressive, and playful to uniformly drab and boring.
Research suggests that college is failing as an escalator into the “middle class.”
Notes on the “autonomy” of the Federal Reserve.
Another failed “universal basic income” experiment. Findings from the Denver Marxist experiment had no impact on homelessness. And of course, large experiments lead to a decline in people working. Additionally, giving people cash did not improve the quality of their lives. A day with a few classic books could have taught all of these social engineers what Marx failed to learn.
TRAVEL
Texas Roadhouse is the most popular chain by revenue volume.
Falling birth rates are sorting by ideological lines.
What school was like during colonial times.
Saving “Falling Water” unpacked here.
How the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” became a hit again.
Remembering Orwell’s “Animal Farm” at 80.
Who are the other 3%? 97 percent of Americans have Ketchup in their fridge.
Remember the Detroit 59ers?
College dropout William Faulkner was also a failed postmaster.
Bottled water that “health trend” now polluting the planet.
65% of TV viewers are operating a second screen.
The Choco Taco survives.
In the aftermath of 9/11, the Boss paid tribute:
