The Sunday Fix: February 4th
Pain Pills, Apple Vision Pro, Life Advice and More
Good evening, everyone! Happy Sunday and hello February. Hope you had a nice weekend. Let’s get to it.
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Sunday Selection
News worth knowing about.
Addiction-Free Pain Med
A potential breakthrough announcement this week related to pain medication. Boston-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals said it has developed an “experimental drug that relieves moderate to severe pain, blocking pain signals before they can get to the brain.” Beyond that, the company said it works only on peripheral nerves, a key difference from opioids. Because of this, there is optimism that this drug would avoid the addictive nature of opioids.
From Gina Kolata at the NYT:
The company reported that it had completed two randomized studies, the first in 1,118 people who had abdominoplasties and the other in 1,073 people who had bunion surgery. The two procedures are commonly used in studies of people with acute pain.
In its clinical trials, Vertex measured the drug’s effect with a standard pain scale in which patients rated pain severity from 1 to 10, with 10 the most severe. Those taking its drug had a statistically and clinically meaningful reduction in pain, it reports.
Dr. Stephen Waxman, a professor of neurology, neuroscience and pharmacology at Yale said “I like to think it’s the beginning of nonaddictive medicines for pain.” Vertex plans to to apply for FDA approval this year.
Full story from the NYT
Apple Vision Pro
Apple has entered the VR space with the release of the $3,500 Apple Vision Pro this week. The headset, which looks like ski goggles, went on sale for the first time Friday in NYC. The launch marks a big bet for Apple and could start to legitimize the spatial computing space.
I think Apple’s announcement is a big win for Meta, who has been in the VR space for some time now with their Oculus and Quest products. Although the jury is still out on VR, Apple’s brand, marketing spend and technology may start to shift the view of the technology. Big marketing spend lifts all boats, right?
Alex Kantrowitz from Big Technology:
Meta’s return on its metaverse spending hasn’t been great. The company’s lost more than $40 billion to date and will lose billions more this year. Amid the losses, Meta’s struggled to sell virtual and augmented reality by itself. Without multiple major voices proclaiming the technology’s the real deal, mainstream developers and users haven’t jumped in at scale. But now, enter Apple.
When Tim Cook introduced Apple’s Vision Pro, he turned mixed reality into a category, not just a theory. Apple’s glossy marketing showed a new vision for the technology — one that prioritized mixed reality over virtual reality — and lifted Meta’s efforts. With Apple’s devices coming in at $3,499+, Meta can offer cheaper headsets with a more developed ecosystem. Spotify, Netflix, and YouTube have so far declined to develop for the Vision Pro, a significant setback. And as Meta’s $499 Quest headsets deliver improved passthrough (blending the digital and physical worlds) the company should be able to offer functionality similar to Apple, if a bit worse, for the newly metaverse-curious.
Quick WSJ video testing out the Vision Pro below. The idea of wearing this in public is pretty ridiculous, but maybe there is some potential? Time will tell.
US and Iran
As expected, the US military kicked off a series of airstrikes on Iranian-backed forces in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. The attack, starting Friday, hit more than 85 targets and was in response to the drone strike that killed three American soldiers last weekend. At least 18 members of the Iran-backed groups were killed in the initial strikes.
Airstrikes have continued for three straight days. Most recently, the US and UK targeted Houthi militants in Yemen on Saturday evening.
Thought this was pretty cool - some of the strikes were carried out by B-1 bombers, which made a 6,000-mile, non-stop flight from Texas. This was the first time that B-1 bombers have been used in combat since the Trump administration.
US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, said “this is the start of our response” in a statement about the strikes. However, US officials have said they have no plans to bomb Iran, and President Biden reiterated his desire to avoid conflict in the Middle East:
“The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: if you harm an American, we will respond.”
Although direct conflict with Iran may be avoided, experts see the situation continuing to escalate. From the NYT:
“I don’t see how these airstrikes achieve U.S. objectives or avoid further regional escalation,” said Stacey Philbrick Yadav, a Yemen specialist at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. “While they may degrade Houthi capabilities in the short term, the group’s leadership has vowed to continue its Red Sea attacks and to retaliate in response to these airstrikes.”
Spy Pigeon Freed
Indian police cleared a suspected Chinese spy pigeon after eight months’ detention and released it into the wild Tuesday - that is according to the Press Trust of India.
The bird was captured in May near Mumbai with two rings with Chinese characters around its legs. Police suspected that the pigeon was involved in espionage and captured it.
Ultimately, the investigation determined that the pigeon was an “open-water racing bird from Taiwan that had escaped and made its way to India.” Justice for the pigeon.
Full story from AP News
The Fix’s Picks
Summarizing and linking to some of my favorite reads, podcasts, photos, and clips from the weekend.
NBA Chess
“I completely fell in love with the game.” That’s NBA star Kristaps Porzingis talking about…chess. Apparently, he isn’t alone - other players with a love for chess include Giannis Antetokounmpo, Derrick Rose, Klay Evens, and Luka Doncic. Who knew?
76ers Guard De’Anthony Melton even has a charity event - “Melton’s Make Your Move” chess tournament.
Check out the full article from GQ Sports: “Why be a Point Guard When You Can Be a Grandmaster? Inside the NBA’s Chess Club”
40 Lessons from 30 Years
I stumbled on this random post from Nat Eliason. Upon his 30th birthday, he shared 40 life lessons (“Why keep it to 30?” as he said). It’s honestly a little weird reading these - I am ~11 months out from turning 30, yet this guy feels significantly older based on his reflections.
Nonetheless, I thought it was a great read. Full set of lessons here, but these are some of my favorites:
You have more time to build a career than a family. You can complete great work well into your 80s and 90s. If you want to know your grandkids as adults, you only have until your mid 30s to start a family. Every year you spend waiting is another year you lose with your future family.
The faster you get something, the faster it tends to go away. Languages, money, influence, friends, the sharper the rise the faster the fall.
Beware of shadow careers. This idea comes from Steven Pressfield: “Sometimes, when we’re terrified of embracing our true calling, we’ll pursue a shadow calling instead. The shadow career is a metaphor for our real career. Its shape is similar, its contours feel tantalizingly the same. But a shadow career entails no real risk. If we fail at a shadow career, the consequences are meaningless to us.”
Build relationships with restaurants, cafes, bars, etc. Learn the names of people who work there. Help make their jobs and lives easier. Bring new customers to them. Help the local places you care about succeed. Invest in your community through action, not just money. And never be friends with someone who treats wait staff poorly.
Texas Border
Good video below about the border crisis at Eagle Pass. Andrew Callaghan does a good job summarizing the situation and gets some interesting footage (from both sides of the border)
If you’re looking to learn more about the situation in Eagle Pass:
VOA: Republicans Governors, National Guard and the Texas Border: What to Know
NYT: At Rally for Border Security in Texas, Fears of ‘Invasion’ and ‘Civil War’
Texas Monthly: Eagle Pass, the Site of a Tense Border Standoff, Has Become a “Movie Set”
Earth’s Temperature, Visualized
Pretty cool visual from NASA. From the NASA website: “This visualization shows monthly global temperature anomalies (changes from an average) between the years 1880 and 2022 in degrees Fahrenheit”
The Best of the Rest
All the funny or wise content I came across to kick your week off right
Skiing
Nothing Makes Sense
Sea Urchin
Alright! That’s a wrap. Thanks for reading. See you next Sunday!
Justice for Pigeon