The Sunday Fix: January 21st
Davos, Lions Golf Course, NFL Fans and More
Good afternoon, everyone! Happy Sunday. Lots in store today, let’s get to it.
Enjoy the Sunday Fix? Share below - the more the merrier
Sunday Selection
News worth knowing about.
Presidential Race
New Hampshire
It feels like Nikki Haley is down three games to zero in a seven-game series. Said otherwise, the New Hampshire primary this week is a must-win if she wants to extend her hopes of taking down the Trump campaign. It’s looking like an uphill climb, though, as Trump dominated in Iowa and leads by double digits in New Hampshire polling.
Haley supporters are still holding out hope - she was endorsed by NH Governor Chris Sununu and nearly 40% of voters in the state identify as independent, likely a benefit for the former UN Ambassador.
Haley’s campaign was quick to jump on a Trump gaffe on Friday night when he confused Haley with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Many critics of Trump say that he is mentally unfit for office at 77 years old.
I thought that this chart was also interesting - the Presidential Candidates’ Age on Election Night since 1860. From /dataisbeatiful on Reddit:
![r/dataisbeautiful - [OC] Presidential Candidates' Age on Election Night Since 1860](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gbUX!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F059a56fc-be7d-480e-b43e-a4c66dd9436f_960x470.png "r/dataisbeautiful - [OC] Presidential Candidates' Age on Election Night Since 1860")
Trump VP
Emerging as a potential choice as a Trump VP is Representative Elise Stefanik. The 39-year-old Republican went viral after grilling the presidents of Harvard, MIT and Penn over antisemitism on college campuses. Stefanik was an early endorser of Trump and has said she “would be honored to serve in the Trump administration in any capacity.”
According to OddsChecker, the latest Republican VP odds:
Kristi Noem: +400
Vivek Ramaswamy: +700
Elise Stefanik: +700
Ben Carson: +750
No Labels Candidate
Dean Phillips, the Representative from Minnesota who is running as a Democrat against Biden, said Saturday that he would consider running on the No Labels ticket if the options were Biden v. Trump and if the polling indicated a Republican victory. Phillips said he had been in regular communication with No Labels chief executive, Nancy Jacobsen.
Radioactive Battery
As someone whose phone often dies (a point of frustration for my wife), this was welcomed news.
A Chinese startup, Betavolt Technology, has developed a coin-sized nuclear battery that they claim could power phones for 50 years without charging. The battery “integrates Nickel-63 nuclear isotope decay technology and China’s first diamond semiconductor.” Following the current pilot phase, Betavolt plans to move to mass production. There are other implications outside of your phone battery - drones, medical equipment, sensors, AI tools, etc.
Their design uses a thin layer of nickel-63 and diamond semiconductors to convert radioactive decay into electricity, offering high energy density and the ability to operate in extreme temperatures. Many have expressed concern about the radiation from the nuclear battery - however, Betavolt has stated that the device does not emit external radiation (I would like to confirm that before sitting with that thing all day).
The cost is likely the biggest blocker to mass use - 1 gram of radioactive Nickel-63 apparently costs ~$4K, cost prohibitive for most commonly used electronic devices.
Davos
World leaders and billionaires took over Switzerland this week for the annual World Economic Forum in Davos. The elite gathering focused on topics like the economy, geopolitics, and more. Some key takeaways, according to CNBC:
Economic experts do not expect a US recession in 2024
AI took over crypto as the hot tech topic. OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, said AI “will change the world much less than we all think.”
Leaders are concerned about the conflict in the Middle East, however, it was a topic not widely discussed (at least publicly)
A strong consensus that Trump will win the ‘24 Presdential Election amongst US business leaders
Perhaps the most widely discussed event of the week was Argentinian President Javier Milei’s speech. The newly-elected libertarian president laid out a fiery assessment of western leaders and their embrace of socialism/collectivism. His speech, translated to English with AI, is worth a watch:
“Today I’m here to tell you that the Western world is in danger. And it is in danger because those who are supposed to have to defend the values of the West are co-opted by a vision of the world that inexorably leads to socialism and thereby to poverty.”
Nick Dunlap
The NFL playoffs are in full swing, Mikaela Shiffrin won her 95th World Cup, and Sports Illustrated seems to be on the outs.
However, I am going to highlight the story of Nick Dunlap, the amateur golfer who holds the lead at The American Express PGA Tour Event. Dunlap, a sophomore at Alabama, will attempt today to become the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour in 33 years. He shot a 12-under 60 to take the lead Saturday, notching out Sam Burns and Justin Thomas.
Only seven amateurs have won on the tour since 1945 and only four since 1950. The last to do so was Phil Mickelson, who won the Tucson Open in 1991 as a 20-year-old Arizona State junior. More from AP News
The Fix’s Picks
Summarizing and linking to some of my favorite reads, podcasts, photos, and clips from the weekend.
Save Muny
Austin-based Lions Municipal Golf Course, known as “Muny”, has been at the center of a heated real estate debate for many years now. The course, located on a 141-acre parcel near West Austin and owned by the University of Texas, could be sold for millions, converting the Austin landmark into commercial and residential development.
The fight over Lions has drawn some big names. Supporters of the “Save Muny” campaign include Willie Nelson, actor Luke Wilson, Lori Beveridge (wife of Tito’s founder, Tito Beveridge), and golf legend Ben Crenshaw. The contingency grew this week when the NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson flew to Austin to emphasize Lions’ importance as a civil rights landmark.
“Let them play.”
That was Austin mayor Taylor Glass’s response in 1950, after it was reported to him that two Black youths, one of whom worked as a caddie at the city’s only public golf course, Lions Municipal, had been detained after starting a round on the fairways and greens that had until then been strictly reserved for white golfers. The mayor’s three simple words made Muny, as the facility is known, the first desegregated public golf links south in the former Confederacy and quietly vaulted it into the history of America’s civil rights movement.
Great article by David Courtney from Texas Monthly about Lions, its place in civil rights history and the ongoing fight over the land.
Moving the Capital of Indonesia
Most politicians have bold plans. Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia, has an especially ambitious plan: build a new capital for the country. With the current capital, Jakarta, overcrowded and underwater, Mr. Joko has begun the development of a new city.
Since Indonesia’s independence in 1945, Jakarta had expanded from less than a million people to roughly 30 million. It had grown tall with skyscrapers built with fortunes made from timber, palm oil, natural gas, gold, copper, tin. But the capital had run out of space. It grew thick with traffic and pollution. Most of all, Jakarta was sinking, as thirsty residents drained its marshy aquifers and rising sea waters lapped its shores. Forty percent of the Indonesian capital now lies below sea level.
Located 800 miles from Jakarta on the island of Bornea, the new city will be “a green metropolis run on renewable energy, where there are no choking traffic jams and people can stroll and bike along verdant paths. A high-tech city, attracting digital nomads and millennials who will purchase stylish apartments with cryptocurrency.”
Interesting (long) read from the NYT about Joko’s ambitions. Check out the article by Hannah Beech here.
RIP Gladys
Formerly popular names that died off. My favorite is the explanation for the name Bessie.
The Best of the Rest
All the funny or wise content I came across to kick your week off right
NFL Fans
Coffee Consumption Record
Frankfurt man, Felix von Meibom has broken the record for fastest time to drink a cup of coffee. With a time of 3.12 seconds, Meibom beat the record by 0.05 seconds. Well done, sir.
Tithe to the Tide
Alabama message boards calling for a 10% tithe to the Tide.
Off the Leash
Pure joy.
Alright! That’s a wrap. Thanks for reading. See you next Sunday!