Wednesday morning news drop
Vancouver Island is awash with Omicron. What are authorities doing to slow it? Data from other jurisdictions show the Island is in for a rough month to come, but authorities are still denying basic facts about the virus (Capital Daily)
Everyone should be wearing N95 masks A typical cloth mask might capture half of all respiratory aerosols that come out of our mouth when we talk, sing or just breathe. A tightly woven cloth mask might get you to 60 or 70 percent, and a blue surgical mask can get you to 70 or 80 percent. But there’s no reason any essential worker — and, really, everyone in the country — should go without masks that filter 95 percent. The masks I’m referring to, of course, are N95s (Washington Post)
Why one senator just blew up Joe Biden's presidential plans Sen. Joe Manchin's decision not to back the Build Back Better bill affects his party, country and the planet (CBC)
It’s Time to Stop Giving Gifts to Adults You heard me. Keep giving children presents, by all means. (They don’t have jobs! They can’t buy their own stuff! They like almost everything, and often enjoy the box, too! They won’t stress themselves out about reciprocating! ) But I honestly believe that adults who have any level of anxiety or angst about presents should just agree to stop exchanging them altogether. (Slate)
The Case for Making Bitcoin 5 Percent of Allocators’ Portfolios Institutional investors could invest more in cryptocurrencies if tighter regulations are enacted, according to Ned Davis Research. (Institutional Investor)
The Real Reason to Index The key benefit is ease of use, not performance. (Morningstar)
Canada needs to build millions — not thousands — of EV charging stations Industry group says Lack of charging infrastructure could turn people off electric vehicles, group warns (CBC)
NHL players won't go to Beijing Olympics amid COVID-19 concerns League has shut down early for holiday break because of rising COVID-19 cases (CBC)
Forget 9 to 5. These experts say the time has come for the results-only work environment
Pandemic has made world more ready for unique HR approach, experts say, where employees have more autonomy (CBC)
Going Out to Eat in the Age of the Shrinking Menu Higher food costs and staffing shortages are making for slimmer menus with fewer ingredients (Wall Street Journal)
Wind power becomes Spain’s leading energy source for 2021 Renewable sources already cover almost half of the country’s consumption needs – so far this year, they have contributed almost 47% of the total compared to less than 30% a decade ago (El Pais)
Rising From the Antarctic, a Climate Alarm Wilder winds are altering currents. The sea is releasing carbon dioxide. Ice is melting from below. (New York Times)
How we destroyed The Matrix: Incels and trans activists are both fooled by its myth Raking in almost half a billion dollars, it proved that Hollywood could tap into the new immersive nature of gaming, paved the way for the superhero imperium, and made explicitly philosophical non-franchise blockbusters a going concern. Better still, and despite two widely disliked sequels, it became a cultural touchstone. The Wachowskis talked about “making mythology relevant in a modern context” and they succeeded in spades. The Matrix has become a modern myth and, like any myth, it has been interpreted in radically different ways. (UnHerd)
December 20th Housing Market Update As 2021 draws to a close, we can reflect on an extraordinary year in the Victoria market through some random statistics of note. It was a year of market frenzy that we haven’t seen since the early 90s. Back then we only have partial data available which shows us we had a similarly high level of sales, though we don’t know if inventory got quite as low as we’re seeing now. (House Hunt Victoria)
Home ownership rates in Canada
