Sunday 23rd February 2025

Elon Musk Just Spammed the Entire Federal Workforce - Intelligencer (No paywall)

Using yet another haphazard mass email, Musk and DOGE told federal employees to document what they did last week — or else.

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The Swedish philosophy of lagom: how "just enough" is all you need

The night is going well. Everyone is laughing, and there is a happy energy in the air. The conversation flows easily and you’re the merry, relaxed kind of drunk. Then Josh swaggers over with a tray of something. You see what it is. Oh no.

“Time to do shots!” he shouts. You’re not sure, and you see others aren’t too keen either. But you don’t want to be a spoilsport. A grimace and a cough later, and the night changes. You feel sick, the room is spinning, and within a few minutes, everyone is too drunk to talk.

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Boost Your Team's Productivity by Hiring Force Multipliers

Studies have shown that in many companies, a handful of people generate the most value, and yet many companies operate with a “hire to grow” mentality, believing that increasing headcount drives growth. Instead, they should be looking for existing employees and new hires who are force multipliers — whose skills and energy make everyone around them more productive — an approach the author calls “talent density.” Three strategies can help organizations become more talent dense: 1) Rethinking the recruiting function so that recruiters encourage managers to consider how new hires will enhance overall team productivity; 2) Move people into jobs that leverage their strengths and support employee skill development; and 3) Pay people at market rates or above.

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The 45 Best Shows on Netflix Right Now (February 2025)

Zero Day, Apple Cider Vinegar, and Squid Game are just a few of the shows you need to watch on Netflix this month.


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The 44 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now (February 2025)

Parasite, Y Tu Mamá También, and The Two Popes are just a few of the movies you should watch on Netflix this month.


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Why Is Chocolate So Expensive Right Now?

Just four West African countries are the foundation of an industry worth more than $100 billion. In the tropical nations of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria, rows of cacao trees sprout pods bearing dozens of seeds. Once harvested, these humble beans are dried, roasted, and processed into something beloved worldwide.

Chocolate has been coveted for millennia and, particularly on Valentine’s Day, is an unmistakable token of love. But as increasingly erratic weather continues driving up the costs of confectionery, the sweet treat has become a symbol of something much less romantic: climate change.


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Microsoft’s New Majorana 1 Processor Could Transform Quantum Computing

Researchers at Microsoft have announced the creation of the first “topological qubits” in a device that stores information in an exotic state of matter, in what may be a significant breakthrough for quantum computing.

At the same time, the researchers also published a paper in Nature and a “road map” for further work. The design of the Majorana 1 processor is supposed to fit up to a million qubits, which may be enough to realize many significant goals of quantum computing—such as cracking cryptographic codes and designing new drugs and materials faster.


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Layer Your Clothes to Stay Comfortable in Any Weather (2025)

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Layering is not a complicated thing. It's the process of adding and removing layers of clothing to keep your body comfortable in changing weather and temperature conditions.


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The Best Meta Quest Games You Can Play Right Now (2025)

With the release of the Meta Quest 3S (8/10, WIRED Review), Meta is hoping for a surge in interest in its mixed reality tech. The new headset brings key features like color passthrough and hand tracking to the lower $300 price point, rendering the older Quest 2 largely inadvisable.

Meanwhile, Meta discontinued production of the Quest Pro in January of 2025, making the Quest 3 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) the de facto upgrade pick, with a higher resolution screen and the improved pancake lenses. Both options are among our favorite VR headsets, thanks to their range of affordable prices and their ability to play games and activities completely on their own, without the help of a console or computer.


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Elon Musk Threatens FBI Agents and Air Traffic Controllers With Forced Resignation If They Don't Respond to an Email

Elon Musk is once again leaving his fingerprints on official communications from the federal government. In an email to staff Saturday afternoon, the Office of Personnel Management, which is stacked with Musk loyalists, told employees to send five bullet points detailing what they accomplished last week and cc their manager. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” Musk wrote on X.

The move comes after President Trump announced that he wants Musk to be more forceful. “ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE,” he wrote on Truth Social. “REMEMBER, WE HAVE A COUNTRY TO SAVE, BUT ULTIMATELY, TO MAKE GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. MAGA!”


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