On Sundays, I like to share three things I have enjoyed in the past week. They could be anything; just stuff that has, as Marie Kondo might say, sparked joy. They also don’t have to be new or recent, so long as I’ve enjoyed them this week.
Thing 1: Reduction in Pollution in the EU
A new report shows that 21 EU countries hit all their air pollution reduction goals for the year, and emissions have plummeted since 2005, based on figures up to 2024.
One of the biggest criticisms of climate policy comes from the assumption that any efforts to reduce pollution will lead to an economic downturn. This report includes, in several graphs, the uptick in GDP that occurred alongside the reductions in the various measured emissions. Better air quality is a massive win for all of our lungs and our overall health!
Thing 2: Uncle Roger Reacts to a Review of His Restaurant
A good laugh and some serious food envy. I checked out Uncle Roger’s latest video wherein he reacts to the Gary Eats channel reviewing his restaurant, Kawan, in London:
It was fun to watch Gary discover Malaysian flavours for the first time (even calling the spicy fried rice “addictive like heroin”) while Uncle Roger critiqued Gary’s terrible chopstick skills. The whole thing was highly entertaining.
I usually spend a fair bit of time in Chinatown in my semi-regular visits to London, so I’ll need to see if I can pop by.
Thing 3: Reactions to Sony’s Announcement About Physical Media
After Sony announced they are completely killing off physical game discs by 2028, the corporate roasts have been magnificent. Microsoft-owned GitHub sarcastically offered to start burning people’s code onto real CD-ROMs so they can “physically own it forever,” and fast food companies have promised to move entirely into the virtual space. Here are a handful of posts:
I think this move from Sony has been inevitable for some time, but that doesn’t mean that people should accept it. It’s comforting to see pushback against the “digital-only” future where we don’t actually own anything we buy!