Lockdowns are sooo 2021 - MMM #14

Hi there,

In the first free week since January, I dedicated myself to studying for summer term exams. In fact, I created the first of three summaries that I’ll be selling soon. I also created another Excel in 60 seconds video that you can find at the end of today’s newsletter.

In this week’s mashup:

Have a great week!

In the West, and particularly here in the UK, it feels like the pandemic is over. China, however, is still holding onto its “zero-covid” policy. Because of the increasing infectiousness of newer variants that becomes increasingly difficult. The response: more stringent measures. China locked down the entirety of Shanghai and prolonged the lockdown as well, leaving people short on food and basic supplies. Residents go to their balconies to sing in protest. In an almost surrealistic scene, a drone shows up to urge residents to “control their soul’s desire for freedom”.

For all the harsh measures, the results seem to be lacking. A single line chart says it all: Shanghai is following the same path as Hong Kong, which has much less stringent restrictions in place.

Will Omicron be the turning point for Chinese covid policy?

China is building up its strategic arms (nuclear weapons) to deter the U.S. from entering into a war to defend Taiwan. An excellent analysis by the Wall Street Journal includes the relationship with the U.S. covid response, the conflict in Ukraine, and satellite images of missile silo fields.

Reddit hosted another real-time pixel art canvas for April fool’s this year. On the canvas, a user can change the color of one of the pixels every 5 minutes. Naturally, people quickly created their national flags but there’s much more art to spot here.

I missed this last year but apparently United has signed an agreement with Boom Supersonic to purchase 15 supersonic planes. Boom Supersonic is developing a Concorde successor. Cool note: fuel efficiency is actually better at speeds just above the speed of sound, because you cover a lot more distance (and can fly higher). The first planes of this type are expected to be produced by 2025 for testing and entering service by 2029.

Another video in the Excel in 60 seconds series. I cover the MATCH function after I covered the INDEX function last time. Next up: VLOOKUP and the combination of INDEX and MATCH.

Next week I’ll be working on completing two more summaries for my courses, creating 1 or 2 videos, and hopefully an article as well. I’m also writing an essay about the impact of covid on semi-conductor supply chains, so I may publish that in the future.

Have a great week!