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Conversation starters in tech, finance, philosophy, and everything in between.
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Welcome to Issue #4! Hard to believe that it's been a month already. The days are long, but the... months are short?
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- After a postponed attempt on May 27 due to weather, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft was successfully launched on Saturday May 30! Carried by a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the launch marks the first time that a private company has sent people into space. How many Marriott points do you think it will cost for me to go on the next one?
You can watch a replay of the launch here, courtesy of CNBC. recode by Vox published a good summary of SpaceX's history and future ambitions.
Both astronauts arrived at the ISS safely this morning. They will spend one to four months in space before returning to earth. A safe return will cement SpaceX's frontrunner status for NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return to the moon by 2024.
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"I think this is something that's particularly important in the United States but appeals to everyone throughout the world who has within them the spirit of exploration."
- Elon Musk, SpaceX
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- Like China, France is pushing to release a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Societe Generale settled a covered bond issuance with €40 million in digital Euros from the Banque de France.
Although the digital currency was issued through a blockchain platform, CBDCs are centralized. Thus, some believe that a blockchain is neither necessary nor useful and that an SQL database would've been more efficient.
Other central banks that are exploring a potential CBDC include the Bank of England, Bank of Canada, the Bank of Japan, the Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden) and the Swiss National Bank.
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- Famous biographer Walter Isaacson said, “People who are interested in the widest variety of things tend to see the patterns of nature in ways that make them creative." Sounds like synergy to me!
- Last week, I asked, "Are there any words in your culture's language that indicate its values?" A friend informed me that there is no word for "awkward" in Spanish. Can't be awkward if you don't have a word for it. 🤪
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- I wrote a short article about career types this week, which you might be interested in.
- Tomorrow marks the simultaneous start of a new month and week. Yes, weeks and months are a social construct, but social constructs are powerful. Perhaps a prime opportunity to begin a new habit or project?
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That's it for this week. Warm wishes for the new week and month! 😊
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