Around the Web #4

Birthday pictures, Building Wealth, and Vikings’ Valhalla

1: [Bifarin]

I Celebrated my birthday a few days ago. Here is what 31 looks like//

Since my Ph.D. Thesis defense last July – apart from the talk I gave at the Metabolomics Association of North America, Software and Data Exchange (MANA SODA) – I haven’t given any major research talk post-PhD.

However, I gave this one talk on the 18th of March at the 2022 Georgia Tech Postdoctoral Research Symposium. The cool thing was I won the best research talk for the College of Sciences, which (partly) means some cool cash to travel this summer for more conferences to share my work.

At Georgia Tech, together with many brilliant scientists, I study the metabolism and development of an early-stage biomarker for ovarian cancer. It’s a combination of chemistry, biology, and some machine learning. I will probably write about it one of these days.

2: [Russia] Yuval Harari on the war in Ukraine, he says, it could change everything. The TED interview took a more global look at the war, starting from the historical origins of Ukraine.

3: [Nigeria Politics] Prof Adeyeye on why Yemi Osinbajo should be next Nigeria’s president. I met Prof Adeyeye once at the Atlanta airport a few years ago; quite an interesting man, I should say. Sowore on his perpetual incarceration with Chude. Redeemed Church, RCCG creates a directorate of politics to support members vying for political positions in 2023. And it ‘appears’ Kwankwaso wants to be Nigeria’s next president – by fire or by force. Seun Kuti on MOP – the movement of the people.

4: [Theology] Our Lady of Fatima Made Me Catholic, Gideon Lazar X Matt Frad. Lots of Catholic theology here, folks (and some pretty wild stuff too.)   

5: [Machine Learning] A visual introduction to machine learning. These are the kind of resources I wished I knew about when I was starting my foray into machine learning.

6: [Sociology of Science]: We like to think of science as impervious to the stain and stench in our societies, but nothing can be farther from the truth. Lex Fridman sat down with Robert Proctor to discuss Nazi Science and Ideology, amongst many other topics.

7: [Personal Finance] This podcast, Wanna Build Wealth, targeted at a Jewish audience, applies to anyone who doesn’t want to have a terrible life financially. It contains obvious and simple ideas but terribly important advice on personal finance: don’t take on credit card debt, don’t (limit) eating outside, don’t/limit buying new cloth, don’t succumb to unhealthy peer pressure, if you have some money to invest, educate yourself (For the absolute beginner, I will recommend this book. On a personal note, for the investments I make, for the most part, I make myself understand what the hell is the economic value behind it; if I can’t comprehend it, I wouldn’t buy.); money is not a panacea and so many more.

Another obvious personal finance advice on buying cars.

8: [Economics] The 91-year-old economic professor Thomas Sowell and the billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio are becoming my go-to Economics teachers. Here is a beautiful video from the latter on the principles for dealing with the changing world order. Surprisingly, someone who has been watching me so keenly bought me Ray Dalio’s book on the subject as a surprise birthday gift.

9: [Movie] Having watched almost all(?) seasonal movies on Vikings thus far, naturally, I would want to watch the new Viking series on Netflix, Vikings: Valhalla. I did – and I am almost done with the first season. So, I wouldn’t say much except that it is set a couple of centuries after Ragnar Lothbrok’s death.

10: [Markets] Wall Street Journal’s The secret to braving a wild market.

“If it feels brave to you to rush out and buy energy stocks, you’re kidding yourself; that would have been courageous in April 2020, when oil prices hit their all-time low. Now, it’s a consensus trade. Courage isn’t doing the easy thing; it’s doing the hard thing. Making a courageous investment “gives you that awful feeling you get in the pit of the stomach when you’re afraid you’re throwing good money after bad,” says investor and financial historian William Bernstein of Efficient Frontier Advisors in Eastford, Conn.”

11: [Christianity] An educational video about the apostolic fathers – theologians who lived in the 1st and 2nd century AD and have some reasonable connections to the Twelve Apostles.

12: [Crypto/Comedy] My crypto portfolio every single day of 2022 so far.