2025 Challenge: Read 100 new things

My challenge for 2025 is to read 100 new things. Should be much easier than doing 100 novel things but there is a catch. I'm keeping the spirit of 'novelty' in this, so it doesn't count if it was something I would have read anyway. So whatever book of Wheel of Time I'm on doesn't count, nor does random work related articles, unless I specifically target one I would not have read otherwise.

The goal here is to expand my horizons to different writings. I feel like I do fairly well on that already with the books I read, as I do all different genres, but I'm not so good at reading articles other than the local news.

Also, I need to actually read the piece. Not just the title or summary or to skim it. Actually read it.

Length doesn't matter as long as it is more than a couple paragraphs. Can be a book, article, blog post, editorial, but not a Tweet.

I will post updates in the thread and links if possible. Here goes!

1. Top places to visit in California in 2025 (1/5)

2. The Militia and the Mole (1/9)

3. James webb space telescopes little red dots come into focus (1/14)

Could have done "read 100 novel things" and then read that many novels, but I suppose we all must choose our battles

I would never be able to read 100 novels per year, unless I quit my job and they were all novellas. Suggest an article for me Romeo!

4. What we get wrong about time. (1/20)

5. Improved radon gas mapping finds nearly 25% of Americans living in highest risk areas (1/21)

6. Microsoft Chose Profit Over Security and Left U.S. Government Vulnerable to Russian Hack, Whistleblower Says (1/22) - I read a series of articles on this but it starts with this one.

7. No More Periods When Texting. Period. (1/26)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Del Murder

7. No More Periods When Texting. Period. (1/26)

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ive long thought this, and experienced it during actual fights

You can tell when someone is really mad in texts/chatrooms when they start using grammar and full sentences, like this.

8. In the Wild West of School Voucher Expansions, States Rely on Untested Companies, With Mixed Results (2/1)

9. How Costco Hacked the American Shopping Psyche (2/2)

10. Washington Governor Orders Team to Study Data Centers’ Impact on Energy Use, Job Creation and Tax Revenue (2/5) - read this plus the original reporting.

11. My identity was stolen. This one tip could have saved me from the entire ordeal (2/9)

12. 7 health benefits of walking (2/14)

13. Silicon Valley’s Macho Makeover Was a Warning, Not a Trend (2/16)

14. California’s almond crop threatened by ‘catastrophic’ honeybee losses (2/22)

15. This is Water by David Foster Wallace (2/22)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Del Murder

12. 7 health benefits of walking (2/14)

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I've really got to get back into doing my daily step count targets.

16. As Facebook Abandons Fact-Checking, It’s Also Offering Bonuses for Viral Content (3/1)

17. Trump's Blockade of America (3/5)

18. Why 20-somethings are abandoning San Francisco — even when they can afford it (3/11)

19. Why can’t we remember our lives as babies or toddlers? (3/15)

20. The Parallel Economy and the New Rules of American Power (3/15)

21. The Great Salt Shake Up (3/21)

22. The Nicest Swamp on the Internet (3/21)

23. Stuck In Place - Why Americans stopped moving houses—and why that’s a very big problem (3/21)

24. UC’s most competitive major has a 1% acceptance rate, and it’s not computer science (3/23)

25. Growing Up Murdoch (3/26)

26. The brain makes a lot of waste. Now scientists think they know where it goes (3/29)

27. The psychology behind why children are hooked on Minecraft (3/31)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Del Murder

26. The brain makes a lot of waste. Now scientists think they know where it goes (3/29)

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I don't need this article, I already knew it went to social media posts

No, that’s what creates the waste!

28. As special ed students are integrated more at school, teacher training is evolving (4/15)

29. A Warning Out of Time (4/16)

30. Everything We Once Believed In (4/17)

31. The World Porn Made (4/27)

32. Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College (5/9)

33. Right to Remain Secret (5/14)

34. We Are the Most Rejected Generation (5/22)

35. Meet the ‘Stealthy Wealthy’ Who Make Their Money the Boring Way (5/22)

36. Cartoon Network’s Last Gasp (5/23)

37. Fast and Fatal (5/24)

38. The Golden Age of the Fried Chicken Sandwich (5/25)

39. Mail By Mule (5/25)

40. SFUSD kills controversial grading proposal after backlash (5/30)

41. America’s College Towns Go From Boom to Bust (5/31)

42. AI is ‘breaking’ entry-level jobs that Gen Z workers need to launch careers, LinkedIn exec warns (5/31)

43. Waymo is teaching its robotaxis cars to drive more like humans. Here’s what that means (6/3)

44. The Gentle Singularity (6/11)

45. Science Shattered (6/12)

46. Portland Said It Was Investing in Homeless People’s Safety. Deaths Have Quadrupled. (6/13)

47. Massive biomolecular shifts occur in our 40s and 60s, Stanford Medicine researchers find (6/15)

48. People are Losing Loved Ones to AI Fueled Fantasies (6/17)

49. The Day the Music Died (6/18)

50. This simple fitness test might predict how long you’ll live (6/18)