Here are some things that caught my attention recently:

• A couple of high school kids in California build up a massive drug smuggling empire in this long read from the great Atavist Magazine. Link
• Trees calm us down and make us healthier. Link
• Balaji Srinivasan from 21 (the company) thinks that a ‘machine payable’ web is coming, i.e. one in which machines send some cryptocurrency along with requests to each other. This would drastically decrease the effort it takes to start using an API. Video Link
• Two tips for managers:
  • Don’t add your two cents, it will cause people to lose the sense of ownership. Link
  • Let people make decisions, say “it’s your call” as much as you can. Link

I am looking for an objective summary of the major Bitcoin initiatives. Does anyone know of one? If not I might attempt to write one myself.