Caleb Kramer

Love this meaningful, local effort by Fender. Limited edition Altadena Telecasters, made from wildfire-damaged cedar, are up for auction. 100% of proceeds go toward rebuilding homes and families impacted by the 2025 Eaton fire.

Full study here: arxiv.org/pdf/2601.14242

It's what we all kind of intuitively knew: AI enhances workflows, but struggles to own the workflow itself.

When given real-world roles like banking analyst and corporate lawyer, even the most advanced models fail over 70% of the time.

The view from Taipei 101, where Alex Honnold will be free soloing live on Netflix soon.

I have to say, between Merge Labs, Worldcoin, and OpenAI's new Orwellian ad model, Altman is giving me the ick.

My LinkedIn profile just got a major upgrade.

Love the idea of connecting the Zwift community IRL. I'm sure there's plenty of local grassroots activity, but curious what's next from the brand after this pilot.

Billed 12 Hours for a Few Seconds of Work: How AI Is Helping Law Firms Overcharge Clients The ability of AI to reduce the time required for certain legal tasks is exposing both the legal profession's reliance on the billable hour to boost firms' income and the unrealistic expectations that...

If you're still billing hours, it's time to start updating scopes to reflect AI-accelerated output or transition to value-based pricing. The current arbitrage won't last forever.

This may look bad for OpenAI, but this is natural in new categories. Different players find more specialized product-market fit. What matters is whether the pie keeps growing.

More here: e360.yale.edu/digest/china...

Photographer Weimin Chu captured China's epic investment in wind and solar energy. Looking at these images, you can't help but feel the future continuing to be pulled Eastward.

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What do all of these things have in common? An obsession with craft, whether it be artisan or technological. I once heard someone describe Taiwan as the "Portland of Asia," and that stuck with me. The passion for inventing and revitalizing products with heart is endlessly inspiring.

9. Din Tai Fung Robotic Service: The chain is blowing up stateside, but it’s still best at the source. The Taipei 101 location features a larger menu, more variety in soup dumplings, and fleets of robots working alongside human servers. High tech meets high touch.

8. OMAR Single Malt Whisky: Kavalan is the big player that has grown globally since its release, but several local friends recommended Nantou’s OMAR as the emerging favorite. I picked up a bottle at duty-free to verify if the hype is real.

7. Reversed Caramel Egg Pudding: If you know, you know. Unified Pudding is a nostalgic, iconic staple. They recently got playful and flipped the design, literally reversing the look and the flavor layers. A limited release went viral, so they brought it back.

6. Zou Zhou Yuan (Alishan Coffee): Taiwan is famous for tea, but it is rapidly transferring its skillsets to coffee. Brands both big and small are reimagining the craft. Zou Zhou Yuan is one example, once a high-mountain tea farm, now an award-winning coffee estate.

5. McDonald’s Grimace Coin Purse: While the US gets the Grinch, Taiwan is all-in on Grimace with limited-edition furry coin purses that sold out instantly. It connects to the furry accessory trend (yes, including Labubu) that has taken over the island.

4. adidas Originals (Dihua Street): A brand new opening on Taipei’s oldest heritage street. The retail space blends seamlessly into the historical architecture while featuring the brand’s recent global release of traditional Chinese-inspired styles.

3. Taihu Concept Breweries: Taiwan Beer is the island’s staple, but since the government opened up the liquor market, a craft scene has been emerging. Taihu is a leader and stands out with its themed concept spaces like a Japanese gyoza bar and tiki-themed location.

2. 7-Eleven X BEAMS DESIGN: Taiwan has the highest density of convenience stores in the world, and they serve as drop sites for limited-edition collaborations and brand takeovers. These socks by Japanese brand BEAMS sold out before I could get a pair.

1. Maestro Wu Bombshell Knives: Forged on Kinmen Island using Cold War artillery shells fired from China. These are tools literally embedded with history and meaning. Pro tip: Get them at Jende Industries in Kaohsiung and ask for Tom.

I just returned from a trip to Taiwan, where I grew up and visit as often as I can. Every time I’m back, there’s something new. Just for fun, I decided to share a few favorite finds. Maybe they’ll offer some inspiration or spark some last-minute gift ideas.

What better way to spend a rainy Friday night in Los Angeles than hanging with the homies @profgalloway.com @karaswisher.bsky.social

Recently came across Collingwood-Norris and her 'visible creative mending'. Creating beauty out of imperfection is so wabi sabi. Love it.

More from Monocle: monocle.com/design/produ...

With everything going on, catastrophe preparedness that's fun feels like a growing market opportunity.

Judy was the first brand to catch my eye. Now SafeTaiwan is selling emergency kits for pets, in case you know who tries something.

This World Series really was theatrical. A win-win for me. You know Nike had a version of this locked and loaded for the Blue Jays too. Congrats to both teams for giving us baseball greatness.

Apple exec on Apple TV rebranding: ‘let’s just do it’ Eddy Cue says he doesn’t think having multiple products named Apple TV will be a problem.

This sounds an awful lot like the decision-making process that led HBO to rebrand as Max. Brand naming and architecture aren't as obvious or unimportant as some leaders seem to think.

Opinion | This HBO Mini-Series Gets Rural America Right

Task could be my show of the year. It's a little like Infernal Affairs set in rural Pennsylvania. Youse should watch it.