What's on Your Mind?

We all have goals, but at least some of the difference in achieving those goals comes down to how you frame them. In a study published in PLOS One, the researchers separated participants’ goals into two basic categories: Avoidance goals: stopping or preventing an undesired behavior. “Stop ignoring interpersonal issues between employees.” So is “stop putting off important tasks.” So is “stop watching so much TV.” So is anything you want, or wish, to stop doing or do less often. Approach goals: adopting a new behavior. “Complete the most important task on my to-do list every day.” So is “Compliment at least one employee every day.” So is “Eat at least one servi…

The amount of electricity data centers use in the U.S. in the coming years is expected to be significant. But regular reports of proposals for new ones and cancellations of planned ones mean that it’s difficult to know exactly how many data centers will actually be built and how much electricity might be required to run them. As a researcher of energy policy who has studied the cost challenges associated with new utility infrastructure, I know that uncertainty comes with a cost. In the electricity sector, it is the challenge of state utility regulators to decide who pays what shares of the costs associated with generating and serving these types of operations, sometim…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. While national active inventory for sale is still rising year-over-year, the pace of growth has slowed in recent months—something we’ve been closely documenting for several months for our ResiClub members. The side-by-side maps below help you to see that decelerated rate of inventory growth: Left map: Year-over-year change in metro level active inventory between November 2023 and November 2024 Right map: Year-over-year change in metro level active inventory between November 2024 and November 2025 Click to expand Between November 2023 a…

AI has now arrived at the Treasury Department. Sam Corcos, a former startup leader and Department of Government Efficiency affiliate now serving as chief information officer at the Treasury Department, appears to have approved spending at least $1.5 million on up to 3,000 licenses for ChatGPT, the OpenAI platform, federal spending records show. The agency has obligations to spend $1.5 million on the services, and has already outlaid more than $500,000 for the technology, those records show. Fast Company obtained a user agreement showing that Treasury is allowing employees to use ChatGPT for “authorized” mission purposes. Such purposes include using the technolog…

The Great British Railways has a great British brand. The U.K.’s new public railway is leaning on well-known, classic symbolism for its visual identity unveiled this month. Train liveries for the new brand will show a design of a stylized Union Jack flag, while the new logo brings back an old double arrow concept designed in 1965 by Gerald Barney for the old state-run British Rail. The brand’s font is the simple, modern sans-serif Rail Alphabet 2, an updated version of the British Rail font designed in the 1960s by Margaret Calvert and Jock Kinneir. The new brand was designed in house by the U.K.’s Department for Transport and it will begin rolling out on trains, …

At one time or another, we’ve all sat next to someone interesting on a plane or a train, making small talk that sometimes leads to long-winded conversations about life, the world, even personal struggles or accomplishments. It’s been said it’s easier to talk to a stranger . . . but could these random, chance chats lead to networking opportunities? To be clear, vacation provides crucial time to unplug, relax, spend time with family and friends and is vital in maintaining work-life balance—so no one is saying you should treat your holiday like a business conference. (Not least any travel companions you may have.) But the trick is, should you recognize when a c…

In late October, dozens of federal law enforcement officers flooded Canal street, a busy thoroughfare in Manhattan, arresting street vendors. Some officers donned full military uniforms; some wore plain clothes, baseball caps, and neck gaiters pulled over their faces. All were equipped with tactical vests of various styles and with a medley of identifying patches—“HSI,” “Customs and Border Patrol,” “Federal Agent,” or, simply, “Police.” They wore markers of power and authority, but with little consistency across them. As news of the raid unfolded, the NYPD released a statement on X saying it had no involvement with the operation. So who, exactly, were all the people …

More than any other Apple product, the Vision Pro is still—to quote Bob Dylan by way of Steve Jobs—busy being born. Announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 5, 2023 and shipped the following February, the $3,500 spatial computing headset has evolved some since its first release. This year brought a meaty operating system upgrade and a slightly revised version of the device sporting Apple’s powerful new M5 chip. But much of the progress the Vision Pro has made hasn’t stemmed from the routine tick-tock of software and hardware updates. Apple has also been throwing itself into the equally vital work of getting third-party developers and creators to…

Ice cream lovers rejoice: Ben & Jerry’s has something new and exciting to introduce to the world. The Vermont-based ice cream company announced that it will add ice cream bars to its lineup. The new ice cream bars will be available in these five flavors: Caramel Blondie Chocolate Fudge Brownie Cookie Dough PB Pretzel Strawberry Cheesecake A December 10 company news release noted that each ice cream bar “features decadent ice cream, plenty of chunks and swirls, dipped in a chocolatey coating with cookie pieces.” The new product line will be available at retail stores as soon as January 2026. Each box will feature four ice cream bars. T…

Ryan Coogler’s bluesy vampire thriller “Sinners,” the big screen musical “Wicked: For Good” and the Netflix phenomenon “KPop Demon Hunters” are all a step closer to an Oscar nomination. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released shortlists for 12 categories Tuesday, including for best song, score, international and documentary film, cinematography and this year’s new prize, casting. “Sinners” and “Wicked: For Good” received the most shortlist mentions with eight each, including makeup and hair, sound, visual effects, score, casting and cinematography. Both have two original songs advancing as well. For “Wicked” it’s Stephen Schwartz’s “The Girl in the Bubbl…

Fernando Moreno has been on dialysis for about two years, enduring an “unbearable” wait for a new kidney to save his life. His limited world of social contacts has meant that his hopes have hinged on inching up the national waiting list for a transplant. That was until earlier this year, when the Philadelphia hospital where he receives treatment connected him with a promising pilot project that has paired him with “angel advocates” — Good Samaritan strangers scattered around the country who leverage their own social media contacts to share his story. So far, the Great Social Experiment, as it was named by its founder, Los Angeles filmmaker David Krissman, hasn’t found t…

Welcome to exhausted America 2025: Most adults are more than a little fine with doling out cash as gifts, and many plan to be asleep before midnight on New Year’s Eve, according to a new AP-NORC poll. About 6 in 10 Americans say cash or gift cards are “very” acceptable as holiday presents, but they’re much less likely to say that about a gift that was purchased secondhand or re-gifted, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “Cash is OK for the grandkids I guess,” said Nancy Wyant, 73, in rural central Iowa. “But I’m a gift giver.” Come New Year’s Eve, she’ll be fast asleep before 2026 rolls around. “At our ag…

Gen Z is never beating the “unemployable” allegations. For Gen Z, a growing confidence crisis means common workplace interactions are now a major source of anxiety. Working with unfamiliar colleagues, making small talk, using the phone, and waking up early were among the biggest anxieties for young workers, according to new research from Trinity College London.​ These fears have also been echoed online. “Can we talk about the fear of having to make a phone call in a dead silent office of cubicles,” one TikTok creator recently posted. “When you finally finish sending that email that’s been giving you anxiety and they respond with ‘are you free for a quick…

In a seismic shift for one of television’s marquee events, the Academy Awards will depart ABC and begin streaming on YouTube beginning in 2029, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday. ABC will continue to broadcast the annual ceremony through 2028. That year will mark the 100th Oscars. But starting in 2029, YouTube will retain global rights to streaming the Oscars through 2033. YouTube will effectively be the home to all things Oscars, including red-carpet coverage, the Governors Awards, and the Oscar nominations announcement. “We are thrilled to enter into a multifaceted global partnership with YouTube to be the future home of the…

Last month, Believer Meats was basking in acclaim. The startup had just secured final U.S. government approval for what it billed as Earth’s largest cultivated-meat facility, a $125 million complex near Raleigh, North Carolina. Boosters hailed the plant’s role in strengthening U.S. competitiveness in the race to grow meat from cells—a sector long dominated by Israel. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) called it “a major economic win for the state and region.” Believer Meats CEO Gustavo Burger said he was thrilled about the facility’s opening, calling it a “major milestone” that would redefine the future of food. “Boom,” he wrote on LinkedIn, announcing that the company was s…

Want to know how much you spent on Uber Eats this past year? If the answer is no, bad luck. Just days after Saturday Night Live dropped a satirical skit about an “Uber Eats wrapped,” Uber brought the feature to life with a year-end recap. Around this time each year, platforms from Spotify to YouTube start rolling out personalized recaps, breaking down how users spent their time over the past 12 months. The next logical step? A full accounting of every Uber trip taken and every guilt-ridden Uber Eats order placed this year. On Monday, the company launched its new year-in-review feature called “YOUBER,” which compiles users’ activity across both Uber and Uber E…

The USS Enterprise was an impossible dream rendered in fiber glass. Designed for Star Trek, it looked like a creation straight out of creator Gene Roddenberry’s imagination: Twin nacelles—those long, gleaming engine pods held by elegant pylons—extended from a central saucer holding the engines that allowed Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. Bones, and the rest of the crew to travel across the cosmos. Inside those nacelles, the show’s creators imagined, lay the secret that made those trips possible: a warp drive that could crease spacetime itself, folding the universe in front of the ship while unfurling it behind, allowing faster-than-light travel not through speed but thro…