1 . There was a point in time when the solar industry was considered dead money. It was too expensive, too inefficient, and too inconsistent to be a viable (切实可行的) alternative energy source for really anything, let alone your home or office.

But those days are long gone.

Solar energy costs have dropped more than 70% over the past 10 years, and are now cheaper than fossil fuels in most parts of the United States. Better yet, the drivers of these cost declines — economies of scale (规模经济) and technological improvements — are durable (耐久的) , and therefore, solar is only going to get even cheaper. Indeed, these forces are so powerful in the solar industry that they have their own law — Swanson’s Law — which states that the price of solar modules (模块) decreases by about 20% for every doubling in global solar capacity.

Meanwhile, solar panels have become very efficient at transforming light from the sun into usable energy. Back in 1992, researchers at the University of South Florida made a thin-film solar cell with 15.9% efficiency — and that was considered a breakthrough at the time.

These days, though, your average silicon solar cells’ efficiency rate is around 20%. That’s standard. And some research efforts have even managed to achieve near 50% efficiency in certain lab tests.

At the same time, these solar systems have become dramatically more consistent. One of the biggest hurdles for solar in the early 2000s was its intermittency — the sun doesn’t shine every day, so what do you do when its cloudy?

Well, that’s why the clean energy industry has developed energy storage solutions, which are basically just big batteries that homeowners and office building managers can install on-site and link to their solar panels to store excess (过度的) solar power on super sunny days, and use that power on cloudy days.

Cheapest. Most efficient. Most consistent. That’s a powerful combination. No wonder solar industry has accounted for 58% of all new energy capacity additions so far in 2021 and is only going to get stronger and more active over the next 10 years — to a point where, by 2030, I wouldn’t be surprised to see solar industry accounting for 90%+ of all new energy capacity additions.

3 . Here are some highly recommended books for readers to choose.

Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?       by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn       $23.92

Lizzie Damilola Blackburn’s first published novel is incredibly relatable for anybody whose family members frequently question their relationship status. In Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? a thirty-something Nigerian woman attempts to find herself a wedding date and learns some valuable lessons about life and love.

Violeta       by Isabel Allende       $ 25.76

Isabel Allende’s expansive collection of works continues with Violeta — the story of a woman named Violeta Del Valle who gives readers a front-row seat to historic moments of the 20th century, from the Spanish flu to the Great Depression to the women’s rights movement, as she recounts the highs and lows of her 100-year life in a series of letters to her grandson.

The Perfect Escape       by Leah Konen       $15.64

Loved Leah Konen’s All the Broken People? Prepare yourself for her newest thriller (惊悚小说), The Perfect Escape, which is about a group of friends whose girls’ weekend goes wrong when they land themselves in deep trouble in the Catskills and one of them goes missing.

Greenwich Park      by Katherine Faulkner       $24.84

Talk about suspense! Katherine Faulkner’s Greenwich Park, told from three angles, centers on a pregnant woman who meets another mom-to-be who couldn’t be more different from her. As their friendship develops, they realize they may be more connected than they think.

5 . Laughter comes in many forms, from a polite and quiet laugh to a great hearty laugh. Scientists are now developing an AI system to recreate different laughs in proper social contexts. The team behind the laughing robot Erica said that the system could improve natural conversations between people and an AI robot. “We think that one of the important functions of conversational AI is empathy(共情),” said Dr Koji Inoue, the lead author of the research. “So we decided that one way a robot can empathize with its users is to share their laughter.”

The team have set out to teach their AI system the art of conversational laughter. They gathered training data from more than 80 daily dialogues between male subjects and the robot that was initially operated by four actresses remotely. The dialogue data was grouped into social laughs (where polite or embarrassed laughter isn’t involved) and laughter of joy. Based on the audio files, the algorithm(算法) learned the basic characteristics of social laughs, which tend to be softer, and merry laughs, with the aim of mirroring these inappropriate situations.

“Our biggest obstructor in the work was identifying the actual cases of shared laughter because as you know, most laughter is actually not shared at all,” said Inoue. “We had to carefully decide exactly which laughs we could use for our analysis and we couldn’t just assume that any laugh can be responded to. It was really not easy work.” The team said laughter could help create robots with their own distinct character although it could take more than 20 years before it would be possible to have a casual chat with a robot like we would with a friend.

“One of the things we’d keep in mind is that a laughing robot or algorithm will never be able to understand you or the meaning of laughter,” points out Prof. Sandra Wachter of the Oxford Internet Institute. “But with their development, they might get very good at tricking you into believing they understand what’s going on.”

6 . Some libraries use unique architecture to encourage visitors to settle down with a new book, or use roving (流动的) libraries to bring books to hard-to-reach populations. However they achieve it, these novel libraries are keeping the magic of reading alive.

Featuring a green roof, this building, made from recycled materials, was designed to imitate the look of a eucalyptus tree. It is also an art form, using robot cranes to bring requested books to the front desk.

To deal with low literacy rates in the desert of Kenya, the government created a roaming library composed of nine camels bringing books to villages. The library travels four days a week serving the region’s disadvantaged people.

With glass pods of various colors sticking out of the building randomly, this library, built in 2006, is meant to create comfortable yet airy nooks (角落) for reading throughout the building. At the same time, a more wide-open children’s room on the basement level invites interaction while preventing noise from filtering (过滤) upward.

Libraries are usually known for their quiet atmosphere, but this one encourages conversation. Pritzker Prize-winner Shigeru Ban designed the library with space-age, free-standing soundproofed pods (系统) to respect those who need uninterrupted study, while also being beneficial to other methods of learning; they serve as perfect spots for study groups and lively discussions.

7 . In Singapore, it seems like art can be seen at every turn. Throughout the year, festivals, live performances, and concerts add to the vibrancy (活力) of the creative community. Here are some of the biggest art festivals.

SINGAPORE ART WEEK

When: January

Over the course of 10 days, this massive visual art celebration organizes more than 130 art events at museums, galleries, independent art spaces, and public places across Singapore from the city center to the heartland neighborhoods. Visitors can have discussions with artists, and attend art exhibitions and workshops that explore art and culture in Asia. Whether you’re interested in Sudanese architecture or cute Japanese paintings, there’s an event for everyone.

ART SG

When: January

During the biggest art fair in Southeast Asia, more than 150 of the world’s best galleries will showcase their collection of more than 1,000 artists at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center. From 12-15 January, this large-scale art show highlights paintings, sculptures, and photography from galleries like the influential Gagosian and London’s White Cube.

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS

When: May

This annual performance art festival pushes the boundaries of physical and virtual spaces and explores The Anatomy of Performance through music, film, dance, musicals, and plays. The festival’s lineup includes a broad range of programs from local and international artists, ranging from orchestral performances to different styles of modern and traditional dances.

SINGAPORE NIGHT FESTIVAL

When: August

For one week each August, the Bras Basah. Bugis district lights up for this multi-dimensional art festival, with more than a dozen light installations (装置), stage shows, and theater performances. The National Museum of Singapore sponsors the event. It also acts as a major venue for various performances and demonstrations along with the Singapore Art Museum and the Peranakan Museum.

9 . Lots of people find it hard to get up in the morning and put the blame on the alarm clock. In fact, the key to easy morning wake-up lies in reseting your body clock.     1     Here is how to make one.

•     2     In order to make a change, you need to decide why it’s important. Do you want to get up in time to have breakfast with your family, get in some exercise or just be better prepared for your day? Once you are clear about your reason, tell your family or roommates about the change you want to make.

• Rethink mornings. Now that you know why you want to wake up, consider re-arranging your morning activities. If you want time to have breakfast with your family, save some time the night before by setting out clothes, shoes, and bags.    3     That’s a quarter-hour more you could be sleeping if you bought a coffee maker with a timer.

• Keep your sleep/wake schedule on weekends. If you’re tired out by Friday night, sleeping in on Saturday could sound wonderful. But compensating (弥补) on the weekends actually feeds into your sleepiness the following week, a recent study found.     4    

• Keep a record and evaluate it weekly. Keep track of your efforts and write down how you feel. After you’ve tried a new method for a week, take a look at your record.     5     If not, take another look at other methods you could try.