We see more and more ink spilled, computer power devoted to, software feature descriptions incorporating how to make the most of AI. Different generations are using AI for different roles, from life coach or adviser to encyclopaedia or search engine. The announcement of the teami up between the designer of the iMac and the founder …
Author Archives: cafedave
Movie: flow (2024)
Winner of the Academy Award for animation (2025) but made in Latvia using free animation software “Blender”. Really enjoyed the experience of watching it with my son; he could explain just how clever this wordless animation was. Learn more and watch the trailer on IMDB
the one hundred pages strategy
The One Hundred Pages Strategy talks about how to adjust your day to create the greatest possible time for reading. It’s written in clear prose, but if you’d like it in pseudo-diagram form, I’ve made an attempt.
internet project milestones
Noah Kalina is still taking photos of himself every day. He’s been doing that for 25 years.
Movie: Treasure (2024)
For some reason I keep being drawn to movies that are seeking to tell stories of loss from WWII. This humour-flecked story of a divorced 30-something journalist (Lena Dunham) and her Polish holocaust survivor father (Stephen Fry) who has invited himself along to her tour of key sites from their family history. Fry does an …
an unlikely origin story of amazon
During the week where I finished listening to the audio book of the Walter Isaacson biography of Elon Musk (an experience that makes you wonder how to best use your time), and listening to the kids talking about maths homework, I’m reminded of the moment that Jeff Bezos decided not to pursue theoretical physics.
Crossing the river
Already lost to me is the LinkedIn post that brought this to my attention, but searching for that story, I found an article that told some more of the background. https://mindmatters.ai/2024/05/a-man-a-boat-and-a-goat-and-a-chatbot/ The link between the original post and the classic non-fiction work “Gödel Escher Bach” is the icing on the cake. You’re familiar with the …
anhedonia and digital dopamine
i recently signed up to try the Opal app for which I’d seen many ads on my Instagram feed. The app essentially puts your own smartphone into parental guidance mode, and lets you lock yourself out of social media (or any other) apps for blocks of time. I had found that I was spending more …
pause
Spent some time this week slowed down and trying to reset. It was good going to a retreat centre for a couple of nights to spend some slow time. I probably rate myself a B- for my efforts at slowing down; what should have been a season of silence and solitude was interrupted with podcasts …
book: Fahrenheit 451
Reading a blog post from danah boyd I realised I’d never read Fahrenheit 451, so I borrowed the audiobook from my local library using Libby and worked through it during my holiday downtime (mostly dog-walking) over the last couple of days. The irony of listening to an audiobook while hearing about a world constantly distracted …