KFCblog - November 2023

Life

Life has settled in the new city home. I've been in my car only 3 times in the last 6 weeks - glorious. Jackie came home for a weekend to see Iowa vs Northwestern at Wrigley Field - that was cool (Did you know the Bears played at Wrigley until 1970?). We spent time together before and after the game at Joey and Kelly's apartment near Wrigley - a dad's life doesn't get much better than when he's got all his kids in one place...

Sports World

The Texas Rangers won their first World Series in history despite losing 2 or 3 of the best players on their roster. This leaves still leaves the Cleveland I?n?d?i?a?n?s? Guardians with the longest title drought in MLB.

The Las Vegas Aces won their second consecutive WNBA championship. South Africa won their 4th Rugby World Cup, beating the All Blacks, 12-11.

Hello, World

We are still in the incredible hype cycle around AI, especially Gen AI. But it's not all hype. What's this Metaverse video podcast done between Lex Fridman and Mark Zuckerberg (even just the first 5 minutes). It's remarkable and coming to replace your Zoom!

I'm very excited about AI and Gen AI, but it reminds me a lot of the hype around cloud computing in the mid-2010s. While cloud computing has been incredibly impactful (and mostly beneficial), there weren't too many business problems solved simply by "adding cloud to it"; I suspect the same is true with "adding AI." We need to start with the business problem/opportunity we are solving for.

Last week, there was an executive order to try to put some controls around the exploding AI investment that is happening. When non-technologists (worse, politicians) start making rules about technology, we should all be very cautious. If we are to "regulate AI", we better know what AI is. Is Photoshop lightening a shadow on face using AI? Is 30 year old software that uses traditional programming (think "If...Then") using AI? I am not opposed to regulation as there is a role for governments to protect their citizens, but we need to be extraordinarily thoughtful. Also, be extremely cautious of the big tech companies clamoring for regulation - as regulation tends to favor large incumbents (see Bill Gurley's excellent speech on "Regulatory Capture")

Caught My Eye

Trick or treating often brings out the stories of poisoned/laced candy that kills children. Apparently, it has only happened once ever (and that was from a father to his own son).

Interestingly, while 42 may not be the answer to everything, 42 is the answer to some interesting questions about the universe.

In the 1992 Summer Olympics, the US Dream Team knocked out all comers. I had not heard this story about how The Grateful Dead played a key role in helping tiny, recently-separated-from-the-USSR Lithuanian team with the bronze medal.

Geeky, coder t-shirts. My favorite? "Debugging: The Classic Mystery Game where you are the detective, the victim, and the murderer."

I was today year's old when I learned that the plastic tags on bread plastic bags were color coded to days of the week.

The number one tourist attraction in Europe? It's not The Eiffel Tower, The Colosseum or Buckingham Palace (but it makes sense).

If you like Michelin and other award-winning dining, check out Map of the Best, which adds the most acclaimed restaurants to Google Maps. Move over Yelp!

A very cool analysis of changes in popularity of music genres on Spotify from 2016 to 2023. I know I'm old because I had not even heard of the 8th most popular genre.

For the New Yorkers out there, here's a very cool, detailed map of the neighborhoods of New York City.

I Bought This: Cold weather always brings out a little maintenance to tire pressure.

Closing Quote

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."?— Albert Einstein