Staring at Goats, Treadmills, and Barbeinheimer - September '23

Howdy world,

Here is your monthly dose of?The Curious Connector, a quick list of what I'm exploring and enjoying.

Cheering for the goats ??

Goats are funny animals. You've probably heard about their appetite for invasive species like buckthorn, but did you know they can also help prevent wildfires?

According to NPR, a company in California uses goats to clear brush from hillsides and other areas that are prone to wildfires. The goats can eat various types of vegetation, including invasive plants and poison oak.

This 'targeted grazing' offers several benefits:

• The goats can reduce the wildfire risk by creating fire breaks and changing the biomass of the land.
• Goat can also be cheaper, funnier to watch, and more eco-friendly than machines and herbicides.
• Goats can work in steep and hot conditions that are difficult for humans.

Any other fun goat skills that you're aware of?

(thanks to my sister for the timely animal related news)

Publishing demo videos ??

A fun convergence in my interests recently has been the opportunity to record several demo videos of Sales Copilot (AI in the B2B wild), Dynamics 365 Sales, and Power BI.

These are definitely more informative than entertaining videos so fair warning that there isn't any synchronized dancing or shenanigans to hold your attention (though I'm open to ideas on this front ??).

A few benefits I see from this effort:

• Creating reusable assets so I can (kind of) be in multiple places at once & spend less time on repetitive demos
• Enable prospects and potential customers to learn more about these solutions without the need to coordinate multiple calendars
• Increased consistency and quality in these core demos because we can invest more time in one recording then we typically would for an individual live demo
• Creating little time capsules of details that we may look back and laugh at (like car phones in movies) -- I'm willing to bet within 3 years the capabilities/UX/UI of AI in these demos will seem funny in retrospect

I have a vague sense that this is another example of the B2B world gradually adopting/iterating on communication tactics that have already matured in the frenzy of the B2C world. Curious to hear other ways you all are seeing recorded videos used in B2B?

Thanks to Katie Erickson for reviewing, editing, and publishing these demos.

Walking & talking with treadmill desk ??

When I first heard about treadmill desks, I thought they were kind of dumb extravagances. Turns out I was wrong ??

After a few coworkers and friends recently shared their positive treadmill desk reviews I decided to jump on the bandwagon, and it's been good! I enjoy walking during different parts of the workday, and it seems to be most impactful for me when I'm stuck on a problem/task. I've also shared a few good laughs at the slight absurdity when I'm on video calls, looking like I'm going for a stroll and chatting about technology.

Reveling in the Barbenheimer phenomenon ????

Like many people, I have not seen many movies in theaters since 2020 so it was a fun change of pace to recently see both Barbie and Oppenheimer on the big screen. And as this YouTuber eloquently puts it: Barbenheimer is more than a meme. His video helps place these films into a broader cultural context and helped inspire me to see Barbie first.

My very scientific apples to oranges comparison is:

• that Barbie is a more enjoyable, fun, and nuanced current social commentary movie
• and that Oppenheimer is a more stunning work of cinematography, a cautionary tale for aspiring-Prometheus's (looking at you AI companies), and a testament that historical biopics can have mass appeal

Overall, I highly recommend both movies and have thoroughly enjoyed the shared cultural moment these films helped coalesce this summer. From enjoyable conversations about modern feminism and the confused masculinity ("I'm just Ken...") presented in Barbie, to the harrowing conversations about The Manhattan Project and how the tarring/feathering of Oppenheimer still impacts/constrains scientists today.

What a time to be alive! #alwaysthebestoftimesAndWorstoftimes

Dusting off the old paintbrush ??

As fall arrives in MN I am leaning into painting as a mostly non-verbal reflection process. This was partially inspired by some of the award-winning pieces I saw at the MN State Fair, as well as by several conversations about "process vs outcome" focus in creative endeavors.

By necessity we're very focused on outcomes and measurable results in most of our lives, so it's interesting to discuss/explore 'when is it preferable to engage in activities for their own sake', or ' how can we shift our focus on process into the foreground while still keeping a pragmatic awareness of outcomes in the background'.

I am in the market for a quirky 'wine and painting' type class near St Paul MN, open to recommendations (the cringier the better) #embraceTheCringe.

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Thanks for reading! Comment to let me know what resonates with you.

Tom ??

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