Using ChatGPT to do Trip-Planning
You can, in fact, have ChatGPT plan your trip for you. It’s eerily good. Continue reading Using ChatGPT to do Trip-Planning
Author: David
2022 Reading Roundup
I had hoped to read a bit more in 2022, but c’est la vie. That said, I did happen to hit my reading goal of reading more about biology and natural sciences (thanks, Bill Bryson), and I finally tackled The Black Swan. I also read a number of seriously terrific books — notable mentions include … Continue reading 2022 Reading Roundup
A random Beatles appreciation post: Two songs that have been sticking with me, lately
I’ve been listening to the Beatles a lot lately (which is saying something; I was more or less born listening to Sgt Pepper), and I’m struck by how often I’ll suddenly realize the cleverness of a lyric or the tightness of rhyme scheme — even after having heard the song one hundred times over the … Continue reading A random Beatles appreciation post: Two songs that have been sticking with me, lately
A New Interpretive Community or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Memification of Everything
A couple of weeks ago, I got into a freak gasoline fight accident. Okay, well, not really. What actually happened was much less interesting. I went to fill up my car at a local gas station. My car’s fuel tank is on the left-hand side, but all the left-side pumps were taken, so I pulled … Continue reading A New Interpretive Community or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Memification of Everything
How using my iPhone’s “text replacement” feature saves me tons of time (and stress)
As a dual citizen, I’ve got lots of ID numbers to remember: drivers license, social security, ID cards, passport numbers, etc. And with kids, it means that I need to remember, like, twenty different strings of numbers for any given purpose.* This will often become complicated when preparing to travel. When you’ve got a bunch … Continue reading How using my iPhone’s “text replacement” feature saves me tons of time (and stress)
It Will Shock You
There’s a scene in Season 2 of Mad Men, when Don Draper visits Peggy Olson in the hospital. She’s recovering from having given birth to a married man’s child, and is understandably worried about balancing her ascendant career with the responsibilities of parenthood, compounded by the complexity of the baby’s paternity. Don, her only visitor, … Continue reading It Will Shock You
Music for the Road
Spotify recently released a dedicated screen for your car that essentially mirrors your phone, but with the added bonus of a volume/navigation knob. Best as I can tell, it’s for people who have a phone (and a car), but who don’t have CarPlay or Android Auto. The name? Car Thing. I’m not sure if the … Continue reading Music for the Road
Focus Mode
When I think back to the early-00s, I think of a lot of chunky, single-purpose, monochrome screen devices: a Franklin PDA, a Memorex MP3 player, a Sony DSLR. Now, obviously, things are different. When I survey the devices on my desk now, I’ve got an iPad Pro and an iPhone 12 — both of which … Continue reading Focus Mode
The Value of Voice Notes 🎙
Remote work is hard. People have different communication styles, work methods, and feedback preferences. Especially when communicating complex or multi-step ideas, it can be hard to share context in a way that does justice to an idea. It makes you realize how great face-to-face conversations can be. That said, some people are great with Zoom … Continue reading The Value of Voice Notes 🎙
“I don’t know which half is wasted”
A week or two ago, on a sunny afternoon, a small business owner set up a folding table in a park near my house. He was selling various small Judaica items, and he parked himself on a bench for a few hours, equipped with his phone and a portable credit card reader. My wife found … Continue reading “I don’t know which half is wasted”
Silicon Spatula 