I’m not particularly interested in car racing or spectator sports in general. I did follow Formula 1 casually in the 90s and watched a race from start to finish once on TV, which I found to be an almost meditative experience.
Yesterday, we watched the movie, and I loved it. It proves that it is possible to create big-screen excitement with an original story if you just follow time-tested rules. A rookie vs. seasoned pro trope, a Hollywood superstar in the lead, a believable love interest, and a Hans Zimmer soundtrack. Add some nail-biting action elements, and the movie is fun to watch.
The mastery of director Joseph Kosinski in F1 is evident in how well-measured these elements are. There were plenty of twists and turns, but the story always moved forward and left the big question open until the very end: Will Sonny Hayes win his first grand prix?
I put my Apple Watch down on December 18 and, by now, have traded it in to Apple. So far, I still feel liberated. There is nothing wrong with wearing the Apple Watch, but:
The health tracking makes you want to wear it day and night. Now I don‘t need to care anymore. The health tracking is good for sure, but honestly, I didn‘t pay too much attention to it.
The handwashing timer is stressful. I know, I could have turned it off, but thorough handwashing is a good habit. Of course, you can do this without the watch, too.
Some things don‘t work, and some things take longer on the watch. And the worst, some things only sometimes work. Now I do everything on the iPhone, which is usually easier and more efficient.
I‘m torn about notifications. It’s nice to get them on the watch and see them at a glance. However, they’re also more distracting than the deliberate act of pulling your phone out of your pocket.
My old watch is still in repair, and I miss not having a wristwatch at all. I used to read the time from my phone for a long time, but I don‘t want to go back to it.
When it comes to writing, AI is the elephant in any room. Large Language Models are very good with language, but how much can you use them without losing the essence of why you started writing in the first place?
I still find Seth Godin’s take “Walk Away or Dance” valuable here. You often hear advice that using AI is not good or authentic enough. But on the other hand, your work does not automatically become good simply by not using AI. Moreover, if you need significantly longer to reach the same quality level without AI than with AI, you have also failed.
Walking away from AI is for geniuses in their field, who are also great at selling their work. Everybody else has no choice.
For glamglare, we use AI as a spellchecker, fact-checker, and editor. We select the song and write the initial copy. From there, we dance with AI.
I love the start of a new year. It gives you the illusion of a clean slate, and often that’s all you need to make changes and start new things. It’s not about life-changing resolutions; it’s about saying that this will be the best year ever and believing in it, at least for a while.
The Apple Watch is an amazing device. I have been using the Ultra 2 with cellular for the past two years, and it’s incredible what it can do. With this tiny little thing, you stay fully connected, access much of your data, and tap into the world’s knowledge (as long as you can make yourself understandable to Siri).
I almost never take advantage of these features because you usually have your iPhone nearby as well. So in the spirit of this, I plan to give up my Apple Watch and start using my old Citizen Eco-Drive again (if I can get the battery to work). Let’s see how it goes.
On Thursday, a man with a tripod and a camera with a huge lens was running past me. When I turned around, I saw the shot he was aiming for. I only had an iPhone, but the 8x lens works pretty well.
Last Saturday, we went to Guitar Center to look for a keyboard. A musician once said that Guitar Center is the Olive Garden of music stores, but the one in Manhattan’s 14th Street has a good vibe, at least as far as I can see.
We had a vague idea of what we wanted, a somewhat flexible budget, and limited knowledge of the available products on the market. We are also at an age where one might reasonably assume we have some funds for discretionary spending. In other words, we should have been a salesperson’s ideal customers.
But they left us alone for about fifteen minutes. We also didn’t see anyone who seemed interested in engaging with a customer. So, we played around with a few keyboards, found one we liked, and then left the store. From there, we bought it online for the best price.
If we want our city streets to have more than just cannabis dispensaries and ghost kitchens, we need good, useful retail stores. Mimicking an impersonal online experience is not the answer.
During yesterday’s Thanksgiving Parade broadcast, nearly every commercial break featured a Facebook ad. It was a good one about real-life human connection supported online through the Facebook friends network.
It’s a long shot, but wouldn’t it be great if Facebook cut the nonsense and returned to its roots as a social network? A place where you can stay connected with friends and family around the world.
In the late 2000s, you could meet someone, become friends on Facebook, and stay loosely in touch. “Are you on Facebook,” was a less intrusive question than “What is your phone number?”
Today, of course, many people avoid visiting Facebook altogether because of the endless stream of useless information they never signed up for.
It’s a feast for the eyes. More photos 
On Thursday, a man with a tripod and a camera with a huge lens was running past me. When I turned around, I saw the shot he was aiming for. I only had an iPhone, but the 8x lens works pretty well.