The Dann Chronicles Podcast

May 2024Hey all,Over the past decade or so, I've seen the same trend happening across two seemingly unrelated groups: productivity gurus and tattoo artists.After college, I worked counter at a piercing and tattoo studio for about four years. During that time, I learned a little bit about how tattoos age—the difference between how a fresh tattoo looks vs how that same tattoo will look in 5-10 years.Today, I see way more tattoos that look good fresh, but know will age horribly. This is largely due to the rise in platforms like Reddit and Instagram, which reward the immediate "after" picture and caring much less about how the tattoo will look later.Similarly, I see so productivity "gurus" today showing off complex note-taking systems that look super impressive, but will be IMPOSSIBLE to maintain in the long term. I can guarantee that in even one year's time, practically none of their impressive system will still be in use.Social media rewards those shiny, new things while ignoring practicality.I've mentioned that I've been making YouTube videos documenting my own note-taking process, and that's the philosophy when building my systems. I think it's what sets me apart from a bunch of other creators.If you're working on something similar yourself, don't create systems based on how you aspire to work, build systems based on who you are today and then slowly add on brick by brick. It's the only way to have long-term success.Have a great month, y'all.-Dann🥦 Criss-cross you don't stopIt's not often that a new vegetable bursts onto the scene, but that's exactly what's happening with Baby Cauliflower. Sort of a cross between cauliflower and broccoli, these lengthy florets are absolutely freaking delicious.I've been grabbing mine at my local Trader Joes. To cook, just heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the baby cauliflower, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder (or your seasonings of choice) and maybe a little garlic. Then, cook the same as you would broccoli.For me, one bag makes a perfect two servings. I'll eat half immediately, and the second half I'll have the next day as cold leftovers. I may even like the next-day cold version even better than hot.As with any of my newsletter food recommendations, I encourage you to act fast if you want to try them. I'm most definitely a “harbinger of failure,” which means I don't expect this product to be available very long...👋 Farewell certaintyI was struck by this Pew Research Study showing that "38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are no longer accessible a decade later." But my thoughts about this study might surprise you.What if it's a good thing that large chunks of the internet are disappearing forever?In the story of human history, the idea of "permanence" is almost non-existent. Something was "permanent" only if it was etched in stone. Ideas were fleeting, libraries could burn, and tapes could disappear.If you missed an episode of a TV series, you either had to catch the one-time-only re-run, or just accept that missing it was your fate. If you were out with friends and couldn't remember an actors age, you had to be okay with that until maybe you caught a celebrity rag in the checkout line of the grocery store someday.There was a level of impermanence (and associated uncertainty) that was simply inherent to the human experience.Then the Internet came along and offered a different narrative. Maybe all information was archivable forever, and accessible whenever you wanted. It changed humans' very relationship with information and ideas and facts.There was no longer room for "I'm not sure," and there were voices stating as fact every single opinion that anyone could have. Suddenly no one was okay with anything being fuzzy—humans became militantly I'm-right-you're-wrong once the idea of "permanence of all things" came around.So I say farewell to the very concept of permanence. It's only been a part of the human experience for a few decades and it's done more harm than good. Maybe it's that sense of uncertainty that actually holds society (with all its varying viewpoints) together.Good riddance.👓 Search and rescueIt's been easy to miss (like a frog in boiling water) but Google Search has been declining in quality over the years. Today, top results are either ads or search engine optimized trash. Most people add the keyword "reddit" to any search to yield useful results.Like any meaningful decline, the story behind the downfall is very interesting. The man who killed Google Search (according to that article) is Prabhakar Raghavan, the specific Google employee who decided to push for growth over quality.The author of this article also claims that this is part of a larger trend, where power at tech companies is shifting from the builders to the managers, from the innovators to the consultants. The result? The enshittification of the Internet.As for me? I stopped using Google Search over a year ago in favor of a paid alternative called Kagi (I was actually just interviewed for Monocle Radio in the UK about my experience with Kagi, hear me at 6:05). In fact, I've been working on leaving as many Google services as possible over the past several years. Because it doesn't have to be like this.I see this story about Google Search as a cautionary tale. Even the slightest misalignment in goals can have catastrophic effects.🇨🇦 Canada Goose-bumpsIf you want me to stop sharing Bobby Fingers' videos, he's going to have to stop making them so damn good. In his most recent video, the Irish multi-hyphenate artist and sculptor has tackled the infamous Fabio vs Goose rollercoaster disaster.If I could plug into the matrix and download a new set of skills instantly into my brain, I'd choose Bobby Fingers' skills wholesale. He's one of the few artists that I watch with both joy and envy.Anyway, this time he even partnered with Adam Savage (of Mythbusters fame) for a bit of the video. It's fun to see him connecting with other well-known celebrities.🎶 To see or not to see...Lastly, I wanted to share an exciting upcoming New York City event: the city is getting the first-ever revival of the 1965 musical Skyscraper in November. It's a "fun, fast-paced musical comedy by Peter Stone, Sammy Cahn, and James Van Heusen."That musical duo was basically the Frank Sinatra house band during the Capital Records era. Hits include "Come Fly With Me" and "Love and Marriage" (you know, from the sitcom Married...with Children).One of the reasons I'm so excited for this is because it's being co-produced, directed, and choreographed by my wife, Avital Asuleen.Her and her team are currently knee-deep in a fundraising campaign to help cap off the final dollars in their budget.In case you're outside the NYC theater scene, producing Off-Broadway theater got significantly more expensive after the pandemic. All the cheaper rehearsal spaces disappeared and costs for venues, casts, and crews shot up. The fundraiser, therefore, is geared towards offsetting the cost difference between pre- and post-pandemic producing. Because so much has come back since COVID, but theater is still reeling.If you're in the New York City area, we'd love to see you there. If you're not, maybe you'd want to support the fundraiser at a tier that buys a ticket for a deserving artist. Either way, you're helping independent theater get back on its feet after some huge setbacks.End noteIf you've enjoyed this, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend. You can send them here to sign up.I'll be sending out these emails once per month, and I'm happy you're along for the ride. I'm trying to make it one of the best things that arrives in your inbox each month, so thoughts and feedback are always appreciated. You can just reply to this email.Also, if you find anything interesting, send it my way.Thanks for reading. Until next time,Dann This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dannberg.substack.com

April 2024Hey all,When I was in high school, I remember learning about the power of compound interest, mostly in the context of retirement. If you start stashing your money away early, even if it's a little bit, that will turn into a huge advantage come retirement time, all thanks to compound interest.What I didn't realize until much later is how that concept of "compound interest" applies everywhere in life, not just with money. Small steps, taken consistently, can have massive impact without you even realizing it.That's what happened with my Obsidian note-taking system, which I've been recently documenting over on YouTube. I'm only realizing how complex some of my systems are now that I'm documenting them. But over the past four years of note-taking, it's just been a small daily-ish habit that's snowballed thanks to compound interest.These days, I try to apply these principles everywhere. To reading, to friendships, to learning, to hobbies. Every impressive feat you witness someone else accomplish all started as a small habit.Baby steps are just baby steps...until there's enough of them. They add up to giant leaps.-Dann🪦 Putting a pin in itI wanted to post a short follow up about the Humane AI Pin, which I first ragged on back in November before the product was officially released. The official reviews are out, and they're not so hot.But it's not the negative reviews that are interesting here (as mentioned, I called it back in November). Instead, these reviews have sparked a much larger conversation around the power of reviewers themselves.The story starts a couple months ago with the popular tech reviewer MKBHD (18.7M subscribers) and his review of the Fisker Ocean: "This is the Worst Car I've Ever Reviewed." Within the next week, Fisker stock sinks to a new all-time low, the company announces layoffs, and there are rumors of filing for bankruptcy. It causes quite the stir in the tech world.Fast forward to this month, and Humane's wildly ambitious, insanely hyped, near-infinitely venture funded AI pin launches. MKBHD gets a review unit, gives the product a try, and publishes his review: "The Worst Product I've Ever Reviewed... For Now."Once again, the Internet is aflutter. Probably the loudest criticism of MKBHD is this tweet:I find it distasteful, almost unethical, to say this when you have 18 million subscribers. Hard to explain why, but with great reach comes great responsibility. Potentially killing someone else’s nascent project reeks of carelessness. First, do no harm.I can't stress this enough, this is a bad take. Tech reviewers don't have any obligation to tech companies, only to their audience.But I'm not nearly as eloquent as MKBHD himself, who chimed in when criticism of his review was reaching a fever pitch. He poses (and answers?) the question: do bad reviews kill companies?I'll leave you alone to answer that question for yourself. You now have the background and links to primary sources, if you care. Regardless, it's been an entertaining bit of Internet drama this past month.🪁 Childhood unleashedI've been thinking a lot about Generation X recently. Specifically, what being a kid used to look like before today's technology fundamentally changed the very nature of human connection.Maybe it's because I'm reaching the age (late 30s) where my childhood now feels like history rather than recent past. Plus, as a Millennial, I'm part of the last group of people to experience a pre-Internet childhood.I've been re-reading Calvin and Hobbes, an old favorite of mine, and it's just wild to compare a young kids life then (wandering the woods, playing with neighborhood friends, loads of unsupervised free time) to what we have now (constant GPS tracking, technology access/monitoring, constant protection).I found the differences to be particularly stark while watching the new movie Snack Shack (which criminally flew almost completely under the radar). It's a coming-of-age story about two 14-year-old friends in Nebraska in 1991. It wasn't mychildhood (by a long shot) but I definitely recognized it as a decent portrayal of a time long past.To be clear, I'm not judging one time period as superior to another. Just meditating on the differences.Like anything else, time too has compounding interest. It's strange to be middle aged.🛩 Come fly with meEvery time I fly (not often, but often enough) I'm reminded how much I love the iOS app Flighty. It's one of those rare examples of an application that exceeds expectations.For one, the Live Activities widget is so well-designed that I only ever need to open my e-ticket when I'm checking in (and Apple agrees, giving it an Apple Design Award in 2023). Additionally, I'll get notifications about my flight in Flighty before hearing from the airlines themselves. It feels like a trusted source, which proves super useful.But in-flight location tracking is probably my most-used feature (because that's the kind of flyer I am). One of the coolest things about the in-flight tracking is that it even works on flights that have free messaging but not free Wi-Fi. And the ETA (even for taxiing before/after takeoff) are amazingly accurate.🍎 Apple of my eyeThe farmers markets here in Brooklyn, New York happen year-round, but the offerings (obviously) vary widely depending on the month. I was reminded of these slim pickings on a recent trip to the Borough Hall market, which was mostly empty, minus giant bounty of apples.Browsing the bins, I was reminded of my favorite new apple: the EverCrisp. It's a cross between a Honeycrisp and a Fuji—sweet, juicy, and the absolute crispiest apple you can get. It's the platonic ideal of a delicious apple, in terms of my own personal tastes.I don't see them very often. They're not available at any of the grocery stores near us, and I don't make it to our farmers market as often as I'd like. So every time I do see one, I buy it.All that said, I was visiting my parents recently (Washington state) and lo and behold, their local natural foods grocery store had a big pile of EverCrisps. They were a bit smaller than here in the northeast, but just as delicious.A special shout out of my farmer friend Lauren for introducing me to the joys of EverCrisp. And if you, dear reader, happen to stumble upon them yourself, I encourage you to give one a try.💸 Wave Bye-Bye to the FiatDid you know that Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders) has an upcoming new film? It's called Megalopolis and it's currently in post-production with a release date scheduled for this year, and it sounds absolutely insane.Here are just a few reasons why I'm hyped (and think you should be, too):* Coppola spent $120 million of his own money on the film (meaning no outside influence) and has said he doesn't care if he makes any of it back* At a screening for friends, some of the quotes were: "batshit crazy," "no commercial prospects," "bizarre mix of Ayn Rand, Metropolis, and Caligula," "most baffling thing they've ever seen"* Some of the bigger names in the film are Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Adam Driver, Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Voight, and Jason Schwartzman.If you're still not convinced, this TikTok does an even better job of giving proper context to this film.Now, just to set expectations, just because I'm "hyped" doesn't mean I necessarily think I'll like the film. By all accounts, it sounds terrible. But that said, it's so rare we see a artist's singular vision, at this scale with this level of talent. It will certainly be an experience.End noteIf you've enjoyed this, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend. You can send them here to sign up.I'll be sending out these emails once per month, and I'm happy you're along for the ride. I'm trying to make it one of the best things that arrives in your inbox each month, so thoughts and feedback are always appreciated. You can just reply to this email.Also, if you find anything interesting, send it my way.Thanks for reading. Until next time,Dann This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dannberg.substack.com

March 2024Hey all,A very warm welcome to all the new readers! I'm happy you're here, and I'm looking forward to going on this journey with you.For all of my regular readers who have no idea what I'm talking about: a short backstory. I had a brief period, back in 2014(!) where I was creating videos and uploading them to YouTube. It was time consuming and I made almost no money, but it was a lot of fun and super rewarding.For the past several years, I've been feeling the itch to start creating videos again. But haven't really had the energy to jump back into it in the hours outside my full-time job.But now, I'm taking a short break before finding my next full-time role. I'm doing some part-time work for the FinOps Foundation, working on a FinOps Book, and (you guessed it) making YouTube videos.In general, I'm just feeling like there's now "so much room for activities!"Now, if only COBRA didn't cost so damn much...-Dann🃏 Play your cards rightEvery once in a while, a new video game comes along that tickles the exact right part of my brain. Judging by the amount of time I've already poured into this game, Balatro is that perfect match for me.For those of you with a video game background, Balatro is a roguelike deckbuilder that's basically a mix between Binding of Isaac (my favorite video game of all time) and Texas Holdem poker. Each game lasts between 20 - 40 minutes, and features randomly generated rounds with stacking bonuses. Which means by the end of a game, if you've played your cards right, you're earning tens of thousands of points per hand (or more!) and absolutely dominating each challenge.What makes it all the more impressive, Balatro was created by a solo lone developer. In the same way that ConcernedApe created the smash hit Stardew Vally all by himself, LocalThunk is the single mind behind Balatro.It's not just me that's obsessed with this new game—Balatro has sold 250,000 copies in its first three days.It's currently available on PC and console, but I can't wait for it to come to iOS so I can play it on my iPad.📺 House of cringeNathan Fielder perfected the art of cringe, launching an entirely new genre of entertainment that's nearly identical to horror, but instead of fear you just feel wildly uncomfortable. It really started catching on in Nathan For You, and it was mastered in The Curse.But before there was Fielder, there was a young trailblazing YouTuber named Dax Flame. If you were old enough to be online back then, you may remember him. He went viral back in 2007 mostly for two videos: a vlog expressing excitement over dressing like Superman for school, and a followup vlog the next day, absolutely crushed by humiliation.I mention Dax Flame because he's still making content, and it's some of my favorite ever. If you remember him fondly (or even have no recollection of him), I'll help you catch up: three years ago, iDubbbz (as part of his redemption tour), filmed an hour-long documentary on Dax Flame that brought the OG YouTuber back into the spotlight.Since then, Dax had a decent presence on both YouTube and TikTok. On YouTube, he also hosts a show called The Hot Seat with Dax Flame, but I truly think his short form content is the best. Whether he’s finding humor in the little things, giving away money to his fans, or promising never to talk about Project X again, it’s all pure gold.He has such a pure heart. I wish him all the success in the world.📸 Mimic night and dayIf I could give you one tip for taking better photos or videos on your mobile phone, it would be wipe the lens before you shoot. Boom, your videos will instantly look 5x - 10x better.Curious how to take your iPhone video shoots even further? This 18-minute video Why "Shot On iPhone" Commercials Look So Good! can help get you moving in the right direction. It features Claudio Miranda (cinematographer of Life of Pi and Top Gun: Maverick) and is somehow better than any of those Masterclasses I've taken.In a blog post I published this month (and subsequent video version, which went a little viral) I made the claim that "mimicry is a shortcut to success." This type of video is exactly what I mean.I don't need to be able to shoot cinematic iPhone videos like Claudio Miranda. But I can pick and choose his mobile filmmaking methods in order to gain the benefit of his years of training and experience without putting in that work myself.For me, that means always wiping the lens (as I mentioned before), making sure my scene is well lit, and maintaining rule-of-thirds framing. And if I really want cinematic-looking video, switching to Blackmagic instead of the default Camera app.Gotta love shortcuts to success.📈 Those sweet sweet gainsRecent data is pointing to the US currently being in a productivity boom (though it'll be years before we can truly confirm). The last productivity boom was thirty years ago, in the mid-90's, and largely attributed to the widespread adoption of computers.The data shows that it's not working from home or improved digital communication that's behind it (although those things certainly make us feel more productive) but perhaps unsurprisingly, it's most likely AI (NYT gift article):While many economists said it was probably too early to see the benefits of A.I. showing through in full force, some proponents think it could prove transformative by automating mental tasks including proposal writing and emails.These are all theories—as I said, it'll be years before the data is conclusive. But this 100% feels right to me. I think these sweet, sweet productivity gains are going to be AI's biggest impact on this era (and I'm hoping human extinction isn't AI's next big impact...)On a related note: you know the Boomer stereotype about being bad with computers and unable to figure out new technology? I think Artificial Intelligence is going to be the equivalent for Millennials and Gen Z. Meaning, when we're older, those of us who can't seem to figure out AI are going to be like today's boomers who struggle with technology. My friendly advice is to start figuring out where AI fits into your life now, if you're not already on that journey.✋ Reach out and touch AIThroughout an average work day, I'm typically starting between five to ten AI queries. And that's not me asking it to output copy or full drafts, it's instead become the place where I go to think. I love throwing half-formed ideas at it and seeing what it volleys back. It's the perfect tool for honing in on an answer (any answer).I paid for one month of ChatGPT Plus when it first launched, but $20/mo was way too rich for my blood. Especially when my same level of usage over API would cost mere dollars over the same time period. This lead me to hunt for an AI front end that would allow me to enter my API key so that I'm only charged for usage.The tool I found is the unsung hero of my AI stack. Probably one of my most-used applications, which has somehow never gotten a mention in my newsletter. That changes today.TypingMind doesn't just support ChatGPT either—you can enter your Anthropic or Google Gemini (if you have access) API keys and access any model you want from the same interface. I can switch to a Vision model and upload an image, or enable the web search plugin for live internet results or the Dalle Plugin to ask it to draw me something.TypingMind is so good that I'm just sort of satisfied with how AI fits into my life. I feel no need to try every new product or tool that catches today's buzz.It also has the best pricing strategy: a one-time fee. I feel like that's a model that's quickly going extinct, so I like to support products like that while I still can.End noteIf you've enjoyed this, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend. You can send them here to sign up.I'll be sending out these emails once per month, and I'm happy you're along for the ride. I'm trying to make it one of the best things that arrives in your inbox each month, so thoughts and feedback are always appreciated. You can just reply to this email.Also, if you find anything interesting, send it my way.Thanks for reading. Until next time,Dann This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dannberg.substack.com

February 2024Hey all,This winter finally saw the end of New York City's 700-day snow drought. The sad thing is that it didn't take much: 1.4 inches lightly blanketed Central Park on January 16. We got zero snow last winter, so the last major snowfall was February 13, 2022.We also got a few additional snows since then. Including this past weekend.You know what? I'll take it. It's a far cry from when I first moved to New York nearly two decades ago. There could be whole weeks or months in the winter where snow piles sat unmelting on curbs, the source of endless complaints from commuting New Yorkers. Now, any snowfall quickly melts away.But at least we got snow. I'll just take the W and shut up now.-Dann🧙‍♀️ Have the curse reversedI was almost ready to give up on The Curse, the Showtime series staring Nathan Fielder, Emma Stone, and Benie Safdie. I'm so glad I made it through to the end.It's an uncomfortable show to watch, more in line with a Safdie Brothers film (like Uncut Gems or Good Time) rather than a fun parody comedy like Nathan For You.You'll likely be very uncomfortable through a vast majority of scenes in The Curse. It's unpleasant. But after several episodes, you learn to live with the unpleasantness. Maybe you actually start to find pleasure in it, in the same way you enjoy the sense of terror you feel during a scary movie.When you make it to the end, and finish that final episode, you'll realize that The Curse is actually art. There's a reason why people are saying it's the best thing on television since Twin Peaks.You may also realize that there's a ton of interviews with the creators from after different episode screenings at Lincoln Center, and even a Q&A with Benie Safdie and Nathan Fielder moderated by Christopher Nolan. And that content only increases your enjoyment of the series.Honestly, if you haven't watched The Curse yet, what are you even doing?✅ Clear-eyed and refreshedThere's been a lot of hype this month about the return of a much beloved To Do app for the iPhone. Clear 2 is an updated and refreshed version of the original Clear app, which was revolutionary when it first launched due to its use of swipes and gestures for controls.I've been testing the beta version of the app for about a year, so I'm super excited to tell you that you can finally download it for yourself. It's also monetized in a very user-friendly way, with the full app (and all functionality) being free, but themes and other customizations costing small fees.Honestly, it's also been validating to me to see such love and praise for this app sequel, when I've loved the app from the very beginning. I even interviewed the creator of Clear, Dan Counsell, on my old Novice No Longer podcast back in 2014(!). Now there's a throwback for you.Unfortunately(?) the app is iPhone only. But if you're using Android, I'm sure you're used to that by now.🩹 From investigation to featureSorry, to all you Android-heads, but here's another section for iPhone users. There's a new feature in iOS 17.3 that you should enable immediately: Stolen Device Protection. Here are some easy instructions for turning it on.I'm mentioning it here because it's important, but also because the story of how this feature came to exist is super interesting.Back in February 2023, the Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern and Nicole Nguyen released a damning investigative piece about the tactics thieves used to steal iPhones. It was dead simple: by watching a victim enter their passcode (easier than you might think), thieves could then change their Apple passcode, disable Find My iPhone, and then access a user’s sensitive accounts using the iCloud password keychain. It was a grift that exploited the weakest point in cyber security: the user.Shortly after the story was published, Apple announced that a new feature was launching in the next iOS beta called Stolen Device Protection. It didn't say that this feature was introduced because of the expose, but it 100% addressed the issue detailed in the piece.Stolen Device Protection, when enabled:* Requires Face ID or Touch ID authentication for certain actions, such as accessing passwords or credit card info…a passcode alone won’t do it.* Impliments a one-hour wait time, plus more biomarker checks, to change your password when you're away from a familiar placeThis feature is out now as of iOS 17.3, and there's literally no reason why you shouldn't enable it immediately if you're an iPhone user.Oh, and one more thing. Once Apple released this new security feature, the Wall Street Journal published a followup to it's original story that dives into the more sensitive details about the actual tactics that thieves used to social engineer victims into revealing their passcodes and handing over their phones. As I mentioned, it's easier than you might think.📝 Additional Creative OutputDid you know that in addition to this newsletter, I also create and publish content other places, such as my personal website? In fact, I recently published way too many words about the Apple Vision Pro. The tl;dr? VR is becoming something different than what we originally imagined (ie something akin to The Matrix) and this new implementation is much more compelling.I also want to take a moment to plug my long-dormant YouTube channel, which now has fresh life given my abundance of newfound free time. I've turned a few of my popular Obsidian blog posts into video tutorials and it's been really rewarding, so I'm going to continue making videos. You should subscribe to me there, too.🏋️ Me, Myself, and AIArtificial intelligence has become an integral part of my daily life. I use it all the time. It's not perfect (or even close to perfect) but for certain tasks it's practically a super power. I feel like a lot of people have misconceptions about how AI can fit into someone's workflow, so I wanted to share some details a real world application that I just completed with AI.Kagi, the Google Search alternative that I love, has this cool product called Universal Summarizer. You feed it a URL (article, blog post, research paper, YouTube video, podcast episode) and get an AI-assisted summary in mere seconds.I use it all the time. It's especially useful for lengthy video/audio content, where I'd usually just skip consuming it altogether. For articles, it's a good way to decide if I actually want to read the full piece. It's a great tool.Typically, using Universal Summarizer looks something like this:* Copy the URL of the page you want summarized* Open a new tab, and navigate to Universal Summarizer* Page the URL into the proper field and click summarizeIt's not complicated, but is a lot of steps if you're doing it all the time, which I was. I felt like it was an action much better suited for a browser extension. But I've never written a browser extension before.Enter ChatGPT.I described the functionality I wanted, and within thirty minutes I had a working browser extension. Each error I got, or modification I wanted to make was quickly answered by AI.Before ChatGPT, I could have figured out how to make a browser extension on my own. But I probably wouldn't have. Now, I have a useful tool that simplifies a regular workflow of mine, as well as a cool project to show off on Github.AI is amazing for things like this. Is there anything in your life that you should be automating?End noteIf you've enjoyed this, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend. You can send them here to sign up.I'll be sending out these emails once per month, and I'm happy you're along for the ride. I'm trying to make it one of the best things that arrives in your inbox each month, so thoughts and feedback are always appreciated. You can just reply to this email.Also, if you find anything interesting, send it my way.Thanks for reading. Until next time,Dann This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dannberg.substack.com

January 2024Hey all,I've been thinking a lot about motivation versus discipline, and how they're two very distinct drivers that are often not in sync. Motivation drives the things you want to do, whereas discipline determines the things you spend your time doing.I've been motivated to write a FinOps book for years, but haven't had the discipline to actually spend real time working on it. That means there's been a mismatch between my physical actions in the real word and the goings-on in the world that only exists inside my head.Often, there are valid reasons why we lack the discipline to work on these ambitious tasks we feel motivated to do. For many, this is usually full-time jobs that leave us with little outside energy or families that take up all our time.But on rare occasion, you come face-to-face with that disconnect between motivation and discipline, and must confront it head-on. For example, when you’ve been laid off from your full time job, secured some decent-paying part-time work, and made a deliberate decision that it's finally time to buckle down and write that book you've been thinking about for years.In case you hadn't been following along, the above paragraph is currently me.Career-wise, I'm officially on my own. And I'm consciously not taking another full-time job for a bit while I work on making sure my actions (discipline) match my words (motivation to write a book).Channeling Ze Frank, this is an invocation for beginnings, because my past failures at follow-through are no indication of my future performance.Phew. Okay. Let's do this.-Dann👶 The kids are alrightYou may have noticed this feel-good story (NYT gift article) in the headlines this month: a 13-year old boy is the first person to beat Tetris. If you saw it and didn't click through to the story, that's understandable—it's certainly one of those stories that one might assume is completely told through the headline alone.But this accomplishment has way more depth and the story is super interesting. In the same way that the documentary Free Solo made audiences really appreciate climbing El Capitan, this 16-minute video does the same thing for this new Tetris accomplishment.It's a fun watch, which does a fantastic job of explaining the stakes, context, and accomplishment of this feat that will go down in video game history.⚔️ A tale of two news cyclesEarlier this month was CES, the Consumer Electronics Show that takes place in Las Vegas every year. The show itself has much less of an impact on my life than it did years ago (when I was a technology reporter and actually attended the conference for work). But it's still fun to watch from the sidelines and pay attention to the intricate dance of marketing drama in the tech world.One bit of inside baseball I always like to catch is what Apple is doing during the conference. CES is huge, with approximately 135,000 attendees and 4,000 vendors. Many of these vendors take this opportunity to launch new products or features at the well-attended and highly-reported event, making it a prime time for announcements.But there's always one vendor conspicuously absent: Apple.It's a power move. Apple doesn't need this big event to capture headlines; it commands news cycles all on its own. And one of the ways that Apple likes to poke at CES is by doing its best to dominate headlines with Apple stories despite the massive, news-filled event.That's why on January 8th, one day before CES 2024 began, Apple officially announced the pre-order and launch date for its new AR/VR headset the Apple Vision Pro. The news, of course, dominated both the news cycle as well as the social media chatter. All I can say is: bravo.🎢 Highs and lowsI'm going to spend one more newsletter section talking about Apple, but only because there were two polar-opposite Apple stories in the news this month and I think the juxtaposition is possibly even more interesting than each story individually.The first story, as I mentioned is the Apple Vision Pro. I think this ten-minute promotional video from Apple, which shows a guided tour of the product through the experience of someone trying it for the first time, provides an excellent feature summary for anyone not following along.As far as my personal opinion...I find the device to be super interesting. Not as a product necessarily, but as an attempt. Apple is trying something new—its take on the still-nascent industry of AR/VR. It's not a product for everyone, or even for most people. But as someone who likes Apple, and is interested in moonshot attempts, I'm watching very closely.As for the second story, in the same month that it announced its highly-anticipated Vision Pro, Apple also halted the sale of its latest Apple Watches due to losing a patent dispute.The two watches, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 include improved blood oxygen sensors that infringe on the patent(s) held by medical device company Masimo. Last month, Apple lost its bid to stop the sales ban, and so the watches officially became unavailable this month.They’re back on the market as of Thursday (nearly a month after sales halted) with the blood oxygen sensors present but disabled.The moral of each of these stories: move fast and break things, I guess?🤖 My friend AIGoing back to the topic of CES, there was one product announcement that managed to break through and gain some media attention: a handheld AI-powered assistant called the Rabbit r1. The 25-minute keynote (an Apple-like launch strategy) does a great job of explaining the features and use cases.If you're wondering why this gadget in particular caught people's attention, just look at it. It's beautiful. That's because it was designed by Teenage Engineering(!), the Swedish consumer electronics company famous for its award-winning designs and discerning product partnerships, like with Panic for the Playdate handheld gaming device.I'd probably buy one if I hadn't just lost my job. It's only $199 (not cheap, but way more competitively priced than expected) and there's no monthly fee.But, like the Apple segment above, the story itself is much less interesting than the juxtaposition of this story against another. In this case, the Rabbit r1 next to the Humane AI Pin, which I discussed in November's newsletter.Both are AI assistants, but one just feels right (the Rabbit r1) and one just feels wrong (the Humane AI Pin).At this point, I think the real difference between these two products is transparency and trust. As someone who uses AI on a near-daily basis, I know how often it's wrong. The r1 gives users a view into what's happening, whereas the AI Pin relies on blind trust.It's possible that in the future we'll realize that the AI Pin was ahead of its time. But that doesn't help the product today. Between the two, I'll take the r1 every time.🏡 Love thy neighborLastly, my wife Avi asked if she could write a section for the newsletter this month, so I happily gave up some space for her thoughts. Her inspiration: a story in The Atlantic that particularly resonated. I'll let her take it from here:For the last few years, I've been really fascinated by contemporary sociology—thinking about interesting questions like why we live the way that we live, why we behave as we do, and why our lives look a certain way. I'm always trying to understand more about modern human behavior and, more importantly, I seek out ways to have deep, meaningful relationships with the people in my life. I think that America's late 20th century embrace of individualism has enabled people to pursue their dreams in a way never before possible in history, but that it's also produced some unintended consequences (paywall bypass) in the ways we live.I've never been a particularly religious person, and I've never liked the argument that "societies need religious institutions in order to function." But I do think that our country is drifting away from the institutions and structures that create collective moral formation, religious or not. This article presents moral formation as something that's not solely created by religious spaces, but that used to be more prevalent in many spheres of life. I especially liked how it recognizes the failings of pre-1950 moral structures and proposes ways to implement a new moral framework for our modern society.End noteIf you've enjoyed this, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend. You can send them here to sign up.I'll be sending out these emails once per month, and I'm happy you're along for the ride. I'm trying to make it one of the best things that arrives in your inbox each month, so thoughts and feedback are always appreciated. You can just reply to this email.Also, if you find anything interesting, send it my way.Thanks for reading. Until next time,DannThanks for reading The Dann Chronicles! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. 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