Notes for September 9th 2023
- This was a hell of a week in terms of general hustle and bustle. Lots going on at work, kids moving to a new crèche. Everyone around us being busy. But we somehow managed to swing a date night out of it at the end of the week. Which is why my posts are delayed by a day this week.
- We went to the 2-star Michelin marvel that is Chapter One. Absolutely eye-gougingly expensive, but the food was a delight. So good it's barely food; it's artistic expression. And the wine pairings we got, though insanely expensive, we're gorgeous.
- We'll definitely be back.
- I gave a little talk to some teenagers (winners in various categories of Young Scientist awards) this week. One of the questions was whether they should bother with Computer Science since AI will take over anyway. My response was broadly that AI is a great tool to disseminate info quickly. But it will not automate high end engineering roles away.
- Late last week my wife's grandmother passed away. We've definitely entered that phase of life, where we watch people get old. Stark reminder to live your life while you can.
- The weather in Ireland has been hot. No, not central European levels of heat. But intolerable enough for Irish people to suffer, complain and whinge a lot. Which hopefully gets people to think more seriously about climate change.
- I find it interesting and quirky that we're seeing a backlash on "big tech." I don't know what's spurred it on, but I get the impression that Elon has now taken the mantle of representing all tech billionaire douchebag bros. The hubris, wankery and lack of diversity in that pool of tech bros is nauseating. And the problem is, while people might rally against the techbros, they'll still consume the tech itself, allowing them to become even more wealthy.
- I heard a great analogy about wealth and it's lack of even distribution. Imagine two people playing a game against each other. Both understand the rules of the game, and play to win. But one player gets double points for each turn. They don't know this, but they just do. The other player can see something is up, and gets annoyed at the player who's receiving an unfair amount of points. The player getting the winning share of points doesn't even know they're getting an advantage, so gets defensive over their haul.
- We spent a few days with extended family down in Dunmore East, where we have a family holiday gaff. It was absolutely beautiful. And almost made up for the total lack of beach days we've had this year.
- It was commented to me that there's a lot of stuff out there to self-host. Basically to get "off the cloud," at home. I have an M1 Mac Mini sitting around idle, and I should really lean into it. RSS readers, email clients, "acquisition of entertainment," etc. I need a few hours and some messing with Docker to set it all up, but it feels like a worthy investment.