Paddywack

A few years ago I was considering setting up something like this for B2B startups that get stuffed around / dragged along / ghosted by corporates to try and change behaviour. Including positive reviews…

This reminded me of a friend of my dad’s from South Africa - Don (Donald) Devine, who bought into a the Lighthouse Depot years ago and rode the (then) lighthouse fad.

It was amazing seeing this successful large scale businessman turning his attention to a family business and growing that.

RIP to Don, my dad, and as I’ve just discovered, the business…

Can you recommend where to find beginners projects that “do stuff”.

My first big startup had the following on the cover of the business plan (it disrupted consulting):

“Some think, Some do, Some both, But few”.

Got that from a lecturer.

I’ll try, but not succeed with a view from Australia..

Companies and governments have been concerned about data and AI sovereignty, and chip (processing) access. The new risks imposed by the USA are increasing this concern / push.

So, it’s hardly surprising that Sama is getting a lot of calls for local instances.

However, if the data etc. moves back to the USA this is exactly the opposite of the control companies and governments are looking for.

So, fair proposal, wrong execution.

Reminds me of something that a Telco exec once said in jest - “A bank can track which hotel you stayed at last night, the Telco knows who you slept with”

I may write a post. A lot of the effort was removing weight without killing the aesthetics. It has been an awesome outlet for creativity and fiddling. I have built everything myself, with input from tradies - everyone just loves helping. Maintanance I leave to the mechanics.

So far it has (a) back bench converted into sleeper area (b) slushie machines, foam machine, beer keg pourer, slide out bbq (c) built a roof that you can sleep in. (D) roof lifts with linear actuators to expose dj lights/smoke machine in the centre (e) plumbing / electrics etc so we can use off-grid.

It has heaps of storage space and is super fun and easy to drive!

I randomly bought a fire truck a few months ago. I was looking for something to convert into a camper van, and found my truck: (A) low mileage, compared to other trucks because of the usage. Ambulances etc. are super high mileage. (B) they have excellent maintenance, so it’s ship shape (C) low comparable purchase cost due to tiny resale market.

I’m loving it. Kids love it. Community loves it. Wife tolerates it. Converted it into a camper and party truck!

In developing countries (Africa, South Asia, South America) many of the banks were disrupted by mobile payments providers. Granted, it was more that they missed servicing the 80% of their markets that were unserviced but still needed to do things we all take for granted. Some of these are now the default payments systems.

I often tell my people to “stop decking around”, or “don’t be a deckhead”…

Out of interest, who would be in the top X of that list?

> So AI isn't really a tool for creating substance. It's a tool for automating impression management.

I was speaking to a design lecturer the other evening. His fascinating insight was that:

1. The best designers get so much fulfilment out of practicing the craft of design.

2. With the advent of low cost “impression making”, the role has changed to one of “review a lot of mediocre outputs and pick the least crap one”

3. This is robbing people of the pleasure and reward associated with craftsmanship.

I have noted this is applicable so many other crafts, and it’s really sad!

Edited afterthought… Is craftsmanship being replaced by “clickandreviewmanship”?

That’s fascinating.

I get a big mental hiccup when trying to reference a group and am fearful to use the wrong terminology in case it causes offence / hurt / outrage.

I never mean malice, and it’s especially bad when a term changes and isn’t even fully agreed on by the group it refers to.

Like a Pavlovian dog, this kick of anxiety actually feels like it estranges me from groups rather than brings me closer (my intention) because of the fear I have of making a miss-step.

Years ago Johannesburg put in an Olympic bid. Because of the high altitude (1753m) they had issues affecting a number of disciplines when it came to records due to the thinner air...

If I recall correctly: - Javeline would go further (less air resistance) - High cardio events would go slower (less oxygen for athletes)

That would have been a "slow pool" factor all things being equal!

I wonder if SpaceX could put cameras on the far side of the Starlink satellites to make a network gazing outwards. To help compensate for the frustration they are causing astronomers…

I’m not a scientist, but is it not at terminal velocity for most of the way down by definition? So it’s not slowing down to reach terminal velocity, it’s just that the resistance becomes higher thus reducing terminal velocity?

Thanks - such an awesome perspective! I’ll pay more attention to the character and see how it goes!

It will save a lot of internal frustration if I nail that!

Mmmm. I think I intuitively study like this, but I often have issues recalling the original word. For example - remembering “shy” for the dwarf “Bashful”, my brain will cycle through heaps of synonyms trying to pick which one is right (while not not making a fool of myself).

Could he not just have bought the rights from the studio that owns “Her”, and have been in the clear?

I was brought to Pakistan in 2008 to help lead the launch of EasyPaisa, a mobile money platform. It was extreme, not only due to the scale of the launch (1000’s of branches on day 1), the complexity of setting up cash logistics etc across the country, but also because of the on-going terror attacks etc. It was hard, but super rewarding - so many people so thankful for how it made their lives that little bit easier! Best team ever!

Then imagine it feeding all of this through Neuralink as extra senses...

These kind of posts always remind me of a quote from the movie “life is Beautiful”…

“There is nothing as necessary as the unnecessary…”

A few years ago I was thinking of how to use powerlines to recharge drones using the electromagnetic field. Imagine a drone hanging from a line like a bat, recharging in remote areas.

I think MIT had a patent for that. This could be the perfect use case for that too..?

Is this a possible solution? Gravitational lense telescope?

https://youtu.be/NQFqDKRAROI?feature=shared

Yep - I am curious as to where the mental health subject matter expertise and validation of outcomes fits into your budget (unless it is more a directory or something more “benign” not requiring that).

Not 100% sure I agree…

https://www.ourherd.io/ has had really strong feedback that it has had a positive impact by actually being a social app tailored for mental health…

A bit off topic, but I love “learning to fly” by Pink Floyd… “Young tied and twisted, just an earth bound misfit”.

I worked in Bangladesh for 3 years, and it is such a land of contrasts.

The main electricity supply company at the time was running manual billings from a big room filled with manual general ledgers, one “T” account per household.

It is a humbling, impoverished country with its main riches being its resilient, kind, resourceful people.

Down the road/bay from Chittagong are the shipwrecking yards - a big time investment but worth watching is this… https://youtu.be/5jdEG_ACXLw

<edit> the film I am looking for is Iron Eaters, a very human view of the horrific shipyards. The above film is from India, but still worth looking at.