01292023

This week was a bit slow. My back has a pinched nerve and I have been lying on the heating pad. On the bright side I have read a lot.

• For the Workshop, the electrician was out and basically finished the wiring. Next step is to dig the trench and get a intermediate inspection.
• I read “Steal like an Artist” this week. I have read it before, but it is one of those books that are easy and useful to read multiple times. It frames it as “Artist”, but it really applies to any sort of creative endeavor (which some would argue is all art). The book covers 10 points… with some being better than others. I will share my thoughts on a separate post (thoughts on Steal like an Artist).
• This week I also finished Cal Newport’s “Deep Work” audio book. I really have mixed reviews here. While I am 100% behind the notion that focused time is more impactful and productive than distracted time (seems pretty obvious), this book labors these points. Read more thoughts on Deep Work.
• I spent some more time with Chat GPT this week. Specifically I worked with it to come up with a stretch routine(see pinched nerve) that did not include bending over. The thing that really stands out is that it is not just a search, but a interactive encounter. I asked for stretch and it returned them. Then I gave feedback to add or exclude exercises and then reorder them. It works great to get this list of ideas. There is however a trust issue. It will confident give answers that are not what you asked for or simply wrong. You must be vigilant to call it out, redirect and curate. At the end of the day I still think I got a useful list of 20 “personalized”
• QUOTE – I am also a big fan of quotes and came across one this week that I is a new favorite from Socrates: “Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” How great is that for a life-long learning practice. This is something I hope I can instill in my children. The education system feels like a chore and something to be completed. Changing your thinking to understand that knowledge is for yourself and the education system is just a tool there to help is not obvious to teenagers. I know it wasn’t for me stretches faster and more easily than other methods.