The Dann Chronicles: August 🍦
A quantum leap forward, Em's reckoning, forecasting improvements, data broker woes, and turning TV shows into books
August 2024
Hey all,
Often, I work on these newsletters right up to the last minute. I like to send them Monday mornings, which means 80% of the writing usually happens the weekend before it's delivered to your inbox. I also like to send it the second-to-last Monday of the month, because it means if I procrastinate, I still have one more weekend to crunch-write and send it out before the month ends.
This month, I'm finished early. As you're reading this (assuming it's roughly the same day as it was sent) I'll be kicking off my vacation in Italy. We're visiting Rome, Florence, Bologna, and Venice, roughly following an itinerary dreamed up by ChatGPT. Oh, what a world.
If any readers have any must-see recommendations (it's our first time ever in Italy), feel free to reply to this email or drop a comment. Unlike my previous camping trip, I'll have full access to the Internet and would love to hear from you.
Ciao! See you on the other side.
-Dann
⚛️ Quantum Leap
Sure, AI gets all the hype. But, like I said back in December, there's a different technology that's racing towards a critical inflection point and will have a massive impact on our world (including its impact on AI). And that's Quantum Computing.
One of the biggest challenges with quantum computing is maintaining the integrity of quantum entanglement over long distances. But a recent test right here in New York City achieved a fidelity of 99% when sending 20,000 photons per second down a 34-km-long section of a fiber-optic network. Quantum entanglement is fragile, being easily disturbed by environmental factors like vibrations, bending, and temperature fluctuations in optical fibers.
This is a big deal because it both 1) achieved high throughput and reliability and 2) utilized standard infrastructure—all of which is critical for the development of practical, large-scale quantum networks for commercial applications.
Commercial quantum computing has the potential to be the single largest leap in technology...ever. I just hope we've figured out how to make artificial intelligence safe before things really take off.
🪦 Cleaning out my closet
After discussing Kendrick Lamar last month, I'd be remiss to not talk about Eminem's new album The Death of Slim Shady. Particularly because it's an album targeted specifically at my age group and demographic.
This project is so interesting because it's a self-described conceptual album. Meaning, it's meant to be listened to in full and in order. The album tells story (sort of like a musical) and is better appricated as the sum of all its parts.
In it, Eminem grapples with his own past as an "edgy" rapper, exploring his alter ego Slim Shady and the extensive history of misogynist, homophobic, ableist, and generally mean-spirited lyrics.
Throughout the album, Eminem talks about being "cancelled" by Gen Z, which is more of a literary device than a real situation. Every so often, someone in the younger generation might take offense at an old line or two and loudly complain online, but Eminem hasn’t been “cancelled” in the same way other artists have. Fans will loudly proclaim that Eminem can’t be cancelled.
But why? Other public figures have been cancelled for less. And this is what Eminem is really exploring in this new album. He’s somehow created this Slim Shady “cartoon character” that can say whatever terrible things he wants and face no repercussions.
The Death of Slim Shady is a lyrically ambitious project grapples with his mean-spirited past, fully acknowledging how he’s punched down as a way to make money, and acknowledges the hypocrasy of bullying people while simultaniously lashing out at being bullied.
The humor of the late 90’s and early 2000’s was often edgy and mean. Many of his original fans—now mature adults instead of insecure teens with something to prove—have similarly evolved. The theme resonates.
In addition to the album, I also enjoyed this 12-minute video titled Slim Shady vs. Marshall Mathers: THE FACE-OFF from Complex. In it, Marshall Mathers literally has a conversation with his cartoonish persona Slim Shady, exploring many of the same themes as the album.
As someone who grew up listening to Eminem (and whose own humor has grown and evolved over the years), I've found this whole Death of Slim Shady project utterly captivating.
And my mind is still trying to wrap my head around the complexity of his verse in the song Fuel.
🌪 Weather or not
Q: What's the only job where you can be wrong most of the time and still get paid?
A: A weather forecaster!
You probably haven’t heard that joke in a while, and not just because it’s been utterly overused. It just doesn’t ring true in the same way as it did 10+ years ago. Weather forecasts, while not perfect, have vastly improved thanks to technological advancements. And it's about to get even more impressive.
What was once reserved for super computers can now be run on a laptop, thanks to artificial intelligence (NTY gift article):
Importantly, the A.I. models can run on desktop computers, making the technology much easier to adopt than the room-size supercomputers that now rule the world of global forecasting.
This means modeling thousands of subtle variations to help spot extreme weather events with greater frequency and accuracy. A skill that will only get more important as our climate continues to change.
This new AI-powered technology will be rolling out to meteorologist stations soon, and will most likely run alongside legacy systems rather than replace them wholesale.
That’s hot.
🛡️ Breach Party USA
Looks like we have another serious security breach on our hands. This time, social security numbers, names, addresses, and other sensitive information for millions of Americans were exposed. Sigh.
The compromised company is National Public Data, a consumer data broker that does background checks, run by an actor and retired sheriff’s deputy from Coral Springs, Florida named Salvatore Verini Jr..
So how did Sal get his hands on this personal data of yours? By scouring federal, state and local government records such as voting registries, property filings, marriage certificates, court documents, etc.
Not only are Americans unable to opt out of having these records collected and sold. But it's also fairly easy for anyone to collect and start trading:
You see, here in America, virtually anyone can become a consumer data broker. And with few exceptions, there aren’t any special requirements for brokers to show that they actually care about protecting the data they collect, store, repackage and sell so freely.
And this is why you're crazy if you don't have freezes on all three of the credit bureaus. It's totally free and will take you no more than 20 minutes.
Just keep in mind that Credit Freeze (free) is different than Credit Lock (paid). The latter is an upsell the bureaus try and fool customers into using instead. Because why not try and throw in one last scam before you enable proper identity protection?
👂 An avid reader
Do you have a TV series that's become your go-to show for "background noise?" One where you've seen the episodes so many time that it's become the perfect white noise for doing other tasks for falling asleep. In my younger years, it was Futurama, but these days it's 30 Rock. For several readers, I imagine it would be The Office.
If you answered "yes" to my question, then you're part of a small niche of readers who will appreciate this Pro Tip I've discovered. I've turned entire seasons of my favorite background show into audiobooks for increased convenience.
Hear me out. If you're doing another task or trying to fall asleep, you're not actually watching the screen. Plus, you've seen each episode so many times already that you can picture it in your head. Moving audio-only greatly increases the flexibility of playback. And making them into an audiobook allows you to save your place and/or skip episodes ("chapters") with ease.
Here's my conversion workflow for MacOS. Start with a season of episodes as digital video files (converted only from media you physically own, of course). Then convert these video files to mp3 using Smart Converter Pro 3. Then, find (or design) square audiobook cover art and use Audiobook Binder to join these mp3s into a single m4a audiobook. Finally, manually manage these audiobooks in the iOS app Bound.
Sure, I'm a weirdo for converting all seven seasons of 30 Rock into audiobook. But it tickles my brain in just the right way to help me fall asleep or entertain me during a flight. And for a certain small subset of readers, it may do the same.
End note
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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