April 2024
Hey 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 it
I 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 unleashed
I'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 me
Every 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 eye
The 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 Fiat
Did 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 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
The Dann Chronicles: April 🐣