7DS: Artificial Intelligence and Continuing the Dry Days

Here we are, week two. I must confess I’ve thought about this newsletter off and on all week long. I like the idea of having a low-lift way to distribute the little bits and bops of knowledge, life hacks, fun facts, and moments of zen out into the world. Thanks for reading and I hope you find this helpful in some way.

On Technology….

This video was generated by AI:

Text to Video. It’s a difficult concept to wrap your head around. Typing a description like: “The camera directly faces colorful buildings in Burano Italy. An adorable Dalmatian looks through a window on a building on the ground floor. Many people are walking and cycling along the canal streets in front of the buildings” and boom AI creates a video.

OpenAI’s announcement of Sora this week has my head spinning. In short, Sora is “…an AI model that can create realistic and imaginative scenes from text instructions.”

Yes, text-to-video AI is here. Alright, it has kinda been here for a while, but y’all it is really here. Very soon, you will be able to type out a basic description of a scene and Sora will churn that out into a very realistic short form video. If I ran a stock video service right now, I’d be incredibly concerned.

I am not sure where you land in the world of AI. Whether you think it is coming for our jobs (or lives) or if you think AI is an incredibly handy tool to learn and utilize, either way you have to be in awe of how quickly the technology is evolving.

The implications for this are huge, scary, exciting, mind-boggling…I have no appropriate adjectives. I’ll have more on AI in general in coming newsletters, but do yourself a favor and spend 12(ish) minutes watching this overview from MKBHD. As a teaser, here is a screenshot of AI generated video of puppies playing in the snow.

On Health….

For the past two years, I have participated in Dry January. For those unfamiliar, Dry January is an annual initiative that encourages people to abstain from alcohol for the entire month of January. This year, I used the Try Dry app to help track my progress. The app is simple to use and adds a nice layer of accountability to your goal. Looking back over the month to see how you've done is extremely helpful. I've continued using it, and although February has been slightly more soggy than January, seeing my drinking behavior has been very valuable.

You'll notice I drank on three days in January, but those were planned exceptions. To compensate, I began my dry period in December, with the exception of half a glass of champagne on New Year's Eve. The app is private and serves solely for your benefit. I appreciate its straightforward interface and the boost of dopamine I receive every time I press the Stayed Dry button.

On Business…

Last week, I talked about the book "Unreasonable Hospitality." A fellow Sporcle user pointed me to the video below. Despite its cheesiness, it serves as a valuable and timeless reminder of the importance of exceptional customer service. This is something you can appreciate regardless of whether you work in the restaurant industry.

On Gratitude…

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a pretty wild week. No matter your ups or downs, I hope you can take a quiet moment and breathe and reflect on something positive that happened. It doesn’t have to be monumental or life-changing, even if it is just two minutes to say thank you to the universe for a roof over your head. As Doris Day said "Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty." So give thanks and enjoy your wealth.

This newsletter thrives with your support. Share with your friends, family, frenemies, and anyone who you think might find it interesting. Every time you share this newsletter a new kitten is born.