Work Related .8

a multitasked stream of consciousness

December 11, 2024

For this preview issue, I'm working out some rough bits in my process but think I have a decent handle on how this is going to go. My goal will be to deliver a newsletter probably 3x a week to start but as things get going I'll likely evolve that and include longer-term round-ups, more frequent deliveries, and maybe even some specific topics of interest.

As someone who has often realized that my consumption of information and connection to content is not "normal," I'm going to work hard for you to keep you connected. Let's go!

It wasn’t just that the names of the peri- and menopause start-ups sounded like they’d been churned out by a millennial baby-name generator — Winona for telehealth, Stella for symptom-tracking, Zoe for subscription nutritional powder — it was that they were encouraging women to all but lean in to their new handicap. We were to “make menopause” our “b*tch” (by signing up with a diet coach who’d trademarked the slogan); to “spark menopositivity” (by buying from Womaness; a line of skin-care products for women over 40); to become a “Meno Bosslady” with an online course from an integrative health practitioner and body builder, which promised to help rebalance our bodies and create a “success mindset.” I wondered: Did developing a success mindset mean no longer having symptoms?

- The Cut

The Cut is always good and even though I sometimes have to get creative with the paywall, it's worth the effort. While in my rotation, I don't consider it regular enough to be a subscriber yet. The Perimenopause Gold Rush (paywall) reveals the remarkable wellness machine using sadly all-to-typical tactics 💸 to lure people going through a new and unknown process with the suggestion of an unregulated and unproven fix. Long but solid read!

Sticking with health and fitness, ClassPass released their annual lookback showing the trends in class usage and Pilates has been on an absolute tear 🚀 . Have you tried it yet? It takes a remarkable amount of control and can be surprisingly challenging while looking deceptively simple.

 Google said its quantum computer, based on a computer chip called Willow, needed less than five minutes to perform a mathematical calculation that one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers could not complete in 10 septillion years, a length of time that exceeds the age of the known universe.

— NYT

If you know nothing about Quantum computing, I recommend this great video piece from Bloomberg which sets things up nicely around the work IBM been doing.

Google latest Gemini release includes Deep Research, a new premium feature, which can go well beyond just answering even a complex prompt and deliver a research plan and sourced and summarized content. I’ve yet to try this, but it sounds like it could be pretty killer for new projects.

Looking for something new to watch? The New Yorker has their best of 2024 list up … and yes another paywall. Amazingly (or not), I’ve seen none of the listed shows. Like the old man I’ve become, I’ve found myself in a Paramount+ / Taylor Sheriden multiverse and just cannot believe how much one person can literally produce.

You might not be hip to the latest brain rot lingo, but certainly, you know The Rizzler 🤌 ! Today I learned he’s only in 3rd grade! I knew he was young but thought middle school. He continues to live his best life and dropped a song and commercial with MGA all about those toys.

Not bad for a first run … hit reply with any feedback or questions. As this is just getting going I expect things to evolve.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here!