Sunset Sky Trails

Sunset Sky Trails, this image is available to licence on EyeEm

#112

Friday, June 22, 2018

In This Edition:
The Process, AI debater, Chicago Express Loop, NUIG Computer Science CPD, Red Shark Bikes, book review: Elon Musk. 100 best YouTube videos & Dan Mace's Broadway musical!

This week I learned about The Process on an episode of The Tim Ferriss Show podcast. The episode is titled How To Suceed In High-Stress situations, but I think the content can also be used to just help you get through some hard days.
The podcast contains excerpts from The Obstacle by Ryan Holiday, a book that highlights how the principles of Stoicism can be used as an effective operating system for living life. The Process, as described in the podcast, is the act of breaking large tasks down into manageable chunks and completing them well. You don't have to think about the larger goal, just stick to the process. Put another way, by Ireland rugby coach Joe Schmidt, win the moment in front of your face.

IBM Debater Beats Human

Image: IBM Research

The IBM Debater, a Watson AI powered debating platform, beat a human debater in San Franciso on June 17. The debate between Noa Ovadia, the 2016 Israeli National Debating Champion, and IBM Debater was on the topic of public funding for space exploration and according to an audience vote, IBM Debater sucessfully debate the for side of the topic.

Source:
New Atlas
AI & ML Innovation Video
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Chicago O'Hare Boring Company Loop

Image: The Boring Company

https://vimeo.com/259707751

Elon Musk's Boring Company has won the contract to build a new transport system between Chicago city centre and O'Hare airport. The Boring Company will build an Express Loop system allowing the 16 mile trip to be covered in 12 minutes using underground pods running up to 150 mph. The trip is estimated to cost $25 each way.

Source:
Singularity Hub
Innovation Tech
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NUIG Computer Science CPD Programmes

Image: NUI Galway

The School of Education in NUIG has received funding from Google's Educator Grants programme to develop professional development programmes for teachers. The CPD programmes aim to prepare and support teachers in the teaching of computational thinking and computer science.

Source:
NUI Galway
Tech Video
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Red Shark Bikes

Image: Red Shark Bikes

Spanish Industrial designer Josep Rubau has launched Red Shark Bikes. The bikes are pedal powered trimaran which allow riders to pedal and travel on water. Three different versions are available, one for fun (€4,995), one for adventures with extra storage (€6,995) and for high-performance sport (€9,995) made of carbon fibre. I'm not sure if these bikes are one of the greatest convergence ideas ever, like wheels on suitcases, or not at all. The images of a cyclist on the middle of the ocean are a bit funny, I'm not sure I'd like to be on one without a life vest! :-p

Source:
New Atlas
Innovation Video
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Book Review: Elon Musk - Ashlee Vance

Image: Amazon

I just finished reading Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping our Future by Ashlee Vance. It's an easy to read biography/commentary of Elon Musk's business successes and how his life and experiences account or attribute to them. It's very interesting to read the blow by blow accounts of the many many ups and downs of all of Musk's companies and Vance does a good job of trying to get multiple views on any incident by interviewing as many people involved as possible.

The scale and breadth at which Elon Musk has grown his companies is remarkable. The book focuses on Space X and Tesla for majority of the time and sometimes it's hard to remember that all of the risks, failures and triumphs of each company happened in parallel rather than as sequential actions in Elon Musk's business career, which makes his progress even more remarkable!

I really enjoyed reading about the early days of Tesla and SpaceX and about how both underdogs entered into their respective arenas as laughable upstarts to the incumbants, to then go on and run rings around those companies in true David Vs Golaith stories. If you're ever unsure about a project or a goal, remember that Elon Musk once went to Moscow wanting to buy Russian ICBM rockets and sold an electric car power system to Mercedes-Benz, the company who invented the two stroke petrol engine!

While he comes across as no angel in the book, the sheer magnitude of what he has accomplished to date is awe-inspiring. I recommend getting the updated version of the book if you can, it includes some extra epilogue commentary by Vance on the goings on between when the book was written in 2015 and 2017.

If you use this affiliate link to buy the book on Amazon, the commission will go towards supporting the running of FoundThisWeek.com (thanks!).

Source:
Amazon Affiliate Link
Innovation Review
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100 Best Youtube Videos Of All Time

Some many videos! #20 is great!

Source:
Thrillist
Life Video
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Dan Mace's Weekly Movies

Image: Youtube, Dan Mace.

Dan Mace is a filmmaker form South Africa who for the last few months has been Casey Neistat's sort of apprentice, helping out making vlogs for Casey's YouTube channel/show called 368. Dan left a successful career in filmmaking in South Africa to kickstart his YouTube career in New York (with a little help from Casey). Dan's plan is to use his creative talents to make conscious content, videos with a message or something to ponder about. It's very interesting both to watch Dan progress in this plan from week to week while also seeing how he creatively delivers a message wrapped in visually interesting and narrative based videos. He really smacks it with his latest video about the sounds of NYC.

Source:
Dan Mace, Youtube
Life Video
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About Found This Week

Found This Week is a curated blog of interesting posts, articles, links and stories in the world of technology, science and life in general.
Each edition is curated by Daryl Feehely every Friday and highlights cool stuff found each week.
The first 104 editions were published on Medium before this site was created, check out the archive here.

Daryl Feehely

I’m a web consultant, contract web developer, technical project manager & photographer originally from Cork, now based in London. I offer my clients strategy, planning & technical delivery services, remotely & in person. I also offer freelance CTO services to companies in need of technical bootstrapping or reinvention. If you think I can help you in your business, check out my details on http://darylfeehely.com

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