Now | December 2024 - Coffee Journeys

This is my “now” page inspired by Derek Sievers. It answers “what I’m doing now?“. My life, projects and priorities. I post an update here every 1-3 months.

What’s up as of December 2024?

December: A Month of Magic, Mystery, and Mind-Blowing Discoveries. This December, our days have been brimming with joyful traditions, cinematic thrills, and thought-provoking insights. From the enchanting tale of “The Snowman” bringing holiday magic to life, to an edge-of-your-seat spy thriller based on Cold War espionage in Poland, to diving deep into the game-changing “State of AI Report 2024,” every moment has been unforgettable. Curious about the stories behind these adventures? Let’s unwrap the details together!

Spending quality time with my family watching “The Snowman” show ☃️

We traditionally prepare for Christmas quite early. We have already decorated the Christmas tree and our Elf on the Shelf is already up to his naughty tricks!

Let me tell you about a really cool show called “The Snowman” that people love to watch in London during Christmas time.

It’s a story about a little boy who builds a snowman. One night, something magical happens – the snowman comes to life! Can you imagine how exciting that would be?

The boy and the snowman become friends and go on an amazing adventure together. They explore the boy’s house, play with toys, and even meet other snowmen from different parts of the world. The best part? They fly through the sky! It’s like they’re walking on air.

In the show, you don’t hear any talking. Instead, there’s beautiful music and lots of dancing. The actors use their bodies to tell the story, which is really fun to watch.

Here are some cool things about the show:

It lasts about 1 hour and 50 minutes, with a little break in the middle.
Kids of all ages can watch it, even really little ones.
There’s a part where the snowman and boy fly, and it looks so real that people in the audience go “Wow!”
You get to see lots of different snowmen dancing together, and even Father Christmas shows up!

We loved this show because it’s full of magic, fun, and Christmas spirit. It’s a perfect story to watch with your family during the holidays.

Enjoying a spy movie based on a true story that happened in Poland during the Cold War 🕵️

We recently watched a movie during a cold and windy weekend. As a family, we love spy movies and we found one based on a true story that happened in our home country, Poland. What’s more, it was the most significant espionage collaboration of all time involving the CIA! It was totally mind-blowing!

“Jack Strong” is a 2014 Polish political thriller which is based on the true story of Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski, a Polish military officer who became a CIA spy during the Cold War.

The film follows Kuklinski’s journey as he secretly provides the CIA with over 35,000 pages of sensitive Soviet military information from 1972-1981. As a high-ranking Polish Army officer, he passes critical intelligence including Soviet nuclear strategies, technical data on tanks, and plans to suppress the Solidarity labor movement.

“Jack Strong” is praised as a compelling Cold War spy thriller that offers a nuanced look at the personal and political costs of espionage.

Reflecting on the “State of AI Report 2024.” 🦾

AI is everywhere, whether we like it or not. It is going to be embedded into most of our workflows and will be developing rapidly. It is good to understand it and see where the effort is going. My new routines in 2024 regarding AI include:

Using AI “plugins” such as Drafts for grammar and clarity action
Utilizing Agent-line Podcast companion called Droidella
Employing a tutor for my 11-year-old son, who helps with material explaining concepts and also prepares questions, quizzes, etc.

I found a very good summary on that topic.
The State of AI Report 2024 provides a comprehensive overview of the artificial intelligence landscape across research, industry, politics, and safety.

A document in the form of a slide deck containing over 200 slides!
Some less obvious insights:

AI’s Role in Elections: The potential misuse of generative AI during elections highlights the need for robust regulatory frameworks to ensure fair democratic processes.
Inference Costs and Infrastructure: The focus on inference infrastructure development underscores the increasing importance of optimizing AI deployment costs and efficiency.
Cultural Impact of AI Music: The rise of AI-generated music reaching mainstream charts suggests a shift in cultural production and consumption patterns, potentially redefining creative industries.