Buckle up because this is a big one. This trip to the flight school was full of events, learnings and concluded with my first attempt at one of the nine theory exams you must pass before you can be granted your pilot’s license. Read on to see how I did.
Continue readingLearning to Fly: Lesson 17
This trip to the airfield was challenging, enlightening, embarrassing and involved an unexpected encounter with a YouTube star. I walked into the clubhouse and met with the Chief Flight Instructor at the school who, like Jiminny Cricket to Pinnochio, would be doing his best to turn me into a real
Continue readingState of the AI Nation 1: Google I/O 2023 Recap
On 4th May 2023, a leaked memo from a Google employee declared that the company “has no moats” when it comes to AI (artificial intelligence). A moat, in business strategy circles at least, means a competitive advantage that you can use to protect your business model. It means different things
Continue readingLearning to Fly: Lesson 16
Clouds covered the sky and grey cotton wool balls hung lower than the overcast here and there. As I steered the car north I thought it might end up being a ground school day. My instructor was stuck in the Caribbean. He flies heavy long-haul jets for a large airline
Continue readingLearning to Fly: Lesson 15
So, in case you didn’t see it, this isn’t actually lesson 15, lesson 15 happened a couple of weekends ago but the weather was so bad my instructor and I abandoned the lesson after only 10 minutes in the air, so I’m not counting it… My instructor also dropped a
Continue readingWhy Google Will Win the AI Wars
In 2003, Michael Burry predicted that the US housing market would collapse in 2007. As we all now know, he was right. In 2005 he started shorting the US housing market, convincing Wall Street banks to sell him Credit Default Swaps (CDSs) allowing him to bet against the housing market
Continue readingLearning to Fly: Lesson 14 1/2
I’ve spoken a bunch of times about the weather looking grim on my drive north to the airfield only for its little micro-climate to win out and blue skies to be waiting for me on arrival. But not this time. Checking the weather at local RAF Boulmer’s weather station, it
Continue readingLearning to Fly: Lesson 14
Aside from one intervention to avoid a heavy landing and several demonstrations, the instructor hasn’t touched the controls since my 2nd lesson. Over the last few lessons my instructor has been saying less and less to the point that I find myself cracking jokes just to break the silence. Of
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