After an extended break, our first episode of the year is here! CES 2025 has come and been (https://www.ces.tech/) * Michael thinks about persuading his cats to come to work * I want to charge my phone in 5 econds Are we dry January-ing? No. Resolutions: * Mark will play more darts * Michael will listen to political podcasts and 2 new albums a week * Georgia will go to places where people will help us meet goals What's it like being a Consultant Strategist? Companies are going full on RTO - why? Are governments pressuring big business back into the office? Georgia wastes 50k on unnecessary cloud spend, currently ranked about 2nd on our "Breaking Prod" leaderboard. Is the future of relationships just dating a robot? Big Topic Georgia has been involved in the disability and age care space. Some of the problems we've encountered, and how we can tackle them. How does Georgia fit it all in? In the News Tiktok ban looking likely (https://www.macrumors.com/2025/01/10/tiktok-ban-looking-likely-after-u-s-supreme-court-hears-case/) LG’s creepy air purifiers (https://mashable.com/article/ces-2025-lg-aero-cat-tower-creepy-cat) Apple Intelligence notification summaries not quite good enough (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/dec/14/bbc-says-it-has-complained-to-apple-over-ai-generated-fake-news-attributed-to-broadcaster) Facebook ditching fact checkers (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/07/ditching-facebook-factcheckers-major-step-back-public-discourse) Facebook has AI profiles (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/03/meta-ai-powered-instagram-facebook-profiles) JP morgan 5 days RTO (https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2025/01/14/jpmorgan-disables-internal-comments-after-employee-backlash-over-rto-policy/#:~:text=The%20bank's%20leadership%2C%20in%20an,week%2C%20with%20only%20limited%20exceptions.) Ghostty terminal emulator release, from Mitchell Hashimoto (https://ghostty.org/) Recommendations Books Mark read (listened to) Nuclear War: A Scenario (https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Nuclear-War-Audiobook/B0CN3NXK3D) Mark has a potential contender for equally grim (because it’s true), Alexei Navalny’s Patriot (https://www.amazon.co.uk/PATRIOT-Pre-order-inspiring-fearless-opposition/dp/1847927033) TV: Black Doves (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27995113/) Spy Drama with Keira Knightly and Ben Whishaw Game of Throws (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34870889/) and Dart Kings on Sky for documentaries about darts now and then. Severance (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11280740/) Season 2 is out on Friday. Silo season 2 (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14688458/) Traitors season 3 (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23743442/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_traitors) Mr. MacMahon (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33301469/) on Netflix Music Cahill Costello (https://music.apple.com/gb/album/cahill-costello-ii/1770795493) Michael recommends getting a Stanley Cup Next time... We're hoping to have Sam Jones on, talking about burnout, journalling, and plenty more fun stuff. Special Guest: Georgia L. Smith.
