Curio Research Quarterly Vol. 22
Hello, curious people! Thanks for reading this next installment of my quarterly newsletter. I have news on the intersection of environmental sustainability and technology in this issue and updates on our latest travel adventures.
Business
Work
The project I started with 10up is still ongoing. The pace has been slower than expected for various reasons. Sometimes, things just work out that way, and you just have to roll with it. Their account team is on it, projecting optimism that we will start hitting our stride soon.
I’ve been rolling with it by picking up a multiphase project with SixZero to do the foundational and iterative research work for redesigning an HR application for small construction and home repair businesses. The client is very much a startup entrepreneur. I can’t get any meeting time with him, but asynchronous communications (usually emails and videos) are A-OK.
I also picked up some interviews for a branding project for a local real estate developer through my friend Shelly over at SOUPInsights. We had some trouble recruiting for our quota, but Shelly followed my advice about using LinkedIn to find the right people, and I got my friend and realtor to participate in the interviews. Ultimately, I made my quotas and delivered the required topline summaries in just enough time to tie up any random loose ends before I left on vacation.
Leadership
I’m taking a very “lead from behind” approach with my QRCA presidency. I’m avoiding the spotlight and giving the other directors and volunteers whatever support they need to do the jobs they want to do and giving them every opportunity to shine.
I wrote my first letter from the president for the QRCA’s quarterly magazine, where I kept the focus on the newly elected board of directors and the volunteers on the website taskforce. Our volunteers are a precious commodity, and I want to give them all the recognition and gratitude they deserve.
Conferences
The QRCA’s Worldwide Conference in Lisbon was a great success. The talks were excellently curated and created their own thematic pockets each day. The committee put a lot of intention towards the content. I really enjoyed Sidi Lemine’s talk on how to use AI and for what. The last talk I saw from him focused on cool AI tech, and this one showed a clear evolution to considered utility. Many notes were taken.
Another talk that spoke to me was Kendall Nash’s talk on kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with gold, as a metaphor for how we deliver insights. It’s easy to overdeliver a bunch of pottery shards (individual insights) instead of a mended piece that speaks to the whole picture and directly addresses your client’s specific business needs. I’ll be delivering more kintsugi in the future.
Next up is the Annual Conference in Denver. Early bird tickets are still available. I hope to see you there.
Tech and Sustainability
Here’s a new one from me, but some tech news and thought pieces that overlap with my concern about our environmental impact came to my attention.
Frugal Computing - People and businesses are using computers/computing for everything, and that trend is only increasing. In the past, we could rely on hardware to get more efficient and maintain or decrease our energy consumption. This expectation is no longer true. We now have to think about how software can help reduce the required amount of energy. We also have to consider making our devices last longer and our software backward compatible. Reduce/reuse/recycle, kids.
AI Contributes to Water Shortages - Currently, 2/3rds of the world regularly experiences water shortages, which are expected to worsen. Meanwhile, researchers estimate Microsoft used 700,000 litres of fresh water to keep servers cool while training Chat GPT. Plus, for every 20 - 50 questions Chat GPT tries to answer, its servers consume the equivalent of a 500ml bottle of water. Think about that next time you ask Dall-E or Midjourney to create a picture of a platypus in the style of Rembrandt.
Now, I want to be clear. I am using AI in my work. AI-powered qualitative analysis tools exist, and as the saying goes, “New technology will not take your job, but someone using that technology will.” So, I’m experimenting with it on one of my projects. I’m not using it for fun, and the data will not be used to train the algorithm. I am using an energy-intensive technology for an explicit business purpose. I wish I didn’t need to use it, but professionally, I should see what this can do.
Personal
Travel
Since my last letter, we took a weekend trip to Whistler for an epic hike that drained me, but the views were spectacular. Our trip coincided with our friends’ getaway, so we stopped at Nita Lake and spent time on the dock together on the way home.
A month later, we were off to Portugal. After some flight delays and rebooking, we started our trip in Porto, where we enjoyed their sunset drinking culture, heavy lunches paired with late evening dinners, and port wine depots. I didn’t think I liked port wine (too sweet). Turns out, I just disliked cheap port wine.
After Porto, we rented a car and drove to Geres to spend a few days at Portugal’s only national park. We only almost got lost a couple of times on our big hike on the second day. I’ll take that as a win.
After Geres, we did something unusual for us. We relaxed at a posh resort on a winery in the Duoro Valley and relaxed. We had no agenda other than to sit by the pool and visit a few wineries. The heat felt extraordinary, but we missed the worst of it when it was 47 degrees Celcius the previous month. I can’t even imagine.
After Duoro, we hopped from town to town. Only spending a night in each place. Coimbra (hot and uphill), Évora (hot and uphill, but more charming), and Vila Nova de Milfontes (beaches and sunsets).
After that, we dropped off the rental car in Lisbon and explored the city before the conference. The QRCA Worldwide Conference itself was great, as described above. As is the QRCA way, there were abundant opportunities to connect with fellow attendees. Aside from the small group dinners in the city, my husband and I chose to do the Portuguese cooking class the night after the conference. It was a chaotic delight. I don’t think we learned any new cooking techniques, but we had fun, and we ate well.
We had a few more days after the conference to explore the city. It was still hot, and the hills in Lisbon are no joke, but we made due. Popsicles were a lifesaver, as were bus services over walking and time well spent in a museum.
There were more flight delays for our trip home, but we made it safe and sound.
Media
Spend 20 hours (x2) on a plane, and you’re going to watch some movies. Most of what I watched was trashy because I didn’t want to have to care about how the cinematography looked on a tiny screen. Cocaine Bear fit the bill (don’t watch it, definitely trash). But I did watch some standouts:
Tár - It is no surprise that this Oscar-nominated film was great. Using a female main character to explore the exploitation of power dynamics and repercussions was clever. The end of the arc of their fall from grace was chef’s kiss perfect.
Polite Society - This female coming-of-age movie was also a British Hindi Kung Fu action comedy. I’m being serious. It was all of those things, and it was great.
Giving Back
Things are bad right now. I’m very upset over the compounding violence in Ukraine and Israel/Palestine. As a Jew, I am very conflicted about what is happening. Both sides had reasons for their actions, but reasons aren’t justifications. I hope to see a quick end to the violence and a humanitarian solution to the occupation. In response, I gave money to the Global Medic. It’s not nearly enough, but it’s something.
Until next quarter, do good research and do good things.
