AI Music Creation

I created an AI band and song this week as an illustration for a presentation I did at work. The prompt I gave was create a 90s alternative rock song with the theme of being a steward at a financial planning and investment management company. I went through several iterations to get to a version I liked and was really impressed with the music quality though the lyrics could use a bit of refining.

AI is a good collaboration tool but don’t think it will ever fully replace humans in the music creation process. Music and the arts are subjective and while AI can do a pretty good job of approximating human likes and dislikes, it doesn’t have the lived experience, emotions, and innate cultural understanding for how something will resonate with humans and the context they’re living in. There will always need to be humans to guide the process at some level.

Checkout the song at this link  https://suno.com/song/b2cc71c9-5509-4413-83f5-3ef03dc96623?sh=8OnG18UnyzkaXLtS

Dad Files: I Like Shoes Song

Sometimes when helping toddler friends put on their shoes a fun song can help. Here’s a contribution to the toddler playlist. 

I like shoes, I like shoes, I like shoes, I like shoes,

How bout you?

I like shoes, I like shoes, I like shoes, I like shoes,

How bout you?

So put on your socks put on your shoes 

It’s my favorite thing to do 

Cause I like shoes, I like shoes, I like shoes, I like shoes,

How bout you?

Book Review: Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

 Theo of Golden by Allen Levi is a beautiful story of an elderly man who moves to Golden, Georgia from New York City. When first arriving, he comes across a coffee shop that has portraits hanging on the wall and he is drawn to the skill of the artist and depth of how well he captures each subject. He proceeds to buy them and gift them to the subject of the portraits in deeply meaningful and impactful meetings. 

Everyone carries some sadness, pain, discouragement, and emotional wounds from the hardness and brokenness of the world. Theo, in gifting the portraits to each of the subjects, is able to see through the mistakes in life and heaviness in their soul without judgment and to call out the value and goodness of each person he interacts with and encourages. What a gift of being truly seen and heard that goes far beyond a portrait. 

Theo is a great lover of the arts and uses this love to connect with others through a shared appreciation of drawings, paintings portraits, music, and literature. One of his gifts is in his ability to see to the essence of someone, listen deeply and with genuine interest to them, ask meaningful questions, and connect relationally with them without expectation of receiving anything in return other than a new friend.

He doesn’t seek recognition or attention and skillfully redirects questions about himself so the focus stays on the other person. We learn bits and pieces of Theo’s backstory throughout the book and gather that he was a very successful entrepreneur with connections across the world having grown up in Portugal and lived in many places but with lots of sadness and pain in his story as well. Keep reading to the end and then maybe read the book again, there’s a surprise that will reshape your understanding of the story in a beautiful way.

While the story is purposeful, has multiple layers, and goes somewhere, there is purity of enjoyment throughout the book that we can delight in Theo, his generosity, kindness, and his mission to be present and connect deeply with the subjects of the portraits and other friends and acquaintances he meets along the way. In Theo we see a picture of what it could look like to be the hands and feet of Jesus to others. He shows that even a man late in his life can have great impact on the world. I highly recommend this book as a character study in how to truly see and make people feel valued for who they are and what they have to offer the world. It is one of my favorite recently read books.

The city of Golden is loosely based on Columbus, Georgia where the author was originally from and has lots of local culture and character. When reading the section about the cello concert, check out the songs performed for a nice soundtrack to the book

There are several interviews on YouTube with the author which give a better sense of how he wrote the story and who he is as a person. He seems like a genuine and likable guy that you’d be glad to have as a friend or neighbor.

If you take the time to go to the author’s website at www.allenlevi.com, there is a recording of The Princess of Titalamish which is an elementary age story in the book that Theo shares with a young girl that he befriends.

If you found this review helpful and want like it on Goodreads, I’d be glad to connect at this link.

Dad Files: Climbing Up the Stairs Song

The stairs can be a long tall climb for a toddler. This song has been a fun way to engage our toddler when he’s climbing up and down the stairs.

Climbing climbing climbing up the stairs 

Up up to the top like a big brown bear

Climbing climbing climbing down the stairs 

Down down to the ground like a big brown bear 

Dad Files: Fun Potty Training Song

Potty training can be one of the most challenging and frustrating things you’ll ever teach a child. Consistency is key and if you can make it fun, that certainly helps. I hear about 3 day potty training but seriously doubt the adoption level. I recommend against asking if toddler needs to go potty since the answer is almost always an emphatic NO! Sometimes toddler will say “I need to go potty“ primarily as an attention seeking behavior when he has no interest or intention of going to the potty. 

For those of you training a child to use the potty, I salute you. There’s a a lot of mess and a little success. People say that the child will almost surely be potty trained by the time they go to kindergarten and certainly by the time they’re in middle school but it feels like it will take forever in the middle of it. It will make you both laugh and cry. 

My favorite part is the toddler’s celebrations after success. “WOAH, IT’S A BIG POOP! WOW, YOU DID IT LOOK AT THE PEE IN THE POTTY!” Flushing can get overly ambitious with multiple flushes per potty use and toilet paper rolls can quickly spool out all over the floor if you don’t closely monitor as he grabs and spins the roll.

Here’s a fun potty training song to encourage you and your toddler in this important life skill.

Lyrics: If you need to poop, if you need to pee say I need to go to the potty. Push your pants down push them down to the ground when you need to go to the potty. You can read a book you can sing a song when you’re sitting on the potty training. When the job is done wipe then wash your hands then you can flush the potty training. Pull your pants up pull them up to the top after you’ve gone to the potty. If you need to poop if you need to pee say I need to go to the potty training. I need to go to the potty.

Math Joke

A calculus professor reviewed a new textbook for his class to use in the upcoming semester. He was hesitant since it was derivative but to his surprise it became an integral part of the class. #mathhumor

Dad Files: Toddler Days

Toddlers are loud almost all the time and run at full tilt. If in your exhaustion you leave them to their own self exploration, their natural state is entropy and every drawer will be opened, every door or cabinet will be opened and closed, if it has hinges it must be tested (yes there are child proofing mechanisms but some may be left undone when you retrieve items from them), any objects on tables will be thrown on the floor and plastic toys that can be banged on windows or the fireplace glass doors will be banged. Round objects especially will be thrown. Breakable objects are in dire peril. The cat will probably already have found a safe hiding spot but if not the toddler may chase her around the house. Christmas ornaments will definitely be removed from the tree and thrown or dumped on the floor if not outside of toddler’s reach. Without relative constant supervision a bored toddler can become destructive and your home will look like a minor natural disaster has come through. Sounds coupled with the mess will resemble the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes.

While a snuggly toddler can be fun, their high need for touch may become a bit much when they want to be held at meal times and wiggle and squirm as you attempt to eat. They’ll stick their hands in your face, cough or sneeze on you, and head butt you. Hopefully you can get a few things in their tummy too. 

Mealtime options that the toddler will actually consume can be compressed to very few options such as bread, pancakes, tortilla, bananas, yogurt, turkey, peanut butter sandwiches, and the occasional apple sauce or on rare occasions an actual apple or orange or even rarer a vegetable like tomatoes, broccoli, or carrots. Either at home or when going out to eat an activity box can be a saving grace and can include things like play dough, magna-tiles, crayons, cars, or other small items stored in a special toy box.

Toddler may either enjoy brushing teeth or fight you to not do so with arms flailing while screaming. The advantage of screaming is an open mouth to which you can apply a toothbrush. In the less confrontational sessions, he may actually enjoy it but watch out for the tongue which can consume all toothpaste or suck on the toothbrush like a lollipop prior to getting any on the teeth. There are fun songs you can sing to help with the process so be sure to check out options on YouTube where teeth brushing songs can be in the 100 million views range.

The exhaustion from months of nightly infant feedings may come back around as the toddler learns about sleep cycles and how to put himself back to sleep. Lullabies on a Bluetooth speaker can be a saving grace. If you allow toddler to climb in your bed after waking up screaming multiple times in the night, he will do all of the aforementioned lack of personal space things mentioned when eating in addition to kicking you, clapping, singing, and playing with the cat if she is also in the room. Rather than laying parallel, he commonly will roll around until he settles perpendicular to your head. If you don’t get the head side, you may get kicked in the head and if you do get the head side, head bumps can be a rude awakening. It’s unlikely you’ll get much sleep from this point in the night on. In general you should not count on sleeping beyond 6:15 on any morning with wake up calls also occurring frequently at 11:30 pm, 2:00 am, 4:15 am, 5:30 am. You probably will not use an actual alarm to wake you up for several years.

With potty training, it can be a long slow process. There may be joy initially at running around with no clothes on. As toddler begins to get the idea and that we go in the potty and not in the car or in your pants, he will verbalize these concepts but sometimes simultaneously with the moment he is watering the car seat. He may refuse to use the potty all day at daycare only to relieve himself halfway through the 10 minute car ride home upon announcing pp on the potty. There’s really nothing you can do at that point but resign yourself to a subsequent clean up. When toddler announces the need, the liquidation event is almost immediate. With number 2 you may have slightly more notice but if it occurs in the car you may be out of luck. 

If toddler is using pull ups and has gotten to the stage of pulling up pants and the pull up independently, it’s highly advised to check his work closely. Otherwise, the water cannon may not be sufficiently reinstalled in its proper place and can result in all clothing being soaked in the 10 minute ride to daycare in the morning which you get to cleanup while in the midst of trying to get to work. Toilet paper is a lot of fun so you will do well to guard the roll against the toddler’s over eager toilet paper tendencies. Potty time can become party time as you read books, sing songs, and toddler plays while waiting for deposits to be made. If you're not careful, toddler will manipulate you into being his personal potty entertainer. Your own privacy in using the bathroom will be fleeting as toddler is very interested in the whole process. 

Toddler’s cognitive skills will advance greatly and will surprise you at what and who they remember. He’ll sing songs loudly and joyfully. "Hickory dickery dock the mouse ran up the clock, happy birthday, Broccoli, celery, gotta be Veggie Tales, silent night, wheels on the bus, out jumps good ol’ Santa Claus Ho ho ho ho who wouldn’t go, Jesus loves me, I've got the joy, joy, joy joy down in my heart, five little monkeys jumping on the bed mama called the doctor and the doctor said no more monkeys jumping on the bed."

A remedy if he's bored and stir crazy is to follow him around as he explores outside. When you notice him being needy, destructive, or exhibiting undesirable behavior, sometimes all it takes is 5 minutes of undivided attention to get him back on the right track. 

Toddlers can be cute, fun, exciting, and sweet but they can also be selfish jerks throwing tantrums because they’re hungry, tired, want or don’t want a type of food or drink, want a toy, don’t want to share, get jealous, or generally don’t get their way on a time line of immediately. Strong emotions and screaming are frequent occurrences.

The crying as a baby was significant but the volume now pared with volatile strong emotions takes it to a completely different level. Tantrums when you’re well rested are manageable but can be overwhelming when exhausted and sleep deprived. There will be days, weeks, and months where you feel that this stage must pass soon or you yourself will soon pass.

Toddler will repeat the same thing incessantly until desire is complied with and may verge on a meltdown until it comes to pass. "My my my my MY MY MY! Want that Want that Want that Want that! Pita butter, Pita butter, PEANUT BUTTER PEANUT BUTTER! Want that bana, a bana, a bana, BANANA! Wanna go outside, wanna go outside, Go Outside, Go Outside, Go Outside! No like it no like it, NO LIKE IT, NO LIKE IT. Read a book, read a book, READ A BOOK!" His favorite word will be “NO.” Are you all done eating? “NO” Do you want more to eat “NO.” The answer to 90% of questions will be NO. He'll also have phrases that he repeats like "want to go back to bed" but never wants to actually go to bed. 

A regular activity will be climbing and jumping on tables, couches, and other objects he can fall from but seem like a lot of fun. Any trip to church must also be accompanied by a visit to the playground. The playground is one of his favorite activities and he also likes if you go down the slides too. Beware of the way up high playground equipment since toddler will want to climb up but is not fully ready for the heights quite yet. 

Toddler will surprise you with his door opening ability including locking and unlocking the door. Install childproof covers on door knobs or you may have an escapee. Getting chores done like loading or unloading the dishwasher while supervising toddler is theoretically possible but dramatically increases the amount of time to complete the task especially if toddler “helps.” Outdoor tasks are even more challenging and probably not advised with the added factor of toddler walking or running around the corner. 

He will love to see airplanes, helicopters, trains, school buses, garbage trucks, fire trucks, ambulances, and construction equipment in operation. Many toys have annoying songs and loud sounds. If the toys "lose" their batteries, the office of proper parental decisions will not cite you. For emergency vehicle toys with sounds, it's highly recommended to keep them out of your car or you may think you're getting pulled over when it's really just the backseat play police.

Exhaustion seems to be an almost constant state. Be sure to trade off responsibilities with your spouse and give each other breaks. Raising a toddler is a team sport. There are times when you wish you could capture the moment in a bottle and revisit it over and over and other times that may be funny in retrospect but are really really hard in the midst of it. There's a part of me that would like to be able to parachute into revisiting days or moments that are really fun, loving, and meaningful but perhaps that's the blessing of getting to be a grandparent. Enjoy the sweet snuggles, cute things they say and do, high energy, and excitement and hang in there with a lot of prayer.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

See https://www.pursuitofhisbest.com/2023/11/dad-files-months-17-18-painting-with.html?m=1 for the last edition of the Dad Files if you need to catch up.

Book Review: Patriot by Alexei Navalny

Patriot by Alexei Navalny is a fantastic memoir of Alexei Navalny’s life, survival from Novichock poisoning, work as an opposition leader in Russian politics as well as exposing corruption in government leaders and business oligarchs, and time as a political prisoner until his eventual assassination while in prison. He provides interesting insight into the history of the fall of the USSR and the aftermath as well as his views on issues in Russia since that time. 

It starts out with the dramatic poisoning in 2020 where he fell unconscious on a plane and recovered gradually over a number of months. In this section he touches on how he was monitored and highly likely poisoned by agents of the FSB. As one of the most prominent opposition leaders to the ruling party he drew lots of attention and popularity through exposing corruption by government leaders to enrich themselves and abusing their positions for their own benefit. This didn’t earn him any friends and there were significant efforts to silence him with it eventually leading to his imprisonment and murder while in prison.

It is telling when one political party so fears an opposition leader that rather than engage with them on the issues they resort to imprisonment and poisoning them. If they were morally in the clear and didn’t fear the truths the person was challenging them with they would have no need to resort to this and could instead triumph with force of argument and superior ideas. Instead it shows weakness to abuse their power and lie to prevent their corruption from being brought to light.

Nalvany comes across as highly intelligent, well read, a deep thinker on policy and how it impacts countries and the world, a skilled debater, but also has a great sense of humor and is up to speed on pop culture. It is a shame that the world lost him in the prime of his life. Throughout the book I was impressed by the vision he cast for what Russia could become and how its people could thrive in the absence of corruption and oppression and with free speech and free association as protected rights. He described it as the Beautiful Russia of the Future. 

In any political system it’s healthy to have leaders with opposing viewpoints to test their own ideas against. The people they lead should benefit from diversity of perspectives and the best ideas should prevail over time with the pendulum swinging back and forth. In the absence of checks and balances and independent judiciaries, authoritarian leaders don’t permit dissent or anything that resembles a real challenge to them instead threatening, imprisoning, and killing those they deem as challenging their own power. 

When Navalny is arrested immediately following his return to Russia from recovering in Germany, it is highly publicized and based on farcical charges that made no sense. How can you comply with requirements to appear before a court while recovering from being poisoned by government agents? After being in jail for a day, they set up a sham “trial” inside of the jail. His lawyer was informed of it only 3 minutes before when she was allowed to enter the jail. He subsequently is falsely charged with numerous other crimes as the government became increasingly frustrated with his calling them out for hypocrisy and abuse of power. Much of this occurred while he was in custody and/or in solitary confinement. 

In parts of the book, Navalny gets into the intricacies of the Russian political system and the various players involved so it can take a bit of work to keep up with all the pieces if unfamiliar with Russian politics. The key theme of his political work was fighting against corruption and for the freedoms of the Russian people. He paints a beautiful picture of what Russia could be without all of the corruption and how government and business leaders could actually help people rather than simply enriching themselves. 

Early in the book he tells the story of growing up in the USSR and how he got started as a lawyer eventually moving into focusing on politics, exposing business and government corruption, and how he utilized the internet in its early days to galvanize the public and bring transparency to underhanded dealings and in businesses and the government. He garnered such support that he became a strong opposition leader who the ruling political party worked diligently to sideline and keep him from running for elections due to direct interference by hired thugs, or charging him fallaciously, threatening his family, and putting him in prison on trumped up charges.

The longer that an authoritarian regime is in power, the more they will suppress the opposition to stay in power whether illegal, immoral, or ethically objectionable. History has shown though that regimes don’t last forever and while they may rule for a time, if they do not ultimately primarily serve the people that they lead, eventually they will dwindle in influence on a global scale and the country’s people will advance other leaders.

Only time will tell but it’s possible Alexei Navalny will go down in history as a groundbreaking martyr in turning the tide from corrupt authoritarianism designed to protect and enrich the powerful rather a government designed to benefit the average person. 

In his “final words” at each of the bogus trials that he was subjected to, he shares insightful thoughts on freedom and designing policies and systems where regular people can thrive and benefit from the resources of a country rather than those benefits accruing to only a few corrupt people. The quality of the speeches and writing in the more philosophical passages is at the level of Martin Luther King’s a letter from a Birmingham jail. In many ways King and Nalvany had similarities in crusading for freedom, against tyranny, and for truth. Those in power imprisoned them and they were both ultimately assassinated.

The last section of the book focuses on Navalny’s time in prison and reads much like a prison diary with both the indignities, and pettiness of rules. Deprived of medical care and sleep through psychological pressures and “routine checks” he eventually went on a hunger strike for almost a month. Overall he has a really good sense of humor despite the situation. 

There were many great quotes throughout the book but one that I thought was especially insightful was: “Life works in such a way that social progress and a better future can only be achieved if a certain number of people are willing to pay the price for their right to have their own beliefs. The more of them there are, the less everyone has to pay. And the day will come when speaking the truth and advocating for justice will be commonplace and not dangerous in Russia.”

From a faith perspective Navalny came to be a follower of Jesus as an adult after growing up as an atheist and leaned into his faith throughout his experience fighting for the truth and for freedom in Russia. A favorite quote of him speaking about his faith was: “My job is to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and leave it to good old Jesus and the rest of his family to deal with everything else. They won’t let me down and will sort out all my headaches.” 

To get a real understanding of what goes on in Russia I would hope anyone involved in or interested in international politics or diplomatic relations would read this book. It is eye opening and provides lots of color on the machinations going on behind the scenes. Hopefully Navalny’s cause will be carried on by others and the Russian people and the broader world will benefit. 

If you’re on Goodreads and liked this review, head on over and throw a thumbs up on it.