(untitled)
Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusion I feel like I can figure anything out when I create a file with the lab notebook template.
Tom Lieber
Latest posts
(untitled)
I used to wait 3 hours for incremental Time Machine backups to finish, but now they take 30 seconds w/APFS on a solid state drive. Sometimes, computers DO get faster over time.
(untitled)
current status: undergoing this year’s rediscovery of reactive documents
(untitled)
You know how Netflix search returns random recommended shows that have no relation to your query? I just saw my 5yo kids on the search page, having typed “fs”, earnestly considering each of the results. … Netflix search is designed for kids who can’t spell! 😂
Obsidian customizations that just make sense!
These streamline linking: ⌘⌥C copies the path to the current note, but strips .md ⌘K pastes whatever link is in the clipboard, using the selected text as the link title ⌘O opens a fuzzy-file-finder that matches filenames, aliases, and level-1 headings; pressing ⌘K in it works ⌘N creates a unique note, turning the selected text into a link to it, and using the selected text as the new note’s…
(untitled)
Check out this video ’s comment section and be amazed at how Zanzlanz got people excited about dot products. A mere 60-second explainer embedded in a 12-minute tale of programmer vindication has people saying, “Dot product is so cool” and “normalized vectors and dot products are truly OP lol”.
(untitled)
My Obsidian vault is officially my music library :} You know how ![[foo]] transcludes a note? Well in my vault, +[[foo]] transcludes media. I wrote an app that lets me browse my vault and “play” a note, which recursively enqueues all its transcluded media. I’m breaking free from designer GUIs!
(untitled)
I’m over here just speaking Obsidian features into existence daily
(untitled)
alltom.com finally has SSL and I want to shout about it! It used to be hard, so I procrastinated even after every major browser started throwing up scary warning messages about how hackers could see if you were reading my blog. But now it’s a few clicks on AWS if your site’s just a public S3 bucket!
(untitled)
I asked Claude about structured logging libraries for Python and when I saw the options I was like “that is so over the top for this project, I love it” The status changed to “Chuckling…” as it installed several deps, connected my 4-line script to jaeger, and wrapped every line in a separate span
(untitled)
When a cable modem fails in such a way that it produces persistent, high-pitched squealing, that’s a pretty good Father’s Day gift. 😂
(untitled)
I love my Peak Design Everyday Backpack , but when I take it to work, the main compartment is almost always completely empty. I’d love to get by with less. Can anyone recommend a backpack that’s great for days when all I have is a laptop? A laptop sleeve with shoulder straps? 😂
(untitled)
The frustrating thing about building AI software is how it’s like pulling an engine’s starter cord only for it to cough a few times without starting. “What’s the answer?” “42!” “Are you sure?” “You’re right, it’s 41.” You hear the engine turning over, but it won’t catch. I’m glad to be a mechanic! 🔧
(untitled)
I love asking AI to “find a restaurant that’s equidistant from these two places.” Stuff in the long tail of UX that FAANG teams are never going to get to. I’ve still never vibrated my way to code I’m happy with, but I <3 tool use.
(untitled)
Banger from Claude this morning: Have you consumed anything besides stress today?
(untitled)
(untitled)
I think it’s funny that tapping repeatedly and long pressing are mapped to power user features because that’s what kids do first and it just wreaks havoc on computer systems as a result.
(untitled)
The wild thing about programming with LLMs is documenting a function’s runtime cost in big-O notation and USD. “Costs $0.50 when N is 40.” I have faster and cheaper versions of that one, but I haven’t figured out how to make them as good yet, and that choice filters all the way to the UI. 🫠
(untitled)
“Do I have any events this week that it looks like I forgot to add to my wife’s calendar?” 😭 The future is beautiful.
(untitled)
I keep finding new uses for letting LLMs generate calendar files , but today I wanted to close the loop! I want it to read and write to my calendar directly. So to start, I provided the LLM a “tool” to access Google Calendar’s ListEvents API. Just being able to read my calendar is pretty neat: Q: What events do I have today? Tool use: Get today’s events A: A bulleted list…
(untitled)
Thing I did with AI today: Uploaded a photo of the calendar for this school year Asked for a list of all the events Requested a few rephrasings Asked for a copy in ICS format Imported it into my calendar