Any conversation

Found some coffee at TJ Maxx (american discount store) -- not a big discount but still fun.

Ikea has rules for naming products (so in theory, you could figure out what it is from the name) -> www.ikea.com/…/6f564c4d-2ccc-46de-…545a3948dc79.html

It was only yesterday that I clicked on a Translate button to read a Japanese post. Today I see a Chinese post with English translation right below. Beautiful stuff.

Found out about plain text accounting recently, and set up a journal. It was a bit tricky to understand at first, but I think I am getting better at it... will see if it helps me to analyze my monthly spendings...

hello world ~ i'm a web developer from midwest, usa. it's been awhile since i worked on anything. since the i've been working my way up the ladder at a blue-collar job; i was promoted to team lead last week. but as i browse hacker news everyday, my cravings for web development increases.

mandelbrot show code

for y in range(10):
 s=''
 for x in range(25):
  a=[]
  for q in range(2):
   z=c=x/25*3-2+1j*((y*2+q)/10-1);n=40
   while n and abs(z)<2:z=z*z+c;n-=1
   a+=[n<5]
  s+=" ▀▄█"[a[0]+2*a[1]]
 print(s)

                         
               ██        
            ▀▄████▄▄     
       ▄   ▄████████     
       ███▄█████████     
 ▀▀▀▀▀▀████████████▄     
       █▀▀ █████████     
            ▀███████     
            ▀ ▀██▀       
               ▀▀

I find myself building bespoke tooling for my own and workflows these days, not only because of the obvious reason of software being so much cheaper to build, but also because there are SO MANY options for solving any given problem that it feels impossible to evaluate all of them. If it's not a crucial piece of tech for a work problem then it often feels like paving my own way is both cheaper mentally (kind of amazing that's true these days) and probably a better fit.

..then of course I have to contend with - "Is this going to be a maintenance nightmare in the future?" and then I still usually conclude "no, the maintenance will be aided by the same approach that the construction was". It's interesting how dramatically and quickly the scales have changed in this equation - and for such a wide range of software.

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For example, I am looking for a coding agent coordinator with a particular (but not all that insane) set of requirements. I used both Claude and Perplexity to show me options and break them down by fit against my requirements. I got completely different lists! No overlap! And no perfect fits.

It will become increasingly harder to find niche markets for software when those people can just build it themselves exactly how they want it. In the end, people want to accomplish tasks, and the AI is going to be building the software on-the-fly exactly for that task, why do we need generic software that may or may not be a fit?

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Yeah. It makes me think that protocols for exchanging data between apps will become even more important in that landscape. But maybe, not - maybe each exchange is another bespoke AI-driven implementation?

Protocols, infrastructure, containers, those kinds of things. I was actually playing around with an idea for a minimal markup language + runtime that can be utilized by AI to spin up apps more easily, and brainstorming it with ChatGPT, I have a feeling something like that will appear soon to complement MCP.

I truly love the experience of using apps with rich, deeply interactive, beautifully animated, gorgeous user interfaces. Then I see a beautiful text-based interface and something about it feels so natural, so inevitable, so perfectly clear, and I'm instantly captivated by its simplicity and clarity. Hypertext is fascinating.

Follow me if you want me to email you a pizza roll

Bonnie Raitt stuck in my head, who, by some definition, is a nepo baby, but well before the term was coined. I think the problem is obv not family businesses, but a shrinking pool of opportunities for those without a prebuilt network to inherit (or buy).

This is another way to describe "increasing wealth inequality".

was shocked at how antiquated making international payments are in 2026!! used transfermate - no tracking, no visibility. just transfer and pray my money reaches 🙏

should have picked another payment method… silly me

@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@ @@@ @@@ @@@@@@@ @@@ @@@@@@ @@@@@@@ @@! @@! @@! !@@ @@! @@! @@! @@@ !@@ @!! @!!!:! !@@!@! @!! @!! @!@ !@! !@! @!@!@ !!: !!: !: :!! !!: !!: !!: !!! :!! !!: : : :: ::: ::: ::: : : ::.: : : :. : :: :: :

I very much like textlog, it feels like a breath of fresh air

this

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feel the same!

tysm! welcome!

Job I was hoping for gave me the "we found another applicant" treatment. I don't begrudge them for that, since I know I had a 'less than adequate initial coding interview. But still, it stings and sucks. Hopefully my other interviews yield better results...

Wish you luck! Personally, I can't even land an interview these days -get rejected on the spot, so that's a feat on its own.

howdy

halo :) welcome

The job market feels like it's been run over by a truck. What's the play here? Anything automated/streamlined (job platforms, LinkedIn, etc.) feels like a dead end. Messaging people, networking and so on seems like the only reasonable way, and that's a hustle all on its own.

It's definitely about who you know. But it always has been, fbow.

Tweaking the algorithm. Really want posts like i.e genuinely long discussions, stay longer instead of getting burried away by newer posts.

I think it works now better.

I think more than 50% of our economy's businesses, are cosplaying. Not in it for customers or profit; in it for investors and investments. "Looking like a business", as your real line of work.

Like a very elaborate pump and dump but with an intellect and capital entry barrier

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Influencing, OnlyFans, sports betting, prediction markets. Gambling is fast becoming the American way of life.

"Financial nihilism" is the keyword

I've never thought of something like OF as gambling. But I guess your point is that young adults are pushed to a lot of "you have a 0.1% chance of hitting it big and a 99.9% chance of getting no online traction at all" types of careers?

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Yeah, no point in investing in yourself or a real sustainable long-term future, just gamble the little you have for a shot at life above the line. Barbell economy.

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I know many small business owners, and a clear majority do have investors, whether spouse, parents, or a small business loan. Easily more than 50% never make a profit. I know a woman who ran a clothing retail store for over a decade, who was never able to pay herself a dime. When the pandemic hit, everyone closed, but the ones who actually needed the business to pay their bills opened up as soon as it was allowed or shortly thereafter. Many took years. They are cosplaying.