If you want something done right, you’ve got to prompt the LLM yourself.

I vaguely remember being happy that John Fetterman was allowed to take office after his, evidently more serious than understood, stroke. This guy is clown central.

“Buzz Out Loud” was one of the first podcasts that really hooked me, back in the day. Hard to believe it’s been 13 years since they called it quits. www.cnet.com/culture/b…

I have used a Tom Bihn backpack for about 20 years now. I mean, literally, the one that I bought 20 years ago. I cram it full of stuff, take it on trips, stuff it under airplane seats, etc. It’s never going to die because it’s a Tom Bihn.

I’ve been heartened by stories of Kennedy Center performers refusing to perform in the wake of Trump’s petty and foolish renaming of the venue. Most recently, Chuck Redd declined to hold his annual “Christmas Eve Jazz” concert. Now the fascist-appointed leader of the Kennedy Center is suing: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/2…

If I were Dutch, my go-to dad joke for the holidays would be singing “that’s the jingle bell graag!”

The #1 developer skill for 2026 is noticing when AI Chatbots start acting stupid. We’re all managers, now.

This might be obvious, but I’ve been thinking about AI as comparable to electricity. When it debuted, it was dangerous, controversial, had limited practical use but ENORMOUS potential (har har). Over the next 100+ years people have continued to find novel uses for it, time after time.

I have been annoyed for a while that Apple’s News+ Crossword app for Mac loses keystrokes when typing quickly. I finally confirmed it with an AppleScript that automates “fast typing” and submitted a feedback report: FB21412593.

Unread, made by local friend, and long-time co-organizer of Boston CocoaHeads, @johnbrayton, just won the Lifetime Achievement award from @macstories@macstories.net ! www.macstories.net/stories/t…

Happy Holidays from Core Intuition! We got you an episode: “A Little Bit of Light.” coreint.org/2025/12/e…

Maybe it’s a mistake that DHH is the de facto head of PR at 37signals.

Hats off to the administrators of my 13yo’s middle school, who have deftly determined how to kill the “6-7” meme. They embraced it, and have declared today “6-7 day” with a lot of “cool” suggestions about how the kids can celebrate.

In a Manhattan bar last night, I almost witnessed a fist-fight break out when a 20-something techie bragged to a 50-something techie that his company “created its own LLM.” The 50-something, knowing how hard it is to create an LLM from scratch, said “oh, that’s cute.” 🥊

Enjoyed the delightful Aimee Mann + Ted Leo + Special Guests holiday show at The Chevalier in Medford, MA. They really put on a great show!

Which is to say, UC Santa Cruz was a pretty great school.

Realized after chatting with @clarko@mastodon.social that I associate the same common room in Crown College at UC Santa Cruz with learning about both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and imaginary numbers.

I remember feeling bad for Navy Admiral Bradley being “thrown under the bus” by sinister Pete Hegseth. But now that he’s taking responsibility and defending what he did, it’s obvious they’re all monsters. You know you’re bad when fellow Republicans bat an eye, let alone defy Trump to accuse you.

In my humble opinion if you honor a Fascist, you are a fascist.

Until today I didn’t know that FIFA is complicit in the global fascist movement to make Trump world dictator. I was not a huge soccer fan, but I’ll enjoy it less now.

How it started. How it went. How it’s going.

If there is one thing I could change about the United States government it would be to diminish the power of the President. I’ve always sensed this was a problem, but it never became so crystal clear until now.

Sometimes I worry that I’m neglecting my children by being late to make dinner, for example. But then I hear delightful chords coming from the family piano and I am reminded that kids need boredom.

I haven’t posted to my “personal” blog in so long, the MarsEdit support I’d kept in for Blogspot didn’t work. I had to write it in the web interface, like an animal! I’ll move it to a better host soon, but in the meantime: “I’ll Miss You Too.” blog.punkitup.com/2025/11/i…

It’s crazy, but I routinely walk into a freezing lake and then swim for a temperature-informed number of minutes (18 today at 43F). I’m not encouraging you to jump into a lake, but if there’s something you have long considered impossible … maybe it isn’t?