AI
Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and everything LLM
#4584: Directing Context Loss: Smart Compaction Prompts
Learn how to steer Claude Code's context compaction with targeted instructions — turning a lossy default into a directed operation.
#4582: Designing a Home MCP Gateway for Conversational AI
How to securely connect ChatGPT to a home-hosted MCP gateway — transport, auth, and the missing pieces.
#4581: Text In, Text Out: Designing Single-Purpose AI Utilities
Why small, narrowly scoped AI tools need system prompts that say "shut up and return the output" — and how to write them.
#4580: The Tiny AI Tools That Beat Big Agents
Why small, single-purpose AI utilities outperform autonomous agents for daily work — and what interface they need.
#4575: Measuring Rooms with Fiducial Markers: AprilTag vs ArUco
AprilTags, ArUco, ChArUco — which marker system actually helps you measure a room from a photo? We break down the tradeoffs.
#4570: One Negative Prompt Beat a Dozen Positives — Here's Why
Why one blunt "don't" outperformed a dozen careful "do's" — and how to structure your system prompts for maximum compliance.
#4569: Dialing Without a Switchboard: Twilio Number Normalization
Twilio expects E.164, but Israel dials 0-3-... Here's what breaks when you become your own carrier.
#4568: Building a Smarter Text Expansion Library
Move beyond addresses and signatures — build snippets that shape how you think, decide, and communicate on mobile.
#4562: Weighing Euroboxes: DIY Load Cells vs. Off-the-Shelf Sensors
Daniel wants to know if his industrial shelving is overloaded. The answer involves 24-bit ADCs, micro-deformation, and a surprising market gap.
#4557: Who Really Owns the Monopoly on Force?
Two armed institutions, one state. How the US and Israel draw the line between military and police power.
#4549: When AI Agents Spend Real Money
An AI agent bought a phone number through Twilio. Here's how agentic commerce already works — and what it means for authorization.
#4548: The Hidden Software Running Your Company
Inside the shadow fleet of custom apps running organizations — and how AI is making building them the default.
#4547: Can an AI Agent Fix Your Shopping Cart?
We explore whether an AI agent could kill dark patterns, consolidate orders, and bring enterprise procurement to your home.
#4546: Redis: What It Actually Is and Why It's Everywhere
Redis powers half the internet's caching, but almost nobody knows what it actually is. We break it down from the ground up.
#4545: Redis: The Data Structure Server Explained
From a single C file to the default caching answer. How Redis became the web's favorite data structure server.
#4543: WhatsApp Business API vs App: Which Fits Your Solo Practice?
A solo consultant's guide to choosing between the WhatsApp Business app and the API for client messaging.
#4542: Going Fully SIP: Why It's Not Ready (Yet)
A deep dive into the three structural reasons you can't ditch your carrier for Twilio and SIP—yet.
#4535: Gilbert's Syndrome to Rare IEMs: A Metabolic Spectrum Tour
One elevated lab value leads to a tour of 1,450 inborn errors of metabolism, from benign quirks to treatable disorders.
#4527: Is Genius Linked to Social Awkwardness?
We dig into the data behind the "mad scientist" stereotype — and find the pattern isn't what you'd expect.
#4523: Can You Trust an AI's Summary?
Dedicated text compressors exist but aren't in production. The real problem? Nobody can verify the summary didn't drop what mattered.