The Magic of Code: From Beginner to Burnout, to Becoming Santa

2025-07-21
The Magic of Code: From Beginner to Burnout, to Becoming Santa

This article chronicles a programmer's journey: the initial feeling of omnipotence, the subsequent disillusionment upon realizing reliance on large tech companies' APIs, and the ultimate realization that true magic stems from persistent effort and deep domain expertise. The author uses a lighthearted tone, weaving in personal anecdotes and work examples to illustrate the essence of software development. The article encourages programmers to persevere, continuously improving their skills to create their own 'magic'.

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Development

The End of the AI Lifestyle Subsidy: Why Your Digital Experience is About to Get Worse

2025-06-23

Venture capital and low interest rates once fueled rapid growth for startups, even if they were losing money on each sale. Now, that money flows into LLM-based products, but this subsidy is unsustainable. Search engines and social media are overrun with ads, degrading information quality. AI discovery mechanisms face the same problem. The future will likely see AI applications saturated with ads, potentially including 'black hat GEO,' making it hard to distinguish AI hallucinations from paid promotions. While paid services and open-source models may be exceptions, most consumer AI applications will inevitably be swamped by ads. Enjoy it while it lasts, because the AI lifestyle subsidy is ending.

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AI

RUFADAA: Handling Digital Afterlives

2025-02-12
RUFADAA: Handling Digital Afterlives

In the digital age, we accumulate vast digital assets. RUFADAA (Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act) sets default rules for fiduciaries accessing digital assets like emails, cloud files, and virtual currency, balancing privacy with the need for access. The author uses the memorialized LinkedIn profile of a friend as a poignant example, exploring how service providers manage deceased users' accounts and the challenges ahead. The piece concludes with a reflection on the enduring significance of these digital legacies, likening them to online tombstones preserving fragments of our connected lives.

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