WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:18.534 The Weekly Thing, issue 336. Culture, Retention, Transmission. Published December 13, twenty twenty five. By Jamie Thingelstad. In this issue: Crucial exits consumer RAM, AI transforming work at Anthropic, Perl's cultural decline, why RSS matters, Let's Encrypt 10 years, why we need to die. 00:00:19.134 --> 00:00:19.822 Good morning! 00:00:20.322 --> 00:00:33.606 I hope your weekend is getting off to a great start. We've had what feels like an unusually cold start to our winter. There is already plenty of snow and we are getting below zero temperatures. It is a little bracing! 00:00:34.106 --> 00:00:48.915 This is my last Weekly Thing of twenty twenty five. I know, I know. What will you do without a too-long email landing in your mailbox every weekend? Have no worries, I'll be back after January fifteenth with more links and many other things. 00:00:49.415 --> 00:01:03.190 In the meantime, if you want to share some links of your own the new version of our forum, r/WeeklyThing on Reddit, has a good number of folks joining and a bit of dialog starting. And a special POAP through the end of the year. 00:01:03.690 --> 00:01:08.523 Have a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year! Be back in twenty twenty six! 00:01:09.923 --> 00:01:11.579 Now, the Currently section. 00:01:12.179 --> 00:01:21.716 Installing: I downloaded Vellum and have been playing around with it to see how difficult it is to create a book. I've got a little project in mind to tinker with. 00:01:23.116 --> 00:01:24.535 That's the end of Currently. 00:01:25.935 --> 00:01:27.293 Now, the Notable section. 00:01:27.893 --> 00:01:29.599 There are eight links this week. 00:01:30.499 --> 00:01:36.948 Link one of eight. After nearly 30 years, Crucial will stop selling RAM to consumers, Ars Technica. 00:01:37.448 --> 00:01:45.068 I've bought a number of Crucial memory sticks over the years. The massive demand for memory for AI means no more consumer product. 00:01:45.568 --> 00:02:15.400 Quote. The fault lies squarely at the feet of AI mania in the tech industry. The construction of new AI infrastructure has created unprecedented demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the specialized DRAM used in AI accelerators from Nvidia and AMD. Memory manufacturers have been reallocating production capacity away from consumer products toward these more profitable enterprise components, and Micron has presold its entire HBM output through twenty twenty six. End quote. 00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:29.307 Frankly this sucks. The same thing has happened in the GPU market. The margins and revenue are higher selling to large data centers and huge buyers. But the impact to the DIY market to build your own computers is terrible. 00:02:30.207 --> 00:02:34.599 Link two of eight. How AI Is Transforming Work at Anthropic, Anthropic. 00:02:35.099 --> 00:02:47.744 We are all learning how agentic AI can help people in their work. This data from Anthropic is interesting and meshes well with my experiences. I also like the callout on work that would never have been done. 00:02:48.244 --> 00:03:05.257 Quote. 27% of Claude-assisted work consists of tasks that wouldn't have been done otherwise, such as scaling projects, making nice-to-have tools (for example interactive data dashboards), and exploratory work that wouldn't be cost-effective if done manually. End quote. 00:03:05.757 --> 00:03:22.799 I don't know how we'll metric that. The reality is we are doing more, and it isn't a waste. This means we get to explore more ideas, more possibilities. That will result in a more comprehensive and thorough plan and direction, but it is more expensive than the previous one. 00:03:23.299 --> 00:03:32.453 We've always seen this. PowerPoint lets you make fancy slides, so now you feel compelled to make fancier, and more expensive in terms of time, slides. 00:03:33.353 --> 00:03:37.002 Link three of eight. Discovering the indieweb with calm tech. 00:03:37.502 --> 00:03:48.324 What a lovely idea this is! The challenge that everyone likes to highlight with the web is discoverability. This "Blog Quest" plugin is a super interesting way of solving that. 00:03:48.824 --> 00:04:09.626 Quote. Blog Quest is a web browser extension that helps you discover and subscribe to blogs. Blog Quest checks each page for auto-discoverable RSS and Atom feeds (using rel="alternate" links) and quietly collects them in the background. When you're ready to explore the collected feeds, open the extension's drop-down window. End quote. 00:04:10.126 --> 00:04:17.668 I wish this was available for Safari — I would add it in a minute. I love the idea of accumulating feeds with passive browsing. 00:04:18.568 --> 00:04:21.352 Link four of eight. Perl's decline was cultural. 00:04:21.852 --> 00:04:51.597 I was there having these same experiences with these languages. Strickland does a great job in this post generally describing the cultures of these various languages, starting with Perl, then Ruby, PHP, and Python. All of these languages are still used and will be for as long as I can imagine. But of them only Python has continued to ascend and is now one of the most popular languages. Strickland's suggestion is this is as much about the culture of these languages than anything else. 00:04:52.097 --> 00:05:22.385 Quote. When I sketch out this landscape, I remain firmly convinced that most of Perl's impedance to continued growth were cultural. Perl's huge moment of relevance in the 90s was because it cross-pollinated two diverging user cultures. Traditional UNIX / database / data-centre maintenance and admin users, and enthusiastic early web builders and scalers. It had a cultural shock phase from extremely rapid growth, the centre couldn't hold, and things slowly fell apart. End quote. 00:05:22.885 --> 00:05:34.921 My first websites were dynamic using cgi-bin and mod-perl. I wrote a ton of Perl for BigCharts back in the day. This article hits it right — those early web users were almost all also Unix admins. 00:05:35.421 --> 00:05:42.143 Thinking of the culture of programming languages is an interesting thing, and something that groups should be intentional about. 00:05:42.643 --> 00:05:54.945 PS: I love that this includes the mess of PHP as well. I've always called that "the people's language". The fact that WordPress and MediaWiki are built on PHP guarantees it a place on the web nearly forever. 00:05:55.845 --> 00:05:58.101 Link five of eight. Why RSS matters. 00:05:58.601 --> 00:06:13.694 If you've been reading the Weekly Thing for a while you know nearly everything in here I get via an RSS feed. RSS and a feed reader is my jam. If a site doesn't publish RSS, I’m not reading it. It just is how it is. And RSS can do so much more. 00:06:14.194 --> 00:06:39.466 Quote. If we want an internet where publishers retain autonomy and readers retain agency, we need to treat RSS not as legacy plumbing but as strategic infrastructure. That means three things: 1. Protect and optimize our existing RSS infrastructure. 2. Build and support better, more sophisticated RSS-powered applications. 3. Consider the intersections between RSS and the wider social web. End quote. 00:06:39.966 --> 00:07:02.612 The issue to me for RSS and why companies choose to not support it is the same stuff that makes it amazing. It is open. No company can control it. They cannot wrestle it down behind a paywall. They can’t force you to engage with it in a certain way. It shares much of that with email. These mediums give the user power, and sadly for many services they don't like that. 00:07:03.112 --> 00:07:13.140 Nearly all social media sites supported RSS when they launched. And they all shut it off after they get enough users. Because they have the power then. Cue enshittification. 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:18.776 Link six of eight. 10 Years of Let's Encrypt Certificates, Let's Encrypt. 00:07:19.276 --> 00:07:26.513 Let's Encrypt may be the most important project on the web in the last decade. This recent milestone is mind blowing. 00:07:27.013 --> 00:07:35.684 Quote. Just at the end of September twenty twenty five, we issued more than ten million certificates in a day for the first time. End quote. 00:07:36.184 --> 00:07:48.121 This might seem like technical gibberish but this is what makes your web connection secure. Before Let's Encrypt this stuff was so hard, expensive, and effectively off limits to non-commercial users. 00:07:48.621 --> 00:08:03.667 Now we have an ever more secure web, open to all, and funded by a non-profit. I love this project and what it has done for the world. I've been a proud supporter since they launched. If you use the web, you should send them a few bucks. Really. 00:08:04.567 --> 00:08:09.757 Link seven of eight. What '67' Reveals About Childhood Creativity, Atlas Obscura. 00:08:10.257 --> 00:08:13.768 Interesting history on young adult meme's and the role they play. 00:08:14.268 --> 00:09:02.926 Quote. The Opies went on, "And through these quaint ready-made formulas the ridiculousness of life is underlined, the absurdity of the adult world and their teachers proclaimed, danger and death mocked, and the curiosity of language itself is savoured." The ridiculousness and pointlessness of "67" is perhaps why it has succeeded so extravagantly as a meme, breaking out of the classroom to become Word of the Year: it perfectly encapsulates everything the Opies understood that kids need out of their private jokes. So is "67" a sign that screens and algorithms are "ruining childhood" with "brainrot?" Far from it--this trend actually shows that despite a screen-mediated culture kids are actually managing to generate new entries in the playground canon. End quote. 00:09:03.426 --> 00:09:04.074 6 — 7. 00:09:04.974 --> 00:09:07.384 Link eight of eight. Why We Need to Die. 00:09:07.884 --> 00:09:10.658 The finitude of life is what makes life, life. 00:09:11.158 --> 00:09:30.958 Quote. What I'm realizing is that both of these are the same thing. Being fully yourself requires accepting limits - who you are, how much time you have. You can't be everything to everyone, and you can't be forever. The constraint is part of what makes you, you. Choices that cost nothing aren't really choices. End quote. 00:09:31.458 --> 00:09:35.738 The fact that there is a "last time" of something is what makes it special. 00:09:37.138 --> 00:09:38.484 That's the end of Notable. 00:09:39.884 --> 00:09:41.324 Now, the Journal section. 00:09:41.924 --> 00:09:43.028 Journal entry one. 00:09:43.528 --> 00:09:44.920 Clash Royale check-in. 00:09:45.420 --> 00:09:48.723 First, just got my first card to Level 15 -- Witch! 00:09:49.223 --> 00:09:51.694 Second, heroic Mini P.E.K.K.A. is incredible. 00:09:52.194 --> 00:09:54.830 Third, currently playing a “Hog Deck”, I guess? 00:09:55.330 --> 00:10:01.469 Stats: 71 days; 7,271 trophies; level 39; arena 19; In-app purchases:. Connect. 00:10:01.969 --> 00:10:02.569 Coach: Tyler. 00:10:03.469 --> 00:10:04.597 Journal entry two. 00:10:05.097 --> 00:10:07.113 I love the words play and tinker. 00:10:07.613 --> 00:10:12.096 It is very important for me to have projects that I can play and tinker with. 00:10:12.596 --> 00:10:15.052 Thankfully I have more than enough of them. 00:10:15.952 --> 00:10:17.038 Journal entry three. 00:10:17.538 --> 00:10:20.451 Excited for this year's New Standards Holiday Show! 00:10:21.351 --> 00:10:22.455 Journal entry four. 00:10:22.955 --> 00:10:26.208 Another great New Standards Holiday Show in the books! 00:10:27.108 --> 00:10:29.499 Journal entry five. Add to List Shortcut. 00:10:29.999 --> 00:10:59.559 OmniFocus is my trusted system for tracking all of my commitments, as well as my “someday, maybes” and a number of other lists that I have. A while back I started using a set of “Idea Lists” that work really well for me to capture things like books to consider, shows to watch, restaurants to visit, gift ideas, and whatever else. These lists are a form of a “someday, maybe” because they are not actionable, but they are very specific to a thing where someday buckets are broader. 00:11:00.059 --> 00:11:32.080 I want to make it as simple as possible to get things into these lists so I made one of my most simple and frequently used Shortcuts -- “Add to List”. I find this super helpful and thought I would share. It relies on you have a Folder in OmniFocus where you keep these kind of lists. The magic is that it makes it super easy to capture into the right list and stay in the flow of what you are working on. For me, having it display a menu of lists and being integrated into the share sheet removes a lot of friction. 00:11:32.580 --> 00:11:34.513 You can add the Add to List shortcut. 00:11:35.413 --> 00:11:36.589 Journal entry six. 00:11:37.089 --> 00:11:43.233 I created a Connect page on my site that is simply an index of my profiles on various platforms. 00:11:44.133 --> 00:11:45.362 Journal entry seven. 00:11:45.862 --> 00:11:58.401 We tried out Loon Liquor in Northfield today for lunch. The pizza was really good and the distillery was really great to hang out in. If you are in Northfield give this place a go. They mill their own flour! 00:11:59.301 --> 00:12:00.556 Journal entry eight. 00:12:01.056 --> 00:12:12.035 We went to our third St. Olaf Christmas Festival tonight. Mazie is in St. Olaf Chapel Choir with the red robes. This is such a great event made even better when your daughter is in it! 00:12:12.935 --> 00:12:14.111 Journal entry nine. 00:12:14.611 --> 00:12:17.772 This morning’s moment in Waking Up was wonderfully simple. 00:12:18.272 --> 00:12:24.192 Quote. You have one job, and it consists of two parts. Be a good person, and pay attention. End quote. 00:12:24.692 --> 00:12:25.388 Two things. 00:12:26.288 --> 00:12:27.368 Journal entry ten. 00:12:27.868 --> 00:12:34.890 Great dinner at Salut celebrating my friend Jim's birthday and a final visit before Salut closes at the end of the year. 00:12:35.790 --> 00:12:39.246 Journal entry eleven. MnTech Outlook twenty twenty six. 00:12:39.746 --> 00:12:47.326 Interesting comments on big goals for their organizations and the community this morning at MnTech Outlook twenty twenty six. 00:12:47.826 --> 00:12:48.954 Some observations. 00:12:49.454 --> 00:12:53.830 First, no surprise that AI and transformation was top of everyone’s list. 00:12:54.330 --> 00:12:58.887 Second, pratt: “we are going to have a reduction in our white collar workforce”. 00:12:59.387 --> 00:13:06.113 Third, tomes shared his personal experiences vibe coding. Playing and directly engaging with new tech is critical. 00:13:06.613 --> 00:13:22.399 Fourth, bahner: we still need coding cause somebody has to read and verify the code. I agree we need talented developers but I don’t think this is why. Nobody can read machine language or assembly. Abstraction matters. Is agentic developmetn just a new abstraction? 00:13:22.899 --> 00:13:34.014 Thanks to Renee Edwards (Optum), Eric Pratt (Senator), Angie Schulke (Star Tribune), Kristin Bahner (Representative), and Tarek Tomes (State of Minnesota) for sharing with everyone. 00:13:35.414 --> 00:13:36.860 That's the end of the Journal. 00:13:38.260 --> 00:13:39.533 Now, the Briefly section. 00:13:40.133 --> 00:13:42.183 There are thirteen links this week. 00:13:43.083 --> 00:13:46.338 Link one of thirteen. Fresh, The Terminal Text Editor. 00:13:46.838 --> 00:13:59.522 Interesting take on a new text editor for your terminal. The multi-pane interface via curses is interesting. Avoiding having to teach successive generations all the complexity of vim or emacs is a good goal. 00:14:00.422 --> 00:14:04.445 Link two of thirteen. So What's Going to Happen to Product Management Anyway? 00:14:04.945 --> 00:14:21.938 Thought provoking read specifically about product management functions and how that changes with AI. I’m a big believer in directly playing with the technology, building and tinkering is a must. I wholeheartedly would agree that everyone should do that, not just product managers. 00:14:22.838 --> 00:14:26.983 Link three of thirteen. Introducing Anthropic Interviewer, Anthropic. 00:14:27.483 --> 00:14:30.892 Anthropic now has Claude doing interviews. Makes sense. 00:14:31.792 --> 00:14:35.765 Link four of thirteen. Frank Gehry's most iconic work in pictures. 00:14:36.265 --> 00:14:37.489 Such iconic design. 00:14:38.389 --> 00:14:42.517 Link five of thirteen. Avoiding the toxic status loop, Seth's Blog. 00:14:43.017 --> 00:14:54.005 The crazy thing is that social media doesn't even hide the status game. Your follower count and likes of all your posts are just right there. It is a pure status game, with nothing else for it. 00:14:54.905 --> 00:14:58.623 Link six of thirteen. The Land of Giants Transmission Towers. 00:14:59.123 --> 00:15:04.483 I love these! Mark this as another thing to see the next time in Iceland. Kudos Iceland! 00:15:05.383 --> 00:15:12.087 Link seven of thirteen. Engineer proves that Kohler’s smart toilet cameras aren’t very private, Ars Technica. 00:15:12.587 --> 00:15:17.341 I’m a sucker for smart devices and such, but a camera in your toilet? No. Just no. 00:15:18.241 --> 00:15:24.793 Link eight of thirteen. Commerce Operations Foundation, A Common Language for Modern Commerce Operations. 00:15:25.293 --> 00:15:31.293 New industry group focusing on interoperability along with AI-enablement of retail operations. 00:15:32.193 --> 00:15:36.763 Link nine of thirteen. How HubSpot "Fixed" Retention, Brian Halligan, LinkedIn. 00:15:37.263 --> 00:15:47.199 Main components of how HubSpot totally flipped their focus and in the process made big improvements to core operating metrics — focused on customer outcomes. 00:15:48.099 --> 00:15:51.592 Link ten of thirteen. The state of enterprise AI, OpenAI. 00:15:52.092 --> 00:15:53.650 Massive transformations. 00:15:54.550 --> 00:16:00.521 Link eleven of thirteen. Meet Pebble Index 01, External Memory For Your Brain, rePebble Blog. 00:16:01.021 --> 00:16:11.769 I liked having my Aura ring and even consider getting one again. But a ring with a button that you press and such seems really awkward. Love the experiment, but feels doomed. 00:16:12.669 --> 00:16:17.881 Link twelve of thirteen. Alyx: A Fun, Flexible Way to Track Caffeine Intake, MacStories. 00:16:18.381 --> 00:16:19.513 Well designed app. 00:16:20.413 --> 00:16:24.177 Link thirteen of thirteen. Introducing GPT-5.2, OpenAI. 00:16:24.677 --> 00:16:27.097 A notch better… feels like CPU upgrades. 00:16:27.597 --> 00:16:29.000 A haiku to leave you with… 00:16:29.500 --> 00:16:34.146 RSS feeds the mind Let's Encrypt guards web's embrace Status loops undone. 00:16:35.546 --> 00:16:42.306 That brings us to the end of the Weekly Thing, issue 336. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.