Extroverted Developer

I just got my new MacBook Pro M5 Pro and I wonder if I made the wrong choice not buying the highest end laptop I could get.

For the first time in my life it seems like computer components are getting more expensive over time, not less.

It started with GPUs. Most GPUs were < $1000 for most of my life, the top of the line was $1000+ and people thought you were crazy for buying a Titan X or whatever. Now days a 5080 is almost $2k by itself.

Because of all the data center build outs RAM has 3x in price. Latest is that SSDs are becoming scarce and expensive.

Then, Iran goes and bombs Amazon data centers in the middle east because they couldn’t tell if they were being used by the US military or not to run analytics/AI – that’s legit military reasoning to me. Data centers have just become military targets because of the way militaries around the world use the cloud/AI. But everyone destroyed eliminates more of the compute supply.

I’m thinking I should maybe buy go back and buy a better laptop NOW before the price spikes

Just canceled my 1Password subscription. I too received the email that the price was going up by 40% for the family plan.

So I had Claude install Vaultwarden along side everything else I already self-host and canceled the subscription. I’m not sure which feature they thought warranted the increase but I assure you it didn’t.

Remember that SaaS stock market crash recently?

You become an expert in a subject but alone in it

If you love being right, you’ll be right alone.

-Eugene’s Mom

It really grinds my gears to order something online. Have no idea when it’s actually coming, only to find out that it shipped and REQUIRES A SIGNATURE.

As though everyone can just take random days off from work or work from home. It’s the same thing with doctors only being available during business hours on weekdays.

People, stop trying to cover your own ass and do what’s best for the customer, not yourself.

I normally don’t do this because I don’t have much advise for how to get through the technical interviews in big tech.

However, if you are a college student trying to get an internship or full time position at one of the big tech companies I can tell you what I did that helped a ton. Assuming they are recruiting on your campus:

1. Go to their presentation
2. Stay after and help them clean up

At my school the recruiters were responsible for leaving the room as they found it, not the university staff. They offered free food (pizza) and drinks to get students to show. Which meant empty plates, cups and pizza boxes strewn about.

By staying to help them clean I got to monopolize their time to ask all of my questions. They appreciated the help. I am nearly certain that after they put my resume on top of the pile.

What the literati get wrong in their outrage over AI writing is that 50% of people are writing BELOW AVERAGE by definition. So for half the population, average is a marked improvement over what they are capable of/interested in.

SPRING! In NYC

What I’ve learned about social media over the years is that people really are just trying their worst

I’m not sure how my retirement account feels about being labeled a Trad IRA