#automation
62 episodes
#5401: When Companies Hide Humans Behind the AI Curtain
A system prompt and a cheap model can make human decisions read like bot output — and that's exactly the point.
#5285: Two Queues, One Cron Tick: Serverless Batch Pipelines
What does a queue look like when your process is disposable? Two queues, one cron tick, and a 50% batch discount.
#5277: AI Handles the GTD Inbox So You Don't Have To
GTD says capture everything — then caps your inbox at 100 items. What if AI did the organizing layer instead?
#5055: The Invisible Machinery of Autonomous Agents
Heartbeats, state stores, and budget caps — the unglamorous infrastructure that actually makes always-on AI agents work.
#5033: The Greatest Dumbest Home Assistant Automations
Doorbell goal horns, toilet dashboards, and a lamp that dims on guests. The ten most gloriously unnecessary smart home automations, ranked.
#4995: What a Bad Thermostat Teaches Us About Control
How phase lead, decay, and knowing when to do nothing fix the oscillation problem.
#4902: Backward Batching: Fixing Slow Uploads Without Blocking Users
How one developer used background threads and deferred AI processing to fix a cataloguing workflow.
#4824: Build vs Pull: Docker Deploy Strategies for Solo Devs
Where to build your Docker image and how to trigger deploys — three patterns for small teams on a VPS.
#4731: Teaching Your Router Bedtime: Automated QoS with OPNsense
Can your router learn when to prioritize Netflix over backups? We build schedule-aware QoS with OPNsense and cron.
#4683: Parallel vs Sequential Agent Loops: The Real Tradeoffs
When should AI agents run in parallel vs sequential chains? The dependency graph isn't enough — join costs and error handling matter more.
#4681: Loops vs Workflows: Defining AI's New Unit of Work
What makes a Claude Code loop different from a prompt or workflow? We pin down the actual definition—and who owns the off switch.
#4680: Inside Amazon's Delivery Machine: From Robot Picking to Your Doorstep
How Amazon's fulfillment centers, 750K robots, and Prime's economics make next-day doorstep delivery feel like gravity.
#4568: Building a Smarter Text Expansion Library
Move beyond addresses and signatures — build snippets that shape how you think, decide, and communicate on mobile.
#4453: Workers vs Workflows: Recovering From SSD Failure
When your VPS SSD dies at 3AM, how do you know what broke? A practical guide to self-hosted worker management.
#4452: YouTube Backup Pipeline: RSS + yt-dlp + Wasabi
Build a free, reliable pipeline to auto-download and backup YouTube videos using RSS feeds, yt-dlp, and cloud storage.
#4414: Shared Shopping Carts That Auto-Order
Why cross-device cart sync fails and what it would take to build a system that orders for you.
#4394: How to Buy a Reliable Used Car in Israel
Avoid French cars, stick to Toyota or Mazda, and always get a compression test before buying.
#4393: Should You Repair or Sell Your Old Car?
How to decide whether to fix your aging car or sell it, using real Israeli market numbers.
#4291: Car Battery Lifespan, Dash Cams & Jump Starters
Realistic battery life, why dash cams drain them fast, and whether portable jump starters actually work.
#4195: The 90-Second Tire Walk-Around That Could Save Your Life
A pilot-style tire inspection protocol you can do at the gas station — catches the failures that cause 78% of tire crashes.
#3984: Eurobox Garage: Stocking a Seat Ibiza Cabinet
Build a VDA-standard Eurobox cabinet for your Seat Ibiza, with real part numbers and shelf logic.
#3972: Car Maintenance Apps That Actually Work
Turn your phone into a car maintenance log with photo tracking, mileage-based reminders, and cost analysis.
#3959: The 9-Point Car Inspection That Actually Prevents Breakdowns
Oil and tire checks aren't enough. Add these 5 inspections to avoid the three biggest causes of roadside tows.
#3937: The Third Pedal's Last Mile
Manual transmissions are vanishing fast. Here's what's driving the decline and what it means for drivers who still want three pedals.