kaechle

I use both Claude and Codex for a lot of code- and prose-adjacent tasks, and I'm increasingly convinced that language models are quite terrible at, well, modeling. Not sure if that's ironic or not.

With the right blend of context and prompting, I can often get them to "lock into" an existing model, but using them to generate a novel outline or sketch, whether it's for an essay or a module, usually results in garbage.

You're arguing semantics; maybe missing the point entirely. The writer is using the analogy to emphasize personalization, not quality, or some other nebulous characteristic applicable to artisanship.

Correct. To decimate is the infinitive form of the verb decimate.

Those are some bounding leaps you made without much context. Are you in sales?

Kidding aside, my first reaction was: perhaps the occasions they were aware of their own influence were ones in which they didn't much care for the outcome. Or maybe a conflict of interest, like trying to win over a hiring manager for a position you know you'll hate.

I don't think cajoling or persuading others inherently manipulative, but I can think of a lot of examples where doing so feels grimy.

I’ll see your pedantry and raise you ... more pedantry. The sentence may be a bit clunky, but there’s nothing grammatically wrong with it. And you’re leaving out the first sentence, which frames the comparison:

> ASML gross revenue was 28B€ in 2024, and their net income was 7.5B€. While 1.3B€ (the amount ASML invested in this 1.7B€ fund raise) is not pocket change, it is also an amount that ASML can not afford to lose.

Worded another way:

> ASML had a healthy margin of 7.5B€ on 28B€ in gross revenue in 2024. 1.3B€ isn’t a huge chunk of this, relatively speaking, but *it’s also an amount that ASML can’t afford to lose.*

Still clunky. Still not wrong.

SEEKING WORK | Remote Preferred | US/Brazil

  Technologies: Python, asyncio, Pydantic, LLM integrations (OpenAI, Anthropic), Meilisearch, WebSockets, Redis, Postgres, REST/HTTP APIs, Front-end web development, React, Next.js, HTML/CSS, Tailwind, UI/UX, design, technical & content writing
  Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaechle/
  Email: [email protected]

I’m Tim, a developer and writer with a swath of experience across the full stack, from design to Python-based backend systems, including asynchronous operations, concurrency, and integrated LLM workflows. My recent work involves orchestrating and managing processes with libraries like Meilisearch, OpenAI/Anthropic endpoints, and advanced metaclass/typing/patterns in Python. I also have a strong front-end background, keen design sensibilities, and proven writing and technical documentation skills—my writing portfolio can be viewed on my LinkedIn profile. I’m currently looking for work that challenges me technically and allows me to communicate complex ideas through writing and design.

  Location: Brazil (US Expat)
  Remote: Preferably
  Willing to relocate: Never say never
  Technologies: Python, asyncio, Pydantic, LLM integrations (OpenAI, Anthropic), Meilisearch, WebSockets, Redis, Postgres, REST/HTTP APIs, Front-end web development, React, Next.js, HTML/CSS, Tailwind, UI/UX, design, technical & content writing
  Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaechle/
  Email: [email protected]

I’m Tim, a developer and writer with a swath of experience across the full stack, from design to Python-based backend systems, including asynchronous operations, concurrency, and integrated LLM workflows. My recent work involves orchestrating and managing processes with libraries like Meilisearch, OpenAI/Anthropic endpoints, and advanced metaclass/typing/patterns in Python. I also have a strong front-end background, keen design sensibilities, and proven writing and documentation capabilities—my writing portfolio can be viewed on my LinkedIn profile.

I’m currently looking for a place where I can continue learning and growing my broad skillset; a position where I can challenge my technical skills as well as my ability to communicate complex ideas through writing and design.

This is the way. Blending two or more styles also works well, especially if they're on opposite poles, e.g. "write like the imaginary lovechild of Cormac McCarthy and Ernest Hemingway."

Also, wouldn't angry Charles Bukowski just be ... Charles Bukowski?

Great points. We're pattern-matching shortcut machines, without a doubt. In most contexts, not even good ones.

> When I go to the doctor, I don't study medicine first, I trust the doctor. Trust takes the place of genuine understanding.

The ultimate abstraction! Trust is highly irrational by definition. But we do it all day every day, lest we be classified as psychologically unfit for society. Which is to say, mental health is predicated on a not-insignificant amount of rationalizations and self-deceptions. Hallucinations, even.

Every time I read "stochastic parrot," my always-deterministic human brain surfaces this quote:

> “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”

- Oscar Wilde, a great ape with a pen

This. Em dashes are—as punctuation goes—downright sexy, so I committed shift+opt+- to muscle memory long ago. And it's arguably less work than a bucked-toothed double hyphen.

Btw, if you haven't already, check out Karabiner on macOS for AutoHotkey-esque functionality.