I've read multiple pieces from people recommending Claude Code for non-coding tasks. And it smells like Claude Skills could also add value. But I'm confused as to (more)

A maxim used to explain such things as (more)

AI stocks waver as ‘Big Short’ investor bets against Palantir, Nvidia. A months-long rally in Big Tech stocks faltered Tuesday as artificial intelligence data company Palantir was targeted by a prominent short-seller, sparking invective from CEO Alex Karp and a sell-off on Wall Street. (more)

‘We’re the peace activists": my surreal, soul-sucking day at Palantir’s first AI warfare conference. On 7 and 8 May in Washington DC, the city’s biggest convention hall welcomed America’s military-industrial complex. (more)

Democratic Socialist Simulator: a computer game where you basically play Bernie Sanders, having been elected president (in 2020, when the game came out), trying to make things good. Can you redistribute power and wealth while addressing the climate crisis? Enact radical reforms, tax the rich, transform the economy, tackle the most pressing issues without alienating voters or bankrupting the government. But beware: the ruling class won't give up its power easily. Even your closest allies may turn on you... It's by no means a serious simulation, but is based on extensive research on viable policies, and on the history of social-democracies. https://www.molleindustria.org/demsocsim/ (more)

Is there such a thing as Absolute Truth? (more)

8 Healthiest Oatmeal Brands—and 4 To Avoid. Much like breakfast cereals, which come in a spectrum from mega-healthy to candy in disguise, packaged oatmeals also range in their healthfulness. That’s why we tapped dietitians for their most recommended packaged oatmeals. (more)

Steven Simon and ? Stevenson: We Used to Think the Military Would Stand Up to Trump. We Were Wrong. By ordering 800 National Guard troops to Washington, on the pretext of an illusory crime wave, President Donald Trump has further dragged the U.S. military into domestic law enforcement, in a move credibly perceived as an ominous “test case.” This continues what the administration started in California in June as part of the its deportation efforts. (more)

probably the "truest" form of test-driven development

Introducing Agent Skills (Claude Skills): Claude can now use Skills to improve how it performs specific tasks. Skills are folders that include instructions, scripts, and resources that Claude can load when needed. Claude will only access a skill when it's relevant to the task at hand. When used, skills make Claude better at specialized tasks like working with Excel or following your organization's brand guidelines. https://claude.com/blog/skills (more)

one of Claude skills

Zvi Mowshowitz: AI #134: If Anyone Reads It. It is book week. As in the new book by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Sores, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies. The rest of the AI world cooperated by not overshadowing the book, while still doing plenty, such as releasing a GPT-5 variant specialized for Codex, acing another top programming competition, attempting to expropriate the OpenAI nonprofit in one of the largest thefts in human history and getting sued again for wrongful death. (more)

Zvi Mowshowitz: AI #111: Giving Us Pause. Events in AI don’t stop merely because of a trade war, partially paused or otherwise. (more)

the claude interface/layer that's intended especially for coding, though it doesn't have to be limited to that; among other things, it has the benefit of being able to work with your local files (though it also interacts with your github).

Kurt Andersen book ISBN:978-1-4000-6721-3, published 2017 (most writing 2014-15) - perfect timing to catch the Donald Trump presidency. (more)

New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consider it a religious movement, its adherents typically see it as spiritual or as a unification of mind, body, and spirit, and rarely use the term New Age themselves. Scholars often call it the New Age movement, although others contest this term and suggest it is better seen as a milieu or zeitgeist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Age (more)

Organizations tend to swing between Functional structure (you report to someone who used to have a job like yours) and Project Management or divisional structure (you report to someone who is coordinating your efforts with those of other folks not like you). The styles have complementary strengths and weaknesses. MatrixManagement freezes the pendulum in the middle by having you report to two managers at once. WikiWikiWeb:MatrixManagement (more)

Peterson Health Technology Institute (PHTI had a session to the Chicago MATTER-Health group yesterday to review its assessment report on Virtual OUD (Opioid Use Disorder) Solutions. (more)

cf Object Identifier, Wiki Name, Automatic Linking, Link As You Think, Shared Language, Pattern Language (more)

Simon Willison: simonw/claude-skills. simonw/claude-skills. One of the tips I picked up from Jesse Vincent's Claude Code Superpowers post (previously) was this: Claude Skills are what give your agents Superpowers. 2025-10-09-VincentSuperpowersHowImUsingCodingAgentsInOctober2025 (more)