This week, I learned:

  • MicroVMs like firecracker are like containers but offer higher isolation with slightly higher latency and memory via kvm hypervisors. ChatGPT
  • I was exploring free alternatives to the $4/mo Hetzner instance I use. Google offers a free e2 micro instance. But it’s much smaller than the Hetzner CAX11/CX-22 server I run. 25% of CPU, 25% of RAM (which is the main problem – 1 GB is often not enough), slower HDD, 5% of outbound traffic. Hetzner remains one of the best value offerings.
  • Planning to use pretty-quick instead of prettier. It’s a wrapper that only fixes changed files based on git.
  • f2 is an intuitive cross-platform renaming tool. Usage: 
    f2 -f 'jpeg' -r 'jpg'
f2 -r '{id3.artist}/{id3.album}/${1}_{id3.title}{ext}'
  • git worktrees can create multiple copies of code. This is useful when using different coding agents run the same task in parallel. Ref
    • git worktree add -b $newbranch worktree/$path creates a copy of HEAD in $path as a $newbranch
    • git push from branch and create a pull request
    • git worktree remove worktree/$path to remove worktree
    • git worktree prune for garbage collection
  • LLMs optimize for compression. Humans optimize for adaptive flexibility. Ref arXiv
  • Gemini Deep Research accepts files and images. Cross-checking reports, providing private sources, etc. is now realistic. Ref
  • The new Flux1.Kontext model seems very good at image editing. Costs 4-8c per image. Peter Gostev
  • Today, I’d go with Node’s native test runner for backend JS testing. I used node-tap earlier. For front-end, I’d pick vitest. ChatGPT
  • ⭐ DuckLake is a DuckDB extension that makes Parquet files editable with history. And much more. DuckDB
  • When processing presentations for RAG via OCR:
  • Here’s one way controls inflate cost. Tracking expenses, submitting receipts, and justifying usage adds transaction cost. So, rather than a $10 monthly top-up, I’d rather top-up $200 (even if it might go unused), rather than have to ask again.