Weekly Thing 337 / Sunrise, Vision, Offline
Hello there! 👋
Here I am with the first Weekly Thing of 2026! Yes it is a bit later in the day than planned, but better late than never, right?
I had a great Christmas, wonderful time over New Year's, celebrated my Birthday, and wished Mazie off on her semester abroad in Barcelona.
All of that was wonderful.
Sadly not everything is that way…
Minneapolis is again in the news. There is a huge federal presence in our city that is hard to make sense of. People are scared, and anxiety is high. Renee Good was killed. It is the kind of thing that changes how you go about your day. It makes folks who never expected to feel afraid wonder if they should be.
This is impacting our city and those who call it home. It is a good time to give people some extra grace, check in with friends, and find ways to support our communities.
Ducks finding a spot of warm water in the frozen winter. I only realized after the fact that I sent nearly the same photo in WT 335! The difference is the ice is completely in now.
January 03, 2026
Minneapolis, MN
Notable
You can discuss any of these links at the Weekly Thing 337 tag in r/WeeklyThing.
How Markdown took over the world - Anil Dash
Markdown really is everywhere. I write these emails in Markdown. Every comment I have about the links is written in Markdown. I take notes in Markdown. I blog in Markdown. And now every LLM thinks and writes in Markdown. It is literally everywhere. I particularly like the list of 10 reasons Markdown worked.
Open Infrastructure Map
This is a pretty incredible project. You can see power lines and electrical generation stations, oil pipelines, water infrastructure — all of it is just on a map that you can browse and explore as you wish. Amazing stuff.
Nine Years, One Sunrise Composition: A New Year’s Day Photo Project
I met Bryan Hansel when I took his Winter Along the Gunflint workshop in 2024. He is a great photographer, amazing post-production expert, and teacher. I subscribed to his newsletter and it is a treat. He sends amazing images and his writing along with it is great. Highly recommend. This most recent issue highlights a photo he's taken at sunrise, every day for the last nine years, in the exact same spot. What a great project and beautiful collection of images.
You probably don't need Oh My Zsh | Artem Golubin
Oh My Zsh is cool but I've always veered away from it because of the huge footprint. This post addresses that directly with recommendations to get the biggest value with the least performance hit. I would also add that your shell is probably something where you should really know what is happening, and turning it over to a bunch of stuff you aren't familiar with is perhaps not the best idea.
Don't fall into the anti-AI hype -
Salvatore Sanfilippo (aka antirez) is best know for writing Redis. Redis is this incredible vector database that is well known for being incredible performant, stable, and reliable. I still remember using Redis a long, long time ago when I had to download the tar-ball and build it myself. It was beautiful to watch because the code was so clean, and so well maintained that there were no compiler errors. The entire process gave you confidence in the software from the very beginning. Critical with a service like Redis.
I share this just to say that Sanfilippo is a craftsman. This is someone that cares deeply about software and the craft that goes into making it. He has been blogging about his use of LLMs lately and I've followed his experience closely because of his focus on craft. I know many engineers who have scoffed and written LLM coding agents off. I think this is a huge mistake. Writing software is so incredibly complicated and difficult, and using LLM's will allow us to create so much better solutions than before. His call to action is a good one.
Anyway, back to programming. I have a single suggestion for you, my friend. Whatever you believe about what the Right Thing should be, you can't control it by refusing what is happening right now. Skipping AI is not going to help you or your career. Think about it. Test these new tools, with care, with weeks of work, not in a five minutes test where you can just reinforce your own beliefs. Find a way to multiply yourself, and if it does not work for you, try again every few months.
I have always embraced the word "builder." I think of myself as a builder. Ultimately I find working with LLM's amazing because it helps me build more things better. His final paragraph resonates so strongly with me. (emphasis is mine)
Yes, maybe you think that you worked so hard to learn coding, and now machines are doing it for you. But what was the fire inside you, when you coded till night to see your project working? It was building. And now you can build more and better, if you find your way to use AI effectively. The fun is still there, untouched.
What is your why? Is it to be the best coder, or the best builder?
ICE Is Going on a Surveillance Shopping Spree | Electronic Frontier Foundation
This is an incredible amount of surveillance infrastructure and capability.
A 2022 report by Georgetown Law's Center for Privacy and Technology found the following:
- ICE had scanned the driver's license photos of 1 in 3 adults.
- ICE had access to the driver's license data of 3 in 4 adults.
- ICE was tracking the movements of drivers in cities home to 3 in 4 adults.
- ICE could locate 3 in 4 adults through their utility records.
- ICE built its surveillance dragnet by tapping data from private companies and state and local bureaucracies.
- ICE spent approximately $2.8 billion between 2008 and 2021 on new surveillance, data collection and data-sharing programs.
With a budget for 2025 that is 10 times the size of the agency's total surveillance spending over the last 13 years, ICE is going on a shopping spree, creating one of the largest, most comprehensive domestic surveillance machines in history.
The ICE budget has nearly tripled in just the last two years, and some chunk of that is going to building an incredible surveillance network. And you might think no big deal since the FBI and CIA have huge surveillance functions, but those are entirely different as they are in the intelligence community. This surveillance is less regulated.
MCP is a fad | Tom Bedor's Blog
I’m skeptical of the assertion but it is notable that LLM's have proven already to be very adaptive to interfacing with different protocols. So, will MCP last a long time and do I need to care? My bet is that it will. Its simplicity is a feature not a bug. I think it may be like RSS, around for a very long time and just the glue that makes things work.
Apple: You (Still) Don’t Understand the Vision Pro – Stratechery by Ben Thompson
Thompson shares his reaction to the first live broadcast Vision Pro basketball game. He's critical but not of the technology, more of the way it was produced. From my own usage of the Vision Pro it is clear that you have to think about production in a very different way. Cutting from one camera to another in a VR experience is jarring and not like anything on a regular TV. I was hopeful that Apple would do some innovative things like this with MLS coverage, and that never did happen. Now my hope is that the deal with F1 will be where we see this attempted. I want to feel like I’m driving the Ferrari as it races around the track. This should be entirely possible with the Vision Pro and the content rights must be in place now. F1 may be the best sport to learn how to create these experiences. I’m hopeful.
Introducing Cowork | Claude
I've been using Claude Code for a bunch of different projects. I've also been telling everyone that will listen that even though "Code" is in the title, know that Claude Code can do so much other than code. Truly, Claude Code is just a way to work with collections of files in a directory. You can do whatever you want beyond that. However, this is still limiting since folks that are not comfortable in a terminal are going to get scared away. Now enter Claude Cowork!
With Cowork you can create a "Task" (I would have used the term project) and associate a variety of files with it, and Claude can do very complicated actions across all of that. Simon Willison has a first impression write-up on this that is worth reading. I tried this with a number of things and it was super-easy to use. Additionally, Cowork seems to put each of these tasks in a protected container which protects other files on your computer.
That container part also caused issues for me since Claude created new files for me that I couldn't get to. They were locked in the container and inaccessible. I’m sure that will be fixed soon enough, but I did find the familiar directory and non-containerized approach of Claude Code a little simpler.
I think this points to a much more powerful way for us to engage with LLMs for more project-centric activities.
Reading across books with Claude Code | Pieter Maes
Reading How to Read a Book was my first exposure to the concept of Syntopic Reading:
When you're reading at the Syntopic level, you're working to synthesise material across a discipline (most of the time). Syntopic reading itself has five levels, requires a different approach to inspection, and is the point at which you make the authors work for you rather than you interpreting them.
This article explores using Claude Code to assist in syntopic reading across a collection of books. It would be interesting to build a librarian like agent capability like this, that could hold broad conversations across a variety of books you've read as well as extending into ones that are adjacent. This is from the same person that created the Hacker News Book Map.
Photos Backup Anywhere
I wonder if this is just a nice UI in front of PhotosExport which I recently discovered as well. Either way, these are great options to make sure that you are completely backing up your iCloud Photo Library. This is going on my to do list to setup and use regularly. I would trust this a lot more than just doing an Export.
Patricio Worthalter (POAP): The impossible balance between culture alignment and survival - YouTube
Great presentation from the founder of POAP sharing some of what he sees in Ethereum and the future of blockchain applications. I loved how he shared the impact of his "You've Met Patricio" POAPs. It inspired me to get back to those and commit to doing them in an ongoing manner.
sitemaptorss - Convert Sitemaps to RSS Feeds
Justin at Buttondown recently made the incredibly useful rssrssrssrss service that lets you combine multiple RSS feeds into one. I love how this fully embraces a Unix-like approach of doing one single thing and doing it well. It is a tool. I didn’t know he also created caltorss to transform an iCal feed into RSS. That isn't a use case I've ever considered but I dig it! Then he rolled out this one and I again smirked as I had never considered it either. I wasn't sure what I would use it for and then I realized there are sites I would like to follow that do not publish RSS feeds, but they do have sitemaps! It isn't a particularly nice feed, but in a last ditch attempt this is a cool way to get updates from sites.
Ozempic is changing the foods Americans buy | Cornell Chronicle
Interesting data on the impact of food spending when people start taking a GLP-1.
Within six months of starting a GLP-1 medication, households reduce grocery spending by an average of 5.3%. Among higher-income households, the drop is even steeper, at more than 8%. Spending at fast-food restaurants, coffee shops and other limited-service eateries falls by about 8%.
And it isn't just the total spend, but he category of food is also impacted.
Ultra-processed, calorie-dense foods -- the kinds most closely associated with cravings -- saw the sharpest declines. Spending on savory snacks dropped by about 10%, with similarly large decreases in sweets, baked goods and cookies. Even staples like bread, meat and eggs declined.
Only a handful of categories showed increases. Yogurt rose the most, followed by fresh fruit, nutrition bars and meat snacks.
I've been taking Zepbound (GLP-1) for about nine months now and one of the most notable changes for me has been a desire to share a meal with Tammy, instead of getting my own. And appetizers are very rare since it is just too much food.
Journal
Stone Pit Old Fashioned (bourbon, apricot, demerara, peach tincture) at Animale's. Tasty. 🥃
I’ve always thought it would be amazing to go to a World Cup match and with the 2026 FIFA World Cup being in North America it is time! Tammy did the research and Tyler and I will be at Lumen Field in Seattle on July 6th watching W81 v W82 in the Round of 16! ⚽️
We had a great time solving the Scooby-Doo™ and the Spooky Castle Adventure room at Escapology today. It was our first room at Escapology and we'll be back. Finished in 39m 46s -- very fast for us! Room 86!
Escape Rooms of 2025
Jan 10, 2026 at 6:10 PM
This year we jumped way into our Escape Room adventures, more than any previous year. We completed 25 rooms in 2025!
This year we went through all of our records and made sure we had a complete inventory of all of our rooms, resulting in our Escape Rooms list. We are getting close to having 100 rooms so that we can become TERPECA voters! Speaking of TERPECA, we did seven rooms that were in the top 100 for 2024 of the Top Escape Rooms Project. Note the ⭐️ next to those rooms in the list.
It was a super fun year for escape rooms! 🤩
Our log for 2025 was…
- Copper Cat Escape - Granny's Recipe Rescue in Brainerd, MN. See post!
- Copper Cat Escape - Deep Woods Cabin in Brainerd, MN. See post!
- Puzzleworks - The Museum in St. Paul, MN. See post!
- No Esc Puzzle Collective - Sherwood Forest in Shakopee, MN. See post!
- Enigma Adventures - The Istanbul Gambit in Bloomington, MN. See post!
- Puzzleworks - The Hospital in St. Pual, MN. See post!
- Doldrick's Escape Room - Crazy Train ⭐️ in Orlando, FL. See post!
- Puzzleworks - The Dungeon in St. Paul, MN. See post!
- Puzzleworks - The Anomaly in St. Paul, MN. See post!
- Enigma Adventures - Pirates of the Spanish Main in Maple Grove, MN. See post!
- Escape City - Mindmaster Industries in Calgary. See post!
- Solve Escape Rooms - Caper in the Escape Room in Waukesha, WI.
- Solve Escape Rooms - 14 Floors Below in Waukesha, WI.
- Escape in Time - Gold Rush in Madison, WI. See post!
- Cabinet Mysteriis - The Dreamwalkers ⭐️ in Quebec. See post!
- Cabinet Mysteriis - 2002: The Bovine Odyssey ⭐️ in Quebec. See post!
- Cabinet Mysterlis - Screaming Metal ⭐️ in Quebec. See post!
- Escaparium - Lost Island of the Voodoo Queen ⭐️ in Quebec. See post!
- Escaparium - Wardrobe for sale ⭐️ in Quebec. See post!
- Escaparium - Magnifico ⭐️ in Quebec. See post! Number 1 on TERPECA 2024 and 2025!
- Escape Room Alexandria - The Experiment in Alexandria. See post!
- Puzzled Escape Rooms - Time Machine in Fargo. See post!
- Breakout ND - Gemini Quantum Quest in Bismarck. See post!
- Escape Game - Ruins: Forbidden Treasure in Nashville. See post!
- Escape Game - Yeti Escape Room in Nashville. See post!
Mazie is doing her final packing and preparation to depart tomorrow for her semester abroad in Barcelona. I'm excited and proud of her, and as her Dad nervous and hopeful, as she embarks on her biggest excursion yet. Starting tomorrow I’ll be counting the days until we visit her. 🇪🇸✈️
Excited to see the MSP airport has been added to the Airport POAP Rally! Follow the Rally. ✈️
I’ve been having fun playing Clash Royale with Tyler -- he’s my coach and is really good at the game! The game had some big changes recently that are not being well received by the community. He wrote up where he thinks Supercell is going wrong. Spot on! 🎯
POAP 7550517 at TeamSPS Cyberweek 2025.
At our very first Minnesota Gophers basketball game in the Barn Lofts! 🏀
POAP 7552077 at You've met Jamie Thingelstad in Winter 2026.
Supporting Membership
Hey there, Weekly Thing enthusiasts! 🌟 We're on an exciting mission to support the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), champions of digital freedom, and we need your awesome energy to make it happen! So far, we've rallied together to raise an impressive $692.97, but with your help, we can soar even higher. With 16 weeks to go until we send every cent to the EFF, imagine the impact we could make by boosting our Supporting Member count from 23 to something spectacular! By becoming a Supporting Member, you're not just joining a community—you're directly fueling the fight for online privacy and innovation. Let's make waves and show the world what we can achieve together. Ready to take the leap? Jump in and become a Supporting Member today!
| $4 monthly | $40 yearly |
Briefly
This drives me crazy when I’m using my Mac. 😡 → The struggle of resizing windows on macOS Tahoe – no.heger
A wild social infinite word find. Lovely little project. → WORDS.ZIP - Infinite Collaborative Word Search Game Online
Terpstra makes some powerful Markdown tools. I wasn't familiar with this one. → A quick Markdown Fixup update - BrettTerpstra.com
When the authenticity of digital assets cannot be proven, "in real life" gains a new value. I'd love to see blockchains help this. → offline regains its value | ava's blog
Lessons from an indie game creator. → 15 Years of Indie Dev In 4 Bits of Advice - Tom Francis
Huge set of improvements and updates. → Claude Code 2.1.0 arrives with smoother workflows and smarter agents | VentureBeat
George Orwell, in 1984: “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” → Daring Fireball: Let’s Call a Murder a Murder
Basic introduction to Claude Code and how you can work with it on non-code projects. Good read if you are looking to just get started. → Claude Code and What Comes Next - Ethan Mollick
Birthday reflections. → Matt 4.2 | Matt Mullenweg
Feels a lot like Maps and the initial iPhone. → Joint statement from Google and Apple
There are plenty of folks looking at LLMs for building software, but they are also really good at doing system administration tasks too. Maybe before it was too much to run some of your own services locally, but what if an LLM was doing the setup for you? → 2026 is the year of self-hosting
"The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President." → Statement from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell - Federal Reserve Board
Round-up of various reactions to news that Apple and Google have a deal and Gemini will be used for various AI features. There has to be some familiarity here since Apple has relied on Google so much for Search (and continues), Maps (less so now), and now AI. → Apple Picks Gemini - Michael Tsai
Interesting visualization of the 1,000 most commonly referenced books on Hacker News along with clustering. The site is slow to load but an interesting reference, particularly if lookin for reading ideas. → Hacker News Book Map
Well done Anthropic! 👏 → Python Software Foundation News: Anthropic invests $1.5 million in the Python Software Foundation and open source security
It is crazy how frustrating it can be to deal with date and time in software, particularly when you need to calculate things. Bring on the vibe coding, and good frameworks like this one. → Date is out, Temporal is in - Piccalilli
Mesmerizing. → ASCII Clouds
Happy Birthday Wikipedia! 🥳 → Wikipedia at 25: What the web can be - Anil Dash
Fun little URL shortener that makes links that look incredibly suspicious. I made one to go to the Weekly Thing landing page and it definitely looks like something you shouldn't click on. I’m not going to add it here as it would certainly cause this email to get flagged as suspicious. 😬 → CreepyLink
A haiku to leave you with…
Markdown rules the land,
Code whispers in silent lines—
Pens weep in defeat. 📝
Would you like to discuss the topics in the Weekly Thing further? Check out the Weekly Thing on Reddit. 👋
Want to share this issue with others? The link is…
👨💻
