Words

  • Cursor

    We just had a 2-day hackathon at my workplace. Our team built an impressive LLM based agent that does an initial triage of product issues (e.g. based on alerts). We had done some prep work before the main hackathon, but most of the coding was actually done during the two days. There were more than 100 commits across 7 developers. Very productive.

    Cursor played a huge role in achieving this. So many parts of this system would have been a full fledged project of their own in earlier hackathons where we didn’t have this kind of GenAI assistance. For example, we decided to build a visualiser to show events as a timeline, so that the demo is more impactful. It then took us 1.5 hours to build this, with all features such as zoom, filtering, JSON upload and parsing, search, event interactions (tooltip, click for more info), etc. With Cursor, it was like each developer had their own “10x developer” assistant at their disposal. It took us this hackathon to realise that we could and should be using Cursor/Copilot much more. Having to work from scratch, and with unknown technology, forced our hand but in a good way.

    The “10x developer” assistant is unreliable and gets confused though. When I asked Cursor to build the visualisation tool in a blank project, it was able to do it in one shot. However, to implement the same as part of the earlier UI (built on the first day), I had to direct and coax it incrementally - otherwise it did a really shoddy job. I attribute much of this to the nascent nature of this technology. Perhaps next year, it can be effective even when adding to existing codebase.

    It was fun to see the vibe coding in practice. Like I mentioned in my earlier post on this subject, the elephant in the room was how it can cannibalise the need for software developers over time.

  • Vibe Coding

    Andrej Karpathy’s post:

    There’s a new kind of coding I call “vibe coding”, where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists. It’s possible because the LLMs (e.g. Cursor Composer w Sonnet) are getting too good. Also I just talk to Composer with SuperWhisper so I barely even touch the keyboard. I ask for the dumbest things like “decrease the padding on the sidebar by half” because I’m too lazy to find it. I “Accept All” always, I don’t read the diffs anymore. When I get error messages I just copy paste them in with no comment, usually that fixes it. The code grows beyond my usual comprehension, I’d have to really read through it for a while. Sometimes the LLMs can’t fix a bug so I just work around it or ask for random changes until it goes away. It’s not too bad for throwaway weekend projects, but still quite amusing. I’m building a project or webapp, but it’s not really coding - I just see stuff, say stuff, run stuff, and copy paste stuff, and it mostly works.

    Up until a few months ago, I would have just laughed at this. Now this gives me pause. I have begun seeing enough examples at work where people, if not completely “vibe coding”, have been getting 80% of their work done by LLMs. This is not yet true for changes made to our core services because of inherent complexity and scope. How long is the “not yet” going to remain valid for? There is so much work in the software industry, where vibe coding can competently accomplish things today.

    This brings up parallels to how the textile industry automation obliterated the traditional craftsmen’s livelihood in the UK in 19th century. The scary thing about LLMs is that they can be trained and applied in most industries eventually. It’s all happening in the knowledge industry now, but the next step is most certainly advanced robotics (humanoid or otherwise) and automation of manual labour in all forms. With the continuous and fast-paced improvements in LLMs, the computers could simply iterate and program the robots. We might soon be living in Asimov’s world.

  • Public Library

    Bangalore, just like India, does not have good (or a good number of) public libraries. So when you luck out by having one in your neighbourhood, you try and make the best use of it.

    We have found a good one near my in-laws’ place. We like visiting whenever we can, read there for some time, and checking out the books to take home. For once, I feel like I’m getting some value out of the taxes I pay.

    Unfortunately, many people who live nearby are not aware of this library. Their children could be here getting lost in the books, but instead are lost in TV at home. It takes a lifetime of disappointment in public facilities to not notice a good library when one is but a few minutes of walk away.

  • 50 Years of Travel Tips

    I nodded my head to many of the tips here. Here are some that resonated the most:

    1. No complaining

    The most significant criteria to use when selecting travel companions is: do they complain or not, even when complaints are justified? No complaining! Complaints are for the debriefing afterwards when travel is over.

    1. Travel light

    Your enjoyment of a trip will be inversely related to the weight of your luggage.

    1. Do fewer things

    The hard-to-accept truth is that it is far better to spend more time in a few places than a little time in a bunch of places.

    1. Eat where the locals eat

    my rule of thumb is to eat wherever healthy-looking locals eat. You can get an inexpensive and authentic meal near a famous tourist spot simply by walking at least five blocks away from the epicenter.

    1. Location matters

    Whenever possible I book my hotel near to where it is best to walk, so I can stroll out the door and begin to wander.

    1. Slow down

    Slow down. Take lots of breaks. The most memorable moments—conversations with amazing strangers, an invite inside, a hidden artwork—will usually happen when you are not moving.

    1. 10-day trips

    We’ve also learned that this intensity works best if we aim for 12 days away from home. That means 10 days for in-country experience, plus a travel day (or two) on each end. We’ve found from doing this many times, with many travelers of all ages and interests, 14 days on the ground is two days too many. There seems to be a natural lull at about 10 days of intense kinetic travel. People start to tune out a bit. So we cut it there and use the other days to come and go and soften the transitions. On the other hand 8 days feels like the momentum is cut short. So 10 days of intensity, and 12 days in a country is what we aim for.

    Regarding #5 above (location), I have come to like Booking.com’s location rating to decide where to stay at. In cities, I prefer locations with good public transport options, walking distance to restaurants and supermarkets, and close to attractions. When in Rome, I put on my shoes and went running near the Colloseum. When in Venice, we just went wandering among the alleys after dinner. When in Florence, we stayed a bit far from the city and didn’t like our stay though the place itself was great.

  • Garbage

    As usual, insightful writing by @craigmod: Garbage

    It was surprising to me that trash cans are not a norm in Japan, but totally unsurprising that the Japanese just carry their trash home and dispose responsibly. Japan has its problems (aging population, loneliness, etc.), but their etiquette is always something to emulate.

    In India, we are lucky if people can hold on to their trash until they find a trash can, much less carry it home. I have seen people packing their trash from home and then disposing by the roadside in Bangalore. We have a long way to go.

    We also need to make a habit of always carrying a reusable tote bag, instead of getting a disposable plastic bag when buying something.

  • The Cat Years

    This hits hard.

  • Whenever it gets too hot in Bangalore, you can expect some rains. 😇

  • 📺 Chernobyl

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    I wish the show was in Russian; it was awkward to watch the Russian characters speak in English.

  • 🎵 99 Songs (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    Composed by A. R. Rahman

    Update (22nd Feb 2025): This one makes me nostalgic. This album was on repeat through the first lockdown.

  • Gratitude - Lockdown Edition

    Things I’m thankful for, during the lockdown: more playtime with my son, family time, no commute, less pollution, books, music, movie and TV shows, no junk food.

    I must also recognize that I’m incredibly fortunate for having a job where I can work from home, and continue to earn. It’s almost a privilege. I’m thankful (hopeful) for the governments in doing the best they can to provide for those in need.

  • Lockdown

    Went out for some grocery shopping yesterday evening in Bangalore. It was eerie not seeing the lights on the storefronts, very few people on the streets, everyone wearing masks… Felt like I was living in a movie, and not a happy one at that.

    It’s probably the first time that a worldwide pandemic or a war-like situation has risen, where most everyone can still enjoy a good quality of life. Unlike other times, in today’s age we have round the clock electricity, garbage disposal, fast internet, streaming music, movie and TV shows on demand, essentials delivery to door.

    If there’s one thing I would like to see change in such a situation, it’s the news. Vast majority of the news seems corrupt, lazy, or attention grabbing. Rather than simply informing people, it’s making them anxious and addicted to the news.

    People, of course, have a choice in choosing what to watch or engage in. But they are being gamed, and they don’t realise it.

    The software must change too. People are gullible, and the communication platforms (WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) make almost no effort in stemming misinformation and people’s addictive behaviour. It’s capitalism at its worst.

  • Hello, World

    I don’t intend to write here so others find something interesting to read. You can, no stopping you. But the main idea is for me to just write. Something, anything. And maybe make a habit out of it. If it gets interesting, that’s a bonus. Let’s go.

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