I keep wanting to build a large "lite brite" style display for my window. I keep getting stopped even though I have a lot of the tools necessary, like this laser engraver.
You just gave me an idea about an extremely simple way to build this using a Raspberry Pi Zero and my cheap laser engraver.
> What really matters is how well does the code performs 1 month after it goes live, 6 months, 5 years.
After 40 years in this industry—I started at 10 and hit 50 this year—I’ve developed a low tolerance for architectural decay.
Last night, I used Claude to spin up a website editor. My baseline for this project was a minimal JavaScript UI I’ve been running that clocks in at a lean 2.7KB (https://ponder.joeldare.com). It’s fast, it’s stable, and I understand every line. But for this session, I opted for Node and neglected to include my usual "zero-framework" constraint in the prompt.
The result is a functional, working piece of software that is also a total disaster. It’s a 48KB bundle with 5 direct dependencies—which exploded into 89 total dependencies. In a world where we prioritize "velocity" over maintenance, this is the status quo. For me, it’s unacceptable.
If a simple editor requires 89 third-party packages to exist, it won't survive the 5-year test. I'm going back to basics.
I'll try again but we NEED to expertly drive these tools, at least right now.
I used this prompt and it suggested a model I already have installed and one other. I'm not sure if it's the "newest" answer.
> What is the best local LLM that I could run on this computer? I have Ollama (and prefer it) and I have LM Studio. I'm willing to install others, if it gives me better bang for my buck. Use bash commands to inspect the RAM and such. I prefer a model with tool calling.
The app is a local-first budgeting tool — one HTML file, no backend, no accounts, no tracking. That's the whole point. But it also means there's no server to check a license, no account to suspend, and no technical way to prevent copying. This is the story of choosing shareware-style trust-based monetization instead of DRM.
Yup, me too. In fact, I might consider simple copyright for something like a board game. Granted, I’ve never registered an actual copyright either. I suppose I should try it out.
Balance Buckets helps you quickly answer the question: “How much is safe to spend right now?”
You setup a few buckets then drop in your current balance. It immediately shows you what’s left. It’s local-first (just localStorage), no bank login, no account linking, and no transaction import rabbit hole. The goal is clarity in under a minute, not another finance app that demands setup overhead.
I built Balance Buckets because most small business bank accounts don't have a buckets or envelope saving feature. I wanted a dead-simple tool that helps me see where my money is. Define buckets (fixed dollars or percents), track what’s funded vs underfunded.
I keep wanting to build a large "lite brite" style display for my window. I keep getting stopped even though I have a lot of the tools necessary, like this laser engraver.
You just gave me an idea about an extremely simple way to build this using a Raspberry Pi Zero and my cheap laser engraver.
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