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aantix

5,466 karma · joined April 11, 2007

My name is Jim Jones. I consult as a software engineer for startups in the Bay Area. I'm a two-time speaker at RailsConf. Love spending time with my family and writing software.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimjones2

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aantix··on Why I Chose Elixir Phoenix over Rails, Laravel, and Next.js
You can swap out the ActionCable backend with different providers.

Redis, postgres. I think there's a couple of commercial offerings.

solid_cable is a database polling mechanism which can also be swapped in.

aantix··on Embracing the parallel coding agent lifestyle
3. Have the LLM generate the commit message.
aantix··on Embracing the parallel coding agent lifestyle
I did try out sculptor. I like the idea of the pairing mode - the syncing to the main branch is quite helpful.

A couple of items

1. As output comes back from Claude Code, I wish it were streamed to the screen in Sculptor. Seeing the text build up in realtime gives me the feeling of the agent being "alive". It's hard to describe - but I find it more delightful to see it streamed in realtime.

2. Add more hotkeys.

aantix··on Ultrasound is ushering a new era of surgery-free cancer treatment
> treat prostate issues

Is prostate size reduction possible?

aantix··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (October 2025)
An alternative YouTube app for my kids.

YouTube's algorithm is all about engagement - more video game videos, more brainrot, their algorithm doesn't care about the content as long as the kid is watching.

My system allows parents to define their children's interests (e.g., a 12-year-old who enjoys DIY engineering projects, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and drawing fantasy figures)

.. and specify how the AI should filter video candidates (e.g., excluding YouTube Shorts).

Periodically, the system prompts the child with something like

"Tell me about your favorite family vacation."

And their response to that prompt provides the system with more ideas and interests to suggest videos to them.

email me if you'd like to test jim.jones1@gmail.com

aantix··on Embracing the parallel coding agent lifestyle
Along these lines, how does everyone visually organize the multiple terminal tabs open for these numerous agents in various states?

I wish there were a way to search across all open tabs.

I've started color-coding my Claude code tabs, all red, which helps me to find them visually. I do this with a preexec in my ~/.zshrc.

But wondering if anyone else has any better tricks for organizing all of these agent tabs?

I'm using iTerm2 on macOS.

aantix··on I spent the day teaching seniors how to use an iPhone
A couple of times I’ve been offered a backend contract position for Apple at $110/hr.

They couldn’t go any higher. lol.

No thanks.

Billions in the bank and they’re cheaping out on talent.

El cheapos.

aantix··on Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?
Get your dna sequenced. A simple 23andme test would do.

https://www.geneticlifehacks.com/caffeine-metabolism-and-you...

Like the other commenter alluded to, if you consume caffeine and your BP remains really elevated past two hours, you’re probably a slow metabolizer.

aantix··on Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?
And genetics. Caffeine is a net negative for slow metabolizers.
aantix··on Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?
Not if you’re a slow metabolizer. 15% of the population.

CYP1A2

Increased heart attack risk: A 2006 study found that slow metabolizers who drank four or more cups of coffee per day had a 64% increased risk of a nonfatal myocardial infarction (heart attack) compared to those drinking less than one cup daily. The risk was even higher for slow metabolizers under age 50, who experienced more than four times the risk

No increased risk for fast metabolizers: In the same study, fast metabolizers did not experience an increased risk of heart attack, even with high coffee consumption.

aantix··on Why do we keep gravitating toward complexity?
It's a progression.

To achieve simplicity, you must first outline the complex process, identify commonalities, and then simplify.

You can't reach simplicity without going through and organizing our messy, internal thoughts.

aantix··on Claude now has access to a server-side container environment
Will there ever be an official Google Doc/Google Drive MCP server?

Something with OAuth authentication.

Our org isn't interested in running a local, unofficial MCP server and having users create their own API keys.

aantix··on Claude Code Checkpoints
They have hinted at it?
aantix··on Claude Code is all you need
Has anyone run with `dangerously skip permissions` and had something catastrophic happen?

Are there internal guardrails within Claude Code to prevent such incidents?

rm -rf, drop database, etc?

aantix··on AI promised efficiency. Instead, it's making us work harder
I don't think "IDK Claude did that" is a valid excuse. Immediate rejection.

AI may be multi-threaded, but there's still a human, global interpreter lock in place. :D

If you put the code up for review, regardless of the source, you should fundamentally understand how it works.

This raises a broader point about AI and productivity: while AI promises parallelism, there's still the human in the middle who is responsible for the code.

The promise of "parallelism" is overstated.

100's of PRs should not be trusted. Or at least not without the c-suite understanding such risks. Maybe you're a small startup looking to get out the door as quickly as possible, so.. YOLO.

But it's going to be a hot mess. A "clean up in aisle nine" level mess.

aantix··on Enough AI copilots, we need AI HUDs
I would love to see a HUD that allows me to see the change that corresponds to Claude Code's TODO item.

I don't want inline comments as those accumulate, don't get cleaned up appropriately by the LLM.

aantix··on Show HN: Conductor, a Mac app that lets you run a bunch of Claude Codes at once
Is some of the intermediary output being suppressed? This gives the feeling of CC "working" on my behalf.

Being able to quickly hit escape to interject. Escape again to see the conversation history.

The key bindings should be exactly the same.

I don't think I'm looking for an interface to replace CC - it's a great interactive terminal app.

I just want a better way to manage the sessions.

aantix··on Show HN: Conductor, a Mac app that lets you run a bunch of Claude Codes at once
There’s a “feel” to the way Claude Code outputs the text. And for input as well.

Sadly, this is lost with conductor.

I just don’t feel as joyful using it.

aantix··on What caused the 'baby boom'? What would it take to have another?
There needs to be a mind shift. It will probably take a generation.

Being online is not the same as being in the real world.

You have to take risks, including speaking with people, face to face, and forming meaningful relationships.

Swiping right is not the same as approaching someone attractive in person.

Complaining on Reddit is not the same as talking directly with lawmakers.

Interpersonal communication, persuasion, is hard work that should be re-embraced.

aantix··on Claude Code now supports Hooks
Wish it supported rollbacks..
aantix··on What happens when clergy take psilocybin
How do you know your experience is not a placebo effect?
aantix··on Younger generations less likely to have dementia, study suggests
I wonder if sleep apnea diagnoses will decrease with the increasing use of GLP-1s?

Zepbound is FDA-approved for OSA.

aantix··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (May 2025)
It's a web app. I'm developing it as a PWA for easy installation on mobile devices. No app or app store required. Installation is like adding a bookmark.

https://www.bitcot.com/how-to-install-a-pwa-to-your-device/

Since it's a web app, I don't see why it couldn't be installed on any TV with a built-in web browser.

aantix··on Ask HN: What's the best decision you made early in your career
Following the conventions of Ruby on Rails.

It continues to pay dividends in app design, organization and code patterns.

aantix··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (May 2025)
With the current YouTube, it’s definitely whack a mole with topics

I can ban 100 Fortnite channels, but there’s another 1000 to fill the void.

Sadly, YouTube is driven by engagement, so dislikes have zero effect on the algorithm.

My algorithm is better suited for exploration and kids.

aantix··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (May 2025)
A timer is a great idea.

I’ll add it to our community ideas Google doc.

aantix··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (May 2025)
A new YouTube app/player, for my kids.

It allows us to control the algorithm. It’s all LLM translating to YouTube search queries under the hood.

Visually it looks the same. The suggested videos come from predefined buckets on topics they love.

E.g. 33% fun math, 33% DIY engineering, 33% creative activities.

Video recommendations that have a banned word in the title/desc don't get displayed e.g. MrBeast, anything with Minecraft in it, never gets surfaced.

For anyone interested in using it, send me an email.

I'll put you on my list. And you can contribute ideas to our community Google Doc.

jim.jones1@gmail.com

aantix··on Dilbert creator Scott Adams says he will die soon from same cancer as Joe Biden
That does sounds stressful. Sorry he had to go through that.

I have high psa levels. 17.

Had a biopsy. Turns out I have a really large prostate. My doctor said that some just naturally have larger prostates and the larger ones produce more psa. The psa density function put my levels at normal when taking in to consideration the size. The biopsy came back negative.

aantix··on Dilbert creator Scott Adams says he will die soon from same cancer as Joe Biden
I don’t understand why PSA levels aren’t included as part of the standard blood work done with check ups.
aantix··on Show HN: Visual flow-based programming for Erlang, inspired by Node-RED
I would move your sample images to the top of the README.

Don't bury the lede.

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