Les Orchard <me@lmorchard.com>
That's me!
About Me
TL;DR: he / him; old adhd cat dad; tinkerer; serial enthusiast; editor-at-large for lmorchard.com
This page collects a bunch of the stuff I do online. If you feel like it, send me an email at
me@lmorchard.com, send a toot to
@lmorchard@masto.hackers.town, or find me in one of
the other usual places below:
Blog (blog.lmorchard.com)
Links
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23 minutes ago
Using Claude Code to help me write | Andrew Wheeler
There are two big issues currently with LLM writing: it is potentially wrong current LLM writing has a particular style that is itself becoming noticeable The first bullet, you need to review what it writes. It is much easier to have it write on content you are an expert in, so it is easier to review and spot errors. (It is the same current problem with using the tools to help you write computer code – they are boons for seniors but can write a ton of slop that more neophyte coders have a hard time spotting issues.) The second bullet, having the style mimic your own, is what I am going to discuss here. It is worth understanding at a high level how generative AI LLMs work – if you ask “answer question X” vs “here is a book, …., answer question X” the LLM will generate a different response. The first part in the former prompt, “here is a book, …” is what is referred to the context. Current models have context windows (how large of a potential input) at around 500,000 words (technically they are around 1 million tokens, one word is often multiple tokens though).
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28 minutes ago
AI Didn't Break the Senior Engineer Pipeline. It Showed That One Never Existed.
The organizations that figure this out will develop stronger engineers faster than ever, because AI is a powerful tool for deliberate development when someone is actually steering it. The ones that don’t will produce a generation of engineers who can ship features with AI assistance but can’t independently reason about hard problems. The difference won’t show up on a quarterly roadmap. It will show up the first time something goes seriously wrong and someone needs to think their way out of it without a prompt to lean on.
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17 hours ago
Why craft-lovers are losing their craft — Hong Minhee on Things
One caveat matters here. The tension between craft and efficiency doesn't disappear if you remove capitalism from the picture. LLM coding assistants produce faster results whether anyone is being paid or not, and any community, however it's organized, will eventually have to reckon with what to do with that speed difference. Capitalism gives the harshest possible answer to that question: the slower worker loses their livelihood. But the question itself would survive capitalism. Other forms of social organization might answer it more gently, but they'd still have to answer it.
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18 hours ago
Ftrain, by Paul Ford
Essays and stories by Paul Ford. Since 1997.
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1 day ago
Drugwars for the TI-82/83/83+ Calculators
Drugwars for the TI-82/83/83+ Calculators
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1 day ago
The 49MB Web Page | thatshubham
They built a system that treats your attention as an extractable resource. The most radical thing you can do is refuse to be extracted. Close the tab. Use RSS. Let the bounce rate speak for itself. These are vanity metrics until enough people stop vanishing into them and then suddenly they become a crisis.
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1 day ago
A thing we should acknowledge about AI
There are a shitload of downsides to using AI, but I have to admit that even if you think it's just a clumsy word salad robot, giving out helpful advice freely is a refreshing contrast to how most online communities treat their newest members and I have to acknowledge that it's a real upside in AI tools.
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2 days ago
Zapier is using AI to sell to AI - Business Podcast for Startups
Wade Foster: the agent is actually choosing what products to buy on behalf of a human, and so you are no longer advertising to the human. You are trying to get the agent to say, pick me, pick me. Pick me.
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2 days ago
XML is a cheap DSL
The lesson I took from this is that a universal data representation is worth its weight in gold. There are exactly two options in this category. In most cases you should choose JSON. If you need a DSL though, XML is by far the cheapest one, and the cost-efficiency of building on it will empower your team to spend their innovation budget elsewhere.
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3 days ago
Cryptic tech billboards in San Francisco have a cultural impact : NPR
"The billboards here are actually something that makes me feel really pessimistic about the city," said Allie, a San Francisco resident who was among the dozen or so people to comment on current billboard trends on NPR member station KQED's Forum talk show last summer. (Forum typically doesn't give the full names of callers.) "They kind of give this feeling that like the rumors are true and tech has overrun the city, and that's the whole culture here now."
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4 days ago
RSS Gizmos - Tools for Creating, Finding, and Using RSS Feeds
RSS feeds give you the power to set up and control your own information flow — you get to make your own algorithm for the things you want to see from the sources you want to follow. Choose a tool below to get started.
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4 days ago
Endless • Polyend
Playground builds on a large library of DSP algorithms our team has developed over many years. The AI layer interprets your prompt, then combines or adapts these building blocks to produce new effects. Under the hood, multiple specialised agents handle different steps for parsing your request, selecting the right algorithms, generating code, and running automated tests during and after creation. We also designed the infrastructure to stay flexible about AI providers, so we can evaluate different models over time and choose the best balance of quality, reliability, and cost as the technology evolves.
@lmorchard@masto.hackers.town
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3 days ago
Like, yeah, tech ads have plastered SF for years. But I feel like they used to share some space with more mainstream consumer brands. Now it seems like every surface of ad space is occupied by some niche IYKYK oddity or another with a clever-to-them slogan that seems a little desperate to be cool
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3 days ago
I see NPR has caught on to the weirdness that are San Francisco billboards in the AI era. Been watching them get increasingly bonkers between my periodic trips to town since work trips picked up again after peak COVID. https://www.npr.org/2026/03/18/nx-s1-5746115/billboards-san-francisco-tech-ai-advertising-marketing
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4 days ago
Content warning:mental health Ohh I've never seen the whole song & dance number before! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2EI65ZEqYQ
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4 days ago
Content warning:mental health i don't really wanna do the work today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5jYkQ0ZhMo
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4 days ago
Content warning:mental health That thing where I have a therapy appointment but I just feel normal depressed and not super-duper-turbo depressed and don't really want to talk through it except this is probably when they'd really want me to talk through it
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4 days ago
Don't kiss me, whether I'm Irish or not. You stay over there.
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1 week ago
D'oh, the new digg didn't last too long. "Building on the internet in 2026 is different. We learned that the hard way. Today we're sharing difficult news: we've made the decision to significantly downsize the Digg team." https://digg.com/
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1 week ago
Stuck in my head today: Frank Black https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ2qi9KfEZ8
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1 week ago
I keep getting sent job postings for Senior Electrical Engineer jobs, which don't apply to me, except sometimes I think maybe I need to change careers
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1 week ago
RE: https://social.treehouse.systems/@pikhq/116223422649983047 I still want that "Move Slow and Fix Things" tattoo.
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1 week ago
"Stop spending money on Claude Code. Chipotle's support bot is free." https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7437833541851410433/
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1 week ago
Keep hearing coyotes in my neighborhood. That's disconcerting kinda, if only because I worry about the outdoor cats #pdx
Github (@lmorchard)
- 47 minutes ago watched kenforthewin/atomic
- 12 hours ago watched hectorvent/floci
- 12 hours ago submitted Issue #102 to lmorchard/decafclaw : Evaluate Skillware (ARPAHLS/skillware) for skill ecosystem integration
- 14 hours ago commented on Issue #76 in lmorchard/starnet : Design: Overworld structure (what links LANs?)
- 14 hours ago commented on Issue #76 in lmorchard/starnet : Design: Overworld structure (what links LANs?)
- 2 days ago commented on Issue #3 in lmorchard/decafclaw : Multi-model routing
- 2 days ago commented on Issue #3 in lmorchard/decafclaw : Multi-model routing
YouTube Videos (lmorchard)
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Chiptunes & Tinkering - Adding limit switches to a 3018 CNC machine?
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Chiptunes & Tinkering - Assembling the Why Em-Ulator Module for RC2014
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Chiptunes & Tinkering - Reflashing Sonoff S31 AC (again)
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Clip: Chiptunes & Tinkering - Reflashing a Sonoff S31 with Tasmota to control an AC outlet with Home
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Chiptunes & Tinkering - Reflashing a Sonoff S31 with Tasmota to control an AC outlet with Home Assis
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Chiptunes & Tinkering - RC2014 assembly, Pi Pico Terminal and Real Time Clock modules
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Chiptunes & Tinkering - RC2014 assembly, Digital I/O board part 2
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Chiptunes & Tinkering - RC2014 assembly, Digital I/O board
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Chiptunes & Tinkering - RC2014 wifi module assembly
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Chiptunes & Tinkering - RC2014 wifi module repair & firmware update
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Chiptunes & Tinkering - RC2014 assembly, again again?
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Chiptunes & Tinkering - RC2014 assembly, again?
Pocket Casts
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MAGA’s Uncivil War
from
Lovett or Leave It
1 day ago
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NPR News: 03-21-2026 1PM EDT
from
Unknown Podcast
1 day ago
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NPR News: 03-21-2026 12PM EDT
from
Unknown Podcast
1 day ago
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On the Iranian Border, More Military on the Way, Warm Western Winter
from
Up First from NPR
1 day ago
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NPR News: 03-21-2026 10AM EDT
from
Unknown Podcast
1 day ago
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The Galaxy S26 Ultra Wins With the Privacy Display - DTNS 5230
from
Daily Tech News Show
1 day ago
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NPR News: 03-20-2026 8PM EDT
from
Unknown Podcast
1 day ago
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Dreamer: the Personal Agent OS — David Singleton
from
Latent Space: The AI Engineer Podcast
1 day ago
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NPR News: 03-20-2026 7PM EDT
from
Unknown Podcast
1 day ago
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Why people really hate AI
from
The Vergecast: Ad-Free Edition
2 days ago
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NPR News: 03-20-2026 6PM EDT
from
Unknown Podcast
1 day ago
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NPR News: 03-20-2026 4PM EDT
from
Unknown Podcast
1 day ago
Spotify ( Les Orchard )
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Miracle Field on Miracle Field by The Reverse Engineers 1 day ago
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Things That hurt on A Quieter Life by Hallows 2 days ago
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I Search For A Sign on I Search For A Sign by Night in Athens 2 days ago
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Medea's Revenge on Mother Solitude and Other Dark Tales by Echoberyl 2 days ago
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Forevermore on Salt Water by Fragrance 2 days ago
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Eyes Wide Wider on Services by Tempers 2 days ago
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Give Me a Reason on The Runner (Original Soundtrack) by Boy Harsher 2 days ago
Colophon
This is a static web page hosted on Amazon S3. It is periodically updated via a scheduled Github Action that fetches data from many sources on the web.
- Source code:
- https://github.com/lmorchard/about-me
- Last fetched:
- 2026-03-22T17:15:36.878Z
- Last rendered:
- 2026-03-22T17:16:01.398Z