{
  "type": "miscellanea",
  "draft": false,
  "title": "Miscellanea for 2026-01-29",
  "time": "23:59:00-07:00",
  "slug": "miscellanea",
  "tags": [
    "miscellanea"
  ],
  "attachments": [],
  "year": "2026",
  "month": "01",
  "day": "29",
  "isDir": false,
  "date": "2026-01-30T06:59:00.000Z",
  "postName": "2026-01-29",
  "html": "<ul>\n<li>Hello world!</li>\n<li>I keep meaning to do this style of post on a daily basis, but there are very few things I do on a consistent daily basis. So, enjoy this random occurrence.</li>\n<li>Isn't it super weird that back in 1997, Dave Winer was writing about \"<a href=\"http://scripting.com/davenet/1997/09/14/FractionalHorsepowerHTTPSe.html\">Fractional Horsepower HTTP Servers</a>\" embedded in every device that matters.<ul>\n<li>This, when setting up a web server was still a huge ceremony.</li>\n<li>Now, almost 30 years later, I can run a web server on a microcontroller smaller than my fingernail that cost me less than a buck.</li>\n<li>In fact, I <a href=\"https://blog.lmorchard.com/2018/02/08/pumpkin/\">embedded one into a pumpkin</a> for fun, about 8 years ago.</li>\n<li>What if LLMs don't even improve radically, but gradually shed all the ceremony for running them on cheap personal devices?</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li>Apropos of that, <a href=\"http://scripting.com/2026/01/28.html#a150041\">Dave Winer mentions a thing about LLMs &amp; AI in coding</a>: \"AI is going to be part of programming forever. There's no way to go back.\"<ul>\n<li>This, after reading \"<a href=\"https://antirez.com/news/158\">Don't fall into the anti-AI hype</a>\" from antirez</li>\n<li>I keep thinking about this and I think it's true.</li>\n<li>Specifically, two things can be true at the same time:<ul>\n<li>\"AI\" as it currently exists is a bubble and most of the high-flying companies pushing slop are going to die messily.</li>\n<li>LLMs that generate code are going to be in the programming toolkit for a great many folks from here on, indefinitely, like calculators and compilers.</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li>Remember <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot-com_bubble\">the dot-com crash</a> back in the 2000s? Well, neither the internet nor the web went away. We built Web 2.0 atop the dark fiber - and <a href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/danrunkevicius/2025/03/24/is-the-ai-boom-headed-for-its-dark-fiber-moment/\">that could happen again for \"AI\"</a>. Maybe.</li>\n<li>Look, I know <a href=\"https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/the-myth-of-technological-inevitability\">technological inevitability is a myth</a> - this stuff isn't self-executing, it still takes people to build it and carry it forward by choice.<ul>\n<li>But, like the internal combustion engine and jet aeroplanes, there are a lot of folks who find LLMs convenient &amp; productively useful - even if there are measurable harms and perils in their use.</li>\n<li>See also: smart phones, social media, same-day delivery, plastics, antibiotics, and eating meat.</li>\n<li>While none of these are inevitable, I think more folks than not see more benefit than not. And, thus, it's unlikely we'll swear off them cold turkey anytime soon.</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li>Like Dave says, \"We get so mired in the question of should we do this -- well we're doing it, time to start looking at the next set of questions.\"<ul>\n<li>This is why, for example, I don't think it's entirely off-into-the-weeds for <a href=\"https://stateof.mozilla.org/tools/\">a company like Mozilla to aim at bending the trajectory of this stuff</a>, rather than trying to halt or ignore it.</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li>For what it's worth, I'm not trying to sell anyone on this stuff. I think, where it's genuinely useful, it sells itself.<ul>\n<li>To the extent that I talk about it is mainly me learning out loud.</li>\n<li>And, honestly, being <a href=\"https://blog.lmorchard.com/2006/05/26/confessions-of-a-serial-enthusiast/\">serially enthusiastic</a> about a shiny object as is my wont.</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li>But, still, I think \"AI\" is in a space of way higher value than some folks place it.<ul>\n<li>And yet, orders of magnitude lower than so many CEOs are hyping it.</li>\n<li>I hope it someday settles down as <a href=\"https://www.normaltech.ai/p/ai-as-normal-technology\">normal technology</a>, and I think <a href=\"https://www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/the-majority-ai-view/\">many of us are hoping for that</a>. </li>\n<li>But, again, it's not going to just evaporate. Not even if the bubble pops.</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li>Anyway. These are thoughts I've had and I felt like brain-dumping them today, like you do on a blog.</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n</ul>\n",
  "body": "\n- Hello world!\n- I keep meaning to do this style of post on a daily basis, but there are very few things I do on a consistent daily basis. So, enjoy this random occurrence.\n- Isn't it super weird that back in 1997, Dave Winer was writing about \"[Fractional Horsepower HTTP Servers](http://scripting.com/davenet/1997/09/14/FractionalHorsepowerHTTPSe.html)\" embedded in every device that matters.\n\t- This, when setting up a web server was still a huge ceremony.\n\t- Now, almost 30 years later, I can run a web server on a microcontroller smaller than my fingernail that cost me less than a buck.\n\t- In fact, I [embedded one into a pumpkin](https://blog.lmorchard.com/2018/02/08/pumpkin/) for fun, about 8 years ago.\n\t- What if LLMs don't even improve radically, but gradually shed all the ceremony for running them on cheap personal devices?\n- Apropos of that, [Dave Winer mentions a thing about LLMs & AI in coding](http://scripting.com/2026/01/28.html#a150041): \"AI is going to be part of programming forever. There's no way to go back.\"\n\t- This, after reading \"[Don't fall into the anti-AI hype](https://antirez.com/news/158)\" from antirez\n\t- I keep thinking about this and I think it's true.\n\t- Specifically, two things can be true at the same time:\n\t\t- \"AI\" as it currently exists is a bubble and most of the high-flying companies pushing slop are going to die messily.\n\t\t- LLMs that generate code are going to be in the programming toolkit for a great many folks from here on, indefinitely, like calculators and compilers.\n\t- Remember [the dot-com crash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot-com_bubble) back in the 2000s? Well, neither the internet nor the web went away. We built Web 2.0 atop the dark fiber - and [that could happen again for \"AI\"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/danrunkevicius/2025/03/24/is-the-ai-boom-headed-for-its-dark-fiber-moment/). Maybe.\n\t- Look, I know [technological inevitability is a myth](https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/the-myth-of-technological-inevitability) - this stuff isn't self-executing, it still takes people to build it and carry it forward by choice.\n\t\t- But, like the internal combustion engine and jet aeroplanes, there are a lot of folks who find LLMs convenient & productively useful - even if there are measurable harms and perils in their use.\n\t\t- See also: smart phones, social media, same-day delivery, plastics, antibiotics, and eating meat.\n\t\t- While none of these are inevitable, I think more folks than not see more benefit than not. And, thus, it's unlikely we'll swear off them cold turkey anytime soon.\n\t- Like Dave says, \"We get so mired in the question of should we do this -- well we're doing it, time to start looking at the next set of questions.\"\n\t\t- This is why, for example, I don't think it's entirely off-into-the-weeds for [a company like Mozilla to aim at bending the trajectory of this stuff](https://stateof.mozilla.org/tools/), rather than trying to halt or ignore it.\n\t- For what it's worth, I'm not trying to sell anyone on this stuff. I think, where it's genuinely useful, it sells itself.\n\t\t- To the extent that I talk about it is mainly me learning out loud.\n\t\t- And, honestly, being [serially enthusiastic](https://blog.lmorchard.com/2006/05/26/confessions-of-a-serial-enthusiast/) about a shiny object as is my wont.\n\t- But, still, I think \"AI\" is in a space of way higher value than some folks place it.\n\t\t- And yet, orders of magnitude lower than so many CEOs are hyping it.\n\t\t- I hope it someday settles down as [normal technology](https://www.normaltech.ai/p/ai-as-normal-technology), and I think [many of us are hoping for that](https://www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/the-majority-ai-view/). \n\t\t- But, again, it's not going to just evaporate. Not even if the bubble pops.\n\t- Anyway. These are thoughts I've had and I felt like brain-dumping them today, like you do on a blog.",
  "parentPath": "./content/posts/2026",
  "path": "2026/01/29/miscellanea",
  "needsBuild": true,
  "prevPostPath": "2026/01/28/mermaid-web-component",
  "prevPostTitle": "Wrapping Mermaid Diagrams in a Web Component",
  "nextPostPath": "2026/01/30/w05",
  "nextPostTitle": "2026 Week 5"
}