Ben McCary
@benmccary.bsky.social
Data scientist located in Seattle. Dad. I like birds, the Puget Sound, bad music. view expressed are my own.
Reposted by Ben McCary
Seattle will not accept gun violence as inevitable, and neither will I. This weekend, I spent time with Cathie Wilmore from “Rainier Beach: A Beautiful, Safe Place for Youth,” to hear about the important violence intervention and community building work she has been doing for decades.
September 15, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Seattle will not accept gun violence as inevitable, and neither will I. This weekend, I spent time with Cathie Wilmore from “Rainier Beach: A Beautiful, Safe Place for Youth,” to hear about the important violence intervention and community building work she has been doing for decades.
The newest Gemini Flash model is abysmally bad. Terse to the point of useless. It took me like 10 prompts just to get it to use the search tool for the thing I'm trying to research.
I really hate how little I can customize whenever companies release new versions.
I really hate how little I can customize whenever companies release new versions.
September 5, 2026 at 8:42 PM
The newest Gemini Flash model is abysmally bad. Terse to the point of useless. It took me like 10 prompts just to get it to use the search tool for the thing I'm trying to research.
I really hate how little I can customize whenever companies release new versions.
I really hate how little I can customize whenever companies release new versions.
1. I hope everyone is ok in the Spokane fire.
2. I love that this news comes from "my cousin"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQie...
2. I love that this news comes from "my cousin"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQie...
Gov Bob Ferguson declares statewide emergency as Spokane area wildfires spread
YouTube video by NBC Montana
www.youtube.com
August 2, 2026 at 5:26 AM
1. I hope everyone is ok in the Spokane fire.
2. I love that this news comes from "my cousin"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQie...
2. I love that this news comes from "my cousin"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQie...
AI taking jobs is real, but not because AI is taking jobs. It's because operational costs are skyrocketing and shareholders won't stand for it.
We're afraid of the wrong thing.
We're afraid of the wrong thing.
May 20, 2026 at 6:39 AM
AI taking jobs is real, but not because AI is taking jobs. It's because operational costs are skyrocketing and shareholders won't stand for it.
We're afraid of the wrong thing.
We're afraid of the wrong thing.
this is some of the best writing and editing in a video essay that I've seen in a long time.
youtu.be/_uyAhBj_ORU?...
youtu.be/_uyAhBj_ORU?...
The pattern that exposes mammals' shady past
YouTube video by Make Thing With Hand
youtu.be
April 28, 2026 at 12:49 AM
this is some of the best writing and editing in a video essay that I've seen in a long time.
youtu.be/_uyAhBj_ORU?...
youtu.be/_uyAhBj_ORU?...
This was cool. I love this song. His rebuild of it really did help make sense of why it's so awesome. M83 Midnight City. A classic.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLh2...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLh2...
Remaking Midnight City by M83 to Learn Why It’s So Good
YouTube video by Ego Dip
www.youtube.com
April 15, 2026 at 6:47 AM
This was cool. I love this song. His rebuild of it really did help make sense of why it's so awesome. M83 Midnight City. A classic.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLh2...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLh2...
I know I've posted this before, but this is so good. I have no idea what they're saying but this vibe is amazing
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN0N...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN0N...
dudeontheguitar x dododowson - Barajatr
YouTube video by dudeontheguitar
www.youtube.com
April 13, 2026 at 2:01 AM
I know I've posted this before, but this is so good. I have no idea what they're saying but this vibe is amazing
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN0N...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN0N...
Woah! It get's worse. Apparently gemini started storing information about me in "personal intelligence" and I never turned it on. But most of it is hallucination. Wild!
March 23, 2026 at 5:53 AM
Woah! It get's worse. Apparently gemini started storing information about me in "personal intelligence" and I never turned it on. But most of it is hallucination. Wild!
The worst part is that I think this might have to do with monetization schemes.
Agent owners get $$ from more tokens + eyeball time. There's incentive to complicate projects (until I rage quit).
It's probably just model performance, but weird that it's substantively better if I'm just rude to it
Agent owners get $$ from more tokens + eyeball time. There's incentive to complicate projects (until I rage quit).
It's probably just model performance, but weird that it's substantively better if I'm just rude to it
I'm starting to feel bad. Gemini responds really well to insulting and hyperbolic prompts. I really don't like needing to tell my agent "you're doing a terrible job! Just do exactly what I say and not other things" or "I've told you this twice already!"
March 23, 2026 at 5:07 AM
The worst part is that I think this might have to do with monetization schemes.
Agent owners get $$ from more tokens + eyeball time. There's incentive to complicate projects (until I rage quit).
It's probably just model performance, but weird that it's substantively better if I'm just rude to it
Agent owners get $$ from more tokens + eyeball time. There's incentive to complicate projects (until I rage quit).
It's probably just model performance, but weird that it's substantively better if I'm just rude to it
I'm starting to feel bad. Gemini responds really well to insulting and hyperbolic prompts. I really don't like needing to tell my agent "you're doing a terrible job! Just do exactly what I say and not other things" or "I've told you this twice already!"
March 23, 2026 at 5:04 AM
I'm starting to feel bad. Gemini responds really well to insulting and hyperbolic prompts. I really don't like needing to tell my agent "you're doing a terrible job! Just do exactly what I say and not other things" or "I've told you this twice already!"
I'm curious if there are many smaller companies that use open source LLMs to build their own agents or if everyone is just forking over money to Anthropic.
I have a feeling there's a niche market for cheaper LLM use as long as the open source models are good enough.
I have a feeling there's a niche market for cheaper LLM use as long as the open source models are good enough.
March 21, 2026 at 5:58 PM
I'm curious if there are many smaller companies that use open source LLMs to build their own agents or if everyone is just forking over money to Anthropic.
I have a feeling there's a niche market for cheaper LLM use as long as the open source models are good enough.
I have a feeling there's a niche market for cheaper LLM use as long as the open source models are good enough.
this made me laugh
March 17, 2026 at 6:32 AM
this made me laugh
Setting up a home lab and trying to use Ai agents to do stuff has been super educational.
The constraints of a $300 machine makes me think really granularly: if I can't ingest all the context, I need to do it in phases and save work.
Helps me grok context management, prompt writing, workflows...
The constraints of a $300 machine makes me think really granularly: if I can't ingest all the context, I need to do it in phases and save work.
Helps me grok context management, prompt writing, workflows...
March 15, 2026 at 9:07 PM
Setting up a home lab and trying to use Ai agents to do stuff has been super educational.
The constraints of a $300 machine makes me think really granularly: if I can't ingest all the context, I need to do it in phases and save work.
Helps me grok context management, prompt writing, workflows...
The constraints of a $300 machine makes me think really granularly: if I can't ingest all the context, I need to do it in phases and save work.
Helps me grok context management, prompt writing, workflows...
I've had tons of great interactions with CAIR over the years. It's insane to me that anyone would think of this organization as bad. They're just our neighbors. (more than that, really, they do so much wonderful work!)
JUST IN: A federal judge has barred Gov DeSantis from designating CAIR as a terrorist organization and punish those who associate with the group.
“Once again, Florida chooses political posturing over the First Amendment,” Judge Walker writes.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
“Once again, Florida chooses political posturing over the First Amendment,” Judge Walker writes.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
March 5, 2026 at 3:35 AM
I've had tons of great interactions with CAIR over the years. It's insane to me that anyone would think of this organization as bad. They're just our neighbors. (more than that, really, they do so much wonderful work!)
I go here for my baking! So worth it! Every city should have a local mill. Ita really fun to know my bread is from my place.
Not all flour is created equal, and top bakers have come to swear by Cairnspring Mills flour, made with Washington wheat, in a market dominated by "big flour."
Why this WA flour is so sought after
Not all flour is created equal, and top bakers have come to swear by Cairnspring Mills flour, made with Washington wheat, in a market dominated by "big flour."
www.seattletimes.com
February 21, 2026 at 10:37 PM
I go here for my baking! So worth it! Every city should have a local mill. Ita really fun to know my bread is from my place.
Tunak Tunak Tun - Daler Mehndi [Speed Bag Cover]
YouTube video by Speedbag Bard
youtu.be
February 21, 2026 at 7:25 AM
Reposted by Ben McCary
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
February 15, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
Oof. This one hits hard. If you always liked Scott Pilgrim vs the World and couldn't figure out why the women in your life don't (or if you liked the movie at all)...probably worth a watch.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQUV...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQUV...
What Happened to the Manic Pixie Dream Girl?
YouTube video by Shanspeare
www.youtube.com
February 15, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Oof. This one hits hard. If you always liked Scott Pilgrim vs the World and couldn't figure out why the women in your life don't (or if you liked the movie at all)...probably worth a watch.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQUV...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQUV...
One of the weirdest things about working with AI right now is that my interviewing skills are probably most valuable.
I create a prompt to tell an AI what its job is & the jobs of all of its sub-agents. Then, I ask it a bunch of diagnostic questions to see whether it's good at the job.
I create a prompt to tell an AI what its job is & the jobs of all of its sub-agents. Then, I ask it a bunch of diagnostic questions to see whether it's good at the job.
February 10, 2026 at 5:30 AM
One of the weirdest things about working with AI right now is that my interviewing skills are probably most valuable.
I create a prompt to tell an AI what its job is & the jobs of all of its sub-agents. Then, I ask it a bunch of diagnostic questions to see whether it's good at the job.
I create a prompt to tell an AI what its job is & the jobs of all of its sub-agents. Then, I ask it a bunch of diagnostic questions to see whether it's good at the job.
Reposted by Ben McCary
Every time this comes up I wonder if we're ever going to shift the conversation to why women are avoiding them.
📢 “A huge amount of men between the age of 15 and 50 will not pass on their genes. They will effectively die out of the gene pool ... Should society intervene?” Steven Bartlett asked last year.
Two top podcasters have identified a global decline. The problem, they say, is women
www.smh.com.au
February 3, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Every time this comes up I wonder if we're ever going to shift the conversation to why women are avoiding them.
Reposted by Ben McCary
Today I announced an initial set of actions to protect city residents in the face of increased federal immigration enforcement activity. #thisisyourcity
January 29, 2026 at 10:59 PM
Today I announced an initial set of actions to protect city residents in the face of increased federal immigration enforcement activity. #thisisyourcity