Zagaja.com

I am a fan of fish shell for my coding work. It has a lot of features that bash and zsh lack. However the tools I used to pick my Ruby and Node versions. This saved me typing every time I switch apps. Fortunately it was easy to write my own. I have shared my configuration change on GitHub. Just drop the function files in your ~/.config/fish/functions directory and then update your config file to source them using the template I linked.

A couple years ago I tried Grammarly as an improved spell check tool. The promise is to use AI to give you a better check for spelling and grammar. However the integration options were limited and I was a bit concerned with their privacy practices. So yesterday was excited to discover Language Tool. It started as an open source project and the base engine remains open source. They have a clear privacy policy and you can run a copy of their engine locally. I am also impressed with the number of integrations.

Ed Flynn via Caught in Southie:

I talked with Eversource executive about the power outages in City Point (and other areas in South Boston). Equipment is stressed and overheated due to extreme heat and length of this historic wave, with ACs cranked high to stay cool. The work crews continue to work to repair damage to the system and restore power as quickly as possible. I will continue to communicate with Eversource. Please check on our South Boston seniors and persons with disabilities. If anyone needs to reach me for assistance, please let me know.

From the TED Blog:

“When you have a team of passionate, dedicated overachievers, you don’t need to push them to work harder, you need to help them rest. By taking the same two weeks off, it makes sure everyone takes vacation,” she said. “Planning a vacation is hard — most of us still feel a little guilty to take two weeks off, and we’d be likely to cancel when something inevitably comes up. This creates an enforced rest period, which is so important for productivity and happiness.”

• The Fallacy of AI Functionality is a well written critique of AI and AI critics. TL;DR: Too much effort is spent talking about the ethics of AI, and not enough on whether it actually works.
• How Hertz Paid Accenture $32 Million for a Website That Never Went Live is a good summary of an old dispute. It largely demonstrates the challenges and miscommunications that occur when a whole bunch of folks who are not proficient in software technology are involved in a software project. Lots of miscommunication, missed project deadlines, and finally lawyers.
• Shapeshifting Robots Can Now Brush Your Teeth was a surprising and neat innovation. Unclear how it might look and manifest as a consumer device, but seems like a great tool for kids or folks that can’t or don’t like using existing methods.
• When COVID Came for Provincetown was a good case study in how to respond to a COVID outbreak the right way.