<rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><title>Hacker News: craigmccaskill</title><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=craigmccaskill</link><description>Hacker News RSS</description><docs>https://hnrss.org/</docs><generator>hnrss v2.1.1</generator><lastBuildDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:37:40 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://hnrss.org/user?id=craigmccaskill" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"></atom:link><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (April 2026)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>This is really cool. I'll be checking it out!<p>Seems to solve most of my issues with my current workflow. My primary personal development machine is my WSL ubuntu install on my windows gaming PC and the tooling outside of the mac ecosystem has been really limited.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 01:37:34 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47746540</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47746540</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47746540</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (April 2026)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Outside of the day job (PM at an enterprise SaaS company), I've been building an AI-native CLI for Todoist [1]. Started to solve a personal problem, automating action item extraction from my Obsidian notes, but it's become something bigger. The CLI treats both humans and AI agents as first-class users: TTY-aware output, a schema command for agent discovery, idempotent operations, that kind of thing.<p>It's been a great excuse to get back to my roots as an engineer and lean into some of the newnew with Claude Code. Learning a ton, having a blast, and also enabling being (marginally) more productive with my actual work day to day.<p>[1] <a href="https://github.com/craigmccaskill/todoist-cli/" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/craigmccaskill/todoist-cli/</a></p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 01:31:52 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47746507</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47746507</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47746507</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "Tell HN: I'm a PM at a big system of record SaaS. We're cooked"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Disclosure: I'm a PM at ServiceNow. Opinions my own.<p>High. SoR systems tend to either be where or are closely tied to wherever the work is being done. It's an incredibly disruptive thing to rip out and change all of the process and backend systems that run your business. It's why land and expand is such an effective strategy for these companies and everything is sold as an interconnected economy of scale.<p>I'm quite a bit more bullish than OP, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about the way the market has reacted and the 'new multiple' trend.<p>There is always going to be a market for a business operating system, we just might be a similar situation to Netflix/HBO last decade, where the race was about which side could shore up their core weakness first: content engine vs. streaming platform.<p>We're seeing the same thing happen now. Enterprise has the data, business logic, customer base and distribution but it needs to add SotA AI capabilities into the core of the product without just bolting something on. The Ai companies have the models, talent and are agile enough they can turn out demos and compelling pitches abut they're missing the enterprise data, domain specificity and being able to operate with the regulatory and compliance scaffolding that is required to operate in the enterprise.<p>Both sides are racing toward the middle, but the problems left for the AI companies to solve are arguably the harder ones, especially when the models themselves are rapidly commoditizing or are open source. It's tough to build enterprise-grade infrastructure on top of a layer where your core differentiation is eroding.<p>There was another comment in this thread about value moving to the agent layer. I'd push back a little on this. An agent is only useful if it has reliable, governed access to the system where the work actually happens. The SoR that builds a credible agent platform on top of its own data and workflow layer has a structural advantage over a standalone agent tryin to orchestrate across five different systems via an API. IMO the strong foundation wins out here.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 23:19:50 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46919522</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46919522</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46919522</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[A bubble that knows it's a bubble]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Article URL: <a href="https://craigmccaskill.com/ai-bubble-history">https://craigmccaskill.com/ai-bubble-history</a></p>
<p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45008209">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45008209</a></p>
<p>Points: 141</p>
<p># Comments: 128</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 24 Aug 2025 22:02:52 +0000</pubDate><link>https://craigmccaskill.com/ai-bubble-history</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45008209</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45008209</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "Highlights from the Claude 4 system prompt"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>That’s not really fair. I mean, I definitely use AI all over the place, but I think that the writing aspect is an important part of thinking too [1]. I still try to write things out myself when it matters. There’s something about wordsmithing that sharpens your thinking and that gets lost when you just drop something into an LLM and pull it out without much thought. Sure, I’ll use AI to help refine or explore ideas, but the core work often starts in my own head.<p>I <i>do</i> write a lot myself, especially when I need to think something through clearly. I use AI tools like anyone else, but I still do the work.<p>[1] <a href="https://craigmccaskill.com/writing-is-still-thinking" rel="nofollow">https://craigmccaskill.com/writing-is-still-thinking</a></p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 29 May 2025 01:53:49 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44122364</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44122364</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44122364</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "Highlights from the Claude 4 system prompt"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>They have their place but I'm really just trying to avoid the AI house style that has emerged. I'd rather have my writing—AI-assisted or not—reflect how I actually communicate rather than defaulting to patterns that have become over represented in generated text.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2025 21:15:45 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44110743</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44110743</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44110743</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "Highlights from the Claude 4 system prompt"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>You can just add it to your master prompt. I have this added to mine, YMMV:<p>Tone & Communication Style<p>* Keep it clear, structured, and concise.<p>* Maintain a professional tone but make it feel natural and human; avoid robotic or overly formal language.<p>* Use a more conversational tone in casual, mentoring, or internal team contexts.<p>* Do not use em-dashes or emoji unless specifically requested.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2025 03:57:48 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44103838</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44103838</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44103838</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "UnitedHealth overcharged cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000%"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Fair,  don't think I disagree with you on these points. I just believe we can do significantly better. In a similar vein, I believe:<p>* For profit motives get in the way of cheap, effective healthcare. Maximizing shareholder value leads to higher prices, overutilization of expensive proceedures and prioritization of profit generating services vs. preventive care or basic health care needs and improved outcomes.<p>* Incentives are currently heavily skewed to the point that providers and insurers are more likely to treat symptoms rather than address root causes or preventive measures leading to a cycle of chronic illness and higher long term costs.<p>* Access to healthcare should not be tied to socioeconomic status. Employer sponsored insurance and high out of pocket costs create significant barriers for lower income individuals and families, dragging the average down (i.e. the system is fine if you can afford it).<p>* Administrative complexity in the current system massively inflates cost. The fragmented nature of private insurers, billing systems and out of network shenanigans results in massive inefficiencies and expenses that contribute nothing to patient outcomes. I am confident this comes out to more in savings than the %age profit that is referenced in other places in this thread.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 15 Jan 2025 22:10:34 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717848</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717848</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717848</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "UnitedHealth overcharged cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000%"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Agree that it's not perfect, but I do feel that we could take 60-80% of the money we're currently spending and fix this and any other issues that come up and get in the way of improved outcomes like the rest of the world does.<p>I don't know why what you're describing happens, but my money would be on some triage that needs to happen due to limited funding since so much of our spending goes into private healthcare solutions.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 15 Jan 2025 21:53:14 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717643</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717643</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717643</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "UnitedHealth overcharged cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000%"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Kaiser had an income of 4.1B in 2023 vs. UHG's 371.6B in an industry of 4.8T [1]. I'm not sure the point you're trying to make or why it's relevant unless you're asking me to read between the lines on the efficacy of Kaiser as a non-profit vs. their for-profit counterparts (which is what seems to be the case).<p>edit: I think I missed the last part of your comment in an edit, so to attempt to answer my own questions, it's not a fair comparison beyond just the almost 100x size difference to compare a different business model and scope, provider network, risk pool and geographic presence yet ignore <i>every other developed country in the world</i> and say that for profit is the way to go because if Kaiser can't do it then nobody can.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-healthcare-spending-rises-48-trillion-2023-outpacing-gdp-2024-06-12/#:~:text=By%20Ahmed%20Aboulenein,2023%20and%20$15%2C074%20in%202024" rel="nofollow">https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/...</a>.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 15 Jan 2025 21:50:25 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717617</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717617</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717617</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "UnitedHealth overcharged cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000%"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>If there is a silver bullet, the first step would be getting rid of the for profit mechanisms.<p>Instead, because despite data linked in this thread that profit margins are only a few percentage points, Healthcare is an incredibly lucrative field that extracts a lot of money into the private market without delivering results commensurate with the cost to the public.<p>Add to that lobbying making it incredibly simple and cost effective to influence policy (which comes out in the P&L as a cost of doing business and so isn't tracked as profit FWIW), we are stuck with this situation despite overwhelming evidence that it's a bad deal.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 15 Jan 2025 21:36:48 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717407</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717407</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717407</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "UnitedHealth overcharged cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000%"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>The same statistics are similar for Medicaid too but also missing the forest for the trees in that for profit seems to be the main differentiator with the US vs. other parts of the world. There are plenty of models around the world that show this works and it works well.<p>First it's the government can't do this, then it's the government wouldn't do this because of this reason while ignoring that the US healthcare system is spending more than any other country and missing the mark on outcomes. Every other developed country in the world has figured this out. While not perfect, they're paying less and broadly getting better outcomes.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 15 Jan 2025 21:26:27 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717275</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717275</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717275</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "UnitedHealth overcharged cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000%"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>But has everything to do with the need to take a closer look at the entire system and how we can do things better.<p>I feel like focusing on this part of my comment vs. the bum deal part is disingenuous since non-US countries have figured out how to do it for cheaper with better outcomes without the main focus being the up and to the left drive for profit that our current system mandates.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 15 Jan 2025 21:22:03 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717200</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717200</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717200</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "UnitedHealth overcharged cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000%"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>The federal system already runs a much more efficient enterprise as evidenced in medicare and medicade since their establishment in the 60s.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 15 Jan 2025 21:12:16 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717074</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717074</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717074</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "UnitedHealth overcharged cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000%"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Medicare administrative costs are around 2% of total program spending [1] compared to typically >10%. While what you're saying on the surface may be true from the numbers you are comparing, the fact of the matter is that healthcare costs are becoming more and more expensive during a time when many are experiencing a cost of living crisis.<p>The US gets a bum deal on costs and outcomes and while we can argue on which specific changes will move which specific needle I think it's clear that one of the major differences compared to the rest of the world is that running healthcare as a for profit enterprise has failed to deliver on the promise of good outcomes for as affordable a price as possible both on an individual and country wide level.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2017/sep/20/bernie-sanders/comparing-administrative-costs-private-insurance-a/" rel="nofollow">https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2017/sep/20/bernie-san...</a></p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 15 Jan 2025 21:10:22 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717048</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717048</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42717048</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "The pro-Israel information war"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>So I have to have been involved in protesting a non-Israel conflict to have an opinion on this one?</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 08 Dec 2023 21:37:50 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38574831</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38574831</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38574831</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "In the gut's 'second brain,' key agents of health emerge"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>You don't need more than 3-5g per day (about 15mg per pound of body-weight) to see the maximal effects. There is a loading period where you take 2-4 weeks to saturate, many take an increased dose to get there faster but if you're going to be doing this consistently, after a month of daily usage 3-5g is all you need.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Nov 2023 03:49:30 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38374546</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38374546</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38374546</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "It's still easy for anyone to become you at Experian"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>There have been a couple of class actions, doesn't seem to have changed the outcome though.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 12 Nov 2023 02:18:02 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38236617</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38236617</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38236617</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "Ableton Push 3"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Marco's version of purple rain [1] remains one of the most impressive pieces of live performance I've ever seen.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fQbtp2BgY4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fQbtp2BgY4</a></p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 23 May 2023 17:04:18 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36047276</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36047276</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36047276</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by craigmccaskill in "You Suck at Excel with Joel Spolsky (2015) [video]"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>He's presenting this to his company. I don't think this video was originally intended for mass consumption, but I am glad it was made available.<p>So this is the CEO presenting to a group of people who know him and his presentation style, I think at that point much of the stuff you're complaining about can be thought of as humor or house style, especially when you consider that Joel worked at Microsoft on Excel. Context matters.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2016 00:51:28 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12449358</link><dc:creator>craigmccaskill</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12449358</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12449358</guid></item></channel></rss>