Removing human thought from the process of development is generally a net negative, IMO.

If anything, I'd say AI tools in /most/ enterprises as people are trying to use them now are at least a -30% of productivity. If used correctly for taking a human-written/thought requirements doc, converting it into an interactive prototype that can be critiqued and ultimately included as part of the solution alignment within the requirements doc, and then is handed to an engineering team that is effective at using humans and AI to produce code, then it's probably a benefit. But most businesses lack the internal rigor, quality culture, and data governance to support properly applying AI tools in a high context manner internal to their business.

That's a distinction without a difference. Cops see any form of noncompliance as disrespectful ("contempt of cop"). You not only legally can, but absolutely should be able to tell a cop "Get fucked" to their face and walk away if they have no legal basis to detain you. The fact that in reality you will have your life ruined is a problem far worse than any "disrespect".

As much as the current situation in the US upsets me, anyone who has spent considerable time within the US and outside of the US cannot believe what you've stated as anything other than a trite delusion. The US isn't just the richest country in the world, it has the second highest purchasing power parity per capita in 2026 and historically the highest. The average person in Mississippi is economically better off than the average person in England.

If you don't want to engage in a reasonable discussion, you can get bent.

I like the repairability and modularity of my Framework 13 laptop, and I still bought a maxed out MBP M5 Max because for local LLM, unified memory is all that matters.

Fully agreed. It's one reason I've taken to doing more things myself at home. I don't even go to coffee shops anymore, I just make coffee at home. For the price of a month's coffee at a local shop, I bought the equipment and learned by practice and watching a lot of James Hoffman (and others) on YouTube. One thing my father taught me that's really stuck with me is: "If something is worth doing, it's worth doing right." That's not just about caring about what you do to get it right, it's also about caring if you're spending your time doing the right things. I do a whole lot less these days than I used to, because I realized a lot of the stuff I used to do was performative or just a waste of time with no upside. The things I do now though, I put my heart and soul into, because I get in return more value/enjoyment from having done it correctly and at its absolute best or at least at my absolute best.

Seeing sloppy work or AI output in the flesh is a hard negative signal for me that I won't engage with a business. Online I see AI output as a signal that whatever business I may be engaging with is probably a scam/scammer. I see interesting things advertised on my feed but hardly ever buy because most of the time their website is clearly AI generated and I have no feeling of assurance that the product is even real or valuable. Something that has had no human thought or reason applied to it is not going to solve any legitimate problem, and therefore I am not going to spend money on it no matter how good it looked in the fraction of a second I saw it in an ad. Seeing that AI output is almost like a stop-break, that lets me think through whether or not its worth having at all.

I've never worked in this field as the GP, but I have family that do and I've heard plenty of stories and made my own observations, but definitely take my two cents with plenty of salt. Maybe GP will reply also.

What's it like around the track in a 23? 900 pounds is already incredibly light. Unfortunately it would be impossible to meet modern safety standards while following the same design, but if you applied modern materials science to the car I wonder how much weight you could really save. Even in the 60s on the Lotus 23 they were using magnesium alloy drivetrain components and wheels, space frame chassis with lightweight skinning for body panels, and other techniques we still rely on. I would guess you wouldn't cut that much weight using carbon fiber body panels, maybe another 40 pounds or so at maximum perhaps? You'd probably pick up more speed by modifying it to accept wider tires and increasing the track width slightly, like some of the later replicas.

I think you and I would have fun in a garage wrenching over a few beers, glad to see there's others out there that appreciate the joys of lightweight beaters :)

I opted instead for GE Cafe / Profile appliance everywhere, which are fully usable without the app. None of my appliances have ever or will ever be connected to any network. The GE Cafe dishwasher also has a built in grinder/disposal unit which helps it deal with heavily soiled dishes much better as well as a bonus, and a fully stainless tub.

Best of luck with your new dishwasher, the Bosch units are legitimately very quiet and powerful for cleaning (I believe they're still the quietest by at least 2db on the market, and every 3db is a doubling of sound power and intensity since its a logarithmic scale).

One of my favorite cars in my past life is the Scion iQ. It's not in my 8, but one day I'll pick one up super cheap and turbo Busa swap it to make something ridiculous. This dude swapped in the drivetrain for a Yamaha R1: https://daveintheusa.com/ and it makes around 180hp (vs stock 106hp) at a lighter weight with higher revs, I think with a turbo Busa swap you should be able to do something similar and make close to 300hp.

I always had a love for the Honda CRX as well. If you make a car light enough and give it decent suspension, it doesn't matter if it's FWD, RWD, AWD, it'll drive good.

I'm hoping once I retire I'll have the time and space to learn how to fabricate composites. I've done a bit before, but I want to get to the point I can make my own dry carbon fiber panels. Like my ideal would be to restomod a bunch of my list of 8, keep them looking fairly stock-ish, but just cut weight like bananas on them. Think carbon fiber body panels but painted so its not stupidly obvious, titanium or aluminum billet components wherever possible, lightest wheels I can manage (Volk CE28Ns or similar), and /excellent/ suspension. I don't even care if I make that much more power than stock on most of these cars, I just want to make a bunch of beater go carts :)

1. 1986 Toyota MR2 AW11

2. 1996 Mazda Miata/MX-5 NA

3. 1990 Porsche 944 Turbo S

4. 1988 Pontiac Fiero GT

5. 1995 Mazda RX-7 FD

6. 2007 Lotus Exige S

7. 1994 Autozam AZ-1

8. 2013 Acura TSX Sport Wagon

I'm a big Toyota/Mazda fan, currently drive a Mazda as my primary vehicle, previously drove mostly Toyotas, and I have a love affair with 80s and 90s sports coupes, the lighter the better. I also happen to think the Acura TSX Sport Wagon is criminally underrated as one of the best wagons to build on, thanks to coming with the K24 and in a gorgeous Vortex Blue Pearl.

I've spent years on track, now I'm much more interested in the experience of daily driving. A car does not need to be a full track build to be fun. My mantra now is much more OEM+, you have to almost squint to realize its not bone stock. The coolest car to me is something that's well-maintained and shows care and love from its owner, not necessarily something loud and flashy. I think the GR Corolla is an excellent platform to build around, and I almost bought one myself although my current newer daily is a Mazda 3 Turbo. Hot hatches and wagons will always hold a special place in my heart.

That said, I have no desire for a particularly loud exhaust, although I'm more than happy to trade off NVH for actual performance.