I talk with David Demaree, a software product leader and the person behind the consultancy/agency Bits and Letters, whom I know through the Shop Talk Show Discord. We end up discussing AI despite trying not to, focusing on how two things can be true: AI can be useful while also feeling gross or harmful. We also discuss how AI gets shoved into tools for metrics, why good design should be opinionated, and why company benchmarks can be misleading compared to real-world “vibe checks” and user feedback.

Note: I said "Friday October 16th" in the recording, but this is for Saturday, October 17th. Stupid templates not knowing I'm recording ahead.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• David Demaree
• ShopTalk Show
• ShopTalk Show Discord — join via Patreon
• The Local Yarn Store
• Muse Wonder — Meta’s official announcement
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Claire Vo
• Simon Willison
• Every — Vibe Check
• Long Way Up — Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman
• Long Way Home — Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman
• Rivian
• Bits&Letters — David Demaree’s business

Topics:
00:00 Welcome and Setup
00:31 Meet David Demaree
02:30 Two Truths About AI
04:09 Cloud vs Local AI
06:35 EVs and Future Tech
09:35 A Practical AI Win
12:21 AI as Default Tooling
13:09 Bad UX and AI Sidebars
17:18 Benchmarks vs Reality
20:46 Jokes and Wrap Up
21:50 Where to Find David
22:18 Final Sign Off

Did You Know?

• I've got a newsletter you can subscribe to here that I send out most Tuesdays.
• I've had a blog for 20+ years you can check out here.
• If you don't like listening to me, you can find me elsewhere on the internet.
• You can check out some other podcasts I recommend here.

Support the Show
There are three ways you can support what I do online:

• Share the podcast with friends who might like it.
• Join other supporters on my Patreon with a monthly donation.
• Send a one-time donation via Stripe.

• Lynn
• Jon & Justin
• Abbey Fisher
• eileen smee
• 3 Guys 3 Questions

I’m curious about how you feel when sponsor spots and digitally inserted ads make their way into your favorite podcasts? And I talk about plans to have guest episodes come out on Saturdays.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• Big Walk
• HouseHouse Games
• Panic Software
• The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast

Topics:
00:00 Dailyish Intro
00:13 Sponsor: Big Walk
00:46 How Podcast Ads Evolved
02:04 Would I Take Sponsors
02:53 Apple Views Feedback Loop
03:27 Upcoming Saturday Guests
04:17 Conversation Challenge
04:23 Subscribe and Sign Off

Did You Know?

• I've got a newsletter you can subscribe to here that I send out most Tuesdays.
• I've had a blog for 20+ years you can check out here.
• If you don't like listening to me, you can find me elsewhere on the internet.
• You can check out some other podcasts I recommend here.

Support the Show
There are three ways you can support what I do online:

• Share the podcast with friends who might like it.
• Join other supporters on my Patreon with a monthly donation.
• Send a one-time donation via Stripe.

• Lynn
• Jon & Justin
• Abbey Fisher
• eileen smee
• 3 Guys 3 Questions

Inspired by Chris Coyier’s setup that pulls YouTube comments into Slack, I used ChatGPT and Cloudflare Workers to automatically collect replies and comments from BlueSky and YouTube into my Notion “Listener Feedback” database, and describe building a prototype of an iOS app that records audio or video and uploads directly to Transistor, which feels empowering and creative but also like cheating, and it still requires significant polishing, testing, and design work, increasing my appreciation for professional app developers.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• Cloudflare Workers
• Chris Coyier
• Earlier demo video of Transmitter for sending recordings to Transistor.fm

Topics:
00:00 Welcome to Dailyish
00:34 Why I Code With AI
01:00 Auto Logging Comments
02:43 Building A Recording App
03:28 Creative Yet Cheating
04:13 Polish Still Matters
05:39 Respect For Developers
05:59 Wrap Up And Links

Did You Know?

• I've got a newsletter you can subscribe to here that I send out most Tuesdays.
• I've had a blog for 20+ years you can check out here.
• If you don't like listening to me, you can find me elsewhere on the internet.
• You can check out some other podcasts I recommend here.

Support the Show
There are three ways you can support what I do online:

• Share the podcast with friends who might like it.
• Join other supporters on my Patreon with a monthly donation.
• Send a one-time donation via Stripe.

• Lynn
• Jon & Justin
• Abbey Fisher
• eileen smee
• 3 Guys 3 Questions

For my first Things I Love (name still pending approval of the council), I’m talking about Widow’s Bay. It was created by Katie Dippold, has spooky monster and supernatural vibes, and is a ton of fun to watch even if you hate jump scares.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• Widow's Bay - Wikipedia
• ‎Watch Widow’s Bay - Apple TV⁠
• Widow’s Bay trailer
• Widow's Bay | Rotten Tomatoes
• ‘Absolutely wonderful’: why everyone should be watching Widow’s Bay | US television | The Guardian
• I Finished Ted Lasso... Now What Should I Watch on AppleTV?

Topics:
00:00 Daily Intro and Theme
00:11 Naming Positive Episodes
00:36 Why Watch Widows Bay
01:17 Show Vibes and Buzz
02:11 Premise Without Spoilers
02:49 Scares and Deja Vu Check
03:18 Cast Craft and Season Two
04:02 Halloween Watches and Wrap

Did You Know?

• I've got a newsletter you can subscribe to here that I send out most Tuesdays.
• I've had a blog for 20+ years you can check out here.
• If you don't like listening to me, you can find me elsewhere on the internet.
• You can check out some other podcasts I recommend here.

Support the Show
There are three ways you can support what I do online:

• Share the podcast with friends who might like it.
• Join other supporters on my Patreon with a monthly donation.
• Send a one-time donation via Stripe.

• Lynn
• Jon & Justin
• Abbey Fisher
• eileen smee
• 3 Guys 3 Questions

More follow up on my recent Twitter conversation by sharing a Lex Friedman article, and then I share my thoughts on Apple’s newly announced home hardware: the HomePod mini 2, an upgraded Apple TV, and the new HomeView.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• Lex: X is Bad Though
• Apple's View on Life in Homes is Expensive

Topics:
00:00 Intro
00:27 Leaving Twitter Behind
01:38 Apple Home Gear Revealed
02:20 HomePod Mini Price Shock
03:20 Apple TV Too Expensive
05:06 HomeView Family Reality Check
05:49 Ecosystem Costs and Strategy
06:47 Wrap Up and Sign Off

Did You Know?

• I've got a newsletter you can subscribe to here that I send out most Tuesdays.
• I've had a blog for 20+ years you can check out here.
• If you don't like listening to me, you can find me elsewhere on the internet.
• You can check out some other podcasts I recommend here.

Support the Show
There are three ways you can support what I do online:

• Share the podcast with friends who might like it.
• Join other supporters on my Patreon with a monthly donation.
• Send a one-time donation via Stripe.

• Lynn
• Jon & Justin
• Abbey Fisher
• eileen smee
• 3 Guys 3 Questions

Since it’s a holiday and a Monday, I run through a few listener comments: Aubrey responds to my Twitter vs Mastodon discussion, Harold mentions his “Twitter shaped hole” healing, Jay shares a take on AI tools being used to skip work and get result-shaped output, VoidandCozy suggests a shirt, and I thank Patreon and YouTube supporters.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

Topics:
00:00 Holiday Catch Up
00:57 Twitter Versus Fediverse
02:28 Algorithm Free Timelines
02:51 AI Shortcut Mentality
03:14 Merch And Shirt Talk
03:52 Supporters And Sign Off

Did You Know?

• I've got a newsletter you can subscribe to here that I send out most Tuesdays.
• I've had a blog for 20+ years you can check out here.
• If you don't like listening to me, you can find me elsewhere on the internet.
• You can check out some other podcasts I recommend here.

Support the Show
There are three ways you can support what I do online:

• Share the podcast with friends who might like it.
• Join other supporters on my Patreon with a monthly donation.
• Send a one-time donation via Stripe.

• Lynn
• Jon & Justin
• Abbey Fisher
• eileen smee
• 3 Guys 3 Questions

I’m recording Daily(ish) from the couch while trying to escape the noise of my kids playing video games during a Saturday of winterizing, house cleanup, preparing for upcoming Thanksgiving hangouts, and hopefully a bit of relaxing.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Recorded with Detail for iOS

Topics:
00:00 Intro
00:36 Saturday Plans and Chores
00:56 Late Night Gaming Regret
01:18 Listener Feedback Thanks
01:40 Canadian Thanksgiving Wishes
01:51 Subscribe and Stay Connected
02:14 Gratitude Challenge
02:30 Closing Thanks and Goodbye

Did You Know?

• I've got a newsletter you can subscribe to here that I send out most Tuesdays.
• I've had a blog for 20+ years you can check out here.
• If you don't like listening to me, you can find me elsewhere on the internet.
• You can check out some other podcasts I recommend here.

Support the Show
There are three ways you can support what I do online:

• Share the podcast with friends who might like it.
• Join other supporters on my Patreon with a monthly donation.
• Send a one-time donation via Stripe.

• Lynn
• Jon & Justin
• Abbey Fisher
• eileen smee
• 3 Guys 3 Questions

I was inspired by an episode of PJ Vogt’s podcast Search Engine where PJ reflected on feeling both discouraged and still drawn to the possibility of finding unexpected conversations, community, and ideas moving between people on social media.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• Search Engine Podcast
• Episode: Vladimir Putin’s Forkiverse
• Direct link to PJ Vogt’s quote on the search for a community on social media that I quoted in the episode.

Topics:
00:00 Intro
00:15 Search Engine inspiration
00:36 Fediverse fork gone wrong
02:04 PJ Vogt clip
04:03 Missing old Twitter
06:50 Finding community now
07:23 Discord plans
07:40 Wrap up and links

Did You Know?

• I've got a newsletter you can subscribe to here that I send out most Tuesdays.
• I've had a blog for 20+ years you can check out here.
• If you don't like listening to me, you can find me elsewhere on the internet.
• You can check out some other podcasts I recommend here.

Support the Show
There are three ways you can support what I do online:

• Share the podcast with friends who might like it.
• Join other supporters on my Patreon with a monthly donation.
• Send a one-time donation via Stripe.

• Lynn
• Jon & Justin
• Abbey Fisher
• eileen smee
• 3 Guys 3 Questions