Journey of Life

August 4, 2025August 4, 2025

Lilibet’s Story

When we first saw her, she was standing at the gate of the animal rescue, looking longingly in our direction. Her red Cocker Spaniel face was whitened with age. Her curly fur coat had been shaved off to relieve the matting that had formed over many years of neglect and weeks on the street. She was an older dog, but her dark, penetrating eyes longed to tell us her story.

Having pets was typically not in the cards for us. Allergies, asthma, and other caregiving responsibilities had steered us away from welcoming an animal into our home. But my girls had slowly convinced Mom and Dad that it was finally time to get a hypoallergenic pup. Their search had led them to Jake, a young male poodle mix at a local rescue shelter. We went to see him. But we quickly learned that Jake had issues from his past that would require isolation and a lot of training. The astute rescue worker suggested we consider an older dog for our first pet. He pointed over at Elizabeth (or Lilibet, as my wife would soon call her), and said, “What about this one?” She sensed our attention and even barked in our direction. He brought her over to us.

She wasn’t much to look at. Her exposed skin was covered in age spots and warts. Her tail was bare. She looked more like a pig than a dog. But we couldn’t help but smile at her. She crawled over to us and quietly laid down, looking up at us—begging to find a spot to settle into our lives. It worked. After a “family meeting” at the local Starbucks, we were convinced that she was the one. When we stopped to pick her up, she nearly ran to our vehicle. With her short legs, she struggled to get into the van, but she had no problem working her way into our hearts.

Now, as many of you pet owners already know, we quickly discovered the toll pets can take on your pocketbook: food, toys, snacks (because food again), ridiculous outfits, and of course, vet visits. This is especially true with the many medical issues older dogs can encounter. But I have to confess—it was worth it. After some treatment and care, she was soon enjoying her golden years, with a full fur coat and a happy, panting smile. She quickly became a member of the family. She loved walks, pup cups at Starbucks, and helping Dad fix breakfast on Saturday mornings. She didn’t even mind the many costume changes the girls picked out for her—from Christmas sweaters to Halloween hats—she put up with all of it. We took her everywhere. She would oblige any request and pant happily.

Over the past few months, her advanced years and harsh life seemed to catch up with her. She moved more slowly. Arthritis had become more serious, and her energy was low. She had lost her hearing, and we suspected her eyesight was fading too. She slept a lot. But she would occasionally spring to life and go on a perimeter check of the house or the yard. She began to stop and stare into the distance—or look directly at us. It was a different look, like someone succumbing to exhaustion, yet incredibly grateful for the love and care she had been given. We noticed that she eventually started to circle in place, as if she were trying to find a comfortable spot to rest. Sadly, the sunset of her golden years was beginning its final approach. Two weeks ago, she made one final circle, laid down, and drifted off into eternity.

We miss her. We are sad. But we are also grateful to have had Lilibet in our lives for a brief time. We do grieve but we remember that grief is the enduring echo of love. Yes, the heart hurts—but it reminds us of the preciousness of the time we have with each other and the love we share. It encourages us to record every moment, savor the journey, and give even more of ourselves and our time to others.

A path without grief is a path without love. Our time with Lilibet reminded me of that. Some of the greatest joys in life can be unlocked if you take time to love, to rescue, to care for someone else—even a pet. Open your heart to another. We need more of that. I suspect we are made for that. Life is short. We can make the most of it by loving, selflessly giving of ourselves, and enjoying the days we have. They pass by fast. Don’t miss the chance to live, to love, to care—and to be cared for. Expect heartbreaks ahead, but they are worth it. Love is the greatest gift of life. Unwrap it with all your heart!

July 25, 2025

Beyond the Horizon

The sun blazed down on us, and the road seemed to stretch on forever. Last week we took a road trip to Tulsa to meet with family and celebrate my mom’s 80th birthday. As we drove across the Mojave, the road seemed to stretch out as far as the eye could see. Bounded on both sides of the road were rolling piles of sand and rock. Just ahead, it looked as though someone had taken a putty knife and smoothed out a pallet of sand up toward the undulating hills just on the horizon.

The hot desert road ahead looked like a gray ribbon placed on the tan, sage speckled landscape. It disappeared into a sharp point on the horizon and seemed to pierce the sky. The heavens were pouring out all over the road. The cool, watery blue sky had drained down into the otherwise hot and dry roadway, well beyond the horizon. It felt like if I kept driving, I would fall into the sky. It was uncanny! I had an incredible sense of power at that moment. I felt like we could rocket our way into the silvery blue pool of the celestial realm. I couldn’t help but wonder, how was this possible?

It turns out that an illusion like what I saw can occur when a hot surface like the road superheats the air just above it. The air becomes much hotter than the air just a few feet higher. This creates a steep temperature gradient — hot air below, cooler air above. Light travels faster in warmer, less dense air than in cooler air. As light rays from the sky travel downward and enter the hotter air near the road, they bend upward toward your eyes. This refraction is interpreted by our eyes as reflection, so I see the sky somehow pouring onto the road. Well, too bad. I was really hoping we could drive into that crystal blue oasis.

Instead of treading tracks on the celestial firmament, we eventually curved over the horizon and into “Holy Moses Wash”. If you have ever taken a trip across the country on Interstate 40, you will remember this surreal spot. It is located just south‑west of Kingman, Arizona. It’s massive and stark. It’s adorned with signature high desert rugged rocks and sun-scorched plants, but at a huge scale. The road climbs up the steep grades and curves around the enormous cliffs and boulders. Semi-tractor trailer trucks that previously seemed intimidating, now looked like matchbook cars from a kid’s playset.

Cars and trucks were slowly crawling like ants up the rusty red and burnt orange slopes. Towering above us, I noticed several precariously perched boulders — ten times the size of the cars below. It was humbling. I felt so small! The scene all around us was overwhelming and I couldn’t help but be awestruck in the moment. Holy Moses! It was incredible. I felt that wonder wash over me in a peaceful moment of reverence.

What an incredible shift in perspective! From a moment of significance of taking flight into the sky, to being brought back down to earth, in a moment of overwhelming humility. It occurs to me that life is just like that road. We drive along and discover wonders that raise our spirits and aspirations. We soar into the sky, drinking in the silvery milk of the heavens. Then at the next moment, we round the corner and are shaken to our core. Reality sets in and we realize how relatively small we are in the scheme of all things. It’s grounding. It’s comforting. And it’s utterly captivating.

Life has ups and downs. You never know what’s just ahead. It may be a rough patch, or a smooth one, but something different is on its way. Keep going. When it hands you a cup of silvery blue, dream into it. Drink it up and enjoy it. When it sets you in your place, be in awe and feast on the incredible and boundless nature of the universe. But no matter what, keep driving. There is more to come, just over the horizon.

July 8, 2025

Pursue Happiness

I hope you all had a great Fourth of July! It was warm here in SoCal with clear skies. At the Cox house, our celebration for the USA’s 249th birthday was filled with the typical fare of summer culinary delight. Watermelons, hamburgers, hotdogs, chili, and chips. I was happy to have all our kids here, including our grand-dog. We had a good time together. We enjoyed sweet summer treats and celebrated life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The pursuit of happiness. I love that phrase. It reminds us that happiness is a mission, an optimistic way of life, not an accomplishment. It is a continuous journey, not merely a destination to be won or attained. We pursue it and unlock its rewards by placing one foot in front of the other. In a lot of ways, it may seem like happiness is a myth, a fantasy or reality distortion field. But I propose that it is an energy. Plugging in to this source requires deliberate effort and intent. The stream of happiness is all around us. But do we choose to dip our toes into it? Do we run into the deep waters with laughter, joy, and excitement? Can our hands scoop up the tranquility and euphoria that flows by our days?

Pursue happiness. Can I suggest that you pause for a few minutes right now? I know there is a lot going on. My calendar is rocky with sharp and dry edges too. There are plenty of demands and needs all around. But to navigate the treacherous journey that this day may bring, we need energy. We need oxygen. We need a dose of happiness.

The good news is that happiness is nearby. We just need to capture it and enjoy it. Pause. Look around. Breathe in and out. Feel the tranquility of life settle on you for a moment. Close your eyes. That glowing ember just in front of you is the heart of happiness. Do you see it? Reach out and grab hold of it. That merriment is meant for you. Drink it in! All of it. Celebrate the contentment of the moment. Here, right now, there is peace. There is joy. Now breathe again and open your eyes. Go ahead, let that smile take over your face. You plugged in to happiness and are powered to go into the day. Go make it a great one!

July 1, 2025July 1, 2025

The Overview Effect

I can’t even imagine what it must feel like. You are 420 kilometers above the earth and traveling at a speed of 28,000 kph. That’s over 22 times the speed of sound! Looking out into space you see stars and galaxies populate the otherwise pitch-black void. Your mind reaches for those distant specks while it swims in the vastness of the universe. Turning to face your home planet, you see Earth wrapped in a dark blanket of night. Faint lights paint the cities and a tiny translucent golden arch floats above the circular surface of the Earth’s horizon. You begin to make out some of the continents and oceans, tracing the manmade illumination across the coasts.

Suddenly, the horizon begins to erupt with energy. First, some blues and deep reds drip into view, then vibrant yellows spray across the surface. Brilliant whites flood your portal as the sun enters the stage. You now spot wisps of clouds and atmospheric rivers that radiate the sun’s majestic dance and render a surreal dimension onto the vibrant crystal blue and green globe. You are suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. Tears fill your eyes as you behold the glowing globe of water, land, and life below. It is home. Your home. Our home. Our wonderful world of color. Majestic, vast, and singularly alone in the surrounding vastness of outer space.

Astronauts report a life changing emotional experience when they look back at the Earth for the first time. Scientists call this the “overview effect”. It seems to be tied to the sense of scale, the majestic view and an overwhelming connection with the planet and its people.

NASA and others have attempted to virtually replicate this experience for the rest of us. Sadly, traditional display technology, even with scale, high resolution, and dynamic range, doesn’t quite capture the same look. Astronauts report it doesn’t quite look or feel the same. It turns out, there is a good reason. Digital reproduction of visual experiences is currently limited by RGB technology.

RGB attempts to render the spectrum via red, green, and blue wavelengths. This seems adequate in most cases because it roughly maps to the signal processing of our eyes. Our eyes have three “cones”, specialized cells that have light-sensitive proteins that react to different wavelengths of light. Yes, you probably guessed it, we have one that reacts to red, one to green and another to blue. However, it tuns out that it isn’t just a single wavelength that excites these cones, it is a curve, a spectrum of wavelengths, sometimes overlapping with other cones. Standard RGB technology sends out similar curved spectrums of light. However, it has gaps. It can only produce about 45 percent of the visible colors that our eyes will detect.

There are companies like 6P Color that are looking to expand beyond the RGB technology to deliver a richer fidelity of color experience. They do so by focusing the color spectrum into more narrow bands and adding cyan, magenta, and yellow wavelengths. Working with NASA, they speculated that if they were able to accurately reproduce the images from space of the Earth, they may be able to better simulate the overlook effect. It turns out, they were right. When astronauts saw the expanded color spectrum displays, they reported the same feeling and view they had when orbiting our planet from space. How is this possible? It turns out that one of the colors especially, cyan, excites the proteins in the cones so much so that it creates an emotional response to the scene.

Colors can evoke emotions, convey meaning, and create atmosphere. Color is a powerful tool in our storytelling arsenal. It can awaken memory. It can stir passion and energy. It can soothe, calm, and heal the mind and body. Just as cyan can amplify the overlook effect, other colors can bring foreboding, fear, mystery, relaxation, and affection. We have been telling stories in color for quite some time. It turns out, we can tell even more. Just add some cyan, magenta, and yellow.

It occurs to me that we often find ourselves locked into practices, current understandings, and technology. We think it is good enough. After all, it does 45% of what we want. And yes, that may be adequate for a while. But why settle? The full spectrum is there, waiting to be explored. Lean into cyan, embrace some magenta and adopt some yellow. See what happens!

Let’s continue to look beyond the obvious. Explore new possibilities. Challenge the status quo. Who knows what incredible discoveries, innovations, and experiences wait for us. I bet it will be out of this world!

ss072e340644 (Nov., 18, 2024) --- An orbital sunrise crowns Earth's horizon in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above Brazil. At top right, the city lights of Rio de Janiero and Sao Paulo on the Atlantic coast are visible from the orbital outpost. — (Nov., 18, 2024) — An orbital sunrise crowns Earth’s horizon in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above Brazil. At top right, the city lights of Rio de Janiero and Sao Paulo on the Atlantic coast are visible from the orbital outpost.

iss064e033237 (Feb. 15, 2021) --- An orbital sunrise is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 260 miles above the Pacific Ocean about 500 miles southwest of Mexico.
Date Created:2021-02-15 — (Feb. 15, 2021) — An orbital sunrise is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 260 miles above the Pacific Ocean about 500 miles southwest of Mexico.

iss066e152101 (Feb. 22, 2022) --- The Earth is illuminated shortly after an orbital sunrise in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 above the Pacific Ocean south of Alaska's Aleutian Islands. — (Feb. 22, 2022) — The Earth is illuminated shortly after an orbital sunrise in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 above the Pacific Ocean south of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

The sun's glint beams off a partly cloudy Atlantic Ocean
NASA ID: iss072e695136 — The sun’s glint beams off a partly cloudy Atlantic Ocean
NASA ID: iss072e695136

June 24, 2025June 24, 2025

Are we alone?

“The search for life elsewhere is remarkable in our age because this is the first time that we can actually do something besides speculation. We can send spacecraft to nearby planets; we can use large radio telescopes to see if there is any message being sent to us… And it touches the deepest of human concerns. Are we alone?” – Carl Sagan

Are we alone? That fundamental question that Carl Sagan posed in that 1985 radio interview, pondered the possibility of extraterrestrial life. But that question is not only relevant at the astronomical scale, it is relevant at the terrestrial and even personal one. Are we alone? Are you alone? Do you feel alone? PIXAR’s latest movie, Elio, takes an unsurprisingly emotional and profound look at that query. We’re fundamentally social creatures, often introverted, reserved, or timid, yet we crave connection. We seek belonging and meaningful relationships. We hunger for community, either in person or via digital venues. We aspire and yearn for recognition by others. Feedback, we often say, is pure gold. It touches us deeply. Connecting with others seems to activate a grounded certainty that we are indeed, not alone. We belong. We are seen. We matter.

Elio delivers spectacular visuals. It develops relatable, lovable, and fun characters. But more than subtle, it sends you home with a great reminder. Don’t miss the obvious connection sitting right next to you (possibly even in the theater with you). You are not alone. We are here. Don’t look past the blessings in human form right next to you. Make an effort to see beyond your pain or loneliness and recognize, the answer might have been there all along. Know that others are here and others do care. And, just as you may be feeling lonely at times, recognize that there are others around you who may feel the same. Be kind. Be aware. And of course, be there, when they need you too.

I’ve been guilty of being oblivious at times. I think back to the many occurrences when I was so in my own head that I completely overlooked a precious soul sitting right next to me. Buried in my calendar, my phone, or my computer keyboard, I might as well have been a lightyear away from the present and sometime critical need next to me. This is a good reminder to pause and better connect to the human treasures all around us. We need each other. We need to belong. We do belong.

Remember, you are not alone! Be kind to each other and connect. And, of course, go see Elio if you haven’t already. It is marvelous and profoundly human. A message we need to hear. Well done, PIXAR!

June 16, 2025June 21, 2025

Summer Vibes

I hope you all had a great weekend! And for any fellow dads out there, I hope you had a great Father’s Day! I spent time with all four of my kids watching movies, grilling outdoors, and of course, celebrating over some ice cream on these hot summer days. Now, to be fair, it doesn’t take much to need to celebrate in our household. Life is full of excuses that merit a need for a soft serve dose of that dairy goodness, but this weekend seemed particularly poised for that indulgence.

We love movies! As part of this weekend’s festivities, we had a full playlist of cinematic magic streaming on our living room screen. You all know me by now, so it probably doesn’t surprise you to know that I have my garage-based AI system curate our movie selection. It sends out text suggestions on what to watch. It keeps track of our viewing habits and has a good idea of what we like to see. But despite all that tech, my wife wasn’t quite satisfied. She suggested that it should consider recommending movies celebrating the anniversary of their general theatrical release. For example, “Incredibles 2” was released on June 15, 2018, so it would be a great one to watch on Sunday. I loved that idea! So, I went to work adding that context to our resident AI. I just needed data.

Good luck! I tried finding a good data source, but everything I found was driven more toward discovery, and most of it was flawed, including bad release date information. I finally landed on TMDB as a good listing of movies, with references to IMDb that could pull more official release dates from OMDb. Yeah, it was confusing, but sadly, there wasn’t a clean way to get this data. I needed a web service to aggregate all of this for me and my AI.

I’m going to stop now and just acknowledge that many of you are probably tired of hearing me talk so much about Vibe Coding. If that’s you, you can stop now. I won’t be offended. For the rest of you, yes, buckle up, here is another vibe coding story.

I launched VSCode with my GitHub Copilot-powered assistant that I call JoJo. I switched him to agent mode (super important, by the way), and began having a chat. I told him about my vision to create this web service, how I wanted to build this dataset and APIs for easy access. He created a movie_db folder and went to work on a script. The script ran right away and pulled down the data. I suggested a high-speed way to process the data, and he suggested caching the API calls to prevent overloading the providers. What a smart aleck! But he was right. That was a good idea because the free tier of API access was rate-limited.

Finally, I had a good dataset to use, and JoJo had compressed it into a serialized object for fast access. I then switched to having him create the Python web service and gave a general idea of the APIs I wanted. He suggested some routes to use and wired together a Python Flask app. I told him that I wanted to use FastAPI and that I wanted to build all the tests before we built the APIs. He reluctantly complied and had me run pytest to verify. All good. Then the fun began. he started churning on the code for the APIs.

At this point, I should acknowledge that I was very tempted to jump in and code some lines myself. You can definitely do that, and these tools will co-develop with you, but I wanted to see how far I could go just vibing my way along. It turns out, a long way! The APIs were looking good, and it was extremely fast. I decided I wanted a nice UI, so I told JoJo to build a web page and gave him a general idea of what I wanted to see. He spun up some templates, added some tests, and plumbed in a new route for the landing page.

“Show the movies that were released on this day in history and sort them by popularity.” Boom! In less than a minute, JoJo had a basic screen up and running. I asked him to tweak the colors and make it more modern with a date navigator. He did, but I didn’t like some of the placements, so I asked him to nudge things around a bit more and adjust the style. I must confess, this is where I spent probably too much of my time. It was too fun and easy to ask him to make minor tweaks to scratch my curiosity itch. But he never complained; he just kept coding and plodding along. I even had him add additional pages for “Search” and “About”, which had nothing to do with my original goal.

About eight hours later, we were done. Yes, that is probably about four times longer than I needed, but I was having so much fun! Fun? Yes, legitimate, awe-inspiring fun! I finished up the project by asking JoJo to build the Dockerfile and help me launch the app as a public website for others to use. He complied. In case you are wondering, I even spent the $11 to get a domain: https://moviesthisday.com. I still have a non-stop list of updates spinning in my head, not the least of which is a MCP server for AI.

When I launched my first startup, we spent over a year getting our business and first website launched. There was a lot of development time for that. I can’t imagine how different that story would have been if we had Vibe Coding to accelerate our efforts back then. This is a game changer! I want all of you to get a chance to vibe too. If you tried it in the past and weren’t impressed, please try again. The advances they are making are happening on a weekly basis now. I’ve seen it myself. They just keep getting better.

Technology amplifies human ability. Vibe Coding feels like digital adrenaline. I’m a little addicted. But it feels great! It has definitely helped bring the fun back into coding again for me. I wonder if the same could happen for you?

Now, for those of you who managed to actually stay with me through today’s way-too-long blog post, thank you! I’m excited for you. We are living through an amazing time in technology. Let’s get busy putting this great tech to use for the betterment of ourselves, our companies, and our world. Lean in! Try your hand at this ice cream of coding. The scoops are amazing!

Oh, and in case you are wondering what movie to watch tonight…

Code available on Github page: https://github.com/jasonacox/MoviesThisDay

June 14, 2025June 14, 2025

Mindful about Meetings

12 meetings, 5 calls and 3 walk-ups. And that was just Thursday! It’s not terribly unusual but it is a lot. I know what you are thinking. I’m not alone experiencing that, and that’s true. But I do apologize to anyone who had to meet with me towards the end of the day. I’m sure it wasn’t great. I was definitely running low on fumes.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love meeting with people, especially in person and most delightfully, over a cup of coffee or tea. It’s one of my favorite things! However, I sometimes find myself preoccupied or unfocused. In some cases, I’m not even sure why we’re meeting. I just show up because my calendar says so.

This got me thinking: how do I show up in meetings, and does it matter? Sometimes it’s a critical project meeting, team update, or strategic planning session. For those, I try to quickly orient and determine the desired outcome so I can contribute towards the goal. If it’s not clear, I’ll ask. But other times, those meetings are just for advice, career coaching, mentoring, or inspiration. I love those. They’re often the most rewarding, as the outcomes are more about helping my fellow human travelers, as well as our company, succeed.

So, how do I really show up? Am I present? Compassionate? Indifferent or insensitive? Do I speak more than I listen? And if I do listen, do I listen with understanding? Am I respectful, kind, and supportive? Do I show up real, with integrity and sincerity?

I know I haven’t always succeeded, and that’s not good enough. I want to do better. I want to be more mindful and intentional in my meetings. I want to make the most of our time together.

Every second of every day is precious. Every heartbeat, every breath, and every person. The gravity of these meetings finally hit me. People matter. Time is irreplaceable. Every conversation is an indelible narrative that we score upon the journal of eternity. Those words, those interactions, and those moments should matter. They do matter. They shape our company, our world, our connections, and our future.

Not every meeting is needed, so let’s be judicious about the time we book. But when we do, let’s level up. It’s time to invest in each other even more. It’s time to make the most of our minutes, our days… our time.

Starting this week, let’s make a conscious effort to be more mindful and intentional in our meetings. Let’s focus on the present moment, and let’s prioritize listening and understanding. Let’s show up with compassion, respect, and kindness. Let’s make the most of our time together. I’m ready to try. Are you?

See you in the next meeting!

June 3, 2025June 3, 2025

June Bugs

June bugs! Growing up in the South, about this time of year, windows, porch lights, and even sidewalks would be covered with little nickel sized brown beetles called June bugs. I can still hear their little exoskeleton wings buzzing as they make their clumsy and erratic flight between porches, streetlights, and other illuminated areas. They are terrible flyers. They will zoom right into walls, screens or windows causing them to bounce and crash to the ground. They often land on their backs, with their wiggly little legs pointing straight up, frantically trying to right their rigid little bodies. I remember laughing at them as they would scurry around.

June bugs are fascinating little creatures. These bumbling and profuse little southerners are only around for a few short weeks. That’s right, they come out just once a year and stay for a handful of days. They spend most of their lives underground. They emerge from the ground in late spring and early summer, typically in June, which is where they get their name. They have a short lifespan, but they make the most of their time. They explore. They fly. They zoom across the moonlit and star speckled summer nights. Once they emerge in their adult form, they live for only two weeks. They lay their eggs which hatch into larvae. The larvae burrow into the soil and emerge as adult June bugs the following year.

Imagine a lifetime lived in just two weeks. No wonder they never become great flyers! But even in their short lifespan, they make a difference. June bugs play a role in maintaining ecological balance by helping to regulate plant populations. Their larvae feed on plant roots and decaying organic matter, helping to break down and recycle nutrients in the soil. This process enriches the soil and makes it more fertile for other plants to grow. June bugs may not be the most glamorous insects, but they play a vital role in maintaining the health and diversity of ecosystems.

Two weeks. That’s incredibly short. Imagine you lived your entire life in 14 days. What would you do? How would you make the biggest impact? I think I would try to fly too. It would be clumsy and imperfect, but I would take to the skies. I would explore. I would do what I could to have the greatest impact. Enjoy every second. Buzz around every glowing wonder and then send my dreams, bundled with hope, care and love, to future generations to enjoy the world the way I did too.

Unlike June bugs, we live significantly more days. But even then, life is short. Things are always changing. We have a few short days to make our indelible mark. Don’t forget to enjoy the wonders of creation! Explore and run with abandon into the mysteries that renew and intrigue us. And while you are there, don’t forget to bundle up some of that magic and send it on into the future for others to enjoy as well.

May 6, 2025May 6, 2025

The Whispering Ponderosa

This past weekend, I was in Tulsa and drove down the street of my childhood neighborhood. A large ponderosa pine appeared on the horizon. It was evening so the angle of the sun allowed it to cast exaggerated shadows on the ranch home nestled under its feathered needles. The quaint little home was still dressed in used brick and rough siding. While I traced the familiar outlines of the windows, porch, steps and cedar roof shingles, streams of days gone by flooded my mind. Up and down those stairs I climbed as a younger me.

I saw a boy riding his bike down the driveway. It was a ghost of my childhood laughing and remembering the fun under that towering ponderosa pine. Neighborhood kids joined in, all trying to outdo each other, maybe by jumping the ramp propped up next to the pine or besting each other in a comical race to the finish line.

A small mark on the ponderosa pine reminded me of the time my sister and I would jump on a sled and slide down the snow-covered driveway, many times barely missing the tree. And yes, there was that one time when hands and feet were numb from the cold and steering was such a challenge that we hit it head on and tumbled into the nearby snowdrift. Whether that old ponderosa ever forgave us or not, I’ll never know but I couldn’t help but reach out and give it an apologetic pat and thank it for the memories.

That old ponderosa has seen a thing or two. It stands proudly, greeting neighborhood residents and visitors every day. It even welcomes home old ones like me. It was here when I was nothing more than cosmic dust and a dream and will likely still be here when I return to that dust. Echos of future dreams and ghosts of the past dance around that evergreen memorial. I can’t help but smile and feel a tear of joy mingled with grief. Life goes by so fast. Moments become memories and memories become whispers singing softly through the ponderosa pine.

A trip back home can be rejuvenating and emotional. This past weekend reminded me of the preciousness of our days, the blessing of our memories and the power of place to stir our hearts to gratefulness. When you get a chance to go back home or visit the memorials of your life you leave along the way, don’t forget to stop and reflect. Ponder at the ponderosa and let the whispers of your past fill your soul with gratitude, memories of your unique and precious journey and those golden dreams of futures yet to be had.

The Ponderosa bids you pleasant memories and happy trails ahead.

April 8, 2025April 9, 2025

Coding Vibes

I had the opportunity to meet with industry leaders at an IT Rev Technology Leadership Forum last week in San Jose. I was able to participate in deep dive sessions and discussions with friends from Apple, John Deere, Fidelity, Vanguard, Google, Adobe, Northrop Grumman, and many others, with some new friends from Nvidia, Anthropic and OpenAI. As you can imagine, the headline topics from these tech leaders were all around AI.

Ready to try some “vibe coding”? By far, the biggest discussions revolved around the new technique of vibe coding. But what is this “vibe coding”, you may ask? It is a programming technique that uses AI to write code with nearly full auto-pilot mode thinking. Instead of code writer, you are the creative director. You are creating what you want in English and the AI does the rest. Basically, it goes something like this:

ME: Help me write a flight simulator that will operate in a web browser.
AI: Sure, here is a project folder structure and the code. Run it like this.
ME: I get the following 404 error.
AI: It looks like we are missing three.js, download and store it here like this.
ME: The screen is white and I’m missing the PNG files? Can you create them for me?
AI: Sure! Run this python command to create the images and store them in the /static folder.
ME: I see a blue sky now and a white box, but it won’t move.
AI: We are missing the keyboard controls. Create the following files and edit index.html.
ME: I’m getting the following errors.
AI: Change the server.py to this.
ME: Ok, it is working now. It’s not great, but it is a start. Add some mountains and buildings.

I spent a few minutes doing the above with an LLM this morning and managed to get a blue sky with some buildings and a square airplane. In vibe coding, you don’t try to “fix” things, you just let the AI know what is working or not working and let it solve it. When it makes abstract recommendations (e.g., create a nice texture image), you turn around and ask it to create it for you using code or some other means. In my example, I’m playing the role of the copy/paste inbetweener, but there are coding assistants that are now even doing that for you. You only give feedback, and have it create and edit the code for you. Some can even “see” the screen, so you don’t have to describe the outcome. They have YOLO buttons that automatically “accept all changes” and will run everything with automatic feedback going into the AI to improve the code.

Fascinating or terrifying, this is crazy fun tech! I think I’m starting to get the vibe. Ok, yes, I’m also dreaming of the incredible ways this could go badly. A champion vibe coder at the forum said it was like holding a magic wand and watching your dream materialize before your eyes. He also quickly added that sometimes it can become Godzilla visiting Tokyo, leveling buildings to rubble with little effort. But it hasn’t stopped him. He is personally spending over $200/day on tokens. I can see why Anthropic, OpenAI and Google would want to sponsor vibe coding events!

This sounds like an expensive and dangerous fad, right? Well, maybe not. This tech is still the worst it is going to be. The potential and the vast number of opportunities to innovate in this space are higher than I have seen in my lifetime. I encourage you all to help create, expand, and explore this new world. Maybe this vibe isn’t for you, but I bet there is something here that could unlock some new potential or learning. Try it on for size. See where this can go… just maybe not to production yet.

Wishing you all cool coding vibes this week!

Create an LLM from Scratch

I also gave a class on how to create a language model from scratch. We start with the science of neural networks and end up with a model that produces infinite Shakespeare. Here is link to a YouTube version: https://youtu.be/s4zEQyM_Rks?si=r3uoB_m1XM4gyCNG and the notebooks: https://github.com/jasonacox/ProtosAI/tree/master/notebooks#genai-large-language-models