Hard-earned AI coding secrets, finally taming paperwork, and LEGO angers fans
Plus, Google says AI is an amplifier, iPhone 17 selfies change everything, a new kind of screw, and and an extremely geeky Python hack
I’m David Gewirtz. Welcome to this week’s Advanced Geekery newsletter. It’s been an exciting week. Let’s dive in.
Advanced Geekery is published weekly on Substack and LinkedIn. Same content. Choose your favorite delivery method. Back Issues.
My articles
Here’s a quick recap of the articles I published in the last week on ZDNET.
How I turned an old laptop into a home document station - and cut down on paperwork chaos: This clever setup uses scanners, shredders, and custom 3D prints to stop paper and mail as soon it enters my house.
10 ChatGPT Codex secrets I only learned after 60 hours of pair programming with it: Pair programming with ChatGPT Codex for a week exposed hard-won lessons every developer should know before trying it.
AI magnifies your teams strengths - and weaknesses, Google report finds: AI magnifies how well (or poorly) you already operate. The 2025 DORA report reveals seven practices that separate high-performing teams from struggling ones.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
This woman took a random hobby story about grown-ups using coloring books and turned it into a film. Really excellent video editing and production.
Apparently, the wacky iPhone 17 Air is unexpectedly nearly indestructible. How do we know? The only way this guy was able to break it was with an industrial strain tester. Personally, I still don’t like it. Less battery, more thin. Meh.
This video was done in AI, but is actually kind of fun. Galactic problems Darth Vader faces every day. Not sure what I think about AI filling up the YouTubes, but watch it for what it is.
Product of the week
A couple of weeks ago, I showed you these cool duplex nails that have two heads (so you can easily remove them after installing). A reader reached out to tell me that duplex screws also exist.
The vendor pitches them for picture hanging, but I can definitely imagine using them with 3D printing to create some snap-together fasteners once you’ve established the proper opening geometry and tolerance margins.
If you can think of a cool way to use these in a project, leave a comment.
Note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Interesting reads
And now, some good stuff from around the Internet, well worth checking out.
VERY geeky article about a dude who replaced all his bash scripts with Python.
Apple’s iPhone 17 models have a new selfie camera. ZDNET’s Jason Hiner explains why this means we’ll never take selfies the same way again.
Apparently LEGO’s new $1,000 (yes, you read that right) Death Star kit is pissing off fans. With 9,000+ pieces, it’s roughly the same ten cents per piece LEGO normally charges, but it’s not even a full sphere. The Force is not with this one.
Send in your projects
I’d like to regularly spotlight a reader project or two here. Your project doesn’t have to be a big Kickstarter launch. If you’ve built something cool, it has some pretty pictures, and you’re proud of it, I might be able to share it here.
If you have a photogenic reader project, send an email to me at david@zatz.com with the subject “READER PROJECT,” a few pictures, and a short one-paragraph description. If you have a social media link or a link to the project, include that, too.
Both my EPs are now streaming
Available on all your favorite streaming services.
More clicky
I’ve got a lot happening all over the web. Here are links to my various stuff:
House of the Head: home for my published music
ZATZ Labs: where I host my published software projects
Feel free to dig around, visit, and say hey!
Leave some comments
Substack supports comments, so feel free to leave some. I promise to read them. Just, please, let’s keep our personal politics out of any discussion.
That should do it for this week. This newsletter is really starting to pick up subscribers. Please help it out by sharing links on all your socials.
Have a great week!