Major fail trying free vibe coding, best ChatGPT settings, a 15x faster coding AI
Plus, my latest little woodworking project, the oldest sewing in history, Nick Cage as Spider-Man-ish, fixing your Roku, and the story of the rubber tree as a wood supply
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.
I tried to save $1,200 by vibe coding for free - and quickly regretted it: I wanted to believe this free AI coding tool could replace Claude Code. But it isn’t ready for prime time yet.
I’m a ChatGPT power user: Here are 7 useful settings that are turned off by default: Stop using ChatGPT on factory settings. Here are the top adjustments I use to make it a pro tool.
OpenAI’s new Spark model codes 15x faster than GPT-5.3-Codex - but there’s a catch: OpenAI’s new GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark promises ultra-fast, conversational AI coding, if you can tolerate a few trade-offs.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
It’s no secret I very much enjoy the Stargate franchise. In this entertaining as heck video, Michael Shanks (“Daniel Jackson”) does a rant about the Zat gun.
Trailer for Spider Noir. Nicholas Cage does a noir version of Spider-Man. Need I say more?
I’ve introduced you to Rex Krueger’s videos before. In this installment of his history of wood, he talks about the rubber tree and its amazing story.
Project (and fastener) of the week
I put my CNC to work making a mobile modular apple box. Apple boxes (boxes of apples from the orchard) were used in the early days of Hollywood because they were robust and made from solid wood. Movie workers used them for all sorts of things, including to make shorter actors appear taller. Today, “apple box” is a term of art. You can buy pre-made apple boxes in a number of standard sizes anywhere good movie-making supplies are sold.
I, however, wanted to make something that just perfectly fits my Fab Lab carts, so I can easily slide heavy gear onto and off of the lower shelves of the carts. I also wanted to use it just as a dolly, and as a little mobile wagon. So I made the mobile dolly base and the apple box separately, then used the little toggle clamps to enable the modules to be attached together in both orientations.
Here’s a quick hint for using the toggles. You can spin the Y shaped portion around to tighten or loosen it. That fact (which I only discovered fairly late in the process) makes it much easier to properly fit the clamps to the modules being clamped together.
Live and learn.
P.S. Also, if you look at the tool path on your CNC before you cut, you might not cut right through your hold-downs. Don’t ask me how I learned that one.
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.
Here’s some big news in the 3D printing world: MyMiniFactory acquired Thingiverse. Hmm.
My state of Oregon is known for lots of things. Good coffee. A really big fungus. And the oldest-known sewn clothing ever made.
ZDNET’s Chris Bayer has some tips for resetting your Roku TV’s cache. My Roku TV has been acting up for a while, so maybe I’ll give this a try.
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!