Use Gemini for pro headshots, new features from Codex and Claude, and I'm on Disney+
Plus, a new David video, a very cool tool for tightening tie wraps, ancient tool builders, time reflections, Thunderbirds behind the scenes, and Adrian's portable wind turbine.
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 latest video
Last week, I mentioned that I was testing out the EufyMake E1 UV printer. In this video, I unbox the machine (and a ton of add-on goodies). I also take you through my first run and first impressions. It’s a cool machine.
My articles
Here’s a quick recap of the articles I published in the last week on ZDNET.
I turned casual selfies into professional headshots with Gemini - and the results blew me away: I used Gemini Nano Banana 2 to generate professional headshots perfect for LinkedIn - in minutes.
OpenAI upgrades Codex to automate your workflows - and compete better with Claude Code: Codex’s new plugins push it beyond coding and position it to challenge Claude Code’s growing lead among developers.
How Claude Code’s new auto mode prevents AI coding disasters - without slowing you down: Anthropic’s middle-ground mode aims to reduce interruptions while protecting developers from destructive commands. Here’s why I like this new option.
I’m on Disney+
Looks like me from 2010 is on Disney+ this month. If you get a chance, stream The President’s Book of Secrets. It’s a fun (if somewhat dated) look inside the White House and presidential secret-keeping.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
This guy 3D printed a wonderful analog-like radio for his Dad. It looks great and the story is inspiring.
If you’ve been following me for any time, you probably know how enamored I’ve always been with the Thunderbirds. This video is a fun, somewhat behind-the-scenes, piece about how they used and reused their shots.
Since I talked about the new EufyMake E1 UV in this week’s video, I thought I’d show you how one guy hacked the printer to help him solve a manufacturing problem. Creative use of the tech, indeed.
Project (and tool) of the week
I love it when my wife asks me to help solve a problem around the house. Of course, I like the opportunity to help her. Virtue is its own reward. But there’s also often a side benefit. Sometimes her projects require me to get a new tool or two. When I do, I know that tool purchase can be completely justified under the Good Husband clause. I often need to get tools for projects, but the added justification makes me feel virtuous in my tool acquisition.
This time it’s the cool tie wrap tensioner shown above. Additionally, I bought 4-foot long tie wraps. These are, by far, the longest tie wraps I’ve ever used.
The project was fixing the shoe rack shown above. My wife likes this particular shoe rack because it perfectly fits in a corner of our entryway behind the door. But it's made from super-flimsy metal bars press-fitted into equally flimsy plastic sides, causing it to fall apart constantly.
I offered to make her an identical one out of wood and real steel on the CNC. But she wanted this exact unit. She says it took her a while to find it, it’s perfect apart from the fact that it won’t hold together, and she just wanted some kind of fix so it could be used reliably. Cue the engineering challenge.
There is no threading on the rods. They are smooth. Epoxy won’t hold. And there are no fasteners anywhere on the unit. The entire thing is meant to be press-fit so it holds together long enough to exceed the return window offered by the retailer.
I thought of 3D printing a bracket, but that would have the same friction holding problem. Then I thought of using wire rope and turnbuckles, but I couldn’t source anything light and small enough to do the job.
Then, of course, there are tie wraps. I can do anything with duct tape, tie wraps, and an Arduino or two (although I couldn’t figure out a good excuse to mount either duct tape or an Arduino on this project).
The rack is 20 inches wide, so 48 inch tie wraps would work perfectly. The only problem was going to be tensioning these hefty straps. I did some more digging and found the Klein Tools 86570 Tie Tensioning Tool, which works with all different sizes. Once a wrap is tied, you slide it over the loose end. One side of the tool clamps on the tie wrap flap, while the other pushes against the joint.
Bing-bang-boom. Tie wrap tensioned. I so very much love getting new tools! And, as it turns out, Denise is quite thrilled with the fix. Buy a tool. Make your wife happy. Life is good.
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.
Apparently, there were tool builders on Earth 600,000 years before Homo erectus (quiet down, back there!) was active on the planet.
Scientists have confirmed that “time reflections” are real, a discovery that could lead to unhackable phones and lightning-fast computers by reversing the way waves travel.
The words “portable wind turbine” just cheer me up. I don’t know why, but it’s true. ZDNET’s Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has one. He looks at whether it works any better than solar panels.
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!