Duncan Davidson

@duncan.dev

Software developer and engineering leader. Ex-[Shopify, Microsoft for Startups, Wunderlist, JavaSoft,...]

There is no seahorse emoji. But GPT-5, Claude, and most other LLMs are absolutely convinced there is—and will confidently try to give you one if you ask.

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I like the slight change in attitude that Sonnet 4.5 has. When it was reviewing my latest link blog post and adding in the confidence it had in its answers (in my preference prompt), it replied: “Confidence level: Pretty high - I write and edit regularly, though of course taste varies.” 🤣

I really like how Reeder renders the `external_url` property in JSON feed and finally got off my butt and implemented a JSON feed for my site. Yay for the open web!

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KPop Demon Hunters is on heavy rotation in the house these days, which means those damn catchy tunes are ear-wormed into my brain. Solution: Headphones and a thorough metal cleanse followed up by some good beats. Today’s treatment is the new Linkin Park followed up by some Chemical Brothers.

Almost four and a half years ago in early 2021, I went to work at Shopify. It was one of the best jobs I’ve had. But every tour of duty comes to a close. I’m going to take a few months this summer to really reflect on what I want to take forward with me. duncan.dev/post/free-ag...

A free agent again, for now

After over 4 years at Shopify, I’m a free agent again. The AI revolution feels like 1997’s web all over again. It’s time to step back and reflect on what I’ve learned and what’s next.

duncan.dev

I picked up a new MacBook Pro on recent travels and the model I wanted at the Apple Store had a nano-texture screen. And oh boy, yah. Me like. It’s gooooood.

This used to be a Walgreens that i shopped at. Now, i want to shoot a movie here with some sort od fitting plot line of emptiness and a state of being discarded.

Empty store interior that was used for decades as a drug store and is now empty

You know what I really dislike about GraphQL? All requests look the same in HTTP logs. I really miss not having that when I’m trying to figure out why something something that somebody is doing in their app is blowing up our SaaS provider. (intentionally left vague to protect the guilty)

Woke up. Packed. Checked out. Got car to airport. Checked in. Flight delayed. Flight delayed. Flight cancelled. One hour in line. Flight rebooked. Lunch. Connecting flight disappears. Rebooked. Connecting flight disappears. Talk to support with two airlines.

Manager: "What's this milestone 'Living on a prayer' ?" Me: "That's the documentation deliverable." Manager: "What's the status of that?" Me: "We're halfway there" Manager: "Why is progress so slow?" Me: "You fired Tommy" Manager: "So?" Me: "Tommy used to work on the docs"