Philip I. Thomas

Here is my monthly newsletter about what I'm up to, which I send in place of social media. What I did in January• Busy month at Chroma - including launching a case study with Mintlify who recently switched all search to Chroma Cloud. • Published OpenClaw is my new coworker about the viral new AI software. I also launched Trivet, an open-source software for adding Google sign-in to Ghost blogs. I also wrote some shorter pieces Code as content and Chroma for Ruby. • Contraption Co. Print Edition got a shoutout on Josh Beckman's blog. • Joodaloop also mentioned Contraption in an aside: "I must confess that I do like blogs where the thumbnail images are photos taken by the author themselves. They look really nice, even if they’re not particularly relevant to the content of the post." Things to share• Watched a lot of great films: Perfect Days captured the feeling of being in Tokyo so well - from the vending machine culture to the feeling of anonymity. Sentimental Values was the opposite of slop. I also enjoyed Köln 75 and Rams.  • Music: Been listening to a lot of Bremer/McCoy on vinyl - I love their low-tech aesthetic. Tracked down vinyl from Keith Jarrett's Sun Bear Concerts. On Spotify, I've been listening to the Colbo store playlist which makes me miss living on Orchard Street. • Articles: This life gives you nothing is a great piece. Lemonade discounts car insurance for self-driving mode - I believe insurance companies will drive the adoption of self-driving cars. • Gadgets: Love the Spicy mortar and pestle from CW&T. • Podcasts: Enjoyed Tobi Lütke on David Senra - takeaways were "be different, even if it's worse" and “Appreciating the craft behind the toolmaking happens to be pragmatically an excellent way get really good at pruning - everything is about outcomes." Stumbled on a 2011 podcast between James Hoffman (coffee now-YouTuber) and Tim Wendelboe (my favorite coffee roaster). I also enjoyed this Ezra Klein podcast about hosting. • Thinking about: The new question on Y Combinator applications: "Optional: attach a coding agent session you're particularly proud of." Plans for February• Launching a project I've been working on at Chroma • Feeling thankful for SF's warm weather and blue skies in the middle of winter