What I'm up to - October 2025 | Philip Ilic Thomas

Here is my monthly newsletter about what I'm up to, which I send in place of social media.

What I did in September

Spent Labor Day in Boulder
Went to Alchemy Springs Sauna in SF- I'm happy to see sauna culture expand in the USA. (Still hoping we get something like the 100-person SALT in Oslo).
Stopped by Cleveland for a centennial birthday party
Published Taste-skill gaps and Hacking YC (again)
Been exploring MCP servers
Working on some new projects at Chroma

Articles: Made for People, Not Cars: Reclaiming European Cities, On Charlie Kirk and Saving Civil Society, Too Many Dings and Beeps? Try Beethoven, What follows Github?
Books: Really enjoyed Amusing Ourselves to Death (published 1985), which was prescient about the effects of digital media on attention, education, and politics. Currently reading Isaacson's Ben Franklin biography and The Idea Factory about Bell Labs, which are both great. (Did you know that the US spent more money during WWII on radar than on the Manhattan Project?)
Food: Happy to see POPL make #4 on the world's best burgers list. I recommend everybody going to Copenhagen to stop by there (and Hart, and April, and maybe Prolog.)