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David Holt

mister automate

David Holt · AI Solutions Engineer

AI is the craft. Understanding is the pursuit.

Software, systems, incentives, behavior, work, life — nothing is safe from unnecessary analysis.

A place to think in public.

I work with AI and software, but this isn't an AI blog.

It's a collection of things I find worth thinking about. Technology, work, incentives, systems, and the strange ways they interact. Sometimes practical. Sometimes philosophical. Occasionally useful.

Mostly, I'm trying to understand things well enough to have something worth saying about them.

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Sorry, don't do one at this point… should I?

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Featuring “Do What They Won't” (song).

Latest posts…

October 16, 2026 · 1 min read

Where Do Opportunities Come From?

Opportunities come from people.

Not just anyone, but people who have problems.

Oh, by the way, they only come from people with problems when you are the path of least resistance between that problem and the solution.

So, if you want to attract more opportunities, learn the art of making friends and increase your capabilities.

Easy, right?

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October 14, 2026 · 1 min read

Alone, We Rot

Having grown up with older brothers, the tendency of childhood is to get pressured into tagging along on all various high activity activities.

The cursed beauty of adulthood is the freedom and independence we enjoy.

Unfortunately, we start listening to our own decisions, which have a remarkable tendency to favor whatever requires the least amount of effort.

And slowly, the world gets smaller.

On hindsight, it's clear that some of the best memories are outings we didn't want to attend.

We were dragged into them... sometimes practically kidnapped into them.

And we leave with stories to tell our grandchildren.

As adults, we've finally earned the right to say no to everything.

And that's exactly what we do.

Alone, we rot.

Maybe it's time to stop asking ourselves whether we feel like going.

Of course we don't.

Go anyway.

And while you're at it, drag someone else along. Preferably someone who doesn't feel like going either.

They can thank you when they're telling their grandchildren.

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October 12, 2026 · 1 min read

Unknown Productivity

We've gotten to a point where it's possible to not even have awareness of what your own productivity has been.

Specifically, when you have AI look at production logs from an app, write a task list for itself, execute those tasks, and test everything in a sandbox environment from end to end...

You can get to the end of a day and have no idea what was accomplished.

Now, you may argue that's not my productivity, but my AI's. Well... if I'm going to take the blame, I'll take the credit as well.

Completely hands-off isn't good. I definitely request a full understanding briefing before pushing updates to production.

But while it's in progress, you can feel completely out of the loop.

And it's an awesome feeling.

If you've never experienced this, I'd argue you haven't felt AI at its full potential.

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October 9, 2026 · 1 min read

3D Parenting Strategy

I do NOT endorse this as a good idea, but it would be hilarious if someone did this.

No bought toys.

One shelf.

Every toy 3D printed.

Save all the files.

Want a new toy? Pick an old one to melt back into filament to make space on the shelf.

A couple exceptions for things like ride-on toys, if one was feeling particularly generous.

Otherwise, one comes in, one gets melted.

Raise your children with a futuristic mindset.

[I promise this post is largely for entertainment purposes.]

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