Vibe Coding with Claude

The future, it seems, is here, and I’m wasting it making vibe-coded video games.

Shown above: Jason’s Game of Life (aka Land Grab Simulator). Check out the demo, or, if you’re brave, the 100% Claude-authored code.

The proof-of-concept game was vibe-coded in a handful of hours with incredible ease. The experience was so simple that I truly believe anyone can make demo-level software now, which is incredible. Don’t believe me? Just look at the Claude conversation logs for the project shown above.

I’ve recently ventured into AI-assisted software engineering for the first time, and I thought I’d transcribe my early experiences here before I forget my initial concerns and surprises.

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Jetty maxFormContentSizeJetty not working? Here’s the fix

People are generally prescribing something like this to configure maxFormContentSize for jetty in the jetty.xml:

<Configure id="Server" class="org.eclipse.jetty.server.Server">
	...
    <Call name="setAttribute">
        <Arg>org.eclipse.jetty.server.Request.maxFormContentSize</Arg>
        <Arg>10000000</Arg>
    </Call>
</Configure>

In my experience, in 2024 with a recent version of jetty (9.4.53), this isn’t working inside apache’s karaf or in embedded mode within maven, and may not be working in other containers as well.

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Collecting Vintage Computer Hardware In 2020

I recently purchase and Aptiva 2134 from a vintage computer collector on Facebook Marketplace in an effort to fully immerse myself in Windows 9x nostalgia while writing a book.

The 2134 is a Windows 95 era machine produced in 1996 that sports a 120mhz Pentium processor, 96MB of ram, three ISA slots, an on-board graphics chip with SVGA support, two PCI slots, an 3com Etherlink III ISA card, an awful horrible painful sound card called an MWave, and a 2GB hard drive – or, at least, that’s the configuration mine came in. I think the stock version came with perhaps 12MB of ram, and a choice of processor speeds.

If you’re looking for vintage hardware to collect, I’d recommend the following search terms to try on ebay, craigslist, and/or Facebook Markeplace: IBM, Compaq, Packard Bell, E-Machines, Gateway, Vintage Computer, Old Computer, XT, AT, 286, 386, 486, Pentium, 3dfx, Voodoo, Macintosh, Apple, Performa, Power PC, G3, G4, ThinkBook, iBook, Windows 95, Windows 98, etc. Also consider the Vintage Computers facebook group and/or the Computer Collecting subreddit. I’ve also made a reddit custom feed that collects retro computing subreddits.

Finding old hardware like the Aptiva will prove more difficult as time marches on, partially due to extreme obsolescence, but also because the old intel chips up to and including the Pentium 2 have gold in them. In recent years, the value of gold has risen so much that many of the processors are being recycled to extract the gold from them.

Thanks to Jack of Bachelor Uncle fame for helping me locate the Aptiva computer.

Music to Code By – 2015, or, how I learned to love the Dire Straits

Standard Disclaimer: My favorite band ever is The Smashing Pumpkins, or possibly Nine Inch Nails. In recent years my favorite genres of music have been EDM and Post Rock. If it’s dark, and/or mopey, I probably love it. If it starts off slow and sad and crescendos with catharsis 9 minutes later, I probably love it. Consider yourself warned.

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