Acts Not Facts weeknote #7

14.58, Monday 18 Dec 2023

I caught myself in a tetchy mood one day last week. Then: shipped something. Immediately felt better.


Last week:

PartyKit.

I shipped Cursor Party last week. If you’re a web creator, you can copy this project and get multiplayer cursors on your website inside a minute or two. There are full instructions. Here’s the Cursor Party writeup on the PartyKit blog.

It’s live on this blog too! Try opening two browser windows to this post and seeing your own cursor.

I added a couple extra easter eggs:

  • cursor chat. Type / and you can message anyone else on the page
  • shared text selections! I built a prototype of this over two years ago (Social Attention (2021)) and it’s awesome to have it working for real. You’ll need a recent version of Chrome or the version of Safari that came out last week.

I love playing with ambient togetherness on the web like this.

Here’s my forked version of Cursor Party. lmk if you build websites and you want a hand getting up and running with this, happy to help. Or have ideas for other modules to create.

Client Who Cannot Be Named still cannot be named. Boo. On the flip side, the strategy is now baked into team OKRs. That means it’ll happen. We’re talking about a next phase of that project – excellent.

Coming up this week:

I want to ship more code. Let’s see.


It is insane how itchy and irritable I get when there is something I want to get out in the world, and it is just inches away from getting there. I always forget.

It’s like… when something is out, whether it’s a public demo or better in people hands, it can stop living in my head and start being material that I work with to make the next thing.

(This goes for things I’m making with my own hands or making with other people.)

And when I’m carrying something half-complete in my imagination… it’s a weight, it’s a drag.


Speaking of which, my AI Clock.

Good progress on several fronts: the production cost is (almost) on budget and confirmed. We’ve been able to reduce the minimum order quantity to 1,000. I am working with the amazing Tom Armitage to build the firmware for the production board.

Kickstarter in January, exact date TBC. I have lots to do ahead of that.


SF in February.

A date for your diary – I literally just booked a week in/around San Francisco, 4 Feb till 11 Feb 2024.

Lmk if you can sneak me in anywhere to see cool and unlikely things.

Or would be interested in a talk.

Also. I need to stretch my legs and see the horizon. What are the best day hikes in February within a few hours drive of the city?

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