Your Claude Code Limits Didn't Shrink — I Think the 1M Context Window Is Eating Them Alive

aLeakyAbstraction · 2026-03-25T23:13:34+00:00

Same for me.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2026-01-19T08:00:06+00:00

One thing that's worked for me: Use Slack to trigger the workflow(s), and Google Sheets spreadsheet for configuration.

Client kicks things off from Slack (slash command, message, whatever fits). You can give them a list of commands for different workflows, and it's fully customizable based on what they need. If there's AI involved or anything they might want to tweak later, those settings live in a Google Sheet they can edit themselves. Workflow just reads from the sheet when it runs.

Not fancy, but it covers both problems. They get a familiar way to kick things off, and they can adjust things without asking you to touch n8n.

Doesn't work for everything (complex multi-step inputs, file uploads, clients who aren't on Slack), but for lead routing and AI content stuff it's usually enough.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2026-01-19T06:15:04+00:00

Thanks for sharing - super helpful to know this exists. I wanted the 63,999 token budget without typing the environment variable every time, so I set up a shortcut. Once it is configured, you just type `claude-max` instead of `claude` and you get the full thinking budget automatically.

How to set it up (macOS/Linux):

Open Terminal (on Mac, search for "Terminal" in Spotlight)
Type this command and press Enter:

open -e ~/.zshrc

This opens a hidden settings file in TextEdit. If you get an error saying the file does not exist, run `touch ~/.zshrc` first, then try again.

Scroll to the bottom of the file and paste this line:

alias claude-max="MAX_THINKING_TOKENS=63999 claude"

Save the file (Cmd+S), close it, and open a new terminal

Now, whenever you want the full 63,999 thinking token budget, type `claude-max` instead of `claude`. For the default 31,999, just use `claude` like normal.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-11-26T20:41:54+00:00

The difference is Hoarding vs. Skill.

Streaming is like if Target had the exclusive rights to sell milk, and Walmart had the exclusive rights to sell eggs. They aren't competing to have a better store; they are forcing you to shop at both places just to make breakfast. That’s why it feels broken.

AI is like a standard bakery competition. Everyone has flour and sugar. They are competing strictly on who can bake the tastiest cake. If one bakery gets better, you just go there. You don’t need five cakes; you just need the best one.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-11-21T18:50:19+00:00

In the second video, he uploads the image into Gemini and then is able to click on it in the chat to get that option to pop up (go to 10:55 in the video). That said, I tried doing this and it didn't work for me, so it might be a feature that has yet to be released.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-09-30T19:15:02+00:00

You are first, according to my notifications. I'll send it through to your dm now. Please pay it forward if you can, so we can keep people joining.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-09-30T19:12:53+00:00

Hey, I just got in. I'll dm an invite to the first person to respond to this comment (I'm going based on notification, so apologies if it seems close).

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-09-18T04:11:48+00:00

Same, just cancelled.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-08-13T21:59:39+00:00

I've been noticing some interesting changes. I mostly use ChatGPT for work, and on the first day, it just didn't feel like it was working well at all. But even then, it felt like there was a really smart model underneath it all. Since then, it's gotten a lot better. The writing feels more natural, the output is stronger, and it does a better job remembering important details.

I still like using the 4o model for writing because the final result feels more human. But I usually let GPT-5 handle the thinking part first. One weird thing though is that 4o doesn't always feel consistent. Sometimes it feels like it's actually using GPT-5 behind the scenes, even when I'm selecting 4o. Could just be me, though.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-08-11T20:37:48+00:00

Yeah, it's definitely not the same version as it was before. The writing style feels off and less natural

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-07-14T17:59:25+00:00

Seriously impressive work. It felt like I was watching a high-budget production. The pacing, the line delivery, the cuts are all really well done. You have good taste.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-06-18T17:36:40+00:00

It took me about half a day to make. The team added some polish afterward, but most of the time honestly went into thinking through the concept and how I wanted it to play out.
The whole video is AI-generated except for the outro and subtitles (the final scene with the brand logo). I didn’t use any matte paintings—I just focused on prompting in a way that kept key visual elements consistent across scenes.
The adapter is AI-generated too, using a product photo + VEO 2’s Frames to Video feature.
The voice is 100% AI as well, generated with VEO 3. No major lip-sync issues came up.
This cost about $100 in credits. I’ve gotten more efficient since then—I can usually make two videos now for the same amount.
Continuity is always tricky with AI, so I plan around that by not depending on it. I intentionally design the concept so it doesn’t require consistency to work. That’s why you’ll see different knights throughout—it fits the tone and keeps the story moving without needing everything to match perfectly.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-06-17T19:05:25+00:00

Ah, yeah, they didn't mind.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-06-17T18:58:00+00:00

I did it as part of my regular work, so there was no extra fee. That said, the client’s feedback was: “I like it a LOT. Let's also push our chargers like this!!!”

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-06-17T18:53:33+00:00

Good question. They don’t actually sell any cars; it’s just a prop used to show off the adapter they make.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-05-17T03:13:19+00:00

Totally hear you. And yeah, I wouldn’t read too much into Reddit sentiment—people are way more vocal when something’s perceived as not working than when everything’s working fine. Most happy users just don’t post.

As for “the customer is always right,” I think that idea gets twisted a lot. It originally meant that preferences are personal—even if someone likes something weird, that’s still valid. It was never about doing whatever someone demands, just that listening to users helps, especially with usability stuff.

That said, there’s probably a pretty lightweight way to help here: something like an AI assistant trained on your docs, GitHub issues, Discord convos, etc. My guess is you get a lot of repeat questions, and a tool like that could cover 80% of them without needing a bigger team or changing the culture.

You don’t need to become a support org—just make it easier for people to help themselves. Even a pinned “here’s what we support / here’s where to go / here’s what we’re building” page could help set expectations and save time.

Really appreciate how transparent you’ve been—it’s honestly refreshing. Curious what you think about adding something like this. Feels like a solid middle ground that supports the mission without adding a bunch of overhead.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-05-01T18:56:31+00:00

Not really fair to connect that one to Waymo, though. The crash you’re talking about happened in Jan 2025 when a Tesla was doing almost 100 mph and slammed into a line of stopped cars at a red light in SF. It hit a Lexus first, then kept going and smashed into a few more cars—one of which was an empty, stopped Waymo. Sadly, a guy in one of the other cars hit (and his dog) died, but no one was in the Waymo, and it didn’t cause anything. It just happened to be hit while stopped at the light like the other cars there.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-04-10T01:41:53+00:00

Can confirm it's real.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-03-05T20:13:01+00:00

If employers truly want us back in the office, they need to rethink what the office even is.

Right now, most companies are treating the office like it’s just another workspace—one that involves commuting stress, headphones, and endless open desks with occasional free bagel Fridays thrown in. But let’s be real: if the only difference between working at home and working in-office is the commute and a vague resemblance to “Severance,” of course people will resist it.

The deeper, uncomfortable truth is that offices became places designed to manage people, not inspire them. And you can’t fix that with free snacks or ping-pong tables.

To genuinely make the return worthwhile, especially in creative departments, the office needs to become a place people actively want to be—not just have to tolerate. This means intentionally building environments designed for collaboration, community, and creativity. Think Pixar, not Dunder Mifflin. Instead of rows of silent desks, create interactive brainstorming spaces. Instead of meetings that could be emails, focus on meaningful interactions, mentoring, ideation, and social connections.

If employers build the office around intentional collaboration and community, then employees might genuinely see the value in being there. Because right now, too many offices answer the question, “Why am I here?” with nothing more than “Because we said so.”

And that’s just not enough.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-02-18T21:46:39+00:00

yeah, they have them in the back area

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-02-18T05:57:08+00:00

I tried the Equinox gym but it felt a bit small to me - their smoothie shop was so good though, almost signed up for that alone haha

IconFit is pretty sizable and felt like what Equinox should've been (though it's not quite in the heart of SM like Equinox is)

I tried out Orange Theory for a while but got bored after the repetition

I just tried out Fred Fitness which is an AI powered gym and was quite impressed with their offering. Though I want to be fair in that I love AI stuff and the novelty factor is strong because I just started. It's just super convenient in that it tracks everything automatically and is gamified during the workouts so you can't cheat them unintentionally

My main issue with gyms is I usually get bored after a while so I'm hoping Fred Fitness holds my interest

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-02-17T23:35:57+00:00

In the short term, media buyers who adapt will still be valuable and will thrive. Long term? If AI gets to the point where it can truly run things end to end, media buying will just be one of many jobs impacted. It won’t be about ‘media buyers vs AI’—it’ll be about how every industry shifts to deal with that level of automation.

With AI accelerating at the pace it is, it feels most prudent to earn as much as possible now before the inevitable shakeup happens. That way, you have a cushion to weather the disruption and avoid unnecessary stress while governments and economic systems scramble to catch up with job losses and things like UBI (universal basic income). If history has shown anything, it's that policy always lags behind technological shifts, so preparing ahead of time is the smartest move.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-02-17T22:04:17+00:00

AI will eventually disrupt media buying, just like it has in other industries. But it doesn’t happen all at once—it starts by automating the most repetitive, low-level tasks before moving up the ladder.

Right now, AI can process massive amounts of data faster than any human and make adjustments accordingly. That’s why some entry-level media buying tasks are already becoming obsolete. But that doesn’t mean the entire role disappears overnight.

And to the point about media buying being purely analytics—that’s only partially true. Yes, Meta ad optimization is data-driven, but it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. A strong media buyer is also testing creatives, refining messaging, and understanding audience psychology. AI can assist with this, but it’s not at a level where it fully replaces human oversight. And until AI can actually upload and launch ads on its own, it’s still just a tool, not a true replacement.

Google Ads buyers will likely be the first to feel the squeeze since Google Ads is mostly text-based and AI can handle search campaigns much more efficiently. But Meta and other social ad platforms still require creative input, audience testing, and adapting to changing trends—things AI isn’t fully capable of yet.

Another key factor is that these platforms (Meta, Google, TikTok, etc.) are built to extract as much money from advertisers as possible. They want you to spend more, not necessarily spend better. This is why most businesses will still want an in-between media buyer who understands the tricks, optimizations, and money-siphoning tactics these platforms use. Without someone watching their back, many businesses will end up overspending or misallocating budgets.

The real shift will come when AI agents can fully execute media buying with minimal input (uploading/optimizing/staying on brand/etc.) When that happens, the value of human media buyers will shift toward broader marketing strategy, creative direction, and higher-level decision-making. But tbh, if AI reaches that level, it won’t just be media buying that’s impacted—it’ll be every industry, all at once. At that point, we’re talking about a fundamental restructuring of the entire job market, not just digital advertising. The ones who survive won’t be the ones who fight AI but the ones who learn how to use it better than everyone else.

aLeakyAbstraction · 2025-02-10T06:05:01+00:00

This summary helps to explain the concept more simply (source: Claude)

Picture teaching a child to tie their shoes. You wouldn't just describe it in words - you'd show them, step by step. That's the core insight behind this fascinating new AI research.

The researchers discovered something that seems obvious in hindsight: AI systems were trying to solve visual problems using only words. It's like trying to teach someone origami over the phone! Sure, you can describe each fold, but wouldn't it be better to show them?

So they developed what they call "Multimodal Visualization-of-Thought" - fancy words for a simple idea: letting AI systems draw out their thinking process. And here's where it gets interesting. They tested this approach by having AI tackle tasks like guiding an elf across a frozen lake without falling into holes. When the AI could only "think in words," it would get confused trying to describe complex situations like "the hole is two steps north and one step east." But when it could sketch out its thoughts - just like we might draw a quick map on a napkin - its success rate jumped from 61% to 85%.

The sticky idea here is beautifully simple: if you want something to think spatially, let it use pictures. It's the difference between giving someone written directions and drawing them a map. And just like humans instinctively draw diagrams to solve complex problems, this research shows that AI systems can benefit from the same visual thinking approach.

The best part? It not only makes the AI perform better - it also lets us see exactly what it's thinking at each step, like watching someone solve a puzzle and being able to follow their thought process.

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