Ben Katz

Quit my Staff SWE job at DoorDash to build my own businesses

✈️ (learn to fly)
🐶 (ai moderation)
🗽 (nyc makers)

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

Also need to buy a cooler and case, but those things are relatively cheap and in good supply given the RAM/GPU shortage, so no need to buy them upfront.

Targeting finishing my build at some point in December or early Jan.

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

Since I posted this, GPU pricing got even worse 😱

Ended up snagging a brand new 5070 Ti for $999.99 with an extended return policy till Jan 31 from Walmart

Way below the (very stupid) market price of $1,500. Had to jump on it fast.

Now on the hunt for RAM to spite @sama!

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

I've had terrible timing with PC building:

2021 👉 massive GPU shortage - no stock at all - due to crypto BS and COVID supply issues

2026 👉 moderate GPU shortage + severely overpriced RAM due to AI

Hoping I can find a good deal on CPU, RAM, or GPU in the next few months here:

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

Besides RAM, which realistically I might have to pay some very stupid price to get:

I'll return the 5070 Ti if I can find a 9070 XT for < $750 (ideally <= $700) brand new with a good return policy.

In that case the 9070 XT is a buy, and I'll allocate the savings to RAM.

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

First sale alert for https://t.co/pwQ9oIBUKo!

Had a very nice flight school sign up for a featured listing at $49

They get a backlink + special listing color to help them stand out against other schools in their area

Officially moving this product to the "made money" column 😎

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

@1R0berto OVHCloud in one of their US east datacenters

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

@levelsio Moved to a dedicated server recently at $30/mo flat for 12 threads and 32GB RAM

My AWS bill was $100/mo +- $10 in random Amazon fees before this for EC2 + RDS

Overall a win-win. Saved money + superior experience for customers (cpu and ram are no longer shared or throttled).

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

Whoops, realized the link to the gear list got linkedin-ified somehow. Here's the proper link:

https://t.co/yliXAdfHze

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

Looking to buy a gift for a pilot this holiday season?

https://t.co/cf8vYj9Cx8 has you covered: https://t.co/7xM2AiPKVq

I personally curated this list with gear I've actually used during training and recommend.

Happy holidays in advance!

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

Some nice to haves:
- Manhattan
- Conference room for demos
- Desks with monitors

But open to any and all good workspaces for a group of our size. Show me what ya got, if ya got anything.

Thanks again!

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

Looking for a new coworking space for my NYC maker meetup, https://t.co/oabMqgyXJ2.

We (5-10 people per meetup) will need to move starting January 1, 2027 as our current space is permanently closing.

Do you have a space that would be a good fit?

Reply below or DM me. Thanks!

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

@vince_builds Si señor, claro

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

If so, do an in-person or virtual interview where you ask them to explain and scale their solution (system design exercise)

Good candidates ask q's to figure out what "scale" means, bad candidates don't.

You should be able to make a hire/no hire decision at this point.

Done!

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

The "coding interview" never provided useful signal, not even before AI

It simply filtered for people who were willing to memorize solutions to esoteric puzzles

The right way to hire is to give people real-world problems that your team encountered, then ask them to solve+scale:

[Felix Rieseberg @felixrieseberg]

The coding interview is dead, at least for my team at Anthropic. I've seen enough to know that it no longer provides signal. I removed it from loops this month.

I have a spicy, optimistic take - I think there's an opportunity for junior engineers: https://t.co/PVvpQCbQtK

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

Obviously, don't give people a massive project requiring a week of effort

Give them something that can be initially solved in an hour or two, on their own time, using whatever tools they want

Review their code. Is it good?

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

Official fix is out: https://t.co/Rg8GKaxVcA

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

⚠️ If you're using @Uptime_Kuma, it uses the vulnerable node version (even the latest 2.x version does)

Here's a patch while you wait for the author to fix it officially 👇

https://t.co/j2YW7UbRwN

After running it, do a `docker logs` to confirm it's using the correct node ver

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

@budivoogt @Uptime_Kuma You got it 👌

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

⚠️ If you're using @Uptime_Kuma, it uses the vulnerable node version (even the latest 2.x version does)

Here's a patch while you wait for the author to fix it officially 👇

https://t.co/j2YW7UbRwN

After running it, do a `docker logs` to confirm it's using the correct node ver

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

@armandocanals Yeah I get it. Thing is I don't urgently need the PC. I have a working one.

So I can afford to monitor and wait for better deals on several components which I have a good chance of getting within a few months

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

I've had terrible timing with PC building:

2021 👉 massive GPU shortage - no stock at all - due to crypto BS and COVID supply issues

2026 👉 moderate GPU shortage + severely overpriced RAM due to AI

Hoping I can find a good deal on CPU, RAM, or GPU in the next few months here:

[Ben Katz @ben_makes_stuff]

My guess is that I'll be able to find a decent GPU around the holiday season.

CPUs should also get discounted around Dec as new Ryzen 10000 series chips are coming out after the holidays.

RAM will be ongoing challenge, will probably have to pay the troll toll 😅

Wish me luck!