Monsur
@monsur.hossa.in
Engineering Manager @ Google, Author: CORS in Action
Musings on AI and the tech industry captured here.
https://monsur.hossa.in
Musings on AI and the tech industry captured here.
https://monsur.hossa.in
I wrote earlier about Canva embracing AI in their interview process: bsky.app/profile/mons...
Recently they posted a followup: www.canva.dev/blog/enginee...
My key takeaway: the importance of thinking strategically. When AI handles the "how", you need to understand the "why", and own the output.
Recently they posted a followup: www.canva.dev/blog/enginee...
My key takeaway: the importance of thinking strategically. When AI handles the "how", you need to understand the "why", and own the output.
AI Interview Success: An Interviewer's Inside Guide - Canva Engineering Blog
From the Other Side of the Screen: What We're Looking For in Your AI-Assisted Interview
www.canva.dev
October 22, 2025 at 1:25 AM
I wrote earlier about Canva embracing AI in their interview process: bsky.app/profile/mons...
Recently they posted a followup: www.canva.dev/blog/enginee...
My key takeaway: the importance of thinking strategically. When AI handles the "how", you need to understand the "why", and own the output.
Recently they posted a followup: www.canva.dev/blog/enginee...
My key takeaway: the importance of thinking strategically. When AI handles the "how", you need to understand the "why", and own the output.
1/ Using AI to uncover security bugs is a hot topic right now, e.g. simonwillison.net/2025/Oct/2/c...
I decided to try this myself on Echo Server, a 14-year old project I recently modernized with AI: bsky.app/profile/mons...
I decided to try this myself on Echo Server, a 14-year old project I recently modernized with AI: bsky.app/profile/mons...
Daniel Stenberg’s note on AI assisted curl bug reports
Curl maintainer Daniel Stenberg on Mastodon: Joshua Rogers sent us a massive list of potential issues in #curl that he found using his set of AI assisted tools. Code analyzer …
simonwillison.net
October 5, 2025 at 8:50 PM
1/ Using AI to uncover security bugs is a hot topic right now, e.g. simonwillison.net/2025/Oct/2/c...
I decided to try this myself on Echo Server, a 14-year old project I recently modernized with AI: bsky.app/profile/mons...
I decided to try this myself on Echo Server, a 14-year old project I recently modernized with AI: bsky.app/profile/mons...
1/ Claude Code released an update, and one of the new features is checkpoints. www.anthropic.com/news/enablin...
Checkpoints "automatically saves your code state before each change, and you can instantly rewind to previous versions by tapping Esc twice or using the /rewind command."
Checkpoints "automatically saves your code state before each change, and you can instantly rewind to previous versions by tapping Esc twice or using the /rewind command."
Enabling Claude Code to work more autonomously
Introducing Claude Code upgrades: native VS Code extension, terminal UX updates, and checkpoints for autonomous development. Handle complex tasks with confidence.
www.anthropic.com
October 5, 2025 at 1:13 PM
1/ Claude Code released an update, and one of the new features is checkpoints. www.anthropic.com/news/enablin...
Checkpoints "automatically saves your code state before each change, and you can instantly rewind to previous versions by tapping Esc twice or using the /rewind command."
Checkpoints "automatically saves your code state before each change, and you can instantly rewind to previous versions by tapping Esc twice or using the /rewind command."
1/ This Codex prompting guide has some great tips, and echos some things I've shared here before, in particular: split large tasks and Leverage Codex for debugging developers.openai.com/codex/prompt...
Prompting guide
Learn how to prompt your Codex agent
developers.openai.com
September 28, 2025 at 1:17 AM
1/ This Codex prompting guide has some great tips, and echos some things I've shared here before, in particular: split large tasks and Leverage Codex for debugging developers.openai.com/codex/prompt...
1/ Source control is such a useful companion for vibecoding. Code commits offer a deterministic checkpoint for progress.
The determinism is important; I don't trust AI to do the right thing when I ask it to undo a change.
The determinism is important; I don't trust AI to do the right thing when I ask it to undo a change.
September 20, 2025 at 10:46 PM
1/ Source control is such a useful companion for vibecoding. Code commits offer a deterministic checkpoint for progress.
The determinism is important; I don't trust AI to do the right thing when I ask it to undo a change.
The determinism is important; I don't trust AI to do the right thing when I ask it to undo a change.
1/ My latest pet project: Threadweaver github.com/monsur/threa...
I like to think of my BlueSky as blog posts split into bite-sized chunks. Threadweaver helps compose these posts by giving visual feedback on chunk sizes.
I like to think of my BlueSky as blog posts split into bite-sized chunks. Threadweaver helps compose these posts by giving visual feedback on chunk sizes.
GitHub - monsur/threadweaver: Tool to help write threaded social media posts.
Tool to help write threaded social media posts. Contribute to monsur/threadweaver development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
September 20, 2025 at 10:18 PM
1/ My latest pet project: Threadweaver github.com/monsur/threa...
I like to think of my BlueSky as blog posts split into bite-sized chunks. Threadweaver helps compose these posts by giving visual feedback on chunk sizes.
I like to think of my BlueSky as blog posts split into bite-sized chunks. Threadweaver helps compose these posts by giving visual feedback on chunk sizes.
BTW the song The Next Right Thing from Frozen 2 is a great encapsulation of this idea open.spotify.com/track/1gilgP...
September 15, 2025 at 10:20 PM
BTW the song The Next Right Thing from Frozen 2 is a great encapsulation of this idea open.spotify.com/track/1gilgP...
1/ Simple and spot-on career advice from joshs.bearblog.dev/being-good-i...
A few nuggets that resonated with me:
A few nuggets that resonated with me:
Being good isn’t enough
Giving good career advice is hard. Maybe it’s because careers can look more alike than they really are. Two people can have the same title but what helps one...
joshs.bearblog.dev
September 15, 2025 at 10:08 PM
1/ Simple and spot-on career advice from joshs.bearblog.dev/being-good-i...
A few nuggets that resonated with me:
A few nuggets that resonated with me:
I wanted to share my personal experience from 9/11. I was a young kid in NYC at the time, and that day shaped the person I am today. I reflect on this every year, and I thought it was important to write it down. monsur.hossa.in/blog/2025/09...
My experience on 9/11 | Monsur Hossain
These 13 photos are all I have left from 9/11, out of maybe 200+ I took that day. These photos remain because I posted them and some thoughts to my Xanga sit...
monsur.hossa.in
September 11, 2025 at 4:38 AM
I wanted to share my personal experience from 9/11. I was a young kid in NYC at the time, and that day shaped the person I am today. I reflect on this every year, and I thought it was important to write it down. monsur.hossa.in/blog/2025/09...
1/ I found this Athletic article on NFL quarterbacks fascinating, not only because I’m a Bears fan, but also because it embodies some good lessons in organizational leadership. www.nytimes.com/athletic/658...
The bust files: How NFL teams break young quarterbacks
Finding a franchise quarterback remains job No. 1 for anyone in charge of an NFL roster, so why do they keep screwing it up?
www.nytimes.com
September 7, 2025 at 6:21 PM
1/ I found this Athletic article on NFL quarterbacks fascinating, not only because I’m a Bears fan, but also because it embodies some good lessons in organizational leadership. www.nytimes.com/athletic/658...
1/ I had an interesting use case where vibecoding just wasn't fixing a pesky bug.
So I tried "vibedebugging" instead, and used the root cause to build the correct solution.
So I tried "vibedebugging" instead, and used the root cause to build the correct solution.
September 5, 2025 at 4:27 AM
1/ I had an interesting use case where vibecoding just wasn't fixing a pesky bug.
So I tried "vibedebugging" instead, and used the root cause to build the correct solution.
So I tried "vibedebugging" instead, and used the root cause to build the correct solution.
1/ "A weakness in OpenAI’s Connectors allowed sensitive information to be extracted from a Google Drive account using an indirect prompt injection attack."
These prompt injection attacks remind me of Javascript injection attacks on blogging sites from the early 2000s
www.wired.com/story/poison...
These prompt injection attacks remind me of Javascript injection attacks on blogging sites from the early 2000s
www.wired.com/story/poison...
A Single Poisoned Document Could Leak ‘Secret’ Data Via ChatGPT
Security researchers found a weakness in OpenAI’s Connectors, which let you hook up ChatGPT to other services, that allowed them to extract data from a Google Drive without any user interaction.
www.wired.com
September 1, 2025 at 6:08 AM
1/ "A weakness in OpenAI’s Connectors allowed sensitive information to be extracted from a Google Drive account using an indirect prompt injection attack."
These prompt injection attacks remind me of Javascript injection attacks on blogging sites from the early 2000s
www.wired.com/story/poison...
These prompt injection attacks remind me of Javascript injection attacks on blogging sites from the early 2000s
www.wired.com/story/poison...
1/ A few updates from Day 2 of my latest project: mirroring my BlueSky posts to a static Jekyll blog. bsky.app/profile/mons...
1/ Another small vibecoding project from a Sunday afternoon: mirroring my BlueSky posts to a Jekyll blog. I've been posting here more (I can get into the why in the future), and I wanted to have my own archive of this content. monsur.hossa.in/blog
Monsur Hossain
monsur.hossa.in
August 26, 2025 at 1:52 AM
1/ A few updates from Day 2 of my latest project: mirroring my BlueSky posts to a static Jekyll blog. bsky.app/profile/mons...
1/ Another small vibecoding project from a Sunday afternoon: mirroring my BlueSky posts to a Jekyll blog. I've been posting here more (I can get into the why in the future), and I wanted to have my own archive of this content. monsur.hossa.in/blog
Monsur Hossain
monsur.hossa.in
August 24, 2025 at 11:38 PM
1/ Another small vibecoding project from a Sunday afternoon: mirroring my BlueSky posts to a Jekyll blog. I've been posting here more (I can get into the why in the future), and I wanted to have my own archive of this content. monsur.hossa.in/blog
1/ Keeping up with innovation in the AI space can feel overwhelming. Understanding your preferred learning style is an important part of that journey.
August 22, 2025 at 8:37 PM
1/ Keeping up with innovation in the AI space can feel overwhelming. Understanding your preferred learning style is an important part of that journey.
1/ One new insight after building plai-ball.com and listening to it for a few months: The podcast format requires focused attention. The teams and game scores are mentioned once at the beginning, and if you miss it, you are lost. bsky.app/profile/mons... #plaiball
I wanted to share a little side project I've been working on: www.plai-ball.com
Its been running for about a month, and I think I've worked out most of the issues.
Its been running for about a month, and I think I've worked out most of the issues.
plAI-ball | AI-generated Baseball Podcast
www.plai-ball.com
August 22, 2025 at 4:15 AM
1/ One new insight after building plai-ball.com and listening to it for a few months: The podcast format requires focused attention. The teams and game scores are mentioned once at the beginning, and if you miss it, you are lost. bsky.app/profile/mons... #plaiball
Cool practical example of stringing together different AI tools to create a demo app. The AI is cool, but I'm _also_ amazed at how this new generation of tooling makes complicated things easy #ai #huggingface #gradio huggingface.co/blog/gradio-...
Implementing MCP Servers in Python: An AI Shopping Assistant with Gradio
We’re on a journey to advance and democratize artificial intelligence through open source and open science.
huggingface.co
August 3, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Cool practical example of stringing together different AI tools to create a demo app. The AI is cool, but I'm _also_ amazed at how this new generation of tooling makes complicated things easy #ai #huggingface #gradio huggingface.co/blog/gradio-...
1/ "The old timers who built the early web are coding with AI like it's 1995."
www.linkedin.com/posts/christ...
www.linkedin.com/posts/christ...
The old timers who built the early web are coding with AI like it's 1995. | Christina Wodtke
The old timers who built the early web are coding with AI like it's 1995.
Think about it: They gave blockchain the sniff test and walked away. Ignored crypto (and yeah, we're not rich now). NFTs got...
www.linkedin.com
August 3, 2025 at 2:56 PM
1/ "The old timers who built the early web are coding with AI like it's 1995."
www.linkedin.com/posts/christ...
www.linkedin.com/posts/christ...
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the... “Let’s be honest: The real issue isn’t me—it’s you. You simply don’t read enough. If you did, you’d know I’ve been here for centuries.”
The Em Dash Responds to the AI Allegations
“In recent months, a curious fixation has emerged in corners of academia: the em dash. More specifically, the apparent moral panic around how it is...
www.mcsweeneys.net
July 26, 2025 at 9:13 PM
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the... “Let’s be honest: The real issue isn’t me—it’s you. You simply don’t read enough. If you did, you’d know I’ve been here for centuries.”
I wanted to share a little side project I've been working on: www.plai-ball.com
Its been running for about a month, and I think I've worked out most of the issues.
Its been running for about a month, and I think I've worked out most of the issues.
plAI-ball | AI-generated Baseball Podcast
www.plai-ball.com
July 24, 2025 at 8:05 PM
I wanted to share a little side project I've been working on: www.plai-ball.com
Its been running for about a month, and I think I've worked out most of the issues.
Its been running for about a month, and I think I've worked out most of the issues.
I used Gemini CLI to update a GitHub project I haven't touched in 14 years: github.com/monsur/echo-...
GitHub - monsur/echo-server: An HTTP server that echos the request/response headers, and allows you to control response details.
An HTTP server that echos the request/response headers, and allows you to control response details. - monsur/echo-server
github.com
July 24, 2025 at 4:00 AM
I used Gemini CLI to update a GitHub project I haven't touched in 14 years: github.com/monsur/echo-...
"We believe the future belongs to engineers who can seamlessly blend human creativity and judgment with AI capabilities. Proficiency with AI tools isn't just helpful for success in our interviews, it is essential for thriving in our day-to-day role at Canva."
www.canva.dev/blog/enginee...
www.canva.dev/blog/enginee...
Yes, You Can Use AI in Our Interviews. In fact, we insist - Canva Engineering Blog
How We Redesigned Technical Interviews for the AI Era
www.canva.dev
June 14, 2025 at 9:46 PM
"We believe the future belongs to engineers who can seamlessly blend human creativity and judgment with AI capabilities. Proficiency with AI tools isn't just helpful for success in our interviews, it is essential for thriving in our day-to-day role at Canva."
www.canva.dev/blog/enginee...
www.canva.dev/blog/enginee...
"Every individual is only a version of you, how can they forgive when there's no forgiveness in your heart?" - K Dot, Chicago, 6/6/25 #kendricklamar #gnx #reincarnated
June 7, 2025 at 6:36 PM
"Every individual is only a version of you, how can they forgive when there's no forgiveness in your heart?" - K Dot, Chicago, 6/6/25 #kendricklamar #gnx #reincarnated