My Week with AI

My Week with AI — week ending 9 October 2026

Debug remote control hanging on Downloads

Saturday 3 October, 10:15am–Mon 9:27am · Claude Code (mini) · Opus 5

Prompt:

why isnt claude remote conteol worling?

What I was trying to achieve: I wanted to find out why my Claude remote control sessions kept freezing.

What happened: I found that anything on the Mac mini that reads ~/Downloads hangs, even a plain ls, while other folders work fine. I stopped the session before finding a fix.

Tags: claude-code, remote-control, debugging, macos

Reflection: Amazing quality prompt. #PromptEngineering. Fixed the problem by scoping permissions for downloads and desktop and discovered that Apple had made OS level changes because of ai agents.


Keep MacBook connected to iPhone hotspot

Monday 5 October, 3:10pm–4:03pm · Claude Code (macbook) · Opus 5

Prompt:

ive got a couple of processes running but i need to close my macbook, and i need it to stay connected to my phone wifi hotspot (its currently on wifi and tethered via usb) so the processes keep alive and connected in my bag. set it up for me

What I was trying to achieve: I wanted to close my MacBook in my bag and keep my background processes running over my phone hotspot.

What happened: I disabled system sleep so the Mac stays awake with the lid shut, and confirmed traffic was going over the hotspot's Wi-Fi rather than the USB tether. Battery drain while closed is a trade-off to note.

Tags: macos, troubleshooting, connectivity, claude-code

Reflection: Caffeine and no sleep like a real parent.


Writerdeck dark mode and moon icon

Wednesday 7 October, 7:02pm–10:36pm · Claude Code (mini) · Opus 5

Prompt:

The writerdeck is connected to you over UART. The keyboard is plugged into the Y OTG and the USB end is plugged into a Mac usb hub for power. Currently the writer deck is non responsive to typing.

What I was trying to achieve: I wanted to fix the writerdeck, which had stopped responding to typing, and then add a dark mode toggle.

What happened: Claude flashed the device with a Ctrl+D dark mode toggle that survives a power cycle. I then asked for a small crescent moon in the status bar when dark mode is on, and it was added.

Tags: hardware, writing-tools, dev-projects

Reflection: I’m making hardware again. This is a fun project I’ll write a longer post about


Set up Zoom administration from Claude Code

Thursday 8 October, 11:29am–12:47pm · Claude Code (mini) · Opus 5

Prompt:

i need you to build an app connection, a dev app, an api tool, or use an MCP
- whatever it takes - to make a way that claude code running on this mac
mini can administer my zoom. It needs to be able to work basically like the
zoom app: when I schedule a meeting, it automatically sends a calendar
invite BY EMAIL to anyone added. Case example: "schedule a meeting for me
and Leon Furze for Tuesday 3:00pm Perth Time on october 19th" - Claude looks
through emails if necessary to get Leon furze's email, checks my calendar
is actually free first (ical, google cal already connected), and so on. To
get this set up you can do whatever is the best available method. I have
screen […]

What I was trying to achieve: I wanted Claude Code to schedule and manage Zoom meetings and send calendar invites by email, the way the Zoom app does.

What happened: We built a Zoom integration with a reusable skill, and the end-to-end test passed, including the emailed invite, rescheduling and listing. The test meeting was cleaned up afterwards.

Tags: zoom, claude-code, automation, integrations

Reflection: Worked out of the box. Part of my ongoing efforts to make Claude more useful in the business admin


Pilot Custom 823 F nib skipping

Thursday 8 October, 9:30pm · Claude Code (mini) · Opus 5

Prompt:

I’ve got a pilot custom 823 but it skips/runs dry. It’s an F nib. Definitely a flow problem: if I unscrew and pump the vacuum a bit it gets going again but obviously burps ink everywhere. Thoughts?!

What I was trying to achieve: I wanted to know why my Pilot Custom 823 fountain pen with an F nib skips and runs dry.

What happened: Claude suggested the likely cause is the shut-off valve at the plunger seal, not a flow fault, and explained why priming it briefly brings the ink back.

Tags: fountain-pens, troubleshooting, hobbies

Reflection: Seeking a second opinion…

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