Cover photo for Philip I. Thomas

Philip I. Thomas

I build at the intersection of math, business, and software. I work on the engineering team at Chroma making retrieval for AI. I write about crafting digital tools at Contraption Company.

In the past, I made Find AI, Booklet, FRCTNL, Booklet, Postcard, Moonlight, Staffjoy, and some other things. Nowadays I'm based in San Francisco, but travel often. I'm interested in coffee, fermentation, and urbanism.

Find me on LinkedIn and Github, and contact me at mail@philipithomas.com.
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What I'm up to - April 2025

Here's my monthly newsletter about what I'm up to, which I send in place of social media. What I did in last month• I published How to host web apps on a Mac Mini, a follow-up to my piece A mini data center. It's a technical guide to hosting web on a Mac Mini, and includes a new open-source repo I made called Toolbox.  • I got a gravel bike and have been riding it a few times a week. The Bay Area is so dense with cycling options, and it's such a fun form of exercise.  • I've been using OpenAI Deep Research a lot lately. For instance, I used it to find cycling clothes that match my preferences (its top recommendation was Sigr, though it missed The Black Bibs). I used it before a meetup to give a background on the companies that would be presenting. I recommend asking it to summarize learnings with a table at the beginning.  • Emma's company Velvet was acquired. Things to share• Articles: The Age of the Double Sell-Out. Signal comes installed by default on CIA computers. Is the Restaurant Good? Or Does It Just Look Good?, How This Former Apple Engineer Uses Coffee Equipment to Create 5 Minutes of Bliss - "Good products are not born in labs or factories. I think they are born in workshops." Scott Rao's Coffeehouse Stories. Glydways, a company I invested in in 2022, just made some exciting product announcements.  • Books: Art and Fear, which all new Chroma employees receive. • Coffee: Noma's first batch of coffees arrived - wash-processed coffee from Mexico and a natural from Ethiopia. Both are good, though the natural is a little too funky for me.  • Videos: Probably Riding in Tokyo was relaxing. TBPN, a daily tech talkshow by the founder of Soylent, seems to be blowing up right now. James Hoffman - 3 Rules for Life. Bad Bunny Tiny Desk. • Podcasts: Tyler Cowen DJing for Rick Rubin was a fun podcast to listen to on a plane.  • Tools: I love that Craig Mod built a private social network for his members. Make the web quirky again! Plans for the next month• Mostly in San Francisco • Biking • Building
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