Thoughts for October, 2025

The Government Shutdown

I have no clue when this shutdown is going to end, and I am curious what effect it is having politically speaking. I think many of us are watching in horror as SNAP benefits, most of which go to children, the disabled, the elderly, and military families get used as a bargaining chip. It is just a matter of time before massive flight cancellations become a thing and the more affluent class starts to complain about it. I have no idea who will win or lose, other than the American people. I don’t see a way past it though as long as Republicans are working to dismantle the Affordable Care Act by not funding it, and Democrats are using it as a last line of defense to keep it.

I’m also not buying the rhetoric, most to which is pretty heated. I don’t think Democrats are holding up legislation to benefit “illegals.” I also don’t think SNAP benefits are going to lazy freeloaders either. Congress has passed a series of working requirements that limit that, and citizenship is a requirement to apply for SNAP by LAW. Congress needs to get their hands around this and work out a compromise. Unfortunately I do not think the American people will really hold any of them accountable, so there is no rush for them to get anything done.

Tariffs and Inflation

There is much being said about a 25% increase in the price of common household goods that has taken place since 2020. The current administration seems to have given up on reducing inflation as it continues with its tariff policies. I am really surprised that the Supreme Court hasn’t weight in on this given that Congress has the express authority to grant tariffs and customs, and the current policies are an extrapolation of previously passed laws that weren’t meant to force production back onto domestic shores. I believe if Congress wants to take this path they can, and if they pass it via legislation they might signal to the business community that it is a good time to invest. I’m not arguing that tariffs are good or bad, but they are certainly adding to the pain that working families are feeling and it’s going to be a rough Christmas for many. I also think we need some concrete plans and communication so businesses can start planning around them. Why would you invest in a manufacturing facility if the next administration is just going to pull many of them back and wreck your plans?

MCP Servers

The more I dig into AI the more I realize it is a lot simpler than we are all making it out to be. These MCP servers are pretty low code once you get a handle on them, but I am also seeing they are not really that advanced yet. Most of the models I’ve been playing around with do very basic functions, like querying data or scraping web pages. Is this it? You have to think better ones are on the way, but what about security, what about abstraction? I agree, the goal has always been the later but how much abstraction is too much? Also, if these are the building blocks for agents, why do they suck so bad? They just look like big fat compute hogs that are trying to recreate a good Python module. And of course the security issue. Maybe we should all be building MCP Servers of our own?

Stablewatch Solutions LLC

I finally launched my legal entity for my business, something I’ve wanted to do for some time. I did so after taking my business law class and asking “why not”? Now I wish I would’ve waited a bit because I have to do filings for it but at least it’s up and running now. I don’t have a business plan though, but I did buy the website and get some business cards. The website isn’t much, but it may hopefully be in the future.