Notes from the build log.
Short-form writing on the web, local AI, and running a small software studio. Not a content-marketing machine — just things we want to share.
The March 2026 core update, read honestly
Google's March 2026 core update finished rolling out on April 8. Here's what actually changed, who got hit, and the short list of things worth doing if your rankings moved.
Notes from upgrading this site to Astro 6
Astro 6 shipped on March 10. We upgraded aurabyt.com a few weeks later. Here's what was painless, what wasn't, and whether it's worth the afternoon.
Read →INP is the metric that actually matters now
Interaction to Next Paint has been the Core Web Vitals metric quietly tanking small business sites since 2024. Here's what it is, how to measure it, and the three things that fix it.
Read →Where AI development sits in 2026
An honest read on where AI development is in 2026: what's actually in production, what's still vaporware, and what it means for the kind of businesses we build software for.
Read →What it actually costs to run AI on your own hardware
A plain-English breakdown of the hardware, GPU, memory, and cloud costs involved in running AI inference — for operators who want a number, not a whitepaper.
Read →Why RAM prices are up 50–90% in 2026
Memory prices have moved sharply in 2026 because of AI datacenter demand. Here's what's happening, who's affected, and how long it's likely to last.
Read →The actual break-even point for running LLMs yourself
Cloud APIs are cheap at small volume and expensive at large volume. Here's the rough math on where self-hosting starts to pay off, what it actually costs, and the common mistakes.
Read →Building Stattraq: a profitability calculator for GTA gig drivers
We built a free calculator that shows rideshare and delivery drivers their true take-home per hour after fuel, depreciation, insurance, CPP, and taxes. A note on why and how.
Read →What's wrong with most small business websites
A direct look at why so many small business websites are slow and generic, what's different about sites built on modern frameworks, and when the cost is actually justified.
Read →When local AI deployment is the right answer
There are specific situations where sending data to a cloud AI provider isn't viable. Here's when local deployment is worth the extra work and when it isn't.
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