Coding agents are good at explaining things. They are also good at explaining them in five verbose paragraphs when a ten-line tree would have done the job. You would almost think that output tokens are free!

Recently I came across the show-me skill from HumanLayer. It’s a small skill with one purpose: when you ask your agent to explain something, it answers with a visual representation instead of a wall of text.

What does it do?

The whole skill is a short set of instructions. It tells the agent to skip the preamble, keep the prose brief and pick the smallest view that makes the point clear.

Sounds simple? Because the idea is indeed. For each kind of explanation, the skill names the view to use:

• Logic or an algorithm → pseudocode
• Runtime control flow → a call tree
• UI structure → a component tree, including the state and module boundaries that matter
• File responsibility or a broad refactor → a shallow file tree
• Component interaction or data flow → a Mermaid diagram

Here is what that looks like in practice. A call tree for a form submit:

submitForm
  createSession
    persistPrompt
    launchAgent
  navigateToSession

And a shallow file tree to explain who owns what:

src/
├── commands/       # parses user actions
├── sessions/       # owns session state
└── transport/      # sends API requests

Nothing fancy. But compare that with the paragraph you would normally get back.

Installing the skill

The skill can be installed with the skills CLI:

npx skills add https://github.com/humanlayer/skills --skill show-me

After that you invoke it with a slash command like any other skill:

/show-me

Putting it into action

Why I like this skill as an architect

As an architect I have to read a lot of code. Most of the time when I’m reviewing code changes, I’m not looking for an explanation. I’m looking for the shape of something: who calls whom, which module owns the state, where a refactor will touch. That is exactly what trees and sequence diagrams are good at, and prose is not.

The skill also forces the agent to be selective. You don’t get a diagram of everything, just the one that answers your question.

The skill also covers when to show a full code block instead of a fragment: when most of it is new, when leaving out context would hide ownership or order, or when you need a target shape you can copy. For larger explanations it can also produce a focused HTML page, which the agent opens for you.

Remark: The skill is plain instructions, nothing more. If you disagree with one of its choices (say you prefer ASCII over Mermaid), you can read the SKILL.md and adjust it for your own setup.

Should you use it?

If you regularly ask your agent to explain unfamiliar code, yes. It costs one command to install and it changes the format of every answer you ask for with /show-me.

More information

• humanlayer/skills – plugins/show-me
• show-me on skills.sh

Affected locations in British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba will not turn their clocks back at 02:00 local time on November 1, 2026. They will remain at UTC−07:00, UTC−06:00, and UTC−05:00, respectively. 

Microsoft’s interim guidance for British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba describes the new Windows time zones and temporary workarounds. 

SQL Server on Windows requires the applicable Windows update—not a separate SQL Server product update. For SQL Server on Linux, Azure SQL Database, and Azure SQL Managed Instance, the following guidance applies when the new regional time zones are not yet available in your deployment. 

Interim guidance when the new time zone is unavailable 

This table adapts the Windows interim guidance for SQL. Use the interim identifiers for explicit SQL conversions, SQL Database or eligible SQL Managed Instance database/session settings, mapped Linux configuration, or new SQL Managed Instances. The instance-level time zone setting cannot be modified for an existing SQL Managed Instance. 

*The Alberta guidance also covers southeastern BC locations aligning with Alberta and affected Northwest Territories locations, including Yellowknife and Inuvik. Do not apply the first row to all of BC. 

For Manitoba, the Windows workaround uses ordinary Eastern Standard Time with automatic DST adjustments disabled. SQL’s AT TIME ZONE does not provide the DST adjustment switch. Instead, Eastern Standard Time (Mexico) supplies UTC−05:00 without seasonal changes under its current rules. Ordinary Eastern Standard Time returns to UTC−04:00 in summer. 

Confirm that the selected identifier is available in sys.time_zone_info on the target deployment. These substitutes match the required current and future offsets, not the provinces’ complete historical rules. Do not blanket-replace historical conversions. Move to the regional definition when supported, using the appropriate product-specific method. 

SQL Server on Windows 

SQL Server reads installed Windows time zones from the OS registry, as documented for sys.time_zone_info. 

Install the applicable Windows update. When the server’s local time must follow the affected region, select the new regional zone under Settings > Time & language > Date & time, following the provincial guidance linked above. 

Also update explicit AT TIME ZONE references where appropriate. Installing the update does not rewrite application SQL or make the existing shared US-and-Canada identifier equivalent to the new province-specific definition. 

SQL Server on Linux 

Follow Configure the time zone for SQL Server on Linux for SQL Server 2022 or later. SQL Server on Linux map the Linux/IANA time zone to a Windows identifier used internally by T-SQL. 

The documented mappings for the interim choices are: 

Configure the matching IANA zone in the SQL Server service or container’s TZ environment, or through the applicable host configuration. Ensure the setting reaches the SQL Server process, not only an interactive shell; restart or redeploy that process as appropriate. TZ takes precedence over /etc/localtime and the other documented configuration sources. 

Do not assume that updating Linux tzdata alone updates SQL Server’s Windows-zone definitions or mapping. For older releases, use the corresponding SQL Server 2019 or SQL Server 2017 documentation. 

Azure SQL Database 

As described in my earlier announcement of local time zone support, the public-preview feature allows configuration at the database or session level. 

For example, use the following options for Manitoba: 

-- Persistent database default
ALTER DATABASE SCOPED CONFIGURATION
SET TIME_ZONE = 'Eastern Standard Time (Mexico)';

-- Alternatively, override just the current connection
SET TIME ZONE 'Eastern Standard Time (Mexico)';  

A session override takes precedence over the database setting. SET TIME ZONE LOCAL removes the session override. 

Inside a stored procedure or dynamic SQL batch, the change is scoped to that execution. A normal GO batch separator does not reset a session setting. See the SET TIME ZONE documentation for scope and usage details. 

The setting affects current-time functions such as GETDATE(), SYSDATETIME(), and SYSDATETIMEOFFSET(). It does not convert stored values, change explicit AT TIME ZONE expressions, or change UTC timestamps in system views. 

Once the regional identifier becomes available, replace the interim setting at the scope your application uses. SET TIME ZONE is not supported on SQL Server. 

Azure SQL Managed Instance 

The instance time zone can only be selected during creation. To change the instance-level time zone itself, create a replacement instance with the required temporary or final time zone and migrate the workload. 

On SQL Managed Instances using the Always-up-to-date update policy where local time zone support is available, use ALTER DATABASE SCOPED CONFIGURATION SET TIME_ZONE or SET TIME ZONE to apply the same interim time zones at database or session scope. These settings change the effective time zone for supported current-time functions without migrating the instance. They do not change the instance-level time zone or SQL Agent schedules; an instance-wide time zone change still requires the migration approach below. 

Recreate instance-level dependencies, including logins, objects in master, SQL Agent jobs, credentials, linked servers, certificates, and server-level configuration. Validate applications and job schedules before retiring the old instance. 

Plan for two migrations when using an interim time zone 

If the final regional zone is unavailable, first migrate to an instance configured with the interim zone. After the regional zone becomes available, migrate again to another instance created with that final zone. 

For a failover-group approach that returns to the original region: 

Original MI — Region 1 → Temporary-zone MI — Region 2 → Final-zone MI — Region 1 

The service update does not change the selected time zone of the existing temporary instance. Budget for both migrations and their cutovers. 

Normally, failover-group partners should use matching time zones. A deliberate mismatch for this migration requires careful validation; it is not the recommended steady-state high-availability configuration. 

If only a query or display requires adjustment, an explicit conversion can avoid changing instance-local time: 

SELECT SYSUTCDATETIME() AT TIME ZONE 'UTC'
    AT TIME ZONE 'Eastern Standard Time (Mexico)' AS ManitobaLocalTime;  

This changes the query result—not SQL Agent schedules or the instance’s GETDATE() behavior.

The post Canada’s 2026 time zone updates: guidance for Microsoft SQL appeared first on Azure SQL Dev Corner.

OpenClaw 2026.9.33

Want to write a memoir? Discover 5 practical tips to help you get started and turn your memories into a compelling story.

You need to do three important things before you write your memoir.

1. You need to jog your memory.
2. You need to find a theme for your story.
3. You need to plot your memoir.

In this post, I want to deal with the first point. I want to make suggestions on how you can research your memoir. This is hard work and takes time but once you’ve done it, you will have an invaluable resource.

I want you to think about how you can jog your memories and collect information so that you can stay as true to your story as possible.

1. Become A Gatherer.

You should start with personal bits and pieces. Remember that these are only aids. Your memories are still there, and you can access them with or without these items. These are the types of things to look for and keep:

1. Diaries
2. Obituaries
3. Birth, marriage, death certificates
4. Birthday and wedding invitations
5. Letters
6. Photographs
7. Home movies, videos, and DVDs
8. Report cards, school books
9. Family memorabilia
10. Jewellery
11. Menus
12. Music – vinyl, tape, digital
13. Newspaper cuttings
14. Old cheques
15. Old theatre programmes
16. Payslips
17. Wills
18. Emails and text messages
19. Social media posts and comments
20. Digital photographs and videos
21. Voice notes and audio recordings
22. Blogs and websites
23. Digital calendars and diaries
24. Travel records and location history
25. Old mobile phones, computers, and hard drives

2. Make Use Of Living Relatives And Old Friends.

Start a conversation about your memoir. Remember that neither you nor your relative or friend is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. You each have your own story to tell. Listen. You will need other voices in your memoir. You will specifically need voices that oppose yours. Make notes.

3. Ground Your Story Using Details From The Time You’re Describing.

If you don’t do this, you run the risk of spending too much time meandering through your thoughts and feelings. Visit the places you will be describing. If you are unable to go back, there are other ways to do this. You can:

4. Prepare A Life List.

This is for you and you alone. This is not for a publisher’s consumption. Write a page on each of these subjects. Some may not even be applicable to you. This list will become the skeleton from which you draw material for your memoir.

1. Birth and baby years
2. Pre-school years
3. Junior school
4. High school
5. University
6. Friends
7. Hobbies
8. Holidays, festivals
9. Jobs
10. Illness
11. Early relationships
12. Religion
13. Early marriage
14. Moving House
15. Middle years
16. Bereavement
17. Later years
18. Retirement

5. Make Files And Scan Your Documents.

Organise your material using a lever-arch file with plastic pockets for memorabilia. Do this in chronological sequence. Slot your notes and writing between these. Now fill the plastic folders with whatever is relevant to these life stages. You should have achieved some sort of order, and you’ll be grateful for this as you progress through your memoir. If you can, scan all the documents you have collected and save them in the same life stages as your physical file.

A Brief Note

These tips can help you recover details you might otherwise forget. Old messages, photographs, emails, and social media posts can bring back memories and help you establish dates. Remember that these records offer clues, not the whole story. Check details where you can, and ask for permission when using other people’s personal correspondence in your memoir.

The Last Word

Writing a memoir starts with gathering your memories and organising your material. Take the time to do your research before you begin writing. You don’t need to remember everything at once. The purpose of this preparation is to gather material you can return to as you write and shape your life story.

by Amanda Patterson
© Amanda Patterson

More posts from Amanda:

1. How To Write A Prologue: 5 Good Reasons To Include One
2. How To Write A Locked-Room Mystery: The Secret To The Impossible Crime
3. 10 Ways To Get Out Of A Writing Rut
4. What Is A Denouement? How It Works In Fiction
5. How To Name Characters: 10 Things To Consider
6. How To Use The Five Senses In Your Writing
7. What Is A Myth? 20 Myth-Inspired Writing Prompts
8. Punctuation For Beginners: What Is Punctuation?
9. What Is A Plot Twist? The Secret To Writing A Great One
10. What Is A First Draft? How To Write And Finish Yours

If you’re looking for more posts on memoirs, try these:

1. What’s The Difference Between An Autobiography And A Memoir?
2. 12 Types Of Memoirs – Which One Is Yours?
3. Why You Need To Write Your Memoir Like Fiction

Top Tip: Sign up for our free daily writing links.

The post The 5 Top Tips For Turning Memories Into A Memoir appeared first on Writers Write.

Evaluating decision models for document categorization

Looking back through today’s list, there’s something that jumped out at me. You should ask a question after reading the headline. Why didn’t OKRs work? Why are predictability and outcomes at odds? How many pilots of any sort make it all the way to production? Why rewrite all your code? Let’s be good question-askers, and seek answers.

[blog] “You didn’t do it right.” Every measurement framework isn’t right for every team. Jason and team tried OKRs, and they just didn’t land. It’s often not a knowledge problem, but just the wrong context for it to work. That’s ok.

[article] 38 things we’ve learned about building AI products. Sheesh, what a fantastic list of lessons learned. You’ll have your own, but digest these too.

[blog] One Agent Development Kit, five languages. If you’re going to build a code-based agent—and I’m not positive that’ll be the dominant way as we see more pre-built, general agents that get fed custom skills instead—it’s useful to have a common framework across programming languages.

[blog] Predictability vs Outcomes. This made me stop and think. It’s not output versus outcomes, but the decision between predictability and outcomes.

[article] How Anthropic scales telemetry and billing data with Pub/Sub. Pretty wild stats, and a testament to using an at-scale cloud messaging engine.

[blog] How to Manage Context in AI Agents. This all feels very unsettled to me. Shir does a good job articulating the options. But I do see people debating the merits of all these approaches!

[blog] Previewing Gemini 4 Argon by Building an AR Game for My 4-Year-Old. Thats a tough customer. How great is it that we can realize our ideas so quickly now?

[article] Why 88% of AI pilots never make it to production. Noted. But also recognize that 20-30% of ALL pilots make it production. It’s hard for technology to go from a perfectly curated clean room to the rough-and-tumble production world.

[blog] 6 Years of Tech Debt, 1 Prompt: Modernizing a Legacy App with Gemini 4. Excellent demo scenario from Mete. A six-year full-stack upgrade in one shot? Remarkable.

[blog] How to effectively debug when you no longer understand the code. A small novel in length, this piece from Cindy is a wonderful look at expertise, assumptions, and how to rethink our directions to AI agents.

[article] It’s time to rewrite all that old code. Sure. But first ask “why?” And “in what language?” And “which tool?” Maybe “targeting which platform?”

[blog] Better HTTP/1 connection reuse. Geeky topic? Yes. But I like knowing my coding language takes care of stuff like this on my behalf.

[blog] Predictable AI spend in Big Query: Introducing cost management for generative AI functions. I like being able to embed LLM calls inside my queries, but it’s probably easy to go overboard. I’m glad we have quotas in place for you.

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