Sure, but the end of this post [0] is where I'm at. I don't feel the need or want to write the code when I can spend my time doing the other parts that are much more interesting and valuable.

> Emil concluded his article like this:

> JustHTML is about 3,000 lines of Python with 8,500+ tests passing. I couldn’t have written it this quickly without the agent. > But “quickly” doesn’t mean “without thinking.” I spent a lot of time reviewing code, making design decisions, and steering the agent in the right direction. The agent did the typing; I did the thinking. > That’s probably the right division of labor.

>I couldn’t agree more. Coding agents replace the part of my job that involves typing the code into a computer. I find what’s left to be a much more valuable use of my time.

[0] https://simonwillison.net/2025/Dec/14/justhtml/

It's the semantics of "can", where it is used to suggest feasibility. When I moved and got a new commute, I still "could" bike to work, but it went from 30min to an hour and a half each way. While technically possible, I would have had to sacrifice a lot when losing two hours a day- laundry, cooking dinner, downtime. I always said I "can't really" bike to work, but there is a lot of context lost.

"Can" is too overloaded a word even with context provided, ranging from places like "could conceivably be achieved" to "usually possible".

The only hint you can dig out is where they might have limits feasibility around it. E.g. "I can fly first class all the time (if I limit the number of flights and spend an unreasonable portion of my weath on tickets)" is typically less useful an interpretation than "I can fly first class all the time (frequently without concern, because I'm very well off)", but you have to figure out which they are trying to say (which isn't always easy).

I can't without seriously sacrificing productivity. (I've been coding for 30 years.)