Nostr notes by Reginald

What if web traffic is going away for everyone in the near ...

2026-10-30T13:10:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…eutm
_________________________

What if web traffic is going away for everyone in the near future? I ask myself what the point of blog posts is going to be when whatever we write can just be read by crawlers and then extruded like pink goo as "AI summaries" or "AI answers."

Reddit may have less to lose than it appears.

TIL that in the UK, poet laureates are paid a salary of £5,750 ...

2026-10-30T12:38:28Z

TIL that in the UK, poet laureates are paid a salary of £5,750 per annum plus a barrel of sherry. If I ever reënter the engineering workforce, I absolutely want a compensation agreement along these lines.

"We are delighted to offer you the position of engineer laureate, along with a stipend of $10,000 Canadian dollars and a dray fully loaded with strong Trappist beers."

After Jeff Spicoli retired from the Pro Surfing tour, he started ...

2026-10-16T14:36:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…uqyc
_________________________

After Jeff Spicoli retired from the Pro Surfing tour, he started a winery with investors. Bodacious is one of their products.

For amusement purposes only: “I’m tired of following my ...

2026-10-13T14:34:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…fsrn
_________________________

For amusement purposes only:

“I’m tired of following my dreams. I’m going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later.”

—Mitch Hedberg (1968 – 2005)

I can trace my personal use of multiple kinds of ...

2026-10-08T11:49:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…a3yx
_________________________

I can trace my personal use of multiple kinds of dashes—including the em—back to reading this one book in the 90s. If people think that makes my writing look like AI, again that’s a them problem.

https://archive.org/details/macisnottypewrit00will

How can I find out if my Macbook Air M3 2024 also supports ...

2026-10-07T21:36:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…r2rm
_________________________

How can I find out if my Macbook Air M3 2024 also supports headphones like the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro?

In my old, OLD “Steal Raganwald’s Book” there is a chapter ...

2026-10-06T19:54:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…cgjn
_________________________

In my old, OLD “Steal Raganwald’s Book” there is a chapter on how to obfuscate your salary history when asked in an interview.

It is extremely depressing how many people thanked me for that back in the day. I'd way rather have it be unnecessary than hear how well it works.

🧵

“US culture is one of the few in the world that keeps salary ...

2026-10-06T16:03:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…ax9x
_________________________

“US culture is one of the few in the world that keeps salary secret...”

FROM LABOUR. There's an entire industry that exists to keep employers informed about the job market and what it takes to hire top performers.

Efforts to crowd-source similar information for labour exist, but at the end of the day the money is in serving employers in their efforts to maximize value from employees,, so that's what capitalism does.

I hate to disappoint both of my fans, but I am deeply into vibe ...

2026-10-05T17:52:52Z

I hate to disappoint both of my fans, but I am deeply into vibe coding. My top models I run locally while coding are from Gary Burton, Lionel Hampton, Bobby Hutcherson, and Milt jackson.

Here's a little something from Gary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vf-gTakrp0

We took the kids to the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre in ...

2026-10-02T17:32:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…kxt8
_________________________

We took the kids to the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre in Shelbourne, Nova Scotia. Here's a picture of the actual Book of Negroes.

I can't even begin to describe the feeling of laying my eyes on this piece of our joint heritage.

https://www.shelburnens.ca/black-loyalist-heritage-centre.html

In a kakistocracy, the competent are considered untrustworthy: ...

2026-10-01T16:01:51Z

In a kakistocracy, the competent are considered untrustworthy: They don’t require the patronage of a Mad King to succeed, and thus cannot be depended upon to do whatever it takes to remain in favour.

"We started selling pencils to businesses. We'd print ...

2026-09-23T13:16:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…cytv
_________________________

"We started selling pencils to businesses. We'd print their name and phone number on the pencils. Later on we expanded: mouse pads, clothing, all sorts of swag and tchotchkes."

"We're now in all sorts of businesses, and we’re doing great. But the pencils are still our bread and butter.

"We buy pencils for two cents each, and sell them for a nickel. It's amazing how much money you can make with a three per cent markup."

The school layabout appears to be doing well for himself. What ...

2026-09-23T13:03:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…xlc6
_________________________

The school layabout appears to be doing well for himself. What gives?

"Well," he explains, "after graduation I decided to surf until the money ran out. Worked questionable jobs, sailed on tramp steamers to get to the spots, it was an adventure."

"I met a woman in 'Nam whose family made pencils. They printed things on them, happy graduation, good luck, that kind of thing. Something clicked. When I got back home, I asked a buddy to help me set up a company."

Shortly after the mention of his name triggers a wave of ...

2026-09-23T12:50:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…6pey
_________________________

Shortly after the mention of his name triggers a wave of “Remember the time Rufus…” stories, Rufus shows up at the reunion. And reënacting the way he arrived at school every morning, he tumbles unsteadily out of a stretch Cadillac Esplanade limo, surrounded by a cloud of fragrant smoke.

And while he’s older, he’s still wearing Vans. Only they’re now a pair of collectibles. And the “Time to surf” watch of his youth is gone, replaced by a Rolex Submariner.

My favourite business parable (yes, really): There’s a ...

2026-09-23T12:39:05Z

My favourite business parable (yes, really):

There’s a high-school reunion. Everyone shows up dressed “to the nines,” pulls up to the venue in their trophy vehicle, flaunting their trophy spouses. Success everywhere you look. During the inter-congratulatory small talk, someone asks about Rufus.

Everyone remembers Rufus, the class stoner. He was the school’s “Jeff Spicoli.” Whatever happened to him?

🧵

It has only now occurred to me to construct a joke about a carny ...

2026-09-18T00:25:06Z

It has only now occurred to me to construct a joke about a carny being the only person trained to manage a clown and his circus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carny

> You ask them how we are going to switch to that from ...

2026-09-17T18:37:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…gy28
_________________________

> You ask them how we are going to switch to that from capitalism by using capitalism to do it and they link you to an article about UBI.

And I send this right back 👇🏽

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/audre-lorde-the-master-s-tools-will-never-dismantle-the-master-s-house

RE: https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/117269065861379876 “To be the ...

2026-09-14T11:12:46Z

RE: https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/117269065861379876

“To be the boss is to sit alone at your desk, haunted by the suspicion that you are not in the driver's seat, but rather, you are in the back seat playing with a Fisher Price steering wheel.”—Cory Doctorow (npub1fdr…lvhs)

quoting
note1yze…mp3t

Of all the weird recurring motifs of the stories people tell me about the AI labor wars, the *weirdest* is when bosses demand to be reassured that their contractors and workers will *absolutely* use AI to get the job done.

--

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/09/14/cult-taylorism/#ctrl-x-it-out

1/

Nostr event nevent1qqsq7f0vmmh63cgm62jhx4qpnf9jym6gzkl972pu4lnla6l2wgfqcxszyzq8mrfr7tkra3vtakavh0valkuet25rs2hxfae96a00sqy94vhcqjqeg7s

2026-09-13T13:01:24Z

Programmer: Someone who can count to 1,024 on both hands.

Good morning. ...

2026-09-11T13:14:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…qc8u
_________________________

Good morning.

Nostr event nevent1qqsp677nvx4avj4tmg9qus2832qw994gdasdk9e0af7z2xdmj3j5jaczyzq8mrfr7tkra3vtakavh0valkuet25rs2hxfae96a00sqy94vhcqwql9fs

2026-09-10T15:45:15Z

RE: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2021/01/the-unreasonable-effectiveness-of-simple-html/

I once led an online banking team responsible roughly 3.5 million customers. Just three of those customers used WebTV to do their banking: WebTV was less than one ten-thousandth of one percent of their customer base.

And yet... I personally fixed a WebTV bug, because both the bank's product manager and I believed that everyone should be able to access their bank online regardless of what technology they needed or wanted to use to do so.

It’s sad that this is a story and not how it always goes.

quoting
note1ckf…wa2y

**The unreasonable effectiveness of simple HTML**
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2021/01/the-unreasonable-effectiveness-of-simple-html/

I've told this story at conferences - but due to *the general situation* I thought I'd retell it here.

A few years ago I was doing policy research in a housing benefits office in London. They are singularly unlovely places. The walls are brightened up with posters offering helpful services for people fleeing domestic violence. The security guards on the door are cautiously indifferent to anyone walking in. The air is filled with tense conversations between partners - drowned out by the noise of screaming kids.

In the middle, a young woman sits on a hard plastic chair. She is surrounded by canvas-bags containing her worldly possessions. She doesn't look like she is in a great emotional place right now. Clutched in her hands is a games console - a PlayStation Portable. She stares at it intensely; blocking out the world with Candy Crush.

Or, at least, that's what I thought.

Walking behind her, I glance at her console and recognise the screen she's on. She's connected to the complementary WiFi and is browsing the [GOV.UK pages on Housing Benefit](https://www.gov.uk/housing-benefit ). She's not slicing fruit; she's arming herself with knowledge.

The PSP's web browser is - charitably - [pathetic](https://playstationdev.wiki/pspdevwiki/index.php?title=Webbrowser ). It is slow, frequently runs out of memory, and can only open 3 tabs at a time.

But the GOV.UK pages are written in simple HTML. They are designed to be lightweight and will work even on rubbish browsers. They have to. This is for everyone.

Not everyone has a big monitor, or a multi-core CPU burning through the teraflops, or a broadband connection.

The photographer Chase Jarvis coined the phrase "[the best camera is the one that’s with you](https://www.chasejarvis.com/project/the-best-camera/ )". He meant that having a crappy instamatic with you at an important moment is better than having the best camera in the world locked up in your car.

The same is true of web browsers. If you have a smart TV, it probably has [a crappy browser](https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2018/08/twitters-secret-guest-mode/ ).

My old car had [a built-in crappy web browser](https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2015/06/bmw-i3s-web-browser/ ).

Both are painful to use - but *they work!*

If your laptop and phone both got stolen - how easily could you conduct online life through the worst browser you have? If you have to file an insurance claim online - will you get sent a simple HTML form to fill in, or a DOCX which won't render?

What vital information or services are forbidden to you due to being trapped in PDFs or horrendously complicated web sites?

Are you developing public services? Or a system that people might access when they're in desperate need of help? Plain HTML works. A small bit of simple CSS will make look decent. JavaScript is probably unnecessary - but can be used to progressively enhance stuff. Add alt text to images so people paying per MB can understand what the images are for (and, you know, accessibility).

Go sit in an uncomfortable chair, in an uncomfortable location, and stare at an uncomfortably small screen with an uncomfortably outdated web browser. How easy is it to use the websites you've created?

I chatted briefly to the young woman afterwards. She'd been kicked out by her parents and her friends had given her the bus fare to the housing benefits office. She had nothing but praise for how helpful the staff had been. I asked about the PSP - a hand-me-down from an older brother - and the web browser. Her reply was "It's shit. But it worked."

I think that's all we can strive for.Here are some stats on games consoles visiting GOV.UK

> [

> Matt Hobbs (@TheRealNooshu@hachyderm.io)

> @TheRealNooshu](https://twitter.com/TheRealNooshu )

> [](https://twitter.com/TheRealNooshu )

> [> Replying to @TheRealNooshu](https://twitter.com/TheRealNooshu/status/1356192029211054081 )> Interestingly we have 3,574 users visiting > [> GOV.UK](http://GOV.UK )> on games consoles:
> • Xbox - 2,062
> • Playstation 4 - 1,457
> • Playstation Vita - 25
> • Nintendo WiiU - 14
> • Nintendo 3DS - 16

> 20/22

> [> ❤️ 29](https://twitter.com/TheRealNooshu/status/1356192030695845889 )> [> 💬 1](https://twitter.com/TheRealNooshu/status/1356192030695845889 )> [> ♻️ 0](https://twitter.com/TheRealNooshu/status/1356192030695845889 )> [> 10:45 - Mon 01 February 2021](https://twitter.com/TheRealNooshu/status/1356192030695845889 )https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2021/01/the-unreasonable-effectiveness-of-simple-html/

#HTML5 #web #WeekNotes #work

They're the same picture. ...

2026-08-25T19:10:28Z

They're the same picture.

It is said of Russia, “Every country has a Mafia, but with ...

2026-08-24T19:05:35Z

It is said of Russia, “Every country has a Mafia, but with Russia, the Mafia has a country.”

And it is said of the United States, “Every country has a parasitic billionaire class, but with the USA, the parasitic billionaire class has a country.”

Lemme see if I have this right: America taxes its middle class. ...

2026-08-23T23:54:47Z

Lemme see if I have this right:

America taxes its middle class. It gives a ton of money to a country I shall call "Iodine." Iodine spends a portion of that money buying rich politicians on both sides of the aisle, and those politicians use that money to secure their jobs so they can get rich insider trading.

As a Canadian, this sounds like Iodine is running a money laundering scheme so the politicians can steal directly from their constituents who pay taxes.

Hey #fediverse, I am trying to track down a person ...

2026-08-23T18:55:10Z

Hey #fediverse, I am trying to track down a person named/pseudonymed "Rog Cooper" who released an album called "Delta Nine Transmission" in 2013. As you can see, the album had a picture of Roger Moore with an 80s-era microcomputer on the cover.

I found one of the songs from the album on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOacmHqv8NA

Please boost!

“Hey Dad, what’s a Breakfast Burrito?” Is it a burrito? ...

2026-08-21T18:08:12Z

“Hey Dad, what’s a Breakfast Burrito?”

Is it a burrito?

“Looks like it.”

Are you going to eat it at breakfast time?

“Yes.”

I think you have all the information you need to work this out.

🧢 Noah, brought to you by Mutual of Omaha and PBS viewers like you (npub1l8a…zph7)

Sesame Street introduced the voices of the Pointer Sisters to ...

2026-08-21T17:08:17Z

Sesame Street introduced the voices of the Pointer Sisters to generation after generation of children. Enjoy!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mTr_HS_O4Ek

At the risk of flirting with the "No True Scotsman" ...

2026-08-12T22:49:04Z

At the risk of flirting with the "No True Scotsman" fallacy, no *true* fan of mine wants to talk to a so-called AI Twin.

Period.

Dictators that are serious about fascism don’t wheedle in ...

2026-08-04T16:20:00Z

Dictators that are serious about fascism don’t wheedle in public with corporate executives. If they can dream up charges against a doctor, an olympian, and a brace of actually competent former administration officials, they can drag an oil company CEO off to jail for corruption and sit back while the others create the world’s first “President of Energy Affordability” prize.

Or just skip all that hard work and announce that they have lowered the price of gasoline to six bucks a gallon.

Hey @npub1cne…ndcx, look what I found buried deep in my blog... ...

2026-08-04T15:16:05Z

Hey Chris Hartjes (npub1cne…ndcx), look what I found buried deep in my blog... Actual PHP!

“The most important discomfort that powerful people experience ...

2026-08-02T13:33:23Z

“The most important discomfort that powerful people experience is having ego-shattering conflicts with subordinates who know how to do things they do not know how to do. The fact that you're "in charge" is hard to reconcile with the fact that the people you're nominally in charge of tell you that all your ideas are impossible, illegal, immoral, or lethal”—Cory Doctorow (npub1fdr…lvhs), https://pluralistic.net/2026/08/01/dare-snot/

Riddle me this: How is ChatGPT like the Trump Administration? And why?

The Agile Manifesto: We are uncovering better ways of developing ...

2026-07-28T19:28:14Z

The Agile Manifesto:

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

- Working software over comprehensive documentation

- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

- Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

https://agilemanifesto.org

(1 of 2)

Blackmailing into silence those who point out dangers to patient ...

2026-07-27T14:46:06Z

Blackmailing into silence those who point out dangers to patient safety is a *totally normal* way to handle the rollout of a system that you sincerely believe is a radical improvement in medical care.

🎩 Mister Softie :dp_knife: (npub1hjv…rx8r)

Yesterday afternoon's local flight at @npub1c9q…s5td As the ...

2026-07-25T17:38:37Z

Yesterday afternoon's local flight at SOSA Gliding Club (npub1c9q…s5td)

As the legend shows, red is strong climbing. In this flight... that was the tow. Yellow was thermal lift. Blue is sink. One decent climb, about 1,600' at about 4kts.

You can see the circles are tight and I'm not flying half in a thermal and half in the sink surrounding it.

Practiced simulated winch failures and gambolled around Sheffield. Fun.

#gliding #aviation

“What could be more disrespectful to the Homeric works Musk ...

2026-07-23T21:57:15Z

“What could be more disrespectful to the Homeric works Musk claims to love than stripping them of humanism that has made them immortal. Musk's ideal Odyssey is one rendered entirely in the hallucination of a computer that, like him, is unable to comprehend the very story it is telling, without the intimacy of human art and labor… As far as art is concerned, it's worth less than the water a data center polluted to make it.”

Rolling Stone’s Nikki McCann Ramirez is taking no prisoners.

"We took a little time away from the Nazi Bar, but we noticed ...

2026-07-21T15:57:33Z

"We took a little time away from the Nazi Bar, but we noticed there's less pushback now for partying with the fash. So, back inside we go. Something-something, aren't-we-virtuous."

#firefox #twitter #mozilla

Spam-baiting doesn’t provide the same satisfaction when you ...

2026-07-20T20:59:17Z

Spam-baiting doesn’t provide the same satisfaction when you realize that you’re either talking to software or someone trafficked into slavery.

Rest in power Cynthia Robinson! ...

2026-07-20T13:16:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…vj02
_________________________

Rest in power Cynthia Robinson!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Robinson

Marina City Soundtrack, 1971 ...

2026-07-20T13:09:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…l466
_________________________

Marina City Soundtrack, 1971

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJZHm5_i1vI&list=PLrVoteC1udtGrfwYK1AcGJ3rGT8t1OPod

Marina City Soundtrack, 2002 ...

2026-07-20T13:08:24Z

Marina City Soundtrack, 2002

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RQcPC8KY_g&list=PLC80P4gsPr-Z-Ry7aMiTWXCWHWy56AmiB

“I no longer think freedom and democracy are compatible.” ...

2026-07-17T16:46:00Z

“I no longer think freedom and democracy are compatible.”

—Peter Thiel, Fascist

Translation to English:

“In order for the .01% to do whatever the fuck we want, we must strip the 99.99% of their rights, their freedoms, and especially, their ability to form governments that place any limitations on our power, whatsoever.”

“I no longer think freedom and democracy are compatible.” ...

2026-07-17T16:44:29Z

“Is the gall wasp getting ants to protect it? From what?” How ...

2026-07-10T00:10:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…5lgm
_________________________

“Is the gall wasp getting ants to protect it? From what?”

How about… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euderus_set

A hyper-parasitoid wasp!

I went to boarding school, where my roommate was into wargaming. ...

2026-07-09T00:47:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…dqhf
_________________________

I went to boarding school, where my roommate was into wargaming. Students had to join extracurricular clubs. But anyone could start a club, provided the Headmaster approved. We went to see him.

“A gaming club? How very interesting,” he replied. ”Let me tell you about playing Diplomacy at Harvard with Henry Kissinger!” We recognized an opportunity when it slapped us across the face. We formed the “Diplomacy Club” and played games all we wanted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Hockin

My first ever job was at Mr. Gameways’ Ark, circa 1976. It also ...

2026-07-09T00:35:00Z

My first ever job was at Mr. Gameways’ Ark, circa 1976. It also hosted “The General Staff” on the third floor, which was a proper wargaming club run by serious full-grown men who were deeply into military history and playing massive simulations like TSR’s “War in Europe.”.

Alas for them, I was part of an “Eternal September” of snot-nosed kids who disturbed their serious deliberations with cries such as “Roll for damage” and “The dwarves attack with hammers.”

[@jalefkowit](https://hachyderm.io/@jalefkowit )

Arlene Gwendolyn Lee (July 6, 1941 - October 29, 2024). ...

2026-07-06T16:21:28Z

Arlene Gwendolyn Lee (July 6, 1941 - October 29, 2024).

https://braythwayt.com/posterous/2012/03/29/a-womans-story.html

Fuck cancer.

One of the things I like about Canada is that you are in it. ...

2026-07-01T23:07:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…gshv
_________________________

One of the things I like about Canada is that you are in it.

✊🏽

Back in the 🍁 Day: 2015-07-01 ...

2026-07-01T12:17:16Z

Back in the 🍁 Day: 2015-07-01

The first nine slides. No, COVID isn't on any of the others, ...

2026-06-28T19:05:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…64ld
_________________________

The first nine slides. No, COVID isn't on any of the others, either:

What AI said my talk was about: ...

2026-06-28T19:04:16Z

What AI said my talk was about:

“The US is also a one-party state. But with typical American ...

2026-06-28T12:31:05Z

“The US is also a one-party state. But with typical American extravagance, they have two of them.”
—Dr. Julius Nyerere, first President of Tanzania

The original quote from Marjane Satrapi: ...

2026-06-27T16:03:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…aqha
_________________________

The original quote from Marjane Satrapi:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAis0cKjJFY&

2026-06-27T14:13:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…tupd
_________________________

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAis0cKjJFY&;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYMkEMCHtJ4

2026-06-27T14:12:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…tl9g
_________________________

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYMkEMCHtJ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVhn1edWaDA

2026-06-27T14:10:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…exph
_________________________

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVhn1edWaDA

RE: https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/116821892237077177 To ...

2026-06-27T14:10:06Z

RE: https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/116821892237077177

To paraphrase the late Marjane Satrapi:

"The difference between Buffalo Springfield and America is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between Gil Scott-Heron and America is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our Americas are very much the same."

quoting
note1ker…4f42

Periodic reminder that Gil Scott Heron's "Whitey On the Moon" was a warning, not a suggestion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goh2x_G0ct4

I was mostly tongue-in-cheek. It gets most of the nice things ...

2026-06-26T00:54:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…5yxq
_________________________

I was mostly tongue-in-cheek. It gets most of the nice things from my own web site and LinkedIn, so it is clearly telling me what I want to hear.

If you want laughably incorrect, a while back I asked it "Who is Reginald Braithwaite," and it described me as an author. It listed two books I did write, and one—"Combinators for Humans"—that doesn't exist.

I asked AI to make a picture of that imaginary book:

Reminder that LLMs are prone to: 1. Hallucinating; 2. Telling you ...

2026-06-26T00:25:24Z

Reminder that LLMs are prone to:

1. Hallucinating;
2. Telling you what you want to hear, and;
3. GOTO 1.

"Is raganwald a good engineering hire?"

Write-in vote for, “The Democratic Party should serve the ...

2026-06-25T10:53:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…smw9
_________________________

Write-in vote for, “The Democratic Party should serve the interests of its constituents over the monied interests who donate to both parties, and not the other way around.”

Everything else is just details.

Bicyles do not charge you by the pedal stroke. Bicycles can be ...

2026-06-20T15:20:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…ut9t
_________________________

Bicyles do not charge you by the pedal stroke. Bicycles can be expensive, but are usually many orders of magnitude less expensive than motorized transportation. Bicycles can be technological marvels, but they can also be easy to wrench anywhere on Earth.

"A bicycle for the mind" is an enduring metaphor.

From a justice perspective, this is my clumsy metaphor for ...

2026-06-20T15:14:17Z

From a justice perspective, this is my clumsy metaphor for coin-operated LLM-driven software development:

The commercial sports industry—exemplified by FIFA/IOC, the World Cup, and corruption of public works—is not sport in exactly the same way that the commercial music industry is not music. Anyone can pick up (or make out of old socks!) a ball, gather friends, and play a sport. Or pick up an instrument and teach themselves to make music with friends.

And so it is with writing our own code.

(wags finger) Nice try, but I spotted your trick question. When ...

2026-06-18T18:11:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…nt5l
_________________________

(wags finger) Nice try, but I spotted your trick question. When alcohol is your lunch, there is no “with.”

Celebrating my partner’s birthday nine years ago after ...

2026-06-17T20:48:32Z

Celebrating my partner’s birthday nine years ago after presenting “First-Class Commands” at NDC Oslo 🇳🇴

And I’m wearing a Thinking Machines tee shirt I had been saving for just the proper occasion.

And just like that—surprise!—one AI company bails out another ...

2026-06-06T21:21:29Z

And just like that—surprise!—one AI company bails out another AI company's grift. Google agreeing to rent compute from xAI (cough, "SpaceX") magically makes them eligible for inclusion in the S&P500.

Americans, they are looting your life savings, the ones you earned through labour that they are gleefully replacing. Your descendants will never have the chance you had.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/05/google-will-pay-spacex-920m-per-month-for-compute/

The "Third Way" is a more effective takedown of democracy ...

2026-05-30T14:55:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…qup5
_________________________

The "Third Way" is a more effective takedown of democracy than bankrolling fascists. The Third Way breeds learned helplessness, the exact thing that oppression requires to thrive.

Elon Musk is about to merge his two corporate human centipedes. I ...

2026-05-27T19:38:19Z

Elon Musk is about to merge his two corporate human centipedes. I am told this will unlock humanity's future.

Remember image maps? This was my home page circa 2005, featuring ...

2026-05-24T20:08:33Z

Remember image maps? This was my home page circa 2005, featuring software I shipped. Good times, man. Good times.

Imagine warring tribes. There are two types of arms dealers. One ...

2026-05-22T12:46:19Z

Imagine warring tribes.

There are two types of arms dealers. One says, "Buy these weapons, up-skill your soldiers to use them, and wipe out your enemies." The other says, "Buy these weapons, train your commanders to use them, and get rid of those pesky grunts who demand to be fed."

The only way the second dealer's customers can survive is if there are no arms dealers of the first type, and everyone ends up in a forever stalemate spending the food money on weapons.

Yes this is comical.

A joke I used to tell every coöp student and early-career person ...

2026-05-22T11:09:32Z

A joke I used to tell every coöp student and early-career person I interviewed:

“We only hire senior developers. The trick is, we hire them earlier in their careers.”

The same thing, without trying to be hip:

“Senior engineers are what you get when you hire a junior, give them interesting problems, surround them with people who know more than they do, and wait. That's it.”

https://andrewmurphy.io/blog/ai-didnt-kill-your-junior-pipeline-you-did

As they say on Québec license plates... “Je me souviens.” ...

2026-05-20T18:20:22Z

As they say on Québec license plates... “Je me souviens.”

"Good evening, Mister...?" "Norman. Don Norman." ...

2026-05-20T11:00:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…g6lj
_________________________

"Good evening, Mister...?"

"Norman. Don Norman."

"You're taking this too personally." Been there, seen ...

2026-05-16T18:49:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…80ey
_________________________

"You're taking this too personally."

Been there, seen that. 1969 or 1970.

nota bene: *comments raising ethical or legal concerns will be ...

2026-05-16T18:41:28Z

nota bene: *comments raising ethical or legal concerns will be moderated, architectural concerns only.*

https://www.citinewsroom.com/2025/03/fort-amsterdam-a-forgotten-relic-of-ghanas-slave-trade-era/

Flight School Daze ...

2026-05-07T17:24:45Z

Flight School Daze

Terry Gilliam was right about everything. The incompetence. The ...

2026-04-27T15:33:17Z

Terry Gilliam was right about everything. The incompetence. The banality of administrative evil. The fascism.

And most notably, Mar-a-Lago Face and the lengths Republican Barbies will go to maintain it.

Call me was on the “American Gigolo” sound track. Who would ...

2026-04-26T16:30:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…h5d0
_________________________

Call me was on the “American Gigolo” sound track.

Who would have bet at the time on pretty-boy Richard Gere becoming only man in Hollywood to choose principles over pecuniarum with respect to to Chinese influence?

Physicist Ian Hinchliffe adapted "Betteridge's Rule of ...

2026-04-15T12:53:53Z

Physicist Ian Hinchliffe adapted "Betteridge's Rule of Headlines" to academia: If a research paper's title is in the form of a yes–no question, the answer to that question will be "no." In response, physicist Boris Kayser published this paradoxical paper under the pseudonym "Boris Peon:"

As someone who loves a different rock Xanadu, I will find and ...

2026-03-24T16:50:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…m2kc
_________________________

As someone who loves a different rock Xanadu, I will find and listen to "The Legend of Xanadu." Thank you!

Meanwhile in Canada... I am lucky to have heard this live when they first toured "A Farewell to Kings:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTwLi35hGvE

Nice try. Programming is a pop culture, and if people like you ...

2026-03-13T16:56:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…v6jd
_________________________

Nice try. Programming is a pop culture, and if people like you talk about not buying into the current hype wave, it may fizzle.

And if it fizzles, the people investing in it lose something. So no, they don't think you're telling them what to do, but nevertheless, they're here to try to shut you down.

This behaviour is pop culture all over. Conform. Or be cast out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYYdQB0mkEU

if you're old enough to remember when this would have ...

2026-03-12T14:16:18Z

if you're old enough to remember when this would have described the genuflecting sycophants in Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-Il, or Kim Jong Un’s court... Raise your hand.

“They have been careful not to express that directly to the president, who has repeatedly declared that the military operation is a complete success.”

https://newrepublic.com/article/207666/trump-iran-blunders-suddenly-look-darker-damning-new-leaks-hit

🙋🏽‍♂️

In business we call this, "being a shit umbrella for the ...

2026-03-09T13:51:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…xpm0
_________________________

In business we call this, "being a shit umbrella for the team."

When someone tells me that an LLM can check the results of an ...

2026-03-04T15:07:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…kx0y
_________________________

When someone tells me that an LLM can check the results of an LLM, I retreat into nostalgia for the music of my youth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9GbGO7CKdQ

I was a d-list blogger who scored a handful of Hacker News front ...

2026-03-02T16:58:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…5x5y
_________________________

I was a d-list blogger who scored a handful of Hacker News front pages and wrote a book a few thousand people seem to like.

I had always loosely imagined retirement from software development as writing about code full-time. But generative AI is a double-whammy: In the very near future, why would anyone read books about writing software?

They won't even read books about vibe-coding software, they'll just ask Claude to do it.

Add my name to the chorus of elders murmuring, "The CARDIAC ...

2026-02-25T15:23:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…nplj
_________________________

Add my name to the chorus of elders murmuring, "The CARDIAC changed my life.”

Jessie Kirk (npub10jv…psh4) Cory Doctorow (npub1fdr…lvhs)

Spot the "busy beaver" joke embedded within an essay ...

2026-02-18T13:55:31Z

Spot the "busy beaver" joke embedded within an essay about the consequences of chasing a hype wave based on 100x programmer productivity:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/06/1000x-liability/

I only *now* got the Dad Joke. I've been out-dad'd by Cory Doctorow (npub1fdr…lvhs)!!!

I have a bicycle and rooftop bike rack that resemble your remark.

2026-02-16T19:07:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…7637
_________________________

I have a bicycle and rooftop bike rack that resemble your remark.

Like Trevor Noah, I was born a crime. I take NOTHING for granted. ...

2026-02-10T15:04:47Z

Like Trevor Noah, I was born a crime. I take NOTHING for granted. I never have, and I never will. Note that it wasn't until 2000(!) that Alabama repealed its racist miscegenation laws.

"Mad Mad Moon" from "A Trick of the Tail," ...

2026-02-06T12:53:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…gmp2
_________________________

"Mad Mad Moon" from "A Trick of the Tail," arguable Genesis' last true progressive rock album.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EThznghSvJw

I’m calling out my own bullshit. This old essay describing some ...

2026-02-04T16:56:49Z

I’m calling out my own bullshit. This old essay describing some of my experience going to a boarding school is accurate right up to the conclusion.

But that conclusion is just some feel-good bullshit my wetware LLM selected as reflecting the image I wanted to convey. In reality, there are a lot of complicated lessons one learns in a weirdly privileged institutional setting, and nothing is going to be quite so pat as "the most important lesson."

✍🏽🐂💩

https://web.archive.org/web/20130116113616/http://raganwald.posterous.com/st-andrews-college

I worked on an online banking platform that had 3.5 million ...

2026-02-03T15:41:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…8vvd
_________________________

I worked on an online banking platform that had 3.5 million users. Customers could also phone and an operator could handle their needs.

1. The app for online banking was designed for people who use it a couple of times a month. Huge on discoverability and verifying everything.

2. The call center app was designed for people who used it all day and needed to be fast.

Discoverability helps product-led growth, but Enterprise systems must also serve power users.

https://cl.pinterest.com/pin/844917580112407085/

2026-02-02T14:41:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…ml0t
_________________________

https://cl.pinterest.com/pin/844917580112407085/

Leonard Austin Braithwaite (1923 - 2012). He and the rest of his ...

2026-02-01T17:31:34Z

Leonard Austin Braithwaite (1923 - 2012). He and the rest of his Bomber Wing fought fascism in Europe. He returned to become the first Black Canadian elected to a Provincial Legislature in 1963.

https://raganwald.com/assets/media/leonard-braithwaite-obituary-globe-and-mail.pdf

#blackhistoryMonth #blackmastodon

Bill Evans, Scott LaFaro, and Paul Motian at the Village Vanguard ...

2026-02-01T13:53:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…nku3
_________________________

Bill Evans, Scott LaFaro, and Paul Motian at the Village Vanguard on June 25, 1961.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL-NbN8uTOihfnMNf_6zuaGcIafx0wb8f

Fascism's kryptonite is mockery. ...

2026-01-30T17:06:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…ec7r
_________________________

Fascism's kryptonite is mockery.

https://www.closertotheedge.net/p/the-dildo-distribution-delegation

When someone spends 40 million (claimed) making a movie that ...

2026-01-26T18:54:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…c5js
_________________________

When someone spends 40 million (claimed) making a movie that nobody asked for, yet a bunch of people running streaming services put on black tie for an exclusive premiere, you don't need to win Academy Awards.

You just need people willing to demonstrate their loyalty by signing distribution deals for a movie that nobody will see. The black tie event was actually a personal fundraiser.

#Melania

In "King Rat," James Clavell nailed American class ...

2026-01-24T17:22:04Z

In "King Rat," James Clavell nailed American class distinctions. The protagonist explains why he is motivated to get rich: As a young white man in the South, he encountered a beautiful, well-appointed white woman who sniffed at him with contempt and said:

"I swear, white trash smells worse than black trash."

Make no mistake, that contempt has never gone away.It is part of the fabric of American culture and baked into the lies the world tells itself about democracy, equality, and rights.

More evidence we are living in Terry Gilliam's Brazil, where ...

2026-01-19T14:35:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…73pm
_________________________

More evidence we are living in Terry Gilliam's Brazil, where the bureaucratic incompetence is as terrifying as the deliberate cruelty and torture:

“Information Transit got the wrong man. I got the *right* man. The wrong one was delivered to me as the right man, I accepted him on good faith as the right man. Was I wrong?”

—Jack Lint

Who else covers Rush in Canada... And invites an audience member ...

2026-01-14T16:49:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…f29f
_________________________

Who else covers Rush in Canada... And invites an audience member to sing Geddy's lines‽

A fucking legend, that's who.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gUn6dQHMk0&pp=ygUXZm9vIGZpZ2h0ZXJzIHRvbSBzYXd5ZXI%3D

Conjecture: The fall of democracy is being led by political ...

2026-01-12T18:43:28Z

Conjecture:

The fall of democracy is being led by political parties that are set up to create policy for their donors, but content for their voters.

And no I am not scoping this to the United States of America.

It's terrible that ICE are filming their interactions for ...

2026-01-12T18:35:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…ru6y
_________________________

It's terrible that ICE are filming their interactions for personal or propaganda purposes, but think about the administration:

What *exactly* were those boat strikes for? Not to take down the regime. Not to stop drugs from reaching America. What were the for, if not...

To have content for social media showing that the administration is killing "them."