Focus on what you're using tools for, not how long you're using them. https://lifehacker.com/tech/stop-worrying-about-screen-time?ref=jhpMastodon

More Every Frame a Painting!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSlZKdApob0

I am so glad to keep my configuration files under source control - seeing the random crap that’s been “helpfully” added in my colleague’s environments drives me up the wall.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@siracusa/112724256052731385

I kind of hate both options for this poll, but it does make me realize that there’s not really a language I do like for this sort of thing. I do want something closer to a scripting language, relatively constrained in syntax, but still expressive enough to not have much boilerplate.

RE: https://pony.social/@cadey/112724634331455443

A nice story about one of the top GeoGuessr people exploring the world:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/19/magazine/trevor-rainbolt-geoguessr-google-maps.html?unlocked_article_code=1.200.zUNN.jXIx4MadUkh6&smid=url-share

@nat and @ludicity on lying to get jobs:

• https://www.simplermachines.com/dont-lie-in-interviews/
• https://ludic.mataroa.blog/blog/the-complex-problem-of-lying-for-jobs/

Have to say that I fall on Nat’s side here, though as with a lot of tech advice, it’s not necessarily generalizable. In my last round of interviews, I very much enjoyed being contrary in expressing my dissenting opinions (like disagreeing that SOLID is a useful set of principles or having my default performance stance as “for loops go brrrr”). It is for sure good signal for me if interviewers are uncomfortable with this, since I wouldn’t be a good culture fit anyhow, but given my interviewing results, I think the interviewers thought it was desirable to see from a candidate anyway. (Though again, contextual - perhaps more expected or more leeway given for someone interviewing for a staff position.)

This is really cool -- the fifth busy beaver number has been verified to be 47 176 870.

I love busy beaver numbers because they're both an interesting pastime and also define the boundary of what is knowable in mathematics.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/amateur-mathematicians-find-fifth-busy-beaver-turing-machine-20240702

I enjoyed this talk on pixel fonts very much: https://youtu.be/SDI8ubVZi7w

what are some things that you find confusing about the command line? Mostly interested in answers from people who use the (unix) command line but still don't feel very comfortable with it.

(thinking of writing about using the command line interactively but I'm unsure about whether that would actually be helpful)

Upgraded my cable modem last week, which was a significant improvement to my internet. Should’ve done that way earlier!

The specific technologies in distributed systems may change rapidly, but I think the fundamentals are evergreen. We are going to be retrying, queueing, caching, load shedding, and sharding until the end of time.

UBI has been tried experimentally enough times that the only time a headline should say there are “surprising results” is if it doesn’t work. https://mastodon.cloud/@slashdot/112700889501338009

@nat My own intro to results-oriented thinking came from poker, rather than M:tG, which I think is both a game that more people know, as well as an even more stark demonstration of the importance of that type of thinking. (IIRC, it was perhaps Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book, but the date on that seems wrong, since I thought I was introduced to this earlier than 2005.)

Can't believe Little Bobby Tables is all grown up and has had their first kid, Ignore All Previous Instructions

Periodic reminder that NIST does not approve of expiring passwords.

https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-3/sp800-63b.html#memsecretver

> Verifiers SHOULD NOT require memorized secrets to be changed arbitrarily (e.g., periodically). However, verifiers SHALL force a change if there is evidence of compromise of the authenticator.

Classic response to my username.

Managing Your Mac Menu Bar: A Roundup of My Favorite Bartender Alternatives

https://www.macstories.net/roundups/managing-your-mac-menu-bar-a-roundup-of-my-favorite-bartender-alternatives/

I understand that Applause has attempted damage control, but trust is something that you can’t get back that easily after such shady behavior.

Finding myself doing TypeScript type shenanigans at work, and I’m pretty sure this is me reaching peak midwit senior engineer in TS, so hopefully I’ll be over this hump soon and find simpler ways to attain the same confidence without jumping through type system hoops.

Or at least I’d settle for being able to more easily understand (or express?) the type signatures that I’m writing.

This is a good point, but also this bisection in and of itself is pretty amazing to be able to do, when each bisection test takes 4 hours to figure out if the commit is good or bad!

RE: https://mastodon.social/@ratkins/112675470604166076