Author | Lightnews

Michael Russell

@romsteady.bsky.social

150 followers 60 following 1.3K posts

Distinguished Engineer. Former Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix. Former game dev. Computer vision patent. Widowed since 2015. Type 2 diabetic. Lives in Las Vegas, NV. Plays poker to relax. Points of view my own.

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Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 1d

At least two good friends have been impacted by the Amazon layoffs via a 3am text message.

Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 2d

I had a goal for the year of an improvement on an internal NPS of 30 points. Found out I improved the score by 40.2 points.

I'll take it.

Reposted by Michael Russell

eva (^_^)/ @eva.computer · 2d

the Python Software Foundation is foregoing a large NSF grant that would have been contingent on their agreeing to terminate their diversity and inclusion initiatives and given the feds the ability to cripple them financially for refusing to comply

support them here:
www.python.org/psf/donations/

Monday, October 27, 2025
The PSF has withdrawn a $1.5
million proposal to US government grant program
In January 2025, the PSF submitted a proposal to the US government National Science Foundation under the Safety, Security, and Privacy of Open Source Ecosystems program to address structural vulnerabilities in Python and PyPl. It was the PSF's first time applying for government funding, and navigating the intensive process was a steep learning curve for our small team to climb. Seth Larson, PSF Security Developer in Residence, serving as Principal Investigator (PI) with Loren Crary, PSF Deputy Executive Director, as co-Pl, led the multi-round proposal writing process as well as the months-long vetting process. We invested our time and effort because we felt the PS's work is a strong fit for the program and that the benefit to the community if our proposal were accepted was considerable.

We were honored when, after many months of work, our proposal was recommended for funding, particularly as only 36% of new NSF grant applicants are successful on their first attempt. We became concerned, however, when we were presented with the terms and conditions we would be required to agree to if we accepted the grant. These terms included affirming the statement that we "do not, and will not during the term of this financial assistance award, operate any programs that advance or promote DEl, or discriminatory equity ideology in violation of Federal anti-discrimination laws." This restriction would apply not only to the security work directly funded by the grant, but to any and all activity of the PSF as a whole. Further, violation of this term gave the NSF the right to "claw back" previously approved and transferred funds.
This would create a situation where money we'd already spent could be taken back, which would be an enormous, open-ended financial risk.

In the end, however, the PSF simply can't agree to a statement that we won't operate any programs that
"advance or promote" diversity, equity, and inclusion, as it would be a betrayal of our mission and our community.
We're disappointed to have been put in the position where we had to make this decision, because we believe our proposed project would offer invaluable advances to the Python and greater open source community, protecting millions of PyPl users from attempted supply-chain attacks. The proposed project would create new tools for automated proactive review of all packages uploaded to PyPl, rather than the current process of reactive-only review. These novel tools would rely on capability analysis, designed based on a dataset of known malware. Beyond just protecting PyPl users, the outputs of this work could be transferable for all open source software package registries, such as NPM and Crates.io, improving security across multiple open source ecosystems.

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Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 5d

I got three W-2g’s tonight.

Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 5d

In ten days, it will have been ten years since my wife passed away.

Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 6d

I got home to my stairwell smelling like tuna fish for some reason…

Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 6d

Remembered to turn the air conditioning back on during the ride home.

Reposted by Michael Russell

Delaney (Pum)King (She/Her/Whomst) @delaneyking.bsky.social · 6d

Great news for the oldschool miniatures world- Ral Partha bought all the moulds from RAFM.

They are putting the classics back into production.

a close up of a woman 's face saying `` oh , brilliant ! ''

ALT: a close up of a woman 's face saying `` oh , brilliant ! ''

media.tenor.com

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Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 6d

Thirty minutes away from my own bed.

Work and family drama can wait until the morning.

Reposted by Michael Russell

Jason Fanelli @jasonfanelli.com · 6d

PLOT THICKENS!

bsky.app/profile/acel...

Andrew Duncan @acelister.bsky.social · 26d

Curious if any other outlets that reviewed Digimon Story Time Stranger received an email from "Lina" telling us to "stop dragging Scarlet and Violet through the mud".

Our review didn't mention Pokémon. We didn't even review Scarlet or Violet!

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Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 6d

Makes me somewhat glad I’m completely out of both the games industry and the reviews business at this point.

Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 6d

That is absolutely hilarious. The Shacknews crew spent 40 minutes on this letter during last week’s Switch 2 podcast.

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Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 6d

Dude wasn’t even selective in his criticism? Makes it even funnier.

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Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 6d

This was to @shacknews.com

Kate Sánchez @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social · 6d

this is very funny - the subject line was "review corrections"

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Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 6d

Always nice to spend time with coworkers but I am ready to go home.

Nerd in front of a Fanatics Betting & Gaming sign.

Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 6d

I think I’ve played against some of the people indicted.

Mayor of Halloween Town @joshuajfriedman.com · 6d

READ the NBA gambling indictment here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 7d

In less than 24 hours, I should be at my gate to return home.

Reposted by Michael Russell

𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 @sundaedivine.bsky.social · 7d

My daughter just asked me what I would do if I had a penis for a day and I responded that I'd probably get a raise.

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Michael Russell @romsteady.bsky.social · 9d

I have landed in Denver. The smog is overpowering by the airport.

Reposted by Michael Russell

Ashley Lynch ✂️🎞️ @ashleylynch.bsky.social · 9d

Canadians didn't even have to set fire to it this time.

Y'all did this to yourselves.

MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 9d

JUST IN: The White House has begun DEMOLISHING portions of the East Wing of the White House to build Trump’s $250 million ballroom — despite earlier claiming it wouldn’t “interfere” with the existing White House structure. (Washington Post)

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Reposted by Michael Russell

T. Greg Doucette @gregdoucette.bsky.social · 11d

Irving Kristol used to say there were two types of conservatives: anti-state, and anti-left

Most of the anti-state ones became NeverTrumpers and bailed in Trump's first term

All that remains of the GOP are the anti-left, people w/ zero convictions beyond supporting whatever the left opposes

Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 11d

The latest AP-NORC poll had Trump at 37% approval, but, sure, lean into Trump-is-King. Good idea.

MAGA really doesn't know how to think about anything except to take the opposite position of their enemies, real or perceived.

Constant Scream @ajaxsinger.bsky.social · 11d

Really think the biggest win today aside from just numbers is negatively polarizing the regime of 12-year-olds into fully adopting #YESKINGS as their official stance.

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Reposted by Michael Russell

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 11d

Sir David Attenborough, the British documentarian and naturalist, became the oldest person to win a Daytime Emmy on Friday at age 99. He beat the record set last year by Dick Van Dyke. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/a...

David Attenborough sitting in front of a row of greenery and smiling slightly. A headline reads: "David Attenborough Becomes Oldest Daytime Emmy Winner at 99." Photo by Jane Barlow/Press Association, via Associated Press.

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Reposted by Michael Russell

leftylady.bsky.social @leftylady.bsky.social · 11d

And you never will be

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Reposted by Michael Russell

Effin' Birds @effinbirds.com · 12d

A woodcut of a bird beside the text "WHY WOULD WE LISTEN TO AN EXPERT INSTEAD OF A DUMB MOTHERFUCKER WHO TALKS REALLY LOUD"

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Reposted by Michael Russell

Disco (he/they) 📚🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @discobooks.bsky.social · 11d

Guillermo Del Toro just ended a screening of Frankenstein with:

“Buenos noches, thank you very much, and fuck AI”

I love him.

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