apenwarr
@apenwarr.ca
wvdial, bup, sshuttle, netselect, popularity-contest, redo, gfblip, GFiber, and now CEO @Tailscale.com doing WireGuard mesh. Top search result for "epic treatise."
Pinned
apenwarr
@apenwarr.ca
· Oct 14
So I’m being told that “we put the net in skynet” is not a good motto for some obscure reason
Reposted by apenwarr
As someone who works on the interaction layer of software: it's this.
Stupid trends in hardware self correct after a generation or two, but *software* ratchets in the direction of unusable because designers are occupied with interaction patterns and not whether the fucking thing works properly.
Stupid trends in hardware self correct after a generation or two, but *software* ratchets in the direction of unusable because designers are occupied with interaction patterns and not whether the fucking thing works properly.
i think it's useful to look at areas where the *tech* has gotten much better while tech *interactions* have gotten way worse. streaming has gotten worse, google search has gotten worse, digital cameras are leaps better. apple's silicone is so good it's threatening their user upgrade cycle
it’s so weird to look around and realize like, tech and media are materially worse than a decade ago
November 30, 2025 at 1:38 PM
As someone who works on the interaction layer of software: it's this.
Stupid trends in hardware self correct after a generation or two, but *software* ratchets in the direction of unusable because designers are occupied with interaction patterns and not whether the fucking thing works properly.
Stupid trends in hardware self correct after a generation or two, but *software* ratchets in the direction of unusable because designers are occupied with interaction patterns and not whether the fucking thing works properly.
Reposted by apenwarr
i installed tailscale on my oscilloscope
November 30, 2025 at 1:22 AM
i installed tailscale on my oscilloscope
"boil the ocean": classic metaphor for a project that won't work until you've spent a massive amount of energy to market to an untargeted mass audience. (Oddly now superceded by "peanut buttering")
"boil the oceans": modern metaphor for spending energy to run popular AI backends, no ocean required
"boil the oceans": modern metaphor for spending energy to run popular AI backends, no ocean required
November 29, 2025 at 7:13 PM
"boil the ocean": classic metaphor for a project that won't work until you've spent a massive amount of energy to market to an untargeted mass audience. (Oddly now superceded by "peanut buttering")
"boil the oceans": modern metaphor for spending energy to run popular AI backends, no ocean required
"boil the oceans": modern metaphor for spending energy to run popular AI backends, no ocean required
Spent a lot of time talking to Gemini lately
But now... it's started talking back
But now... it's started talking back
November 29, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Spent a lot of time talking to Gemini lately
But now... it's started talking back
But now... it's started talking back
Reposted by apenwarr
GDP goes down every time we make something more efficient. And doordash isn’t even part of the PPP basket of goods, what a scam!
November 29, 2025 at 12:32 AM
GDP goes down every time we make something more efficient. And doordash isn’t even part of the PPP basket of goods, what a scam!
Serious software engineers in the 1990s had things like Sparcstation 4 ($10k, more like $20k in today’s dollars). I guess there’s a lot of room to spend on tokens, we’re just not used to it anymore
November 28, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Serious software engineers in the 1990s had things like Sparcstation 4 ($10k, more like $20k in today’s dollars). I guess there’s a lot of room to spend on tokens, we’re just not used to it anymore
Reposted by apenwarr
The 2026 #ATmosphereConf is aiming to be about 2x this year.
If we hit 350-500, then year after 2027 will be roughly double and we need to start planning a year ahead to secure venues.
And! Start planning your 2026 regional confs too!
We’re growing and need to plan for it!
If we hit 350-500, then year after 2027 will be roughly double and we need to start planning a year ahead to secure venues.
And! Start planning your 2026 regional confs too!
We’re growing and need to plan for it!
November 27, 2025 at 1:56 AM
The 2026 #ATmosphereConf is aiming to be about 2x this year.
If we hit 350-500, then year after 2027 will be roughly double and we need to start planning a year ahead to secure venues.
And! Start planning your 2026 regional confs too!
We’re growing and need to plan for it!
If we hit 350-500, then year after 2027 will be roughly double and we need to start planning a year ahead to secure venues.
And! Start planning your 2026 regional confs too!
We’re growing and need to plan for it!
It’s such a shame that all the videoconferencing vendors have basically just given up on echo cancellation, on account of completely failing at it repeatedly for years and years
November 27, 2025 at 1:11 AM
It’s such a shame that all the videoconferencing vendors have basically just given up on echo cancellation, on account of completely failing at it repeatedly for years and years
Bad news, it didn't even stop the monkey jpegs
scorn was an effective weapon for the monkey jpeg NFT shit because it was effectively a status good, generative AI is a tool that millions get utility out of daily and you can't sneer your way out of that.
November 26, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Bad news, it didn't even stop the monkey jpegs
Let’s get this party started
(recreation)
vs
Let’s get this party started
(communist revolution)
(recreation)
vs
Let’s get this party started
(communist revolution)
November 26, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Let’s get this party started
(recreation)
vs
Let’s get this party started
(communist revolution)
(recreation)
vs
Let’s get this party started
(communist revolution)
There are things that empirically work and things that empirically don’t work. I’m often surprised at how much trouble people have in telling the difference.
November 26, 2025 at 12:34 AM
There are things that empirically work and things that empirically don’t work. I’m often surprised at how much trouble people have in telling the difference.
Sorry, immune system, I'm afraid you're not allowed to get sick for another two weeks. I can slot you in for December 10th, does that work? Great, thanks.
November 25, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Sorry, immune system, I'm afraid you're not allowed to get sick for another two weeks. I can slot you in for December 10th, does that work? Great, thanks.
Do you think when Gemini uses Google search, it gets a bunch of AI results on top
November 25, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Do you think when Gemini uses Google search, it gets a bunch of AI results on top
Discussed with Gemini how to create synthetic surround sound from stereo music. Very educational, I learned a lot about speaker placement etc.
But it completely just lied and fabricated some of the key steps to actually *doing* the signal processing. Just like asking on a forum! But faster.
But it completely just lied and fabricated some of the key steps to actually *doing* the signal processing. Just like asking on a forum! But faster.
November 24, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Discussed with Gemini how to create synthetic surround sound from stereo music. Very educational, I learned a lot about speaker placement etc.
But it completely just lied and fabricated some of the key steps to actually *doing* the signal processing. Just like asking on a forum! But faster.
But it completely just lied and fabricated some of the key steps to actually *doing* the signal processing. Just like asking on a forum! But faster.
Waiting for the impossible to stop happening so that whatever remains, however improbable, can happen instead
November 23, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Waiting for the impossible to stop happening so that whatever remains, however improbable, can happen instead
Reposted by apenwarr
If only the lovely @teiconsortium.bsky.social folks had used JSON instead of SGML + XML, dozens of knowledge workers might've been employable more widely! (Joke, mostly--I knew TEI P3-mid P5.)
@apenwarr.ca's connectivity tale is pretty solid re how + when things opened up
apenwarr.ca/log/20251120
@apenwarr.ca's connectivity tale is pretty solid re how + when things opened up
apenwarr.ca/log/20251120
Systems design 3: LLMs and the semantic revolution
Long ago in the 1990s when I was in high school, my chemistry+physics
teacher pulled me aside. "Avery, you know how the Internet works, righ...
apenwarr.ca
November 21, 2025 at 11:11 PM
If only the lovely @teiconsortium.bsky.social folks had used JSON instead of SGML + XML, dozens of knowledge workers might've been employable more widely! (Joke, mostly--I knew TEI P3-mid P5.)
@apenwarr.ca's connectivity tale is pretty solid re how + when things opened up
apenwarr.ca/log/20251120
@apenwarr.ca's connectivity tale is pretty solid re how + when things opened up
apenwarr.ca/log/20251120
Reposted by apenwarr
Sounds great. How about we expand it to all AI companies as well? Or like ... maybe just every tech company that isn't Tailscale.
Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.,and John Curtis, R-Utah, want to hold social media companies accountable for the negative impacts their algorithms have on people. They spoke to NPR about their bill. n.pr/3JZlY6o
2 Senators want to hold big tech accountable for harms caused by algorithms
Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.,and John Curtis, R-Utah, want to hold social media companies accountable for the negative impacts their algorithms have on people. They spoke to NPR about their bill.
n.pr
November 20, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Sounds great. How about we expand it to all AI companies as well? Or like ... maybe just every tech company that isn't Tailscale.
Countries, as measured by their airport wifi
Lisbon: doesn’t work, 404 not found
Zürich: chargea money
Helsinki: just works, no nonsense
Lisbon: doesn’t work, 404 not found
Zürich: chargea money
Helsinki: just works, no nonsense
November 20, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Countries, as measured by their airport wifi
Lisbon: doesn’t work, 404 not found
Zürich: chargea money
Helsinki: just works, no nonsense
Lisbon: doesn’t work, 404 not found
Zürich: chargea money
Helsinki: just works, no nonsense
A status update on my ongoing ChatGPT product naming chat:
"These feel slightly too epic or narrative-heavy, like installing a creation myth."
"These feel slightly too epic or narrative-heavy, like installing a creation myth."
November 20, 2025 at 11:54 AM
A status update on my ongoing ChatGPT product naming chat:
"These feel slightly too epic or narrative-heavy, like installing a creation myth."
"These feel slightly too epic or narrative-heavy, like installing a creation myth."
Ironically the word enshittification has been enshittified by its own users, far faster than any of the products it was meant to explain.
November 20, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Ironically the word enshittification has been enshittified by its own users, far faster than any of the products it was meant to explain.
Someday I hope to achieve this level of optimistic outlook
Today's weather has a lot of positives actually
November 20, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Someday I hope to achieve this level of optimistic outlook
What is “executive misalignment?”
November 20, 2025 at 6:58 AM
What is “executive misalignment?”
#til that not only do Atlantic salmon and Pacific salmon exist, but there is also North Sea salmon and it’s awesome. Thanks Finland. See you next time!
November 19, 2025 at 9:29 PM
#til that not only do Atlantic salmon and Pacific salmon exist, but there is also North Sea salmon and it’s awesome. Thanks Finland. See you next time!