Bess Sadler
@eosadler.bsky.social
Software Engineer, Agile Team Coach, building DevOps and Safety culture for research data management
Reposted by Bess Sadler
Aha - another Penric and Desdemona novella by Bujold - just in time to save me from doing any further work today 😀
November 13, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Aha - another Penric and Desdemona novella by Bujold - just in time to save me from doing any further work today 😀
Reposted by Bess Sadler
this is true systems thinking. you cannot interpret systems from data; the data is rarely there. you must instead understand the impact of one system (curriculum on reading) and then extrapolate its connection to other systems (was we assume literacy in cultural design). it's hard!
ok one last post -- oldheads are always going to "why is the web dying.... how can we get the kids invested in the free and open web"
bro the kids can't read. that's why the web is dying. first things first
bro the kids can't read. that's why the web is dying. first things first
November 11, 2025 at 8:29 PM
this is true systems thinking. you cannot interpret systems from data; the data is rarely there. you must instead understand the impact of one system (curriculum on reading) and then extrapolate its connection to other systems (was we assume literacy in cultural design). it's hard!
Reposted by Bess Sadler
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
November 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
Reposted by Bess Sadler
I feel like I just solved a part of science with this one 😂
Reviewers need to start pre-registering their rejection criteria so they can be held accountable for it I stg
November 10, 2025 at 10:32 PM
I feel like I just solved a part of science with this one 😂
Reposted by Bess Sadler
your search box should not be so shit that I have to slap together a web scraper
November 10, 2025 at 4:35 AM
your search box should not be so shit that I have to slap together a web scraper
Reposted by Bess Sadler
You've got to hand it to the software industry for coming up with new and ingenious ways to not solve problems people actually want solved.
November 10, 2025 at 6:41 AM
You've got to hand it to the software industry for coming up with new and ingenious ways to not solve problems people actually want solved.
Reposted by Bess Sadler
This is the dynamic that most consistently makes me doubt whether I'll be able to sustain a career in tech that really empowers me and truly values what I do
(which Hazel provides a counterexample on)
(which Hazel provides a counterexample on)
As a software architect, psychology is one of my super powers for this reason. We live in a world where the people building some of the most influential tools of thought are the very same people who refuse to acknowledge the difficulty of the problem or hold the human mind in sufficient reverence
As a psychologist, it's a really, really, really interesting and maddening set of problems here. Software development really exposes for me how we think about people's minds, even though it's an industry that likes to pretend it isn't thinking about people's minds at all.
But it really is.
But it really is.
November 9, 2025 at 7:30 PM
This is the dynamic that most consistently makes me doubt whether I'll be able to sustain a career in tech that really empowers me and truly values what I do
(which Hazel provides a counterexample on)
(which Hazel provides a counterexample on)
Reposted by Bess Sadler
Ask him why so many air traffic controllers are retiring at once. Ask him if it has anything to do with Reagan firing 11K union strikers in 1981 and having to replace them all at once. Ask him how the mass firings this year will impact us the same way 40 years from now. Ask him, Jake.
"This will live on" -- Duffy explains that flying will remain a mess even after the shutdown because so many air traffic controllers are retiring
November 9, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Ask him why so many air traffic controllers are retiring at once. Ask him if it has anything to do with Reagan firing 11K union strikers in 1981 and having to replace them all at once. Ask him how the mass firings this year will impact us the same way 40 years from now. Ask him, Jake.
Reposted by Bess Sadler
Science will never succeed until we recognize the humanity of all scientists and break the dehumanization cultures that crush too many people.
November 8, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Science will never succeed until we recognize the humanity of all scientists and break the dehumanization cultures that crush too many people.
Reposted by Bess Sadler
"Model Context Protocol" and Claude "Skills" are tacit admissions that the route to Artificial General Intelligence via LLMs is going to involve SOLVING ALL THE PROBLEMS.
November 8, 2025 at 10:53 PM
"Model Context Protocol" and Claude "Skills" are tacit admissions that the route to Artificial General Intelligence via LLMs is going to involve SOLVING ALL THE PROBLEMS.
Reposted by Bess Sadler
One thing to do, especially if you’re a science writer or editor, is when you have occasion to mention the names of the discoverers of the structure of DNA, just say “Watson, Crick, and Franklin.” No one can stop us, and it is correct.
November 7, 2025 at 9:52 PM
One thing to do, especially if you’re a science writer or editor, is when you have occasion to mention the names of the discoverers of the structure of DNA, just say “Watson, Crick, and Franklin.” No one can stop us, and it is correct.
Reposted by Bess Sadler
LLMs are good at generating code that they're bad at modifying later. It'll be fine for a while, but as the code base grows beyond the usable context limit - orders of magnitude smaller than advertised - the unnecessary complexity, duplication and lack of separation of concerns will kick in.
November 8, 2025 at 12:14 PM
LLMs are good at generating code that they're bad at modifying later. It'll be fine for a while, but as the code base grows beyond the usable context limit - orders of magnitude smaller than advertised - the unnecessary complexity, duplication and lack of separation of concerns will kick in.
Reposted by Bess Sadler
We're software developers. We can say "No" to the bad tech thing. And then it doesn't happen.
Because the people we'd be saying "No" to would have nowhere else to turn.
Well, I suppose they could try vibe-coding it.
LOL.
Because the people we'd be saying "No" to would have nowhere else to turn.
Well, I suppose they could try vibe-coding it.
LOL.
November 5, 2025 at 8:07 PM
We're software developers. We can say "No" to the bad tech thing. And then it doesn't happen.
Because the people we'd be saying "No" to would have nowhere else to turn.
Well, I suppose they could try vibe-coding it.
LOL.
Because the people we'd be saying "No" to would have nowhere else to turn.
Well, I suppose they could try vibe-coding it.
LOL.
Reposted by Bess Sadler
See also: UX, "design thinking," etc
Sure, you can be technical!
In the areas of technicality that we have very systematically disempowered. But see :) "technical"
In the areas of technicality that we have very systematically disempowered. But see :) "technical"
November 6, 2025 at 8:00 PM
See also: UX, "design thinking," etc
Reposted by Bess Sadler
👋 Hiya code4lib! Our keynote nominations are in and now you get to vote: forms.gle/esGZNmj4ryDj... Voting is open through Friday of next week. 📚
Code4Lib 2026 Keynote Voting
The Code4Lib 2026 Keynote Committee is happy to open this year's invited speaker election. Please rate each nominee on a scale of 1 to 3, with 1 being least interested and 3 being most interested. Whe...
forms.gle
November 6, 2025 at 5:53 PM
👋 Hiya code4lib! Our keynote nominations are in and now you get to vote: forms.gle/esGZNmj4ryDj... Voting is open through Friday of next week. 📚
Reposted by Bess Sadler
Investable startup:
1. Founder is unstoppable force of nature
2. Founder seeks disconfirming evidence, and changes
3. Serves niche inside a large and growing market
4. Customers genuinely love the product (high retention)
5. Employees genuinely love the company (high retention)
1. Founder is unstoppable force of nature
2. Founder seeks disconfirming evidence, and changes
3. Serves niche inside a large and growing market
4. Customers genuinely love the product (high retention)
5. Employees genuinely love the company (high retention)
November 5, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Investable startup:
1. Founder is unstoppable force of nature
2. Founder seeks disconfirming evidence, and changes
3. Serves niche inside a large and growing market
4. Customers genuinely love the product (high retention)
5. Employees genuinely love the company (high retention)
1. Founder is unstoppable force of nature
2. Founder seeks disconfirming evidence, and changes
3. Serves niche inside a large and growing market
4. Customers genuinely love the product (high retention)
5. Employees genuinely love the company (high retention)
Reposted by Bess Sadler
There's a big divide between software development as reported by organisations, and software development as it's observed in reality.
e.g., Only 8% of Java devs who, when surveyed, said they practiced Test-Driven Development actually did anything resembling it when their tool activity was analysed.
e.g., Only 8% of Java devs who, when surveyed, said they practiced Test-Driven Development actually did anything resembling it when their tool activity was analysed.
November 6, 2025 at 10:46 AM
There's a big divide between software development as reported by organisations, and software development as it's observed in reality.
e.g., Only 8% of Java devs who, when surveyed, said they practiced Test-Driven Development actually did anything resembling it when their tool activity was analysed.
e.g., Only 8% of Java devs who, when surveyed, said they practiced Test-Driven Development actually did anything resembling it when their tool activity was analysed.
Reposted by Bess Sadler
Once you've embraced software development as an iterative, goal-seeking process, it makes most sense to optimise your development process for LEARNING.
And that means optimising for FEEDBACK, and for ease of CHANGE.
It's the feedback loop that does the heavy lifting.
And that means optimising for FEEDBACK, and for ease of CHANGE.
It's the feedback loop that does the heavy lifting.
November 4, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Once you've embraced software development as an iterative, goal-seeking process, it makes most sense to optimise your development process for LEARNING.
And that means optimising for FEEDBACK, and for ease of CHANGE.
It's the feedback loop that does the heavy lifting.
And that means optimising for FEEDBACK, and for ease of CHANGE.
It's the feedback loop that does the heavy lifting.
Reposted by Bess Sadler
Next time someone tells you that train drivers "just push buttons" show them this from the BBC
November 2, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Next time someone tells you that train drivers "just push buttons" show them this from the BBC
Reposted by Bess Sadler
In related news, my neighbors and I are organizing a cooperative weekly meal made up of “all the food we can find that is about to go to waste.” We can build better systems than what we’ve been handed. Indeed, we must.
November 2, 2025 at 1:45 PM
In related news, my neighbors and I are organizing a cooperative weekly meal made up of “all the food we can find that is about to go to waste.” We can build better systems than what we’ve been handed. Indeed, we must.
Science Fiction is User Stories for society. Great example of how to read them.
I've been getting back into the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series after many years, and the most relatable part is how everyday objects like doors and elevators have been imbued with artificial intelligence and it just makes them obnoxious and frustrating to use and everyone hates it.
November 2, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Science Fiction is User Stories for society. Great example of how to read them.
Reposted by Bess Sadler
I think some folks - when they hear "T-shaped developer" - think "front-end" and "back-end".
What does it *really* mean?
Find a copy of this book (there are various editions online - go for a newer one) and look at the chapter headings.
*That* is a T-shaped developer.
What does it *really* mean?
Find a copy of this book (there are various editions online - go for a newer one) and look at the chapter headings.
*That* is a T-shaped developer.
November 2, 2025 at 8:12 AM
I think some folks - when they hear "T-shaped developer" - think "front-end" and "back-end".
What does it *really* mean?
Find a copy of this book (there are various editions online - go for a newer one) and look at the chapter headings.
*That* is a T-shaped developer.
What does it *really* mean?
Find a copy of this book (there are various editions online - go for a newer one) and look at the chapter headings.
*That* is a T-shaped developer.
Reposted by Bess Sadler
bro biologists won't even agree on the definition of "alive" you think you can get them to back you on "two genders" lmao
November 1, 2025 at 6:56 PM
bro biologists won't even agree on the definition of "alive" you think you can get them to back you on "two genders" lmao
Reposted by Bess Sadler
Software can be of benefit, but it can also be a liability. We strive for:
benefit - liability > 0
But too many teams produce more liability than benefit. Those teams could improve their net productivity by doing no work at all.
benefit - liability > 0
But too many teams produce more liability than benefit. Those teams could improve their net productivity by doing no work at all.
November 1, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Software can be of benefit, but it can also be a liability. We strive for:
benefit - liability > 0
But too many teams produce more liability than benefit. Those teams could improve their net productivity by doing no work at all.
benefit - liability > 0
But too many teams produce more liability than benefit. Those teams could improve their net productivity by doing no work at all.