Brendan Berg
@gnuaesthetic.bsky.social
Software engineer, author, and artist based in LA. I mostly have opinions on programming languages and distributed systems.
I was not prepared for how deafening parrot cocktail hour can be.
December 24, 2025 at 1:44 AM
I was not prepared for how deafening parrot cocktail hour can be.
Reposted by Brendan Berg
prolonged and exhausting
December 23, 2025 at 5:47 AM
prolonged and exhausting
Has anyone revisited Sapir-Whorf in the context of LLMs?
December 22, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Has anyone revisited Sapir-Whorf in the context of LLMs?
I will always repost a Rural Studio project when it comes across my timeline. ruralstudio.org/project/newb...
December 19, 2025 at 6:20 PM
I will always repost a Rural Studio project when it comes across my timeline. ruralstudio.org/project/newb...
There’s something kind of deeply farcical about the end game of the AI bubble having a billionaire launch a bunch of GPUs into orbit. Lighting a pile of cash on fire would have a better return on investment. At least that’ll keep you warm.
December 9, 2025 at 9:41 PM
There’s something kind of deeply farcical about the end game of the AI bubble having a billionaire launch a bunch of GPUs into orbit. Lighting a pile of cash on fire would have a better return on investment. At least that’ll keep you warm.
Film you’ve seen more than six times. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel.
December 8, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Film you’ve seen more than six times. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel.
I fought a markdown implementation yesterday and lost. (Basically the VS Code prettifier kept trying to escape an asterisk enclosed in HTML tags. It’s not that important to my point.) I really wish there were an actual spec for markdown including how to deal with ambiguous or nonsensical input.
you are in a twisty little maze of markdown implementations, all alike
December 3, 2025 at 9:10 PM
I fought a markdown implementation yesterday and lost. (Basically the VS Code prettifier kept trying to escape an asterisk enclosed in HTML tags. It’s not that important to my point.) I really wish there were an actual spec for markdown including how to deal with ambiguous or nonsensical input.
December 3, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Reposted by Brendan Berg
being ruled by tiny men bereft of both curiosity and the ability to feel wonder is a terrible fate
November 30, 2025 at 3:39 PM
being ruled by tiny men bereft of both curiosity and the ability to feel wonder is a terrible fate
Finally home after a month (‼️) of travel and I missed these beasts so much!
November 29, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Finally home after a month (‼️) of travel and I missed these beasts so much!
Another airport carpet shoe selfie
November 27, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Another airport carpet shoe selfie
Reposted by Brendan Berg
Bunch of sad men built the world's most expensive and racist Magic Eight Ball and then tried to convince everyone else that it was absolutely essential that they treat it like their teacher and their lover.
November 26, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Bunch of sad men built the world's most expensive and racist Magic Eight Ball and then tried to convince everyone else that it was absolutely essential that they treat it like their teacher and their lover.
The restaurant I’m having lunch in is playing a moody jazz saxophone cover of the Harry Potter theme and the extent that a simple change of instrumentation transforms it from “magical fantasy world” to “seedy film noir” is jarring.
November 22, 2025 at 5:11 AM
The restaurant I’m having lunch in is playing a moody jazz saxophone cover of the Harry Potter theme and the extent that a simple change of instrumentation transforms it from “magical fantasy world” to “seedy film noir” is jarring.
There really ought to be a washing machine emoji, and Unicode should support combining them with emoji faces. May I present for your consideration:
November 20, 2025 at 6:48 AM
There really ought to be a washing machine emoji, and Unicode should support combining them with emoji faces. May I present for your consideration:
Reposted by Brendan Berg
So it turns out... the US air travel system was incredibly, deeply dependent on federal funding to just run day-to-day all this time, to the benefit of private airline shareholders, when everyone thinks that state-run trains are leeching off the government. Weird!
November 9, 2025 at 12:10 AM
So it turns out... the US air travel system was incredibly, deeply dependent on federal funding to just run day-to-day all this time, to the benefit of private airline shareholders, when everyone thinks that state-run trains are leeching off the government. Weird!
Another airport carpet shoe selfie
November 5, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Another airport carpet shoe selfie
Reposted by Brendan Berg
Congratulations to all the Democratic candidates who won tonight. It’s a reminder that when we come together around strong, forward-looking leaders who care about the issues that matter, we can win. We’ve still got plenty of work to do, but the future looks a little bit brighter.
November 5, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Congratulations to all the Democratic candidates who won tonight. It’s a reminder that when we come together around strong, forward-looking leaders who care about the issues that matter, we can win. We’ve still got plenty of work to do, but the future looks a little bit brighter.
Reposted by Brendan Berg
Wow it turns out the entire country is not permanently reactionary because Trump won an election by 1.5%
November 5, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Wow it turns out the entire country is not permanently reactionary because Trump won an election by 1.5%
Reposted by Brendan Berg
the most telling sign that someone "loves art" for pseudo-intellectual reasons is when they ONLY like high-brow art
I'm a fuckin art nerd; if its good art, I'm happy. So when a person can't find as much value in a great drag show as they can in ballet, its like ohhh ok you're just an asshole
I'm a fuckin art nerd; if its good art, I'm happy. So when a person can't find as much value in a great drag show as they can in ballet, its like ohhh ok you're just an asshole
November 4, 2025 at 1:13 AM
the most telling sign that someone "loves art" for pseudo-intellectual reasons is when they ONLY like high-brow art
I'm a fuckin art nerd; if its good art, I'm happy. So when a person can't find as much value in a great drag show as they can in ballet, its like ohhh ok you're just an asshole
I'm a fuckin art nerd; if its good art, I'm happy. So when a person can't find as much value in a great drag show as they can in ballet, its like ohhh ok you're just an asshole
Great! That will make housing more affordable for the people who stay!
Nearly a million New Yorkers ready to flee NYC if Mamdani becomes mayor — possibly igniting mass exodus: poll
Nearly a million New Yorkers ready to flee NYC if Mamdani becomes mayor — possibly igniting mass exodus: poll
Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are prepared to bolt from the Big Apple if socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani wins Tuesday's mayoral race — potentially setting the stage for the largest population flight in US history, a new poll warns.
nypost.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Great! That will make housing more affordable for the people who stay!
Reposted by Brendan Berg
This 97 year old compiler still unrolls its loops the old-fashioned way
November 1, 2025 at 12:23 PM
This 97 year old compiler still unrolls its loops the old-fashioned way
The man has the most awful taste.
November 1, 2025 at 12:26 AM
The man has the most awful taste.
The more I look at the Lincoln Bathroom remodel, the more I’m convinced he had an aide just go to town with a roll of faux marble contact paper.
November 1, 2025 at 12:02 AM
The more I look at the Lincoln Bathroom remodel, the more I’m convinced he had an aide just go to town with a roll of faux marble contact paper.