Author | Lightnews

jacobian @jacobian.org · 5d

Hell yeah, love it. “Only take feedback from people with some skin in the game” (sponsors, in your case), is totally the kind of middle-ground option I was thinking about. I’m glad it’s working for you!

1 1

jacobian @jacobian.org · 6d

The “default” working model for open source projects is working in public: you don’t need permission to contribute, you can just show up. When this doesn’t work, people often retreat into working in private. This is a mistake! There is a middle ground:

jacobian.org/2025/oct/18/...

Working in Between Public and Private - Jacob Kaplan-Moss

If working in public isn’t working, consider adopting a middle-ground option instead of retreating into fully-private.

jacobian.org

6 20

jacobian @jacobian.org · Sep 24

I hear Little Bobby Tables had a mean curveball.

1 4

Reposted by jacobian

Phildini @phildini.net · Sep 2

Hey #Django fam do I Know anybody at Zest Health? They've got some jobs I'm interested in and are apparently a django shop.

Boosts appreciated!

8

Reposted by jacobian

Juan Luis @juanlu.space · Jul 21

Reading @jacobian.org 's exit from tech rings a bell. We love computers but we hate the tech industry. We love space but we dread the space industry. We love music but we loathe the record industry.

We can have nice things, just not under capitalism.

(OTOH, excited for him ❤️)

Changing Directions - Jacob Kaplan-Moss

I have two important announcements: <ol> <li> I’m leaving the tech industry. Hopefully “for good”; if not, at least “for now”. </li> <li> As such, the co...

jacobian.org

4 14

jacobian @jacobian.org · May 17

In case anyone’s wondering, `jacobian . bsky . social` isn’t me. Super flattered that I now rank high enough to score an impersonator tho!

1 3 22

jacobian @jacobian.org · May 12

Oh neat! Related, I’ve often wished for some sort of Gantt charts that can show uncertainty, but I don’t have good enough designer/dataviz chops to really know what that would look like.

1

jacobian @jacobian.org · Mar 13

A lot of tech people, particularly more junior folks, are looking for jobs right now. A short but important note for them: newcomers should generally ignore career advice from people who've been in the field longer than 10 or 15 years.

jacobian.org/2025/mar/13/...

Beware tech career advice from old heads - Jacob Kaplan-Moss

If you’re new to tech – say, less than 5 years in the field – you should take career advice from people who’ve been in the industry more than 10-15 years with enormous skepticism.

jacobian.org

2 2 10

Reposted by jacobian

Ben Klemens @b-k.bsky.social · Feb 1

A reminder: doing illegal things is illegal. If somebody gives you an order to do something illegal, it is your obligation to say no. "Just following orders" has never been a defense, legally or ethically.

1 8

jacobian @jacobian.org · Jan 29

Worth reviewing: freedom.press/digisec/blog...

Here’s how to share sensitive leaks with the press

Thinking about securely leaking information to news organizations? This guide will show you how.

freedom.press

2

jacobian @jacobian.org · Jan 28

Part six of my risk series is up — a final (long) sidebar to the introduction, coming back around the the concept of quantitative risk analysis and giving a more complete explanation of what I see as the pros and cons of that practice: jacobian.org/2025/jan/28/...

Sidebar #4: Quantitative Risk Revisited - Jacob Kaplan-Moss

In part 1 of this series, I briefly covered quantitive risk measuring – assigning a numeric value to risk, like “$3,500”, rather than a qualitative label like “medium” – only to quickly recommend agai...

jacobian.org

3

jacobian @jacobian.org · Jan 27

> Lots of situations in life are like this, where there’s a loud way to accomplish very little and a quiet way to do some good. And far too often, we reward people for doing the loud ineffective thing.

alexgaynor.net/2025/jan/27/...

Stop Demanding Performance · Alex Gaynor

alexgaynor.net

4 6

jacobian @jacobian.org · Jan 27

I'd like to write a version of jacobian.org/2020/may/8/e..., but tailored to management roles.

If you have a manager resume that lists specific accomplishments, and you'd be OK with me anonymized bits in a post like that, please email me your resume? jacob at jacobian dot org.

What accomplishments sound like on software engineering resumes - Jacob Kaplan-Moss

Effective resumes need to contain two things: responsibilities and accomplishments. The first tells the read what your job was; the second, what your results were. Unfortunately, most people fail at t...

jacobian.org

2 5

Reposted by jacobian

Melody Joy Kramer @mkramer.bsky.social · Jan 27

💪❤️🇺🇸 hello former 18f and usds colleagues. reach out and say hi www.propublica.org/tips/federal...

Do You Work For the Federal Government? ProPublica Wants To Hear From You.

We’re doubling down on our coverage of government agencies and federal policy. With your help, we can dig deeper.

www.propublica.org

5 80 220

Reposted by jacobian

Thibaud Colas @thibaudcolas.bsky.social · Jan 23

400 individual members of the Django Software Foundation – pretty cool milestone! https://thib.me/400-django-individual-members Now going for 500! 🌈 That’d be a great milestone to reach for the 20-year birthday of #Django in July 2025. Submit a nomination, or 2, or 3 to help make it happen?

400 individual members of the Django Software Foundation

As of a few weeks ago, the Django Software Foundation reached 400 individual members.

thib.me

3 7

jacobian @jacobian.org · Jan 22

Funny, in infosec we do “event” vs “incident”. “Incident” triggers regulatory/contractual obligations, so we call things an “event” until we’re sure it’s a real incident and not a false alarm.

1

jacobian @jacobian.org · Jan 21

Last night someone lit a Tesla on fire at the dealership here in Salem. Golly gee.

1 4

jacobian @jacobian.org · Jan 21

The holiday app names thing was my favorite Easter egg, good times

1

jacobian @jacobian.org · Jan 17

Part whatever in my risk series:

When you look at a likelihood/impact risk matrix, you might notice that “medium” appears twice – once as high-likelihood/low-impact, and once as low-likelihood/high-impact. These two “mediums” aren’t at all the same!

jacobian.org/2025/jan/17/...

Sidebar #3: Two Flavors of Medium Risk - Jacob Kaplan-Moss

When you look at a likelihood/impact risk matrix, you might notice that “medium” appears twice – once as high-likelihood/low-impact, and once as low-likelihood/high-impact. These two “mediums” aren’t ...

jacobian.org

1

jacobian @jacobian.org · Jan 16

Most serious accidents aren't singular events, but instead are the result of a series of small, seemingly-inconsequential missteps. We call this the Swiss Cheese Model, and it's one of the most important concepts in risk management:

jacobian.org/2025/jan/16/...

Sidebar #2: The Swiss Cheese Model - Jacob Kaplan-Moss

In the real world, accidents happen when a series of small missteps align to create severe consequences. This is something we call the “Swiss Cheese Model”: imagining a systems failure as a set of “ho...

jacobian.org

9

jacobian @jacobian.org · Jan 15

Continuing my risk series with a short sidebar: we usually define Risk as the product of Likelihood and Impact, but some disciplines include a third factor, Exposure. What's up with that?

jacobian.org/2025/jan/15/...

Sidebar #1: "Exposure" - Jacob Kaplan-Moss

Risk is usually defined as the product of two factors: Likelihood and Impact. However, some disciplines include a third factor: Exposure. What’s that about, and when is it useful?

jacobian.org

Reposted by jacobian

Matthew Hahn @matthewhahn.com · Jan 15

I am a former incarcerated firefighter. I served in a California fire camp from 2009 to 2012.

Misinformation is afire on the internet, so here are facts about the prison firefighter program, all in one place.

A thread.

370 6.5K 14K

jacobian @jacobian.org · Jan 9

shotenfreude (n): the pleasure at watching the other team shoot an airball

5

jacobian @jacobian.org · Jan 2

“SLIPPED ON DOCK TRYING TO EXIT BOAT, HAD ABOUT 6 BEERS, FELL FACE FIRST IN WATER, HAD GUN IN PANTS POCKET THAT FIRED. GUNSHOT WOUND TO PENIS”

🎶 And I’m proud to be an American… 🎶

1 1 5

jacobian @jacobian.org · Jan 2

My favorite new years tradition is reading about all the dumb things people did to their wieners last year defector.com/what-horribl...

What Horrible Things Did We Do To Our Penises Last Year? | Defector

Happy new year to one and all. Make a resolution never to do any of these things. All descriptions are taken verbatim from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s database of emergency room visi...

defector.com

1 2