Byron Ellis
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fdaapproved.bsky.social
Byron Ellis
@fdaapproved.bsky.social
Computer things, sometimes I draw pictures of data. Sometimes I also take pictures or make simple noises in complicated ways.

Day job: BigQuery @ Google Cloud.
That’s a good idea. I was just talking with someone the other day about the idea of issuing “cognitive tests” to the grid from time to time.
January 30, 2026 at 7:20 PM
I am pleased that other manufacturers have figured out that not having to look at what you are trying to press while driving is a good thing. Hell my GTI had a slightly angled center console so the driver had better haptics for the radio FFS.
January 29, 2026 at 6:52 PM
Rivian went with the shifter on the stalk approach like a Crown Vic. “Park” is a button. Works well for me, but I did indeed drive an ‘84 Crown Vic (velour bench front seat!) so YMMV.
January 28, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Also, uh, FIRST LIGHT
January 28, 2026 at 3:51 AM
Alright y’all have convinced me. I gotta wrap up the hack by end of week anyway. 🙂
January 28, 2026 at 3:30 AM
See now I’m motivated. It’s got everything. Suffering, new tools, “look away children,” ancient techniques from Sys V, Gibbs Samplers. Nobody calls me a coward and gets away with it but I guess thanks Steve for kicking me in the ass.
January 27, 2026 at 5:35 PM
I went Full Yegge at the beginning of the year. I am about to see first light on a pretty serious piece of infra work that six months ago I would have SWAGed at somewhere around 8 SWE Year of effort to get to this point. I started a week ago. I might write it up, working title “Two Yaks One Hack.”
January 27, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Sure and people still drive stick, but it’s a recreational activity. On the professional side writing code isn’t the job. Making computers do what you want is the job.
January 27, 2026 at 4:31 PM
I think there’s also a lot of anxiety for more senior folks. It’s like being a London cabbie with the Knowledge and GPS just got good. That said I finally bit the bullet and I’m having a ton of fun.
January 27, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Clearly the number of “a”s in waaagh when you launch the app determines the size of the agent cluster here.

Yegge apparently already came to a similar conclusion which he is calling Gastown but somehow is not making a Mad Max reference. Which would also be an appropriate analogy I think.
January 10, 2026 at 5:20 PM
We called the car Pommes Fritz
December 27, 2025 at 5:10 PM
We had an ‘83 300TD station wagon in dijon yellow we got when we were stationed in Germany. That thing was a tank with a rear facing seat. As I recall it chewed through transmissions at a prodigious rate and did not like going to Tahoe at all.
December 27, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Ah, yes. I have “fond” memories of running coax through the drop ceiling of my parents’ dental office. Twice! Once with thinnet and the second time with a thicknet trunk and vampire taps!
November 30, 2025 at 12:02 AM
I had an Ethernet PCMCIA card… for my Apple Newton 110.
November 29, 2025 at 11:39 PM
They’re gonna be really excited by our sophomore album Tightly Covered, the follow up to Coming Out Clean.
November 27, 2025 at 4:42 PM
I personally haven’t had the courage to try it yet. 🙂 but there are plenty of the folks on the Discord to help out. There’s also a community firmware and controller that is much more tricked out (z axis sag compensation etc)
November 17, 2025 at 5:03 PM
It requires a little patience but people tool steel, including stainless, with both flavors of Carvera on the regular.
November 17, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Now all you need is a Carvera 🙂
November 17, 2025 at 4:49 PM