Ylan
@ylan.segal-family.com
My cup of tea is... coffee.
Software Engineer. Ruby on Rails, back-end systems.
https://ylan.segal-family.com
Software Engineer. Ruby on Rails, back-end systems.
https://ylan.segal-family.com
Fact: Your typing accuracy drops by 50% when people are watching you type.
October 28, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Fact: Your typing accuracy drops by 50% when people are watching you type.
🤖: 🎖️ Why Your Approach is Superior
Me: Well I guess it was worth $0.72 to spitball with the word-guessing machine my current plan.
Me: Well I guess it was worth $0.72 to spitball with the word-guessing machine my current plan.
September 10, 2025 at 1:25 AM
🤖: 🎖️ Why Your Approach is Superior
Me: Well I guess it was worth $0.72 to spitball with the word-guessing machine my current plan.
Me: Well I guess it was worth $0.72 to spitball with the word-guessing machine my current plan.
Me: Hey, that solution works, but it's not very elegant. Try <some other thing>
Agent: You are absolutely right! Let me try that...
Agent: <thinks>
Agent: <writes file>
Agent: Perfect! I found the simplest solution.
Me: *You* found?!?
Agent: You are absolutely right! Let me try that...
Agent: <thinks>
Agent: <writes file>
Agent: Perfect! I found the simplest solution.
Me: *You* found?!?
August 15, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Me: Hey, that solution works, but it's not very elegant. Try <some other thing>
Agent: You are absolutely right! Let me try that...
Agent: <thinks>
Agent: <writes file>
Agent: Perfect! I found the simplest solution.
Me: *You* found?!?
Agent: You are absolutely right! Let me try that...
Agent: <thinks>
Agent: <writes file>
Agent: Perfect! I found the simplest solution.
Me: *You* found?!?
This weekend I dreamt that I was trying to solve a problem, but instead of _thinking_ my way through it, I was trying to _prompt_ my mind to solve it. And it wasn't working. I realized that I had lost my ability to think!
1/2
1/2
August 4, 2025 at 10:34 PM
This weekend I dreamt that I was trying to solve a problem, but instead of _thinking_ my way through it, I was trying to _prompt_ my mind to solve it. And it wasn't working. I realized that I had lost my ability to think!
1/2
1/2
Overwhelmed, the manager ceded control of his inbox to an AI assistant. Days later, it automatically approved a cost-cutting measure from his star engineer – after all, he always approved his proposals.
1/4
1/4
August 1, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Overwhelmed, the manager ceded control of his inbox to an AI assistant. Days later, it automatically approved a cost-cutting measure from his star engineer – after all, he always approved his proposals.
1/4
1/4
Me: Gives direction to AI Agent.
AI Agent: You're absolutely right! ...
I am not only right, but *absolutely* right. I don't know why this bothers me.
AI Agent: You're absolutely right! ...
I am not only right, but *absolutely* right. I don't know why this bothers me.
July 23, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Me: Gives direction to AI Agent.
AI Agent: You're absolutely right! ...
I am not only right, but *absolutely* right. I don't know why this bothers me.
AI Agent: You're absolutely right! ...
I am not only right, but *absolutely* right. I don't know why this bothers me.
Is there any other kind of Astronomy?
May 24, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Is there any other kind of Astronomy?
I did not see where this was going!
The problem with most machine-based random number generators is that they’re not TRULY random, so if you need genuine randomness it is sometimes necessary to link your code to an external random process like a physical noise source or the current rate of US tariffs on a given country.
April 10, 2025 at 12:52 AM
I did not see where this was going!
The REPL: Issue 127 - March 2025
- Bash Debugging
- How we migrated from Sidekiq to Solid Queue
- How Figma’s Databases Team Lived to Tell the Scale
ylan.segal-family.com/blog/2025/04...
- Bash Debugging
- How we migrated from Sidekiq to Solid Queue
- How Figma’s Databases Team Lived to Tell the Scale
ylan.segal-family.com/blog/2025/04...
The REPL: Issue 127 - March 2025
Bash Debugging Julia Evans, in here signature comic/zine style, explains how to debug bash. I was today years old when I learned that you can have a step debugger for a bash script. How we migrated fr...
ylan.segal-family.com
April 9, 2025 at 2:00 AM
The REPL: Issue 127 - March 2025
- Bash Debugging
- How we migrated from Sidekiq to Solid Queue
- How Figma’s Databases Team Lived to Tell the Scale
ylan.segal-family.com/blog/2025/04...
- Bash Debugging
- How we migrated from Sidekiq to Solid Queue
- How Figma’s Databases Team Lived to Tell the Scale
ylan.segal-family.com/blog/2025/04...
How I'm Productive In The Command Line
Spoiler: zsh zle widgets!
ylan.segal-family.com/blog/2025/03...
Spoiler: zsh zle widgets!
ylan.segal-family.com/blog/2025/03...
How I'm Productive In The Command Line
I spend a lot of time on the command line. My most frequently used commands are git (by far), and rails (mostly for rails test) or rspec (depending on the project). Most invocation of both commands re...
ylan.segal-family.com
March 16, 2025 at 7:27 PM
How I'm Productive In The Command Line
Spoiler: zsh zle widgets!
ylan.segal-family.com/blog/2025/03...
Spoiler: zsh zle widgets!
ylan.segal-family.com/blog/2025/03...
The REPL: Issue 126 - February 2025
- The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better.
- Useful Uses of cat
- Data Looks Better Naked
ylan.segal-family.com/blog/2025/03...
- The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better.
- Useful Uses of cat
- Data Looks Better Naked
ylan.segal-family.com/blog/2025/03...
The REPL: Issue 126 - February 2025
The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better. Max Roser’s point of view resonated with me: If we want more people to dedicate their energy and money to making the world a...
ylan.segal-family.com
March 5, 2025 at 9:26 PM
The REPL: Issue 126 - February 2025
- The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better.
- Useful Uses of cat
- Data Looks Better Naked
ylan.segal-family.com/blog/2025/03...
- The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better.
- Useful Uses of cat
- Data Looks Better Naked
ylan.segal-family.com/blog/2025/03...
I don't like this Hulu. Sure, you can update the terms to be legally covered to show ads. But... why don't you stop calling those plans "no ads" or "add free" if that is no longer what they are. Own up to it. Not just on the small print.
February 20, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I don't like this Hulu. Sure, you can update the terms to be legally covered to show ads. But... why don't you stop calling those plans "no ads" or "add free" if that is no longer what they are. Own up to it. Not just on the small print.
👋 @kubamartin.com
I just read your post on jujitsu. It's a great read. I now want to try jj. You mentioned:
> It’s trivial to start using jj with an existing git repo, though I’d advise cloning it fresh into a new directory.
Can you expand on why?
kubamartin.com/posts/introd...
I just read your post on jujitsu. It's a great read. I now want to try jj. You mentioned:
> It’s trivial to start using jj with an existing git repo, though I’d advise cloning it fresh into a new directory.
Can you expand on why?
kubamartin.com/posts/introd...
Jujutsu VCS Introduction and Patterns
Jujutsu (jj), a new version control system written in Rust, has popped up on my radar a few times over the past year. Looked interesting based on a cursory look, but being actually pretty satisfied wi...
kubamartin.com
February 4, 2025 at 6:55 PM
👋 @kubamartin.com
I just read your post on jujitsu. It's a great read. I now want to try jj. You mentioned:
> It’s trivial to start using jj with an existing git repo, though I’d advise cloning it fresh into a new directory.
Can you expand on why?
kubamartin.com/posts/introd...
I just read your post on jujitsu. It's a great read. I now want to try jj. You mentioned:
> It’s trivial to start using jj with an existing git repo, though I’d advise cloning it fresh into a new directory.
Can you expand on why?
kubamartin.com/posts/introd...
I was today years old!
How old were you when you realized that screwdriver handles are designed to be attached to a wrench for more torque?
January 4, 2025 at 7:14 PM
I was today years old!
Have I been able to disconnect while on vacation?
Yes!. I'm getting alerts from my back service that my data hasn't changed in a week, because I haven't used my computer 👍
Yes!. I'm getting alerts from my back service that my data hasn't changed in a week, because I haven't used my computer 👍
December 30, 2024 at 3:59 PM
Have I been able to disconnect while on vacation?
Yes!. I'm getting alerts from my back service that my data hasn't changed in a week, because I haven't used my computer 👍
Yes!. I'm getting alerts from my back service that my data hasn't changed in a week, because I haven't used my computer 👍
Tap, tap, tap... is this thing on?
December 20, 2024 at 4:49 AM
Tap, tap, tap... is this thing on?