Yvonne Lam
@yvonnezlam.bsky.social
I play with books, cats, food, yarn, and dirt, not all at the same time. Software engineer. Society of People Interested in Boring Things. She/her, cis.
What bothers me the most is that we allow anyone to pull in any code from anywhere, but somehow it's the job of the build and deploy system to prevent bad shit from making it to production. It's related to @spavel.bsky.social's point:
bsky.app/profile/spav...
bsky.app/profile/spav...
This overlaps with a challenging mode of decision-making in orgs: validation.
I've made a decision, and invested some effort into executing it. Now I need you to validate that decision.
If you find any problems we can still fix, we'll fix them. But if you find problems we can't fix — don't.
I've made a decision, and invested some effort into executing it. Now I need you to validate that decision.
If you find any problems we can still fix, we'll fix them. But if you find problems we can't fix — don't.
Per my last re-post, twice this year I've been commissioned to write reviews of harms that can arise from the use of LLMs and then, as we surface the harms, told
it's not appropriate to be political.
But LLMs are a deeply extractive technology, they are political by design.
it's not appropriate to be political.
But LLMs are a deeply extractive technology, they are political by design.
December 15, 2025 at 10:03 PM
What bothers me the most is that we allow anyone to pull in any code from anywhere, but somehow it's the job of the build and deploy system to prevent bad shit from making it to production. It's related to @spavel.bsky.social's point:
bsky.app/profile/spav...
bsky.app/profile/spav...
I generally dislike the way people reframe many software infrastructure problems as security/compliance problems. I get why it happens -- legibility and budget -- but it's often a way to offload maintenance costs, both financial and labor, away from feature-driven teams.
December 15, 2025 at 8:44 PM
I generally dislike the way people reframe many software infrastructure problems as security/compliance problems. I get why it happens -- legibility and budget -- but it's often a way to offload maintenance costs, both financial and labor, away from feature-driven teams.
Yeah. I think language servers are in that sweet spot of decentralized, ubiquitous, and resilient where I don't spend time thinking about what happens if they fail.
December 15, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Yeah. I think language servers are in that sweet spot of decentralized, ubiquitous, and resilient where I don't spend time thinking about what happens if they fail.
Reposted by Yvonne Lam
"Why do you think more people are applying to art school now?"
"People want to create, not just for the sake of making art, but even just to be able to knit a sweater. There’s this desire to be responsible for smthg in a world where so much of what you buy + participate in is just not up to you."
"People want to create, not just for the sake of making art, but even just to be able to knit a sweater. There’s this desire to be responsible for smthg in a world where so much of what you buy + participate in is just not up to you."
December 15, 2025 at 4:38 PM
"Why do you think more people are applying to art school now?"
"People want to create, not just for the sake of making art, but even just to be able to knit a sweater. There’s this desire to be responsible for smthg in a world where so much of what you buy + participate in is just not up to you."
"People want to create, not just for the sake of making art, but even just to be able to knit a sweater. There’s this desire to be responsible for smthg in a world where so much of what you buy + participate in is just not up to you."
...build/deploy automation breaks. I'm not sure what we'd accomplish by asking people to code without language servers, for instance.
December 15, 2025 at 1:57 PM
...build/deploy automation breaks. I'm not sure what we'd accomplish by asking people to code without language servers, for instance.
I definitely think there is a category of ops/SRE things that we should know how to do without automation, for resilience reasons. I'm less sure about what I think people should know how to code without assistance. I mean, I think we should have systems in place so people can deploy when the...
December 15, 2025 at 1:52 PM
I definitely think there is a category of ops/SRE things that we should know how to do without automation, for resilience reasons. I'm less sure about what I think people should know how to code without assistance. I mean, I think we should have systems in place so people can deploy when the...
More washi tape and colored pens/pencils might fix it!
December 15, 2025 at 1:47 PM
More washi tape and colored pens/pencils might fix it!
Yep, it is awesome!
December 15, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Yep, it is awesome!
I think that's a good way to do it.
December 15, 2025 at 2:34 AM
I think that's a good way to do it.
Same. I know people who love them, and I see the benefits, but I don't trust them.
December 15, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Same. I know people who love them, and I see the benefits, but I don't trust them.
PSA: The locksmith I talked to recently says electronic locks are convenient, but keep a key buried somewhere in your yard because when the electronic locks fail, they tend to do it quietly and without warning.
December 15, 2025 at 2:29 AM
PSA: The locksmith I talked to recently says electronic locks are convenient, but keep a key buried somewhere in your yard because when the electronic locks fail, they tend to do it quietly and without warning.
Reposted by Yvonne Lam
You know what’s a good start in safe driving? NOT ATTEMPTING SOFTWARE RESETS WHILE OPERATING THE CAR. Have you never heard of a McDonald’s parking lot? Can you not navigate yourself off a highway and out of immediate danger using those big green metal squares with words on them?
December 15, 2025 at 2:18 AM
You know what’s a good start in safe driving? NOT ATTEMPTING SOFTWARE RESETS WHILE OPERATING THE CAR. Have you never heard of a McDonald’s parking lot? Can you not navigate yourself off a highway and out of immediate danger using those big green metal squares with words on them?
This is how I feel about the national Democratic Party.
December 15, 2025 at 2:14 AM
This is how I feel about the national Democratic Party.
I'm sorry for your family's loss and also laughing in rueful solidarity for your situation.
December 14, 2025 at 11:27 PM
I'm sorry for your family's loss and also laughing in rueful solidarity for your situation.