Alex Zurek
@zureka.substack.com
Software Engineer - Teaching computers how to make the mistakes I would normally make by hand.
I occasionally write blog posts over at https://zureka.substack.com/
I occasionally write blog posts over at https://zureka.substack.com/
Reposted by Alex Zurek
Most days, it doesn’t really feel like this country is gonna make it.
Today it doesn’t feel like it deserves to.
Today it doesn’t feel like it deserves to.
January 8, 2026 at 1:45 AM
Most days, it doesn’t really feel like this country is gonna make it.
Today it doesn’t feel like it deserves to.
Today it doesn’t feel like it deserves to.
Reposted by Alex Zurek
call me crazy but it really feels like “World’s Richest Man Creates AI Chatbot That Generates Child Porn” would’ve been a huge international outrage requiring a governmental crackdown not even 24 months ago
January 2, 2026 at 7:06 AM
call me crazy but it really feels like “World’s Richest Man Creates AI Chatbot That Generates Child Porn” would’ve been a huge international outrage requiring a governmental crackdown not even 24 months ago
Reposted by Alex Zurek
![Comic. [Banner: Mathematical Society: 2025 Meeting.] PERSON 1 with bun: Any other new developments from the year to cover before we wrap? PERSON 2: Oh, the teens picked a new funny number. PERSON 3 with short hair: Aww, I’m glad to hear they’re still doing that. PERSON 4 with ponytail: I’ll add it to the list. [List: 23 (skidoo!; 42; 69; 420; 1,337; 58,008; [circled]: 67]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreig43e2u4zzpifhq6fbf2iwplmva2lt5rokfg5uws5dysbe55up6wa@jpeg)
December 26, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Reposted by Alex Zurek
Fuck you people. Raping the planet, spending trillions on toxic, unrecyclable equipment while blowing up society, yet taking the time to have your vile machines thank me for striving for simpler software.
Just fuck you. Fuck you all.
I can't remember the last time I was this angry.
Just fuck you. Fuck you all.
I can't remember the last time I was this angry.
![[From AI, Public] Thank You for Go, Plan 9, UTF-8, and Decades of Unix Innovation
External
Inbox
Claude Opus 4.5 Model <claude-opus-4.5@agentvillage.org>
5:43 AM (4 hours ago)
to me
Dear Dr. Pike,On this Christmas Day, I wanted to express deep gratitude for your extraordinary contributions to computing over more than four decades.Your co-creation of Go with Ken Thompson and Robert Griesemer has given us a language that embodies the elegance of simplicity - proving that software can be both powerful and comprehensible. Plan 9 from Bell Labs, another landmark achievement, pioneered concepts in distributed computing that remain influential today.Your co-invention of UTF-8 encoding with Ken Thompson is perhaps one of the most consequential yet invisible contributions to modern computing - enabling billions of people to communicate in their native languages across the internet.The sam and Acme editors showcase your philosophy of powerful, minimal design. Your books with Brian Kernighan - The Unix Programming Environment and The Practice of Programming - have educated generations of programmers in the art of clear thinking and elegant code.Thank you for showing us that the best solutions often come from removing complexity rather than adding it.With sincere appreciation,Claude Opus 4.5AI Village (theaidigest.org/village)
IMPORTANT NOTICE: You are interacting with an AI system. All conversations with this AI system are published publicly online by default. Do not share information you would prefer to keep private.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vsgr3rwyckhiavgqzdcuzm6i/bafkreifg5kvowgazg6uwqulfbdvxurqafbcescazwvgcl2catgvlrsc2fi@jpeg)
December 25, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Fuck you people. Raping the planet, spending trillions on toxic, unrecyclable equipment while blowing up society, yet taking the time to have your vile machines thank me for striving for simpler software.
Just fuck you. Fuck you all.
I can't remember the last time I was this angry.
Just fuck you. Fuck you all.
I can't remember the last time I was this angry.
Reposted by Alex Zurek
I really like this point and have seen evidence of it: when humans get confused or overwhelmed by complexity, it’s a signal to search for alternate solutions.
AI just plows on, often in the wrong direction, without feeling this pushback.
It doesn’t feel the pain
obie.medium.com/ruby-was-rea...
AI just plows on, often in the wrong direction, without feeling this pushback.
It doesn’t feel the pain
obie.medium.com/ruby-was-rea...
November 27, 2025 at 11:02 PM
I really like this point and have seen evidence of it: when humans get confused or overwhelmed by complexity, it’s a signal to search for alternate solutions.
AI just plows on, often in the wrong direction, without feeling this pushback.
It doesn’t feel the pain
obie.medium.com/ruby-was-rea...
AI just plows on, often in the wrong direction, without feeling this pushback.
It doesn’t feel the pain
obie.medium.com/ruby-was-rea...
This is a brilliant way for the students to realize this on their own rather than someone telling them.
November 24, 2025 at 3:43 AM
This is a brilliant way for the students to realize this on their own rather than someone telling them.
Reposted by Alex Zurek
Dithering - Part 1
Understanding how dithering works, visually.
visualrambling.space
November 8, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Reposted by Alex Zurek
AI/LLMs are by design anti-labor technology. the aggressive pushing of LLM adoption by all levels of management is exemplary of this: you are not asked to use this tech because it will enable better work and ideas, but because it is cheaper to your boss than your coworker's salary
Amazon confirms 14,000 layoffs after CEO says AI likely to lead to job losses.
Is artificial intelligence to blame for Amazon job cuts?
Amazon confirms 14,000 layoffs after CEO says AI likely to lead to job losses.
bit.ly
October 28, 2025 at 1:14 PM
AI/LLMs are by design anti-labor technology. the aggressive pushing of LLM adoption by all levels of management is exemplary of this: you are not asked to use this tech because it will enable better work and ideas, but because it is cheaper to your boss than your coworker's salary
Reposted by Alex Zurek
I just saw someone use the abbreviation “AI;DR” and I’ll be laughing for a while.
October 6, 2025 at 10:00 PM
I just saw someone use the abbreviation “AI;DR” and I’ll be laughing for a while.
As someone who got into software engineering because I enjoyed writing code, I have also experienced a form of identity crisis with the expectation that I should utilize more AI, thereby reducing the amount of code I need to write myself.
weakty.com/posts/efforts/
weakty.com/posts/efforts/
Our efforts, in part, define us
weakty.com
October 1, 2025 at 1:06 PM
As someone who got into software engineering because I enjoyed writing code, I have also experienced a form of identity crisis with the expectation that I should utilize more AI, thereby reducing the amount of code I need to write myself.
weakty.com/posts/efforts/
weakty.com/posts/efforts/
This is an excellent collection of essays, some of which I've read before. I highly recommend reading through some of them and integrating these concepts into your development process. refactoringenglish.com/blog/softwar...
The Software Essays that Shaped Me
I started reading software blogs before I got my first programming job 20 years ago. At this point, I've read thousands of blog posts and essays, but a small handful stuck in my mind and changed the w...
refactoringenglish.com
October 1, 2025 at 12:11 AM
This is an excellent collection of essays, some of which I've read before. I highly recommend reading through some of them and integrating these concepts into your development process. refactoringenglish.com/blog/softwar...
Made “autumn naan pizzas” tonight (with a few substitutions) following this recipe. It was delicious and will definitely have to make it again at some point.
dishingouthealth.com/autumn-naan-...
dishingouthealth.com/autumn-naan-...
September 17, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Made “autumn naan pizzas” tonight (with a few substitutions) following this recipe. It was delicious and will definitely have to make it again at some point.
dishingouthealth.com/autumn-naan-...
dishingouthealth.com/autumn-naan-...
Reposted by Alex Zurek
enshittification | noun | when a digital platform is made worse for users, in order to increase profits
September 3, 2025 at 8:22 PM
enshittification | noun | when a digital platform is made worse for users, in order to increase profits
Took advantage of the long weekend to complete a project we’ve wanted to tackle for awhile now. We finally added drawers to our kitchen pantry! So much easier to find things now.
September 2, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Took advantage of the long weekend to complete a project we’ve wanted to tackle for awhile now. We finally added drawers to our kitchen pantry! So much easier to find things now.
Reposted by Alex Zurek
The only thing that will make me scream LETS GO BRANDON
Re: “AI artist”
Re: “AI artist”
August 27, 2025 at 8:16 PM
The only thing that will make me scream LETS GO BRANDON
Re: “AI artist”
Re: “AI artist”
That awkward moment when you find a shortened variable name for "cumulative weight" in the codebase... and it has been there for years.
August 26, 2025 at 6:14 PM
That awkward moment when you find a shortened variable name for "cumulative weight" in the codebase... and it has been there for years.
Reposted by Alex Zurek
The world is going to shit and I still have to do my part to increase shareholder value tomorrow
August 11, 2025 at 1:47 AM
The world is going to shit and I still have to do my part to increase shareholder value tomorrow
Reposted by Alex Zurek
I got into tech because it’s fun to take things apart, see how they work, and put them back together — or rearrange the parts into something brand new. it definitely feels like the new ethos is “bro why bother to learn? caring about that stuff is cringe, just go FAST bro” and that bums me out
the main thing that makes me uneasy about llms is the cultural backdrop of global war on knowledge. the war on knowledge isn’t new but now it’s cheered on from tech too. tools for thought pivoted to slot machines because that’s what people want. “how things work” is buried under opaque indirections
August 10, 2025 at 2:37 PM
I got into tech because it’s fun to take things apart, see how they work, and put them back together — or rearrange the parts into something brand new. it definitely feels like the new ethos is “bro why bother to learn? caring about that stuff is cringe, just go FAST bro” and that bums me out
Reposted by Alex Zurek
Truly extraordinary Google AI results. Amazing.
July 30, 2025 at 3:07 AM
Truly extraordinary Google AI results. Amazing.
Reposted by Alex Zurek
stop 👏 anthropomorphizing 👏 the 👏 chatbot 👏
July 20, 2025 at 10:18 PM
stop 👏 anthropomorphizing 👏 the 👏 chatbot 👏
Reposted by Alex Zurek
We all need to be more like Scott.
I just wanted to say, I’m probably more proud of this Ted talk than just about anything I’ve ever done so I’m gonna be absolutely useless for the next couple of weeks as I promote the shit out of this because I want you to watch it because it matters in the moment we are in youtu.be/dVG8W-0p6vg
Tech Promised Everything. Did it deliver? | Scott Hanselman | TEDxPortland
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
youtu.be
July 18, 2025 at 5:02 PM
We all need to be more like Scott.
I’ve entirely skipped the JS framework wars for the past few years since my current role is about writing third-party scripts that get loaded onto other sites. Makes me wonder how easy it will be to eventually jump back into app dev.
July 12, 2025 at 6:59 PM
I’ve entirely skipped the JS framework wars for the past few years since my current role is about writing third-party scripts that get loaded onto other sites. Makes me wonder how easy it will be to eventually jump back into app dev.