ben vandgrift
@ben.vandgrift.com
recovering technologist, problem solver, gardener, woodworker. coauthor of ‘clojure applied: from practice to practitioner’. a giant among hobbits
hey folks: take care of your people. if you’re in a position of influence or leadership, take care of your people. if they look up to you, take care of your people. even if you think maybe they need to have some sense slapped into them from time to time, take care of your people.
November 12, 2025 at 11:18 PM
hey folks: take care of your people. if you’re in a position of influence or leadership, take care of your people. if they look up to you, take care of your people. even if you think maybe they need to have some sense slapped into them from time to time, take care of your people.
can someone please tell me how i can both:
- make the world a better place
- continue be secure in my ability to eat and sleep under cover
given:
- not born/already rich
chatGPT has been no help
- make the world a better place
- continue be secure in my ability to eat and sleep under cover
given:
- not born/already rich
chatGPT has been no help
November 8, 2025 at 1:46 AM
can someone please tell me how i can both:
- make the world a better place
- continue be secure in my ability to eat and sleep under cover
given:
- not born/already rich
chatGPT has been no help
- make the world a better place
- continue be secure in my ability to eat and sleep under cover
given:
- not born/already rich
chatGPT has been no help
Reposted by ben vandgrift
It's official! The beta release of Eloquent Ruby, 2nd edition is now on sale!
pragprog.com/titles/eruby...
pragprog.com/titles/eruby...
Eloquent Ruby, Second Edition
Write elegant Ruby code--not just correct, but idiomatic. Go beyond the vocabulary and syntax and learn to express yourself with eloquence.
pragprog.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:44 PM
It's official! The beta release of Eloquent Ruby, 2nd edition is now on sale!
pragprog.com/titles/eruby...
pragprog.com/titles/eruby...
on a woodworking forum i frequent:
“good enough” is the difference between fine woodworking and “it’s fine” woodworking.
the same is true for software.
shop shelves don’t have the same rules as kitchen cabinets.
“good enough” is the difference between fine woodworking and “it’s fine” woodworking.
the same is true for software.
shop shelves don’t have the same rules as kitchen cabinets.
November 1, 2025 at 1:48 PM
on a woodworking forum i frequent:
“good enough” is the difference between fine woodworking and “it’s fine” woodworking.
the same is true for software.
shop shelves don’t have the same rules as kitchen cabinets.
“good enough” is the difference between fine woodworking and “it’s fine” woodworking.
the same is true for software.
shop shelves don’t have the same rules as kitchen cabinets.
the end of SNAP benefits, if prolonged, will risk the existence of independent grocers in rural areas, and the big chains move in.
just like smaller farms will be forced to sell to bigger companies because of the tarriffs.
and that smaller hospitals will just vanish with the changes to medicare.
just like smaller farms will be forced to sell to bigger companies because of the tarriffs.
and that smaller hospitals will just vanish with the changes to medicare.
October 28, 2025 at 6:13 PM
the end of SNAP benefits, if prolonged, will risk the existence of independent grocers in rural areas, and the big chains move in.
just like smaller farms will be forced to sell to bigger companies because of the tarriffs.
and that smaller hospitals will just vanish with the changes to medicare.
just like smaller farms will be forced to sell to bigger companies because of the tarriffs.
and that smaller hospitals will just vanish with the changes to medicare.
now would be a good time to read up on Ferdinand Marcos and the ‘communist threat’ in the Philipines in 1972.
October 8, 2025 at 2:42 PM
now would be a good time to read up on Ferdinand Marcos and the ‘communist threat’ in the Philipines in 1972.
Reposted by ben vandgrift
Reposted by ben vandgrift
Never forget and never forgive the people who voted for him. They did this to us, and they must be forced to carry the shame for the rest of their miserable lives. We warned them, and they made fun of us. They own this. They own this forever, and I will never let them forget it.
I'm so embarrassed to be an American right now. Donald Trump is a senile old codger, standing before the United Nations, reading a speech clearly written by an alt right lunatic and a bunch of oil and gas lobbyists. Well done, U.S. voters. You really fucked this one up.
September 23, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Never forget and never forgive the people who voted for him. They did this to us, and they must be forced to carry the shame for the rest of their miserable lives. We warned them, and they made fun of us. They own this. They own this forever, and I will never let them forget it.
Reposted by ben vandgrift
DISNEY: "OK, we are putting Jimmy Kimmel back on the air. You can resubscribe now."
ME: "I unsubscribed because you immorally bowed to fascism. I'm not going to resubscribe because you immorally bowed to finances."
ME: "I unsubscribed because you immorally bowed to fascism. I'm not going to resubscribe because you immorally bowed to finances."
September 22, 2025 at 9:14 PM
DISNEY: "OK, we are putting Jimmy Kimmel back on the air. You can resubscribe now."
ME: "I unsubscribed because you immorally bowed to fascism. I'm not going to resubscribe because you immorally bowed to finances."
ME: "I unsubscribed because you immorally bowed to fascism. I'm not going to resubscribe because you immorally bowed to finances."
Reposted by ben vandgrift
🌼🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
🌺🌺🌱🌱🌱🧀🌺🌱🐁
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September 19, 2025 at 12:46 AM
🌼🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
🌺🌺🌱🌱🌱🧀🌺🌱🐁
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🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌼🌺
🌺🌺🌱🌱🌱🧀🌺🌱🐁
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in case you’d like to see what i do with my free time, @creekshanty.us occasionally updates with some garden stuff.
my #wildflower areas still seem to be going strong. soon i’ll need to thin the lenceolate coreopsis and overseed. mostly natives but i had some zinnias, cosmos, and giant marigolds in a wheelbarrow and moved them during the drought. i’m eapecially happy with the nicotiana.
September 19, 2025 at 12:38 PM
in case you’d like to see what i do with my free time, @creekshanty.us occasionally updates with some garden stuff.
don’t let the censoring of Kimmel and the obvious corruption of the associated merger distract you from Epstein.
September 18, 2025 at 9:12 PM
don’t let the censoring of Kimmel and the obvious corruption of the associated merger distract you from Epstein.
there’s this joke whose punchline—“a good start”—keeps running through my head, for some reason. i can’t remember the rest of the joke, but it doesn’t seem important.
September 11, 2025 at 8:04 PM
there’s this joke whose punchline—“a good start”—keeps running through my head, for some reason. i can’t remember the rest of the joke, but it doesn’t seem important.
new garden space, first year question: if i’m producing as much as i can, how much can i grow?
(obviously, four beds are dedicated to flowers but _other than that_)
answer: enough that now i find myself with a freezer and pantry full of food and a weight problem
(obviously, four beds are dedicated to flowers but _other than that_)
answer: enough that now i find myself with a freezer and pantry full of food and a weight problem
September 7, 2025 at 12:32 PM
new garden space, first year question: if i’m producing as much as i can, how much can i grow?
(obviously, four beds are dedicated to flowers but _other than that_)
answer: enough that now i find myself with a freezer and pantry full of food and a weight problem
(obviously, four beds are dedicated to flowers but _other than that_)
answer: enough that now i find myself with a freezer and pantry full of food and a weight problem
from a list of advice for pilots, but generally applicable:
“you start with two bags: a full bag of luck, and an empty bag to put your experience in. the goal is to fill up your bag with experience before you run out of luck.”
“you start with two bags: a full bag of luck, and an empty bag to put your experience in. the goal is to fill up your bag with experience before you run out of luck.”
September 4, 2025 at 8:43 PM
from a list of advice for pilots, but generally applicable:
“you start with two bags: a full bag of luck, and an empty bag to put your experience in. the goal is to fill up your bag with experience before you run out of luck.”
“you start with two bags: a full bag of luck, and an empty bag to put your experience in. the goal is to fill up your bag with experience before you run out of luck.”
me: “i’m not saying LLMs should have rights—“
her: ‘they’ll probably have rights before we do.’
and i just -
her: ‘they’ll probably have rights before we do.’
and i just -
September 3, 2025 at 4:12 AM
me: “i’m not saying LLMs should have rights—“
her: ‘they’ll probably have rights before we do.’
and i just -
her: ‘they’ll probably have rights before we do.’
and i just -
Reposted by ben vandgrift
Child abuse aficionado James Dobson dead at the tragically advanced age of 89.
August 21, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Child abuse aficionado James Dobson dead at the tragically advanced age of 89.
“i knew this day was inevitable—it just happens to be today” is a strong line.
_the apothecary diaries_ doesn’t disappoint.
_the apothecary diaries_ doesn’t disappoint.
August 19, 2025 at 12:34 AM
“i knew this day was inevitable—it just happens to be today” is a strong line.
_the apothecary diaries_ doesn’t disappoint.
_the apothecary diaries_ doesn’t disappoint.
wild. newrelic sold my email address to some biz loan folks.
August 13, 2025 at 11:21 PM
wild. newrelic sold my email address to some biz loan folks.
something that should really be bothering you:
every administration official knows they are committing crimes. they suspect that the minute they are out of office they will be prosecuted for these crimes. it is in their best interest to never leave office.
every administration official knows they are committing crimes. they suspect that the minute they are out of office they will be prosecuted for these crimes. it is in their best interest to never leave office.
June 18, 2025 at 3:08 PM
something that should really be bothering you:
every administration official knows they are committing crimes. they suspect that the minute they are out of office they will be prosecuted for these crimes. it is in their best interest to never leave office.
every administration official knows they are committing crimes. they suspect that the minute they are out of office they will be prosecuted for these crimes. it is in their best interest to never leave office.
the imperial boomerang, worth a read: zeteo.com/p/the-imperi...
The Imperial Boomerang Lands in Los Angeles
As police and the National Guard escalate against anti-ICE protesters, the Department of Homeland Security bridges US violence abroad and US violence at home.
zeteo.com
June 10, 2025 at 5:43 PM
the imperial boomerang, worth a read: zeteo.com/p/the-imperi...
one night in des moines
June 6, 2025 at 3:57 AM
one night in des moines
Reposted by ben vandgrift
Prediction: ten years from now there will be a lot fewer people learning English as an additional language
April 7, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Prediction: ten years from now there will be a lot fewer people learning English as an additional language