bolson
@bolson.org
computer wizard. acrobat. better democracy through computer science.
Google hasn't bricked my thermostat *yet* but you know what would be the worst? If they bricked it mid winter. I think I still have the old analog dumb thermostat, and maybe I should start shopping for something new and with a longer enshittification horizon
November 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Google hasn't bricked my thermostat *yet* but you know what would be the worst? If they bricked it mid winter. I think I still have the old analog dumb thermostat, and maybe I should start shopping for something new and with a longer enshittification horizon
I keep thinking of that sci-fi story where the obscenely rich have a private playground where they amuse themselves with atrocities against poor people
November 14, 2025 at 1:10 PM
I keep thinking of that sci-fi story where the obscenely rich have a private playground where they amuse themselves with atrocities against poor people
I am not a fashion billboard; I am a naked body wrapped in insulation and pockets
November 13, 2025 at 4:37 PM
I am not a fashion billboard; I am a naked body wrapped in insulation and pockets
Valve is teasing a headset running Arch Linux on ARM. This tickles my geekery
store.steampowered.com/sale/steamfr...
store.steampowered.com/sale/steamfr...
Steam Frame
VR and non-VR gaming
store.steampowered.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Valve is teasing a headset running Arch Linux on ARM. This tickles my geekery
store.steampowered.com/sale/steamfr...
store.steampowered.com/sale/steamfr...
my morning coffee buy was soured because I hand them my travel mug, they pour a coffee into a paper cup, pour that into my mug, and throw away the paper cup that held coffee for about 2 seconds. I will now hold a grudge against that place and not go back for a couple years. Grrr. Stupid.
November 12, 2025 at 3:20 PM
my morning coffee buy was soured because I hand them my travel mug, they pour a coffee into a paper cup, pour that into my mug, and throw away the paper cup that held coffee for about 2 seconds. I will now hold a grudge against that place and not go back for a couple years. Grrr. Stupid.
4 minute piece on NPR about financial shenanigans of 50 year mortgages. 3 minutes in they note "it's ultimately a supply problem" and we need to build housing
www.npr.org/2025/11/12/n...
www.npr.org/2025/11/12/n...
President Trump has proposed a 50-year mortgage. What that would mean for home buyers
President Trump has floated the idea of a 50-year mortgage to make home ownership more affordable. A Martinez talks with Wharton's Susan Wachter about the benefits and risks of the proposal.
www.npr.org
November 12, 2025 at 12:22 PM
4 minute piece on NPR about financial shenanigans of 50 year mortgages. 3 minutes in they note "it's ultimately a supply problem" and we need to build housing
www.npr.org/2025/11/12/n...
www.npr.org/2025/11/12/n...
I live in a left to right natural language (English) and I dislike awkward clauses in programming languages where I read left to right
val = stuff_I_read_as_going_to_happen() if ha_ha_no_it_might_not
At least Python and Ruby allow this weird "if" and I don't like it
C ( ? : ) is fine tho
val = stuff_I_read_as_going_to_happen() if ha_ha_no_it_might_not
At least Python and Ruby allow this weird "if" and I don't like it
C ( ? : ) is fine tho
November 11, 2025 at 3:53 PM
I live in a left to right natural language (English) and I dislike awkward clauses in programming languages where I read left to right
val = stuff_I_read_as_going_to_happen() if ha_ha_no_it_might_not
At least Python and Ruby allow this weird "if" and I don't like it
C ( ? : ) is fine tho
val = stuff_I_read_as_going_to_happen() if ha_ha_no_it_might_not
At least Python and Ruby allow this weird "if" and I don't like it
C ( ? : ) is fine tho
Ad-tech big data knows everywhere Santa has been because of all the tracking cookies
November 11, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Ad-tech big data knows everywhere Santa has been because of all the tracking cookies
I have enjoyed Aphyr's writing about deeply nerdy database things. I expect he's writing precisely and citing good sources when he talks about Trump's war on Chicago disappearing people daily and other atrocities.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
I Want You to Understand Chicago
aphyr.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:02 PM
I have enjoyed Aphyr's writing about deeply nerdy database things. I expect he's writing precisely and citing good sources when he talks about Trump's war on Chicago disappearing people daily and other atrocities.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
nonsense snack: goldfish & cheddar quesadilla with costco sriracha powder in it
November 9, 2025 at 9:38 PM
nonsense snack: goldfish & cheddar quesadilla with costco sriracha powder in it
Comic of butt jokes doing its finest work with the "not racist butt"
November 8, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Comic of butt jokes doing its finest work with the "not racist butt"
Today I'm feeling a Camelot vibe from cryptocurrency (in the Monty Python and the Holy Grail sense of "on second thought let's not go there, tis a silly place")
November 7, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Today I'm feeling a Camelot vibe from cryptocurrency (in the Monty Python and the Holy Grail sense of "on second thought let's not go there, tis a silly place")
another asymmetric win from this: every $1 we spend campaigning in these districts probably costs them $2-$4
but really, so many wins, run every race, 50-state-435-district strategy
(and every local thing too)
but really, so many wins, run every race, 50-state-435-district strategy
(and every local thing too)
I've seen this go by a few times on TikTok now and I have to say, I love this idea. We need a way to convince people to keep running even if they don't win, maybe building the loss into it as a troll move is the secret.
November 6, 2025 at 2:21 PM
another asymmetric win from this: every $1 we spend campaigning in these districts probably costs them $2-$4
but really, so many wins, run every race, 50-state-435-district strategy
(and every local thing too)
but really, so many wins, run every race, 50-state-435-district strategy
(and every local thing too)
Reposted by bolson
I've seen this go by a few times on TikTok now and I have to say, I love this idea. We need a way to convince people to keep running even if they don't win, maybe building the loss into it as a troll move is the secret.
November 6, 2025 at 12:49 AM
I've seen this go by a few times on TikTok now and I have to say, I love this idea. We need a way to convince people to keep running even if they don't win, maybe building the loss into it as a troll move is the secret.
`git submodule` is horribly broken and no one should use it.
If you use submodules, someone can do a `git clone` or `git checkout` and silently get an inconsistent environment and they have to _somehow_ know to do extra stuff to get a consistent world. This is unacceptable.
If you use submodules, someone can do a `git clone` or `git checkout` and silently get an inconsistent environment and they have to _somehow_ know to do extra stuff to get a consistent world. This is unacceptable.
November 5, 2025 at 8:43 PM
`git submodule` is horribly broken and no one should use it.
If you use submodules, someone can do a `git clone` or `git checkout` and silently get an inconsistent environment and they have to _somehow_ know to do extra stuff to get a consistent world. This is unacceptable.
If you use submodules, someone can do a `git clone` or `git checkout` and silently get an inconsistent environment and they have to _somehow_ know to do extra stuff to get a consistent world. This is unacceptable.
trying to get do some development on an open source project because I really like the product, but they're really opinionated that their dev tools are npm and VSCode and I want neither of those. I'll try at least a little to get it working under a different stack
November 4, 2025 at 4:19 PM
trying to get do some development on an open source project because I really like the product, but they're really opinionated that their dev tools are npm and VSCode and I want neither of those. I'll try at least a little to get it working under a different stack
Reposted by bolson
Maybe it was way more than seven million? "8% of Americans say they participated in a No Kings protest on October 18."
p.s. Older people are really showing up.
p.s. Older people are really showing up.
November 1, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Maybe it was way more than seven million? "8% of Americans say they participated in a No Kings protest on October 18."
p.s. Older people are really showing up.
p.s. Older people are really showing up.
breakfast convo: 'oh wow the MOVE bombing was bad and more people should hear about it' as my partner catches up on a history podcast. Philly PD did some horrible stuff in the early 1980s culminating in a dozen deaths and 60 homes destroyed by fire
www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...
www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...
The Africas VS. America | CBC Podcasts | CBC Listen
In 1985, police dropped a bomb in a Philadelphia neighborhood. Their target? A family of Black radicals known as ‘MOVE,’ who found themselves ensnared in a city — and nation’s — domestic war on Black ...
www.cbc.ca
October 31, 2025 at 1:02 PM
breakfast convo: 'oh wow the MOVE bombing was bad and more people should hear about it' as my partner catches up on a history podcast. Philly PD did some horrible stuff in the early 1980s culminating in a dozen deaths and 60 homes destroyed by fire
www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...
www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...
The next time a boss calls me in for one of those meetings, I want to be handed this shirt. Then at least I get this shirt.
October 28, 2025 at 6:14 PM
The next time a boss calls me in for one of those meetings, I want to be handed this shirt. Then at least I get this shirt.
futility = voltage / current
October 27, 2025 at 5:56 PM
futility = voltage / current
Drawing programs are cool but there's no input lag on a crayon
October 25, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Drawing programs are cool but there's no input lag on a crayon
dexterity challenge: put a glove on your right hand without using your left hand
October 24, 2025 at 5:12 PM
dexterity challenge: put a glove on your right hand without using your left hand
can't guarantee results today, but I'm giving it my best effor
October 24, 2025 at 4:03 PM
can't guarantee results today, but I'm giving it my best effor