Dan Lew
@danlew42.bsky.social
Who needs a fidget toy when you could have safety pin + bent paperclip
January 30, 2026 at 9:07 PM
Who needs a fidget toy when you could have safety pin + bent paperclip
Masterful juxtaposition between this Star Tribune's headline & accompanying photo.
January 22, 2026 at 3:02 AM
Masterful juxtaposition between this Star Tribune's headline & accompanying photo.
Journalists, I beg of you: please stop confusing unsold eBay listings for actual sales.
Don't Cite Unsold eBay Listing Prices
Journalists, I beg of you: please stop confusing unsold eBay listings for actual sales.
I’m ticked off after seeing this Patch post about NYC MetroCards selling for $5,000 and this WSJ article about ...
blog.danlew.net
January 17, 2026 at 1:51 AM
Journalists, I beg of you: please stop confusing unsold eBay listings for actual sales.
Why are sensors on bathroom sinks so crappy, but the sensors on the paper towel dispensers flawless?
How did the paper towel industry develop such technological lead over faucet manufacturers?
How did the paper towel industry develop such technological lead over faucet manufacturers?
December 26, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Why are sensors on bathroom sinks so crappy, but the sensors on the paper towel dispensers flawless?
How did the paper towel industry develop such technological lead over faucet manufacturers?
How did the paper towel industry develop such technological lead over faucet manufacturers?
🎵The LoveSac is a little old place where
we can sit together 🎵
we can sit together 🎵
December 5, 2025 at 2:36 PM
🎵The LoveSac is a little old place where
we can sit together 🎵
we can sit together 🎵
Is there some sort of weird psych trick around these preset donation amounts...?
December 3, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Is there some sort of weird psych trick around these preset donation amounts...?
GitHub commit activity sweater
November 30, 2025 at 12:58 PM
GitHub commit activity sweater
Saying "never meet your heroes" is like saying "never date; you could get your heart broken." True, but also, you could have a great time!
I've met some of my heroes. They ranged from lovely to horrible, but I wouldn't give up the good experiences just to avoid the bad.
I've met some of my heroes. They ranged from lovely to horrible, but I wouldn't give up the good experiences just to avoid the bad.
November 25, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Saying "never meet your heroes" is like saying "never date; you could get your heart broken." True, but also, you could have a great time!
I've met some of my heroes. They ranged from lovely to horrible, but I wouldn't give up the good experiences just to avoid the bad.
I've met some of my heroes. They ranged from lovely to horrible, but I wouldn't give up the good experiences just to avoid the bad.
My Asus router's convenient list of "famous games", from the year of our lord 2025.
November 22, 2025 at 4:06 PM
My Asus router's convenient list of "famous games", from the year of our lord 2025.
Some fun stories from the (mostly) innocent hacking I did on Displate's website.
blog.danlew.net/2025/11/18/h...
blog.danlew.net/2025/11/18/h...
Hacking Displate (For Fun!)
During the pandemic my weird vice/obsession became Displates (metal wall art hung up by magnets):
For me, part of the hobby was poking holes in their website. I’ve long stopped trying to give their d...
blog.danlew.net
November 18, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Some fun stories from the (mostly) innocent hacking I did on Displate's website.
blog.danlew.net/2025/11/18/h...
blog.danlew.net/2025/11/18/h...
Folks haven't been this excited about steam machines since the industrial revolution.
November 12, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Folks haven't been this excited about steam machines since the industrial revolution.
Finally wrote up this short post that's been on my mind forever, regarding audio problems in video calls: blog.danlew.net/2025/10/16/f...
Fix Your Microphone
It’s likely that, at some point, you've had shitty audio during video meetings.
Why? Because you don’t get immediate feedback for audio issues. With video, you can instantly see if your image is out ...
blog.danlew.net
October 16, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Finally wrote up this short post that's been on my mind forever, regarding audio problems in video calls: blog.danlew.net/2025/10/16/f...
Excited to start reading the latest book from my sister, @bethlewwilliams.bsky.social!
(Maybe if I'm lucky I can get the author to sign a copy...)
(Maybe if I'm lucky I can get the author to sign a copy...)
September 20, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Excited to start reading the latest book from my sister, @bethlewwilliams.bsky.social!
(Maybe if I'm lucky I can get the author to sign a copy...)
(Maybe if I'm lucky I can get the author to sign a copy...)
I didn't wake up thinking I'd be explaining the Seven Bridges of Königsberg & graph theory to my 2nd grader, but you need it to solve this maze game in his school's math app.
(You pick where you start, and every bridge disappears as you cross it, so it requires Euler's bridge analysis...)
(You pick where you start, and every bridge disappears as you cross it, so it requires Euler's bridge analysis...)
September 19, 2025 at 1:51 PM
I didn't wake up thinking I'd be explaining the Seven Bridges of Königsberg & graph theory to my 2nd grader, but you need it to solve this maze game in his school's math app.
(You pick where you start, and every bridge disappears as you cross it, so it requires Euler's bridge analysis...)
(You pick where you start, and every bridge disappears as you cross it, so it requires Euler's bridge analysis...)
I'm undeniably human!
(Verified by this fantastic CAPTCHA game from @neal.fun: neal.fun/not-a-robot/)
(Verified by this fantastic CAPTCHA game from @neal.fun: neal.fun/not-a-robot/)
September 16, 2025 at 10:08 PM
I'm undeniably human!
(Verified by this fantastic CAPTCHA game from @neal.fun: neal.fun/not-a-robot/)
(Verified by this fantastic CAPTCHA game from @neal.fun: neal.fun/not-a-robot/)
When I was in philosophy, my professor would constantly use the phrase "you can't be a married bachelor".
But I just learned one of my kid's friend's last name is Bachelor. Someday he might be married. Take that, college professor!
But I just learned one of my kid's friend's last name is Bachelor. Someday he might be married. Take that, college professor!
September 13, 2025 at 12:21 PM
When I was in philosophy, my professor would constantly use the phrase "you can't be a married bachelor".
But I just learned one of my kid's friend's last name is Bachelor. Someday he might be married. Take that, college professor!
But I just learned one of my kid's friend's last name is Bachelor. Someday he might be married. Take that, college professor!
I'm surprised Silksong is getting such glowing reviews; it was released with a fuckton of bugs.
September 9, 2025 at 1:12 PM
I'm surprised Silksong is getting such glowing reviews; it was released with a fuckton of bugs.
One way to test whether a candidate is a serious prospect for your company is to schedule an interview right when Silksong releases tomorrow.
September 3, 2025 at 3:41 PM
One way to test whether a candidate is a serious prospect for your company is to schedule an interview right when Silksong releases tomorrow.
Just realized that I've been confusing The Wiz (the anthemic black musical) with Return to Oz (the nightmarish Disney movie).
I must've had at least one past conversation wherein I described how terrified I was of The Wiz as a kid (and they probably thought I was just wildly racist).
I must've had at least one past conversation wherein I described how terrified I was of The Wiz as a kid (and they probably thought I was just wildly racist).
September 1, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Just realized that I've been confusing The Wiz (the anthemic black musical) with Return to Oz (the nightmarish Disney movie).
I must've had at least one past conversation wherein I described how terrified I was of The Wiz as a kid (and they probably thought I was just wildly racist).
I must've had at least one past conversation wherein I described how terrified I was of The Wiz as a kid (and they probably thought I was just wildly racist).
A recent episode of @getplayedpod.bsky.social brought up an ancient, defunct Sim City-themed CCG from the 90s. I was fascinated by the fact that it had "tall cards" so I picked some up (for cheap) on eBay.
I thought I'd share some of the more bizarre/hilarious cards I got...
I thought I'd share some of the more bizarre/hilarious cards I got...
August 29, 2025 at 2:20 PM
A recent episode of @getplayedpod.bsky.social brought up an ancient, defunct Sim City-themed CCG from the 90s. I was fascinated by the fact that it had "tall cards" so I picked some up (for cheap) on eBay.
I thought I'd share some of the more bizarre/hilarious cards I got...
I thought I'd share some of the more bizarre/hilarious cards I got...
Beethoven once said that the Moonlight Sonata was like the Dark Souls of piano pieces.
August 24, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Beethoven once said that the Moonlight Sonata was like the Dark Souls of piano pieces.
For every day a programmer doesn't have a meeting, they gain 1X, up to a maximum of 10x. But if they attend a meeting, they lose all their Xs (and half of their gold).
August 22, 2025 at 5:56 PM
For every day a programmer doesn't have a meeting, they gain 1X, up to a maximum of 10x. But if they attend a meeting, they lose all their Xs (and half of their gold).
I've been laid off! (Startup downsizing to a skeleton crew, sadly.)
I'm looking for my next dev role. Lots of experience in Android, most recently worked on Node/TS and Python.
Ideally landing at a mission-driven place (been focusing on sustainability recently, but any public benefit will do).
I'm looking for my next dev role. Lots of experience in Android, most recently worked on Node/TS and Python.
Ideally landing at a mission-driven place (been focusing on sustainability recently, but any public benefit will do).
August 20, 2025 at 4:11 PM
I've been laid off! (Startup downsizing to a skeleton crew, sadly.)
I'm looking for my next dev role. Lots of experience in Android, most recently worked on Node/TS and Python.
Ideally landing at a mission-driven place (been focusing on sustainability recently, but any public benefit will do).
I'm looking for my next dev role. Lots of experience in Android, most recently worked on Node/TS and Python.
Ideally landing at a mission-driven place (been focusing on sustainability recently, but any public benefit will do).
Everyone's obsessed about how many Xs (1x? 10X? .4X?) they can get out of an AI engineer, but by far the biggest impact devs can make to a timeline is by adjusting requirements to make a feature easier or even skipping facets altogether.
AFAIK, AI never says "what you're asking for is ridiculous."
AFAIK, AI never says "what you're asking for is ridiculous."
August 14, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Everyone's obsessed about how many Xs (1x? 10X? .4X?) they can get out of an AI engineer, but by far the biggest impact devs can make to a timeline is by adjusting requirements to make a feature easier or even skipping facets altogether.
AFAIK, AI never says "what you're asking for is ridiculous."
AFAIK, AI never says "what you're asking for is ridiculous."