@dbsmasher.com
All sorts of SRE things. Breaker of all things. Source of the #botrosd hashtag. Professional finder of problems.
Author of High Performance MySQL 4th edition
Author of High Performance MySQL 4th edition
Reposted
It’s going to be some bullshit respectability from the center and some bullshit bleating about identity politics from the left and some bullshit religious forgiveness from the right.
I’m just going to expire from unrequited rage.
I’m just going to expire from unrequited rage.
It’s very very frustrating to know that there isn’t much chance of any accountability for this behavior after Trump
ICE detain father shopping on Christmas Eve—then steal his family's groceries.
Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.
"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.
"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.
Yakima, Washington
Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.
"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.
"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.
Yakima, Washington
December 26, 2025 at 2:49 PM
It’s going to be some bullshit respectability from the center and some bullshit bleating about identity politics from the left and some bullshit religious forgiveness from the right.
I’m just going to expire from unrequited rage.
I’m just going to expire from unrequited rage.
Good luck to the engineers oncall for Disney+ streaming this week.
December 23, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Good luck to the engineers oncall for Disney+ streaming this week.
😒😒😒
become a systems thinker, they said
you'll have a better understanding of how the world works, they said
yeah and you'll also spend every waking moment in despair
you'll have a better understanding of how the world works, they said
yeah and you'll also spend every waking moment in despair
December 13, 2025 at 6:20 AM
😒😒😒
Remember when AI videos had extra limbs and we could tell they are AI and would point and laugh at them?
Yeah I miss that too 😒
Yeah I miss that too 😒
December 6, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Remember when AI videos had extra limbs and we could tell they are AI and would point and laugh at them?
Yeah I miss that too 😒
Yeah I miss that too 😒
Reposted
It sure is surreal to be sitting here watching all of US tech infrastructure slowly reach a point of Going Solid as the over extraction of value by relentlessly pursuing efficiency leads to the inevitable outcome… brittleness
December 5, 2025 at 9:27 AM
It sure is surreal to be sitting here watching all of US tech infrastructure slowly reach a point of Going Solid as the over extraction of value by relentlessly pursuing efficiency leads to the inevitable outcome… brittleness
Reposted
TL;DR
Middle management is hard. Caring is required, but the kind of care you provide matters.
Middle management is hard. Caring is required, but the kind of care you provide matters.
Ashley Willis
The other day I texted my group chat with other leaders outside my organization. The ones I go to when the leadership stuff gets messy and I need perspective fr...
ashley.dev
December 2, 2025 at 10:01 PM
TL;DR
Middle management is hard. Caring is required, but the kind of care you provide matters.
Middle management is hard. Caring is required, but the kind of care you provide matters.
Reposted
This, so much. In my career, the people who made the biggest verbal performance of being "good allies" were so rarely the people who actually helped grow my career or had my back during technical conflict. Actions speak louder than words and are what actually builds trust.
I feel this so deeply. I’ve been told I belonged somewhere. I’ve been told I was valued and appreciated and accepted.
I’ve also *been* valued, appreciated, and accepted.
Almost never by the same groups. And never in the same places.
I’ve also *been* valued, appreciated, and accepted.
Almost never by the same groups. And never in the same places.
"you belong here" means "you are responsible for staying here and fixing this no matter what" when it is delivered to you by someone who also says "and I cannot be held responsible for ever making you feel like you belong and are seen"
This is why I don't accept invites to talk to girls about tech
This is why I don't accept invites to talk to girls about tech
November 28, 2025 at 9:48 PM
This, so much. In my career, the people who made the biggest verbal performance of being "good allies" were so rarely the people who actually helped grow my career or had my back during technical conflict. Actions speak louder than words and are what actually builds trust.
So much this. I don’t wanna tell a bunch of younger women the traumas I experience to get here.
I don’t wanna normalize it.
I don’t wanna normalize it.
Someone asked me at a conf once what I would say, as a psychologist and a queer woman in tech who has stayed in tech longer than the classic cutoff at 35, to a younger woman approaching the 35 cliff and thinking about leaving, and I said I would say I'm sorry we failed you and I want you to be happy
November 28, 2025 at 10:39 PM
So much this. I don’t wanna tell a bunch of younger women the traumas I experience to get here.
I don’t wanna normalize it.
I don’t wanna normalize it.
Yep. I don’t promote mine and I even don’t like to bring it up when men explain databases to me (yes that still happens)
High Performance MySQL 4th edition
learning.oreilly.com/library/view...
High Performance MySQL 4th edition
learning.oreilly.com/library/view...
November 27, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Yep. I don’t promote mine and I even don’t like to bring it up when men explain databases to me (yes that still happens)
High Performance MySQL 4th edition
learning.oreilly.com/library/view...
High Performance MySQL 4th edition
learning.oreilly.com/library/view...
Reposted
I wish it didn’t feel so unusual and inspiring to see a leader treating everyone like they matter and saying that we have a responsibility to help each other
Combatting poverty and hunger in this city will take every single one of us. Myself included.
November 27, 2025 at 3:19 PM
I wish it didn’t feel so unusual and inspiring to see a leader treating everyone like they matter and saying that we have a responsibility to help each other
Reading this made me want to walk into the sea
The comment thread here is the embodiment of :lolsob:
There is legitimate promise to LLM-assisted coding, but there are also legitimate risks. Like this. And no one here is malicious!
There is legitimate promise to LLM-assisted coding, but there are also legitimate risks. Like this. And no one here is malicious!
One of the many joys of using AI for programming is the creation of huge PRs on complex topics that the authors barely understand, but still suggest "because they work". Here's a great example from #OCaml github.com/ocaml/ocaml/...
Kudos to OCaml's maintainers for handling this so gracefully.
Kudos to OCaml's maintainers for handling this so gracefully.
November 24, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Reading this made me want to walk into the sea
Reposted
the last 24 hours on X, summed up:
November 23, 2025 at 2:26 PM
the last 24 hours on X, summed up:
No seriously. Talk to the kids AND block Roblox entirely in your home network.
Oh, God, this is one of those "where do I even start" things, because Roblox is, like, *fractally* fucked. They are terrible at content moderation. A lot of the games are rated incorrectly, so kids can encounter graphic content (sex or violence) out of nowhere --
November 23, 2025 at 7:20 PM
No seriously. Talk to the kids AND block Roblox entirely in your home network.
Made Belgian waffles with ghee instead of butter and I fear this is now the most perfect waffle in existence
November 22, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Made Belgian waffles with ghee instead of butter and I fear this is now the most perfect waffle in existence
Most days it’s “yeah Silvia breaks tech” and then days where “Silvia broke everything today”
Guess which one I’m having
Guess which one I’m having
November 21, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Most days it’s “yeah Silvia breaks tech” and then days where “Silvia broke everything today”
Guess which one I’m having
Guess which one I’m having
School of rock still absolutely holds up.
November 20, 2025 at 4:40 AM
School of rock still absolutely holds up.
I bought a new keyboard for my desk I don’t really need to enjoy the impending workday 🫣
I miss when technology used to be fun.
November 16, 2025 at 10:32 PM
I bought a new keyboard for my desk I don’t really need to enjoy the impending workday 🫣
This is an Apple. It tastes like a pear.
November 13, 2025 at 2:15 AM
This is an Apple. It tastes like a pear.
Anytime you feel the job is too big or “I am not sure I can do this” remember….
We made a 4chan dude secretary of defense
We made a 4chan dude secretary of defense
November 12, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Anytime you feel the job is too big or “I am not sure I can do this” remember….
We made a 4chan dude secretary of defense
We made a 4chan dude secretary of defense
What do you MEAN Mr. Robot premiered a whole decade ago???? 👵🏼
November 11, 2025 at 11:52 PM
What do you MEAN Mr. Robot premiered a whole decade ago???? 👵🏼
Man. Last week was so much fun reading a cool nerdy book.
November 11, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Man. Last week was so much fun reading a cool nerdy book.
I hate how accurate this is
American politics makes a lot more sense when you realize that the GOP is afraid of pissing off the GOP base, and the Dems are afraid of pissing off the GOP base, but neither party is afraid of pissing off the Dem base.
November 10, 2025 at 3:33 PM
I hate how accurate this is
Reposted
To give Kyle some credit, he's been writing (and speaking) brilliantly and beautifully for years on a variety of topics
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
November 10, 2025 at 2:54 PM
To give Kyle some credit, he's been writing (and speaking) brilliantly and beautifully for years on a variety of topics
Reposted
i’m ready for something different than whatever the fuck this is
November 10, 2025 at 12:51 AM
i’m ready for something different than whatever the fuck this is