jmac
jmacdotorg.bsky.social
jmac
@jmacdotorg.bsky.social
A writer in NYC. https://jmac.org

I post links to stuff I make here!

I post everything else to Mastodon: https://masto.nyc/@jmac

Some content is syndicated from https://fogknife.com, https://venthuffer.com, or https://jmac.org/notes.
Pinned
Need a deeply experienced writer with a background in both journalism and engineering to document something, cover a technology beat, or engagingly explain complex topics to a wider audience? Talk to me. jmac.org/writing/
Jason McIntosh · List of professional writing
A list of published work by Jason McIntosh.
jmac.org
Marching in the #NYC iteration of the #NoKings protest on Saturday. If you live in the U.S. and you're able to join, then I hope that you will.

I prepare for marches by making sure I'm ready to walk attentively for a couple of hours. That's about it. I just show up.

fogknife.com/2025-10-15-n...
No kings
Amy and I plan to march in New York City’s instance of this coming weekend’s No Kings protest. It will be my third march of the year.
fogknife.com
October 16, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Please enjoy episode 12 of VENTHUFFER, telling the story of “Halstrick”, the name I've been using for gaming in recent years.

This is the result of one the most profound and personal investigations I've ever performed, and I'd love it if you listened along.

venthuffer.com/2025-05-26-1...
12 - The family name
An investigation into the origins of 'Halstrick', my relatively recent nom-de-jeu.
venthuffer.com
May 27, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Please enjoy issue 11 of my video game audio zine Venthuffer, which is the inevitable Jeff Minter episode, on the occasion of Llamasoft's new remake of "I, Robot”: venthuffer.com/2025-05-12-1...
11 - Neon
Appreciating the beautiful, unlikely, ongoing work of Jeff Minter and Llamasoft.
venthuffer.com
May 12, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Asking in legitimate curiosity: Do people on Bluesky generally not use hashtags at all?

It's only recently occurred to me that I very rarely see them, and I've started to edit them out of cross-posts that I'd originally posted on tag-happy Mastodon.
May 9, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Dear NYC: Do you have any coworking recommendations for solo freelancers?

Currently using my local NYPL branch, and you can’t beat it on price. But I do have a a bit of budget and I’m interested in seeing other options.
May 9, 2025 at 2:17 PM
In the latest episode of VENTHUFFER i hold forth for twelve minutes about the resolution of the Steam Deck, which is a number I've already forgotten since recording it, and about my ever-evolving attitudes towards console upgrade cycles. venthuffer.com/2025-04-28-1...
10 - Resolution
“Good enough for your eyes and mine.” Applying Depression-era thinking to modern hardware upgrade cycles.
venthuffer.com
May 7, 2025 at 1:16 PM
This week on #Venthuffer: That time I played House Flipper during a home-alone week a couple of years ago, and how it forced me to face a really gnarly problem burbling behind the iRL fridge.

venthuffer.com/2025-04-14-9...

(Audio CW for frank talk of creepy-crawlies.)
9: Extermination
Recalling the time when House Flipper forced me to take a hard look at a real-life household crisis brewing behind the refrigerator.
venthuffer.com
April 14, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Please enjoy a new episode of Venthuffer, my audio zine about the Steam Deck and things adjacent.

This one's about the Deck's one-button suspension feature, why it's one of the best things about the system, and the trouble it got me into. #SteamDeck

venthuffer.com/2025-03-31-8...
8: Suspension
The Steam Deck has a one-button suspension feature that lets you safely set the console down and immediately turn your full attention to something else, at any time, even in the middle of a game. Even...
venthuffer.com
March 31, 2025 at 2:44 PM
After a winter break, I've resumed Venthuffer, my "audio zine" podcast about the #SteamDeck and topics adjacent.

This new episode is about #Balatro, and a cruise ship, and 36 hours until landfall in Victoria. venthuffer.com/2025-03-17-7...
7: Cruise
On Balatro, and my diminishing personal susceptibility to videogame addiction—even when I invite it in.
venthuffer.com
March 18, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by jmac
Shout-out to all bar staff this weekend who are gritting their teeth, staring the customer right in the eye, and saying "we call that a boilermaker here, and so will you if you want one"

And shout-out to all who just show the customer the door, by pointing or scruffing
March 15, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Reposted by jmac
Episode 7 goes up tomorrow. #SteamDeck
March 16, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Wrote something about how the two governors of my respective home and adoptive states are setting an example of standing up to a gangster government. fogknife.com/2025-03-12-m... #Maine #NYC #NewYork #USpol
My governors
The governors of my respective home and adoptive states show how to stand up to a gangster president.
fogknife.com
March 12, 2025 at 4:23 PM
New episodes of Venthuffer, my monologue audio zine about the Steam Deck and topics adjacent, coming this Monday. venthuffer.com/2025-03-12-s...
Season two begins on March 17
Coming in just under the wire of the spring-equinox deadline I set for myself last time, I’m happy to say that Venthuffer season two launches this coming Monday, March 17. Find the first episode that ...
venthuffer.com
March 12, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Need a deeply experienced writer with a background in both journalism and engineering to document something, cover a technology beat, or engagingly explain complex topics to a wider audience? Talk to me. jmac.org/writing/
Jason McIntosh · List of professional writing
A list of published work by Jason McIntosh.
jmac.org
March 10, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Hi Bluesky friends,

I've set up @jmac.masto.nyc.ap.brid.gy, which is a bridged version of my Mastodon account. If you're interested in my day-to-day posts and links and such, then give it a follow!
February 17, 2025 at 7:04 PM
I wrote an article for @lwndotnet.bsky.social about the major ways that Memcached has evolved since its launch more than 20 years ago: lwn.net/SubscriberLi... #Linux #FOSS
The evolution of Memcached [LWN.net]
lwn.net
February 15, 2025 at 3:32 PM
New Fogknife post: The bare minimum fogknife.com/2025-02-02-t...
The bare minimum
I will not stand aside and let my neighbors come to harm from a corrupted government.
fogknife.com
February 2, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Gave a nod to my personal blog turning 10: fogknife.com/2024-12-31-t...

And updated my Now page for the winter: jmac.org/now/
Ten years of Fogknife
An acknowledgment of this blog's tenth birthday, with some discussion of current tooling, and where I've been putting my writing-energy these days.
fogknife.com
December 31, 2024 at 8:37 PM
“It has been the solemn burden of we Gen Xers to tell the generations after ours how lucky they have it, growing up without this terror. But a thing I learned from Annie Jacobsen's crushingly grim 2024 book _Nuclear War_ is that my cohort can set this burden down."

fogknife.com/2024-12-19-n...
Nuclear War
Yes, the dog dies. So do the pandas.
fogknife.com
December 19, 2024 at 10:30 PM
❧ I am available for hire as a technical writer.

In recent years I've documented technologies ranging from open-source programming languages to FAANG-run enterprise services.

I'm particularly interested in writing for open-source projects or for nonprofit organizations.

jmac.org/tech-writing...
Jason McIntosh · Tech writing portfolio
A portfolio of tech writing samples by Jason McIntosh.
jmac.org
December 9, 2024 at 7:14 PM
This week's issue of Venthuffer, my short audio zine about the Steam Deck, is about UFO 50, the cyclical nature of art, and snakes. Give it a listen! #UFO50 #SteamDeck #podcasts #VideoGames venthuffer.com/2024-11-24-6...
masto.nyc/@jmac/113543...
6: Ouroboros
On UFO 50 and ever-flowering cycles of the simplest game designs.
venthuffer.com
November 25, 2024 at 1:33 PM
This week on Venthuffer: the psychic scar I still carry from the time I lost my best traditional-roguelike character in an eyeblink, and how contemplating this loss might improve my real life. #CavesOfQud #Stoicism #Roguelike #Podcasts venthuffer.com/2024-11-17-5...
5: Permadeath
Appreciating Caves of Qud as a gymnasium for Stoicism.
venthuffer.com
November 17, 2024 at 4:04 PM