Yaro Volkov
@lactateintolerant.bsky.social
Interested in data and tech, photography and cycling. Not known for anything to anyone. Born in Russia, studied in the States, currently living down under.
Pinned
Some days (usually Mondays) I think that all of this corporate/work stuff is totally made up by us to distract ourselves from our mortality, and that the only things that are real are art, music and caring for children. But then Tuesday rolls around and I get on with the program.
One of the reasons I love following Mr Hightower is because he so visibly grapples with the use of GenAI in software engineering, and he appears to be so conflicted about it at times. The struggle is so real. I am not a software engineer, but it really resonates.
I'm still writing code the hard way. I'm slow. I like to think critically about every line of code and fiddle with variable names until everything looks right. I treat code as a liability and try to ship only what's necessary.
It's hard to imagine writing code any other way.
It's hard to imagine writing code any other way.
February 8, 2026 at 1:35 AM
One of the reasons I love following Mr Hightower is because he so visibly grapples with the use of GenAI in software engineering, and he appears to be so conflicted about it at times. The struggle is so real. I am not a software engineer, but it really resonates.
Reposted by Yaro Volkov
February 6, 2026 at 6:31 PM
Reposted by Yaro Volkov
Shhh/Peaceful
Bessa L
25mm f3.5
Ilford FP4+
The Yukon
Bessa L
25mm f3.5
Ilford FP4+
The Yukon
February 3, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Shhh/Peaceful
Bessa L
25mm f3.5
Ilford FP4+
The Yukon
Bessa L
25mm f3.5
Ilford FP4+
The Yukon
In which my personal favorite @dublab.bsky.social makes an appearance
If you're looking to shake things up in the new year, these streaming platforms will help you diversify your music-listening habits. n.pr/3MFVckn
Ditching music algorithms? Here are 12 streaming alternatives to explore
If you're looking to shake things up in the new year, these streaming platforms will help you diversify your music-listening habits.
n.pr
December 17, 2025 at 12:49 AM
In which my personal favorite @dublab.bsky.social makes an appearance
If you’re marketing your product as an “everything machine”, blaming a negative outcome on misuse is an interesting defense strategy
OpenAI denies liability in teen suicide lawsuit, cites ‘misuse’ of ChatGPT
OpenAI denies liability in teen suicide lawsuit, cites ‘misuse’ of ChatGPT
The case is ongoing.
buff.ly
November 27, 2025 at 1:30 AM
If you’re marketing your product as an “everything machine”, blaming a negative outcome on misuse is an interesting defense strategy
Another incredible sonic journey by @daedelus.bsky.social via @dublab.bsky.social: www.dublab.com/archive/daed...
dublab
www.dublab.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Another incredible sonic journey by @daedelus.bsky.social via @dublab.bsky.social: www.dublab.com/archive/daed...
One of the most fascinating things to me is how malleable the systems, rules and constructs that represent “current state” that we live in are (or aren’t), how different personality types perceive and act upon that malleability, and how that ultimately shapes the world
November 13, 2025 at 6:54 AM
One of the most fascinating things to me is how malleable the systems, rules and constructs that represent “current state” that we live in are (or aren’t), how different personality types perceive and act upon that malleability, and how that ultimately shapes the world
Mamdani is going to implement Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la-tee-da
Just like that
Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la-tee-da
La-tee-da
You’re my brown eyed girl
Wait, where was I?
Just like that
Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la-tee-da
La-tee-da
You’re my brown eyed girl
Wait, where was I?
Mamdani is going to implement Shar Law. Everyone will have to bow down to the Mistress of the Night, the Lady of Loss, and devote themselves to bringing about a darkness that will smother her hated foe and sister Selûne
Mamdani is going to implement My Sharona law. Everyone will have to create songs with undeniable rock beats.
November 9, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Mamdani is going to implement Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la-tee-da
Just like that
Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la-tee-da
La-tee-da
You’re my brown eyed girl
Wait, where was I?
Just like that
Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la-tee-da
La-tee-da
You’re my brown eyed girl
Wait, where was I?
So we saw Bill Frisell’s trio last night, and it’s like a good movie or a book that is not in your face, but that leaves a wonderful aftertaste and you find yourself coming back to it again and again
Pretty excited about seeing Bill Frisell Trio live!
November 1, 2025 at 4:56 AM
So we saw Bill Frisell’s trio last night, and it’s like a good movie or a book that is not in your face, but that leaves a wonderful aftertaste and you find yourself coming back to it again and again
I measure my progress through the workday in the number of unpleasant conversations I’ve had vs ones I am yet to have
October 29, 2025 at 2:28 AM
I measure my progress through the workday in the number of unpleasant conversations I’ve had vs ones I am yet to have
There is a fascinating chart in this article showing total fertility rate by country. It got me thinking - and I know nothing about demography - but is there a TFR-like metric adjusted for how many children survive past a certain age? www.npr.org/2025/10/27/n...
October 28, 2025 at 1:55 AM
There is a fascinating chart in this article showing total fertility rate by country. It got me thinking - and I know nothing about demography - but is there a TFR-like metric adjusted for how many children survive past a certain age? www.npr.org/2025/10/27/n...
Pretty excited about seeing Bill Frisell Trio live!
October 18, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Pretty excited about seeing Bill Frisell Trio live!
Reposted by Yaro Volkov
I wish @thedailyshow.com would stop talking to Doomers and TESCREALists and instead interview someone like Dr. Joy Buolamwini, @timnitgebru.bsky.social , @ruha9.bsky.social , @mmitchell.bsky.social , @alexhanna.bsky.social or me :)
October 10, 2025 at 11:06 AM
I wish @thedailyshow.com would stop talking to Doomers and TESCREALists and instead interview someone like Dr. Joy Buolamwini, @timnitgebru.bsky.social , @ruha9.bsky.social , @mmitchell.bsky.social , @alexhanna.bsky.social or me :)
The conclusion - that LLM chatbots are dangerous - seems right; that the author had to antropomorphise the hell out of said chatbots on the way to drawing this conclusion, seems.. questionable www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Putting ChatGPT on the Couch
When I played doctor with the chatbot, the simulated patient confessed problems that are real—and that should worry all of us.
www.newyorker.com
October 4, 2025 at 10:53 AM
The conclusion - that LLM chatbots are dangerous - seems right; that the author had to antropomorphise the hell out of said chatbots on the way to drawing this conclusion, seems.. questionable www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
October 3, 2025 at 1:00 PM
September 29, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Reposted by Yaro Volkov
“AI” isn’t a tool or technology or even a cluster of technologies with a misleading name. It’s the infrastructure at the foundation of a form of capitalism dependent on data brokering. We should be teaching our students about this and not teaching them about “responsible” use.
September 28, 2025 at 1:38 AM
“AI” isn’t a tool or technology or even a cluster of technologies with a misleading name. It’s the infrastructure at the foundation of a form of capitalism dependent on data brokering. We should be teaching our students about this and not teaching them about “responsible” use.
Today I am happy.
September 15, 2025 at 6:50 AM
Today I am happy.
Reposted by Yaro Volkov
I once accidentally stumbled across this format when the shutter in my old Minolta X700 broke and I got a whole film of unintentional half-frames. This one was stitched together digitally and is nowhere close to your thoughtful triptychs.
September 9, 2025 at 8:34 AM
I once accidentally stumbled across this format when the shutter in my old Minolta X700 broke and I got a whole film of unintentional half-frames. This one was stitched together digitally and is nowhere close to your thoughtful triptychs.
Lake Pichola, Udaipur, India. Another old one from 2013. #believeinfilm #filmisnotdead #photography #blackandwhite #monochrome #analogphotography
September 8, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Lake Pichola, Udaipur, India. Another old one from 2013. #believeinfilm #filmisnotdead #photography #blackandwhite #monochrome #analogphotography
I am sorry, but if students are having “profound experiences” they’ve never had before by interacting with chatbots, that’s not saying that chatbots are great, it’s saying the human educators they came in contact with had been average podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/h...
A.I. School Is in Session: Two Takes on the Future of Education
Podcast Episode · Hard Fork · 05/09/2025 · 1h 12m
podcasts.apple.com
September 6, 2025 at 2:35 PM
I am sorry, but if students are having “profound experiences” they’ve never had before by interacting with chatbots, that’s not saying that chatbots are great, it’s saying the human educators they came in contact with had been average podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/h...
Jaipur, India. An old photo from a trip back in 2013. I think this was shot on a Minolta X700, unsure of what film I used, most likely @ilfordphoto.com HP5+ #believeinfilm #photography #filmisnotdead #analogphotography #blackandwhite #monochrome
September 5, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Jaipur, India. An old photo from a trip back in 2013. I think this was shot on a Minolta X700, unsure of what film I used, most likely @ilfordphoto.com HP5+ #believeinfilm #photography #filmisnotdead #analogphotography #blackandwhite #monochrome
There’s got to be a #Strava degrees of separation tool, where you enter a rider’s name and it goes “you’ve been on a ride with this person X times”, or you haven’t, but this other person you rode with rode with them once. Sort of six degrees of Kevin Bacon type thing. Is there? #cycling
August 24, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Assuming one agrees with this paper’s key finding (that LLM-powered chatbots meet the definition of BS artists), the logical question is what does it say about our society that we are so happy to accept BS artists as personal assistants and conversation partners? podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/b...
CZM Rewind: The Academics That Think ChatGPT Is BS
Podcast Episode · Better Offline · 13/08/2025 · 57m
podcasts.apple.com
August 20, 2025 at 3:07 AM
Assuming one agrees with this paper’s key finding (that LLM-powered chatbots meet the definition of BS artists), the logical question is what does it say about our society that we are so happy to accept BS artists as personal assistants and conversation partners? podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/b...
So there are two versions of this song Nana recorded with her father Dorvial ~30yrs apart, and I find it so beautiful that it's a lullaby (something a parent sings to their child), and that they perform it together, and that you can hear in his voice that he's much older on the second recording
If you ever lose your bearings in life, if corporate BS, the daily grind, or the news of the day overwhelms you, just listen to this lullaby and be reminded about what it means to be human: youtu.be/K3WtHos01Y0?...
Dorival & Nana Caymmi - Acalanto
YouTube video by Astorte
youtu.be
August 15, 2025 at 7:01 AM
So there are two versions of this song Nana recorded with her father Dorvial ~30yrs apart, and I find it so beautiful that it's a lullaby (something a parent sings to their child), and that they perform it together, and that you can hear in his voice that he's much older on the second recording