Larry Osterman
@larryosterman.github.io
Long term MSFT employee, Dad, Singer.
Expect cat pictures, tech nerding, etc.
Previous: SMB filesystem, Exchange Store, Windows Audio, Windows Runtime, COM, Confidential computing.
Current: Azure SDK for C++
Proud LGBTQIA+ ally.
Profile pic from Not
Expect cat pictures, tech nerding, etc.
Previous: SMB filesystem, Exchange Store, Windows Audio, Windows Runtime, COM, Confidential computing.
Current: Azure SDK for C++
Proud LGBTQIA+ ally.
Profile pic from Not
Reposted by Larry Osterman
Pro tip: If you have a large monorepo in GitHub and are ever thinking of having copilot open 200+ minor formatting issues assigned to copilot, so that copilot agent creates 200+ PRs and then telling local copilot to automate approve/merge of those 200+ PRs, maybe just... don't.
February 11, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Pro tip: If you have a large monorepo in GitHub and are ever thinking of having copilot open 200+ minor formatting issues assigned to copilot, so that copilot agent creates 200+ PRs and then telling local copilot to automate approve/merge of those 200+ PRs, maybe just... don't.
I have to say I'm not upset that my jury duty got cancelled today.
I really wasn't looking to being in downtown Seattle on Wednesday (although I'd likely be in a courtroom during most of the chaos).
I really wasn't looking to being in downtown Seattle on Wednesday (although I'd likely be in a courtroom during most of the chaos).
February 10, 2026 at 12:43 AM
I have to say I'm not upset that my jury duty got cancelled today.
I really wasn't looking to being in downtown Seattle on Wednesday (although I'd likely be in a courtroom during most of the chaos).
I really wasn't looking to being in downtown Seattle on Wednesday (although I'd likely be in a courtroom during most of the chaos).
Seattle area: Run, do not walk to see Cirque du Soleil Echo in Redmond.
It's that good.
And we ARE seeing it again
It's that good.
And we ARE seeing it again
February 8, 2026 at 6:16 AM
Seattle area: Run, do not walk to see Cirque du Soleil Echo in Redmond.
It's that good.
And we ARE seeing it again
It's that good.
And we ARE seeing it again
Tonight's dinner conversation included Cantors diagonalization proof, Othello, and Ranked Competitive Breast Growth.
#welcometotheosterhorde
#welcometotheosterhorde
February 8, 2026 at 2:47 AM
Tonight's dinner conversation included Cantors diagonalization proof, Othello, and Ranked Competitive Breast Growth.
#welcometotheosterhorde
#welcometotheosterhorde
I just learned that one of my early 1990s coworkers, Adrian King has tragically left us.
Adrian was an amazing individual and was responsible for possibly one of the most epic Microsoft promotional videos ever made.
He shows up at about 11 minutes into the video.
Adrian was an amazing individual and was responsible for possibly one of the most epic Microsoft promotional videos ever made.
He shows up at about 11 minutes into the video.
Windows 386 Promo Video
YouTube video by Joe Paris
youtu.be
February 6, 2026 at 5:24 AM
I just learned that one of my early 1990s coworkers, Adrian King has tragically left us.
Adrian was an amazing individual and was responsible for possibly one of the most epic Microsoft promotional videos ever made.
He shows up at about 11 minutes into the video.
Adrian was an amazing individual and was responsible for possibly one of the most epic Microsoft promotional videos ever made.
He shows up at about 11 minutes into the video.
The 2000 WA State gubernatorial race was an eye opener, and @goldy.horsesass.org's excellent coverage at HorsesAss gave me an excellent primer on how it's possible for elections to be both messy as heck, and 100% reliable.
The "messy as heck" part is mostly where "election fraud" claims come from.
The "messy as heck" part is mostly where "election fraud" claims come from.
1/ This is straight up defamation of vote-by-mail. He’s talking about CA, where over 80% of ballots in the 2024 general were mail-in. And as we know from WA, late ballots represent a very different universe of voters than the early ballots in tallied on election night… and they tend to lean left.
…
…
Mike Johnson on Trump calling for Rs to "nationalize" elections: "We had 3 Republicans who were ahead on election day in last cycle & every time a new tranche of ballots came in they just magically whittled away until their leads were lost. It looks on its face to be fraudulent. Can I prove it? No"
February 3, 2026 at 9:51 PM
The 2000 WA State gubernatorial race was an eye opener, and @goldy.horsesass.org's excellent coverage at HorsesAss gave me an excellent primer on how it's possible for elections to be both messy as heck, and 100% reliable.
The "messy as heck" part is mostly where "election fraud" claims come from.
The "messy as heck" part is mostly where "election fraud" claims come from.
TIL that King County Jury Selection is done fully remotely, not in-person.
I'm so excited that I *don't* have to go downtown for at least the voir dire part of jury selection.
I'm so excited that I *don't* have to go downtown for at least the voir dire part of jury selection.
February 2, 2026 at 8:04 PM
TIL that King County Jury Selection is done fully remotely, not in-person.
I'm so excited that I *don't* have to go downtown for at least the voir dire part of jury selection.
I'm so excited that I *don't* have to go downtown for at least the voir dire part of jury selection.
Today’s happy homeowner... Had to drill a hole in the side of a cabinet in my daughter's house. We had an appropriately sized hole saw already, so no problem, right?
We forgot to measure the thickness of the cabinet.
Did you know a 3/8 inch hole saw won't cut through a 5/4 inch cabinet?
FML.
We forgot to measure the thickness of the cabinet.
Did you know a 3/8 inch hole saw won't cut through a 5/4 inch cabinet?
FML.
January 31, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Today’s happy homeowner... Had to drill a hole in the side of a cabinet in my daughter's house. We had an appropriately sized hole saw already, so no problem, right?
We forgot to measure the thickness of the cabinet.
Did you know a 3/8 inch hole saw won't cut through a 5/4 inch cabinet?
FML.
We forgot to measure the thickness of the cabinet.
Did you know a 3/8 inch hole saw won't cut through a 5/4 inch cabinet?
FML.
In today's "Fun with LLMs", I had an LLM (Claude Opus 4.5) correct me on the word choices I made in my instructions.
It said it didn't need to follow an instruction because the instruction only applied after a *task* was done, and it had only done one *step* of the "task".
It said it didn't need to follow an instruction because the instruction only applied after a *task* was done, and it had only done one *step* of the "task".
January 31, 2026 at 12:05 AM
In today's "Fun with LLMs", I had an LLM (Claude Opus 4.5) correct me on the word choices I made in my instructions.
It said it didn't need to follow an instruction because the instruction only applied after a *task* was done, and it had only done one *step* of the "task".
It said it didn't need to follow an instruction because the instruction only applied after a *task* was done, and it had only done one *step* of the "task".
I've been running a series of experiments using GH CoPilot to perform a straightforward task, and comparing different environments.
My core takeaway: Based on LLMS today, LLMs are very much like toddlers.
Credit to my wife for the analogy.
My core takeaway: Based on LLMS today, LLMs are very much like toddlers.
Credit to my wife for the analogy.
January 30, 2026 at 5:13 PM
I've been running a series of experiments using GH CoPilot to perform a straightforward task, and comparing different environments.
My core takeaway: Based on LLMS today, LLMs are very much like toddlers.
Credit to my wife for the analogy.
My core takeaway: Based on LLMS today, LLMs are very much like toddlers.
Credit to my wife for the analogy.
Ok, started reading The Regicide Report last night.
Thank you SO MUCH @cstross.bsky.social for resurrecting Dr. Phibes AND Vulnavia.
I literally said: "No, he didn't; Oh, he DID!" and somewhat later "And Vulnavia too!" out loud much to the confusion of my family (we are all Phibes fans).
Thank you SO MUCH @cstross.bsky.social for resurrecting Dr. Phibes AND Vulnavia.
I literally said: "No, he didn't; Oh, he DID!" and somewhat later "And Vulnavia too!" out loud much to the confusion of my family (we are all Phibes fans).
January 29, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Ok, started reading The Regicide Report last night.
Thank you SO MUCH @cstross.bsky.social for resurrecting Dr. Phibes AND Vulnavia.
I literally said: "No, he didn't; Oh, he DID!" and somewhat later "And Vulnavia too!" out loud much to the confusion of my family (we are all Phibes fans).
Thank you SO MUCH @cstross.bsky.social for resurrecting Dr. Phibes AND Vulnavia.
I literally said: "No, he didn't; Oh, he DID!" and somewhat later "And Vulnavia too!" out loud much to the confusion of my family (we are all Phibes fans).
I don't normally do sports all, but this game is NOT dissapointing.
And not just because the Seahawks are ahead.
The drama is wonderful.
And not just because the Seahawks are ahead.
The drama is wonderful.
January 26, 2026 at 1:32 AM
I don't normally do sports all, but this game is NOT dissapointing.
And not just because the Seahawks are ahead.
The drama is wonderful.
And not just because the Seahawks are ahead.
The drama is wonderful.
When your daughter nonchalantly mentions that her coworker is on the Seahawks dance squad.
January 26, 2026 at 12:00 AM
When your daughter nonchalantly mentions that her coworker is on the Seahawks dance squad.
I'm reading @kbspangler.com 's Maker Space, and it's characterization of DHS is hitting rather harder these days than it would have in 2014.
January 25, 2026 at 6:21 PM
I'm reading @kbspangler.com 's Maker Space, and it's characterization of DHS is hitting rather harder these days than it would have in 2014.
So I'm playing around with using Copilot to deploy a web app and for giggles I thought to add theming to the web app.
The results were... Interesting
From left to right: 1970s Memorandum, 1990s GeoCities, Art Deco, Modern Web.
In real life, the GeoCities theme is possibly worse than Hot Dog Stand
The results were... Interesting
From left to right: 1970s Memorandum, 1990s GeoCities, Art Deco, Modern Web.
In real life, the GeoCities theme is possibly worse than Hot Dog Stand
January 23, 2026 at 11:31 PM
So I'm playing around with using Copilot to deploy a web app and for giggles I thought to add theming to the web app.
The results were... Interesting
From left to right: 1970s Memorandum, 1990s GeoCities, Art Deco, Modern Web.
In real life, the GeoCities theme is possibly worse than Hot Dog Stand
The results were... Interesting
From left to right: 1970s Memorandum, 1990s GeoCities, Art Deco, Modern Web.
In real life, the GeoCities theme is possibly worse than Hot Dog Stand
Ellie just dropped this off for me to read, and holey moley it's fantastic.
The art, the monsters, the meta gameplay, heck, even the land acknowledgement is phenomenal.
I know I'm rediculously biased, but this is an incredible work.
The art, the monsters, the meta gameplay, heck, even the land acknowledgement is phenomenal.
I know I'm rediculously biased, but this is an incredible work.
Proof arrived for MONSTER GUTS 2e and it's absolutely surreal to hold the game I made in my hands.
Ordering another proof cuz I'm not fully happy with it, but this is a huge personal milestone for me as a game designer, and I'm over the moon that this game tangibly exists. #MG2E #MONSTERGUTS2e
Ordering another proof cuz I'm not fully happy with it, but this is a huge personal milestone for me as a game designer, and I'm over the moon that this game tangibly exists. #MG2E #MONSTERGUTS2e
January 23, 2026 at 3:18 AM
Ellie just dropped this off for me to read, and holey moley it's fantastic.
The art, the monsters, the meta gameplay, heck, even the land acknowledgement is phenomenal.
I know I'm rediculously biased, but this is an incredible work.
The art, the monsters, the meta gameplay, heck, even the land acknowledgement is phenomenal.
I know I'm rediculously biased, but this is an incredible work.
New "report and block" spam: accounts with a possibly AI generated picture of a woman, and the text "My garden hasn't been watered in a long time".
Found about a dozen tonight alone.
Found about a dozen tonight alone.
January 21, 2026 at 5:00 AM
New "report and block" spam: accounts with a possibly AI generated picture of a woman, and the text "My garden hasn't been watered in a long time".
Found about a dozen tonight alone.
Found about a dozen tonight alone.
Today's "Larry is overthinking the lyrics" moment: In the song "Popular", is Galinda's self-correction of her own pronunciation of "PopulEr" as "LAr" an intentional mispronunciation for comic effect (one of many malaprops that Galinda makes in the show), or an actual attempt at lyric correction.
January 20, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Today's "Larry is overthinking the lyrics" moment: In the song "Popular", is Galinda's self-correction of her own pronunciation of "PopulEr" as "LAr" an intentional mispronunciation for comic effect (one of many malaprops that Galinda makes in the show), or an actual attempt at lyric correction.
Reposted by Larry Osterman
BREAKING: Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife has made a “transformational” donation to the LGBTQ+ advocacy group. This large gift comes just months after the Trump administration shut down counseling services for queer youth.
My latest for @wired.com:
My latest for @wired.com:
MacKenzie Scott Donates $45 Million to the Trevor Project
Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife has made a donation to the LGBTQ+ advocacy group that the organization calls “transformational.”
www.wired.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:33 PM
BREAKING: Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife has made a “transformational” donation to the LGBTQ+ advocacy group. This large gift comes just months after the Trump administration shut down counseling services for queer youth.
My latest for @wired.com:
My latest for @wired.com:
Just got my second jury notice in 41 years as a registered voter in Washington state.
The first was canceled a week before it was scheduled to start, we'll see what happens this time.
The first was canceled a week before it was scheduled to start, we'll see what happens this time.
January 3, 2026 at 12:45 AM
Just got my second jury notice in 41 years as a registered voter in Washington state.
The first was canceled a week before it was scheduled to start, we'll see what happens this time.
The first was canceled a week before it was scheduled to start, we'll see what happens this time.
I swear there is no active politician in America today who "gets it" more than @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social.
Mamdani: Where else can you hear the sound of the steel pan, savor the smell of sancocho, and pay $9 for coffee on the same block? Where else could a Muslim kid like me grow up eating bagels and lox every Sunday?
January 1, 2026 at 9:33 PM
I swear there is no active politician in America today who "gets it" more than @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social.
This weekends project - an Xmas present from my sister. It was incredibly fun to build and it is SO detailed.
December 30, 2025 at 1:52 AM
This weekends project - an Xmas present from my sister. It was incredibly fun to build and it is SO detailed.
Reposted by Larry Osterman
Join our community. Auditions Jan 3 & 10! 🎶
➡️ Sign up for a time on Saturday, January 3rd from 10am to 2pm or Saturday, January 10th from 11am to 2pm, plus get more info about auditions, rehearsals & performances: bit.ly/4eFkCsj
#Singing #Auditions #SingWithUs #Community #LGBTQChorus
➡️ Sign up for a time on Saturday, January 3rd from 10am to 2pm or Saturday, January 10th from 11am to 2pm, plus get more info about auditions, rehearsals & performances: bit.ly/4eFkCsj
#Singing #Auditions #SingWithUs #Community #LGBTQChorus
December 29, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Join our community. Auditions Jan 3 & 10! 🎶
➡️ Sign up for a time on Saturday, January 3rd from 10am to 2pm or Saturday, January 10th from 11am to 2pm, plus get more info about auditions, rehearsals & performances: bit.ly/4eFkCsj
#Singing #Auditions #SingWithUs #Community #LGBTQChorus
➡️ Sign up for a time on Saturday, January 3rd from 10am to 2pm or Saturday, January 10th from 11am to 2pm, plus get more info about auditions, rehearsals & performances: bit.ly/4eFkCsj
#Singing #Auditions #SingWithUs #Community #LGBTQChorus
Got up early and we went for a walk after breakfast.
The view did NOT disappoint.
The view did NOT disappoint.
December 27, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Got up early and we went for a walk after breakfast.
The view did NOT disappoint.
The view did NOT disappoint.
First Xmas movie: Hundreds of Beavers - first class, 100% approval
Second Xmas movie: Anna and the Apocalypse - we all regret seeing it.
Second Xmas movie: Anna and the Apocalypse - we all regret seeing it.
December 26, 2025 at 2:12 AM
First Xmas movie: Hundreds of Beavers - first class, 100% approval
Second Xmas movie: Anna and the Apocalypse - we all regret seeing it.
Second Xmas movie: Anna and the Apocalypse - we all regret seeing it.