Ben Taylor
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taybenlor.bsky.social
Ben Taylor
@taybenlor.bsky.social
420 followers 170 following 130 posts
Bad brain from too long in the code mines. I make runno.dev, and work in ed tech. Hobbiest runner, hiker, climber, DJ and cat tree. He/Him living on Wurundjeri country in Narrm (Melbourne).
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taybenlor.bsky.social
Cool new grifting trick “instead of asking about the value, think about how much you stand to lose if you don’t adopt!”
September 30, 2025 at 9:30 AM
taybenlor.bsky.social
My biggest frustration with the last 20 years of “agile methodologies” is that the ability to deliver has been replaced by the ability to do a bunch of rituals. I don’t care about the rituals, I care about the outcomes. Some of the rituals are good, but the dogma is so strong.
September 23, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Reposted by Ben Taylor
qntm.org
ME, IN TEARS: you can't just say every single part of a computer system is a file

UNIX, POINTING AT THE MOUSE: file
September 7, 2025 at 11:01 AM
taybenlor.bsky.social
Just bought a 2011 Honda CR-V, and this thing is a snapshot in time. It does Bluetooth calling but not audio. It supports MP3 CDs. It has an aux input. It has a DVD player on the roof that can transmit audio over FM, or via infrared (!!) headphones. Anyway here’s the DVD title screen to Anchorman.
The DVD title screen to anchorman
August 31, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Reposted by Ben Taylor
cameronwilson.bsky.social
great news! CONSPIRACY NATION is so far the best reviewed of my ... 8 books.

(Have you read CONSPIRACY NATION yet? Reviews on Goodreads helps other people who might like it find the book)

www.goodreads.com/bo...
August 2, 2025 at 3:51 AM
taybenlor.bsky.social
I gave a talk a couple of weeks ago at MelbJS about how building MCP Servers is surprisingly easy. Here it is as a blog post:

runno.dev/articles/mcp/
Runno - MCP Servers are surprisingly easy. I made one that runs code in a sandbox.
It lets LLMs run code in a safe environment, using the Runno sandbox, and it was surprisingly easy to build. I'll show you how in here.
runno.dev
July 21, 2025 at 10:44 PM
taybenlor.bsky.social
Sometimes my phone tells me it’s someone’s birthday and I have no idea who that person is
May 29, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Reposted by Ben Taylor
nanovms.bsky.social
this week on the unikernel application spotlight we check out runno - a webassembly sandbox that takes arbitrary input such as python/ruby/php - transpiles to wasm, runs it in node all under nanos - interesting stuff!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx5b...
[Unikernel Application Spotlight] Runno - A WebAssembly Sandbox for Running Code
YouTube video by nanovms
www.youtube.com
May 20, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Reposted by Ben Taylor
timclicks.dev
*taps the sign* rustforgeconf.com/register
May 23, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Reposted by Ben Taylor
benno.au
Apparently yesterday I upset some people by noting that Y2K was a quarter of a century ago.

I apologise for the distress that the notion that Y2K happened closer to the Whitlam dismissal than to today has caused.
May 23, 2025 at 12:47 AM
taybenlor.bsky.social
Introducing @runno/sandbox: A WebAssembly Sandbox for Running Code.

You could use it for running code generated by an LLM, or for testing code written by students, or for running customer functions on your own cloud.

runno.dev/articles/san...
Runno - Introducing @runno/sandbox: A WebAssembly Sandbox for Running Code
The Runno sandbox gives you a secure WebAssembly-based sandbox for running code in various programming languages. It works in Node.js and other JavaScript runtimes, providing protection when running p...
runno.dev
May 19, 2025 at 10:14 PM
taybenlor.bsky.social
I spent the weekend sick in bed, so I finished turning Runno into a Code Sandbox MCP Server.

Now my Claude can write and execute code in a bunch of languages as part of solving problems.

github.com/taybenlor/ru...
runno/packages/mcp at main · taybenlor/runno
Sandboxed runtime for programming languages and WASI binaries. Works in the browser or on your server. - taybenlor/runno
github.com
May 18, 2025 at 11:27 PM
taybenlor.bsky.social
I’m sick this weekend so I built a Runno MCP server. Now Claude can safely run code to answer my questions.
Me asking Claude to calculate 5**5 using Python. Then Claude writing that code and executing using Runno. Then Claude explaining how ** works in Python. Me asking Claude to calculate the p75 of some numbers. Claude then writes Python and executes it to answer.
May 18, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Reposted by Ben Taylor
adamchalmers.com
When your 3D models/hardware projects are represented as code, it's easier for both humans and bots to do code review, switching between the 3D visuals and the underlying code. We turned code review bots into mechanical engineering review bots.
Code review bot leaving comments on a CPU cooler 3D design, in KittyCAD
May 12, 2025 at 9:11 PM
taybenlor.bsky.social
How to Train your Dragon but it’s about transporting Dragons around the country on Trains.
May 9, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Reposted by Ben Taylor
joshtaylor.bsky.social
I continue to appreciate that Clive can spend millions spamming us in texts, ads on socials and tv and basically not get anywhere
May 3, 2025 at 12:33 PM
taybenlor.bsky.social
After the crowd boo’d Dutton, Albo said “No, what we do in Australia is we treat people with respect” #auspol

I really admire respecting the individuals involved in politics. It’s not a team sport, it’s not about characters, and shouldn’t be about cheap shots.
May 3, 2025 at 12:05 PM
taybenlor.bsky.social
“I’m just waiting for the pre-polling figures”
May 3, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Reposted by Ben Taylor
lolennui.bsky.social
something good happened!!
South Australia Valerie the dachshund is found safe and well after 529 days on the run on South Australian island Rescuers on Kangaroo Island say they are 'overjoyed' after the dog walked into one of their traps Get our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcast (Image of a shorthaired black and red dachshund on the beach) Valerie the Dachshund, who went missing on Kangaroo Island in November 2023. Photograph: Courtesy of Georgia Gardner
April 25, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Reposted by Ben Taylor
taybenlor.bsky.social
I’m re-announcing Runno: The Web Component for Code. Have a read about it, and how to use it here:

runno.dev/articles/web...
Runno - Runno: The Web Component for Code
Since I released Runno a few years ago, Web Components have become a lot more popular. I thought it was time to re-introduce Runno, the Web Component for Code. In this article I show how to use it wit...
runno.dev
March 30, 2025 at 7:12 AM
taybenlor.bsky.social
I’m re-announcing Runno: The Web Component for Code. Have a read about it, and how to use it here:

runno.dev/articles/web...
Runno - Runno: The Web Component for Code
Since I released Runno a few years ago, Web Components have become a lot more popular. I thought it was time to re-introduce Runno, the Web Component for Code. In this article I show how to use it wit...
runno.dev
March 30, 2025 at 7:12 AM
taybenlor.bsky.social
It’s easy to be grumpy and cynical. If you believe the worst you’ll never be wrong. It’s hard to be excited and optimistic, you’ll be wrong all the time. But it’s worth it to try for better, rather than accept worse.
March 28, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Reposted by Ben Taylor
adrianaguatame.bsky.social
A friend included this anti-acknowledgement section on her PhD thesis. She also added the proposition: “Systematic bullying and undermining of girls and women in STEM starts early on and is the reason why they do not stay in science and related fields.”
Absurd we still need to go through this
🧪👩‍🔬
There have been people less than helpful in my journey here. I wanted to acknowledge those too, bc I know I am not unique in this experience. No thank you to the physics study assoc that made me sing songs about how women couldn't study physics without sleeping with the professor, the day I stepped into university life. No thank you to the 5th year physics student that decided to assign me a stripper name within the first minute of meeting me in the physics coffee corner in my first year. No thank you to the technician that was responsible for onboarding me on the use of the cluster in my third year who raised his eyebrows and asked me if that meant I was some sort of computer girl. No thank you to the senior researcher that sent me utterly inappropriate texts after a conference, then proceeded to apologise months later by telling me they had not been meant for me anyway so no hard feelings remain hopefully And no thank you to him for attending every conference I've been to since. No thank you to the people who told me that it was surprising that I was doing a PhD since I was a girl. No thank you to the man who mistook me for a coffee lady at a conference, and after having to correct him two times that I did not work there, responded with you should consider it. No thank you to the researcher that asked me what I was wearing underneath my outfit during a conference. No thank you to the physicist who declared to a room full of other physicists that biologists don't know how to design an experiment. No thank you to the people who have called me scary instead of strong and intimidating instead of intelligent. And finally, no thank you to the exec board of the TU Delft, whose knee-jerk reaction to being held up a mirror about the social safety at the university, was to sue the party holding up the mirror instead of looking at the problems they highlighted. ... You have made me feel like I do not belong in science & I cannot forgive you for that.
March 6, 2025 at 4:40 PM
taybenlor.bsky.social
I don’t have instagram so now I find myself doom scrolling Depop
March 11, 2025 at 11:45 AM