ajdecon
@ajdecon.org
Building supercomputers! Former materials physicist, recovering SRE, now mostly herding cats. Perpetually a bit confused. He/him.
Currently at NVIDIA, formerly FB and LANL. Opinions mine as always.
🏡: Denver, CO
🔗 : https://www.ajdecon.org
Currently at NVIDIA, formerly FB and LANL. Opinions mine as always.
🏡: Denver, CO
🔗 : https://www.ajdecon.org
Just need to brag for a moment about my team who designed the Theia #HPC cluster, as well as all our colleagues who built it, got it to perf, and keep it happy and running smoothly
November 13, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Just need to brag for a moment about my team who designed the Theia #HPC cluster, as well as all our colleagues who built it, got it to perf, and keep it happy and running smoothly
Reposted by ajdecon
people bitch about woke media but if TOS was on today they would go to a thinly-veiled MAGA planet where the locals worshipped guns and then kirk would hit the orange dictator with a two-fisted karate chop before giving a lecture about how science is real and violence is bad
November 11, 2025 at 11:46 PM
people bitch about woke media but if TOS was on today they would go to a thinly-veiled MAGA planet where the locals worshipped guns and then kirk would hit the orange dictator with a two-fisted karate chop before giving a lecture about how science is real and violence is bad
It turns out that Tailscale is really perfect for how I use the Spark.
Almost nothing I do is graphical, but I’ve already found myself running multiple little ML services on it that I can just… use from my phone, wherever.
As well as just being able to SSH into it from my laptop for dev purposes.
Almost nothing I do is graphical, but I’ve already found myself running multiple little ML services on it that I can just… use from my phone, wherever.
As well as just being able to SSH into it from my laptop for dev purposes.
November 11, 2025 at 7:42 PM
It turns out that Tailscale is really perfect for how I use the Spark.
Almost nothing I do is graphical, but I’ve already found myself running multiple little ML services on it that I can just… use from my phone, wherever.
As well as just being able to SSH into it from my laptop for dev purposes.
Almost nothing I do is graphical, but I’ve already found myself running multiple little ML services on it that I can just… use from my phone, wherever.
As well as just being able to SSH into it from my laptop for dev purposes.
Reposted by ajdecon
This is something I had to learn early -
I tried saying to someone "let me take my manager hat off for a second" and I realized that was not a hat I could take off
No matter what I say I was still responsible for their income, their family, their security
You can't handwave that power dynamic
I tried saying to someone "let me take my manager hat off for a second" and I realized that was not a hat I could take off
No matter what I say I was still responsible for their income, their family, their security
You can't handwave that power dynamic
Ever heard of the concept of the invisible gun? It's easy to forget the power your words have as a leader.
Article + newsletter drop Tuesday, Nov 11 on The Modern Leader.
Sign up ➡️ modernleader.is
Article + newsletter drop Tuesday, Nov 11 on The Modern Leader.
Sign up ➡️ modernleader.is
November 11, 2025 at 6:34 PM
This is something I had to learn early -
I tried saying to someone "let me take my manager hat off for a second" and I realized that was not a hat I could take off
No matter what I say I was still responsible for their income, their family, their security
You can't handwave that power dynamic
I tried saying to someone "let me take my manager hat off for a second" and I realized that was not a hat I could take off
No matter what I say I was still responsible for their income, their family, their security
You can't handwave that power dynamic
I strongly agree with this — in its context, which is work communication and code/error messages. Please, if you are sending me an error message, copy paste the actual text.
I’m ok with screenshots of text in social media context, but even then: please, dear God, include the actual URL too.
I’m ok with screenshots of text in social media context, but even then: please, dear God, include the actual URL too.
I Hate Screenshots of Text
Why do people take screenshots of text?
parkscomputing.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:59 PM
I strongly agree with this — in its context, which is work communication and code/error messages. Please, if you are sending me an error message, copy paste the actual text.
I’m ok with screenshots of text in social media context, but even then: please, dear God, include the actual URL too.
I’m ok with screenshots of text in social media context, but even then: please, dear God, include the actual URL too.
Others are rightly pointing out how silly this is, but I’d like to pitch my own pet idea:
Explicitly make the next Bond movie a Cold War period piece.
Sidesteps the continuity issues, puts the character back in his original element, and lots of fun set and costumes design.
Explicitly make the next Bond movie a Cold War period piece.
Sidesteps the continuity issues, puts the character back in his original element, and lots of fun set and costumes design.
James Bond’s death in No Time to Die is causing a nightmare for the next film. Writers are stuck because Bond “was blown to pieces.”
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
November 11, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Others are rightly pointing out how silly this is, but I’d like to pitch my own pet idea:
Explicitly make the next Bond movie a Cold War period piece.
Sidesteps the continuity issues, puts the character back in his original element, and lots of fun set and costumes design.
Explicitly make the next Bond movie a Cold War period piece.
Sidesteps the continuity issues, puts the character back in his original element, and lots of fun set and costumes design.
The way I look at it, a political party should not be a way to express your identity or values -- it's a tool for wielding political power.
The current national Democratic party electeds are... disappointing. But at least today, the most effective way to take power is likely through D primaries.
The current national Democratic party electeds are... disappointing. But at least today, the most effective way to take power is likely through D primaries.
Hey, a lot of people are talking about changing affiliation from Democratic to Independent.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
November 10, 2025 at 6:25 PM
The way I look at it, a political party should not be a way to express your identity or values -- it's a tool for wielding political power.
The current national Democratic party electeds are... disappointing. But at least today, the most effective way to take power is likely through D primaries.
The current national Democratic party electeds are... disappointing. But at least today, the most effective way to take power is likely through D primaries.
Reposted by ajdecon
Hey, a lot of people are talking about changing affiliation from Democratic to Independent.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
November 10, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Hey, a lot of people are talking about changing affiliation from Democratic to Independent.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
Carving out time in my calendar to yell at my senators and reps, sigh
November 10, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Carving out time in my calendar to yell at my senators and reps, sigh
Reposted by ajdecon
Can I nerd snipe y’all with a question?
I’ve seen mentioned a few times obliquely about the toolkit of services that hyperscaler teams use to build high powered distributed systems…
But just what is that toolkit?
I’ve seen mentioned a few times obliquely about the toolkit of services that hyperscaler teams use to build high powered distributed systems…
But just what is that toolkit?
November 10, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Can I nerd snipe y’all with a question?
I’ve seen mentioned a few times obliquely about the toolkit of services that hyperscaler teams use to build high powered distributed systems…
But just what is that toolkit?
I’ve seen mentioned a few times obliquely about the toolkit of services that hyperscaler teams use to build high powered distributed systems…
But just what is that toolkit?
Kyle’s post is very much worth reading and sitting with
“I want you to understand what it is like to live in Chicago during this time.”
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
November 9, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Kyle’s post is very much worth reading and sitting with
Reposted by ajdecon
hoping this upcoming star wars: starfighter movie is just top gun but star wars
ironically what makes star wars stuff best is when it is 'something else, but also star wars'
e.g. Andor, a British political thriller but also Star Wars
the Mandalorian, an episode-of-the-week Western but also Star Wars (when it was good)
e.g. Andor, a British political thriller but also Star Wars
the Mandalorian, an episode-of-the-week Western but also Star Wars (when it was good)
November 8, 2025 at 6:43 PM
hoping this upcoming star wars: starfighter movie is just top gun but star wars
Reposted by ajdecon
Oh, Dick Cheney died? Well-- *sees Bluesky mod around corner* What's really important is championing the open protocol.
November 4, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Oh, Dick Cheney died? Well-- *sees Bluesky mod around corner* What's really important is championing the open protocol.
Reposted by ajdecon
"I am openly defying a court order so I can starve children if Democrats don't let me take healthcare away from millions"
once again we are in 'too evil for a saturday morning cartoon' territory
once again we are in 'too evil for a saturday morning cartoon' territory
Trump says the SNAP money that he’s been ordered by a court to release won’t be released until the government shutdown ends.
November 4, 2025 at 4:54 PM
"I am openly defying a court order so I can starve children if Democrats don't let me take healthcare away from millions"
once again we are in 'too evil for a saturday morning cartoon' territory
once again we are in 'too evil for a saturday morning cartoon' territory
Relatedly, I love “Look to Windward”. Absolutely the best Culture novel IMO, though I’ll give credit to “Use of Weapons” as also very very good.
I recently reread Iain Banks’ “Look to Windward”, and I noticed this exchange between an artist and an AI character.
And I agree that creativity is much more about achievement and experience than the end result.
But also, it’s a lot easier to take that attitude in a post-scarcity utopia!
And I agree that creativity is much more about achievement and experience than the end result.
But also, it’s a lot easier to take that attitude in a post-scarcity utopia!
November 4, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Relatedly, I love “Look to Windward”. Absolutely the best Culture novel IMO, though I’ll give credit to “Use of Weapons” as also very very good.
I recently reread Iain Banks’ “Look to Windward”, and I noticed this exchange between an artist and an AI character.
And I agree that creativity is much more about achievement and experience than the end result.
But also, it’s a lot easier to take that attitude in a post-scarcity utopia!
And I agree that creativity is much more about achievement and experience than the end result.
But also, it’s a lot easier to take that attitude in a post-scarcity utopia!
November 4, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I recently reread Iain Banks’ “Look to Windward”, and I noticed this exchange between an artist and an AI character.
And I agree that creativity is much more about achievement and experience than the end result.
But also, it’s a lot easier to take that attitude in a post-scarcity utopia!
And I agree that creativity is much more about achievement and experience than the end result.
But also, it’s a lot easier to take that attitude in a post-scarcity utopia!
I’m only partway through this so far (200 pages!) but it’s quite good and engagingly-written.
I love seeing this kind of experience report for a process that’s often glossed over in the search to report exciting results.
Also I appreciate the PDF version, it’s fairly readable on my e-reader 😁
I love seeing this kind of experience report for a process that’s often glossed over in the search to report exciting results.
Also I appreciate the PDF version, it’s fairly readable on my e-reader 😁
Training LLMs end to end is hard. But way more people should, and will, be doing it in the future.
The @hf.co Research team is excited to share their new e-book that covers the full pipeline:
· pre-training,
· post-training,
· infra.
200+ pages of what worked and what didn’t. ⤵️
The @hf.co Research team is excited to share their new e-book that covers the full pipeline:
· pre-training,
· post-training,
· infra.
200+ pages of what worked and what didn’t. ⤵️
November 4, 2025 at 4:36 PM
I’m only partway through this so far (200 pages!) but it’s quite good and engagingly-written.
I love seeing this kind of experience report for a process that’s often glossed over in the search to report exciting results.
Also I appreciate the PDF version, it’s fairly readable on my e-reader 😁
I love seeing this kind of experience report for a process that’s often glossed over in the search to report exciting results.
Also I appreciate the PDF version, it’s fairly readable on my e-reader 😁
This is very cool, and not something I would have expected myself!
I had a bug in my new ML-DSA implementation that caused Verify to reject all signatures. I gave up after half an hour. On a whim, I threw Claude Code at it. Surprisingly (to me!) it one-shotted it in 5 minutes.
A small case study of useful AI tasks that aren't generating code that requires review.
A small case study of useful AI tasks that aren't generating code that requires review.
Claude Code Can Debug Low-level Cryptography
Surprisingly (to me) Claude Code debugged my new ML-DSA implementation faster than I would have, finding the non-obvious low-level issue that was making Verify fail.
words.filippo.io
November 2, 2025 at 8:39 PM
This is very cool, and not something I would have expected myself!
Reposted by ajdecon
I had a bug in my new ML-DSA implementation that caused Verify to reject all signatures. I gave up after half an hour. On a whim, I threw Claude Code at it. Surprisingly (to me!) it one-shotted it in 5 minutes.
A small case study of useful AI tasks that aren't generating code that requires review.
A small case study of useful AI tasks that aren't generating code that requires review.
Claude Code Can Debug Low-level Cryptography
Surprisingly (to me) Claude Code debugged my new ML-DSA implementation faster than I would have, finding the non-obvious low-level issue that was making Verify fail.
words.filippo.io
November 1, 2025 at 6:26 PM
I had a bug in my new ML-DSA implementation that caused Verify to reject all signatures. I gave up after half an hour. On a whim, I threw Claude Code at it. Surprisingly (to me!) it one-shotted it in 5 minutes.
A small case study of useful AI tasks that aren't generating code that requires review.
A small case study of useful AI tasks that aren't generating code that requires review.
Reposted by ajdecon
Frankly, there are now many such stories among folks doing highly complex technical work. AI exhibits, as @emollick.bsky.social and others have noted, "jagged" capabilities (sometimes remarkably good, sometimes catastrophically bad). That's a more complex story than "useless hype" or "AGI soon".
I had a bug in my new ML-DSA implementation that caused Verify to reject all signatures. I gave up after half an hour. On a whim, I threw Claude Code at it. Surprisingly (to me!) it one-shotted it in 5 minutes.
A small case study of useful AI tasks that aren't generating code that requires review.
A small case study of useful AI tasks that aren't generating code that requires review.
Claude Code Can Debug Low-level Cryptography
Surprisingly (to me) Claude Code debugged my new ML-DSA implementation faster than I would have, finding the non-obvious low-level issue that was making Verify fail.
words.filippo.io
November 2, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Frankly, there are now many such stories among folks doing highly complex technical work. AI exhibits, as @emollick.bsky.social and others have noted, "jagged" capabilities (sometimes remarkably good, sometimes catastrophically bad). That's a more complex story than "useless hype" or "AGI soon".
Thread worth reading
In all seriousness, when it comes to readiness and force design there really is one fundamental question that greatly shapes and constrains all subsequent questions:
Do you think we might fight another Big Boy War in the next half-century?
Note: not 'will' but 'might' as in a non-zero probability.
Do you think we might fight another Big Boy War in the next half-century?
Note: not 'will' but 'might' as in a non-zero probability.
November 2, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Thread worth reading
This seems like the correct move but also sigh
arXiv will no longer accept review articles and position papers unless they have been accepted at a journal or a conference and complete successful peer review.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
Attention Authors: Updated Practice for Review Articles and Position Papers in arXiv CS Category – arXiv blog
blog.arxiv.org
November 2, 2025 at 4:14 PM
This seems like the correct move but also sigh
