Chastity Blackwell
@blackisis.bsky.social
SRE in denial and Terraform whisperer.
Pinned
Chastity Blackwell
@blackisis.bsky.social
· Jul 19
Don't deploy on Fridays. Or Thursdays. Or Wednesdays, Tuesdays, Mondays, Sundays, or Saturdays. Cast off your chains. Return to the wild and be free.
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
The “google is using your email to train AI” debacle is imo most instructively seen as tracer dye for multiple failures: many people are instinctively skeptical of tech companies now; and many outlets that should have had experts able to cogently weigh in and go “wait a minute” simply don’t anymore.
November 23, 2025 at 6:54 AM
The “google is using your email to train AI” debacle is imo most instructively seen as tracer dye for multiple failures: many people are instinctively skeptical of tech companies now; and many outlets that should have had experts able to cogently weigh in and go “wait a minute” simply don’t anymore.
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
***New video is out!***
I made the Blue Prince video. It took me 6 months. It's here.
Video here: youtu.be/RYQl5hcipUM
Support me here: patreon.com/pixeladay
Thanks to @electrondance.com for lending his voice and also doing the best writing on puzzle games that the Earth has ever known
I made the Blue Prince video. It took me 6 months. It's here.
Video here: youtu.be/RYQl5hcipUM
Support me here: patreon.com/pixeladay
Thanks to @electrondance.com for lending his voice and also doing the best writing on puzzle games that the Earth has ever known
Blue Prince is the Best (and the Worst) of Exploration Puzzle Games
YouTube video by Pixel a Day
youtu.be
November 21, 2025 at 11:44 AM
***New video is out!***
I made the Blue Prince video. It took me 6 months. It's here.
Video here: youtu.be/RYQl5hcipUM
Support me here: patreon.com/pixeladay
Thanks to @electrondance.com for lending his voice and also doing the best writing on puzzle games that the Earth has ever known
I made the Blue Prince video. It took me 6 months. It's here.
Video here: youtu.be/RYQl5hcipUM
Support me here: patreon.com/pixeladay
Thanks to @electrondance.com for lending his voice and also doing the best writing on puzzle games that the Earth has ever known
Didn't have "The Eye is back atop Barad-dur" on my list for this year, but sounds about right.
November 19, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Didn't have "The Eye is back atop Barad-dur" on my list for this year, but sounds about right.
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
Death of the Author: An Alan Wake Series Retrospective
YouTube video by Noah Caldwell-Gervais
youtu.be
November 14, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
I received this email about Democrats caving to end the shutdown from one of the SNAP recipients I spoke to:
November 10, 2025 at 2:17 PM
I received this email about Democrats caving to end the shutdown from one of the SNAP recipients I spoke to:
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
to understand the situation in Chicago I recommend listening to this piece which has a CHILD talking about the TEAR GAS they encountered en route to a HALLOWEEN PARADE
www.wbez.org/public-safet...
www.wbez.org/public-safet...
Feds say immigration blitz will continue amid Halloween festivities
Families and city leaders are scrambling to make Halloween and the Day of the Dead celebrations safe for children caught up in the debate over aggressive immigration raids.
www.wbez.org
October 31, 2025 at 8:09 PM
to understand the situation in Chicago I recommend listening to this piece which has a CHILD talking about the TEAR GAS they encountered en route to a HALLOWEEN PARADE
www.wbez.org/public-safet...
www.wbez.org/public-safet...
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
This is a beautiful thread. Please read it. 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
Was putting my face on and missed a call from my dad. Saw this text and called him back. (This is a nice story. Also his name is not Bob. That’s what the grandkids call him. Long and unrelated story.)
October 30, 2025 at 7:51 PM
This is a beautiful thread. Please read it. 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
If your company is a heavy Python user and has surplus budget to assign before EOY, now’s a great time for an unrestricted donation…
TLDR; The PSF has made the decision to put our community and our shared diversity, equity, and inclusion values ahead of seeking $1.5M in new revenue. Please read and share. pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/10/NSF-...
🧵
🧵
The official home of the Python Programming Language
www.python.org
October 27, 2025 at 2:57 PM
If your company is a heavy Python user and has surplus budget to assign before EOY, now’s a great time for an unrestricted donation…
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
In Wrigleyville in Chicago right now—
ICE/CBP has reportedly been targeting laborers in the area all morning. A large number of neighbors are gathered outside a house where agents snatched a man. His lunch is still here on the ground.
Area is clear of feds for now, gas deployed earlier.
ICE/CBP has reportedly been targeting laborers in the area all morning. A large number of neighbors are gathered outside a house where agents snatched a man. His lunch is still here on the ground.
Area is clear of feds for now, gas deployed earlier.
October 24, 2025 at 5:38 PM
In Wrigleyville in Chicago right now—
ICE/CBP has reportedly been targeting laborers in the area all morning. A large number of neighbors are gathered outside a house where agents snatched a man. His lunch is still here on the ground.
Area is clear of feds for now, gas deployed earlier.
ICE/CBP has reportedly been targeting laborers in the area all morning. A large number of neighbors are gathered outside a house where agents snatched a man. His lunch is still here on the ground.
Area is clear of feds for now, gas deployed earlier.
I am begging literally any big tech company to please hire actual writers for these things. Jesus H Christ.
The more words in an incident report, the more embarrassed they are about what happened. And for this one… they kinda should be?
EVERYBODY GO READ THE AWS INCIDENT WRITE-UP! aws.amazon.com/message/1019...
October 23, 2025 at 1:44 PM
I am begging literally any big tech company to please hire actual writers for these things. Jesus H Christ.
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
This is a fun question, “why do people use aws or us-east-1 when they could just not?”
It’s a fair question! Hachyderm has enjoyed an uptime that puts most cloud providers to shame and we’ve broken near every “reliability rule” in the book. So why don’t more people do the same?
It’s complicated :)
It’s a fair question! Hachyderm has enjoyed an uptime that puts most cloud providers to shame and we’ve broken near every “reliability rule” in the book. So why don’t more people do the same?
It’s complicated :)
Ah in that case, the better question is probably “why is there no regulatory pressure for aws to make us east 1 less load bearing”
Because UE1 is load bearing for internal reasons. Customers aren’t necessarily choosing that.
As for other CSPs. AWS is generally the most reliable of the major ones…
Because UE1 is load bearing for internal reasons. Customers aren’t necessarily choosing that.
As for other CSPs. AWS is generally the most reliable of the major ones…
October 20, 2025 at 10:13 PM
This is a fun question, “why do people use aws or us-east-1 when they could just not?”
It’s a fair question! Hachyderm has enjoyed an uptime that puts most cloud providers to shame and we’ve broken near every “reliability rule” in the book. So why don’t more people do the same?
It’s complicated :)
It’s a fair question! Hachyderm has enjoyed an uptime that puts most cloud providers to shame and we’ve broken near every “reliability rule” in the book. So why don’t more people do the same?
It’s complicated :)
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
Ironsworn: Starforged is the deal of the day at @drivethrurpg.com! Save 50% on this spacefaring evolution of the Ironsworn #ttrpg. Supports solo, co-op, and guided play, and includes a massive array of random generators for a universe of adventure and peril.
www.drivethrurpg.com/product/391653
www.drivethrurpg.com/product/391653
Ironsworn: Starforged - Shawn Tomkin | DriveThruRPG
The Sci-Fi Evolution of the Ironsworn RPG is Here!
In Ironsworn: Starforged, you are a spaceborne hero sworn to undertake perilous quests. You will explore uncharted space, unravel the secrets of a my...
www.drivethrurpg.com
October 20, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Ironsworn: Starforged is the deal of the day at @drivethrurpg.com! Save 50% on this spacefaring evolution of the Ironsworn #ttrpg. Supports solo, co-op, and guided play, and includes a massive array of random generators for a universe of adventure and peril.
www.drivethrurpg.com/product/391653
www.drivethrurpg.com/product/391653
Last night I watched the John Candy documentary, and I cannot recommend it enough if you want a good cry (I started about 2 minutes in during Dan Aykroyd's eulogy, oof).
October 18, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Last night I watched the John Candy documentary, and I cannot recommend it enough if you want a good cry (I started about 2 minutes in during Dan Aykroyd's eulogy, oof).
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
Remember our mantra:
Don't Engage, Just Block.
Don't Engage, Just Block.
October 17, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Remember our mantra:
Don't Engage, Just Block.
Don't Engage, Just Block.
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
@nlgchicago.bsky.social is trying to raise $10k to fund ongoing legal support for protesters. They've had to cover long shifts at Broadview, and their volunteers have been repeatedly assaulted by police in the process. More info with ways to donate here: instagram.com/p/DP36ITJja-W/
October 16, 2025 at 2:35 PM
@nlgchicago.bsky.social is trying to raise $10k to fund ongoing legal support for protesters. They've had to cover long shifts at Broadview, and their volunteers have been repeatedly assaulted by police in the process. More info with ways to donate here: instagram.com/p/DP36ITJja-W/
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
Before you buy Girl Scout cookies you should know they support transgender girls and reject donations from anti-transgender organizations. Then buy a couple more boxes
October 15, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Before you buy Girl Scout cookies you should know they support transgender girls and reject donations from anti-transgender organizations. Then buy a couple more boxes
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
You might be Evil GM, but you'll never be Evil GM Running the Kobayashi Maru In Media Res on a Player That's Never Seen Wrath of Khan evil.
Had my first Evil GM moment tonight and I am ashamed to say that it felt really good and it was Very Funny
October 16, 2025 at 5:33 AM
You might be Evil GM, but you'll never be Evil GM Running the Kobayashi Maru In Media Res on a Player That's Never Seen Wrath of Khan evil.
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
You may have noticed that folks who are from Chicago love this city. There's a reason for that. I walked to the lake with friends yesterday, and when I saw the waves rolling in, I felt something shift back into place inside of me. So many parts of this city are part of me. We will defend this place.
October 15, 2025 at 4:15 AM
You may have noticed that folks who are from Chicago love this city. There's a reason for that. I walked to the lake with friends yesterday, and when I saw the waves rolling in, I felt something shift back into place inside of me. So many parts of this city are part of me. We will defend this place.
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
Should add really that if you're a smol newsletter bean who would dearly love to NOT be on Substack, then I will happily roll (and manage) a Ghost install for you for cost + a small maintenance fee.
I'll talk you through setting up your own mailgun and stripe. Do that and you keep ALL your revenue.
I'll talk you through setting up your own mailgun and stripe. Do that and you keep ALL your revenue.
Okay, Ghost V6 integrated with Tinybird for analytics is pretty damn filthy.
Been running @theupfront.media on Ghost for a while as part of our "No Nazi platforms" stack. Very happy with it (and with our Germany-based email hosting instead of Google Business)
The technology you use is a choice.
Been running @theupfront.media on Ghost for a while as part of our "No Nazi platforms" stack. Very happy with it (and with our Germany-based email hosting instead of Google Business)
The technology you use is a choice.
October 15, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Should add really that if you're a smol newsletter bean who would dearly love to NOT be on Substack, then I will happily roll (and manage) a Ghost install for you for cost + a small maintenance fee.
I'll talk you through setting up your own mailgun and stripe. Do that and you keep ALL your revenue.
I'll talk you through setting up your own mailgun and stripe. Do that and you keep ALL your revenue.
Reposted by Chastity Blackwell
I wrote a little about some of the little details you might have missed in this video and why it hit me so hard as a trans person this morning:
www.burnsnotice.com/you-have-to-...
www.burnsnotice.com/you-have-to-...
October 11, 2025 at 2:53 PM
I wrote a little about some of the little details you might have missed in this video and why it hit me so hard as a trans person this morning:
www.burnsnotice.com/you-have-to-...
www.burnsnotice.com/you-have-to-...
Really recommend these too. I've read all four and while I think the first two are probably the best, they're all great reads, and definitely perfect for human factors folks.
okay I'm almost done with the second book in @maryrobinettekowal.com's Lady Astronaut series and I cannot recommend it enough to all you incident response and human factors nerds
the first book had me hooked from page one, which is a rare thing for me:
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
the first book had me hooked from page one, which is a rare thing for me:
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
The Calculating Stars: A Lady Astronaut Novel
A Lady Astronaut Novel
bookshop.org
October 9, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Really recommend these too. I've read all four and while I think the first two are probably the best, they're all great reads, and definitely perfect for human factors folks.
The several years I spent doing freelance work with an actual editor made me a *far* better writer than pretty much anything I had done before (including college). I don't think I would have broken bad habits (hello, page-long sentences) or been as *aware* of my bad habits without an editor.
repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself
An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.
October 8, 2025 at 11:56 PM
The several years I spent doing freelance work with an actual editor made me a *far* better writer than pretty much anything I had done before (including college). I don't think I would have broken bad habits (hello, page-long sentences) or been as *aware* of my bad habits without an editor.
This is a good explainer by folks doing the work here in Chicago about why Pritzker can't just start ordering the ISP to arrest ICE.
NEW — Some TRiiBE readers, among many others on the internet, have been suggesting that the Chicago police arrest ICE agents for their misconduct.
TRiiBE publisher @morganelisej.thetriibe.com put out this explainer video, breaking down the legality for y’all.
youtube.com/shorts/WDHFe...
TRiiBE publisher @morganelisej.thetriibe.com put out this explainer video, breaking down the legality for y’all.
youtube.com/shorts/WDHFe...
Can local police arrest ICE?
YouTube video by The TRiiBE
youtube.com
October 8, 2025 at 2:41 PM
This is a good explainer by folks doing the work here in Chicago about why Pritzker can't just start ordering the ISP to arrest ICE.