Brandon Bloom
@brandonbloom.name
Claude: "You're absolutely right!"
Codex: "Great idea!"
Gemini: "I messed up. Overwrote the file instead of appending. Restoring from git"
Codex: "Great idea!"
Gemini: "I messed up. Overwrote the file instead of appending. Restoring from git"
November 30, 2025 at 5:58 AM
Claude: "You're absolutely right!"
Codex: "Great idea!"
Gemini: "I messed up. Overwrote the file instead of appending. Restoring from git"
Codex: "Great idea!"
Gemini: "I messed up. Overwrote the file instead of appending. Restoring from git"
Everybody is talking about "AI slop" code as if all code in the workplace wasn't already "legacy slop".
October 31, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Everybody is talking about "AI slop" code as if all code in the workplace wasn't already "legacy slop".
If Apple makes a humanoid home robot someday, I hope they call it the iPed. The pun is just too good.
October 29, 2025 at 2:40 AM
If Apple makes a humanoid home robot someday, I hope they call it the iPed. The pun is just too good.
Sounds like Amazon may be divesting from games in this round of layoffs. If you’re a talented engineering leader and are interested in Apple re-investing in games: DM me!
October 28, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Sounds like Amazon may be divesting from games in this round of layoffs. If you’re a talented engineering leader and are interested in Apple re-investing in games: DM me!
I generally do very little customization of my development environment & what little I did do was done over a decade ago. ChatGPT helped me modernize my setup, customize a bunch of things, and optimize startup time. Didn't have to do a single web search. Would have given up on step 2 any other way.
October 24, 2025 at 3:38 AM
I generally do very little customization of my development environment & what little I did do was done over a decade ago. ChatGPT helped me modernize my setup, customize a bunch of things, and optimize startup time. Didn't have to do a single web search. Would have given up on step 2 any other way.
1. I too was skeptical of LLMs for coding until < 1 year ago
2. Current tools/models are not a panacea for anything
3. They are wildly useful tools I now use every day
4. This will induce demand for real engineers
5. Like any tool, you must invest in learning it
6. Ignore it and you will fall behind
2. Current tools/models are not a panacea for anything
3. They are wildly useful tools I now use every day
4. This will induce demand for real engineers
5. Like any tool, you must invest in learning it
6. Ignore it and you will fall behind
August 5, 2025 at 3:28 PM
1. I too was skeptical of LLMs for coding until < 1 year ago
2. Current tools/models are not a panacea for anything
3. They are wildly useful tools I now use every day
4. This will induce demand for real engineers
5. Like any tool, you must invest in learning it
6. Ignore it and you will fall behind
2. Current tools/models are not a panacea for anything
3. They are wildly useful tools I now use every day
4. This will induce demand for real engineers
5. Like any tool, you must invest in learning it
6. Ignore it and you will fall behind
I've actually got two roles open! Here's the other one, which might be especially relevant to former Microsofties with Windows/C# experience:
jobs.apple.com/en-us/detail...
jobs.apple.com/en-us/detail...
July 10, 2025 at 9:55 PM
I've actually got two roles open! Here's the other one, which might be especially relevant to former Microsofties with Windows/C# experience:
jobs.apple.com/en-us/detail...
jobs.apple.com/en-us/detail...
Hello Microsoft/Xbox friends, if you got laid off: Sorry to hear about that! Please reach out via DM if you're interested in working on Game Services and the new Games app at Apple here in Seattle: jobs.apple.com/en-us/detail...
Apple Games Framework Engineer - Jobs - Careers at Apple
Apply for a Apple Games Framework Engineer job at Apple. Read about the role and find out if it’s right for you.
jobs.apple.com
July 2, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Hello Microsoft/Xbox friends, if you got laid off: Sorry to hear about that! Please reach out via DM if you're interested in working on Game Services and the new Games app at Apple here in Seattle: jobs.apple.com/en-us/detail...
If you were wondering why it seems like smoke & carbon monoxide detectors always false alarm at 3am, that's because _they do_! Ambient temperature drops lead to obnoxious battery warnings at the worst possible time. Grumble grumble.
May 3, 2025 at 7:12 PM
If you were wondering why it seems like smoke & carbon monoxide detectors always false alarm at 3am, that's because _they do_! Ambient temperature drops lead to obnoxious battery warnings at the worst possible time. Grumble grumble.
“Consistency” is the best you can aim for if you haven’t yet discovered an appropriate Abstraction.
April 8, 2025 at 3:47 PM
“Consistency” is the best you can aim for if you haven’t yet discovered an appropriate Abstraction.
Hiring for my team at Apple in Seattle. Come work on some fun stuff :)
jobs.apple.com/en-us/detail...
jobs.apple.com/en-us/detail...
Game Services Framework Engineer - Jobs - Careers at Apple
Apply for a Game Services Framework Engineer job at Apple. Read about the role and find out if it’s right for you.
jobs.apple.com
April 7, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Hiring for my team at Apple in Seattle. Come work on some fun stuff :)
jobs.apple.com/en-us/detail...
jobs.apple.com/en-us/detail...
Google Search can no longer find posts on their own BlogSpot service that I know exist and contain unique words coined by that post. Literally zero results. Exact query on every other search engine I tried produced exactly the page I expected...
April 6, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Google Search can no longer find posts on their own BlogSpot service that I know exist and contain unique words coined by that post. Literally zero results. Exact query on every other search engine I tried produced exactly the page I expected...
Letting devs write programs that do ::waves:hands:wildly:: whatever they want, is a mistake. Basically no one can be trusted to write arbitrary code without destabilizing my experience.
March 27, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Letting devs write programs that do ::waves:hands:wildly:: whatever they want, is a mistake. Basically no one can be trusted to write arbitrary code without destabilizing my experience.
One of my directs had to request access to view his own IT request, so that he could forward it to me, so I could request access to view it, so that I could open another request to escalate it... Am I about to enter an infinite loop?
March 25, 2025 at 7:35 PM
One of my directs had to request access to view his own IT request, so that he could forward it to me, so I could request access to view it, so that I could open another request to escalate it... Am I about to enter an infinite loop?
Wikipedia is one of the crowning achievements of humanity... and we all just kinda take it for granted now.
March 24, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Wikipedia is one of the crowning achievements of humanity... and we all just kinda take it for granted now.
I'm in SF at GDC for one more day. If you'd like to meet up, DM me. (I'm not sure bsky has the critical mass for me yet for this to work...)
March 21, 2025 at 4:28 PM
I'm in SF at GDC for one more day. If you'd like to meet up, DM me. (I'm not sure bsky has the critical mass for me yet for this to work...)
TypeScript team choosing Go over Rust is hilarious. Like here's some TypeScript people, who used to be C# people, who used to be Turbo Pascal / Delphi people, and they are like, "Yeah, this Go thing is pretty good." Meanwhile, the type-obsessed folks are like "BUT THE BILLION DOLLAR MISTAKE!"
March 14, 2025 at 4:10 AM
TypeScript team choosing Go over Rust is hilarious. Like here's some TypeScript people, who used to be C# people, who used to be Turbo Pascal / Delphi people, and they are like, "Yeah, this Go thing is pretty good." Meanwhile, the type-obsessed folks are like "BUT THE BILLION DOLLAR MISTAKE!"
"Hide Distracting Elements" is probably my favorite new browser feature in a decade.
March 9, 2025 at 4:39 PM
"Hide Distracting Elements" is probably my favorite new browser feature in a decade.
Above ground power lines in any major metropolitan area are kinda inexcusable at this point.
February 25, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Above ground power lines in any major metropolitan area are kinda inexcusable at this point.
I’ve always found the “control plane” and “data plane” API split to be a helpful framing, but struggle with the duality in the same way as “code is data, data is code” infects my thinking.
However, I’m now convinced: Control Plane APIs should not exist…
However, I’m now convinced: Control Plane APIs should not exist…
February 21, 2025 at 4:59 PM
I’ve always found the “control plane” and “data plane” API split to be a helpful framing, but struggle with the duality in the same way as “code is data, data is code” infects my thinking.
However, I’m now convinced: Control Plane APIs should not exist…
However, I’m now convinced: Control Plane APIs should not exist…
I think it’s safe to say that “Semantic Import Versioning” and “Minimum Version Selection” have proven to have dramatically better ergonomics and ecosystem outcomes than any other approach out there…
February 19, 2025 at 7:05 AM
I think it’s safe to say that “Semantic Import Versioning” and “Minimum Version Selection” have proven to have dramatically better ergonomics and ecosystem outcomes than any other approach out there…
Said it before, will say it again: I'll take an ID over an object any day of the week.
February 13, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Said it before, will say it again: I'll take an ID over an object any day of the week.
Snapshot tests – with proper tooling – are easy to write and maintain. Yes, they can be brittle, but they are also a good way to ferret out non-determinism and unintended side effects.
A while ago, I created the CLI snapshot tool I've always wanted & you should use it :) github.com/deref/transc...
A while ago, I created the CLI snapshot tool I've always wanted & you should use it :) github.com/deref/transc...
February 12, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Snapshot tests – with proper tooling – are easy to write and maintain. Yes, they can be brittle, but they are also a good way to ferret out non-determinism and unintended side effects.
A while ago, I created the CLI snapshot tool I've always wanted & you should use it :) github.com/deref/transc...
A while ago, I created the CLI snapshot tool I've always wanted & you should use it :) github.com/deref/transc...
Found another excuse to use cuelang.org and it's really, really good and getting better.
CUE
Configure Unify Execute Validate, define, and use dynamic and text‑based data
Learn more Get started with CUE CUE makes it easy to validate data, write schemas, and ensure configurations align with po...
cuelang.org
February 10, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Found another excuse to use cuelang.org and it's really, really good and getting better.
Big UX opportunity for LLMs: Re-contextualize user-provided strings.
Example: I should be able to write a lazy commit message like "fix index out of bounds" and then have log report that as is if given a path, but rewrite it to "fix index out of bounds in parser" at the top level.
Example: I should be able to write a lazy commit message like "fix index out of bounds" and then have log report that as is if given a path, but rewrite it to "fix index out of bounds in parser" at the top level.
January 20, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Big UX opportunity for LLMs: Re-contextualize user-provided strings.
Example: I should be able to write a lazy commit message like "fix index out of bounds" and then have log report that as is if given a path, but rewrite it to "fix index out of bounds in parser" at the top level.
Example: I should be able to write a lazy commit message like "fix index out of bounds" and then have log report that as is if given a path, but rewrite it to "fix index out of bounds in parser" at the top level.