Brian Kendig
@brian.enchanter.net
Software engineer, writer, secular humanist, Wikipedia editor & admin, alumnus of Princeton University and the Princeton Triangle and Quadrangle Clubs, formerly with Netscape Communications Corporation and Apple Computer, now with The Walt Disney Company.
Someone private-messaged me about a comment I made four years ago on Reddit, to say it "made me think for a few seconds, and that few seconds of thinking stopped me from shooting myself over the very same problem you were talking to him about." That made my day. www.reddit.com/r/self/comme...
bkendig's comment on "Browsing the virgin subreddit has made me feel completely hopeless again."
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November 20, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Someone private-messaged me about a comment I made four years ago on Reddit, to say it "made me think for a few seconds, and that few seconds of thinking stopped me from shooting myself over the very same problem you were talking to him about." That made my day. www.reddit.com/r/self/comme...
I was looking up upgrade the memory in my laptop, but DDR4 SDRAM has become really scarce and its price has doubled over the past few months, and Amazon reviews note a lot of quality control problems.
I blame AI for eating up the supply chain. And for generally making a mess of the world.
I blame AI for eating up the supply chain. And for generally making a mess of the world.
November 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM
I was looking up upgrade the memory in my laptop, but DDR4 SDRAM has become really scarce and its price has doubled over the past few months, and Amazon reviews note a lot of quality control problems.
I blame AI for eating up the supply chain. And for generally making a mess of the world.
I blame AI for eating up the supply chain. And for generally making a mess of the world.
I miss long-form journaling. So I dumped a bunch of recent thoughts into a blog entry on my site.
Warning: it's techy and altogether dull. Welcome to my brain! www.enchanter.net/2025/11/stuck/
Warning: it's techy and altogether dull. Welcome to my brain! www.enchanter.net/2025/11/stuck/
November 9, 2025 at 5:26 PM
I miss long-form journaling. So I dumped a bunch of recent thoughts into a blog entry on my site.
Warning: it's techy and altogether dull. Welcome to my brain! www.enchanter.net/2025/11/stuck/
Warning: it's techy and altogether dull. Welcome to my brain! www.enchanter.net/2025/11/stuck/
I really REALLY wish there were such a thing as a pet-friendly smoke alarm. When ours sound - either a false alarm, or like today when we're replacing them and need to make sure they work - the sound FREAKS OUT our pets. If there were an actual fire they'd run and hide and we wouldn't find them.
November 6, 2025 at 4:43 PM
I really REALLY wish there were such a thing as a pet-friendly smoke alarm. When ours sound - either a false alarm, or like today when we're replacing them and need to make sure they work - the sound FREAKS OUT our pets. If there were an actual fire they'd run and hide and we wouldn't find them.
My home's air conditioner drains into a 40' nearly-flat PVC pipe that runs through the slab to the opposite side of the house. It keeps getting clogged up with white algae, tripping a sensor and turning off the AC.
I am at war. Next round: a CO2 drain blaster and an enzyme-based formula.
I am at war. Next round: a CO2 drain blaster and an enzyme-based formula.
October 23, 2025 at 2:21 AM
My home's air conditioner drains into a 40' nearly-flat PVC pipe that runs through the slab to the opposite side of the house. It keeps getting clogged up with white algae, tripping a sensor and turning off the AC.
I am at war. Next round: a CO2 drain blaster and an enzyme-based formula.
I am at war. Next round: a CO2 drain blaster and an enzyme-based formula.
I'm being spammed by ads for the "MAGA VICTORY AR-15," a "Custom-Designed Commemorative AR-15 Celebrating the 47th President Donald J. Trump" (a gun in an American flag wrap with the Presidential seal) for $2,997. (A new AR-15 starts under $500.)
Every ad has this unusual testimonial on it.
Every ad has this unusual testimonial on it.
October 10, 2025 at 1:21 PM
I'm being spammed by ads for the "MAGA VICTORY AR-15," a "Custom-Designed Commemorative AR-15 Celebrating the 47th President Donald J. Trump" (a gun in an American flag wrap with the Presidential seal) for $2,997. (A new AR-15 starts under $500.)
Every ad has this unusual testimonial on it.
Every ad has this unusual testimonial on it.
I sometimes run thoughts though ChatGPT. It's really useful for getting a different perspective - especially when my anxiety grabs hold of me and I want help believing that no, I am not doomed.
But I'm acutely aware that AI is programmed to please me, to flatter me, to tell me that I'm doing great!
But I'm acutely aware that AI is programmed to please me, to flatter me, to tell me that I'm doing great!
October 9, 2025 at 2:55 PM
I sometimes run thoughts though ChatGPT. It's really useful for getting a different perspective - especially when my anxiety grabs hold of me and I want help believing that no, I am not doomed.
But I'm acutely aware that AI is programmed to please me, to flatter me, to tell me that I'm doing great!
But I'm acutely aware that AI is programmed to please me, to flatter me, to tell me that I'm doing great!
Jill and I often listen to 80s music while we're chilling out at the end of the day. I got tired of 80s streaming station playlists, so we moved on to 80s DJ mixes on YouTube; we ran of of those, so now we're on 80s mashups. This is the best one I've found so far. youtu.be/KfboL5BV9hg?...
[+190 HITS OF THE DECADE] ♫WE ARE The 80's♫ (By Blanter Mashups)
YouTube video by Blanter Mashups
youtu.be
October 7, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Jill and I often listen to 80s music while we're chilling out at the end of the day. I got tired of 80s streaming station playlists, so we moved on to 80s DJ mixes on YouTube; we ran of of those, so now we're on 80s mashups. This is the best one I've found so far. youtu.be/KfboL5BV9hg?...
What irks me most about Trump: he keeps saying things that are egregiously wrong; the only response is the media later printing fact checking articles.
I want someone to ask him to his face: Are your advisors really this bad? Are you really this misinformed? Or, why are you intentionally lying?
I want someone to ask him to his face: Are your advisors really this bad? Are you really this misinformed? Or, why are you intentionally lying?
October 1, 2025 at 3:13 AM
What irks me most about Trump: he keeps saying things that are egregiously wrong; the only response is the media later printing fact checking articles.
I want someone to ask him to his face: Are your advisors really this bad? Are you really this misinformed? Or, why are you intentionally lying?
I want someone to ask him to his face: Are your advisors really this bad? Are you really this misinformed? Or, why are you intentionally lying?
I love watching the spam bounce off my mail server rules. Plink! Special honor to simplewellnss.com [sic], who fails many times every day to send me info they feel is personally important to me.
Meanwhile when I report iCloud spam to spam@icloud.com, my message is rejected because ... it's spam.
Meanwhile when I report iCloud spam to spam@icloud.com, my message is rejected because ... it's spam.
September 27, 2025 at 2:59 AM
I love watching the spam bounce off my mail server rules. Plink! Special honor to simplewellnss.com [sic], who fails many times every day to send me info they feel is personally important to me.
Meanwhile when I report iCloud spam to spam@icloud.com, my message is rejected because ... it's spam.
Meanwhile when I report iCloud spam to spam@icloud.com, my message is rejected because ... it's spam.
Today is apparently the end of the world (see "Rapture Day"). I am annoyed because I was not informed beforehand and I have things to do.
September 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Today is apparently the end of the world (see "Rapture Day"). I am annoyed because I was not informed beforehand and I have things to do.
I'm surprised at how much I'm using my iPad mini these days. For writing (Scrivener), reading (Kindle), gaming (Manic Emu for Game Boy Advance and 3DS games, PPSSPP for Sony PSP games), social media (Reddit, Bluesky, Mastodon), drawing (Procreate), &c. It's a great little gadget.
September 16, 2025 at 2:47 AM
I'm surprised at how much I'm using my iPad mini these days. For writing (Scrivener), reading (Kindle), gaming (Manic Emu for Game Boy Advance and 3DS games, PPSSPP for Sony PSP games), social media (Reddit, Bluesky, Mastodon), drawing (Procreate), &c. It's a great little gadget.
Age verification: I was brian@netscape.com.
(I also helped people who sent questions to info@netscape.com, and I replied as Mozilla.)
(I also helped people who sent questions to info@netscape.com, and I replied as Mozilla.)
September 15, 2025 at 6:58 AM
Age verification: I was brian@netscape.com.
(I also helped people who sent questions to info@netscape.com, and I replied as Mozilla.)
(I also helped people who sent questions to info@netscape.com, and I replied as Mozilla.)
Random factoid: I like 'in-universe' t-shirts, ones that you could imagine a character wearing.
I would never wear an Avengers shirt, but I have an 'Avongers' shirt as seen in She-Hulk.
I wouldn't wear one with a picture of a Star Trek: Lower Decks character, but I have a 'Starbase 80' shirt.
I would never wear an Avengers shirt, but I have an 'Avongers' shirt as seen in She-Hulk.
I wouldn't wear one with a picture of a Star Trek: Lower Decks character, but I have a 'Starbase 80' shirt.
September 14, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Random factoid: I like 'in-universe' t-shirts, ones that you could imagine a character wearing.
I would never wear an Avengers shirt, but I have an 'Avongers' shirt as seen in She-Hulk.
I wouldn't wear one with a picture of a Star Trek: Lower Decks character, but I have a 'Starbase 80' shirt.
I would never wear an Avengers shirt, but I have an 'Avongers' shirt as seen in She-Hulk.
I wouldn't wear one with a picture of a Star Trek: Lower Decks character, but I have a 'Starbase 80' shirt.
30 years ago yesterday, the PlayStation 1 was released. I bought one that night.
Today I gave all my PS1 games to a coworker. He'll show his kid what games were like before microtransactions.
He saw Jumping Flash and got teary. "This was the last game I played with my dad before he was murdered."
Today I gave all my PS1 games to a coworker. He'll show his kid what games were like before microtransactions.
He saw Jumping Flash and got teary. "This was the last game I played with my dad before he was murdered."
September 10, 2025 at 4:43 PM
30 years ago yesterday, the PlayStation 1 was released. I bought one that night.
Today I gave all my PS1 games to a coworker. He'll show his kid what games were like before microtransactions.
He saw Jumping Flash and got teary. "This was the last game I played with my dad before he was murdered."
Today I gave all my PS1 games to a coworker. He'll show his kid what games were like before microtransactions.
He saw Jumping Flash and got teary. "This was the last game I played with my dad before he was murdered."
I hate #spam. I set my mail server to refuse all email from American-Express.*@*, Sbi.*@*, or that has "X-mailer: Foxmail 6, 13, 102, 15 [cn]". So far it's blocked about 25 Japanese-language scams in the past two days from getting to my junk folder. I'll take this as a win.
August 31, 2025 at 2:15 PM
I hate #spam. I set my mail server to refuse all email from American-Express.*@*, Sbi.*@*, or that has "X-mailer: Foxmail 6, 13, 102, 15 [cn]". So far it's blocked about 25 Japanese-language scams in the past two days from getting to my junk folder. I'll take this as a win.
It's 4:15 AM and I realized, with everything going on, I forgot to do a #Duolingo lesson yesterday. I have streak freezes available to me, but still. Fortunately the time zone trick works! Thank goodness for Honolulu!
August 30, 2025 at 8:28 AM
It's 4:15 AM and I realized, with everything going on, I forgot to do a #Duolingo lesson yesterday. I have streak freezes available to me, but still. Fortunately the time zone trick works! Thank goodness for Honolulu!
I have a goal to play through some classic games I've never played. I'm about halfway through Final Fantasy IV (GBA), and I'm giving up on it. Too many random encounters as I try to get from A to B, too much "go find the right equipment for your characters for this boss!" Not my thing, I guess!
August 29, 2025 at 5:26 PM
I have a goal to play through some classic games I've never played. I'm about halfway through Final Fantasy IV (GBA), and I'm giving up on it. Too many random encounters as I try to get from A to B, too much "go find the right equipment for your characters for this boss!" Not my thing, I guess!
On the plus side, I've been plotting out a story for a long time, trying to crack it; and it just occurred to me to write out everything I've been feeling and dump it into the second half of Act 2 (typically called "Dark Night of the Soul"). So, #anxiety helps #writing, yay?
August 27, 2025 at 9:58 PM
My #anxiety keeps throwing bigger and bigger scenarios at me 'til it finds one that scares me. But I keep showing up. The quote-a-day calendar says that's courage, but to me it feels more like fatalism, resignation.
August 27, 2025 at 9:46 PM
My #anxiety keeps throwing bigger and bigger scenarios at me 'til it finds one that scares me. But I keep showing up. The quote-a-day calendar says that's courage, but to me it feels more like fatalism, resignation.
I tend to stay at jobs for a long time while other people come and go. I miss them. It's weird to work with someone every day, then where'd they go? Oh, they left, I'll never see them again.
Years back there was a fun QA engineer who called me "Top Hat." I'm still here; she's had like 8 jobs since.
Years back there was a fun QA engineer who called me "Top Hat." I'm still here; she's had like 8 jobs since.
August 26, 2025 at 6:11 PM
I tend to stay at jobs for a long time while other people come and go. I miss them. It's weird to work with someone every day, then where'd they go? Oh, they left, I'll never see them again.
Years back there was a fun QA engineer who called me "Top Hat." I'm still here; she's had like 8 jobs since.
Years back there was a fun QA engineer who called me "Top Hat." I'm still here; she's had like 8 jobs since.
My home water bill doubled in March and has stayed that high, really expensive. Yesterday I called the water company to find out why. "Your water meter was broken and reading zero. We thought no one was living there until we replaced it in March. Meanwhile, you got free water." Oh.
August 26, 2025 at 5:57 PM
My home water bill doubled in March and has stayed that high, really expensive. Yesterday I called the water company to find out why. "Your water meter was broken and reading zero. We thought no one was living there until we replaced it in March. Meanwhile, you got free water." Oh.
Words that my #anxiety plagued self could stand to remember, provided by the Headspace app this morning:
"Instead of worrying about what could go wrong, visualize what could go right."
"Instead of worrying about what could go wrong, visualize what could go right."
August 16, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Words that my #anxiety plagued self could stand to remember, provided by the Headspace app this morning:
"Instead of worrying about what could go wrong, visualize what could go right."
"Instead of worrying about what could go wrong, visualize what could go right."
I need to do more #writing. Before that, I need to read more, to remind myself what I'm trying to make. Before THAT, I need to tackle my bookshelves - a graveyard of everything I once thought interesting enough to buy a book about then left it unread. Time to purge down to those that bring me joy!
August 11, 2025 at 2:27 PM
I need to do more #writing. Before that, I need to read more, to remind myself what I'm trying to make. Before THAT, I need to tackle my bookshelves - a graveyard of everything I once thought interesting enough to buy a book about then left it unread. Time to purge down to those that bring me joy!
Rabbit rabbit rabbit!
August 1, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Rabbit rabbit rabbit!