Andrew Ek
@ektastrophe.bsky.social
I write Elixir and Ruby and a lot of nonsense. Senior software engineer at Hummingbird. Co-Host of the BEAM Radio podcast. Former English and Math teacher. Cat dad and human dad. Pretty deaf. Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
Kindness is a survival skill.
Kindness is a survival skill.
Along with this:
Share a picture of a cool meal you made. Say hi to a dog or a squirrel or cat. Share a picture of your cat. Wave to a baby while you're at the grocery store. Hold the door for someone. Sketch a silly doodle during a meeting.
Even if you're not "creative" you can still make joy.
Share a picture of a cool meal you made. Say hi to a dog or a squirrel or cat. Share a picture of your cat. Wave to a baby while you're at the grocery store. Hold the door for someone. Sketch a silly doodle during a meeting.
Even if you're not "creative" you can still make joy.
Lumines Arise and Sektori are keeping me going right now. If you're a creative person wondering why you keep on keeping on even though the world is a shitshow?
Thank you. We need art right now. Please make games and movies and shows and paintings and poems and minis. It's powerful. We need it.
Thank you. We need art right now. Please make games and movies and shows and paintings and poems and minis. It's powerful. We need it.
December 3, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Along with this:
Share a picture of a cool meal you made. Say hi to a dog or a squirrel or cat. Share a picture of your cat. Wave to a baby while you're at the grocery store. Hold the door for someone. Sketch a silly doodle during a meeting.
Even if you're not "creative" you can still make joy.
Share a picture of a cool meal you made. Say hi to a dog or a squirrel or cat. Share a picture of your cat. Wave to a baby while you're at the grocery store. Hold the door for someone. Sketch a silly doodle during a meeting.
Even if you're not "creative" you can still make joy.
Reposted by Andrew Ek
Lumines Arise and Sektori are keeping me going right now. If you're a creative person wondering why you keep on keeping on even though the world is a shitshow?
Thank you. We need art right now. Please make games and movies and shows and paintings and poems and minis. It's powerful. We need it.
Thank you. We need art right now. Please make games and movies and shows and paintings and poems and minis. It's powerful. We need it.
December 3, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Lumines Arise and Sektori are keeping me going right now. If you're a creative person wondering why you keep on keeping on even though the world is a shitshow?
Thank you. We need art right now. Please make games and movies and shows and paintings and poems and minis. It's powerful. We need it.
Thank you. We need art right now. Please make games and movies and shows and paintings and poems and minis. It's powerful. We need it.
Reposted by Andrew Ek
Alt text for those who need it. This is amazing.
December 2, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Alt text for those who need it. This is amazing.
I might go a step further here and say "Start thinking about how people will use/interact with what you're making. What is their experience (of reading, completing tasks, etc.) going to be?"
Not "How do I make this room look good for a photograph?" but "How do I make this room feel good to be in?"
Not "How do I make this room look good for a photograph?" but "How do I make this room feel good to be in?"
I see people asking "I have UI skills, how do I get better at UX?" My answer is: learn content design.
You can't hide behind whizbang styling when your medium is a sentence with hyperlinks to other sentences. Starting with the content also breaks you out of seeing work as a screen to be "laid out".
You can't hide behind whizbang styling when your medium is a sentence with hyperlinks to other sentences. Starting with the content also breaks you out of seeing work as a screen to be "laid out".
December 3, 2025 at 3:22 PM
I might go a step further here and say "Start thinking about how people will use/interact with what you're making. What is their experience (of reading, completing tasks, etc.) going to be?"
Not "How do I make this room look good for a photograph?" but "How do I make this room feel good to be in?"
Not "How do I make this room look good for a photograph?" but "How do I make this room feel good to be in?"
Reposted by Andrew Ek
I see people asking "I have UI skills, how do I get better at UX?" My answer is: learn content design.
You can't hide behind whizbang styling when your medium is a sentence with hyperlinks to other sentences. Starting with the content also breaks you out of seeing work as a screen to be "laid out".
You can't hide behind whizbang styling when your medium is a sentence with hyperlinks to other sentences. Starting with the content also breaks you out of seeing work as a screen to be "laid out".
December 3, 2025 at 2:03 PM
I see people asking "I have UI skills, how do I get better at UX?" My answer is: learn content design.
You can't hide behind whizbang styling when your medium is a sentence with hyperlinks to other sentences. Starting with the content also breaks you out of seeing work as a screen to be "laid out".
You can't hide behind whizbang styling when your medium is a sentence with hyperlinks to other sentences. Starting with the content also breaks you out of seeing work as a screen to be "laid out".
Reposted by Andrew Ek
I named my fists Vladimir and Estragon because they are just waiting for a chance to go
I named my fists Common and Sense because I'm about to bring the Paine
I named my fists Blood and Meridian because I’m fixing to Judge your ass.
December 1, 2025 at 3:46 PM
I named my fists Vladimir and Estragon because they are just waiting for a chance to go
Reposted by Andrew Ek
December 1, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Reposted by Andrew Ek
I had to use this today
7. the kinda appealing, but substantively indefensible, idea that somehow AI is different to other technology, like calculators, in a pedagogical context — but we totally ban a great deal of technology in the classroom.
(Section 3.7 here doi.org/10.5281/zeno...)
9/n
(Section 3.7 here doi.org/10.5281/zeno...)
9/n
November 28, 2025 at 9:10 PM
I had to use this today
Reposted by Andrew Ek
November 28, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Reposted by Andrew Ek
Reposted by Andrew Ek
I don't eat meat either, and will happily tell you why I think you shouldn't, if you ask, but I don't pretend that my lifestyle under capitalism is neutral.
Making bad deals in a bad system is not hypocrisy.
Making bad deals in a bad system is not hypocrisy.
I think they're suggesting that if you eat meat but complain about people who use LLMs, you're a hypocrite.
I find it rather difficult to compare one of the most nutritious foods in existence with LLMs.
I find it rather difficult to compare one of the most nutritious foods in existence with LLMs.
November 27, 2025 at 12:24 PM
I don't eat meat either, and will happily tell you why I think you shouldn't, if you ask, but I don't pretend that my lifestyle under capitalism is neutral.
Making bad deals in a bad system is not hypocrisy.
Making bad deals in a bad system is not hypocrisy.
Reposted by Andrew Ek
One important detail from the column: don't assume you're a mind reader. Even if you're 100% sure you know what your partner is thinking, listen to what they say and summarize it as you understand it: "Ok, if I'm understanding you correctly, you're saying [...], yes?"
HOLIDAY RERUN: The goal of arguing with your partner isn’t to stop fighting, it’s to fix the problem causing the fight. Here’s how to solve those conflicts the RIGHT way.
This Is The Emotionally Intelligent Way To Solve Conflicts In Your Relationships
This Is The Emotionally Intelligent Way To Solve Conflicts In Your Relationships
This Is The Emotionally Intelligent Way To Solve Conflicts In Your Relationships
The goal of arguing with your partner isn't to stop fighting, it's to fix the problem causing the fight. Here's how to solve conflicts in your relationship the right way.
www.doctornerdlove.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:34 PM
One important detail from the column: don't assume you're a mind reader. Even if you're 100% sure you know what your partner is thinking, listen to what they say and summarize it as you understand it: "Ok, if I'm understanding you correctly, you're saying [...], yes?"
Reposted by Andrew Ek
Reposted by Andrew Ek
Handing back student work that’s been written by ChatGPT with a 0 followed by the comment “This essay will never stand in authentic wonder before the Beauty of God’s creation.”
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
Even God Is Worried About ChatGPT
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
www.vulture.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Handing back student work that’s been written by ChatGPT with a 0 followed by the comment “This essay will never stand in authentic wonder before the Beauty of God’s creation.”
Reposted by Andrew Ek
Hot parenting take - this is good?
Ahh yes, a totally real trend for which we totally have evidence
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
November 26, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Hot parenting take - this is good?
Reposted by Andrew Ek
✨ I just published a new post, and it’s all about one of the most mind-blowing new CSS features: subgrid.
Honestly, when I first heard about subgrid, I figured it’d be a convenient little utility. I had no idea it would solve one of the most longstanding issues I’ve had with CSS. 😮
Check it out:
Honestly, when I first heard about subgrid, I figured it’d be a convenient little utility. I had no idea it would solve one of the most longstanding issues I’ve had with CSS. 😮
Check it out:
Brand New Layouts with CSS Subgrid • Josh W. Comeau
Subgrid allows us to extend a grid template down through the DOM tree, so that deeply-nested elements can participate in the same grid layout. At first glance, I thought this would be a helpful conven...
www.joshwcomeau.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:40 PM
✨ I just published a new post, and it’s all about one of the most mind-blowing new CSS features: subgrid.
Honestly, when I first heard about subgrid, I figured it’d be a convenient little utility. I had no idea it would solve one of the most longstanding issues I’ve had with CSS. 😮
Check it out:
Honestly, when I first heard about subgrid, I figured it’d be a convenient little utility. I had no idea it would solve one of the most longstanding issues I’ve had with CSS. 😮
Check it out:
Reposted by Andrew Ek
I'm going to do a little thread on how the money from books works for traditionally published authors because people have questions, and this is always useful info to share IMO. First, a big disclaimer that every contract is different, and there are a million factors that can change things. 1/
November 26, 2025 at 2:12 PM
I'm going to do a little thread on how the money from books works for traditionally published authors because people have questions, and this is always useful info to share IMO. First, a big disclaimer that every contract is different, and there are a million factors that can change things. 1/
Reposted by Andrew Ek
This is an insightful but deeply upsetting article about why everyone in the US feels poor, and why the current political situation emerges as a direct result.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Part 1: My Life Is a Lie
How a Broken Benchmark Quietly Broke America
www.yesigiveafig.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:42 AM
This is an insightful but deeply upsetting article about why everyone in the US feels poor, and why the current political situation emerges as a direct result.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Reposted by Andrew Ek
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
Reposted by Andrew Ek
It was only a failure if you assume they ever had good intentions. If you assume they intended to destroy the federal government from within, they succeeded.
We’ll be dealing with the results of this monumental breach of the federal government for many years to come.
We’ll be dealing with the results of this monumental breach of the federal government for many years to come.
November 26, 2025 at 1:42 AM
It was only a failure if you assume they ever had good intentions. If you assume they intended to destroy the federal government from within, they succeeded.
We’ll be dealing with the results of this monumental breach of the federal government for many years to come.
We’ll be dealing with the results of this monumental breach of the federal government for many years to come.
Reposted by Andrew Ek
Technically this street is being carcinized not pedestrianized, which is a different evolutionary process.
when we say we want more streets to be pedestrianized, this is what we mean
November 26, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Technically this street is being carcinized not pedestrianized, which is a different evolutionary process.
Reposted by Andrew Ek
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
DOGE was not a money-saving effort. It was an effort to chase down and prove right-wing conspiracy theories. They went after USAID to prove conspiracy theories about foreign aid. Then they went after SSA to, again, pursue conspiracy theories about Dems paying "illegals" to vote. 1/2
All DOGE accomplished was purging critical government staff, handing private data to outsiders, and sentencing thousands in developing countries to death by gutting USAID.
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
November 26, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
Reposted by Andrew Ek
A new post in my series on the Ash Framework. This one explores the underlying mechanics of Ash validation and where Funx can help when checks need more structure or concurrency.
www.joekoski.com/blog/2025/11...
#elixirlang @pragprog.com
www.joekoski.com/blog/2025/11...
#elixirlang @pragprog.com
Ash Framework: Diving into Validation
“That’s just, like, your opinion, man.” —The Big Lebowski (1998)
www.joekoski.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:07 PM
A new post in my series on the Ash Framework. This one explores the underlying mechanics of Ash validation and where Funx can help when checks need more structure or concurrency.
www.joekoski.com/blog/2025/11...
#elixirlang @pragprog.com
www.joekoski.com/blog/2025/11...
#elixirlang @pragprog.com
Reposted by Andrew Ek
And, if you waited until now to pick it up - it's 50% off in our Fall/Black Friday sale! Just enter code Save50 on the payment details screen at checkout. (Offer applies to almost everything in the store...)
📣 "Network Programming in #Elixir and #Erlang" by @whatyouhi.de is available from @pragprog.com.
Learn TCP, UDP, and HTTP with clear, practical examples drawn from real-world use cases including one using DNSimple DNS.
🎉 Congrats, Andrea!
📖 pragprog.com/titles/alnpe...
Learn TCP, UDP, and HTTP with clear, practical examples drawn from real-world use cases including one using DNSimple DNS.
🎉 Congrats, Andrea!
📖 pragprog.com/titles/alnpe...
November 22, 2025 at 8:43 PM
And, if you waited until now to pick it up - it's 50% off in our Fall/Black Friday sale! Just enter code Save50 on the payment details screen at checkout. (Offer applies to almost everything in the store...)
For a long time, the way I got better at things was to push myself as hard as I could and to punish my own failures. Self-acceptance felt "soft".
Annoyingly, as I've become more compassionate to / accepting of myself, I've also become much kinder and happier. And my rate of improvement is faster.
Annoyingly, as I've become more compassionate to / accepting of myself, I've also become much kinder and happier. And my rate of improvement is faster.
HOLIDAY RERUN: Self-improvement is a great idea, but it needs to be paired with compassion and self-acceptance. Here's why acceptance isn't the OPPOSITE of improvement.
Self-Acceptance vs Self-Improvement (And Why You Need Both):
Self-Acceptance vs Self-Improvement (And Why You Need Both):
Self-Acceptance vs Self-Improvement (And Why You Need Both)
Self-improvement is a great idea, but it needs to be paired with compassion and self-acceptance. Here's why acceptance isn't the OPPOSITE of improvement.
www.doctornerdlove.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:57 PM
For a long time, the way I got better at things was to push myself as hard as I could and to punish my own failures. Self-acceptance felt "soft".
Annoyingly, as I've become more compassionate to / accepting of myself, I've also become much kinder and happier. And my rate of improvement is faster.
Annoyingly, as I've become more compassionate to / accepting of myself, I've also become much kinder and happier. And my rate of improvement is faster.