Chip Morningstar
@epopt.bsky.social
Working hard to save the world from (or maybe it’s for) software.
At first I misread that as “eradicate fiction” and my mind went all kinds of weird places.
November 2, 2025 at 1:57 AM
At first I misread that as “eradicate fiction” and my mind went all kinds of weird places.
I’ve known a number of military people who emphasize the importance of having empathy for the enemy, as understanding someone’s emotional reality is critical to being able to fight them effectively. This perspective is definitely not about being “nice”.
October 27, 2025 at 1:15 AM
I’ve known a number of military people who emphasize the importance of having empathy for the enemy, as understanding someone’s emotional reality is critical to being able to fight them effectively. This perspective is definitely not about being “nice”.
Or can that can only be revealed at a risk to the oh-so-flammable flag?
August 25, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Or can that can only be revealed at a risk to the oh-so-flammable flag?
Is your drunken gender different from your regular gender?
August 25, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Is your drunken gender different from your regular gender?
This has real Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote vibes, but with the coyote in the role of the Roadrunner.
June 4, 2025 at 11:34 PM
This has real Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote vibes, but with the coyote in the role of the Roadrunner.
The Sensory Order is definitely the most difficult read of anything Hayek ever wrote, but it prefigures the entire field of cognitive science quite accurately.
May 13, 2025 at 6:46 AM
The Sensory Order is definitely the most difficult read of anything Hayek ever wrote, but it prefigures the entire field of cognitive science quite accurately.
This mode of misreading Hayek seems to be very common among certain segments of the left, for reasons I find entirely baffling. However, in this case the author makes a number of ahistorical accusations that smell to me of bad faith rather than common misunderstanding.
May 13, 2025 at 6:46 AM
This mode of misreading Hayek seems to be very common among certain segments of the left, for reasons I find entirely baffling. However, in this case the author makes a number of ahistorical accusations that smell to me of bad faith rather than common misunderstanding.
Very reminiscent of what one of my longtime colleagues, Rich Mironov, refers to as The Software Development Deli Counter mironov.com/deli/
May 1, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Very reminiscent of what one of my longtime colleagues, Rich Mironov, refers to as The Software Development Deli Counter mironov.com/deli/
I can’t help but be reminded of the old saying that diplomacy is the art of saying “nice doggy, nice doggy” until you can find a rock.
April 13, 2025 at 8:18 PM
I can’t help but be reminded of the old saying that diplomacy is the art of saying “nice doggy, nice doggy” until you can find a rock.
My preferred formulation is “Nihilism should commence with one’s self.” That covers a lot of useful ground.
April 9, 2025 at 10:08 PM
My preferred formulation is “Nihilism should commence with one’s self.” That covers a lot of useful ground.
You *could* provide a simple system with a programmable escape hatch, but that would require people to program it. By instead having an ultra sophisticated configuration mechanism you can make believe you aren’t making users write code.
January 23, 2025 at 10:20 PM
You *could* provide a simple system with a programmable escape hatch, but that would require people to program it. By instead having an ultra sophisticated configuration mechanism you can make believe you aren’t making users write code.
This seems to be a recurring pattern. Most users’ needs are simple, but many still have 1 or 2 edge case complications to deal with. Products trying to appeal to the largest possible market end up subjecting each user to the zillion irrelevant complications of all the other users.
January 23, 2025 at 10:20 PM
This seems to be a recurring pattern. Most users’ needs are simple, but many still have 1 or 2 edge case complications to deal with. Products trying to appeal to the largest possible market end up subjecting each user to the zillion irrelevant complications of all the other users.
It’s a good thing that most musical instruments were invented before modern design sensibilities took hold.
January 18, 2025 at 8:21 AM
It’s a good thing that most musical instruments were invented before modern design sensibilities took hold.
This is a really good point. It captures a key disconnect between those appalled by all the slop and those seeing real transformative potential. This article by an AI researcher friend of mine on using AI for software development might be of interest zerothprinciples.substack.com/p/the-mythic...
The Mythical AI Minute
Who Needs a Man-Month?
zerothprinciples.substack.com
January 8, 2025 at 3:49 AM
This is a really good point. It captures a key disconnect between those appalled by all the slop and those seeing real transformative potential. This article by an AI researcher friend of mine on using AI for software development might be of interest zerothprinciples.substack.com/p/the-mythic...
I once fixed a dead DVD drive with a saw. That was a pretty awesome experience.
December 27, 2024 at 10:36 AM
I once fixed a dead DVD drive with a saw. That was a pretty awesome experience.
I’ve noticed successful platform businesses (e.g. Microsoft in many cases, Sun/JavaSoft in its heyday, many others) want to spend the fruits of success to improve the product but they don’t know how, so instead they just spend on making more of it. Thus you get perpetually growing APIs and the like.
December 17, 2024 at 10:51 PM
I’ve noticed successful platform businesses (e.g. Microsoft in many cases, Sun/JavaSoft in its heyday, many others) want to spend the fruits of success to improve the product but they don’t know how, so instead they just spend on making more of it. Thus you get perpetually growing APIs and the like.
Doesn’t a cold nose mean you’re healthy?
December 14, 2024 at 12:05 AM
Doesn’t a cold nose mean you’re healthy?
I was previously unaware of the existence of turkey shepherds.
November 28, 2024 at 4:51 AM
I was previously unaware of the existence of turkey shepherds.
IIRC there were some pilot tests back in the 80s or 90s that indicated that this would provide far better enforcement at much lower cost while being a lot less hassle for everyone. Of course these proposals were squashed by lobbyists for smog check vendors.
November 25, 2024 at 10:23 PM
IIRC there were some pilot tests back in the 80s or 90s that indicated that this would provide far better enforcement at much lower cost while being a lot less hassle for everyone. Of course these proposals were squashed by lobbyists for smog check vendors.