Picture Me Coding
@picturemecoding.bsky.social
Everyone's favorite music podcast about software, with your hosts Erik Aker and @mikemull.bsky.social
In this episode we talk about CRDTs. If you don't know what those are, you should listen. It might save you from zombies. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Conflict-Free Replicated Data Types (CRDTs): How To Survive the Zombie Apocalypse - Picture Me Coding
Erik became fascinated with CRDTs while working on a project, so we're talking about how they work, how they simplify some distributed systems, and how they might protect you from zombies.Conflict-Fre...
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November 13, 2025 at 4:40 PM
In this episode we talk about CRDTs. If you don't know what those are, you should listen. It might save you from zombies. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
In this episode we're talking about the Turing Test, thus possibly becoming the first people who've ever needed to study for it. The Turing Test (aka The Imitation Game) just turned 75. Has it been passed? www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
The Turing Test - Picture Me Coding
This episode is about the Turing Test, and Alan Turing's original description of the test in Computing Machinery and Intelligence. We also discuss a recent work by two UCSD researchers that clai...
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October 29, 2025 at 10:31 AM
In this episode we're talking about the Turing Test, thus possibly becoming the first people who've ever needed to study for it. The Turing Test (aka The Imitation Game) just turned 75. Has it been passed? www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
In the latest episode we discuss the late Mark Weiser's ideas about "ubiquitous computing". Did we achieve it, did we forget about it, or did it morph into something less friendly? www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Ubiquitous Computing - Picture Me Coding
In 1988 Mark Weiser of Xerox PARC coined the term "ubiquitous computing", and in 1991 he spelled out the particulars of this concept in a Scientific American article called "The Computer for the 21st ...
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October 17, 2025 at 5:09 PM
In the latest episode we discuss the late Mark Weiser's ideas about "ubiquitous computing". Did we achieve it, did we forget about it, or did it morph into something less friendly? www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
In our latest episode we talk about regular expressions. What are they, where did they come from, and most importantly: are they evil? www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
The Two Problems With Regular Expressions - Picture Me Coding
This week we're talking about regular expressions, aka, regex. These are a favorite tool of programmers, but they also have a dark side. Do regex cause more problems than they solve? ...
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October 6, 2025 at 9:53 AM
In our latest episode we talk about regular expressions. What are they, where did they come from, and most importantly: are they evil? www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
We're talking about Unix again, especially about what made it successful. Turns out it might be because the developers didn't start off with any particular objective in mind, they just wanted to make it easier to write programs: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
The History of Unix, Part 2: Unix not Eunuchs - Picture Me Coding
A continuation of our discussion about the history of Unix and its development at Bell Labs. Erik wonders why Unix became successful and which features were novel and important. Mike just wants ...
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September 17, 2025 at 4:16 PM
We're talking about Unix again, especially about what made it successful. Turns out it might be because the developers didn't start off with any particular objective in mind, they just wanted to make it easier to write programs: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
This week we're talking about the history of the Unix operating system, focusing on its origins at Bell Labs: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
The History of Unix: Part 1 - Picture Me Coding
This week we talk about the early days of Unix, primarily based on Brian Kernighan's book Unix: A History and Memoir, about his days at Bell Labs and the creation of Unix and C by Ken Thompson, Dennis...
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September 5, 2025 at 1:28 PM
This week we're talking about the history of the Unix operating system, focusing on its origins at Bell Labs: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Erik was a guest on the Hugo, Girl! podcast!. I think he's now officially a media celebrity.
September 3, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Erik was a guest on the Hugo, Girl! podcast!. I think he's now officially a media celebrity.
For this episode we delve into computational complexity, attempting to build up to Ryan Williams's remarkable recent result regarding space complexity vs time complexity. We are undeterred by not knowing what the hell we're talking about: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Space, Time, and Squishy Pebbles - Picture Me Coding
This week we dip our toes into the river of theoretical computer science and immediately drown. We discuss the amazing and surprising result of researcher Ryan Williams about how space is a more...
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August 21, 2025 at 4:36 PM
For this episode we delve into computational complexity, attempting to build up to Ryan Williams's remarkable recent result regarding space complexity vs time complexity. We are undeterred by not knowing what the hell we're talking about: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
We're talking about databases again, this time the category of NoSQL databases. This type of database is now over 20 years old, but that wasn't enough time for us to figure them out: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Databases Part II: No SQL, No Problem - Picture Me Coding
This week we try to make sense of what were once called "NoSQL" databases, focusing on the early entries into the field like Bigtable, Dynamo and Cassandra. We try to explain how they differ fro...
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August 8, 2025 at 8:19 PM
We're talking about databases again, this time the category of NoSQL databases. This type of database is now over 20 years old, but that wasn't enough time for us to figure them out: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
This week we talk to our friends Bobak Farzin and Kevin Fahey about their experiences building software with AI tools. While tech-savvy, neither are full-time developers, so they have an interesting perspective on the good and bad parts of vibe coding: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Vibe Coding: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Picture Me Coding
This week we host our friends Bobak Farzin and Kevin Fahey to talk about their experiences building applications with AI tools. Both Bob and Kevin are very tech savvy in different ways, but neit...
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July 24, 2025 at 12:56 PM
This week we talk to our friends Bobak Farzin and Kevin Fahey about their experiences building software with AI tools. While tech-savvy, neither are full-time developers, so they have an interesting perspective on the good and bad parts of vibe coding: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
This episode we're talking about databases again, specifically relational databases (or relational database management systems, we're not sure) www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Friends and Relations - Picture Me Coding
We're talking about databases again. Or database management systems, we're not totally sure. In any case, they are relational databases (or database management systems).The relational data...
www.picturemecoding.com
July 9, 2025 at 11:53 AM
This episode we're talking about databases again, specifically relational databases (or relational database management systems, we're not sure) www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
We kick off a series of episodes on database technology with a discussion of the late, great Jim Gray, winner of the 1998 Turing Prize and the person most responsible for the concept of database transactions. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Shoulders of Giants: Jim Gray - Picture Me Coding
Jim Gray was a key innovator in the area of database technology and he won the Turing Prize in 1998. He was particularly influential with respect to the definition and formalization of transacti...
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June 25, 2025 at 6:06 PM
We kick off a series of episodes on database technology with a discussion of the late, great Jim Gray, winner of the 1998 Turing Prize and the person most responsible for the concept of database transactions. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
In our latest episode we have a great discussion with Matt Teichman, a lecturer in computer science at U. Chicago, an OCaml programmer, and host of the Elucidations podcast. We cover linguistics, philosophy, functional programming, libraries, and music: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Language, Meaning, and Functional Programming with Matt Teichman - Picture Me Coding
This week Matt Teichman, host of the Elucidations podcast, dropped by the show to chat about functional programming and its surprising relationship to linguistics and philosophy. Matt teaches Linguist...
www.picturemecoding.com
June 11, 2025 at 12:51 PM
In our latest episode we have a great discussion with Matt Teichman, a lecturer in computer science at U. Chicago, an OCaml programmer, and host of the Elucidations podcast. We cover linguistics, philosophy, functional programming, libraries, and music: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
I don't have FOMO, i think i really _am_ missing out
For any North American folks having FOMO about @localfirstconf.com, there’s a new conference on sync engines as app architecture! SF in November syncconf.dev
Sync Conf 2025
syncconf.dev
May 27, 2025 at 4:08 PM
I don't have FOMO, i think i really _am_ missing out
This week we talk to UX expert Jonathan Whitmire about the scope and meaning of user experience and the relationship between designers and software engineers. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
UX Wing Fighters - Picture Me Coding
In this episode we talk to Jonathan Whitmire who designed the Picture Me Coding swag, logos, artwork (and t-shirts and stickers and coffee mugs!).He gives us a rundown on what it's like working alongs...
www.picturemecoding.com
May 21, 2025 at 9:37 AM
This week we talk to UX expert Jonathan Whitmire about the scope and meaning of user experience and the relationship between designers and software engineers. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
This week we talk about Local-First software, an exciting new way to think about building software that puts more focus on local data without sacrificing collaboration. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Our Flag Means Local-First - Picture Me Coding
This week Mike and Erik talk about the local-first software movement. There's a pretty cool paper about it from 2019 called "Local-First Software:You Own Your Data, in spite of the Cloud", and there's...
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May 14, 2025 at 2:35 PM
This week we talk about Local-First software, an exciting new way to think about building software that puts more focus on local data without sacrificing collaboration. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Reposted by Picture Me Coding
In this episode, Ed Zitron is joined by Steve Burke of GamersNexus to talk about how tariffs are throwing the PC gaming industry into disarray, and how the era of affordable computing is coming to an end.
@edzitron.com @gamersnexus.bsky.social
www.iheart.com/podcast/1119...
@edzitron.com @gamersnexus.bsky.social
www.iheart.com/podcast/1119...
May 7, 2025 at 5:32 PM
In this episode, Ed Zitron is joined by Steve Burke of GamersNexus to talk about how tariffs are throwing the PC gaming industry into disarray, and how the era of affordable computing is coming to an end.
@edzitron.com @gamersnexus.bsky.social
www.iheart.com/podcast/1119...
@edzitron.com @gamersnexus.bsky.social
www.iheart.com/podcast/1119...
This week we survey the tech news again. It turns out that the world is still weird. The AIs are hallucinatin' but so are the people. Neo-Luddites oppose the robots, but it's just a matter of time until we can't outrun them. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Interpreting the Newses - Picture Me Coding
Mike and Erik analyze the tech news again. The AIs are hallucinating, but gamers are too because of Game Transfer Phenomenon. The Luddites are back for what's likely a futile effort to kee...
www.picturemecoding.com
May 7, 2025 at 7:56 PM
This week we survey the tech news again. It turns out that the world is still weird. The AIs are hallucinatin' but so are the people. Neo-Luddites oppose the robots, but it's just a matter of time until we can't outrun them. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
"The first thing we do is, let’s unplug all the lawyers". This week we talk to John Benson, a lawyer and hacker, about his use of LLMs and other technology in the legal profession. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Predicting the Future: Law, Software, and Attorneys Using AI - Picture Me Coding
Today Mike and Erik are joined by John Benson, an attorney with a background in digital forensics who has been at the forefront of integrating LLMs into legal practice. The conversation ranges over th...
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April 30, 2025 at 3:38 PM
"The first thing we do is, let’s unplug all the lawyers". This week we talk to John Benson, a lawyer and hacker, about his use of LLMs and other technology in the legal profession. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
This week Erik and i talk about traitorous generals, gangsters, malicious agents, and faulty message sending. Surprisingly, it has almost nothing to do with politics. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Sailing to Byzantium - Picture Me Coding
This week Mike and Erik tackle Byzantine Fault Tolerance! But what's it all about? Gangsters? Generals? Constantinople? Take a journey with us as we sail off into the dizzying complexity of Byzantine ...
www.picturemecoding.com
April 23, 2025 at 1:24 PM
This week Erik and i talk about traitorous generals, gangsters, malicious agents, and faulty message sending. Surprisingly, it has almost nothing to do with politics. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
This week we talk to the one and only @dabeaz.com about why programming is fun. We talk about music, theater, async Python, Raft, open source, and conference talks as performance art. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Programming for Fun with David Beazley - Picture Me Coding
We have an entertaining and wide-ranging discussion with prominent computer scientist and educator David Beazley, known for his many contributions to the Python community. We talk about why prog...
www.picturemecoding.com
April 9, 2025 at 1:36 PM
This week we talk to the one and only @dabeaz.com about why programming is fun. We talk about music, theater, async Python, Raft, open source, and conference talks as performance art. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
On spring break this week, but next week we have a special guest (hint: one of the few Python programmers with a Wikipedia page)
April 2, 2025 at 1:32 PM
On spring break this week, but next week we have a special guest (hint: one of the few Python programmers with a Wikipedia page)
This week we talk about our last day at #Scale22x, covering software freedom and our successful attempt to give stickers to computer science legend Leslie Lamport. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Leslie Lamport and the Free Software Movement - Picture Me Coding
In this SCaLE wrap-up Mike and Erik discuss the final day of the conference and talks by Denver Gingerich called "What happens when hardware puts software freedom first? We built a router to find out"...
www.picturemecoding.com
March 26, 2025 at 1:34 PM
This week we talk about our last day at #Scale22x, covering software freedom and our successful attempt to give stickers to computer science legend Leslie Lamport. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
This week we talk about our first two days at #Scale22x. We cover earthquakes, AI, open source licenses, eBPF, research engineering, robots, coffee, donuts, Van Halen, and America's Got Talent: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...
Mike and Erik Go to Pasadena! - Picture Me Coding
This week we are on location in the city of Pasadena, CA for Scale 22x, the Socal Linux Expo. We talked to people and went to talks and drank a lot of coffee. We do a debrief of some of the amazing wo...
www.picturemecoding.com
March 19, 2025 at 3:55 PM
This week we talk about our first two days at #Scale22x. We cover earthquakes, AI, open source licenses, eBPF, research engineering, robots, coffee, donuts, Van Halen, and America's Got Talent: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...