samwagg
@samwagg.bsky.social
I like to run, read (okay, mostly listen), play video games, and spend time with my wife and daughter. I enjoy learning about science and philosophy. I am a software engineer.
If an actual Democrat can win the second most red state, then the senate will be so blue it won't make much of a difference. If not, which seems much more likely to me, I would be happy to have Manchin instead of a Republican.
November 8, 2025 at 10:44 PM
If an actual Democrat can win the second most red state, then the senate will be so blue it won't make much of a difference. If not, which seems much more likely to me, I would be happy to have Manchin instead of a Republican.
I'm suspicious that there's not a way to do social media (or at least, the Twitter model of social media) without this echo chamber effect. And I do think it causes problems. But there are really great things about Bluesky (and past Twitter) as well. So I hope I'm wrong.
November 3, 2025 at 8:53 PM
I'm suspicious that there's not a way to do social media (or at least, the Twitter model of social media) without this echo chamber effect. And I do think it causes problems. But there are really great things about Bluesky (and past Twitter) as well. So I hope I'm wrong.
I've also written scripts that more-or-less work out of the box. And that can be really useful for one-off utilities that you don't have to maintain for long or worry too much about their correctness and robustness. I just think that for longer lived, production software it gets less helpful.
October 30, 2025 at 5:41 AM
I've also written scripts that more-or-less work out of the box. And that can be really useful for one-off utilities that you don't have to maintain for long or worry too much about their correctness and robustness. I just think that for longer lived, production software it gets less helpful.
I think LLMs make me marginally more productive by relieving some mental burden. But I just can't see how generating large amounts of code can possibly be a sustainable way to do software development in the long term. And the vast majority of other developers I know feel similarly.
October 30, 2025 at 5:21 AM
I think LLMs make me marginally more productive by relieving some mental burden. But I just can't see how generating large amounts of code can possibly be a sustainable way to do software development in the long term. And the vast majority of other developers I know feel similarly.
yeah, for sure. It's not asking that much for a job of this nature. I think possibly most people relatively healthy non runners could manage *running* it with a month or two of training.
October 21, 2025 at 12:50 AM
yeah, for sure. It's not asking that much for a job of this nature. I think possibly most people relatively healthy non runners could manage *running* it with a month or two of training.
You're probably exaggerating for effect, but just want to say in case anyone is reading this and feeling bad about themselves that this is definitely not true. Most people in my running club could do it. I don't think most people in general could.
October 21, 2025 at 12:35 AM
You're probably exaggerating for effect, but just want to say in case anyone is reading this and feeling bad about themselves that this is definitely not true. Most people in my running club could do it. I don't think most people in general could.
I worry that the impact of associating policy discouraging UP foods with Kennedy. And that the overall effect will be people on the left consuming more in protest. But that's not really the article's fault.
October 13, 2025 at 2:37 PM
I worry that the impact of associating policy discouraging UP foods with Kennedy. And that the overall effect will be people on the left consuming more in protest. But that's not really the article's fault.
I mean, that's fair. And I'm gonna blame my ADHD and morning coffee for that storm of comments, sorry. I have read the article now. I find all the specifics reasonable and I understand the intent of alleviating the anxiety of parents. I still worry about the overall effect of the messaging.
October 13, 2025 at 2:34 PM
I mean, that's fair. And I'm gonna blame my ADHD and morning coffee for that storm of comments, sorry. I have read the article now. I find all the specifics reasonable and I understand the intent of alleviating the anxiety of parents. I still worry about the overall effect of the messaging.
ugh, just realized the political context to this. I feel like sometimes our side will take on dumb positions in reaction to the crazies on the other side occasionally happening to have reasonable ones.
October 13, 2025 at 2:16 PM
ugh, just realized the political context to this. I feel like sometimes our side will take on dumb positions in reaction to the crazies on the other side occasionally happening to have reasonable ones.
Full disclosure, I didn't read the article in the op, but I worry that people get the message from stuff like this that they shouldn't bother with avoiding UP food. And I know that food manufacturers are spending tons of money to push this message.
October 13, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Full disclosure, I didn't read the article in the op, but I worry that people get the message from stuff like this that they shouldn't bother with avoiding UP food. And I know that food manufacturers are spending tons of money to push this message.
@erictopol.bsky.social's take on this seems reasonable to me. He advocates for policy that discourages consumption and encourages people to opt for minimally processed food whenever possible. I try to do this and my kid still eats ultra processed food every single day.
October 13, 2025 at 2:05 PM
@erictopol.bsky.social's take on this seems reasonable to me. He advocates for policy that discourages consumption and encourages people to opt for minimally processed food whenever possible. I try to do this and my kid still eats ultra processed food every single day.
I agree that avoiding them completely is unrealistic. But my understanding is that there is research suggesting that even the relatively nutritious stuff (like soy milk) is worse than you might expect and that there are massive commercial interests in resisting policy that targets ultra processed.
October 13, 2025 at 1:59 PM
I agree that avoiding them completely is unrealistic. But my understanding is that there is research suggesting that even the relatively nutritious stuff (like soy milk) is worse than you might expect and that there are massive commercial interests in resisting policy that targets ultra processed.
Like yeah, it seems that they don't want to actually fire certain people in retrospect after backlash to their careless selections, but "mistake" doesn't seem like the right word for that. And why do you need to ascribe intention anyway?
October 12, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Like yeah, it seems that they don't want to actually fire certain people in retrospect after backlash to their careless selections, but "mistake" doesn't seem like the right word for that. And why do you need to ascribe intention anyway?
Yeah, I often find myself defending the Times on here, but this one definitely raised my eyebrows. I read the article, and I don't think it even attempted to justify the use of this "mistaken" language.
October 12, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Yeah, I often find myself defending the Times on here, but this one definitely raised my eyebrows. I read the article, and I don't think it even attempted to justify the use of this "mistaken" language.
I feel like you are suggesting that people who think public schools should be well-funded and good are obligated to subject their own kids to a bad school if that is the one available to them. Which doesn't seem fair or realistic to me.
October 1, 2025 at 1:31 PM
I feel like you are suggesting that people who think public schools should be well-funded and good are obligated to subject their own kids to a bad school if that is the one available to them. Which doesn't seem fair or realistic to me.
"klein has somehow got it into his head that the way to do politics "like" charlie kirk is to start by accepting that charlie kirk was right on the substance"
I just don't think this is true. Klein clearly doesn't think Kirk is right on substance and doesn't say that he thinks that.
I just don't think this is true. Klein clearly doesn't think Kirk is right on substance and doesn't say that he thinks that.
September 28, 2025 at 7:41 PM
"klein has somehow got it into his head that the way to do politics "like" charlie kirk is to start by accepting that charlie kirk was right on the substance"
I just don't think this is true. Klein clearly doesn't think Kirk is right on substance and doesn't say that he thinks that.
I just don't think this is true. Klein clearly doesn't think Kirk is right on substance and doesn't say that he thinks that.
Really? I just finished listening to this and I did not hear it this way. Klein had Coates on in the context of Coates writing a piece critical of Klein. And I mostly heard Klein making a case for his (widely criticized) approach, not "demanding" things for Coates.
September 28, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Really? I just finished listening to this and I did not hear it this way. Klein had Coates on in the context of Coates writing a piece critical of Klein. And I mostly heard Klein making a case for his (widely criticized) approach, not "demanding" things for Coates.
Yes that's fair. You weren't making a statement about free speech in general. I see that now.
September 20, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Yes that's fair. You weren't making a statement about free speech in general. I see that now.
I largely agree, but I still think free speech is an important concept. Popular backlash is not the same as government coercion. We're not all going to agree on exactly what is good and bad and I want to be able to say what I think when the other side is in power (like now).
September 20, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I largely agree, but I still think free speech is an important concept. Popular backlash is not the same as government coercion. We're not all going to agree on exactly what is good and bad and I want to be able to say what I think when the other side is in power (like now).
This is close to my understanding of what is going on, though I'm not sure he necessarily thinks Kirk and Shapiro are 100% good faith actors. I think he thinks that engaging with figures on the other side who are already popular and mainstream does more good than harm.
September 17, 2025 at 1:40 AM
This is close to my understanding of what is going on, though I'm not sure he necessarily thinks Kirk and Shapiro are 100% good faith actors. I think he thinks that engaging with figures on the other side who are already popular and mainstream does more good than harm.
Reposted by samwagg
My personal feeling is, MOANA is actually Lin Manuel Miranda's career peak (to date), just incredibly strong numbers from start to finish and a top-tier villain song even though the character isn't properly the big bad
September 13, 2025 at 1:01 AM
My personal feeling is, MOANA is actually Lin Manuel Miranda's career peak (to date), just incredibly strong numbers from start to finish and a top-tier villain song even though the character isn't properly the big bad