Dan Cook
@xlem.net
software dev | 🇨🇦
github.com/dotxlem
github.com/akkoro
github.com/dotxlem
github.com/akkoro
Reposted by Dan Cook
please enjoy: my Wasm-hosted, Wasm-targeting build of Clang/Clang++/LLD: a self-contained, 25 MiB (gzipped) pure function
www.npmjs.com/package/@yow...
www.npmjs.com/package/@yow...
October 26, 2025 at 9:49 AM
please enjoy: my Wasm-hosted, Wasm-targeting build of Clang/Clang++/LLD: a self-contained, 25 MiB (gzipped) pure function
www.npmjs.com/package/@yow...
www.npmjs.com/package/@yow...
Reposted by Dan Cook
New post up, with a bunch of thoughts on what drives me personally, and my own 40-year career (h/t @lethain.com).
I have a pretty unusual life story. But one of the reasons I love the tech industry so much is how common unusual stories like mine have historically been.
charity.wtf/2025/07/09/t...
I have a pretty unusual life story. But one of the reasons I love the tech industry so much is how common unusual stories like mine have historically been.
charity.wtf/2025/07/09/t...
Thoughts on Motivation and My 40-Year Career
I’ve never published an essay quite like this. I’ve written about my life before, reams of stuff actually, because that’s how I process what I think, but never for public consumption. I’ve been pus…
charity.wtf
July 9, 2025 at 9:31 PM
New post up, with a bunch of thoughts on what drives me personally, and my own 40-year career (h/t @lethain.com).
I have a pretty unusual life story. But one of the reasons I love the tech industry so much is how common unusual stories like mine have historically been.
charity.wtf/2025/07/09/t...
I have a pretty unusual life story. But one of the reasons I love the tech industry so much is how common unusual stories like mine have historically been.
charity.wtf/2025/07/09/t...
A new teammate at work turned us on to Terragrunt recently, and I don't know how I've been living without it this long
Being able to define dependencies between deployments and connect outputs/inputs like this really reduces a lot of cognitive overhead
Being able to define dependencies between deployments and connect outputs/inputs like this really reduces a lot of cognitive overhead
June 24, 2025 at 1:17 AM
A new teammate at work turned us on to Terragrunt recently, and I don't know how I've been living without it this long
Being able to define dependencies between deployments and connect outputs/inputs like this really reduces a lot of cognitive overhead
Being able to define dependencies between deployments and connect outputs/inputs like this really reduces a lot of cognitive overhead
Last night I dreamt I had lunch with Bill Gates and I started pressing him on whether he thought economic growth could continue indefinitely on a finite world
A weird one since I don’t feel like I spend a lot of time thinking about Bill Gates, enough for him to appear in my sleep
A weird one since I don’t feel like I spend a lot of time thinking about Bill Gates, enough for him to appear in my sleep
June 20, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Last night I dreamt I had lunch with Bill Gates and I started pressing him on whether he thought economic growth could continue indefinitely on a finite world
A weird one since I don’t feel like I spend a lot of time thinking about Bill Gates, enough for him to appear in my sleep
A weird one since I don’t feel like I spend a lot of time thinking about Bill Gates, enough for him to appear in my sleep
I have a habit of trying to write things and getting stuck on the structure of the thing or deciding what I want to say.
I was thinking that trying. to do more stream of consiousness type of writing might help, but I get stuck there too
Maybe the bitrate of my consciousness is too low
I was thinking that trying. to do more stream of consiousness type of writing might help, but I get stuck there too
Maybe the bitrate of my consciousness is too low
June 17, 2025 at 8:39 PM
I have a habit of trying to write things and getting stuck on the structure of the thing or deciding what I want to say.
I was thinking that trying. to do more stream of consiousness type of writing might help, but I get stuck there too
Maybe the bitrate of my consciousness is too low
I was thinking that trying. to do more stream of consiousness type of writing might help, but I get stuck there too
Maybe the bitrate of my consciousness is too low
Coming out of my recreational dev hiatus by following the siren song of every developer: a new blog.
Planning to self-host this on my homelab, which I've been tinkering with the past months instead of writing code
Planning to self-host this on my homelab, which I've been tinkering with the past months instead of writing code
June 11, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Coming out of my recreational dev hiatus by following the siren song of every developer: a new blog.
Planning to self-host this on my homelab, which I've been tinkering with the past months instead of writing code
Planning to self-host this on my homelab, which I've been tinkering with the past months instead of writing code
I'm writing a thing with the AWS S3 #RustLang SDK and for some reason I get API errors only when I compile in release mode.
I assume I'm holding it wrong but I can't figure out how.
I thought it was because I was using Garage on the backend, but it does the same thing against AWS as well
I assume I'm holding it wrong but I can't figure out how.
I thought it was because I was using Garage on the backend, but it does the same thing against AWS as well
June 9, 2025 at 11:19 PM
I'm writing a thing with the AWS S3 #RustLang SDK and for some reason I get API errors only when I compile in release mode.
I assume I'm holding it wrong but I can't figure out how.
I thought it was because I was using Garage on the backend, but it does the same thing against AWS as well
I assume I'm holding it wrong but I can't figure out how.
I thought it was because I was using Garage on the backend, but it does the same thing against AWS as well
Reposted by Dan Cook
David Ginty at Harvard has so far identified 18 families of sensing neurons for different aspects of our sense of touch. Humans-teach-robots dexterity approaches ignore touch and contact, or reduce it to a few bits sensing one aspect. I think they are doomed. www.quantamagazine.org/touch-our-mo...
Touch, Our Most Complex Sense, Is a Landscape of Cellular Sensors | Quanta Magazine
Every soft caress of wind, searing burn and seismic rumble is detected by our skin’s tangle of touch sensors. David Ginty has spent his career cataloging the neurons beneath everyday sensations.
www.quantamagazine.org
April 18, 2025 at 5:24 PM
David Ginty at Harvard has so far identified 18 families of sensing neurons for different aspects of our sense of touch. Humans-teach-robots dexterity approaches ignore touch and contact, or reduce it to a few bits sensing one aspect. I think they are doomed. www.quantamagazine.org/touch-our-mo...
Testing a crosspost with Openvibe to Bluesky and Mastodon.
I like Bluesky but most components being hosted in the US means it could disappear at any moment (not unlike the US itself) and I like to hedge my bets
I like Bluesky but most components being hosted in the US means it could disappear at any moment (not unlike the US itself) and I like to hedge my bets
February 9, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Testing a crosspost with Openvibe to Bluesky and Mastodon.
I like Bluesky but most components being hosted in the US means it could disappear at any moment (not unlike the US itself) and I like to hedge my bets
I like Bluesky but most components being hosted in the US means it could disappear at any moment (not unlike the US itself) and I like to hedge my bets
Reposted by Dan Cook
Most AI related valuations are rooted in a narrative that AI is closer to magic, that only a few magicians can preform, than just another approach to software architecture.
January 27, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Most AI related valuations are rooted in a narrative that AI is closer to magic, that only a few magicians can preform, than just another approach to software architecture.
So I set up a new iPad and Apple Music refused to enable library sync. Just throws a redundant pop up error that I have to enable sync to see my library
Then I turned off sync on my Mac and iPhone to see if maybe that would reset something and now they ALL throw that error and won’t sync 😡
Then I turned off sync on my Mac and iPhone to see if maybe that would reset something and now they ALL throw that error and won’t sync 😡
January 18, 2025 at 12:26 AM
So I set up a new iPad and Apple Music refused to enable library sync. Just throws a redundant pop up error that I have to enable sync to see my library
Then I turned off sync on my Mac and iPhone to see if maybe that would reset something and now they ALL throw that error and won’t sync 😡
Then I turned off sync on my Mac and iPhone to see if maybe that would reset something and now they ALL throw that error and won’t sync 😡
Went down a rabbit hole on Wikipedia reading about optical disc formats and … I think we should bring back LaserDisc.
There’s just something about the size of them that I love
There’s just something about the size of them that I love
January 15, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Went down a rabbit hole on Wikipedia reading about optical disc formats and … I think we should bring back LaserDisc.
There’s just something about the size of them that I love
There’s just something about the size of them that I love
Had a suspicion that we would want to rewrite a tool at work from Python to Go so during the lull before the holidays I took a crack at it… and then in post-holiday planning we decided on the rewrite! Felt good to be able to pipe up in the meeting and say I already had it prototyped 😅
January 14, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Had a suspicion that we would want to rewrite a tool at work from Python to Go so during the lull before the holidays I took a crack at it… and then in post-holiday planning we decided on the rewrite! Felt good to be able to pipe up in the meeting and say I already had it prototyped 😅
Reposted by Dan Cook
paul graham has finally achieved what most thought impossible: he's written a post so bad that the hacker news comments are actually better than it
January 13, 2025 at 9:27 PM
paul graham has finally achieved what most thought impossible: he's written a post so bad that the hacker news comments are actually better than it
It's shipped! As someone who almost never finishes side projects I'm pretty excited about it. Hoping the small win will keep me motivated to go back to my larger projects.
Anyway here's s3b: SQL-queryable S3 backups
#BuildInPublic #RustLang #AWS
Anyway here's s3b: SQL-queryable S3 backups
#BuildInPublic #RustLang #AWS
GitHub - dotxlem/s3b: A command line tool for uploading data to Amazon S3, backed by an embedded database.
A command line tool for uploading data to Amazon S3, backed by an embedded database. - dotxlem/s3b
github.com
December 27, 2024 at 7:44 PM
It's shipped! As someone who almost never finishes side projects I'm pretty excited about it. Hoping the small win will keep me motivated to go back to my larger projects.
Anyway here's s3b: SQL-queryable S3 backups
#BuildInPublic #RustLang #AWS
Anyway here's s3b: SQL-queryable S3 backups
#BuildInPublic #RustLang #AWS
My S3 archive tool that I thought I’d have finished months ago is now *actually* finally almost done. Or at least, almost ready to publish.
Taking everything in me not to bloat it. I almost converted it into a TUI app last night and am very proud that I resisted temptation
Taking everything in me not to bloat it. I almost converted it into a TUI app last night and am very proud that I resisted temptation
December 21, 2024 at 4:02 PM
My S3 archive tool that I thought I’d have finished months ago is now *actually* finally almost done. Or at least, almost ready to publish.
Taking everything in me not to bloat it. I almost converted it into a TUI app last night and am very proud that I resisted temptation
Taking everything in me not to bloat it. I almost converted it into a TUI app last night and am very proud that I resisted temptation
I think a lot (probably too much) about what a better LinkedIn would look like.
I like the core of it — a professional network and living resume. But spammy DMs and coarse post visibility settings are a problem. Also the unhinged engagement farming posts, which is not really a tech problem
I like the core of it — a professional network and living resume. But spammy DMs and coarse post visibility settings are a problem. Also the unhinged engagement farming posts, which is not really a tech problem
December 18, 2024 at 3:17 PM
I think a lot (probably too much) about what a better LinkedIn would look like.
I like the core of it — a professional network and living resume. But spammy DMs and coarse post visibility settings are a problem. Also the unhinged engagement farming posts, which is not really a tech problem
I like the core of it — a professional network and living resume. But spammy DMs and coarse post visibility settings are a problem. Also the unhinged engagement farming posts, which is not really a tech problem
Reposted by Dan Cook
Canada is investigating Chinese tech companies, but it should be much more concerned with how dependent we’ve become on US tech monopolies that run roughshod over our rules and laws.
In @thestar.com, I argue it’s time for Canada to reclaim its digital sovereignty.
In @thestar.com, I argue it’s time for Canada to reclaim its digital sovereignty.
With Trump threat looming, it’s time for Canada to take control of its digital future
With the threat of Trump looming, perhaps it's time for Canada to take back its digital infrastructure.
www.thestar.com
December 11, 2024 at 3:06 PM
Canada is investigating Chinese tech companies, but it should be much more concerned with how dependent we’ve become on US tech monopolies that run roughshod over our rules and laws.
In @thestar.com, I argue it’s time for Canada to reclaim its digital sovereignty.
In @thestar.com, I argue it’s time for Canada to reclaim its digital sovereignty.
Reposted by Dan Cook
I've come to understand what's happening in frontend's decade-long failure to deliver decent user experiences as a sort of epistemic closure. I'm calling it "frameworkism", and the epicenter is now React. Here's a lot of words on why we should all reject it:
infrequently.org/2024/11/if-not-r…
infrequently.org/2024/11/if-not-r…
If Not React, Then What? - Infrequently Noted
Frameworkism is now the dominant creed of today's frontend discourse, and it's bullshit. We owe it to ourselves and to our users to reject dogma and embrace engineering as a discipline that strives to...
infrequently.org
November 30, 2024 at 1:21 AM
I've come to understand what's happening in frontend's decade-long failure to deliver decent user experiences as a sort of epistemic closure. I'm calling it "frameworkism", and the epicenter is now React. Here's a lot of words on why we should all reject it:
infrequently.org/2024/11/if-not-r…
infrequently.org/2024/11/if-not-r…