HEPA Pig

computers and people

[Kyle 🚄 @KyleTrainEmoji]

PICARD: Data, shields up

DATA: Brilliant! Shields can reduce damage we sustain. Not immunity. Not hubris. Just prudence. It's not precaution—it's strategy.

[camera shakes]

WORF: HULL BREACHES ON NINE DECKS

DATA: Here's what happened: you told me to raise shields, and I didn't

[Grady Booch @Grady_Booch]

Having been part of the industry for 50 years, I can confidently report that none of this is true.

Sure, writing code has a non-zero cost; this is true of any artifact.

But you know what costs even more, Jonathan?

Writing bad code; writing unnecessary code; writing more code than you really need simply because you think you might need it someday or you are too lazy or sloppy to clean up after yourself.

Anything that costs nothing is often worth nothing as well, and results in significant unintended consequences.

[Tommie @tommiedotjpg]

That last paragraph in the quote from Coates has been screaming at me since I read it.

[Johan @Adityapandeydev]

When the DB query that was supposed to update only 1 row is still running after 15 seconds

[Catholic Sat @CatholicSat]

Pope Leo XIV in a very practical Lenten Message to all Christians says:

“I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor. Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves. Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.”

Full text here: https://t.co/GTHINqW7wR

[HEPA Pig @aaronblew]

I'm convinced that this is why the chatgpt/gemini UX has been WO successful. You (usually) get what you need, minimal ads, relatively low friction. Once enshittification comes there will be a new opportunity disruption and/or premium services.

[Scott Hanselman 🌮 @shanselman]

Absolutely. It’s a rejection of bloated web apps, 20 megs of JS bundles, and it’s a cross platform UI toolkit. TUIs are back baby! https://t.co/WKw4pjiQi3

[CIX 🦾 @cixliv]

Using a mocap suit to kick yourself in the balls with a robot is a great metaphor to close out 2025.

[sam henri gold @samhenrigold]

Did you know your MacBook has a sensor that knows the exact angle of the screen hinge?

It’s not exposed as a public API, but I figured out a way to read it and make it sound like an old wooden door.

[Matt Jones @KySportsRadio]

I am progressive on most things

But I am conservative (at least in the old school sense) that government should not own stakes in private companies. It’s anti-competitive and makes both worse off

I can’t believe GOP leaders are now cool with what is basically a socialist idea

[HEPA Pig @aaronblew]

@eprosenx Painted hills?

[HEPA Pig @aaronblew]

@BYUsupersoaker @grok is this rizz?

[Hiten Shah @hnshah]

You can’t outsource drive. You can only design for it.

I used to think you could teach hard work.

That if you said the right thing or set the right goal, people would suddenly start pushing themselves. But I’ve never seen it work that way. Not once.

What I have seen is this: the people who work hardest don’t need convincing. They don’t need speeches. They just need the right environment.

And that’s the part nobody tells you. Hard work isn’t a personality trait. It’s energy management. It’s not about discipline or hustling or some deep moral virtue, it’s about what your system reinforces.

I’ve worked with people who looked lazy on one team and became unstoppable on another. Same person. Different environment.

So here’s my rant: we waste too much time trying to motivate people when we should be asking what are we rewarding? what are we tolerating? what energy are we shaping?

Yes, some people just don’t want to work hard. You can’t convince someone who doesn’t want it.

But most people do want to do great work they’re just stuck in systems that deaden effort.

Want hard work? Design for it. Create a culture where ownership is real, feedback is fast, and the cost of apathy is visible.

Make the truth travel fast. Make the mission real. Make the work matter.

That’s the only way I’ve seen it happen.

You don’t light the fire. You remove everything that stops it from catching.

[TV’S ALEX PTAK @PtakTestKitchen]

Can’t stop thinking about doing the “what are you in for” talk in prison and you have to explain you purchased a competitor to the soda stream

[martin_casado @martin_casado]

A truism of CS is that you need to understand at least one level of abstraction below where you operate.

- OS devs -> hardware
- systems devs-> OS
- app devs-> systems

Vibe coding is no exception.

[Paul Graham @paulg]

If the administration can do this to a former high level federal official, imagine what they can do to you.

[Ben Dicken @BenjDicken]

I implemented an ssd, hdd, and tape device.

In javascript.

For a blog.

[Prof Francois Balloux @BallouxFrancois]

H5N1 bird flu has a mortality rate close to 100% in chicken. When the virus is detected in a chicken farm, all animals are being euthanised to reduce their suffering and limit the risk of spread to other animals and humans.
1/

[Rick Wilson @TheRickWilson]

Russian State Media (TASS) was in the meeting.

AP and Reuters were not.

Get it yet?

[Seth Abramson @SethAbramson]

This is what ardent NYT _conservative_ Bret Stephens is saying.

Anyone with any sense knows that today was an absolute disaster and disgrace for the United States.

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

The U.S. could have simply abstained at the UN. Instead, they chose to vote with Russia, deliberately

This is no longer just rhetoric or political theater. These are actions that leave not much room for interpretation 1/