Chris McMahon
@chrismcmahon.bsky.social
Software QA, bass player, guerilla ukulele. Southern gentleman. Western canyoneer. Writer. Founded QA practice for Wikipedia/Wikimedia Foundation and Salesforce Foundation. Ex-Thoughtworks too. Y2K made my career.
This is better than I thought it would be! True fact: I played Charlie Haden's bass, it's in Albuquerque in the showroom at Robertson Violins and you can buy it for mid-6-figures if you want.
TIL that Ornette Coleman and Charlie Hayden covered the Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman theme song.
Ornette Coleman & Charlie Haden - Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
YouTube video by beth mmq
youtu.be
December 1, 2025 at 3:47 PM
This is better than I thought it would be! True fact: I played Charlie Haden's bass, it's in Albuquerque in the showroom at Robertson Violins and you can buy it for mid-6-figures if you want.
This is awesome and unexpected, well done
collab with @moxiest.art at the table heads up. Thank you mox you are the best
November 30, 2025 at 12:37 AM
This is awesome and unexpected, well done
Dear reader I did in fact shred* DROWNED by Pete Townshend on the double neck 8/4 string electric ukulele.
November 29, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Dear reader I did in fact shred* DROWNED by Pete Townshend on the double neck 8/4 string electric ukulele.
I am a hero, I saved the spätzle batter from disaster. (I did not make the batter LOL)
November 28, 2025 at 12:59 AM
I am a hero, I saved the spätzle batter from disaster. (I did not make the batter LOL)
Which remains true: go hear a symphony performance and compare to a recording of the symphony. Those are radically different sounds.
*John Philip Sousa actually made that argument, that a recorded song was a horrible mechanical fossil of the honest real-world labor of real human musicians
I suppose songs recorded on analog were never real then either
November 27, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Which remains true: go hear a symphony performance and compare to a recording of the symphony. Those are radically different sounds.
Also see: boiled peanuts
Sorry, the first rule of persimmon club is to never talk about persimmon club.
What do they taste like and what’s the texture?
November 26, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Also see: boiled peanuts
Reposted by Chris McMahon
William S. Burroughs: A Thanksgiving Prayer www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLSv...
William S. Burroughs - A Thanksgiving Prayer
YouTube video by williamburroughsVEVO
www.youtube.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:23 PM
William S. Burroughs: A Thanksgiving Prayer www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLSv...
Reposted by Chris McMahon
I miss seeing Marick around.
"Politics should be conducted by people searching for answers, not those who've found them." ~ @marick
November 25, 2025 at 5:29 PM
I miss seeing Marick around.
@joeymcallister.com is one of several excellent editors I worked with at Better Software magazine, back when editors for tech pubs existed and back when I wrote articles for tech pubs. The first wave of this kind of loss of expertise came after the 2008 financial crisis IMHO.
By the way, it's National Editor Appreciation Day.
Nobody ever reads a great article and thinks, "Dang, that was some tight editing." But editing is a big part of how it got to be great.
So writers, if you've ever worked with a good editor, shout 'em out.
Nobody ever reads a great article and thinks, "Dang, that was some tight editing." But editing is a big part of how it got to be great.
So writers, if you've ever worked with a good editor, shout 'em out.
November 25, 2025 at 5:19 PM
@joeymcallister.com is one of several excellent editors I worked with at Better Software magazine, back when editors for tech pubs existed and back when I wrote articles for tech pubs. The first wave of this kind of loss of expertise came after the 2008 financial crisis IMHO.
I'm about due for new strings on my bass. I play the same brand, this is probably going to bite me too. They're not common like guitar strings, if I don't get them online then I'll drive an hour each way to Albuquerque to buy them from the only dealer in New Mexico that carries them.
Thanks to Donald Trump’s tariffs, my new pair of cello strings from Austria cost $320 instead of $285
November 25, 2025 at 4:34 PM
I'm about due for new strings on my bass. I play the same brand, this is probably going to bite me too. They're not common like guitar strings, if I don't get them online then I'll drive an hour each way to Albuquerque to buy them from the only dealer in New Mexico that carries them.
someone on the Albuquerque craigslist is selling a bunch of collector guitars including this reverse Flying V that is pretty sweet @weirdguita.rs
November 24, 2025 at 4:30 PM
someone on the Albuquerque craigslist is selling a bunch of collector guitars including this reverse Flying V that is pretty sweet @weirdguita.rs
When I was a rock'n'roll bass player in the 1990s my straight job 20 hrs/wk for 4 years was the Circulation desk at the medical library at Emory Univ. I was a wizard in the card catalog and a detective in the stacks. Picked up a serious background in medicine and public health too.
The one thing I really miss about the 'older world' is browsing library stacks, and card catalogues. However much I appreciate databases and retrieving what I want in moments, the serendipity of 'the book next to the one I wanted' and 'the article in the same issue' cannot be replicated. #Libraries
November 24, 2025 at 3:36 PM
When I was a rock'n'roll bass player in the 1990s my straight job 20 hrs/wk for 4 years was the Circulation desk at the medical library at Emory Univ. I was a wizard in the card catalog and a detective in the stacks. Picked up a serious background in medicine and public health too.
I'm looking for recommendations for a video camera/camcorder, primary use would be recording live music performances in small venues. I only need modest sound/vid quality. The market for these confuses me.
November 23, 2025 at 7:16 PM
I'm looking for recommendations for a video camera/camcorder, primary use would be recording live music performances in small venues. I only need modest sound/vid quality. The market for these confuses me.
The end of Blazing Saddles. Of course.
📽️ What is the best scene in a movie theater?
As Nicole Kidman famously said, “We come to this place for magic.” For this week’s Showdown, come up with a list of ten films featuring your favorite scenes set in movie theaters.
Start listing now: boxd.it/dmE
As Nicole Kidman famously said, “We come to this place for magic.” For this week’s Showdown, come up with a list of ten films featuring your favorite scenes set in movie theaters.
Start listing now: boxd.it/dmE
November 23, 2025 at 4:43 PM
The end of Blazing Saddles. Of course.
Yeah it's evergreen but for real: once a long time ago I discovered that certain printers have a TCP port open that I could connect to with telnet and then whatever ASCII characters I typed over the telnet connection, the printer would print out. I freaked out some people that way.
evergreen
November 22, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Yeah it's evergreen but for real: once a long time ago I discovered that certain printers have a TCP port open that I could connect to with telnet and then whatever ASCII characters I typed over the telnet connection, the printer would print out. I freaked out some people that way.
Reposted by Chris McMahon
After 9 years at Sauce Labs, I’m reflecting on what I’ve accomplished and what’s next.
While I determine the right fit for my next role, I’m going to focus on getting Selenium 5 released.
I also have limited availability for consulting/training:
While I determine the right fit for my next role, I’m going to focus on getting Selenium 5 released.
I also have limited availability for consulting/training:
Services
You deserve more from your test automation
titusfortner.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:21 PM
After 9 years at Sauce Labs, I’m reflecting on what I’ve accomplished and what’s next.
While I determine the right fit for my next role, I’m going to focus on getting Selenium 5 released.
I also have limited availability for consulting/training:
While I determine the right fit for my next role, I’m going to focus on getting Selenium 5 released.
I also have limited availability for consulting/training:
The end of an era. Godspeed Titus, please post on here what you're up to next...
Also, If something I taught or shared over the years made a difference for you or your company, I'd love to hear about it
November 20, 2025 at 9:28 PM
The end of an era. Godspeed Titus, please post on here what you're up to next...
I used this for quarantine guidance when my sweetie got COVID a month or so ago, it is useful and important.
A reminder that I’ve archived every public-facing web page from the CDC website prior to the Trump Regime purging data back in late January:
acasignups.net/cdc-website
acasignups.net/cdc-website
CDC.Gov Archive Index
With the Musk/Trump Administration bulldozing their way through seemingly every federal government website, teams of data analysts and archivers have been attempting to download and archive as much fe...
acasignups.net
November 20, 2025 at 3:14 PM
I used this for quarantine guidance when my sweetie got COVID a month or so ago, it is useful and important.
Men's fashion q for @dieworkwear.bsky.social Narrow brim hats and driving caps? Especially on musicians? I think they're always a mistake but I wonder if I'm just overly sensitive.
November 20, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Men's fashion q for @dieworkwear.bsky.social Narrow brim hats and driving caps? Especially on musicians? I think they're always a mistake but I wonder if I'm just overly sensitive.
Have I mentioned recently how much I love bsky's Nuclear Block? I don't even use it a fraction as much as a lot of people.
November 20, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Have I mentioned recently how much I love bsky's Nuclear Block? I don't even use it a fraction as much as a lot of people.
Utah is an interesting case because in addition to normal combustion engines and industry you add in dirty ORV engines plus dust-- from constant development plus accelerating desertification from 150 years of overgrazing etc. plus climate impacts on those deserts.
The air in LA was absolutely atrocious leading to emphysema, allergies, and generalized pulmonary inflammation.
We still have air like this in some Republican strongholds like Utah where the air is routinely the worst in the nation in winters, and sometimes rivals the worst city air in the world.
We still have air like this in some Republican strongholds like Utah where the air is routinely the worst in the nation in winters, and sometimes rivals the worst city air in the world.
Growing up in LA in the 1970s and 1980s, we routinely had smog alert days when we weren’t allowed to have lunch or recess outside. Your eyes would sting all the time and if I played outside my lungs would burn at the end of the day. It’s vastly better now. But I guess that’s woke?
November 19, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Utah is an interesting case because in addition to normal combustion engines and industry you add in dirty ORV engines plus dust-- from constant development plus accelerating desertification from 150 years of overgrazing etc. plus climate impacts on those deserts.
This is open for questions now. I am looking forward to reading it! old.reddit.com/r/beehiiv/co...
November 19, 2025 at 6:26 PM
This is open for questions now. I am looking forward to reading it! old.reddit.com/r/beehiiv/co...
reading "regedit" triggered my PTSD
My new favorite kind of meme is "here are detailed instructions on how to turn off AI". 🔨
November 19, 2025 at 5:34 PM
reading "regedit" triggered my PTSD
My piano player friend turned me on to this acoustic trio version of Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out and I'm mildly obsessed. The whole album is great, Betcha By Golly Wow is super. youtu.be/UPGhq6SYHjc?...
Tarbaby (2024) You Think This America
YouTube video by Blue Born
youtu.be
November 18, 2025 at 4:32 AM
My piano player friend turned me on to this acoustic trio version of Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out and I'm mildly obsessed. The whole album is great, Betcha By Golly Wow is super. youtu.be/UPGhq6SYHjc?...