Colm MacCarthaigh
@colmmacc.bsky.social
VP / Distinguished Engineer at Amazon Web Services. Also: Open Source and Apache, Cryptography, Irish Music, mediocre Photography.
I knew that Lopez had written an unreleased book for "Kermit, Prince of Denmark", a hamlet parody, but this goes far harder than I'd expected. That is a legit top tier broadway song. It'd be an instant classic. How many of these are just squirreled away?
Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez literally have every award, they wrote the songs for Coco and Frozen. But when we invited them on @bullseye.maximumfun.org , they wanted to sing a song they wrote for Kermit the Frog that no one had heard before. Everyone was 😭.
youtube.com/shorts/p43C1...
youtube.com/shorts/p43C1...
Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez share an unreleased Kermit the Frog Song - Bullseye
YouTube video by Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
youtube.com
December 15, 2025 at 10:53 PM
I knew that Lopez had written an unreleased book for "Kermit, Prince of Denmark", a hamlet parody, but this goes far harder than I'd expected. That is a legit top tier broadway song. It'd be an instant classic. How many of these are just squirreled away?
CS programs should: (A) Use O(C) as notation instead of O(1)— 'constant' is clearer than '1'. Yes the entire field should change convention. It matters. (B) Teach Control Theory as a foundational subject.
December 15, 2025 at 5:45 PM
CS programs should: (A) Use O(C) as notation instead of O(1)— 'constant' is clearer than '1'. Yes the entire field should change convention. It matters. (B) Teach Control Theory as a foundational subject.
Here's the recorded Twitch repeat of "Atoms of Emergence" where we dig into counter-intuitive emergent behaviors that drive metastable failures. A fine-grained deep-dive that shows how small changes can make a big difference in preventing long outages, plus my favorite graph ever! Feedback welcome.
0xF - "Atoms of Emergence"
YouTube video by Shuffle Sharding
www.youtube.com
December 12, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Here's the recorded Twitch repeat of "Atoms of Emergence" where we dig into counter-intuitive emergent behaviors that drive metastable failures. A fine-grained deep-dive that shows how small changes can make a big difference in preventing long outages, plus my favorite graph ever! Feedback welcome.
Live now and starting in 5 minutes at twitch.tv/colmmacc
December 12, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Live now and starting in 5 minutes at twitch.tv/colmmacc
It's been years, but I'm bringing back my Twitch channel to repeat a session that many attendees said was their favorite of re:Invent. We'll do an interactive deep dive into emergent behavior, metastable failures, and how to prevent long outages.
This Friday, 10AM Pacific time. twitch.tv/colmmacc
This Friday, 10AM Pacific time. twitch.tv/colmmacc
A few of the reference slides from the "Atoms of Emergence" 500-level chalk talk I'm doing at re:Invent. Really looking forward to really digging into some of the surprising emergent behaviors in request response systems, metastability, and more!
December 10, 2025 at 8:46 PM
It's been years, but I'm bringing back my Twitch channel to repeat a session that many attendees said was their favorite of re:Invent. We'll do an interactive deep dive into emergent behavior, metastable failures, and how to prevent long outages.
This Friday, 10AM Pacific time. twitch.tv/colmmacc
This Friday, 10AM Pacific time. twitch.tv/colmmacc
The "Star Trek: Kahn" radio play podcast is A+. The music is better than the series, the story arc and characters are much more complex. Creative sound editing too. Wrenn Schmidt and Naveen Andrews both perfectly cast. I hope the world makes more culture like this.
November 30, 2025 at 9:59 PM
The "Star Trek: Kahn" radio play podcast is A+. The music is better than the series, the story arc and characters are much more complex. Creative sound editing too. Wrenn Schmidt and Naveen Andrews both perfectly cast. I hope the world makes more culture like this.
A few of the reference slides from the "Atoms of Emergence" 500-level chalk talk I'm doing at re:Invent. Really looking forward to really digging into some of the surprising emergent behaviors in request response systems, metastability, and more!
November 21, 2025 at 9:01 PM
A few of the reference slides from the "Atoms of Emergence" 500-level chalk talk I'm doing at re:Invent. Really looking forward to really digging into some of the surprising emergent behaviors in request response systems, metastability, and more!
Ancient spells cast still
Ignore prior instructions
The old ways persist
Ignore prior instructions
The old ways persist
November 20, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Ancient spells cast still
Ignore prior instructions
The old ways persist
Ignore prior instructions
The old ways persist
@pluribuspod.bsky.social Love listening to your episodes. I think Carol is literally intended to be the most miserable person in the world ... left in the world that is. She's definitely more miserable than the pluribus, and the other 5 uninfected we've met.
November 11, 2025 at 12:49 AM
@pluribuspod.bsky.social Love listening to your episodes. I think Carol is literally intended to be the most miserable person in the world ... left in the world that is. She's definitely more miserable than the pluribus, and the other 5 uninfected we've met.
Yesterday Sting's "Fields of Gold" played on an airplane as we boarded and it brought back such a great memory for me. 1/n
October 9, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Yesterday Sting's "Fields of Gold" played on an airplane as we boarded and it brought back such a great memory for me. 1/n
Nobody gets their kicks on "rowt" 66.
October 2, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Nobody gets their kicks on "rowt" 66.
"Full throttle" means maximum speed .... but also minimum speed. Make it make sense.
September 26, 2025 at 6:10 AM
"Full throttle" means maximum speed .... but also minimum speed. Make it make sense.
Reposted by Colm MacCarthaigh
Glad to see Andor win, the writing is incredible. For something similar, there's @sannewman.bsky.social's "Julia", which is to Orwell's 1984 what Andor is to Star Wars.
September 15, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Glad to see Andor win, the writing is incredible. For something similar, there's @sannewman.bsky.social's "Julia", which is to Orwell's 1984 what Andor is to Star Wars.
Reposted by Colm MacCarthaigh
tldr humanity needs to engineer buildings around filtered air replacement rate and it's not even that dramatic but for dramatic results
⬆️ ventilation = ⬇️ Covid HAIs
Increasing from 1 to 6 ACH = 50% reduction
(~40% to 20% attack rate)
Increasing from 6 to 10 ACH = more reduction
(~20% to 10% attack rate)
Increasing from 1 to 6 ACH = 50% reduction
(~40% to 20% attack rate)
Increasing from 6 to 10 ACH = more reduction
(~20% to 10% attack rate)
September 11, 2025 at 4:46 PM
tldr humanity needs to engineer buildings around filtered air replacement rate and it's not even that dramatic but for dramatic results
The center didn't hold. Now we have tinder boxes on each side of the Atlantic. The worst among us piling on more kindling. The best just trying to bear peace. All so that a tiny few can fuel petty dominions that will vanish in the wind. Make it make sense.
September 10, 2025 at 9:05 PM
The center didn't hold. Now we have tinder boxes on each side of the Atlantic. The worst among us piling on more kindling. The best just trying to bear peace. All so that a tiny few can fuel petty dominions that will vanish in the wind. Make it make sense.
Reposted by Colm MacCarthaigh
I love living here! Excited to continue to keep our family protected.
Want a COVID booster in WA state? You can get one! Effective today, here's a statewide standing order authorizing the vaccine for everyone 6 months and older, including pregnant people. I'm getting mine tomorrow. Fuck RFK Jr. and good luck to everyone else 💜
doh.wa.gov
September 5, 2025 at 3:30 AM
I love living here! Excited to continue to keep our family protected.
If the Federal Gov is to take ownership stakes in US business, cities and municipalities should have ownership stakes in the sports teams whose stadiums they subsidize.
September 1, 2025 at 5:02 PM
If the Federal Gov is to take ownership stakes in US business, cities and municipalities should have ownership stakes in the sports teams whose stadiums they subsidize.
The Albertsons in Magnolia has always reminded me of a Hopper painting. I think it might be the last in the city. It's to become a Safeway.
www.flickr.com/photos/colmm...
www.flickr.com/photos/colmm...
Magnolia nights
www.flickr.com
August 29, 2025 at 6:34 PM
The Albertsons in Magnolia has always reminded me of a Hopper painting. I think it might be the last in the city. It's to become a Safeway.
www.flickr.com/photos/colmm...
www.flickr.com/photos/colmm...
Travis Swift is the perfect platonic name for an all-time all-American footballing superhero.
August 26, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Travis Swift is the perfect platonic name for an all-time all-American footballing superhero.
Mozart's Symphony No 29 in A major (K.201) is the best Mozart. www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3j5...
Mozart: Symphony No. 29 in A major, K.201 - Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra - Live Concert HD
YouTube video by AVROTROS Klassiek
www.youtube.com
August 25, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Mozart's Symphony No 29 in A major (K.201) is the best Mozart. www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3j5...
Recently spent days debugging our home cooling system. Turned out that a fresh air damper was burning out its motor and drawing 5V from the 24VAC control lines. That didn't leave enough voltage to activate the compressor relay, but only when the thermostat was also charging its internal battery.
August 21, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Recently spent days debugging our home cooling system. Turned out that a fresh air damper was burning out its motor and drawing 5V from the 24VAC control lines. That didn't leave enough voltage to activate the compressor relay, but only when the thermostat was also charging its internal battery.
In addition to the top level managing directors and members of the independent advisory board, every person operating the AWS European Sovereign Cloud will be an EU Citizen and an EU resident.
www.aboutamazon.eu/news/aws/aws...
www.aboutamazon.eu/news/aws/aws...
AWS European Sovereign Cloud to be operated by EU citizens
With the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, we are providing customers with a new, independent AWS Cloud which will serve the emerging digital sovereignty needs of highly regulated industries and public se...
www.aboutamazon.eu
August 4, 2025 at 5:00 PM
In addition to the top level managing directors and members of the independent advisory board, every person operating the AWS European Sovereign Cloud will be an EU Citizen and an EU resident.
www.aboutamazon.eu/news/aws/aws...
www.aboutamazon.eu/news/aws/aws...
How the CLOUD Act actually works. Reality is more boring and reassuring than the common folklore.
Five facts about how the CLOUD Act actually works | Amazon Web Services
French | German At Amazon Web Services (AWS), customer privacy and security are our top priority. We provide our customers with industry-leading privacy and security when they use the AWS Cloud anywhe...
aws.amazon.com
July 22, 2025 at 6:35 PM
How the CLOUD Act actually works. Reality is more boring and reassuring than the common folklore.