Nick Cotter
@ecstaticdisregard.bsky.social
Mainly a log of stuff I’ve read, interspersed with cats etc.
I integrate the things with the other things, architect the software and engineer the data.
nickcotter.com
I integrate the things with the other things, architect the software and engineer the data.
nickcotter.com
We should all be using dependency cooldowns
We should all be using dependency cooldowns
Nov 21, 2025 Tags: oss, security
blog.yossarian.net
November 25, 2025 at 5:07 PM
We should all be using dependency cooldowns
LLM APIs are a Synchronization Problem | Armin Ronacher's Thoughts and Writings
LLM APIs are a Synchronization Problem
Maybe the LLM message APIs should be rethought as a synchronization problem.
lucumr.pocoo.org
November 25, 2025 at 1:46 PM
LLM APIs are a Synchronization Problem | Armin Ronacher's Thoughts and Writings
Agent Design Is Still Hard | Armin Ronacher's Thoughts and Writings
Agent Design Is Still Hard
My Agent abstractions keep breaking somewhere I don’t expect.
lucumr.pocoo.org
November 25, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Agent Design Is Still Hard | Armin Ronacher's Thoughts and Writings
Reposted by Nick Cotter
A first blush, I was wondering what the business case looks like - surely a clever strategic advantage play, some audacious winner-takes-all bet...
But, alas, it increasingly looks like the whole financial plan is "The Singularity is near. Amen !"
But, alas, it increasingly looks like the whole financial plan is "The Singularity is near. Amen !"
November 25, 2025 at 12:46 AM
A first blush, I was wondering what the business case looks like - surely a clever strategic advantage play, some audacious winner-takes-all bet...
But, alas, it increasingly looks like the whole financial plan is "The Singularity is near. Amen !"
But, alas, it increasingly looks like the whole financial plan is "The Singularity is near. Amen !"
Half Life 2 bug found decades later via numeric precision changes over time.
Tom Forsyth (@[email protected])
Attached: 1 image Recent discussion about the perils of doors in gamedev reminded me of a bug caused by a door in a game you may have heard of called "Half Life 2". Are you sitting comfortably? Then…
mastodon.gamedev.place
November 24, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Half Life 2 bug found decades later via numeric precision changes over time.
Thorium-uranium Conversion Makes Breakthrough
“It's like generating electricity by flowing 'nuclear fuel' through 'high-temperature salt',”
“It's like generating electricity by flowing 'nuclear fuel' through 'high-temperature salt',”
Thorium-uranium Conversion Makes Breakthrough
In early November, the experimental operation of a 2-megawatt liquid-fuel thorium-based molten salt reactor (TMSR), led by the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences…
www.stdaily.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Thorium-uranium Conversion Makes Breakthrough
“It's like generating electricity by flowing 'nuclear fuel' through 'high-temperature salt',”
“It's like generating electricity by flowing 'nuclear fuel' through 'high-temperature salt',”
Secret Service traced swatting threats against officials. They found 300 servers capable of crippling New York’s cell system | CNN
Secret Service traced swatting threats against officials. They found 300 servers capable of crippling New York’s cell system | CNN
A Secret Service unit set out to unmask the layers of burner phones, changing phone numbers and SIM cards that were swatting American officials. It ended with the largest seizure of SIM servers and…
www.cnn.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Secret Service traced swatting threats against officials. They found 300 servers capable of crippling New York’s cell system | CNN
Post a movie from where you're from.
November 24, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Post a movie from where you're from.
In the middle of Gran Canaria (or possibly by the edge of the Glowing Sea) #SundayPixOffTheBeatenTrack
November 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
In the middle of Gran Canaria (or possibly by the edge of the Glowing Sea) #SundayPixOffTheBeatenTrack
The Art of Cat Acting
The Art of Cat Acting
YouTube video by Alex Boucher
youtube.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:22 AM
The Art of Cat Acting
How a French judge was digitally cut off by the USA | heise online
How a French judge was digitally cut off by the USA
Nicolas Guillou has been sanctioned by the USA as a judge of the International Criminal Court. He notices the effects primarily in the digital realm.
www.heise.de
November 23, 2025 at 10:00 AM
How a French judge was digitally cut off by the USA | heise online
Reposted by Nick Cotter
November 22, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by Nick Cotter
... And he still posts on Slashdot - Wozniak is the ultimate geek role model, the antidote to CEO worship !
November 22, 2025 at 12:32 PM
... And he still posts on Slashdot - Wozniak is the ultimate geek role model, the antidote to CEO worship !
Europe didn’t plan, so others did
Europe didn't plan, so others did | Trump's Russia–Ukraine peace plan
Trump’s Russia–Ukraine ‘peace plan’ is not a negotiation – it’s a geopolitical verdict. It shows that Europe is drifting onto the wrong side of history – the side where others make the decisions and Europe foots the bill.
www.epc.eu
November 22, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Europe didn’t plan, so others did
“Should we demand a forest for our children? “
Yes.
Yes.
Where Do the Children Play?
On the need for a world without us
open.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:37 PM
“Should we demand a forest for our children? “
Yes.
Yes.
What US Tech Did to Ireland — The Dial
What US Tech Did to Ireland — The Dial
The country is alarmingly reliant on Meta, Google and Apple.
www.thedial.world
November 21, 2025 at 9:00 AM
What US Tech Did to Ireland — The Dial
“And why does it decide to lie to cover up violating its privacy policies?”
I caught Google Gemini using my data—and then covering it up
I asked Google Gemini a pretty basic developer question. The answer was unremarkable, apart from it mentioning in conclusion that it knows I previously used ...
unbuffered.stream
November 20, 2025 at 5:06 PM
“And why does it decide to lie to cover up violating its privacy policies?”
“A game review website devoted to helping you find games that don't use psychological tricks to manipulate you into becoming an addicted gamer.”
DarkPattern.games » Healthy Gaming « Avoid Addictive Dark Patterns
Game reviews to help you find good games that don't trick you into addictive gaming patterns.
www.darkpattern.games
November 20, 2025 at 1:46 PM
“A game review website devoted to helping you find games that don't use psychological tricks to manipulate you into becoming an addicted gamer.”
What happens if AI labs train for pelicans riding bicycles?
What happens if AI labs train for pelicans riding bicycles?
Almost every time I share a new example of an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle a variant of this question pops up: how do you know the labs …
simonwillison.net
November 20, 2025 at 9:01 AM
What happens if AI labs train for pelicans riding bicycles?
How we Uncovered a Race Condition in Aurora RDS | Hightouch
How we Uncovered a Race Condition in Aurora RDS
See how we diagnosed and confirmed an AWS Aurora RDS race condition impacting failovers.
hightouch.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:06 PM
How we Uncovered a Race Condition in Aurora RDS | Hightouch
“A lack of effective communication between the fragmented elements of the railway was the root cause of the horrific crash, the first of a series of serious fatal derailments that were attributable to the new structure of the railways.”
Britain’s Railway Privatization Was an Abject Failure - Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung
Sold off in the 1990s, the UK’s railways are returning to public hands — but at what cost?
www.rosalux.de
November 19, 2025 at 1:36 PM
“A lack of effective communication between the fragmented elements of the railway was the root cause of the horrific crash, the first of a series of serious fatal derailments that were attributable to the new structure of the railways.”
“The Fall Of Icarus”: Astrophotographer Snaps Skydiver Falling In Front Of The Sun In Spectacular Photo | IFLScience
“The Fall Of Icarus”: You Have Never Seen An Astrophotography Picture Like This!
This is not photoshopped. That’s really a person falling in front of the Sun.
www.iflscience.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:00 AM
“The Fall Of Icarus”: Astrophotographer Snaps Skydiver Falling In Front Of The Sun In Spectacular Photo | IFLScience
Still waiting for Monty Python And The Ring Of Power
November 19, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Still waiting for Monty Python And The Ring Of Power
CHAT CONTROL 2.0 THROUGH THE BACK DOOR – Breyer warns: “The EU is playing us for fools – now they’re scanning our texts and banning teens!” [updated] – Patrick Breyer
CHAT CONTROL 2.0 THROUGH THE BACK DOOR – Breyer warns: "The EU is playing us for fools – now they’re scanning our texts and banning teens!" [updated]
Just before a decisive meeting in Brussels, digital rights expert and former Member of the European Parliament Dr. Patrick Breyer is sounding the alarm. Using a "deceptive sleight of hand," a…
www.patrick-breyer.de
November 18, 2025 at 5:06 PM
CHAT CONTROL 2.0 THROUGH THE BACK DOOR – Breyer warns: “The EU is playing us for fools – now they’re scanning our texts and banning teens!” [updated] – Patrick Breyer
The Grafana trust problem
We moved away from Grafana a while back, partly because we could serve users with Cloudwatch, partly due to infra requirements, but the ever changing config requirements was a factor!
We moved away from Grafana a while back, partly because we could serve users with Cloudwatch, partly due to infra requirements, but the ever changing config requirements was a factor!
The Grafana trust problem
The Grafana Stack can be an incredible powerful monitoring solution, but through my experience I found out how maintenance intensive it is and how uncertain the…
henrikgerdes.me
November 18, 2025 at 1:46 PM
The Grafana trust problem
We moved away from Grafana a while back, partly because we could serve users with Cloudwatch, partly due to infra requirements, but the ever changing config requirements was a factor!
We moved away from Grafana a while back, partly because we could serve users with Cloudwatch, partly due to infra requirements, but the ever changing config requirements was a factor!