Forrest Brazeal
@forrestbrazeal.bsky.social
Cofounder at Freeman & Forrest, author, cartoonist, and Pwnie Award-winning songwriter. Ex-Google. Here to help.
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This is the wildest screenshot I've ever shared in my life.
Somehow, my debut novel has sold to Ballantine / Penguin Random House.
The elevator pitch is simple: what if Silicon Valley invented the time machine?
Look for the book in stores next year! newsletter.goodtechthings.com/p/breaking-s...
Somehow, my debut novel has sold to Ballantine / Penguin Random House.
The elevator pitch is simple: what if Silicon Valley invented the time machine?
Look for the book in stores next year! newsletter.goodtechthings.com/p/breaking-s...
My plan to drive to KubeCon from Charlotte is looking more and more defensible.
Yeah so they’re cutting flights at the 40 busiest airports starting with 4% on Friday and ramping up to 10% through the weekend, and that includes ATL. If you’re attending #KubeCon and you aren’t threat modeling around this and making contingency plans already, strongly recommend starting now
So, uh, KubeCon attendees: how we feeling about the threat model of them shutting down the airspace? Are we all moving to Atlanta
November 6, 2025 at 4:07 PM
My plan to drive to KubeCon from Charlotte is looking more and more defensible.
I feel like the biggest takeaway from the latest AWS outage is that there’s simply no architecting around them at this point. Even if you are 100% redundant/multi-whatever, your vendors and customers are certainly not. Order volume is dropping no matter what you do. We’re all in this together.
October 23, 2025 at 12:51 PM
I feel like the biggest takeaway from the latest AWS outage is that there’s simply no architecting around them at this point. Even if you are 100% redundant/multi-whatever, your vendors and customers are certainly not. Order volume is dropping no matter what you do. We’re all in this together.
A little encouragement for everyone dealing with the AWS outage today: youtu.be/rK_7ozvm53o?...
That Sinking Feeling (The #HugOps Song)
YouTube video by Forrest Brazeal
youtu.be
October 20, 2025 at 11:38 AM
A little encouragement for everyone dealing with the AWS outage today: youtu.be/rK_7ozvm53o?...
Watching an old musical that includes some fight choreography. And I’m again confronted with the sad fact that in modern movies, our fighting looks better but our dancing has gotten much worse. 😢
October 19, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Watching an old musical that includes some fight choreography. And I’m again confronted with the sad fact that in modern movies, our fighting looks better but our dancing has gotten much worse. 😢
it's 9 am on a Wednesday and my 3 year old is chilling in pajamas, eating a cup of noodles and watching Spiderman. How do I tell her it only goes downhill from here
October 15, 2025 at 1:52 PM
it's 9 am on a Wednesday and my 3 year old is chilling in pajamas, eating a cup of noodles and watching Spiderman. How do I tell her it only goes downhill from here
There is no such thing as a children’s book
Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat
October 13, 2025 at 11:32 PM
There is no such thing as a children’s book
I’m a pretty diehard Tigers fan but I have to admit that a Mariners-Blue Jays ALCS would be insane. I’ve been to Blue Jays games in Seattle before. The crowd is 65% Canadians who sneak down from Vancouver. That playoff atmosphere would be unlike any other.
October 9, 2025 at 11:33 PM
I’m a pretty diehard Tigers fan but I have to admit that a Mariners-Blue Jays ALCS would be insane. I’ve been to Blue Jays games in Seattle before. The crowd is 65% Canadians who sneak down from Vancouver. That playoff atmosphere would be unlike any other.
“Please do not adjust your seat and ask a crew member for assistance” is a grammatically ambiguous instruction. So you want me to do neither of those things? Or I can adjust as long as I don’t ask? Or I can ask if I don’t adjust?
Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks this every time I fly
Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks this every time I fly
October 8, 2025 at 8:43 PM
“Please do not adjust your seat and ask a crew member for assistance” is a grammatically ambiguous instruction. So you want me to do neither of those things? Or I can adjust as long as I don’t ask? Or I can ask if I don’t adjust?
Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks this every time I fly
Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks this every time I fly
Planning to stop by All Things Open in Raleigh next week - who else will be there? Would love to say hi and catch up in person!
October 8, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Planning to stop by All Things Open in Raleigh next week - who else will be there? Would love to say hi and catch up in person!
Apparently the Girl Scouts now give out corporate-sponsored badges which you can earn by completing key life skills challenges like going to see Gabby’s Dollhouse The Movie.
Seems fine
Seems fine
September 29, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Apparently the Girl Scouts now give out corporate-sponsored badges which you can earn by completing key life skills challenges like going to see Gabby’s Dollhouse The Movie.
Seems fine
Seems fine
pronouncing “vegemite” like “Yosemite” to own the libs
September 19, 2025 at 12:49 AM
pronouncing “vegemite” like “Yosemite” to own the libs
at last, a sign that will REALLY piss off your Southern neighbors
September 15, 2025 at 7:04 PM
at last, a sign that will REALLY piss off your Southern neighbors
Heartbroken, utterly shattered, to report that today I structured some data and retrieved an actionable business insight
September 4, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Heartbroken, utterly shattered, to report that today I structured some data and retrieved an actionable business insight
who called it "silicon valley office decor" and not faang shui
September 2, 2025 at 5:37 PM
who called it "silicon valley office decor" and not faang shui
May all of our future Wikipedia intros go this hard
September 2, 2025 at 12:36 PM
May all of our future Wikipedia intros go this hard
Watching Lady & the Tramp with my kids on Disney+. I am STUNNED by how gorgeous the full CinemaScope frame is compared to the pan&scan VHS prints I remember watching on square tube TVs.
Seriously, go rewatch the animated classics in widescreen if you haven’t! That art is too beautiful to miss.
Seriously, go rewatch the animated classics in widescreen if you haven’t! That art is too beautiful to miss.
August 29, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Watching Lady & the Tramp with my kids on Disney+. I am STUNNED by how gorgeous the full CinemaScope frame is compared to the pan&scan VHS prints I remember watching on square tube TVs.
Seriously, go rewatch the animated classics in widescreen if you haven’t! That art is too beautiful to miss.
Seriously, go rewatch the animated classics in widescreen if you haven’t! That art is too beautiful to miss.
A lot of people assumed LLMs would drown out human creators with an infinite buffet of fresh content.
In reality they produce ONE kind of content: AI slop. And slop loses its novelty fast, no matter what stylistic sugar is on top.
There’s never been a better time to share your own thoughts.
In reality they produce ONE kind of content: AI slop. And slop loses its novelty fast, no matter what stylistic sugar is on top.
There’s never been a better time to share your own thoughts.
Ironic: as LLMs make writing much easier, I am finding not more, but less interesting and novel things to read online.
And so I keep paying more attention to the fewer people who still write their original thoughts (without LLMs - you can tell how repetitive it gets with them)
And so I keep paying more attention to the fewer people who still write their original thoughts (without LLMs - you can tell how repetitive it gets with them)
August 27, 2025 at 12:25 PM
A lot of people assumed LLMs would drown out human creators with an infinite buffet of fresh content.
In reality they produce ONE kind of content: AI slop. And slop loses its novelty fast, no matter what stylistic sugar is on top.
There’s never been a better time to share your own thoughts.
In reality they produce ONE kind of content: AI slop. And slop loses its novelty fast, no matter what stylistic sugar is on top.
There’s never been a better time to share your own thoughts.
Reposted by Forrest Brazeal
Manager: "What's this milestone 'Living on a prayer' ?"
Me: "That's the documentation deliverable."
Manager: "What's the status of that?"
Me: "We're halfway there"
Manager: "Why is progress so slow?"
Me: "You fired Tommy"
Manager: "So?"
Me: "Tommy used to work on the docs"
Me: "That's the documentation deliverable."
Manager: "What's the status of that?"
Me: "We're halfway there"
Manager: "Why is progress so slow?"
Me: "You fired Tommy"
Manager: "So?"
Me: "Tommy used to work on the docs"
February 23, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Manager: "What's this milestone 'Living on a prayer' ?"
Me: "That's the documentation deliverable."
Manager: "What's the status of that?"
Me: "We're halfway there"
Manager: "Why is progress so slow?"
Me: "You fired Tommy"
Manager: "So?"
Me: "Tommy used to work on the docs"
Me: "That's the documentation deliverable."
Manager: "What's the status of that?"
Me: "We're halfway there"
Manager: "Why is progress so slow?"
Me: "You fired Tommy"
Manager: "So?"
Me: "Tommy used to work on the docs"
A common social media interaction I will never understand:
Person A: makes easily disproved false claim
Person B: “that’s wrong, here is the correct fact+source.”
Person A: “OK, but my point stands.”
wtf no it doesn’t
Person A: makes easily disproved false claim
Person B: “that’s wrong, here is the correct fact+source.”
Person A: “OK, but my point stands.”
wtf no it doesn’t
August 25, 2025 at 2:36 PM
A common social media interaction I will never understand:
Person A: makes easily disproved false claim
Person B: “that’s wrong, here is the correct fact+source.”
Person A: “OK, but my point stands.”
wtf no it doesn’t
Person A: makes easily disproved false claim
Person B: “that’s wrong, here is the correct fact+source.”
Person A: “OK, but my point stands.”
wtf no it doesn’t
a thing about James Dobson is that — unusually for his time — he encouraged evangelicals to go get therapy
Meanwhile the rest of his teachings put millions of people in need of therapy
Dobson was a therapist
RIP to a master of vertical integration
Meanwhile the rest of his teachings put millions of people in need of therapy
Dobson was a therapist
RIP to a master of vertical integration
August 21, 2025 at 10:23 PM
a thing about James Dobson is that — unusually for his time — he encouraged evangelicals to go get therapy
Meanwhile the rest of his teachings put millions of people in need of therapy
Dobson was a therapist
RIP to a master of vertical integration
Meanwhile the rest of his teachings put millions of people in need of therapy
Dobson was a therapist
RIP to a master of vertical integration
the vibes are shifting
bullish on professional software engineers
bullish on professional software engineers
August 21, 2025 at 3:37 PM
the vibes are shifting
bullish on professional software engineers
bullish on professional software engineers
Reposted by Forrest Brazeal
Harsh truths to save you from ChatGPT psychosis by @forrestbrazeal.bsky.social newsletter.goodtechthings.com/p/harsh-trut...
1. AI will not make you smarter
2. AI will not make you more interesting
3. AI will not make you more creative
4. AI will not make you an expert
#genAI #AI
1. AI will not make you smarter
2. AI will not make you more interesting
3. AI will not make you more creative
4. AI will not make you an expert
#genAI #AI
Harsh truths to save you from ChatGPT psychosis
Please pass this on to that one family member who needs it
newsletter.goodtechthings.com
August 15, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Harsh truths to save you from ChatGPT psychosis by @forrestbrazeal.bsky.social newsletter.goodtechthings.com/p/harsh-trut...
1. AI will not make you smarter
2. AI will not make you more interesting
3. AI will not make you more creative
4. AI will not make you an expert
#genAI #AI
1. AI will not make you smarter
2. AI will not make you more interesting
3. AI will not make you more creative
4. AI will not make you an expert
#genAI #AI
While doing some prep for the new book, I discovered this delightfully befuddled review of “The Read-Aloud Cloud” …
“What a strange book this is!”
www.ictineducation.org/home-page/re...
“What a strange book this is!”
www.ictineducation.org/home-page/re...
Review of The Read Aloud Cloud — ICT & Computing in Education
What a strange book this is!
www.ictineducation.org
August 14, 2025 at 3:26 PM
While doing some prep for the new book, I discovered this delightfully befuddled review of “The Read-Aloud Cloud” …
“What a strange book this is!”
www.ictineducation.org/home-page/re...
“What a strange book this is!”
www.ictineducation.org/home-page/re...
It's time to play: entertainment law firm or "Modern Major General" lyric?
August 5, 2025 at 8:32 PM
It's time to play: entertainment law firm or "Modern Major General" lyric?
Today in normal comments from my children: “Dad, your belly button is really deep. You should store raisins in there so you have something to eat during meetings.”
August 2, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Today in normal comments from my children: “Dad, your belly button is really deep. You should store raisins in there so you have something to eat during meetings.”