jamie
@jamie.ideasasylum.com
Previously, @ideasasylum on Twitter but not active there any more.
Also found on Mastodon: https://ruby.social/@jamie.
Blog: https://jamie.ideasasylum.com
Links: https://www.jamielawrence.me
CTO @ Podia. Swimmer. Ruby developer.
Also found on Mastodon: https://ruby.social/@jamie.
Blog: https://jamie.ideasasylum.com
Links: https://www.jamielawrence.me
CTO @ Podia. Swimmer. Ruby developer.
Thinking that AI-generated code will go away because it's inferior to hand-crafted code is reserved only for those that still believe in Betamax.
Quality ultimately doesn't matter as much as we might wish it did.
Quality ultimately doesn't matter as much as we might wish it did.
December 16, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Thinking that AI-generated code will go away because it's inferior to hand-crafted code is reserved only for those that still believe in Betamax.
Quality ultimately doesn't matter as much as we might wish it did.
Quality ultimately doesn't matter as much as we might wish it did.
Reposted by jamie
Here's Emil's 17 step guide to how he used VS Code agent mode plus Claude 3.7 Sonnet, Gemini Pro 3 and Claude Opus to build the new library - it's a fantastic case study in using LLMs for serious, prediction quality code (vibe engineering, not vibe coding) friendlybit.com/python/writi...
How I wrote JustHTML using coding agents - Friendly Bit
I recently released JustHTML, a python-based HTML5 parser. It passes 100% of the html5lib test suite, has zero dependencies, and includes a CSS selector...
friendlybit.com
December 14, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Here's Emil's 17 step guide to how he used VS Code agent mode plus Claude 3.7 Sonnet, Gemini Pro 3 and Claude Opus to build the new library - it's a fantastic case study in using LLMs for serious, prediction quality code (vibe engineering, not vibe coding) friendlybit.com/python/writi...
Reposted by jamie
December 14, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Reposted by jamie
When you drift through some unheralded point in your 40s, you start accumulating actuarial risks.
The odds of illness, heart attack, or the chances losing of a parent go up.
But there is another risk- particularly acute for men.
There is a risk you will lose your capacity for joy.
The odds of illness, heart attack, or the chances losing of a parent go up.
But there is another risk- particularly acute for men.
There is a risk you will lose your capacity for joy.
December 14, 2025 at 8:50 AM
When you drift through some unheralded point in your 40s, you start accumulating actuarial risks.
The odds of illness, heart attack, or the chances losing of a parent go up.
But there is another risk- particularly acute for men.
There is a risk you will lose your capacity for joy.
The odds of illness, heart attack, or the chances losing of a parent go up.
But there is another risk- particularly acute for men.
There is a risk you will lose your capacity for joy.
Reposted by jamie
I thoroughly recommend reading all of Cory Doctorow's recent speech on AI skepticism, it's crammed with new arguments and interesting new ways of thinking about these problems pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
Pluralistic: The Reverse-Centaur’s Guide to Criticizing AI (05 Dec 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
pluralistic.net
December 7, 2025 at 10:21 PM
I thoroughly recommend reading all of Cory Doctorow's recent speech on AI skepticism, it's crammed with new arguments and interesting new ways of thinking about these problems pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
> Some nights I close my laptop and the weight of those decisions just sits with me. My husband calls them my nonverbal nights. Around 6 PM, I go unusually quiet… Those nights are about carrying decisions I can’t talk about.
:nods:
:nods:
TL;DR
Middle management is hard. Caring is required, but the kind of care you provide matters.
Middle management is hard. Caring is required, but the kind of care you provide matters.
Ashley Willis
The other day I texted my group chat with other leaders outside my organization. The ones I go to when the leadership stuff gets messy and I need perspective fr...
ashley.dev
December 7, 2025 at 6:40 PM
> Some nights I close my laptop and the weight of those decisions just sits with me. My husband calls them my nonverbal nights. Around 6 PM, I go unusually quiet… Those nights are about carrying decisions I can’t talk about.
:nods:
:nods:
Reposted by jamie
Or did the Joker ask the question first?
rubytshirts.com/products/wh...
rubytshirts.com/products/wh...
Why So Serious
Fundementally a bunch of jokers. • 100% combed and ring-spun cotton (Heather colors contain polyester) • Fabric weight: 4.2 oz./yd.² (142 g/m²) • Pre-shrunk fabric • Side-seamed construction • Shoulder-to-shoulder taping • Blank product sourced from Nicaragua, Mexico, Honduras, or the US Disclaimer: The fabric is sligh
rubytshirts.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Or did the Joker ask the question first?
rubytshirts.com/products/wh...
rubytshirts.com/products/wh...
Reposted by jamie
Ruby’s biggest flaw is that it insists humans matter. Some people hate that.
robbyonrails.com/articles/202...
robbyonrails.com/articles/202...
Why So Serious? | Robby on Rails
The question Sheon Han poses — “Is Ruby a serious programming language?” — says a lot about what someone thinks programming is supposed to feel like. For som...
robbyonrails.com
December 1, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Ruby’s biggest flaw is that it insists humans matter. Some people hate that.
robbyonrails.com/articles/202...
robbyonrails.com/articles/202...
Reposted by jamie
You'd think us violating Irish neutrality in an apparent attempt to assassinate Zelensky by forcing his plane to crash would be bigger news.
For the Irish for a start.
For the Irish for a start.
December 5, 2025 at 10:25 AM
You'd think us violating Irish neutrality in an apparent attempt to assassinate Zelensky by forcing his plane to crash would be bigger news.
For the Irish for a start.
For the Irish for a start.
Re-reading Brook's No Silver Bullet in the age of AI is interesting. worrydream.com/refs/Brooks_...
For a paper written 30 years ago, it's still quite relevant mentioning AI, expert systems and code generators.
For a paper written 30 years ago, it's still quite relevant mentioning AI, expert systems and code generators.
worrydream.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Re-reading Brook's No Silver Bullet in the age of AI is interesting. worrydream.com/refs/Brooks_...
For a paper written 30 years ago, it's still quite relevant mentioning AI, expert systems and code generators.
For a paper written 30 years ago, it's still quite relevant mentioning AI, expert systems and code generators.
My 17yo daughter has a music age of 75.
> What have you been listening to?!
> Deftones, Metallica, <looks sheepish> Stone Roses, The Smiths, The Beatles
🤣
> What have you been listening to?!
> Deftones, Metallica, <looks sheepish> Stone Roses, The Smiths, The Beatles
🤣
December 4, 2025 at 9:59 AM
My 17yo daughter has a music age of 75.
> What have you been listening to?!
> Deftones, Metallica, <looks sheepish> Stone Roses, The Smiths, The Beatles
🤣
> What have you been listening to?!
> Deftones, Metallica, <looks sheepish> Stone Roses, The Smiths, The Beatles
🤣
Turned up at the pool without trunks or towel, drove home, drove back to the pool, then didn’t have enough time for a full session before the school swimming lessons.
Smashed out a 1500m hitting a new PB time and a new 1000m PB split 💪 🥵
Ironically, the school didn’t turn up for their lessons 😖
Smashed out a 1500m hitting a new PB time and a new 1000m PB split 💪 🥵
Ironically, the school didn’t turn up for their lessons 😖
December 2, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Turned up at the pool without trunks or towel, drove home, drove back to the pool, then didn’t have enough time for a full session before the school swimming lessons.
Smashed out a 1500m hitting a new PB time and a new 1000m PB split 💪 🥵
Ironically, the school didn’t turn up for their lessons 😖
Smashed out a 1500m hitting a new PB time and a new 1000m PB split 💪 🥵
Ironically, the school didn’t turn up for their lessons 😖
Some people just want to be right, argue exhaustively about how right they are, and have everyone admit they’re right.
Insufferable bores.
Insufferable bores.
November 29, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Some people just want to be right, argue exhaustively about how right they are, and have everyone admit they’re right.
Insufferable bores.
Insufferable bores.
Reposted by jamie
Rails tip: Use draw to break your routes into logical, modular files.
November 28, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Rails tip: Use draw to break your routes into logical, modular files.
I really like this point and have seen evidence of it: when humans get confused or overwhelmed by complexity, it’s a signal to search for alternate solutions.
AI just plows on, often in the wrong direction, without feeling this pushback.
It doesn’t feel the pain
obie.medium.com/ruby-was-rea...
AI just plows on, often in the wrong direction, without feeling this pushback.
It doesn’t feel the pain
obie.medium.com/ruby-was-rea...
November 27, 2025 at 11:02 PM
I really like this point and have seen evidence of it: when humans get confused or overwhelmed by complexity, it’s a signal to search for alternate solutions.
AI just plows on, often in the wrong direction, without feeling this pushback.
It doesn’t feel the pain
obie.medium.com/ruby-was-rea...
AI just plows on, often in the wrong direction, without feeling this pushback.
It doesn’t feel the pain
obie.medium.com/ruby-was-rea...
The AI bubble burst 💥 will be the best thing to happen to AI because constraints breed innovation.
Currently there are no real resource limitations, leading to inefficient models and no sense of what AI actually costs to use => low value use cases everywhere.
Currently there are no real resource limitations, leading to inefficient models and no sense of what AI actually costs to use => low value use cases everywhere.
November 26, 2025 at 11:16 PM
The AI bubble burst 💥 will be the best thing to happen to AI because constraints breed innovation.
Currently there are no real resource limitations, leading to inefficient models and no sense of what AI actually costs to use => low value use cases everywhere.
Currently there are no real resource limitations, leading to inefficient models and no sense of what AI actually costs to use => low value use cases everywhere.
I’ve been saying this for a while: reimagining intelligence as language construction is SUPER interesting. We don’t need to represent a conceptual understanding that 1+1=2, we just need to statistically know that “2” follows “1+1=“. Genius!
But I think language-as-intelligence will not lead to AGI
But I think language-as-intelligence will not lead to AGI
Cutting-edge research shows language is not the same as intelligence. The entire AI bubble is built on ignoring it.
Read more from @benjaminriley.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Read more from @benjaminriley.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
November 26, 2025 at 10:33 AM
I’ve been saying this for a while: reimagining intelligence as language construction is SUPER interesting. We don’t need to represent a conceptual understanding that 1+1=2, we just need to statistically know that “2” follows “1+1=“. Genius!
But I think language-as-intelligence will not lead to AGI
But I think language-as-intelligence will not lead to AGI
Shoe box cat, Nike edition. Just (don’t) do it
November 26, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Shoe box cat, Nike edition. Just (don’t) do it
Always great to hear @martinfowler.com’s take on but especially software engineering in the age of AI: youtu.be/CQmI4XKTa0U?...
How AI will change software engineering – with Martin Fowler
YouTube video by The Pragmatic Engineer
youtu.be
November 25, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Always great to hear @martinfowler.com’s take on but especially software engineering in the age of AI: youtu.be/CQmI4XKTa0U?...
Reposted by jamie
Can you believe I wrote about manager READMEs again? medium.com/@skamille/re...
If you hate medium, you can also look at my ancient blogger where the formatting is a bit wonky: www.elidedbranches.com/2025/11/revi...
If you hate medium, you can also look at my ancient blogger where the formatting is a bit wonky: www.elidedbranches.com/2025/11/revi...
Revisiting Manager READMEs
Several years ago, I published a critique of manager READMEs that succeeded in stirring up a lot of feelings, pro and con. I’d like to…
medium.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Can you believe I wrote about manager READMEs again? medium.com/@skamille/re...
If you hate medium, you can also look at my ancient blogger where the formatting is a bit wonky: www.elidedbranches.com/2025/11/revi...
If you hate medium, you can also look at my ancient blogger where the formatting is a bit wonky: www.elidedbranches.com/2025/11/revi...
Reposted by jamie
Random childhood memory: when crisps used to come with the salt in a little blue bag that you had to tear open and add manually
November 21, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Random childhood memory: when crisps used to come with the salt in a little blue bag that you had to tear open and add manually
The last act of my sabbatical is to make the Christmas cake.
The fruit has been soaking in rum for a few days 😋
Now into the oven for about 4 hours…
The fruit has been soaking in rum for a few days 😋
Now into the oven for about 4 hours…
November 21, 2025 at 12:22 PM
The last act of my sabbatical is to make the Christmas cake.
The fruit has been soaking in rum for a few days 😋
Now into the oven for about 4 hours…
The fruit has been soaking in rum for a few days 😋
Now into the oven for about 4 hours…
If you've ever been to Stevenage, you'll know that this is the moment the AI has decided to turn on its creator with the most epic burn
November 20, 2025 at 10:06 PM
If you've ever been to Stevenage, you'll know that this is the moment the AI has decided to turn on its creator with the most epic burn
I love a good incident write-up (and done so quickly too)
On November 18 Cloudflare experienced a service outage. Here's a detailed breakdown of what happened. https://cfl.re/43Bw8AI
Cloudflare outage on November 18, 2025
Cloudflare suffered a service outage on November 18, 2025. The outage was triggered by a bug in generation logic for a Bot Management feature file causing many Cloudflare services to be affected.
blog.cloudflare.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:59 PM
I love a good incident write-up (and done so quickly too)
It’s soccer season again which means lots of sites using Cloudflare will be offline during big games to prevent unlicensed streaming 🤦♂️
Has your website been hit with unexpected unavailability in Spain? Help us find out why. Download the free OONI Probe app, enter the URL in the app and tap "Run.” Your results are anonymous and help measure blocking of websites in your region. https://ooni.org/install/
November 18, 2025 at 8:12 AM
It’s soccer season again which means lots of sites using Cloudflare will be offline during big games to prevent unlicensed streaming 🤦♂️