Mandy Mitchell
@mandymitchell.me
🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈Software engineer & raconteuse. Probably autistic? My dog thinks I write cool code. https://mandymusings.com/ for my tech blog
Do you ever spend a couple of weeks trying to figure out how to run a formally specified system in your head, only to realize that nothing short of a general purpose computer can run it?
December 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Do you ever spend a couple of weeks trying to figure out how to run a formally specified system in your head, only to realize that nothing short of a general purpose computer can run it?
Have you ever been nerd sniped so hard that your health suffered for it?
December 10, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Have you ever been nerd sniped so hard that your health suffered for it?
I may have made a terrible mistake: I got so absorbed/obsessed by what I was doing that I neglected to eat until two hours past my normal lunch.
I am now heating up food, and it is an agonizing wait now that I am aware of my body again.
I am now heating up food, and it is an agonizing wait now that I am aware of my body again.
December 5, 2025 at 10:10 PM
I may have made a terrible mistake: I got so absorbed/obsessed by what I was doing that I neglected to eat until two hours past my normal lunch.
I am now heating up food, and it is an agonizing wait now that I am aware of my body again.
I am now heating up food, and it is an agonizing wait now that I am aware of my body again.
It’s been a while since I wrote enough to get one of these. Iykyk
December 5, 2025 at 7:13 AM
It’s been a while since I wrote enough to get one of these. Iykyk
Have you ever thought about how if you always wait to open a box of cereal until you’ve finished the last one, then you’re eating serialized cereal?
December 2, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Have you ever thought about how if you always wait to open a box of cereal until you’ve finished the last one, then you’re eating serialized cereal?
This morning, I saw a bag of marshmallows labeled “jet puffed”, and I started reflecting on how many marshmallow brands feel the need to comment on puffiness (even fictional brands, like Stay Puffed in Ghostbusters)
1/
1/
November 30, 2025 at 6:05 PM
This morning, I saw a bag of marshmallows labeled “jet puffed”, and I started reflecting on how many marshmallow brands feel the need to comment on puffiness (even fictional brands, like Stay Puffed in Ghostbusters)
1/
1/
Have you ever had a film that you were sort of afraid to watch because of what it might mean if you didn’t “get it”?
November 27, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Have you ever had a film that you were sort of afraid to watch because of what it might mean if you didn’t “get it”?
Someone really ought to create a CDN that’s just called “banana”
Think about it: “banana for scale”
Think about it: “banana for scale”
November 25, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Someone really ought to create a CDN that’s just called “banana”
Think about it: “banana for scale”
Think about it: “banana for scale”
“Ping pong of clarity” may become one of my new favorite phrases
hop on a call is something you earn by showing good ack. the op was very specific about problems but the reply is incredibly vague and doesn’t directly refer to any of them. vague reply to specific concerns doesn’t respect the ping pong of clarity
November 6, 2025 at 2:17 PM
“Ping pong of clarity” may become one of my new favorite phrases
So it turns out that Bandai Namco released an *actual* sequel, and then we had the election results we saw yesterday.
Coincidence?
Coincidence?
Sometimes I wonder if a spiritual successor to Katamari Damacy would fix the world
November 6, 2025 at 4:07 AM
So it turns out that Bandai Namco released an *actual* sequel, and then we had the election results we saw yesterday.
Coincidence?
Coincidence?
Amazon Video’s x-ray feature, but it allows you to pause a nature documentary at any point and see a banana for scale
Who is working on this
Who is working on this
November 6, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Amazon Video’s x-ray feature, but it allows you to pause a nature documentary at any point and see a banana for scale
Who is working on this
Who is working on this
This, although I’ll add that finding that initial set of familiar patterns to build out from is often pretty tricky!
I’m convinced, at this point, that about 90% of the things in tech look hard because you aren’t in the details. Once you dig in it’s a permutation of patterns that aren’t too complex.
The other 10%, ya, I’m not smart enough for that shit.
The other 10%, ya, I’m not smart enough for that shit.
November 5, 2025 at 11:12 PM
This, although I’ll add that finding that initial set of familiar patterns to build out from is often pretty tricky!
So do we all have to start referring to Sorkin’s TV show as just “The White House” now?
October 23, 2025 at 3:06 AM
So do we all have to start referring to Sorkin’s TV show as just “The White House” now?
TIL the photos app on Apple Watch doesn’t respect the setting to hide certain people 🤬
October 15, 2025 at 9:51 PM
TIL the photos app on Apple Watch doesn’t respect the setting to hide certain people 🤬
I’d like to have a home lab for some side projects, but I don’t want to do the research required to make sensible hardware/setup choices.
I’m aware that it’s a zeroth world problem.
I’m aware that it’s a zeroth world problem.
October 15, 2025 at 1:20 AM
I’d like to have a home lab for some side projects, but I don’t want to do the research required to make sensible hardware/setup choices.
I’m aware that it’s a zeroth world problem.
I’m aware that it’s a zeroth world problem.
On an airplane, most folks seem to store their bags directly above their seat (when they can), but it seems more reasonable to me to put them *across* the aisle so that you can just reach out and grab them when deplaning, rather than awkwardly twisting around.
Am I wrong about this?
Am I wrong about this?
October 11, 2025 at 4:14 PM
On an airplane, most folks seem to store their bags directly above their seat (when they can), but it seems more reasonable to me to put them *across* the aisle so that you can just reach out and grab them when deplaning, rather than awkwardly twisting around.
Am I wrong about this?
Am I wrong about this?
Lies, damned lies, and remaining time estimates
October 8, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Lies, damned lies, and remaining time estimates
Perfectly timed my in-flight entertainment today: read a book (mostly) start-to-finish, switched to a TV episode, plane landed as the end credits started.
It’s weird how inordinately happy I feel about this
It’s weird how inordinately happy I feel about this
October 6, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Perfectly timed my in-flight entertainment today: read a book (mostly) start-to-finish, switched to a TV episode, plane landed as the end credits started.
It’s weird how inordinately happy I feel about this
It’s weird how inordinately happy I feel about this
I know we’re mostly mad at ICE these days, but don’t forget: fuck the TSA and their sexual-assault-based pat downs, too.
October 2, 2025 at 9:55 AM
I know we’re mostly mad at ICE these days, but don’t forget: fuck the TSA and their sexual-assault-based pat downs, too.
Since it’s Virgil’s…does that mean the bar is in hell?
October 2, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Since it’s Virgil’s…does that mean the bar is in hell?
In Bellingham, I tend to associate Fall not so much with the turning of leaves, but rather the return of the rain.
a group of men are standing next to each other with the words `` so it begins '' written on the bottom .
Alt: Theoden stands among his soldiers at Helm’s Deep in the pouring rain. A caption below him reads, “So it begins”
media.tenor.com
September 29, 2025 at 2:42 PM
In Bellingham, I tend to associate Fall not so much with the turning of leaves, but rather the return of the rain.
Can we turn this into a “quote post with the pettiest thing you’re upset about with the current administration” thing?
I’m upset that washlets have like 0% chance of getting normalized in the current political climate.
I’m upset that washlets have like 0% chance of getting normalized in the current political climate.
There are a million worse things but Trump has ruined "thank you for your attention to this matter" which used to be one of my favorite silly sign offs
September 26, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Can we turn this into a “quote post with the pettiest thing you’re upset about with the current administration” thing?
I’m upset that washlets have like 0% chance of getting normalized in the current political climate.
I’m upset that washlets have like 0% chance of getting normalized in the current political climate.
Sometimes I wonder if a spiritual successor to Katamari Damacy would fix the world
September 22, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Sometimes I wonder if a spiritual successor to Katamari Damacy would fix the world
Most of the shades in my house are set on a timer that follows local sunrise/sunset, which means that there’s invariably a day in early Fall when I walk out to the living room and find that they’re still closed.
Today was that day 😞
Today was that day 😞
September 18, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Most of the shades in my house are set on a timer that follows local sunrise/sunset, which means that there’s invariably a day in early Fall when I walk out to the living room and find that they’re still closed.
Today was that day 😞
Today was that day 😞
I don’t know who Ezra Klein is, and at this point, I want to keep it that way out of spite.
September 18, 2025 at 12:32 AM
I don’t know who Ezra Klein is, and at this point, I want to keep it that way out of spite.