Paul Vick
@panopticoncentral.net
Language/database/performance geek. Previously of Microsoft and Meta. Mastodon: mstdn.social/@panopticoncen…
"Quite vocally, the leadership has acknowledged that some of the reductions were premature..."
I'm sure that will be comforting to the 4000 folks who got fired.
I'm sure that will be comforting to the 4000 folks who got fired.
Salesforce regrets firing 4000 experienced staff and replacing them with AI
Salesforces has entered a phase of public reckoning after senior executives publicly admitted that the company overestimated AI’s readiness
maarthandam.com
January 9, 2026 at 6:17 PM
"Quite vocally, the leadership has acknowledged that some of the reductions were premature..."
I'm sure that will be comforting to the 4000 folks who got fired.
I'm sure that will be comforting to the 4000 folks who got fired.
At least Jonathan Ross has a nice cushy job waiting for him at a16z, so he's got that going for him.
January 8, 2026 at 9:35 PM
At least Jonathan Ross has a nice cushy job waiting for him at a16z, so he's got that going for him.
In lighter news, I never would have guessed there was actually a dude named "Sheetz". I always thought it was some kind of made up name with some obscure meaning.
Steve Sheetz, Who Popularized Convenience Stores as a C.E.O., Dies at 77
www.nytimes.com
January 7, 2026 at 9:10 PM
In lighter news, I never would have guessed there was actually a dude named "Sheetz". I always thought it was some kind of made up name with some obscure meaning.
Apropos of my posts this morning, when I was starting at Microsoft, there were still a lot of devs who *liked* to handwrite their code in assembly and didn't trust the output of the C compiler/optimizer (sometimes for good reason, in those days). They talked about a similar feeling of loss when...
Models suddenly getting good enough to write most of my code - which I am now prompting - creates complicated feelings.
It took a long time to get good at coding. And it's not easy. Plus, there was something special about being in "the zone."
Full: blog.pragmaticengineer.com/the-grief-wh...
It took a long time to get good at coding. And it's not easy. Plus, there was something special about being in "the zone."
Full: blog.pragmaticengineer.com/the-grief-wh...
January 7, 2026 at 8:29 PM
Apropos of my posts this morning, when I was starting at Microsoft, there were still a lot of devs who *liked* to handwrite their code in assembly and didn't trust the output of the C compiler/optimizer (sometimes for good reason, in those days). They talked about a similar feeling of loss when...
Reposted by Paul Vick
I'm excited to announce the official Nullschool app is here!
earth.nullschool.net on mobile browsers works fine, but the app is nicer. Full screen display, persistence across sessions, text size that matches device settings. Even landscape works well.
And, like the website: no ads!
Links below ⬇️
earth.nullschool.net on mobile browsers works fine, but the app is nicer. Full screen display, persistence across sessions, text size that matches device settings. Even landscape works well.
And, like the website: no ads!
Links below ⬇️
January 7, 2026 at 3:12 PM
I'm excited to announce the official Nullschool app is here!
earth.nullschool.net on mobile browsers works fine, but the app is nicer. Full screen display, persistence across sessions, text size that matches device settings. Even landscape works well.
And, like the website: no ads!
Links below ⬇️
earth.nullschool.net on mobile browsers works fine, but the app is nicer. Full screen display, persistence across sessions, text size that matches device settings. Even landscape works well.
And, like the website: no ads!
Links below ⬇️
Put another way, the hardest, most interesting question in software engineering is, and always has been, “what is the problem I’m trying to solve?” It’s an incredibly simple and incredibly difficult question and if there was an easy way to answer it everyone would be billionaires already.
January 7, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Put another way, the hardest, most interesting question in software engineering is, and always has been, “what is the problem I’m trying to solve?” It’s an incredibly simple and incredibly difficult question and if there was an easy way to answer it everyone would be billionaires already.
I get one side of this but not the other.
Last night I was talking to my wife about a problem she’s having and literally had the thought “maybe I should just use Claude to whip up an iOS app to solve it,” which would have been an insane thought to even six-months-ago me.
But I don’t get the…
Last night I was talking to my wife about a problem she’s having and literally had the thought “maybe I should just use Claude to whip up an iOS app to solve it,” which would have been an insane thought to even six-months-ago me.
But I don’t get the…
The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed.
I see plenty of developers insisting AI coding tools are overhyped and error-prone.
But I’m also starting to see the opposite, people who’ve fully embraced them and now find they’re so good it’s triggering a real crisis of confidence.
I see plenty of developers insisting AI coding tools are overhyped and error-prone.
But I’m also starting to see the opposite, people who’ve fully embraced them and now find they’re so good it’s triggering a real crisis of confidence.
January 7, 2026 at 2:44 PM
I get one side of this but not the other.
Last night I was talking to my wife about a problem she’s having and literally had the thought “maybe I should just use Claude to whip up an iOS app to solve it,” which would have been an insane thought to even six-months-ago me.
But I don’t get the…
Last night I was talking to my wife about a problem she’s having and literally had the thought “maybe I should just use Claude to whip up an iOS app to solve it,” which would have been an insane thought to even six-months-ago me.
But I don’t get the…
A lot of really amazing games. I was so happy M.U.L.E. was in that list, it was an awesome multiplayer game and it’s stunning it was on the Atari 800.
The Polaris List is out! Top 100 most personally influential games as listed by senior game designers.
Fascinating trove that is at the root of most modern game designs. What inspires us and why? Spoiler: It ain't all Call of Duty
polarisgamedesign.com/the-polaris-...
Fascinating trove that is at the root of most modern game designs. What inspires us and why? Spoiler: It ain't all Call of Duty
polarisgamedesign.com/the-polaris-...
The Polaris List
Polaris is a non-profit committed to improving and refining the art and craft of game design. In order to get a snapshot of current game design thinking and reference points, we wondered — what do wor...
polarisgamedesign.com
January 4, 2026 at 12:46 AM
A lot of really amazing games. I was so happy M.U.L.E. was in that list, it was an awesome multiplayer game and it’s stunning it was on the Atari 800.
Guessing there are a lot of ChatGPT DeepResearch queries coming from .gov accounts right now like “Come up with a transition plan if Maduro is deposed”….
January 3, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Guessing there are a lot of ChatGPT DeepResearch queries coming from .gov accounts right now like “Come up with a transition plan if Maduro is deposed”….
Reposted by Paul Vick
“A kind
of wanting, written
onto the rungs
of my vertebrae—
ancient, unsung.”
Excerpt from “Want of a Child” by @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social. It appeared in the Winter 2025 collection of Online Exclusives.
Read the full poem at the link below:
buff.ly/UQN13dN
#writingcommunity
of wanting, written
onto the rungs
of my vertebrae—
ancient, unsung.”
Excerpt from “Want of a Child” by @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social. It appeared in the Winter 2025 collection of Online Exclusives.
Read the full poem at the link below:
buff.ly/UQN13dN
#writingcommunity
December 30, 2025 at 4:30 PM
“A kind
of wanting, written
onto the rungs
of my vertebrae—
ancient, unsung.”
Excerpt from “Want of a Child” by @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social. It appeared in the Winter 2025 collection of Online Exclusives.
Read the full poem at the link below:
buff.ly/UQN13dN
#writingcommunity
of wanting, written
onto the rungs
of my vertebrae—
ancient, unsung.”
Excerpt from “Want of a Child” by @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social. It appeared in the Winter 2025 collection of Online Exclusives.
Read the full poem at the link below:
buff.ly/UQN13dN
#writingcommunity
My wife’s family tradition is that Santa’s gifts are wrapped, which I took umbrage at until I realized the full implication and saw that it was brilliant!
Shoutout to everyone who is scrambling to put the thing together
Very meaningful eye contact to those who just realized they don't have and can't get the right batteries
Strength to those who are putting together a thing with so. many. stickers.
You're making magic happen, and I love you for it
Very meaningful eye contact to those who just realized they don't have and can't get the right batteries
Strength to those who are putting together a thing with so. many. stickers.
You're making magic happen, and I love you for it
December 25, 2025 at 7:41 AM
My wife’s family tradition is that Santa’s gifts are wrapped, which I took umbrage at until I realized the full implication and saw that it was brilliant!
Reposted by Paul Vick
Gotta look into whether any of the abused detainees had preexisting conditions.
December 22, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Gotta look into whether any of the abused detainees had preexisting conditions.
This is so true. Situations that seem completely unsustainable somehow end up going on and on and on. And when they give, usually you wake up one day and the world has completely changed.
What was the Dotcom Boom like? Bryan Cantrill (@bcantrill.bsky.social - cofounder and CTO at Oxide):
"One of my early life lessons: that boom will go on longer than you think possible, and when it switches, it will collapse faster than you can fathom."
"One of my early life lessons: that boom will go on longer than you think possible, and when it switches, it will collapse faster than you can fathom."
December 21, 2025 at 8:15 PM
This is so true. Situations that seem completely unsustainable somehow end up going on and on and on. And when they give, usually you wake up one day and the world has completely changed.
I really appreciate the CO2 detector has an annoying chirp to let you know it’s at the end of its lifespan, BUT a) it’s 8pm as the little one is falling asleep, b) we don’t know what it is, and c) it’s stuck behind a huge bookcase that’s been there for years.
December 21, 2025 at 4:35 AM
I really appreciate the CO2 detector has an annoying chirp to let you know it’s at the end of its lifespan, BUT a) it’s 8pm as the little one is falling asleep, b) we don’t know what it is, and c) it’s stuck behind a huge bookcase that’s been there for years.
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
NEWS: They're adding Trump's name to the Kennedy Center building right now. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...
Kennedy Center adds Trump’s name to building
The signage change follows a vote by the board of trustees to rename the performing arts complex the Trump Kennedy Center.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:07 PM
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
The main thing I worked on during my brief time at Meta was a project to try and help tame the *millions* of source files that make up the Facebook website backend (this doesn't count the mobile apps or Instagram or WhatsApp). There's simply no way current LLMs can handle that. It does raise...
Interesting: I am hearing both inside Meta and inside Google AI coding models simply don't work nearly as well as they do outside:
Models work great on greenfield projects and when using standard tooling.
Both Meta and Google have monoliths and non-standard tooling!
Models work great on greenfield projects and when using standard tooling.
Both Meta and Google have monoliths and non-standard tooling!
December 18, 2025 at 4:20 PM
The main thing I worked on during my brief time at Meta was a project to try and help tame the *millions* of source files that make up the Facebook website backend (this doesn't count the mobile apps or Instagram or WhatsApp). There's simply no way current LLMs can handle that. It does raise...
So I was listening to Frank Sinatra sing “Let It Snow” on the radio with my 7 year old and it occurred to me that Sinatra is about as real to her as an AI bot generating Christmas songs and I guess that’s where we’re probably going.
December 18, 2025 at 4:06 PM
So I was listening to Frank Sinatra sing “Let It Snow” on the radio with my 7 year old and it occurred to me that Sinatra is about as real to her as an AI bot generating Christmas songs and I guess that’s where we’re probably going.
I really want to see what he wrote about Chester A. Arthur.
Per @garretthaake.bsky.social, the extremely tacky "presidential wall of fame" that lines the colonnade to the West Wing now has obviously-Trump-penned plaques insulting or praising the presidents.
December 17, 2025 at 11:37 PM
I really want to see what he wrote about Chester A. Arthur.
This article was shocking to me. Only 30% of people treated with medication? I can remember exactly where I was the first time I had a gout attack, it was so painful. Allopurinol has been an absolute godsend and haven't had any attacks since starting it. I can't imagine just continuing to suffer.
What Is Gout, and Why Is It on the Rise?
www.nytimes.com
December 16, 2025 at 6:40 PM
This article was shocking to me. Only 30% of people treated with medication? I can remember exactly where I was the first time I had a gout attack, it was so painful. Allopurinol has been an absolute godsend and haven't had any attacks since starting it. I can't imagine just continuing to suffer.
If your goal is combat, then I think it totally can make sense to head on over to X. I, for one, am not really up for combat and am just interested in keeping up with a few different communities that I have an interest in, and so...
IMO it's hard to combat the dangerousness of the right by participating in a platform where they aren't present.
I think the best way to explain the X vs Bluesky preference is whether a person thinks the left is more annoying than the right is dangerous.
The reason so many Noah Smiths end up on the X side of that equation is that while the left annoys them personally, the right mostly endangers other people.
The reason so many Noah Smiths end up on the X side of that equation is that while the left annoys them personally, the right mostly endangers other people.
December 15, 2025 at 4:30 PM
If your goal is combat, then I think it totally can make sense to head on over to X. I, for one, am not really up for combat and am just interested in keeping up with a few different communities that I have an interest in, and so...
Reposted by Paul Vick
SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
'Skull of St. Thomas Aquinas being transported to Fossanova Abbey.'
Photograph by Daniel Ibanez
Photograph by Daniel Ibanez
December 10, 2025 at 5:10 PM
SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
When there is a financial incentive to do so (and obviously there is a massive one in this case), the degree to which programmers can make things run faster, smaller, more efficiently is basically unlimited. There's going to be an interesting inflection when the optimization folks catch up...
There's so, so much untrodden ground in making LLM inference go faster. Model architectures, data architectures, fine-tuning and distilling, batching strategies, hardware ... all of these things are so early on in the game right now.
December 10, 2025 at 6:09 PM
When there is a financial incentive to do so (and obviously there is a massive one in this case), the degree to which programmers can make things run faster, smaller, more efficiently is basically unlimited. There's going to be an interesting inflection when the optimization folks catch up...
Mine came today! (I chose the Windows ABI for nostalgia.)
December 10, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Mine came today! (I chose the Windows ABI for nostalgia.)
I've interacted with enough executives to know that almost all of them have no more idea what they're doing than the rest of us do (some of them significantly less), and so, so much of it is just right-time, right-place and sheer, dumb luck.
If David Zaslav can get paid $50 million a year while running Warner Bros Discovery into the ground until it’s sold off in pieces and renaming HBO Max/Max/HBO Go/HBO every other year, you have no reason to feel imposter syndrome.
December 5, 2025 at 5:13 PM
I've interacted with enough executives to know that almost all of them have no more idea what they're doing than the rest of us do (some of them significantly less), and so, so much of it is just right-time, right-place and sheer, dumb luck.
I made the mistake of asking an LLM a question about something I'm writing and said, "Don't be nice, tell me what you think." Ouch. Shots fired.
December 5, 2025 at 4:54 PM
I made the mistake of asking an LLM a question about something I'm writing and said, "Don't be nice, tell me what you think." Ouch. Shots fired.