rekiwi
@rekiwi.bsky.social
Tech writer, cyclist, solder junky, woodworker, airplane nut, dad, hubby, half-Kiwi (mom's side). Not in priority order. (he/him)
Profile pic: bearded white dude with maniacal expression; hair, eyes, teeth glowing blue under blacklight.
Profile pic: bearded white dude with maniacal expression; hair, eyes, teeth glowing blue under blacklight.
Pinned
rekiwi
@rekiwi.bsky.social
· Mar 13
Yes, You Can Jump-start a Car with a Prius: A Technical-Communication Hero Story | Writing.Rocks
writing.rocks
"the right information in the right place at the right time" I want a tattoo of this somewhere prominent.
writing.rocks/jump-start-p...
#techWriterLife #technicalWriting
writing.rocks/jump-start-p...
#techWriterLife #technicalWriting
Sierra Ferrell "The Garden": Her voice is so velvety, lithe, & sincere, the bluegrass harmonies & instrumentals so compelling. A gentle masterpiece. I feel like my heart is an instrument expertly played. I can't keep a dry eye. #music #sierraFerrell
youtu.be/ViwLZswXpgI?...
youtu.be/ViwLZswXpgI?...
Back Porch Session: Sierra Ferrell
YouTube video by Garden & Gun Magazine
youtu.be
December 12, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Sierra Ferrell "The Garden": Her voice is so velvety, lithe, & sincere, the bluegrass harmonies & instrumentals so compelling. A gentle masterpiece. I feel like my heart is an instrument expertly played. I can't keep a dry eye. #music #sierraFerrell
youtu.be/ViwLZswXpgI?...
youtu.be/ViwLZswXpgI?...
For a while I've been freaked out by subtle flashes in the peripheral vision of my good left eye. Only happens at work. Just now I realized it's the inside of my screen/reading glasses reflecting my coworker's monitor behind me. Feeling silly & relieved. #glassesNoob
December 11, 2025 at 10:08 PM
For a while I've been freaked out by subtle flashes in the peripheral vision of my good left eye. Only happens at work. Just now I realized it's the inside of my screen/reading glasses reflecting my coworker's monitor behind me. Feeling silly & relieved. #glassesNoob
Reposted by rekiwi
Tickets are on sale for our Portland 2026 conference! Join us May 3–5 for talks, Writing Day, unconference sessions, a hike, and more. Opportunity grants and volunteer spots are also open.
Read more: buff.ly/8TDqESv
Read more: buff.ly/8TDqESv
December 11, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Tickets are on sale for our Portland 2026 conference! Join us May 3–5 for talks, Writing Day, unconference sessions, a hike, and more. Opportunity grants and volunteer spots are also open.
Read more: buff.ly/8TDqESv
Read more: buff.ly/8TDqESv
Them: We want something light & cheap & collaborative. Let's use Google Docs!
Me: Uh, OK, as long as we keep expectations realis...
Them: Hey, we need numbered headings! And the TOC doesn't update automatically! What about our fonts?
Me: *sigh*
#techWriterLife #technicalWriting #writeTheDocs
Me: Uh, OK, as long as we keep expectations realis...
Them: Hey, we need numbered headings! And the TOC doesn't update automatically! What about our fonts?
Me: *sigh*
#techWriterLife #technicalWriting #writeTheDocs
December 10, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Them: We want something light & cheap & collaborative. Let's use Google Docs!
Me: Uh, OK, as long as we keep expectations realis...
Them: Hey, we need numbered headings! And the TOC doesn't update automatically! What about our fonts?
Me: *sigh*
#techWriterLife #technicalWriting #writeTheDocs
Me: Uh, OK, as long as we keep expectations realis...
Them: Hey, we need numbered headings! And the TOC doesn't update automatically! What about our fonts?
Me: *sigh*
#techWriterLife #technicalWriting #writeTheDocs
Reposted by rekiwi
"We so often overvalue knowledge, and undervalue wisdom, because knowledge is relatively easy to test, but wisdom is hard." nested.substack.com/p/short-fat-...
Short Fat Engineers Are Undervalued
Professionals supposedly come in two shapes: either short and fat, or tall and skinny, meaning their skill set is either broad or deep.
nested.substack.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:09 PM
"We so often overvalue knowledge, and undervalue wisdom, because knowledge is relatively easy to test, but wisdom is hard." nested.substack.com/p/short-fat-...
Reposted by rekiwi
Post your favourite "Lord of the Rings" character. Wrong answers only:
November 30, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Post your favourite "Lord of the Rings" character. Wrong answers only:
Reposted by rekiwi
Answering "why aren't more millennials having children?" in a series of convenient bullet points.
Read this as an American woman and then go break something.
December 8, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Answering "why aren't more millennials having children?" in a series of convenient bullet points.
Reposted by rekiwi
What skill did you master that you will never, ever use again?
I learned the particular script to make FrameMaker iterate broken lists correctly. Also the undocumented keyboard shortcut to wrap images. (It's ESC, m, p -- in sequence, not combined)
I learned the particular script to make FrameMaker iterate broken lists correctly. Also the undocumented keyboard shortcut to wrap images. (It's ESC, m, p -- in sequence, not combined)
What skill did you master that you will never, ever use again?
I learned to draw in Logo 🐢
I learned to draw in Logo 🐢
What skill did you master that you will never, ever use again?
when microprocessors are outlawed, my ability to work on ancient Bosch fuel injection systems will be relevant again, for the first time.
when microprocessors are outlawed, my ability to work on ancient Bosch fuel injection systems will be relevant again, for the first time.
December 8, 2025 at 7:34 PM
What skill did you master that you will never, ever use again?
I learned the particular script to make FrameMaker iterate broken lists correctly. Also the undocumented keyboard shortcut to wrap images. (It's ESC, m, p -- in sequence, not combined)
I learned the particular script to make FrameMaker iterate broken lists correctly. Also the undocumented keyboard shortcut to wrap images. (It's ESC, m, p -- in sequence, not combined)
Reposted by rekiwi
We're getting ready for the second edition of the Docs for Devs book, and I'm proud of this:
There are two fundamental, paradoxical truths about readers of technical documentation:
Readers come to your documentation looking for information.
Readers read very little of what you write.
There are two fundamental, paradoxical truths about readers of technical documentation:
Readers come to your documentation looking for information.
Readers read very little of what you write.
December 4, 2025 at 9:48 PM
We're getting ready for the second edition of the Docs for Devs book, and I'm proud of this:
There are two fundamental, paradoxical truths about readers of technical documentation:
Readers come to your documentation looking for information.
Readers read very little of what you write.
There are two fundamental, paradoxical truths about readers of technical documentation:
Readers come to your documentation looking for information.
Readers read very little of what you write.
Reposted by rekiwi
If the bike lane requires you to be at "peak human" performance to survive, it's a failed design.
December 5, 2025 at 1:49 PM
If the bike lane requires you to be at "peak human" performance to survive, it's a failed design.
Adventures in technical writing: I just caught this typo in a draft:
"Shite+Win+S (Windows)"
Freudian slip?
#techWriterLife #technicalWriting #writeTheDocs
"Shite+Win+S (Windows)"
Freudian slip?
#techWriterLife #technicalWriting #writeTheDocs
December 1, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Adventures in technical writing: I just caught this typo in a draft:
"Shite+Win+S (Windows)"
Freudian slip?
#techWriterLife #technicalWriting #writeTheDocs
"Shite+Win+S (Windows)"
Freudian slip?
#techWriterLife #technicalWriting #writeTheDocs
Reposted by rekiwi
Current status:
December 1, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Current status:
Reposted by rekiwi
Does anyone want a survivorship bias shortbread
November 29, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Does anyone want a survivorship bias shortbread
Post a famous bathroom scene
November 28, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Post a famous bathroom scene
UX complaint: So many apps & tools have dynamic search, updating search results with every actual or inferred keystroke. That's nice and all, but it also means my search history is polluted with every keystroke, typo, & correction, making it so much less useful.
November 26, 2025 at 5:38 PM
UX complaint: So many apps & tools have dynamic search, updating search results with every actual or inferred keystroke. That's nice and all, but it also means my search history is polluted with every keystroke, typo, & correction, making it so much less useful.
Post a famous bathroom scene
November 26, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Post a famous bathroom scene
Reposted by rekiwi
I've seen people say that getting attached to ChatGPT is like "believing the stripper really loves you", but that's not true. It's more like believing that the dryer personally composed that little jingle on a lonely sockless night just to win your affections.
November 26, 2025 at 1:55 AM
I've seen people say that getting attached to ChatGPT is like "believing the stripper really loves you", but that's not true. It's more like believing that the dryer personally composed that little jingle on a lonely sockless night just to win your affections.
Reposted by rekiwi
Yesterday I was in Te Awe Library. This place and the people who work there are doing incredibly important work filling the gaps in social need left by central government cuts. Above and beyond what you might considered traditional 'library' work. This report is heartbreaking & shortsighted.
Just noting which consultancy wrote this report and the history of their reports for public agencies internationally. Anyone check the footnotes of this one?
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Hundreds of job cuts proposed in new report to Wellington City Council
Wellington City Council could save tens of millions of dollars through cost-cutting, such as reducing staff, according to a new report.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 25, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Yesterday I was in Te Awe Library. This place and the people who work there are doing incredibly important work filling the gaps in social need left by central government cuts. Above and beyond what you might considered traditional 'library' work. This report is heartbreaking & shortsighted.
Reposted by rekiwi
Not a rot: a cancer.
What else would you call an eternal, unending drive for infinite growth?
What else would you call an eternal, unending drive for infinite growth?
November 25, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Not a rot: a cancer.
What else would you call an eternal, unending drive for infinite growth?
What else would you call an eternal, unending drive for infinite growth?
Reposted by rekiwi
📣 Our Portland 2026 Call for Proposals is now open!
Share your insights on docs, workflows, or communication with our community. We want to hear from everyone who cares about great documentation.
Submit by Jan 19, present May 3-5: buff.ly/ovDf40Q
Share your insights on docs, workflows, or communication with our community. We want to hear from everyone who cares about great documentation.
Submit by Jan 19, present May 3-5: buff.ly/ovDf40Q
Announcing the Call for Proposals and Sponsorship Prospectus
We’re excited to announce our Portland Call for Proposals! We’re also launching our sponsorship prospectus with updated offerings based on feedback from last year. Our full website and tickets will...
www.writethedocs.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:49 PM
📣 Our Portland 2026 Call for Proposals is now open!
Share your insights on docs, workflows, or communication with our community. We want to hear from everyone who cares about great documentation.
Submit by Jan 19, present May 3-5: buff.ly/ovDf40Q
Share your insights on docs, workflows, or communication with our community. We want to hear from everyone who cares about great documentation.
Submit by Jan 19, present May 3-5: buff.ly/ovDf40Q
Bike commute: heavy fog.
Con: 20m visibility
Pro: Still, moist air means I ride through heavenly plumes of fried dough aroma from every donut shop on my route.
#bikeCommute #cycling
Con: 20m visibility
Pro: Still, moist air means I ride through heavenly plumes of fried dough aroma from every donut shop on my route.
#bikeCommute #cycling
November 25, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Bike commute: heavy fog.
Con: 20m visibility
Pro: Still, moist air means I ride through heavenly plumes of fried dough aroma from every donut shop on my route.
#bikeCommute #cycling
Con: 20m visibility
Pro: Still, moist air means I ride through heavenly plumes of fried dough aroma from every donut shop on my route.
#bikeCommute #cycling
Reposted by rekiwi
Word of the day is ‘quockerwodger’ (19th century): a puppet politician whose strings are pulled entirely by someone else.
November 21, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Word of the day is ‘quockerwodger’ (19th century): a puppet politician whose strings are pulled entirely by someone else.
Reposted by rekiwi
Zork I, II, and III are now open source. Microsoft has released the classic Infocom text adventures under the MIT license! opensource.microsoft.com/blog/2025/11...
Preserving code that shaped generations: Zork I, II, and III go Open Source
Microsoft’s Open Source Programs Office (OSPO), Team Xbox, and Activision are making Zork I, Zork II, and Zork III available under the MIT License.
opensource.microsoft.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Zork I, II, and III are now open source. Microsoft has released the classic Infocom text adventures under the MIT license! opensource.microsoft.com/blog/2025/11...
Reposted by rekiwi
To my Jesuit brothers, fellow religious & clergy, & laity who are putting themselves in harm's way by accompanying immigrants to their court hearings.
Thank you for standing for the rule of law.
Thank you for showing the power of compassion.
Thank you for helping the most vulnerable among us.
Thank you for standing for the rule of law.
Thank you for showing the power of compassion.
Thank you for helping the most vulnerable among us.
November 21, 2025 at 4:03 PM
To my Jesuit brothers, fellow religious & clergy, & laity who are putting themselves in harm's way by accompanying immigrants to their court hearings.
Thank you for standing for the rule of law.
Thank you for showing the power of compassion.
Thank you for helping the most vulnerable among us.
Thank you for standing for the rule of law.
Thank you for showing the power of compassion.
Thank you for helping the most vulnerable among us.
Reposted by rekiwi
POTUS claims his political opponents deserve to be put to death b/c they pointed out that US service personnel are not required to follow unlawful orders.
He doesn't understand the law, the oath taken by US service men & women, or his own position.
...
His actions are unbecoming of the office.
He doesn't understand the law, the oath taken by US service men & women, or his own position.
...
His actions are unbecoming of the office.
Important: House Dem leaders just said Trump's call for execution of Dems has prompted them to contact US Capitol Police and House Sergeant at Arms to "ensure the safety of these members and their families."
Treat Trump like an unhinged menace. He's weak and in deep political trouble. Don't let up.
Treat Trump like an unhinged menace. He's weak and in deep political trouble. Don't let up.
November 20, 2025 at 7:21 PM
POTUS claims his political opponents deserve to be put to death b/c they pointed out that US service personnel are not required to follow unlawful orders.
He doesn't understand the law, the oath taken by US service men & women, or his own position.
...
His actions are unbecoming of the office.
He doesn't understand the law, the oath taken by US service men & women, or his own position.
...
His actions are unbecoming of the office.