Vikram Saraph
@vikramsaraph.com
Software engineer, AI/ML researcher, and mathematician at Johns Hopkins APL.
Former New Englander, current Marylander.
Brown CS PhD and Notre Dame math alum.
Nerd of sorts (computers, math, language, puzzles, games, books, music).
Opinions are my own.
Former New Englander, current Marylander.
Brown CS PhD and Notre Dame math alum.
Nerd of sorts (computers, math, language, puzzles, games, books, music).
Opinions are my own.
Both are obviously important for success, but agentic systems have lowered the bar for good technical communicators, who might be less experienced with writing code, to build systems themselves.
February 10, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Both are obviously important for success, but agentic systems have lowered the bar for good technical communicators, who might be less experienced with writing code, to build systems themselves.
Coding is the easy part. Communicating requirements, design, building consensus, understanding team dynamics, influencing others... are all harder to do. I think this was true even pre-LLMs.
February 10, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Coding is the easy part. Communicating requirements, design, building consensus, understanding team dynamics, influencing others... are all harder to do. I think this was true even pre-LLMs.
Communities on Mastodon are too siloed for my liking. I want my online communities to overlap, because the reality is is that they do.
My last straw was learning that types.pl blocks infosec.exchange for reasons that I personally think are petty.
My last straw was learning that types.pl blocks infosec.exchange for reasons that I personally think are petty.
types.pl
A queer, leftist instance for programming languages enthusiasts and friends.
types.pl
February 10, 2026 at 3:30 AM
Communities on Mastodon are too siloed for my liking. I want my online communities to overlap, because the reality is is that they do.
My last straw was learning that types.pl blocks infosec.exchange for reasons that I personally think are petty.
My last straw was learning that types.pl blocks infosec.exchange for reasons that I personally think are petty.
Probably easier to get caught up in a mob the more followers you have too.
February 10, 2026 at 2:46 AM
Probably easier to get caught up in a mob the more followers you have too.
I remember how long it took for one of my older MacBooks to boot up because the hard drive got so slow. I haven’t forgotten the sensation of joy I had when getting my first SSD.
February 10, 2026 at 2:05 AM
I remember how long it took for one of my older MacBooks to boot up because the hard drive got so slow. I haven’t forgotten the sensation of joy I had when getting my first SSD.
She did draw a horse though.
February 10, 2026 at 1:45 AM
She did draw a horse though.
I can’t quote post my repost below, but my wife’s reaction (who is a horse fan) when sharing with her was “what the hell is this?”
February 10, 2026 at 1:42 AM
I can’t quote post my repost below, but my wife’s reaction (who is a horse fan) when sharing with her was “what the hell is this?”
Reposted by Vikram Saraph
Makes it much easier to study in random periods of downtime if you’re glued to your phone like I am.
The fun part will now be actually getting one of these devices and playing with it.
The fun part will now be actually getting one of these devices and playing with it.
February 10, 2026 at 1:26 AM
Makes it much easier to study in random periods of downtime if you’re glued to your phone like I am.
The fun part will now be actually getting one of these devices and playing with it.
The fun part will now be actually getting one of these devices and playing with it.
hamstudy.org is free and lets you take practice exams from the question pool. I don’t think they layout the exam content in the most coherent way, but their mobile app is only $4 and helped me the most in studying.
HamStudy.org: Cutting edge amateur radio study tools
Free ham radio flash cards, practice tests, and question pools as well as introduction to ham radio and explanations for questions.
hamstudy.org
February 10, 2026 at 1:26 AM
hamstudy.org is free and lets you take practice exams from the question pool. I don’t think they layout the exam content in the most coherent way, but their mobile app is only $4 and helped me the most in studying.
One thing I really like about Bluesky is how posts like this hit custom feeds of the topic discussed in the post. People who care about that topic see it.
I passed the ham radio (technician) exam on Saturday and paid the FCC the registration fee this morning. Waiting to get my call sign. I’ll be looking for recommendations for entry-level VHF/UHF stuff at some point.
February 10, 2026 at 1:03 AM
One thing I really like about Bluesky is how posts like this hit custom feeds of the topic discussed in the post. People who care about that topic see it.
I passed the ham radio (technician) exam on Saturday and paid the FCC the registration fee this morning. Waiting to get my call sign. I’ll be looking for recommendations for entry-level VHF/UHF stuff at some point.
February 9, 2026 at 10:52 PM
I passed the ham radio (technician) exam on Saturday and paid the FCC the registration fee this morning. Waiting to get my call sign. I’ll be looking for recommendations for entry-level VHF/UHF stuff at some point.
We left the Super Bowl watch party we were at when it was 19-0, and got home when it was 29-7. Seems that we missed an interesting half hour of the game.
February 9, 2026 at 3:47 AM
We left the Super Bowl watch party we were at when it was 19-0, and got home when it was 29-7. Seems that we missed an interesting half hour of the game.
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college
Basic Algebra I
Basic Modern Logic I
Basic Complex Analysis I
Topic in Mathematical Logic
Introduction to Algebraic Geometry
(these were all graduate level, found it funny how ND math prefixed most of their courses with "basic")
Basic Algebra I
Basic Modern Logic I
Basic Complex Analysis I
Topic in Mathematical Logic
Introduction to Algebraic Geometry
(these were all graduate level, found it funny how ND math prefixed most of their courses with "basic")
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college
Sage, the Way, and Zen
Shakespeare
Religion and Modern Secularism
Creative Fiction Writing
International Political Economy
Pleasantly surprised how many of these classes proved useful later in life.
Sage, the Way, and Zen
Shakespeare
Religion and Modern Secularism
Creative Fiction Writing
International Political Economy
Pleasantly surprised how many of these classes proved useful later in life.
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college
Urban politics
Urban sociology
Mid 20th century U.S. History
Gender and Politics
World History (I'm sorry for sleeping through this at 8am, but the prof was so nice in office hours, I will always pay that forward)
Urban politics
Urban sociology
Mid 20th century U.S. History
Gender and Politics
World History (I'm sorry for sleeping through this at 8am, but the prof was so nice in office hours, I will always pay that forward)
February 8, 2026 at 4:33 AM
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college
Basic Algebra I
Basic Modern Logic I
Basic Complex Analysis I
Topic in Mathematical Logic
Introduction to Algebraic Geometry
(these were all graduate level, found it funny how ND math prefixed most of their courses with "basic")
Basic Algebra I
Basic Modern Logic I
Basic Complex Analysis I
Topic in Mathematical Logic
Introduction to Algebraic Geometry
(these were all graduate level, found it funny how ND math prefixed most of their courses with "basic")
FastMCP has been great for giving me concrete examples of how I can write my own MCP servers. It’s so easy to use.
February 7, 2026 at 5:10 AM
FastMCP has been great for giving me concrete examples of how I can write my own MCP servers. It’s so easy to use.
Reposted by Vikram Saraph
$ jj describe -m "Hello, world!"
February 4, 2026 at 9:09 PM
$ jj describe -m "Hello, world!"
Okay I’ll admit. This one goes over my head
February 7, 2026 at 3:37 AM
Okay I’ll admit. This one goes over my head
Uh oh, LinkedIn also has games.
February 6, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Uh oh, LinkedIn also has games.
Providence folks
🚨 New LOCATIONS Alert! 🚨
There are three more new places starting up this February, bringing Puzzled Pint up to 100 locations!
Rochester, New York 💙❀💛
Iowa City, Iowa 🌽 🦅
Providence, Rhode Island ⚓🐓
The location puzzle is up now for you to check out. Happy puzzling!
There are three more new places starting up this February, bringing Puzzled Pint up to 100 locations!
Rochester, New York 💙❀💛
Iowa City, Iowa 🌽 🦅
Providence, Rhode Island ⚓🐓
The location puzzle is up now for you to check out. Happy puzzling!
February 6, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Providence folks
TIL that the maximum GitHub commit size is 2GB. Don’t ask why or how I learned that.
February 6, 2026 at 5:37 PM
TIL that the maximum GitHub commit size is 2GB. Don’t ask why or how I learned that.
Step 1: Be attractive.
Step 2: Don’t be unattractive.
Step 2: Don’t be unattractive.
February 6, 2026 at 12:40 PM
Step 1: Be attractive.
Step 2: Don’t be unattractive.
Step 2: Don’t be unattractive.
I didn’t write much about having to be on crutches for a few weeks way back then, but man, not being on them is awesome? It’s great to be able to walk.
February 6, 2026 at 4:42 AM
I didn’t write much about having to be on crutches for a few weeks way back then, but man, not being on them is awesome? It’s great to be able to walk.
Got on an exercise bike for the first time since recovering from knee surgery at the end of ‘24. I biked on outdoors last year but it’s been a while since doing it indoors. It’s tough but feels great.
February 6, 2026 at 4:40 AM
Got on an exercise bike for the first time since recovering from knee surgery at the end of ‘24. I biked on outdoors last year but it’s been a while since doing it indoors. It’s tough but feels great.