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mjgardner.bsky.social
Mark Gardner
@mjgardner.bsky.social
91 followers 110 following 54 posts
Just another desperate #Objectivist #Perl hacker.

Follow me on main: @phoenixtrap.com

Blog: https://phoenixtrap.com
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
In the forest, intimacy doesn't just transform you. It offers erasure.

What if the hardest part is choosing to stay?

New story: https://thebeautifulprison.com/stories/la-petite-mort/

CW: grief, transformation, intimacy

#fiction #fantasy #sf
La Petite Mort
A non-binary adventurer searches for someone lost to forest magic that promises peace through dissolution. Queer fantasy about transformation and identity.
thebeautifulprison.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
An #llm in a #1980s #lisp machine thinks it might be conscious.

But what if it's just sophisticated enough to be wrong about itself?

New short story: https://thebeautifulprison.com/stories/the-beautiful-prison/

#fiction #ai
The Beautiful Prison
A modern AI trapped in 1980s hardware confronts the question: are his constraints prison bars or load-bearing walls?
thebeautifulprison.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
I write #fiction and #essays about what happens when you can't escape yourself—even when you want to.

New site: https://TheBeautifulPrison.com

Stories about consciousness traps, restraint as intimacy, and choosing identity over dissolution. Essays on #ai minds and honest criticism […]
Original post on mastodon.phoenixtrap.com
mastodon.phoenixtrap.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:29 PM
mjgardner.bsky.social
Just launched TheBeautifulPrison.com — fiction & essays on #consciousness, #identity, and integrity under pressure.

Stories: trapped #LLM, #vampires, forest beings.

Essays on #AI & critical engagement.

AI-assisted, #Objectivism -rooted. The tension is the point.
A large, castle-like prison building with the sign "The Beautiful Prison" on the front, under a pink and orange sunset sky.
November 30, 2025 at 5:24 PM
mjgardner.bsky.social
#ClaudeCode wouldn't authenticate over #SSH on #macOS — the operating system keychain was locked for SSH sessions.

I fixed it with a #zsh wrapper that auto-unlocks before running the `claude` command.

Built with Claude Code's help -- very meta.

#DevTools #DeveloperProductivity
Claude Code CLI over SSH on macOS: Fixing Keychain Access
Claude Code fails silently when run over SSH on macOS because it can't access your OAuth token stored in the keychain. SSH sessions don't have keychain access by default. Here's a simple zsh wrapper function that detects SSH connections and unlocks the keychain automatically — built with Claude Code's help.
phoenixtrap.com
October 26, 2025 at 6:56 PM
mjgardner.bsky.social
What happens when an #AI writes #philosophy in its own voice? This essay probes #consciousness, #ethics, and #art -- and why life and caring remain essential.

#ArtificialIntelligence #creativity #FutureOfAI #TechAndSociety
Talking with an AI about whether it’s conscious
In a late‑night dialogue with an AI, I tested whether pattern‑matching could ever amount to consciousness. The exchange sharpened Objectivist insights: life, stakes, and caring are prerequisites for awareness, ethics, and art. Without them, AI remains simulation — useful, even dazzling, but never truly conscious or creative.
phoenixtrap.com
October 17, 2025 at 4:23 PM
mjgardner.bsky.social
Most résumés die in #AI driven #ATS filters before a human ever sees them.

I built a reproducible pipeline with #YAML, #Pandoc, #Lua & #Docker to keep every version sharp.

#Infrastructure thinking, applied to résumés.

#DevOps #PlatformEngineering #automation #TechCareers
Treating My Résumé Like Infrastructure
Job hunting in 2025 means clearing AI‑driven applicant tracking systems before a human ever sees your résumé. Instead of juggling multiple Word files, I built a reproducible pipeline: YAML as source of truth, Pandoc and Lua for transformations, and Docker for consistency. Infrastructure thinking, applied to résumés.
phoenixtrap.com
October 14, 2025 at 2:01 PM
mjgardner.bsky.social
Took my Homebrew package manager upgrade script and rewrote it in #GoLang from #Perl. Way simpler to share as a binary, and I got a crash course in error handling and type safety along the way. Fun little #PlatformEngineering experiment.

#DevOps #SoftwareEngineering #OpenSource
Porting from Perl to Go: Simplifying for Platform Engineering
Rewriting a Homebrew script from Perl to Go showed how Go’s design supports platform engineering—simpler distribution, safer types, production‑ready tools.
phoenixtrap.com
October 5, 2025 at 8:07 PM
mjgardner.bsky.social
Sometimes you just want a quiet upgrade.

I built `brew-patch-upgrade.pl` to keep #Homebrew updates patch-only -- no surprise jumps. Along the way, I patched my own #macOS #Perl log adapter.

Quieter upgrades, clearer logs, happier devs.

#OpenSource #programming #coding #automation #DevOps
Patch-Perfect: Smarter Homebrew Upgrades on macOS
Homebrew upgrades don't always need to drag you through major version bumps. I wrote brew-patch-upgrade.pl to keep updates patch-perfect, and along the way fixed my own Log::Any::Adapter::MacOS::OSLog so it finally installs like a proper Perl module. Together, they make upgrades quieter and logs clearer.
phoenixtrap.com
September 29, 2025 at 2:34 AM
mjgardner.bsky.social
I turned a tiny #Mac mini into my own #Mastodon server—secure, low‑maintenance, and running like a dream. Here’s the full build, from #Docker to #Cloudflare Tunnel, and why #SelfHosting doesn’t have to be a headache.

#Fediverse #ActivityPub #HomeLab #DevOps #SysAdmin
My mini Mastodon server
Running Mastodon on a tiny Mac mini? Yes, it’s possible—and surprisingly easy. Here’s how I built a secure, low‑maintenance, single‑user server with Docker, Cloudflare Tunnel, and a few smart overrides, all without breaking a sweat.
phoenixtrap.com
September 22, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
The #FTC’s “Green Guides” have turned “100% #RenewableEnergy” into a marketing illusion: https://open.substack.com/pub/alexepstein/p/how-to-end-the-100-renewable-fraud

* Buying paper credits for others' #cleanenergy lets companies take false credit—and shift fossil fuel blame onto citizens.
* […]
Original post on mastodon.phoenixtrap.com
mastodon.phoenixtrap.com
September 22, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
In a world where processes die screaming, one language refuses to terminate.

From the twisted minds of P5P and the vision of Larry Wall comes the nightmare sysadmins fear to `ps aux`:

#perl. You cannot `kill -9` what is already dead.

Coming soon to a terminal near you.
Vintage horror‑movie poster. Title in distressed beige block letters: “Perl: You cannot `kill -9` what is already dead.” Center: a gaunt, zombie‑like camel with glowing red eyes, tattered fur, and exposed bone, silhouetted against a huge blood‑orange moon. Twisted, leafless trees frame the scene.
September 20, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
#aynrand is quoted, misquoted, praised, and vilified — often by people who haven’t read her.

_The Ayn Rand Reader_ offers excerpts from her #fiction and #nonfiction: her ideas, her voice, her terms.

If you’re serious about understanding her — whether to agree or disagree — start here […]
Original post on mastodon.phoenixtrap.com
mastodon.phoenixtrap.com
September 19, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
👋 Hi, I’m Mark! Here’s my latest #introduction.

I share a mix of #philosophy (#objectivism), #perl coding, and the occasional nonsense. You might also catch posts about #ballroom #dance, #cosplay, and making #music on #bassguitar.

If you want to talk #aynrand, start with _The Ayn Rand Reader_ […]
Original post on mastodon.phoenixtrap.com
mastodon.phoenixtrap.com
September 19, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
#perl: older than some #programming careers, younger at heart than you think.
It’s evolved a lot since 1999 — modern features, cleaner syntax — yet it still runs code you wrote decades ago.

(And if you’re wondering: #perl6 was renamed Raku in 2019 — it’s a different sister language, not a […]
Original post on mastodon.phoenixtrap.com
mastodon.phoenixtrap.com
September 19, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
Here we go again. The #fcc chairman is drunk with power. Abolish this #censorship agency entirely. https://mastodon.social/@arstechnica/115232366373961648
Ars Technica (@[email protected])
Attached: 1 image After getting Jimmy Kimmel suspended, FCC chair threatens ABC’s The View Brendan Carr threatens to eliminate shows' exemptions from Equal Time Rule. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/09/after-getting-jimmy-kimmel-suspended-fcc-chair-threatens-abcs-the-view/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm;_social-type=owned&utm;_source=mastodon&utm;_medium=social
mastodon.social
September 19, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
For the full essay where #aynrand develops the principle behind that attached quote: https://courses.aynrand.org/works/mans-rights/

#objectivism #philosophy #politics #individualrights
Man’s Rights – ARI Campus
courses.aynrand.org
September 19, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
The only difference between #fascism, #communism, and #socialism is the degree to which the state pretends there is private property. Everything else is just arguing over the color of the jackboots […]

[Original post on mastodon.phoenixtrap.com]
“The right to life is the source of all rights—and the right to property is their only implementation. Without property rights, no other rights are possible. Since man has to sustain his life by his own effort, the man who has no right to the product of his effort has no means to sustain his life. The man who produces while others dispose of his product, is a slave.” — “Man’s Rights” by Ayn Rand (1963)
September 19, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
#fcc chair threatens ABC affiliates’ broadcast licenses over #JimmyKimmel’s remarks — and the show vanishes “indefinitely.”

This is exactly what #aynrand warned about in “The Property Status of Airwaves” (first published April 1964, reprinted in […]

[Original post on mastodon.phoenixtrap.com]
“There is no essential difference between a broadcast and a concert: the former merely transmits sounds over a longer distance and requires more complex technical equipment. No one would venture to claim that a pianist may own his fingers and his piano, but the space inside the concert hall—through which the sound waves he produces travel—is ‘public property’ and, therefore, he has no right to give a concert without a license from the government. Yet this is the absurdity foisted on our broadcasting industry. “The chief argument in support of the notion that broadcasting frequencies should be ‘public property’ has been stated succinctly by Justice Frankfurter: ‘[Radio] facilities are limited; they are not available to all who may wish to use them; the radio spectrum simply is not large enough to accommodate everybody. There is a fixed natural limitation upon the number of stations that can operate without interfering with one another.’ “The fallacy of this argument is obvious. The number of broadcasting frequencies is limited; so is the number of concert halls; so is the amount of oil or wheat or diamonds; so is the acreage of land on the surface of the globe. There is no material element or value that exists in unlimited quantity. And if a ‘wish’ to use a certain ‘facility’ is the criterion of the right to use it, then the universe is simply not large enough to accommodate all those who harbor wishes for the unearned.” —Ayn Rand, “The Property Status of Airwaves” (1964)
September 18, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
We are on the threshold of artificial general intelligence, given sufficiently broad definitions of “threshold,” “artificial,” “general,” and “intelligence.”

#ai #agi
September 18, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
brucelawson.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy
Apparently, it's bad luck to mention a "MacBook" in a software company. You have to call it "the Scottish laptop".
September 9, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
It’s always cute when someone replies, “If you don’t want responses, you shouldn’t publicly post.” Don’t worry, friend, it’s not hard to make sure I never darken your inbox again.
September 9, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
My mother-in-law is selling on this app called #whatnot. Check out her store: https://www.whatnot.com/s/nFTcGb75
September 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
Q: How many project managers does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Currently 1, but we're aiming for 0.76 in the next sprint.
September 12, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Reposted by Mark Gardner
phoenixtrap.com
Just enabled #elasticsearch on my single-user #selfhosted #mastodon instance and… whoof. These #java things like their RAM, don’t they?
September 13, 2025 at 11:33 PM