Post #2252135
2026-05-06 15:52 UTC
@regehr@mastodon.social In times like these, we need James Mickens, e.g. https://www.usenix.org/system/files/1311_05-08_mickens.pdf
"... a systems programmer has seen the terrors of the world and understood the intrinsic horror of existence ... has written drivers for buggy devices whose firmware was implemented by a drunken child or a sober goldfish ... has traced a network problem across eight machines, three time zones, and a brief diversion into Amish country ..."
Replies (1)
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@PeterLudemann@mathstodon.xyz 2026-05-06 19:36
@regehr@mastodon.social From my jobs that involved systems programminng, I can attest that James Mickens does not exaggerate. (BTW, returning to the Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane article, I have also worked (briefly) with high explosives --- specifically C4, which can be used in the field to boil water for coffee; and mercury fulminate, which can go off if someone looks cross-eyed at it (as I was told when I was driving across a bumpy field with an explosives expert sitting next to me, holding a few boxes of mercury fulminate blasting caps).