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• Post #4213755

  For the most part I have found VS Code to be a fairly decent IDE for what I need. I can pinpoint the exact date it was enshittified - whenever MS put it on a biweekly release cycle. That is far too frequent for a dependable trustworthy tool. You cannot do an effective code review and release of substantial changes in two weeks. That's simply not enough time for proper V&V especially for a tool so many people rely on for building their code. High change frequency puts a high demand on us...

• Post #4079822

  RE: https://mstdn.social/@TechCrunch/116977777858837473 In 3000 years it will be interpreted as a ritual or religious object. #MotelOfTheMysteries

• Post #4063105

  We had a nice long departmental presentation on level-of-rigor and process issues today. We're being ratcheted to release work with a higher level of rigor and accountability than is practicable given the level of completeness and certainty of the design info we use. Do more unaccounted-for admin work on the same schedule & budget. The only way out seems to be to maliciously comply and issue calcs with a higher degree of certainty but log every single missing or TBD parameter supplied by...

• Post #4001806

  I threw clay tonight. 2/5 success rate as defined by "did not have to scrape the wheel clean and toss the remains in a bucket". I improved a little by the end of the night, developing a sort of feel for what's going on. Arthritis-mangled hands don't help (I could be a hand model for those hand-crushed-by-gear safety placards). Did I have fun? I don't know. It was interesting. I sucked about as bad as I expected. I got two pieces for working on next week. I learned a lot....

• Post #3850031

  I needed a timeline cleanse: https://youtu.be/p9FRnsfsOkQ

• Post #3794638

  Outdoor (Backup) Bob is an absolute potato. Just the most friendly and appreciative cat, utterly starved for attention. We've got a m9bile vet coming out to weigh him and run some tests with the intent of adopting him (it depends on communicable diseases, Gracie, and whether hr knows how to use a cat box) #CatsOfMastodon

• Post #3428049

  Nobody who has programmed a website or phone app within rhe past 5 years should be allowed near a computer for the next 50. Every last one of them is an affront to God.

• Post #3336679

  RE: https://dice.camp/@kyonshi/116760141947074250 Difficult to argue with this...

• Post #3326149

  Donut has gone back to sleep in the middle of my side of the bed. #CatsOfMastodon

• Post #2165325

  Growing up in the 70s it was like "Oh no - pandas are endangered! We really should do something about that..." Today:

• Post #2140659

  More and more I feel that software is something that's inflicted on me rather than something I create or control that serves me.

• Post #2093237

  Remember when the common wisdom was to not pirate commercial software because downloading random executables was likely to infect you with malware that would steal your data or worse? Now we pay for legitimate, signed copies of software from vendors who load their applications with AI "features" that exfiltrate your data to remote servers and no way to disable that. I feel old. When I started out, we got our malware for free and were doing something wrong when we did. Maybe...

• Post #1890685

  Being an asshole does not imply someone is neurodivergent just as being a mass shooter does not imply mental illness. The vast majority of people with mental illness or on the spectrum manage to not be assholes or murderous right-wing gunheads. We can be compassionate and tolerant of our differences and afflictions without accepting or justifying callous and antisocial behavior. We can and should expect to be called out when we cross the line, honestly refect on our behavior, and either work to...

• Post #1781194

  "Yeah, IT? I'm having trouble with my 2FA this morning..."

• Post #1744537

  RE: https://c.im/@cdarwin/116479704797697865 Nothing "went rogue". AI didn't delete the firm's database and backups. A human operator built admin automation and ran it in production without adequate testing or backups. I'm sorry, but no: a human gave admin privileges to unverified tools and ran them in a production environment. Own your work. You as sysadmin, developer, etc. are paid to perform a job with skill and diligence. Ultimately you are responsible for your profe...

• Post #1344328

  RE: https://social.coop/@cwebber/116421159289416290 If this doesn't cement the need for a 90% top income tax rate and a wealth tax, I don't know what to tell you. It's going to be ugly when that bubble bursts and people figure out they can't eat GPUs.

• Post #1143050

  This is a long-overdue post for @iris_meredith on our process for evaluating and accepting safety analysis software. We start with EPRI guidance for consumer-grade dedication, strip out the inapplicable, intractable, and (IMO) wrong parts then use what remains to set requirements, acceptance methods, and acceptance criteria to define test and inspection plans. https://restservice.epri.com/publicdownload/000000003002002289/0/Product There are some very good parts of the EPRI guidance (section 6....

• Post #1085546

  Crisis Engineering arrived earlier this week and I have been enjoying it. I'll have to cross-check some of The TMI-2 details, not in some pedantic error hunt, but to ensure I actually know the accident progression. Three Mile Islsnd is one of two case studies in the book and IMO a great (very illustrative) example of decisionmaking with limited information and a drastically altered work and information environment. After my experiences at work this week, I may have to use this as guidan...

• Post #1081727

  At some point I'll edit and repost my note to our group on engineering ethics and the use of AI. This was prompted by an global email from our IT group admonishing us to only use IT-approved AI tools (currenrly an internal search(?) tool and Copilot (of course)). That in and of itself is reasonable. However they further went on to say that these tools could be used for engineering work like drawings, procedures, and other design information. That is not my understand of acceptable engi...

• Post #1013149

  I just spent 15 minutes trying to delete alarms on my watch and subsequently unfuck how I inadvertently removed the Click app from the tileset. Holy shit is the Samsung watch UI awful. Everyone involved should be slowly disassembled with a potato peeler. Better yet, just nuke Silicon Valley. It is not a place of honor, no highly esteemed deeds are commemorated there, nothing is valued there.

• Post #993736

  Snoozy Floofy Babby #CatsOfMastodon

• Post #993735

  Gracie came into my office yesterday chirrupping and asking for treats and pets. She and Donut were on the cat furniture simultaneously with no hissing or tumult. She's noticeably cheery and relaxed now that The Grue is gone. And while we miss him a lot, it's very good to have Gracie back to her normal self. The Grue is back with his first foster mom and his siblings and is as affectionate and tumultuous as he was with us. He's no worse off than when we started and ever...

• Post #993733

  The Grue is living his best life back with his siblings as we try to find someone new for him to haunt #CatsOfMastodon

• Post #993732

  (Backup) Bob is having a great day #CatsOfMastodon

• Post #971466

  Sadly, it seems that The Grue will be going back for removing because he and Gracie just don't get along and she's stressed out and sad. He really is a sweet little guy, very affectionate and playful, and we've done our best to integrate him with Donut and Gracie. We just can't get him to stop hissing & swatting at Gracie and she's pretty miserable. Anyone who can give a sweet energetic black kitten a home as an only cat or with a resilient younge...

• Post #741550

  Shared libraries are a tool of the Devil and ifx/llvm can get in the goddamn sea until Intel honors -static/-static-intel/-whatever-crap-I-need-to-specify-to-actually-get-a-statically-linked-binary It's not 1989, we have more disk and memory than god, and I need to insulate my qualified applications from IT/infosec shenanigans that can break my application's qualification. I'm tired of computers that don't do what I tell them to do and all their demonic enablers...