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20 September
Novelist and critic, author of The Body Scout and Metallic Realms; writes the newsletter Counter Craft on fiction craft and the publishing industry.
"Welcome, everyone. Please sit anywhere you like, including the couch we've had sex on and the chairs we're gone to third base on. Drinks are in the kitchen on the counter that we fornicate atop. Bathroom down the hall on right (we screwed in the shower). Make yourself at home!" Quoting @peegzy1 People who have sex on their couch and then let others sit on it without telling them are just weird. Related
Mathematical physicist at UC Riverside. Wrote This Week's Finds in Mathematical Physics and now the Azimuth blog on mathematics, physics and environmental science.
As the view from Moscow becomes increasingly embarrassing, it seems increasingly likely Putin will start a new more desperate phase of his war against Ukraine. Experts expect him to start a quiet mobilization of troops shortly after tomorrow's parliamentary elections. He seems to want 300,000 - 500,000 new soldiers. Despite increasing payments, recruitment has been failing to keep pace with the rising casualties. We can also expect Putin to step up attacks against Europe. More drones flying into European air space, and more stuff like this: • On August 4, 2026, a bomb squad at Leipzig/Halle A… pravda.com.ua
Europe Russia Related
17 September
Web standards author and speaker; wrote the CSS: The Definitive Guide series and co-founded the An Event Apart conference.
I made this floating-scrollbar #CSS demo as the result of a discussion we had in today’s Front-End Study Hall: https://codepen.io/editor/meyerweb/pen/01a0b0bd-0100-750d-8c24-745f6318896d I don’t know if it’s actually a good idea to do something like this (probably not), and it has a few styling limitations (no drop shadows or glows), but it was interesting to try to hit a design brief with clipping paths and the relatively new `shape()` value. CSS Related
16 September
Economics writer; author of the Noahpinion newsletter.
China
Their words
the fact that they're flying so quickly shows that Xi is unpopular in China.
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@Noahpinion on X x.com
15 September
Mathematical physicist at UC Riverside. Wrote This Week's Finds in Mathematical Physics and now the Azimuth blog on mathematics, physics and environmental science.
Imagine thinking you had a good 20 years ahead of you. You go to the doctor for an annual physical, she does some tests, then comes back with a long face and says "I'm sorry to say: you have just 2 months to live". That's what just happened here. While planets in the inner Solar System are believed to have orbits that are unstable in the long term, astrophysicists thought the outer planets could last ~100 billion years before being picked off by other stars flying past, and other effects. But recently, we've learned something that changes this story. As red giants lose their mass by puffing o… solar Related
13 September
Writes Hyperdimensional, a newsletter on AI policy and governance. A White House AI policy adviser in 2025; joined OpenAI on 6 July 2026 to lead its Strategic Futures team.
Let’s just remember that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel here. Independent assessment is common in other industries. We have defined independence before in similar contexts. We’re not flying blind. Quoting @deanwball you know what? it’s awesome that people are vigorously debating the credentials of assessors in the frontier AI industry. It’s awesome we are debating what independence really means. Some of it is in bad faith but who cares. This would have been my dream come true a year ago. Related
11 September
Writes The Pragmatic Engineer, the software-engineering newsletter, and wrote The Software Engineer's Guidebook. Formerly an engineering manager at Uber, and at Microsoft/Skype and Skyscanner before that.
Their words
All of these are things that power users IMMEDIATELY notice and get annoyed. But there's no good way to report them, and the eng teams clearly are flying blind, patting themselves on the back how everything is up velocity-wise... but product quality got degraded! And they don't even know
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@GergelyOrosz on X x.com
7 September
Developer, author and YouTuber covering Raspberry Pi, homelab hardware and Ansible automation. Author of Ansible for DevOps.
Coming to VCF Midwest? If you're like me, it's hard trying to remember where everything is, especially with @vcfmidwest taking up the ENTIRE expo hall this year. So I made this tool last night: https://t.co/3zrDDqkCSQ Now it's a lot easier to find exhibitors! #vcfmw Related
3 September
Economics writer; author of the Noahpinion newsletter.
2 September
Economist; writes In My Tribe, and wrote The Three Languages of Politics.
31 August
Economics professor at George Mason University and author of The Myth of the Rational Voter, Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids, The Case Against Education and Open Borders. Writes Bet On It.
30 August
Free software developer and longtime Debian developer; author of git-annex, etckeeper, ikiwiki and debhelper. Lives and works off-grid.
Spent a good part of the day repairing my electric lawnmower. It would be easy to find someone to do small engine repair on a gas one, and it would be easy to throw out a ~8 year old mower and get a better replacement that uses the same large batteries as my chainsaw. This does make me wonder how environmentally friendly this kind of electric tool really is. Anyway, it seems to be either a hall effect sensor problem or an off balance blade that's causing the hall effect sensor to think the mower is overloaded or has hit something. Runs fine without the blade it turns out. So I'll try replacin… Related
29 August
Founder and former CEO of Zynga, the social-games company behind FarmVille, Zynga Poker and Words with Friends; says he founded ten companies in all, and wrote Life at the Speed of Play.
We need to all loudly keep calling out the truth about 9/11. Al Queda terrorists murdered 3000 innocent Americans. Dont let their deaths be rewritten as ‘planes flying into buildings’. Quoting @GovernorPataki I was Governor of New York on September 11, 2001. The planes did not simply crash into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They were hijacked and deliberately flown into those buildings by Islamist terrorists. America Related
19 August
Art critic, broadcaster and author; wrote on art for The Independent and The Sunday Telegraph and presents BBC art documentaries. Author of Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane.
8th October sees the launch of Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found in paperback format - and to celebrate I will be at Conway Hall in London for 'Unveiling Vermeer - The Man and his Masterpieces'. I hope to see you there! eventbrite.co.uk
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18 August
US science and technology adviser to the president, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; previously US chief technology officer and chief operating officer of Scale AI.
Their words
I think it's the most obvious sort of like in your face example of technological stagnation. We had the Concorde flying years ago. We're flying slower than we were back then today. Absolute tragedy.
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17 August
Technologist and entrepreneur; former CTO of Threadless and chief technology officer of the 2012 Obama re-election campaign.
Flying feels like a miracle. Related
9 August
Software engineer, Wikipedia editor and crypto critic; writes Citation Needed and runs Web3 is Going Just Great.
well that sucks. apparently the ALA/Freedom To Read Foundation have trademarks on the phrase "free people read freely", which i use in a lino print i made into stickers a few years ago. i got the phrase from a 2023 speech by librarian and former ALA leader Tracie D. Hall. i didn't think to check if it was trademarked because, lol, what a wild thing to trademark. turns out the trademark had been granted two months before i made the print. it's no big deal from a business perspective — i don't sell these stickers for much more than they cost, because i mostly just think it's an important messag… Related
23 July
Writes Useful Fictions on agency and how to get better at things; a former appellate lawyer and the top-ranked woman in professional poker in 2017.
15 May
Writes Stratechery, a subscription newsletter on the business and strategy of technology, and hosts the Dithering and Sharp Tech podcasts.
I’ve been a big fan of what @united is doing in general, but from what I’ve heard (via other passengers and flight attendants), it seems they didn’t renew their Panasonic contract for widebodies while Starlink is rolled out. I’m pumped about Starlink and will seek out United once I know it’s available (had it this week and it was awesome). Until then, however, no Internet, particular on transoceanic flights, is unacceptable and a very poor choice by United’s management. I’ll be flying someone else for those for now. Quoting @sliccardo I’ve just endured my third consecutive long-haul flight on @united with no WiFi. I’ve just decided to choose any other airline available, even if I have to connect to DC through New Zealand. Related
5 May
Software architect and futurist; founded ClariNet, chaired the EFF, and has written about robocars for two decades.
1 January
Writer on habits and decision-making; author of Atomic Habits and the 3-2-1 newsletter, and publisher of long-running book recommendation lists.
1 November 2025
Novelist and writer, author of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and Sourdough; previously worked at Twitter and Current TV.
Their words
Thermoworks Thermapen One I cook a lot of meat, and I am devoted to the meat thermometer; cooking without one feels like flying blind.
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robinsloan.com
24 May 2025
Computer performance engineer working on datacenter performance at OpenAI, previously Netflix and Sun/Joyent. Author of Systems Performance and BPF Performance Tools, and creator of flame graphs.
Their words
The C Programming Language 2nd Ed. - Brian W. Kernighan, Dennis M. Ritchie (Prentice Hall, 1988)
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brendangregg.com
Their words
The Design of the Unix Operating System - Maurice J. Bach (Prentice Hall, 1986)
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brendangregg.com
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Expert C Programming - Peter van der Linden (Prentice Hall, 1994)
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brendangregg.com
6 April 2025
Founder of the toy manufacturer Viahart; writes about manufacturing, importing and why bringing production back to America is harder than it sounds.
Their words
When the factory floor is down the hall, instead of 30 hours of travel away, it’s easier to make improvements and invent.
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molsonhart.com
2 February 2025
General partner at Andreessen Horowitz from 2013 to 2018 and CTO of Coinbase from 2018 to 2019; co-founder of Counsyl and Earn.com. Wrote The Network State (2022), free in full at thenetworkstate.com, and founded the Network School.
Their words
Where is My Flying Car?, Three Felonies a Day, Reputation and Power, The Power Broker
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balajis.com
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Where is My Flying Car?, Three Felonies a Day, Reputation and Power, The Power Broker
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balajis.com
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Where is My Flying Car?, Three Felonies a Day, Reputation and Power, The Power Broker
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Where is My Flying Car?, Three Felonies a Day, Reputation and Power, The Power Broker
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balajis.com
22 March 2024
Investigative journalist; wrote Area 51, The Pentagon's Brain and Nuclear War: A Scenario, reconstructing what secret programmes actually did from interviews and declassified records.
Russia America
Their words
there is an absolutely existential flaw in the system, which Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta confirmed with me, which is that our ICBMs do not have enough range. If we launch a counterattack against, say, North Korea, our ICBMs must fly over Russia. They must fly over Russia.
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youtube.com
18 January 2024
Neuroscientist at UC Davis; studies memory and wrote Why We Remember.
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