Ryan Barrett

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Last Notes

2026-04-01 05:42:33 GMT

> …this produces what I will call the AI Developer’s Descent Into Madness:
>
> 1. Whoa, I produced this prototype so fast! I have super powers!
> 2. This prototype is getting buggy. I’ll tell the AI to fix the bugs.
> 3. Hmm, every change now causes as many new bugs as it fixes.
> 4. Aha! But if I have an AI agent also review the code, it can find its own bugs!
> 5. Wait, why am I personally passing data back and forth between agents
> 6. I need an agent framework
> 7. I can have my agent write an agent framework!
> 8. Return to step 1
>
>
> It’s actually alarming how many friends and respected peers I’ve lost to this cycle already.
Avery Pennarun, Every layer of review makes you 10x slower

2026-03-31 19:19:19 GMT

Best paper title I’ve seen in a long time:
> Replication of Quantum Factorisation Records with an 8-bit Home Computer, an Abacus, and a Dog

2026-03-30 19:54:21 GMT

> I am Springsteen, going on Spreventeen
_– Spinal Tap II: The End Continues_

2026-03-02 22:38:07 GMT

It’s VCs’ job to predict the future in all sorts of directions, and be extremely confident about those predictions, and also be wrong 9 out of 10 times. Remember that next time you hear a VC say…anything.
(Not that VCs are all dumb, or delusional, or malicious! Far from it. But still.)

2026-03-02 22:11:45 GMT

looksmaxxing is weird (at best) for all sorts of reasons, but one thing I do know: women have been doing it for millennia. guys, you’re late

2026-02-26 23:40:56 GMT

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"I'm writing Python and using the cloud, how is this happening"

2026-02-26 23:26:32 GMT

I know it’s a bad (good) day when debugging takes me all the way down into the Linux kernel docs

2026-02-26 19:15:01 GMT

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> What can be learned about maintenance mind from all this? One thing that seems clear is the need to examine its opposite: neglect mind. Examples of both were evident in my tale of the 1968 Golden Globe Race…
>
> The race's biggest loser, Donald Crowhurst, had neither maintenance training nor much sailboat experience, and he was delusionally optimistic. His neglect mind was part laziness and ignorance, part surrender to fantasy.
>
> Maintainers are realists.

2026-02-22 16:29:37 GMT

the best UI is no UI

2026-02-21 18:45:43 GMT

https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/pxl_20260221_1436556345885396216930620134.jpg?resize=696%2C522&ssl=1

2026-02-18 07:38:56 GMT

Really enjoyed Nat Bullard’s _State of decarbonization_ presentation this year, as always. Reminds me of Mary Meeker’s classic yearly Internet Trends decks, but for climate tech. It’s that valuable, and useful.
Some takeaways, in no particular order:
* Land use emissions are at their lowest in 60y
* Almost 25% of emissions fall under some price on carbon regime
* Electricity passed oil as the single largest form of energy in ~2005. It provided ~70EJ of energy in 2025, vs < 50EJ from oil, the next largest form
* China now generates 40% more electricity (10k TWh) than US + EU combined (7TWh)!
* China’s CO2 emissions have been flat for the last 2+y. India’s is effectively flat now too. (US and EU are 10-20% down from their peaks in ~2010.)
* Price of oil has trended steadily down 4y, from $120/barrel peaks in 2022 to $60 now. Plus, we’re currently at 5M barrels/day of oversupply, and rising sharply
* US public opinion on nuclear has risen sharply, 61% favorable now, vs 44% 10y ago
* Related: global annual nuclear investment has more than doubled in the last 10y, from ~$32B to ~$74B. (Almost past coal!)
* Global power generation asset investment finally surpassed fossil fuels in 2025, at just over $1T
* Climate capital inflows of all kinds are down, as are sustainability fund returns and launches. Climate tech investment specifically is up, barely.
* China is the exception: it’s _half_ of global renewables investment, $70B/y green manufacturing investment, leading (by far!) on nuclear project development and cost per MW
* Voluntary carbon credits are back to historic $.5B/y level. 2021-22 spike of $2B/y was an anomaly.
* Coal demand has been flat for the last few years, including China. Coal generation in India is flat (~1300 TWh), everywhere else flat to down
* Renewables generation passed coal, 5100 TWh vs 4900
* Solar generation surpassed wind for the first time
* …but solar installation rate in EU has flattened at ~65 GW/y
* Solar duck curve peak-to-trough is now 50-75% of generation in Texas, 80-90% in California!
* US grid activity is booming, and chaotic. Record interconnection requests (PJM, ERCOT), transformer prices, etc. Demand and generation forecasts all over the map
“I think our forecast of datacenter load for, say, 2032 is probably off by a factor of two. I just don’t know which way, two times too high or two times too low.”
* Datacenter power consumption is up 80% since 2020…
* …but still just ~1.5% of global demand and .5% of emissions, total. Even if AI doubles that _again_ , it’s still just 1% of emissions. Worth remembering the next time you see another breathless “ChatGPT is destroying the planet!” post
* Lithium ion dominates battery chemistry, 95% of installed volume. Storage is second largest use case (22%) after EVs (70%). >100 GW scale storage projects planned for 2026
* Despite press, EV growth has continued, roughly linearly. They’re over 25% of global auto sales now. China is leading; they’ll sell more EVs this year than _all_ US passenger cars
* SAF production has doubled every year for the past 7+y, but it’s still negligible, < 1% of total jet fuel
* Hydrogen outlook (demand, generation, projects) is mixed at best

2026-02-13 07:24:51 GMT

https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/pxl_20260213_0612355807E38352057525220007983.jpg?resize=696%2C522&ssl=1 https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/pxl_20260213_0617367615670290415449577770.jpg?resize=696%2C522&ssl=1 https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/pxl_20260213_0617191267611850635774331099.jpg?resize=696%2C522&ssl=1 https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/pxl_20260213_0615405242828009510885136932.jpg?resize=696%2C522&ssl=1

2026-02-12 18:21:49 GMT

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> Corrosion is exothermic…meaning it emits heat. Rusting is slow fire, an oxidation process that converts iron excluded to air and moisture into with oxide.

2026-02-09 18:57:03 GMT

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> “Gauge blocks are crafted to be so ultraflat and smooth that they stick together when placed against each other. They can only be parted by “wringing” – slide-twisting – them apart. Thus, when stacked, the sum of the amounts on each stacked block is accurate within a millionth of an inch.”

2026-02-07 15:04:06 GMT

> I did my year, I got my stock, my soul is crispy

2026-02-03 19:05:57 GMT

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> Old systems break in familiar ways. New systems break in unexpected ways.

2026-02-03 19:01:21 GMT

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Current one: Stewart Brand – _Maintenance: Of Everything_

2026-02-03 18:51:05 GMT

When I’m reading a non-fiction book, I know it’s a good one if I constantly feel the urge to post quotes from it.

2026-02-02 02:02:43 GMT

https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/pxl_20260201_1854025312724947772375167934.jpg?resize=696%2C522&ssl=1

2026-01-30 18:02:05 GMT

I miss the Fry’s Electronics days

2026-01-23 21:55:48 GMT

current status
https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/xkcd-sharks.png?resize=696%2C256&ssl=1

2026-01-23 16:47:48 GMT

Art TVs are good technology.
I’m not talking about the hardware, or the software, really. The panels are old, outdated, edge-lit. The interfaces aren’t much better: Tizen is somehow both over- and under-engineered at the same time. I don’t love paying for yet another subscription. And yes, like all modern TVs, they spy on you ruthlessly, at least by default, trying to claw back a bit of margin in a cutthroat business.
But. Since we bought a couple Frame TVs, there’s now _way_ more art in my life. Classics, sure, but also artists and styles and traditions that are entirely new to me, from all over the world. Chinese scrolls from the imperial dynasties. Graffiti and street art. Surrealist photography. The national collections of Zimbabwe -Bulawayo, Korea, Prado, Singapore. For the first time, I got a taste of what it’s like to actually be at Art Basel. I easily spend 15 minutes or so a day ensconced in a gallery in Delhi, or bamboozled by a 19th century trompe l’oiel, or just enjoying whatever pops up on the slideshow. It’s improved my life immensely.
Obviously, TVs are a limited way to experience art. I love museums too, and galleries, and every now and then I fall in love with a print or canvas enough to bring it home, or at least try. Even so, these TVs have added a wealth of art to my life that I never would have experienced before. That’s good tech.

2026-01-11 00:50:26 GMT

> pretty like the devil

2026-01-10 21:39:01 GMT

https://snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_4493.1080.mov

2026-01-08 17:17:03 GMT

It’s hard to believe, but Bridgy is 14 years old today. I launched the first version of it way back in 2012. Happy birthday, little project buddy! 🎂🎈🎉

2026-01-07 17:59:44 GMT

_Ceci n’est pas une poste._ https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/poste.png?resize=696%2C696&ssl=1

2026-01-06 20:00:37 GMT

> Have you ever alphabetized your hard drive?
– _Makers_ , Cory Doctorow

2026-01-06 02:43:16 GMT

“You’re absolutely right” 😕

2026-01-05 19:21:10 GMT

> This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright #154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin’ it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don’t give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that’s all we wanted to do.
– Woody Guthrie

2026-01-03 20:24:51 GMT

is it complex, or is it complicated

2026-01-02 20:22:59 GMT

https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/img-20260102-wa00005234470750338488751.jpg?resize=696%2C502&ssl=1 https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/img-20260101-wa00067E23798962593776297250.jpg?resize=696%2C489&ssl=1

2026-01-02 18:20:17 GMT

Does a given word rhyme with itself?
Eg, does _kitten_ rhyme with _kitten_?

2025-12-27 22:08:10 GMT

Quick appreciation post for checklists.
I had to do a delicate migration in prod recently, so I did the usual SRE thing: step by step checklist, minimize the critical section where things are down, lots of sanity checks throughout, dry run before the real thing. (If I was really serious, I would have found someone to watch over my shoulder too.)
First time through, one of the sanity checks in a critical section failed, so I immediately aborted and rolled back. Turned out to be a trivial bug, but it would have been ugly if I’d continued and didn’t catch it until later.
Fixed the bug, started the procedure again from the beginning, everything worked fine this time through.
Kudos to the humble checklist. Far from the first time it’s saved my ass.

2025-12-25 01:18:59 GMT

11 year old: “The best thing about Santa Claus is that I don’t have to write him a thank you note!”

2025-12-17 22:49:55 GMT

pave the cowpaths

2025-12-07 18:49:28 GMT

https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/pxl_20251207_1837133557857487613947787366.jpg?resize=696%2C928&ssl=1

2025-12-01 18:32:14 GMT

https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/pxl_20251201_1821373103920698579979090911.jpg?resize=696%2C522&ssl=1

2025-11-29 23:09:41 GMT

https://snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/wp-1764456091016.mp4

2025-11-29 01:40:17 GMT

> Democracy is the worst form of government…except for all the others.
– Winston Churchill

2025-11-28 18:48:07 GMT

https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/pxl_20251127_0110042818404421956361785249-1024x768.jpg?ssl=1 https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/pxl_20251127_0110288427154273970973075904-1024x768.jpg?ssl=1 https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/pxl_20251127_0118074997E32371325659344461990-1024x768.jpg?ssl=1

2025-11-26 16:55:07 GMT

Fun fact: “six seven” traces its roots all the way back to Old English in the 1380s. Geoffrey Chaucer coined it in his epic poem _Troilus and Criseyd_ :
> But manly set the world on sixe and sevene;
> And, if thou deye a martir, go to hevene."
200 years later, Shakespeare picked it up and used it in his play _Richard II_ :
> But time will not permit: all is uneven
> And every thing is left at six and seven
The common English phrase “at sixes and sevens,” from an early dice game that preceded craps, is unrelated.
> It is thought that the expression was originally _to set on cinque and sice_ (from the French for five and six). These were apparently the most risky numbers to shoot for (‘to set on’) and anyone who tried for them was considered careless or confused.

2025-11-22 16:51:53 GMT

https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/pxl_20251117_1905127977E25692363530242963556.jpg?resize=696%2C928&ssl=1

2025-11-22 16:51:32 GMT

> You should consider that the essential art of civilization is maintenance.
– Pete Seeger

2025-11-22 16:45:31 GMT

https://i0.wp.com/snarfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/pxl_20251114_2028577631749709336402536852.jpg?resize=696%2C522&ssl=1

2025-11-06 21:57:11 GMT

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🥾

2025-11-06 16:54:32 GMT

TIL: "free driver"
opposite of free rider
"...geoengineering’s economics are almost the exact opposite of climate change’s: While global warming is a “free rider” problem, where countries must collaborate to avoid burning cheap fossil fuels, solar geoengineering is a “free driver” problem, where one country could theoretically do it alone."
https://heatmap.news/climate-tech/stardust-geoengineering

2025-11-04 19:12:28 GMT

🏇

2025-11-04 19:02:04 GMT

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🏆

2025-11-04 19:01:11 GMT

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🛡️

2025-10-31 04:07:26 GMT

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🍳

2025-10-31 04:06:40 GMT

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🐣

2025-10-24 19:01:51 GMT

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If this grabs you, I wholeheartedly recommend the short story "Coding Machines" by Lawrence Kesteloot. I re-read it every few years, and it throws me for a loop every time. https://www.teamten.com/lawrence/writings/coding-machines/

2025-10-24 19:00:32 GMT

Lately I’ve been thinking about orphaned code. Code that’s still running, live, with no remaining developers or users.
Forgotten hardware devices. Deserted VMs on cloud free tiers. Smart contracts whose DAOs disbanded years ago. Old school internet worms. Abandoned, starving Tamagotchi.
Can you think of other examples?
There are obvious conclusions here about maintainability, ecosystem security, etc, but I’m not here to lecture, I have no particular conclusions. Just a vibe.

2025-10-16 16:36:03 GMT

The history of coffee is basically one long quest to make it taste as good as it smells.

2025-10-15 21:41:03 GMT

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oof, yeah. I don't envy you the CSAM scanning etc

2025-10-13 21:54:42 GMT

"These two statements are both true: 'all accidents are preventable' and 'we cannot prevent all accidents.'"
– Timber Stinson-Schroff, Safe New World, Summer of Protocols
https://summerofprotocols.com/safe-new-world-web#footnote-012-backlink

2025-05-29 20:52:32 GMT

I'm a big fan of harm reduction. Passkeys are *better* than passwords. Nuclear power is *better* than coal or LNG. Vaping is *better* (maybe?) than smoking.
Harm reduction isn't perfect. It's often not even good enough. But it's better then the status quo, and that's important.
Yes, moral hazard and risk homeostasis exist. We should always work toward improving things; adopting a better solution isn't an excuse for complacency.
But better is still better. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Incremental improvement is real improvement. Embrace it!

2023-09-26 02:13:36 GMT

"You strap a database to a laundromat and you’ve got a business."
– Matthew Panzarino https://www.theverge.com/23880330/matthew-panzarino-techcrunch-eic-digital-media-ai-google-disrupt-decoder