Tricking software into working since the 1980s.
Public Key
npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Profile Code
nprofile1qqsd6sy3gz3xsg0ve9rge6a7fx2w6k9mhk7ku4yh79wqq8haeuvmfjcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dshctjyf
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Published at
2026-05-10T20:16:53Z Event JSON
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Last Notes npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Regularly, I use the following for near-realtime communications ("text messages”). npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Okay, I think this thing is ready-enough to tell people about it. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Just picked up an in-person ticket for #FediMTL https://fedimtl.ca . npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…mej2 @nprofile…3a42 I have one from 2026-Jan-08. Too late, or does that help? email: sean at seancoates dot com npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Fun to see @nprofile…998y speedrun his enshittification sermon on The Daily Show last night. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates I’ve started to wonder if our joyful “the cardinals are at the feeder” has a bird correlation of “the humans are at the window” that also evokes joy? npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Can't wait for my dishwasher to send Rinsed 2025, the traditional year-end wrap-up. I hope it includes that one extra-chunky lasagna pan. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Oh wow; @nprofile…rv3x on Tested with Adam Savage, showing off her pop-up book Alphabet in Motion. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates We put out a new Studioworks website yesterday. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…mmpy I have’t had to deal with it, personally, in a long time, now, and I’ve seen some more modern Ruby that has better practices… npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Just had to upgrade my solo instance of hosted Mastodon from the smallest plan (est. 5 active users) to the next size (est. 20 active users), due to database storage exhaustion. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…w92h This is earlier than that, and for a different technology, but the media and amount of IMPRESSIVE certainly has some overlap: npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Don’t do math without a test suite, kids. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…mmpy @nprofile…kfyd Nice! We saw some (maybe even the same pod?) up near Anvil Island at the start of July. We didn’t get nearly that close, though. A really pleasant surprise. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates I need a stronger word than “exhausted” to describe trying to survive the constant technology rug pulls. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…mmpy I think maybe you read “good idea” where I wrote “joke idea”? (-; npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates I’ve been kicking around the joke idea that AI is the Crocs of computing (cheap garbage marketed as high fashion to children and super trendy for no lasting reason), but now I saw this cross my feed and I’m a little worried that they’re in my thoughts. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Engine Yard, which I think I haven’t used in almost 15 years: npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates For many of the days of my career, the most important task I’ve had was to say “no”. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Trying *really* hard to make, launch, and market an online product without the normal “industry standard” hostile-to-users gross practices like surveillance and pricing/offering trickery. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates A big part of why everything is worse than it was is that we’ve let a relatively very small number of people and businesses become rich enough to buy up the good things and make them worse than they were before. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates “Ghislaine” is pronounced like “shiz-LEN”* (thymes with “fizz-TEN”). npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…utw6 @nprofile…dhpg Only acceptable reading materials for American school children (+ adults with the intellect of children): npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…utw6 @nprofile…l7u7 @nprofile…8fwd psst: it’s going to be much less than 2 years when everyone figures out that no one and nothing can maintain their “vibe code”. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates If you’re an ad person at Taco Bell and you’re not seriously ramping up a chicken taco campaign right now (hint: use the orange dorito shell), you’re not doing your job. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…fa5p This is much better than the Interruption method. I didn't want to pile on with the complainers, but I'm glad you listened. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Remember when XML-RPC got cool so everyone rushed to haphazardly attach endpoints to their stuff? And then how also everyone found that maybe they should have rushed less to a more complete solution that actually took care of things like… security? npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…240e @nprofile…hq4y To be clear, I was not saying "it's okay because everyone does it"; that's a garbage opinion every time I hear it. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…hq4y I recognize that this is a pain point, so please believe me that I'm not trying to convince you this is okay… but… does it make a difference if reachable people keep using LLMs? npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates I'm failing to connect the dots, but there's definitely a good Matryoshka related “You might not have 30 dolls; you'll have 3 dolls” meme out there waiting to happen. 🪆🪆🪆 npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates I know that there are technical and policy restrictions on how CBC and Elections Canada serve their website content, and I also know that election night is a peak far above normal levels, but… npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Trying a little #canada voting experiment today. I’m about to leave my house to walk to my polling station. I’ll #vote there and return home. When I press send on this, I’m walking out my door. Watch for a reply when I get back to see how long it takes. #cdnpoli npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…mmpy Yes! Thank you. The @nprofile…8snm one. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…mmpy Oh yeah. I was hoping for tips on how to load more history, but if people are up for a search: it was about the dread of updating software. How in the past, app updates or new hardware was super exciting, and now it's become "oh no, what are they going to take away from me this time?!" "Are they going to track me and show ads in this version?" "What new enshittification awaits me tomorrow?" npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates I'm trying to track down a post I saw come through my timeline over the weekend (I think; maybe before). I neglected to favourite it at the time, so it's not in that list. I think it was probably a repost of someone I don't follow, by someone I do follow. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Imagine a high-profile software project so ill-conceived that it's going to make the launch of healthcare dot gov seem like it was a raging success. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Sometimes I run into GitHub profiles that look like this and something in me wants to reach out to make sure they're okay. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates In a parallel timeline, our browsers would have remained actual user agents. We would not have allowed Big Tech companies to turn *our* user agents into *their* agents. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates If you've got any experience at all, you know the following about programming: npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…3m86 Look, I think tipping is a really stupid thing we do as a society, but it is part of the social contract when going to a restaurant. I wish we collectively didn't do it at all, but we do. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…3m86 Unfortunately, yes. It's really not the kids working there that are the problem, it's the lack of adult supervision. We paid, tipped, and simply won't return. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates If no one at your restaurant, from the line cook all the way to the hands that bring this to the table, have the authority or aptitude to reject a broken hollandaise, maybe don’t charge $24 for a breakfast plate. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Smarter Every Day has a new physical product (addressed to Patrons only, so I'll honour that by not sharing specifics here). npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…fpdp @nprofile…mmpy @nprofile…wuyc I agree that "unpopular" is a terrible reason to revoke citizenship, but I signed this one. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…dhpg @nprofile…mmpy @nprofile…yupt @nprofile…29xr @nprofile…hq4y I was in some kind of limbo where it was waiting for approval to follow, but then when I tried again it just went straight through. 🤷♂️ computers! npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…mmpy @nprofile…dhpg @nprofile…yupt @nprofile…29xr I had to refollow. I think maybe he changed to a home server (he mentioned he was going to give that a try), and it didn't carry followers over very well. Or something like that. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates @nprofile…mmpy iT hAs NoThINg tO DO wItH tHe RecEnT uNioN aCtiViTy!!!1! npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Idiots: we should be able to do what we want with our own air and our own carbon emissions and our own personal freedoms! npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates No matter what you think of the #WordPress 100-Year Plan, I sure hope you can get behind any sort of medium- and long-term thinking in our industry. Committing to anything beyond next quarter, really, is something to applaud. Investing in tomorrow? Sounds great. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates Found this photo from 2019 that perfectly captures what #[0] is like this time of year when the giant piles of #[1] are melting into a disgusting mess. npub1m4qfzs9zdqs7ej2x3n4mujv5a4vth0dade2f0u2uqq00mncekn9s3qkrhl Sean Coates “What happens if an irrational rich man buys [x]" is, unfortunately, now part of the de facto threat model when evaluating software/services.
