Software, Simplicity, Sustainability and Stuff

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Software, Simplicity, Sustainability, Stuff

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Last post: Sep 11, 2026
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Memories of 9/11
Sep 11, 2026 · original
I was working on my computer in my small bachelor pad in the center of Amsterdam. A friend of mine was taking a nap in my bed; her toddler daughter was being looked after by their nanny. An ICQ message popped up on my screen -- uh-oh! -- from my American e-pen-pal Sean. "Are you watching TV?" "No." "Turn on your TV." That was it. Confused ( How could he know what is on Dutch television? ) I switched on the TV and watched in horror as the events unfolded. I woke my friend, and for a long time we watched the news. Later that day, she was supposed to fly back to France, where she and her husband lived at the time. I accompanied her to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The airport was packed. All flights that would enter American airspace were said to have been cancelled. I walked around, trying to help people who needed it. Two women came back with me to the center of Amsterdam. One was an Americ
Pet Peeve: Book Reviews
Aug 26, 2026 · original
Imagine being the author of a book. You put a great deal of time, effort, and passion into writing it. You eagerly await the reviews, only to find that people give your book one star instead of five solely because they received a used copy, which is hardly your fault ( and really not relevant to other prospective buyers), or because the print quality was poor. That last criticism is legitimate. But if the reviewers at the same time also say that the content is great or well worth it , does the book really deserve only one star? When I review a product, I try to do this with other customers in mind: I don’t mention one-off fulfillment issues (e.g., “left on my porch in the rain”) in the review. Those are delivery problems: complain to the carrier. When the platform hosts different sellers, I may mention the seller’s service, specifically naming the seller, so other buyers can base their c
Re: If you can have dinner with anyone in the world
Aug 1, 2026 · original
After I published my Bye, Bye, Bear Blog! post, Khoaly mailed me and invited me to participate in their Bearblog Carnival . I couldn't resist... If you can have dinner with anyone in the world, who would that be? When I was younger, I had a few heroes, or role models, or whatever you want to call them. Roger Taylor, best known as Queen's drummer, was one of them. I loved his music, his "leftist" lyrics, and the way he looked. For a period in the mid-1980s, I even dressed like that. r/blunderyears material, amirite? Another person I deeply admire is Edward Snowden, who showed the American people what they needed to know, doing so at great personal cost. It's been a while since I last saw an interview with him, but something that struck me is that, before he speaks, he always takes a second to think about what he wants to say (it's not Internet lag). What he says is free of hyperbole and e
Bye, bye, Bear Blog!
Jul 27, 2026 · original
Almost a year ago, I decided to give blogging a try. I thoroughly enjoyed researching and writing my posts (I put a lot of effort into them), but seeing how little traction my writings got was usually disappointing. My best-appreciated blog post was very short; I suspect that was part of its appeal. What I consider to be my best post was very niche, so I understand why it didn't get many upvotes. After that one, though, I tried to write about things that I expected to be appealing to a larger audience, but I always seemed to fail to reach them. I am either interested in things that other people don't care about, or I haven't figured out how to make those things interesting to them. Either way: life is finite, and you shouldn't spend much time on things that don't have a decent return on investment. As I wrote, I enjoyed the researching and writing, but if the enjoyment I get from those i
My Compost Bin is Always Almost Empty, Even When It's Full
Jul 26, 2026 · original
Introduction Our back garden ends at a fence that is covered in Hedera (commonly referred to as ivy ). If you know anything about gardening, you already know this plant grows quickly and relentlessly. It wraps itself around anything it can reach, and it practically glues itself to any surface. Behind our garden, on public property, are some beautiful, tall trees, some of which are completely enveloped --strangled, almost-- by Hedera . [Tangent & Spoiler alert] The movie Single White Female (1992) is about a woman, played by Bridget Fonda, who takes in a roommate, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh. The latter gradually takes over the former's life. The name of Leigh's character? Hedra Carlson. When it was released, I read somewhere that this first name is a reference to the plant, but other interpretations are possible. [1] I don't particularly like gardening, so when I do it, it's usually v
Shallow Observations
Jul 8, 2026 · original
A while ago, a video showing the ("deadly stunning," as the video calls them) partners of Formula 1 drivers showed up in my YouTube Shorts feed. As I often do, I watched the video and checked out the comment section sorted by "Newest". I don't mean to brag 😉, but before I started reading, I already expected the following types of comments: Now, I can't look into the minds of the commenters (who are, probably, mostly men), but I suspect the underlying sentiment reflects varying degrees of jealousy. "Why do these gorgeous women only go for rich men and not for a sweet, normal guy [1] like me?" Yes, they may also simply be trolling or making the obvious joke, but the fact that this was apparently the most entertaining angle they could come up with is, perhaps, telling. Also, I've come across men IRL who expressed similar complaints; it's apparently not an unusual sentiment. This blog post
Ants, Cats, and Cantor’s Diagonal
Jul 5, 2026 · original
Introduction When I was a computer science student, I read the first edition of the book " Parsing Techniques - A Practical Guide " by Dick Grune [1] et al. In the ~30 years since, it may be the book I’ve been reminded of most often. The primary reason for this is that the book goes off on tangents that are sometimes only vaguely related to the book's topic, or even to the immediate context. If you're interested in a subject, details add texture, making it easier to remember. If you just want to get the information you're looking for, these detours can be annoying. " Get to the point already! " If you've read any of my other blog posts, you may have noticed I tend to go off on interesting ( your mileage may vary ) tangents as well. I'm not sure whether I inadvertently adopted the writing style or if the book simply matched my preferences and I like it because of that. Warning: in this bl
Talking to Another Species
Jul 3, 2026 · original
When I talk to my cats, I do this in a cute voice (don't judge me; I know many people do this!) but even after all these years, my "I'm talking to a cat" voice does not elicit any special response from them. It's as if they are unable to hear the difference between my regular voice and my cat voice. Now, imagine you're on the planet Arion-7. An ugly bugger of an alien slowly and ominously moves toward you, growling, with highly acidic saliva dripping from its teeth and the corners of its mouth (yes, that is a reference to the movie Alien ). This scenario makes most humans want to spray a huge number of high-caliber bullets in its general direction. But what if this creature, in the most soothing "I'm talking to a human" voice it can muster, is really just inviting you to come check out its awesome stamp collection? Inter-species communication is tricky. Beware, dear space traveler.
What the Veil Reveals
Jun 1, 2026 · original
Introduction In my early teens, I read a book by I think it was Dale Carnegie and one idea from it has stayed with me for over 40 years. The book suggested that one should walk a mile in another person's shoes before judging (for being untruthful, immoral, wearing Crocs, or whatever). As a young, non-native English speaker, I of course recognized it as a metaphor but not as a common English expression and, therefore, I spent more time pondering the concept than I otherwise probably would have. Just a Mile or a Lifetime I imagined not just walking a mile in someone's shoes, but an entire life. Assuming I got swapped at birth, would I end up being the same person I am now? Unlikely; my upbringing would be different; friends, education, etc. If a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a tornado weeks later , then the accumulation of all those differences would surely have to result in a com
Red Pill, Blue Pill, Green Earth
May 14, 2026 · original
A few months ago, I came across this meme on Reddit: In case you have trouble viewing the details of the image (I feel your pain); it shows a man holding a red ball in one hand and a blue one in the other, with two options: Red pill: you restart your life at age 10 with all the knowledge you have now Blue pill: you jump to 45 years old with $50 million in the bank Dilemmas very similar to this are published almost on a weekly basis on Reddit. Many responses revolve around how to optimize the amount of money one can make, going back to certain points in time. Tip: if you ever happen to end up in 2009, you may want to buy $1 worth of Bitcoin as soon as possible after October 5th. Sell it on October 6th, 2025 for over $100,000,000. A decent gain for 16 years plus one day of twiddling your thumbs. While you're there then ( har, har ) you should definitely also attend Stephen Hawking's Time T

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