Please consider subscribing to LWN Subscriptions are the lifeblood of LWN.net. If you appreciate this content and would like to see more of it, your subscription will help to ensure that LWN continues to thrive. Please visit this page to join up and keep LWN on the net. September 17, 2025 This…

EC2 Origins I was trying to avoid writing this post and had succeeded at that goal for almost 2 years. After some recent exchanges, I see the wisest move is the opposite. so, here goes. In 2003 I was working at Amazon for the best manager I’ve ever had, Chris Pinkham. Chris had hired me the previous…

Know your Python container types This is the last of a series of posts I’m doing as a sort of Python/Django Advent calendar, offering a small tip or piece of information each day from the first Sunday of Advent through Christmas Eve. See the first post for an introduction. Python contains multitudes…

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Back to all Documents Historic Document A Plea for Free Speech in Boston (1860) Frederick Douglass | 1860 Frederick Douglass National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquired through the generosity of an anonymous donor Share Summary On December 3, 1860, Frederick Douglass and a group of…

Most of the modern software is a disgrace to its users. Most of the modern software is getting worse every day. Relying on this software is like relying on a cheeto to keep your house safe from burglars instead of using a proper lock. Fuck this. Enough! It is time to become more self-reliant. A…

“It is a fascinating story and a deeply moving one. And it is a story that should make people pause and think—think not only about the Germans, but also about themselves.”—Ernest S. Pisko, Christian Science Monitor “Among the many books written on Germany after the collapse of Hitler's Thousand Year…

The question “Will coding be taken over entirely by AI?” has been asked to death already, and people keep trying to answer it. I’m not sure there’s anything truly new to say, but I want to share my own observations. The early narrative was that companies would need fewer seniors, and juniors…

[Editor’s Note: The following new entry by Mark Wrathall replaces the former entry on this topic by the previous author.] Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) is a central figure in the development of twentieth-century European Philosophy. His magnum opus, Being and Time (1927), and his many essays and…

Sometimes I get asked questions that would be more fun to answer in public. All letters are treated as anonymous unless permission is otherwise granted. Hey [Redacted]! It's great to hear from you. I'm very glad you joined the coffee club and met some good folks. :) You asked how to learn about…