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Alter Kaker

@alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy

32 followers 7 following 840 posts

I'm a Jew and a parent. Child refugee from the USSR (1990) and Israeli expat (2006). US resident. A nominally senior software engineer, working on a variety of […] 🌉 bridged from ⁂ hachyderm.io/@alter_kaker, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

Posts Replies Media

Reposted by Alter Kaker

abadidea @0xabad1dea.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy · 23h

Help the Pope safeguard our humanity today, read a queer atheist woman's completely 100% handmade passion project 0xabad1dea.itch.io/glory-in-the-thu… #gloryinthethunder #fiction #lgbtq

Lord of the Rings elf and dwarf meme:

Never thought I'd be fighting side-by-side with the Pope.

How about side by side in an alliance of artists and cultural institutions to safeguard our humanity?

Aye, my art's gonna be queer as fuck thoughb

cover image for glory in the thunder act 1: The goddess of time has made the biggest mistake in the history of the world. [lego diorama of Ravelin seeming to accidentally drop Izael into an active volcano]

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 04/10/2026

Hey I am trying to #DeGoogle my email, not sure where to go. I want to use my own domain and ideally I'd like to get beyond webmail and just use imap. What are some options? I was thinking about Tuta but I am turned off by the lack of imap. I don't need super high security, it's just email; even […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 04/10/2026

Hi Team, can anyone help me debug some #GameBoy #asm code? I am following the tutorial on gbdev and memory isn't being written as I expect.

Reposted by Alter Kaker

Jorijn Schrijvershof :jorijn: @jorijn.jorijn.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/10/2026

New instance, and I need to test federation, so here's one of my favorite photos of Kaylan (who unfortunately passed away a few months ago). Tuning server processes, so feel free to boost to make it work a bit. #CatsOfMastodon

A photo of a white Maine Coon.

Reposted by Alter Kaker

Glyph @glyph.im · 04/10/2026

Me: I will use "radium water" as an analogy for how horrible AI's potential subtle long-term effects are, because the general public in 2026 can easily understand this analogy. The general public in 2026 […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

Reposted by Alter Kaker

abadidea @0xabad1dea.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

Just had a recollection of doing standardized tests in US public schools and getting in-class coaching on "test-taking strategies" that were completely divorced from the knowledge being tested. I was specifically told, by a teacher, that statistical analysis of past tests shows that "C" is the […]

infosec.exchange

Original post on infosec.exchange

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

RE: mstdn.business/@jasongorman/1173772… Lots of interesting stuff here, but this stuck out to me: "One study found a significant correlation between confidence in AI output and belief in the paranormal. " LOL And here's the thing, I'm Jewish and although I'm not observant […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

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Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

Once I learn a little more #asm, (I'm learning x86_64 because there is a wealth of resources, but I'm open to something else) what's a good #CreativeCoding project to lock it in? Demos? Miniature games like for a gameboy? Something else? #programming

Reposted by Alter Kaker

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

I had a really interesting conversation with a local colleague the other day about political economy, the failure of 20th century socialisms, and information technology. Mass media transformed 20th century movements (just as the printing press did a couple of centuries earlier), and today's IT […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

Yall, this learning #asm feels like I'm just starting to code all over again. Also the LSP isn't working too well, I'm not sure if I set it up wrong or what.

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Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

I had a really interesting conversation with a local colleague the other day about political economy, the failure of 20th century socialisms, and information technology. Mass media transformed 20th century movements (just as the printing press did a couple of centuries earlier), and today's IT […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

I also want this LLM nightmare to subside, but I am not looking forward to a deep recession, not being able to pay my rent, etc. I am not pleased about people gleefully talking about it like it's not going to cause enormous hardship for families like mine. At least I have some other skills, I […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

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Reposted by Alter Kaker

NNN @nnn.urbanists.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

I ebiked to from southwest Minneapolis to South Saint Paul.. it took 65 minutes and ran my battery down to 37% To get home, I biked to StPaul, 40 minutes on the Green Line to Minneapolis, then biked 8km home. That took 90 minutes and cost $2. The express bus is 18 minutes faster, but I can't […]

urbanists.social

Original post on urbanists.social

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

Governments that have not yet descented into far-right extremism have a duty to listen attentively and address the grievances of ordinary people, else they're just doing the fascists' work for them. If #France, one of the great pioneers of modern #democracy, can't handle children protesting […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

Reposted by Alter Kaker

Shauna @shauna.social.coop.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

I think people do this because it helps them feel righteous about their position, which is a small measure of comfort/control in the face of overwhelming odds. You may be helpless but at least you're morally correct! But choosing community with other flawed human beings over moral correctness […]

Original post on social.coop

Reposted by Alter Kaker

Shauna @shauna.social.coop.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

RE: hachyderm.io/@evacide/1173503736136… Trying to seperate people into the groups "deserves to be exploited by big tech" and "does not deserve to be exploited by big tech" will not in fact prevent anyone in the latter group from being exploited by big tech

Reposted by Alter Kaker

Glyph @glyph.im · 30/09/2026

I logged in to LinkedIn to see a page full of people praising DHH, got mad, and wrote this. Less than 12 hours later I got an email telling me "Your post doesn’t comply with our Professional Community Policies on bullying and harassment. It’s been removed […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A LinkedIn post from me that reads "DHH is openly a Nazi. You should not promote anything he is doing or relay his opinions on software development. It is shocking to me when I open this app and see people casually discussing his opinions on AI or interface design or whatever, as if he were a "thought leader". He is an open advocate for mass murder. It doesn't matter what else he thinks, do not promote his ideas." followed by the text "Only you can see this post because this content goes against our Professional Community Policies."

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

RE: assemblag.es/@inquiline/11735575576… This helped me understand better the dynamics of US political power

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Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

One of the consequences of being forced to use LLMs at work is that I am now desperate for my computer fix and seeking it elsewhere. The last week I've been spending all my non-work, non-Fedi computer time on #exercism. I went through a bunch of the #Gleam track but this stuff isn't strong […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

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Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

I'm still processing this but yesterday I was talking to my landlord about the fact that a few outlets in the kitchen stopped working, and he made a joke about calling ICE on some tenant he didn't like and I'm, well I'm still processing but it's definitely going to have an impact on our relationship

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

Well, I signed the contract. This is my second job in IT, first new job since I took a chance at a new career. I can't believe it only took two interviews!

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Reposted by Alter Kaker

Hacker Memes @i0null.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy · 27/09/2026

Happy Expression (A very happy husky named prince, credits: happydoggo)
vs
Sad Expression (the very sad cat meme, credits: guangdang005)
vs
Regular Expression (code snippet of regular expressions used in the Perl module Mail::RFC822::Address)

Reposted by Alter Kaker

myrmepropagandist @futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy · 27/09/2026

There is an attempt to make people feel like being critical of using LLMs is not "hip and with it" Only old people who don't understand technology are unimpressed. Nothing could be further from the truth. Young people don't like the slop, the most tech people have the harshest words. The […]

Original post on sauropods.win

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 27/09/2026

RE: social.vivaldi.net/@lproven/1173379… I'm a back end dev, but I enjoy making simple, fast websites. There are some cool things here I didn't know about (to be fair, I knew most of this)

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Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 26/09/2026

I might get to take a power supply from an old 486 apart for diagnosis today. Plugged in, switched on, fan not turning on, although power is coming through to the auxiliary receptacle. Any tips? There's no replacement in the shop that fits the physical power switch (the motherboard supports a […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

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Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

Hey team, I want to upgrade my production support triage skills. I had used #Perl for the purpose before, but it's been a few years and I had totally forgotten it. What do #SysAdmin folks think: should I relearn Perl 5 or pick up #Raku? Clearly Raku is very cool, but I'm worried that its small […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

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Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

TIL that to add #Raku support to #HelixEditor, after updating the configuration you have to first run `hx -g fetch` to download the grammars, then go into the `~/.config/helix/runtime/grammars/sources/raku` directory and run `npx tree-sitter generate` *before* running `hx -g build` or it will […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

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Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026

Now my baby is crying because some dad was playing laser tag with pretend guns with his kids at the park and I can't be around that

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Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026

When a stranger waves hello to my babies, and puts their biggest smile on to show them what the world ought to be like; welcoming and kind, so utterly different from the world that we inhabit as adults; the old man's frown lines, the branding of decades of anxiety and toil, are wiped out; did he […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

Reposted by Alter Kaker

Julia Evans @b0rk.social.jvns.ca.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

Are you interested in learning how to use Git for the first time? (or almost the first time) we're looking for Git beginners to give us feedback on a Git tutorial! The tutorial will be open source when it's released, so you'll be helping many future beginners! Sign up here […]

Original post on social.jvns.ca

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

What is your problem, Canada? (Another synagogue shooting, last night during Yom Kippur services, in Ontario)

Reposted by Alter Kaker

Børge @forteller.tutoteket.no.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2026

RE: mastodon.green/@alberto_cottica/117… «The automobile did not replace horses. It replaced children playing in the street.» #car #cars #urbanism #BikeTooter #CityLife

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2026

OK, #Helix is very nice. I'm glad I decided to try it, and I think I'll keep it. It's snappy, attractive, and I love its take on the normal mode. I'm looking forward to watching the editor mature and develop an ecosystem. Right now I'm learning it while working on the #Gleam track in #exercism 😊

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 19/09/2026

Hey I decided that I don't like homebrew on #Linux, please recommend user space package managers that work well on Debian and will complement apt (to use just for system packages) and flatpak(to use just for GUI applications) so I can install recent versions of compiler toolchains, utilities […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

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Reposted by Alter Kaker

Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Reminder that I am currently open to taking on new clients! I provide policy design and analysis, research, and writing and developmental editing services to a very of different clients, mostly nonprofits. Here's an example of some of my recent work: economicsecurityproject.org/resource/bui...

economicsecurityproject.org

Building Affordability: Report Summary - Economic Security Project

The Problem Housing is central to the affordability crisis squeezing Americans nationwide. Housing costs have skyrocketed since 2000, with inflation-adjusted rents rising more than 20% and home prices...

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026

I'm trying to get #FediHired so I made my first post on LinkedIn: "As part of my quest to always stretch myself I have been coding at home with nothing but my IDE, my brain, and reference material. I recently implemented, in Kotlin, an event-driven state machine with a limited size queue, and a […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

Reposted by Alter Kaker

Glyph @glyph.im · 06/03/2025

within this framing a lot of FLOSS community politics go from confusing and wonky internecine debates to straightforwardly legible. why would anyone care about using gcc when llvm is better? or hang on to glibc when musl is eating its lunch? because the GNU people are trying to insist on the […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

Reposted by Alter Kaker

Glyph @glyph.im · 06/03/2025

it suddenly occurs to me that the free software movement is an extremely inept attempt at a strike. the idea of copyleft is that you attach onerous conditions that preclude profiteering users of the output of your labor from performing certain actions that you view as objectionable, in order to […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026

It would be nice if all this outpouring of solidarity wasn't for a guy who'd put on a giant prosthetic nose, fake beard, and black hat for a show where he threw a Nazi salute, I guess because he cares about Palestinians? Like, instead of this guy, can we find a some pro-Palestine second rate […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

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Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 17/09/2026

Hey team, can i go to grad school in computer science with industry experience instead of a BS? #CompSci

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Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 14/09/2026

I might have to do some #Kotlin in my next role, so here I am implementing an input system and hierarchical state machine for a fighting game in #LibGDX, completely by hand, no llm except as a spicy search engine. I haven't had this much fun coding in quite some time. Check it out […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 13/09/2026

Hi everyone, can you recommend a production ready #SelfHosted groupware with identity management? Boosts welcome

Reposted by Alter Kaker

Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

...and nothing profound to say about existential risk, and if action can only be galvanized by fantasies about omnipotent superintelligence then we have a big problem with the level of public and political understanding.

Alter Kaker @alter-kaker.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 11/09/2026

OK team #GetFediHired anyone knows of remote US or hybrid #Minneapolis area opportunities for a skilled backend dev with experience in Java, Typescript, and Go, distributed systems, and a path towards software architecture? I am lucky enough to have stable employment but for historical reasons I […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

Reposted by Alter Kaker

Glyph @glyph.im · 11/09/2026

so much of what is driving personal AI adoption—that is, outside of corporate control—is the breakdown of community. writers can't find other writers to bounce their ideas off of. open source maintainers can't find other maintainers to work with. people picking up hobby projects can't find […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

Reposted by Alter Kaker

Hrefna (DHC) @hrefna.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 10/09/2026

The thing about studying mathematics is that you aren't _really_ studying how to do the math itself. You are studying eight million ways to see and solve problems. So when you are asked "do you use calculus in your job" I can usually answer: 1. Not today, no. 2. I have professionally on […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

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Reposted by Alter Kaker

Benjamin Leis ✅ @benleis.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 10/09/2026

@alter_kaker Since I wrote up getting java going on emacs recently I'm going to give you another probably sadness inducing post on how to do so github.com/benleis1/emacs-init/blob… You could probably crib most of my config. Caveat: we don't use spring boot but we do […]

Original post on mathstodon.xyz

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