iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

I have pimped my car (well, van) to use @noctua-at.bsky.social fans. Sooo much better!

Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 10/09/2026

Quick question to all the folks that are currently predicting that AI is going to replace all programmers/humans, are you paying everything in Bitcoins? How's the NFT doing you bought a couple years ago? Oh, it depreciated by 1000%. Too bad. See you in a couple of years for the next hype cycle.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 27/08/2026

I ordered some electronics parts from China, for building a product that I'd sell in the EU. I paid more in tolls than for the actual parts. Thank you @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu for nothing. I hope you're happy that everything you've been doing recently is killing small businesses.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 19/08/2026

I have been quite the detractor of AI. However, recent models have seriously improved coding abilities. I have to admit, with some careful prompting and controlling the output, it's definitely a useful tool. So great for refactoring or large, boring, repetitive code changes.

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David Wheeler @daveofthings.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

It's been too long since someone took a swipe at my old favorite editor. We need to keep the editor wars alive, people!

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 07/08/2026

My girlfriend took out the warm wool blanket this morning because she is cold. Mind you, it's summer and we have 22°C in our rooms. I'm but build for warm climates. In like rain and 18 degrees.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 06/08/2026

Building macOS applications using Rust, instead of Objective-C or Swift, using the system AppKit APIs is surprisingly nice. I'd even say, it's almost nicer than using Swift. I did not expect that.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 05/08/2026

Fable really might be the first model that's not compatible stupid. I'm impressed.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 02/08/2026

I consider myself lucky to have three IMAX cinemas nearby. One of which is the biggest IMAX screen in the world (815m²). All of which also have the 1.43:1 aspect ratio. Unfortunately, all also have a digital projector. Definitely will need to visit the IMAX in London at least once in my lifetime.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 29/07/2026

LaTeX is actually pretty usable if you use Claude to convert your @typst.app documents to LaTeX instead of actually writing them yourself. (I needed LaTeX for a specific use case, I usually have replaced every use case of LaTeX with Typst.)

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 21/07/2026

What's your tool of choice for cutting large stencils to size? I usually use a pair of shears for sheet metal but the cuts never come out that great. Any tips?

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 20/07/2026

Why can't people just be nice to each other?

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 17/07/2026

Even after all these years, the Rust borrow checker still manages to amaze me at times. I needed to bubble a lifetime of a raw pointer (!!) through references a few layers, and I added lifetime annotations, entirely assuming this would still fail. Surprisingly, it just worked. I am flabbergasted.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 16/07/2026

It's been a rough night.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 15/07/2026

Rust almost made me hate C++. It's such an awfully designed language with so much baggage and issues that will never be fixed. And I say that as someone who was at some point exclusively writing C++, writing papers for inclusion into the C++ standard and speaking at C++ conferences.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 14/07/2026

I wonder why so many programming languages do not have a do while loop construct. It's slightly less often used, but makes code so much more readable when you need it.

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Fight Chat Control @fightchatcontrol.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Chat Control 1.0 passed despite a majority voting against it (314:276), ushering in suspicionless mass scanning of your private communications until 2028. Regrettably, Roberta Metsola's brazen and undemocratic actions jeopardise the legitimacy of the EU. The battle against Chat Control 2.0 begins!

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 09/07/2026

Moving another two Google account to @proton.me. Todays EU decision made me want to move all private communication to be fully end-to-end encrypted. The development in this world is deeply concerning.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 30/06/2026

German politics below 👇. Ignore if not interested. Thank you! Hallo 👋 Gegen die Hitzewelle braucht es konsequenten Klimaschutz. Deshalb fordert Fridays for Future: Lobbyministerin Reiche entlassen. Jetzt unterzeichnen ✍️ weact.campact.de/petitions/hi...

weact.campact.de

Die Hitze hat Gründe.

Hallo 👋 Kannst Du mir kurz helfen? Gegen die Hitzewelle braucht es konsequenten Klimaschutz. Deshalb fordert Fridays for Future: Lobbyministerin Reiche entlassen. Jetzt unterzeichnen ✍️

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 21/06/2026

I did a successful transplantation of a brand new battery into an old MacBook Pro from 2017. Restored it to it's old glory. Works like new. Pretty happy with the results. Saved my girlfriend a good thousand bucks by not having to buy a new MacBook Pro.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 19/06/2026

This is not normal in south Germany. How blind, ignorant and/or stupid do you have to be to still deny climate change?

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 18/06/2026

The workflow of using typst from neovim via github.com/chomosuke/ty... is insanely good. The preview is nearly instantaneous. And I don't even need to save my file to see the changes.

github.com

GitHub - chomosuke/typst-preview.nvim: Low latency typst preview for Neovim

Low latency typst preview for Neovim. Contribute to chomosuke/typst-preview.nvim development by creating an account on GitHub.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 04/06/2026

More renders? More renders! I tweaked the shaders a bit more, after taking some reference pictures from various manufactured PCBs under my microscope and trying to replicate that as best as possible. What do you think?

A picture of a printed circuit board from the front.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 03/06/2026

A portable monitor really is a great addition to the mobile setup. It makes so many things much more bearable while not at a proper desk. A 1440p screen configured as 100% (even if a little small for coding work) is perfect for doing work that would otherwise not work well on a laptop (e.g ECAD).

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 02/06/2026

I'm "[I] remember when cyber was a verb, and what it meant when a stranger in an AOL chatroom asked if you wanted to" years-old.

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Cezary Jan Strusiewicz @ostrichson.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Oh, you can't write a 5-page book report without AI? I fucking wrote 5-page book reports without having read the goddamn book. Get your finger out of your ass.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 01/06/2026

I took the 3D models from ECAD and put them into #Blender. I've tried two different techniques to represent the layers of the PCB: 1. Using the exported geometry (tracks, vias, silk, etc.) 2. Using textures exported and combined in a shader. Which of the two images do you prefer?

A picture of a printed circuit board focusing on an Raspberry Pi RP2040 integrated circuit chip in the middle.

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JF Bastien @jfbastien.com · 21/05/2026

For all the recent supply chain security attacks, I find it fascinating that C++’s standard package manager hasn’t been attacked. Tells you a lot that nobody is criticizing C++’s security right now!

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 12/05/2026

How do you remember that the brown wire is live? It is the color of your pants if you touch it.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 08/05/2026

probe-rs, rtt, and defmt will seriously spoil you. Semihosting is awfully slow in comparison. Rust will spoil you.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 07/05/2026

Sometimes I wish I wouldn't hear coil whine. Though, a $300 TB4 Dock from @razergermany.bsky.social really shouldn't have audible (and very annoying) coil whine.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 28/04/2026

Have the folks who are telling everyone that you can vibe code anything in a few hours these days actually tried vibe coding anything beyond a hello world? AI is still dumb as a nail.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 25/04/2026

Yeah, no, it was an absolute brilliant idea to write the Windows start menu in React and NodeJS. I totally wanted to have my start menu not accessible. /s

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 24/04/2026

"A C program is like a fast dance on a newly waxed dance floor by people carrying razors." — Waldi Ravens (Seen on the C documentation of the Avro C library)

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 24/04/2026

Actually, humanity deserves to go extinct. I'm slowly losing all hope.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 24/04/2026

Graphics user interfaces were a mistake. Text based interfaces are almost always superior.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 21/04/2026

I'm not queuing up in an online store to buy concert tickets or the latest iPhone, I'm queuing up to buy local, organic, grass-fed, Angus beef. This is what peak granny hobbies feels like.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 21/04/2026

Today I learned that there are colorful solar panels. And the FC St. Pauli soccer club has a pride flag 🏳️‍🌈 made from solar panels on their roof. I want a rainbow flag on my roof to trigger all the ultra conservative old people in my neighborhood.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 16/04/2026

The sound of spring in Germany is around: Lawn mowers!

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Reposted by Arvid Gerstmann

Matt Keeter @mattkeeter.com · 05/04/2026

If – on this grey Sunday morning – you would like to read a dozen pages about using tail calls for fast interpreters, then I have Excellent News for you: www.mattkeeter.com/blog/2026-04...

mattkeeter.com

A tail-call interpreter in (nightly) Rust

Exploring tail-call-style interpreter implementation with an optimized Uxn emulator, on ARM, x86, and WebAssembly

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 05/04/2026

There are at least six or seven different formulas (that I know about) for calculating the impedance of a PCB microstrip track, and they all disagree. What a wonderful world ...

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 04/04/2026

I have complained a lot about Altium Designer in the past, but at least it can render correctly on high-dpi screens. Many other, very expensive, software still can't do this. I'm looking at you Ansys SiWave, KeySight ADS, or OrCAD X.

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Ingrid Burrington @lifewinning.com · 30/03/2026

I searched "data center coloring book" because I was trying to decide if I should make one and found this, from a power management company, and I don't think I can top this www.eaton.com/explore/_pfc...

eaton.com

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 27/03/2026

Go to GitHub.com and change your settings to not allow your code to be used for AI training. MicroSlop is truly going back to the old ways of being evil.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 27/03/2026

The best ideas are always hidden in the threads.

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Lesley Carhart @hacks4pancakes.com · 27/03/2026

In this year of 2026 if you absolutely have to run your mobile, international event in America - and you choose to run it in Texas, Tennessee, or Florida, that is certainly a choice that reflects which of your members or employees you see as human.

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Arvid Gerstmann @arvid.io · 26/03/2026

Any reading recommendations to more thoroughly understand (specifically) Linux networking? I do have good reading on the lower levels of the stack.

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