Sign in

Aaron Brethorst

@brethorsting.com
482 followers 249 following 1.6K posts

Seattleite, transit enthusiast, democracy enthusiast. Posting through it ONLY in my personal capacity. Exec Director for OneBusAway’s parent nonprofit, Open Transit Software Foundation Founder of Sincere (formerly Voterletters)

PostsRepliesMedia
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 19/09/2026
With all due respect, I’ve spoken with the creator and this website simply would not exist without AI. They are actually working on commissioning human artists to replace the AI generated artwork, but that’s dependent on donations to the project.
000
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 19/09/2026
So you would want Stephen to play you in a movie? Not Alec, or that other one? Man, I would at least aspire to a low-rent Hemsworth.
020
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 03/08/2026
August? More like Smaugust here in the PNW. Weve been lucky so far, but i finally had to add an AQI widget to my lock screen 🤦‍♂️ 😬🙃😔
000
Reposted by Aaron Brethorst
The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 03/08/2026
This is amazing! 🦝 🚌
1498
Reposted by Aaron Brethorst
OneBusAway @onebusaway.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
This is an incredible project. Props to its creator. www.oneraccoonaway.org
oneraccoonaway.org
OneRaccoonAway
A pixel-art bus stop scene showing live arrivals and weather.
18025
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 02/08/2026
I have a new essay up on my blog characterizing the two primary ways that I see developers using AI tools. www.brethorsting.com/blog/2026/08...
brethorsting.com
The Greenhouse and the Lens: Two Modes of Agentic AI Work
A greenhouse and a lens both run on sunlight, and they do opposite things with it. The greenhouse traps ambient heat and holds it, so everything inside grows a…
000
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 13/07/2026
I’m biased but I think the new UI looks awesome.
010
Reposted by Aaron Brethorst
John Rogers @johnrogers.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
I think in our grief it’s important to remember that Lindsay Graham lived long enough to see the Iran War he and John McCain dreamed of for decades finally happen, and to see it utterly shit the bed.
333647595
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 04/07/2026
Poor puppy 🧨
010
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 26/06/2026
A poignant reminder that any life can be unexpectedly cut short. Don't put off finding your joy to another day, because you might not have one. Life is too short to sacrifice your happiness to some tech oligarch asshole who wants to monitor your keystrokes. om.co/2026/06/24/1...
om.co
Om Malik, 1966-2026
Om Malik passed away on June 24, 2026, at Stanford Hospital after a long health journey with his heart. He was surrounded by family and friends. We invite you to share your remembrances of Om in th…
011
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 25/06/2026
I'm watching "Spiderman: No Way Home" for the first time (the whole pandemic thing, and then I had a kiddo), and it occurs to me that Spiderman doesn't need another fight scene—he just needs a therapist.
000
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 22/06/2026
@brandur.org "A new version of the company’s dashboard shipped on V3, and an unaffiliated developer who we’d never met before built Heroku’s first iOS app on it, without a single feature request sent our way" — was this me? github.com/aaronbrethor...
github.com
GitHub - aaronbrethorst/doppler-ios: Doppler for Heroku is an iOS Heroku client that currently supports the Aspen and Bamboo stacks.
Doppler for Heroku is an iOS Heroku client that currently supports the Aspen and Bamboo stacks. - aaronbrethorst/doppler-ios
000
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 06/06/2026
Amazing. This is a time to double down on common sense, high value light rail service expansions. Say, like, I dunno, Ballard. www.theurbanist.org/sound-transi...
theurbanist.org
Crosslake Light Rail Pushes Sound Transit to Most-Used Light Rail System in US
With the boost from the expanded 2 Line, Seattle's Link rail system is humming along at 160,000 daily riders, according to new April data. That makes it the busiest light rail system in the U.S.
020
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 03/06/2026
I regret to inform you all that the bouncy castle skeet inspired me to buy this symbol of bourgeois frivolity for my toddler. Little Lord Fauntleroy loves his new toy.
A symbol of the petit bourgeoisie: the bouncy castle.
041
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 01/06/2026
Check out this absurdity: cityobservatory.org/eight-reason...
cityobservatory.org
Eight reasons the Interstate Bridge project shouldn’t–and can’t legally–move forward – City Observatory
000
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 01/06/2026
I think I'm going to start photocopying and mailing copies of the chapters "The Highwayman" and "Point of No Return" from "The Power Broker" to newly elected public officials. 99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-...
99percentinvisible.org
The Power Broker #10: Clara Jeffery - 99% Invisible
This is the tenth official episode of our ongoing series breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down ...
120
Reposted by Aaron Brethorst
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 30/05/2026
Just going to join with the many others saying: this is simple courage & humanity & whatever else you think about the race, Steyer deserves enormous credit for it.
11877119
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 30/05/2026
I wrote down my thoughts on the importance of domain expertise in the world of agentic AI software development. (Spoiler alert: software engineers are less important than domain experts, imho.) www.brethorsting.com/blog/2026/05...
brethorsting.com
Domain Expertise Has Always Been the Real Moat | Aaron Brethorst
Personal website for Aaron Brethorst - Seattleite, technology leader, photographer, transit enthusiast, erstwhile non-runner.
000
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 28/05/2026
One of those “IN THIS HOUSE” yard signs, but it says that we never skip leg day 😅
000
Reposted by Aaron Brethorst
Beth Day @thebethocracy.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
NERDS! (complimentary)
1193
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 12/05/2026
www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dement...
alzheimers.org.uk
Loss of inhibitions and dementia
Sometimes a person with dementia can lose their inhibitions and may behave in ways that others find embarrassing.
010
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 08/05/2026
I’d settle for Utah-like plugin solar legalization here in Washington in the short term, but our f’ing legislature can’t even get ‘reduce Washington consumers’ electric prices’ over the finish line.
0161
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 07/05/2026
My “Americans are wrong: I am not a partisan hack” t-shirt is raising many questions answered by my t-shirt.
000
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 07/05/2026
I like the idea of senate democrats pulling a Scalia and keeping one or more SCOTUS seats open til 2029. That meets the definition of need, imo
050
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 24/04/2026
Well, she's a brunette...
100
Reposted by Aaron Brethorst
William B. Fuckley @opinionhaver.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Our revolution endorsing Tom Steyer is good, of the candidates with a shot I think he’s probably the best one, it reflects well on them and shows policy seriousness. All that said: it’s still pretty funny.
1439323
Reposted by Aaron Brethorst
Aaron Patterson @tenderlove.dev · 21/04/2026
I know that guy! 😆
2541
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 20/04/2026
LinkedIn can be good sometimes.
000
Reposted by Aaron Brethorst
OneBusAway @onebusaway.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
New on the blog: set up your own OBA Maglev server for the San Francisco Bay Area and use it to power your transit projects opentransitsoftwarefoundation.org/2026/04/sett...
opentransitsoftwarefoundation.org
How to Set Up OneBusAway Maglev with Bay Area Transit Data | Open Transit Software Foundation
The creators and maintainers of OneBusAway, the open source software platform for real-time transit information and operations management. We provide software, services, and support to transit agencie...
011
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 19/04/2026
What do you think it costs a carpenter to lose a fucking thumb, you fake blue collar liar?!?
040
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 19/04/2026
Being opposed to table saw safety is one of the most boneheaded things I’ve ever heard. I’d love to see her lose her primary just on that. How fucking dare you think that we should keep allowing unsafe equipment to be sold that harms blue collar workers every day. Oh it’s too expensive?
150
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 19/04/2026
Why do you hate experimental art, disc horse bot?
000
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 19/04/2026
2029 is when Anthropic should launch Claude for US Attorneys.
000
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 19/04/2026
@kateriga.bsky.social was right. Kamala could’ve run away with this. Being governor of California is not a bad consolation prize
000
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 19/04/2026
I’m not certain her shtick is popular with old school Vancouver reactionaries either. She seems like a sociology experiment from Reed designed to infuriate left and right alike.
1331
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 12/04/2026
CONGRATS GOVERNOR STEYER
000
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 10/04/2026
2027 nightmare fuel!
000
Reposted by Aaron Brethorst
The Samuelation @samuelation.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Hey, so an acre of solar panels powers a car way more than an acre of corn. If they are growing corn for ethanol, create an incentive for them to lease the land for solar installations instead! Less labor and water intensive, they keep a stream of income, and we diversify our power generation!
2531
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 03/04/2026
Such a scam.
020
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 03/04/2026
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
theatlantic.com
How to Guess If Your Job Will Exist in Five Years
Ask yourself: Are you coal, or are you a horse?
000
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 03/04/2026
This is a real article from The Atlantic. Turns out you want to be the thing that is incinerated.
120
Reposted by Aaron Brethorst
Subscribe to Radio Free America (link in bio) @kleinman.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
They're not really being subtle about it any more
56839156
Reposted by Aaron Brethorst
Kathryn Tewson @kathryntewson.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Ken Acquah
@aquariusacquah
absolutely devastated after going down to pitch in at the capitol hill autonomous zone organizing tent only to find out the anarchist commune already has an L2 AWS cloud solutions engineer
2:07 PM • 6/9/20 • Twitter for Android
555448
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 27/03/2026
Thanks Chalmers!
media.tenor.com
a cartoon says hi super nintendo chalmers in white letters
ALT: a cartoon says hi super nintendo chalmers in white letters
000
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 27/03/2026
media.tenor.com
a man is sitting on a couch with his eyes closed and says that 's a shame .
ALT: a man is sitting on a couch with his eyes closed and says that 's a shame .
020
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 27/03/2026
Whoever wins, we all lose
080
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 23/03/2026
Same as using the term "Antifa." There is nothing useful in this term that is not better communicated and understood by adding one extra fucking syllable. bsky.app/profile/bret...
010
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 22/03/2026
The poll is from PPP btw. fiftyplusone.news/polls/senate...
fiftyplusone.news
FiftyPlusOne - Idaho General Senate Election polls
A comprehensive list of polls and polling averages for elections and politician approval.
000
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 22/03/2026
Don't sleep on this Todd Achilles for Senate thing in Idaho. I did not have former Republican carves out path as notional independent, caucuses with Democrats on my 2026 bingo card as a potential route for Dems to retake the Senate, but here we are and I'll take it.
PPP poll from March 20 showing a Senate general election matchup between former Republican, turned Democrat, turned Independent Todd Achilles vs. Republican incumbent Senator James Risch. Achilles is leading by 3 points, 41 to 38.
100
Aaron Brethorst @brethorsting.com · 14/03/2026
media.tenor.com
a cartoon dog is sitting in front of a fire with the words " it 's fine "
ALT: a cartoon dog is sitting in front of a fire with the words " it 's fine "
000