iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 22/08/2026

In Berlin Monday. Not sure how much time I’ll have free — possibly none — but if you’ll be around, let me know.

Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 12/05/2026

Yes, it’s smart to invest in ratcheting down software maintenance costs over time. But as a sucker for congruence, I’m far more interested in hearing this kind of message from folks whose leadership skill level and style don’t incur such heavy costs of their own.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 14/04/2026

After a much-needed break from work, I’m pleased to be back at it. In my new role I’ll get to: 1. Make full use of my particular set of skills AND (this is a big and) 2. Have their results be appreciated. Here’s what I’ll see when I occasionally go to the office.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 03/04/2026

Tomorrow, a job well done, it goes to piano Valhalla. Thanks, old friend, for all the music. Its replacement: a 1968 Baldwin Model R Artist Series my parents found for an even better bargain. Thanks, new friend, for all the music to come.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 03/04/2026

It whispered Debussy to our music-loving dog as he passed. It sang Medtner to my parents on their 50th. And for its own 100th it held out well enough for Daily and then Weekly Piano Miniatures.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 03/04/2026

Once I'd shown myself serious about piano, my parents bargain-hunted this 1923 Baldwin baby for a few grand.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 02/04/2026

Always loved the 11” MacBook Air. For tray table usage, still undefeated.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 19/02/2026

Even though I know to expect this, there’s always a Marc-André Hamelin moment that catches me out. Years ago, for instance, a pedaled downward gliss with every note enunciated, waves stacking so precisely as to sound electronic. Tonight’s moment was in the Etude-Tableau.

Haydn, Zappa, Wolpe, Oswald, Medtner, Rachmaninoff

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 02/02/2026

We were not formally introduced, but my style of scratching passed muster. Being assigned the task of carrying the weight of a donkey’s head for a few minutes is a privilege.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 17/01/2026

snac is Unixy enough for me to enjoy my occasional dealings with my self-hosted instance. Not skaware, but not a big pile of stuff either.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 03/01/2026

Why yes, those hostnames *are* products from the Precious Roy Shopping Network, thank you so much for noticing my naming scheme! Last time I had a NAS it was “bottomless-pool” — perfect, no notes, would love to reuse it — but this 2006 Mac Pro has had its name for 20 years.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 03/01/2026

Live-upgraded MacPro1,1 NAS to OMV 8. Reboot failed. Of course I forgot something about 32-bit UEFI grub2. Booted 8’s ISO without any special grub flags. (On this box, whoa.) Easy repair. These were my final big questions. I now trust this system with my data. Blog post soon.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 01/01/2026

Today’s #pkgsrc hacking: 1. Get fastfetch and all of its dependencies building on Mac OS 10.9 #MavericksForever 2. Include pkgsrc in the package report

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 11/12/2025

It’s hard to fix something because it’s easy to break something else? That’s your clue: refactor first. (Special case of the general KFB wisdom “First make the change easy, then make the easy change.”) #Refactoring #ExtremeProgramming #XPLives

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Reposted by Amitai Schleier

Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 21/11/2025

Periodic reminder: if you’re intrigued by a job posting touting #ExtremeProgramming, maybe it’s what it claims to be. I hope so. But maybe not. Hit up your network before applying. If you’re reading this, I’m in your network.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 21/11/2025

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 18/11/2025

If #EngineeringLeadership doesn’t believe neurospicy folks can strengthen a team, they’re simply wrong. Maybe they’ll learn. But if a supposed #ExtremeProgramming expert doesn’t grok this, such remarkably deep failure of understanding indicates ignorance AND profound obstinacy.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 16/11/2025

Turns out it doesn’t matter how wide-eyed and well-intentioned your imaginings are if your boss is determined to not appreciate you.

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Reposted by Amitai Schleier

Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 13/11/2025

If you don’t know how to care for people and don’t care to learn, by definition — no matter how convincingly you write, speak, and code — you are not an #ExtremeProgramming expert. And when you take a power position and try to enact XP among humans, we can see you’re a charlatan.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 13/11/2025

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 13/11/2025

2018 Mac mini was already being weird. Then macOS Tahoe dropped support. Usually I'd want NetBSD. But the only option was Linux, and it's pretty darn okay. Here's my setup: schmonz.com/2025/11/12/s... (Writing... muscles... loosening.) #macos #linux #netbsd

schmonz.com

Small Macs

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Reposted by Amitai Schleier

Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 30/09/2024

Got some slack time? Pick a risk to reduce. Got no slack time? Defer something, then pick a cost to reduce. #ContinuousImprovement

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 29/09/2025

#SenderRewritingScheme with #notqmail via #pkgsrc: echo srs.dom.ain > control/srs_domain echo "$SECRET" > control/srs_secrets echo srs.dom.ain >> control/rcpthosts echo srs.dom.ain:srs >> control/virtualdomains echo "| srsfilter" > alias/.qmail-srs-default + MX for srs.dom.ain

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 29/09/2025

#qmail lacks #TLS. #notqmail doesn't include it either (yet!). But if you install from #pkgsrc… # chown qmaild:nofiles control/servercert.pem # chmod 640 control/servercert.pem # ln -s control/servercert.pem control/clientcert.pem # update_tmprsadh # /etc/rc.d/qmail restart 🔐

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 29/09/2025

For our next trick with #notqmail from #pkgsrc: Want to SMTP-reject SPF failures when the source domain specifies explicit-fail? 1. Add SPP_SPF_RESULT_FAIL="E550 spf_smtp_msg" to control/tcprules/smtp 2. Run "/etc/rc.d/qmailsmtpd cdb" 3. There is no 3rd thing, is that clear?

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 28/09/2025

Another neat trick with #notqmail from #pkgsrc: The default SMTP configuration rejects nonexistent recipients. (qmail famously accepts all recipients for its domains even when those recipients don't exist, and then has to queue totally avoidable bounce messages. But you won't.)

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 28/09/2025

Another #notqmail from #pkgsrc trick: To enable #greylisting, simply uncomment "greylisting-spp-wrapper" in control/smtpplugins. That’s it. (Add any exempt recipient addresses to control/greylist/exemptrcpts, or entire recipient domains to control/greylist/exemptrcpthosts.)

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 27/09/2025

Running #notqmail via qmail-run from #pkgsrc? Cool. Add #DKIM signing like so, then publish a TXT record with your `default` policy. Done!

$# mkdir -p control/domainkeys/dom.ain # chown -R qmailr control/domainkeys # cd control/domainkeys/dom.ain # openssl genrsa -out default 1024 # chmod 640 default # openssl rsa -in default \ -pubout -out default.pub$

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 19/09/2025

Most practical experts don’t write a book. Distinct tasks, incentives, skills. For the same reasons, some published authors are better at describing than at enacting. Maybe an author really knows, in context, under stress, how to *do* the thing. Maybe not. #ExtremeProgramming

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Reposted by Amitai Schleier

Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 15/09/2025

Unfortunately, even if the person following these steps loves #ExtremeProgramming (and is widely held to be expert in it), they’re no less destructive.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 15/09/2025

Unfortunately, even if the person following these steps loves #ExtremeProgramming (and is widely held to be expert in it), they’re no less destructive.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 15/09/2025

Hate #ExtremeProgramming and want others to hate it? 1. Become Director of Engineering 2. Tell org and stakeholders that XP will fix longstanding problems 3. Regularly interfere with devs’ learning 4. Design projects to delay ROI 5. Find scapegoats Maybe they’ll blame #XP.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 13/09/2025

Also: not a success, at least not in his eyes. I've had a much easier time making appreciable progress when working with folks in power positions who don't imagine themselves to be XP experts.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 13/09/2025

It ended a while back. The guy is still periodically hiring for job descriptions featuring #ExtremeProgramming, cashing in on his reputation in this niche. After plenty of time to decompress, I continue to feel the need to warn folks as best I can.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 13/09/2025

Ha. I wonder what the audience for that might be. My most recent talk (which was also the first in quite a while) was sort of in the same vein: schmonz.com/2024/05/10/n...

schmonz.com

NYC Large Scale Scrum May 2024: Not So Extreme Programming

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 13/09/2025

Demoralizing, too. Had me (and not only me) questioning my competence and perceptions. And the guy is still hiring.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 13/09/2025

If you love #ExtremeProgramming and you see a rare opportunity to be hired specifically for that, you might jump at the chance. I do. I did. Maybe in your case it’ll be what it sounds like. I hope so. But beware.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 13/09/2025

If the only code you’re ever satisfied with is your own, you’re not qualified for #TechnicalLeadership. Especially if you’re sure you are. If the only bits of #ExtremeProgramming you’ve mastered are the technical ones, you’re not an XP expert. Especially if you’re sure you are.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 12/09/2025

If you think #ExtremeProgramming coaches have to “know the most” or “be the most technical”, you might not understand coaching, influence, or your own technique-acquisition process. If you’re still sure of your understanding, regardless of cost to you and others… clownshoes.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 10/09/2025

If you repeatedly fail to perceive or appreciate what reputable #ExtremeProgramming coaches are accomplishing in your org, maybe you’re a great leader who doesn’t know yet what specifically to look for. If you do this while claiming to be an #XP expert, that’s clownshoes.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 08/09/2025

Fascinating 1:1 feedback: “I hired you largely on the strength of recommendations from our shared network. But maybe that was just a mutual admiration society.” What does this feedback reveal about the giver? Would you expect them to be a skilled leader or manager?

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 08/09/2025

“We learned a ton, we got lots done, our team dynamics were awesome, and I’ve never felt this kind of team feeling before.” Leaders are not obligated to value such feedback. But if they don’t, they oughtn’t claim to value #ExtremeProgramming. They value something incompatible.

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 07/09/2025

If you believe the remit of an expert is to (1) know what’s best and (2) push everyone through doing it, you might not understand expertise. #KnowledgeWork #EngineeringLeadership

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Amitai Schleier @schmonz.com · 06/09/2025

Beware anyone elucidating the workings of great teams who’s almost certainly never been anyone’s great teammate.

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