Last Friday, I wasted over an hour arguing with an LLM. I was reviewing a pull request I asked it to generate, and realized that three of the tests it wrote were either not useful or literally could never fail. I hate reading tests. Reading tests is hard and boring, but I always try to read them carefully. They’re your guardrails. They don’t always do a good job of capturing the nature of the…
A funny thing happened to me recently. It happened like this: I dropped off my kids at school, and then I biked up the street to our local bakery to buy a loaf of bread where, waiting in line, I heard a song come on the radio. Damn, I thought, this song is a bop . This is a real jam. What is this? I pulled out my phone, and it told me that I was listening to Midnight Sun by Zara Larsson. I put my…
Part of an Epigenetic Landscape from Waddington, C. H., The Strategy of the Genes (1957). I had not felt any change, but to the people around me it was as if I had been profoundly transformed. Strangers held the door open. Old people stopped to chat. Women smiled at me, a new and novel experience. I had transitioned, and rather suddenly at that. I was still getting used to it. One moment I was yet…
In 2025, I went to ~45 dance parties and/or raves. Here is a list of the best parties that I attended, presented in chronological order. At each of these parties I experienced a profound sense of healing. My Favourite Parties of 2025 Bassification: Techno Bootz – x3butterfly, myst milano, HVN, VUHNNY, EMRYSLAZULI (February 28, 2025) Exposure Therapy: B00TY C4LL – Ms Myles, Stella Maise, 999ADJ,…
A reflection on Ruby’s past, present, and future. This is a long essay. I strongly recommend you read it from the beginning, but to help navigate it I have created this table of contents. Prologue The Past How I Learned To Love Ruby A Breath Of Fresh Air A Shared Worldview The Present Tragedy Strikes Recent Conflict In The Community Strength and Weakness The Future Does any of this matter? Moving…
we disgorged the car onto the campsite, and hit the beach. we splashed against the waves, and ate cherries in the shade, and now my children, tired, lay like clumps on the sand. it was time for dinner. a fire takes a while to get going, so i led the kids on an expedition: we walked through a path in the bush and checked out Stubs’ General Store. i had spotted it from the car. a squat white house,…
In 2024, in my third year of being trans, I discovered that I like dancing. This came as a shock, way more surprising than the whole gender thing. You hit your late thirties and you think: you’ve got yourself pretty figured out. And then it turns out you don’t. Now I’m like – what else will I discover about myself? These days, if it’s been a while I start to crave it. Big sounds, big crowds,…
Nota bene: I’ve had a rough 2025 so far. I’m worried that people who used to support, or at least tolerate me, will turn against me out of a desire to conform, to show their obeisance, to the current prevailing winds. I found myself writing this essay to explain why I’ve been feeling so miserable. I sent it to Paul before I published it here. I met Paul Graham once. It was the summer of 2015, and…
Everyone Transitions People make a big deal out of transitioning your gender . Some people will call you brave, and others will threaten you with violence. Your friends and family might throw you a party, while your romantic partner might experience full on grief, and sit shiva for the person you used to be. It’s like a whole thing, but it doesn’t have to be. Here’s the deal: Everyone transitions…
What is the point of the Liberal party? Here is my problem: why does Justin Trudeau even want to govern anymore? As I write this, Trudeau is on the verge of stepping down, the dam has broken, his time is up, so fine – but I was thinking about this question six months ago. You can repeat this question for Bonnie Crombie, here in Ontario. (What does Bonnie Crombie want to do other than cut taxes ?…