Amitai Schleier

@schmonz@schmonz.com

Force multiplier.
Outcome improver.
Decision sharer.
Developer, leader, coach.
https://agilein3minut.es podcaster.
Musician.
Bad poet (award-winning).
JoinedApr 05, 2017 (@octodon.social)
SelfHostedMar 30, 2025
Pronounshe/they
Podcasthttps://agilein3minut.es
Consultancyhttps://latentagility.com
Morehttps://schmonz.com

Parade du Grotesque šŸ’€ Ā»
@ParadeGrotesque@mastodon.sdf.org

All right, pkgsrc 2025Q1 has just been announced on the mailing lists.

It's not even on pkgsrc.org yet! šŸ˜‰

    ...

    jmcunx Ā»
    @jmcunx@mastodon.sdf.org

    @ParadeGrotesque

    I have a "theory" :)

    The announcement is for source code. It takes about 2 or 3 weeks for things to replicate and binaries to be built.

      ...

      Parade du Grotesque šŸ’€ Ā»
      @ParadeGrotesque@mastodon.sdf.org

      @jmcunx

      Hmm... You do know pkgsrc is "download source and compile", right?

        ...

        jmcunx Ā»
        @jmcunx@mastodon.sdf.org

        @ParadeGrotesque
        Yes. but it also has a binary component with pkgin

          ...

          Parade du Grotesque šŸ’€ Ā»
          @ParadeGrotesque@mastodon.sdf.org

          @jmcunx

          Yes, but pkgin is supposed to be synchronized (give or take a couple of days) with the source release.

          At least, that's my understanding...

            George Dinwiddie Ā»
            @gdinwiddie@mastodon.social

            @schmonz
            New account on your own server?

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              Amitai Schleier Ā»
              @schmonz@schmonz.com

              @gdinwiddie@mastodon.social Yes! Very excited about it, now that it's done, including a decent-enough migration of my posts.

              (Before that, I was nervous I wouldn't get it done before the old instance goes offline in a few days: https://octodon.social/@CobaltVelvet/112897672123037837)

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                George Dinwiddie Ā»
                @gdinwiddie@mastodon.social

                @schmonz
                Ahh, self hosting: the joy of knowing you can set things up the way you want; the drudgery of knowing you have to set things up the way you want. šŸ„¹

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                  Amitai Schleier Ā»
                  @schmonz@schmonz.com

                  @gdinwiddie@mastodon.social I seem to have a general preference for this mandatory sort of option. Also I much prefer the failure modes of self-hosting, especially since I opted out (many years ago) of hardware being my problem.

                    Amitai Schleier Ā»
                    @schmonz@octodon.social

                    I've moved to @schmonz@schmonz.com. Follow me there if you're not already automatically doing so.

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                      Amitai Schleier Ā»
                      @schmonz@schmonz.com

                      I've moved from @schmonz@octodon.social. Follow me here if you're not already automatically doing so.

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        When you're stuck in a silo, cooperating goes against the grain.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114220149548860742

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        Writing a book about how to do X means you know how to write a book about how to do X.

                        We usually assume it also means you know how to do X. Often true, but not always.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114214438811596915

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        If folks form a support group to manage the effects of being managed by you, then we have different definitions of "leadership". Also, yours is incorrect.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114212290997703696

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        Kiddo had song requests for his MP3 player. I used pkgin on his Mac to install yt-dlp and ffmpeg to do the job, and he (1) thinks Iā€™m a magician and (2) wanted to try running the commands himself. #pkgsrc



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114209142595639671

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        Sure, practice #refactoring so that your code is likely more amenable to the next needed change.

                        But don't sleep on how it also makes you likely more amenable to the next needed refactoring.

                        #XPLives



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114186131289660261

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @gdinwiddie something like "We're placing a bigger bet. We're declaring our intention for the next months (or years!) to be less creative than usual about delivering value, to be less flexible about what to do by when, to be less responsive when the business's needs change." (from https://agilein3minut.es/20)



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114155986212420591

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        Projects are inherently risky.

                        Projects that by design cannot promptly demonstrate return (or no return) on investment are extra risky.

                        Saying these things out loud does not suffice to indemnify us, or me.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114155773325502483

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        When negative feedback is vague and unactionable, it might still somehow be a gift.

                        When negative feedback thatā€™s vague and unactionable comes from someone with power-over, itā€™s negligent, irresponsible, and destructive.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114152175330041608

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @deborahh yes and but when I donā€™t self-host something I always wind up paying an unpredictable duration of effort at an unpredictable juncture, or tolerating a loss, or both. My XP brain would rather amortize the cost and live comfortably with the knowledge that the sword of Damocles is no longer hanging.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114139980812459954

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        Unfortunately, as I probably already know, not self-hosting always ends up costing more.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114124384254419752

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        In private mail today: "Thank you very much for creating https://schmonz.com/software/acceptutils/, it really is the most elegant solution to modernize #qmail."

                        In the same message: "Is this a bug in acceptutils or did I make a configuration mistake?" A bug, and now I'm freshly motivated to fix!



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114118440301846001

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @jlink Yes! This is my XP as well: we talk out loud about risks and decide together how to manage them.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114105346014181834

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @billseitz Agreed -- is there any kind of payoff/traction/insight we can start reaping? Let's be reaping it.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114104981594522610

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @RonJeffries That's a good reminder. I remember a project where we spent the first few weeks dealing with our worry that our persistence layer would prevent us from meeting the given deadline. Instead we found that it might be fine, and if it did get in the way we'd have some likely cheap-enough and effective-enough mitigation steps.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114104974620486416

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        For my XP peeps:

                        When designing a project, do you always prioritize closing the feedback loop of ROI (or lack thereof) as early as possible?

                        Might you ever choose to defer closing that loop because you need something else sooner? If so, what kind of something could that be?



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114101416122410103

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @RonJeffries Thatā€™s how I see it (and myself) too. To have a chance of choosing different behaviors Iā€™d have to have different goals. But Iā€™ve got the ones Iā€™ve got, via some combination of ā€œthatā€™s what I understand XP to meanā€ + ā€œthatā€™s how I can act congruentlyā€ + ā€œthatā€™s what has delivered my best business resultsā€. So itā€™s hard to imagine other goals being worthwhile in comparison.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114038460459018396

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @JayBazuzi yes, yes, a thousand times yes.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114038430195049232

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @JayBazuzi more often than not, in a group context, when some of us think weā€™re ready to set a task down, at least one of us feels strongly that itā€™s not okay yet the way it is. When Iā€™m coaching I figure (1) thereā€™s always more to improve later no matter what we do now, (2) I trust us to notice whatā€™s bothering is later, and (3) we all have limited daily learning budgets so I try to pick my spots.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114037887871867855

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @RonJeffries well I certainly think so. But I try to remain interested in reasoning to the contrary, and at times like these my motivation for trying is a little stronger.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114037797296851769

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @qcoding @davenicolette@mastodon.social me too. Of the priorities being traded off, only one of them can be a means to the other, so for me that means itā€™s it likely strategically advantageous. And itā€™s a means to other desirable ends as well. And (for me this is the kicker) itā€™s a desirable end in itself. Anyway, Iā€™m strenuously agreeing with you.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114037776949305826

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        For my XP peeps: do you usually prioritizeā€¦

                        (1) Collective ownership and incremental shared learning over the absolute quality of todayā€™s code

                        or

                        (2) The other way around

                        or

                        (3) Both, somehow

                        ?



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114033512703982938

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        Geek's night out with several of my XP mentors and past teammates, reviewing our various approaches to a programming exercise. Just the kind of recharging I'm needing.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114028249972263916

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        Something thatā€™s mine to keep: ā€œI learned a ton, we got lots done, our team dynamics were awesome, and Iā€™ve never felt this kind of team feeling before.ā€

                        I imagine there are workplaces wishing for this. But first, more time for more reflection.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/114022190959851912

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @DianaOfPortland if just one person avoids faching it ab...



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113827970062821449

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        Last time I attended a whole-company internal conference was 2017 (https://schmonz.com/2017/02/18/pillarcon-2017-fundamentals-of-c-and-embedded).

                        Last time I saw @Soulcraftswoman was only slightly less long ago. Any minute now!



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113827941900302662

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        Incorrect Generalizations with Amitai:

                        einfach = simple
                        vielfach = complicated
                        nullfach = impossible



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113810905667268443

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @JayBazuzi mmm yes. When thatā€™s happening, things are going really well.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113527112203370675

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @davenicolette@mastodon.social heh. Strong agreement. Itā€™s sometimes convenient to have expertise in some area or other, as a means to some end, but is very much not the job.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113527109226564979

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        In todayā€™s retro we observed and appreciated how expertise is located not primarily in one of us, but in each of us, and how this aids cohesion, well-feeling, and performance.

                        (Itā€™s foundational to my coaching practice that I not be the expert. As usual, working as intended.)



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113524000073224319

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        On one hand (the hand I always start with), I did not accomplish all I intended for this trip.

                        On the other hand (the hand I often manage to continue on to), I was able to make the trip, am already booked for the next one, and can easily imagine itā€™ll go better.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113487468540209682

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @GeePawHill going for ā€œmore than linearā€, like it doesnā€™t just get more risky the more you defer, it gets more more risky



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113487402840222763

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        "Dependency", n.

                        1. Not your code, but can break your code

                        2. Will one day dictate your schedule

                        3. Will own you more superlinearly the more you defer dealing with it



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113483922176430700

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        Sitting together in a room programming for the first time in years. Running mobster.cc, even, to help us take turns. Happy memories from a very different time in my life. #MobProgramming #EnsembleProgramming



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113477105547170370

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        First work trip in nearly five years.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113471419164554465

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @deborahh @gdinwiddie knew weā€™d eventually find something in common



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113442005147421459

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        Days like these I turn to Mompou. His music sounds like another world, but so close we could almost reach it. It could be ours. https://youtu.be/iQBkcG0CNjU



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113442001941754316

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @cazabon to my ears, a very sensible first-order weighing of costs and risks. And probably similar to how I decide.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113427714614081928

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @grantlemons yes, important for me too. All code is a liability, all dependencies doubly so, but this sounds like a case where thatā€™s less costly/risky than what Iā€™d come up with on my own.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113427705518558228

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @JayBazuzi these are real good, and probably close to the ones Iā€™d have managed to come up with.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113427694766075530

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        Coaches, is it like this for you too?

                        Iā€™m almost never sure of any specific next move.

                        AND

                        Iā€™m almost always sure of my general skill at coming up with next moves.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113427648390731270

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        The choice: either take a library dependency, or solve the problem another way.

                        When would you? When wouldnā€™t you? Either way, how do you mitigate the risk of your choice?

                        What are some of the key factors that go into each such decision?

                        All else equal, whatā€™s your preference?



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113410458716569826

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        @mamash shell be the first to say she globbed me the best she could, but sheā€™s a bit of a wildcard. (Sorry this took so long to process. Iā€™m a child of my environment.)



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113399200550780644

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                        Amitai Schleier Ā»
                        @schmonz@schmonz.com

                        A fall morning in the neighborhood.



                        original post: https://octodon.social/@schmonz/113399137728390774

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