The Libby app used for reading library books has a new feature — you can select whether you want to read books someone couldn't be bothered to write.

Looks like Go started getting nontrivial LLM-generated code commits a month ago.

Oh well, it was good while it lasted. #golang

« Linux creator and longtime lead maintainer Linus Torvalds turned to Anthropic’s Claude Code to tackle a kernel performance problem that developers have struggled with for more than two years. On Tuesday, he submitted a 10-patch series that delivered a 23-fold throughput improvement in a synthetic benchmark running on his Ryzen Threadripper.
[…]
Reviewers have since identified a race condition and raised concerns about memory reclamation. Torvalds has handed further development to Kiryl Shutsemau, a Linux kernel developer who previously worked on the same bottleneck. »

"Here's 10 PRs of workslop, someone else go fix it."

« Torvalds said the assistant wrote the implementation, tests, and initial documentation, and reviewed the code under his direction. »

So apparently he's already given up on "I'm reviewing all the code".

https://thenewstack.io/torvalds-claude-code-kernel/

Right, I've got OpenBSD running acceptably on the ThinkPad. WiFi, sound, suspend and resume, trackpad, RAID.

Last two minor issues are xenodm ignoring X11 DPI, and the CPU scaling needing to be turned down a bit so the fans don't run all the time.

Goodbye Linux, and 🖕to Linus. #BSD #Linux

I wrote about Linux going all-in on AI, and why it really shouldn't be a surprise — it's just Linus being the person he always was.

https://lpar.ath0.com/posts/2026/10/corporate-linux/

Google have realized that asking for $80m in tax breaks for a hyperscale data center wasn't helping their chances of getting it built.

I don't think it'll make locals change their minds, but it does show that there's no reason for cities to offer tax breaks to AI companies.

https://www.northernnewsnow.com/2026/10/14/google-drops-tax-abatement-request-proposed-hermantown-data-center/

The last few years have definitely inspired a few new kinds of application software.

I wrote about the personal reasons why I'm particularly angry about genAI.

https://www.midwist.com/posts/2026/10/burn-it-down/

Wikimedia signs a business deal with OpenAI to sell the content we built, and OpenAI attacks their web tools?

Ruby goes all in on genAI, and OpenAI inserts malware into RubyGems packages?

Linus invites AI use for kernel code, and kernel.org gets hammered by AI bots?

I'm going to need to stock up on strings for my tiny violin.

Scientists are feeding bees with genetically modified bee gut bacteria, to make them resistant to organophosphates.

The moral of the story: change the bee you want to see in the world.

https://igem.iit.edu/iitchicago-2026/description

How many of your neighbors do you know?

It worked for me.

The scientists gathered around the glowing terminal screen. Decades of international cooperation had led to this moment. Hyperscale data centers across the planet had been given high speed interconnections to form a single vast AI neural network. A year of careful testing had confirmed that the system was a genuine Artificial General Intelligence, and by making changes it had suggested, its problem-solving abilities had been boosted to superhuman levels.

A nervous scientist typed in a prompt:

> How can we solve the problem of global environmental collapse?

The machine blinked a cursor for a few seconds as it consulted its databanks of all digitized human knowledge. A million LLM agents were deployed to investigate possibilities. Nuclear power? Tokamak fusion reactors? Atmospheric carbon capture? Carbon taxes? New economic systems? New political systems? Better regulations?

In less than a minute, the AI reached its conclusion and began to respond.

"You want to solve the problem of global environmental collapse. This requires addressing the primary issues of water shortage, energy shortage, and carbon emissions. This is a complex issue with no single simple solution, and will need to be addressed in a series of small steps.

"I cannot predict the best approach for the entire process, but I have computed the best and easiest to implement approach for step 1: switch me off."

#MicroFiction

When I started working as a software developer decades ago, I heard that it was very important to have a career goal. I gave it some thought, and came up with one. That was a long time ago, but I’m glad to say I’ve finally achieved that career goal: I’ve retired early…

https://www.midwist.com/posts/2026/09/funemployment-and-pretirement/

Q: How do churches prevent dampness?

A: Basilica gel.

Something you might remember from childhood is cheap balsa wood plane kits. You would carefully assemble them — no glue needed — and they would actually fly. The fancy ones had a red plastic propeller and were powered by an elastic band. I just happened to think of them, and went and looked, and it turns out that the company that makes them is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

https://www.guillow.com/product-category/flying-toys/

Seen elsewhere: “If I wanted something from Apple that’s expensive and folds, I’d buy their CEO.”

RE: https://mastodon.social/@nixCraft/117241250895962141

Well, that's my project for tomorrow. I'd bookmarked OVHcloud in case DigitalOcean enshittified, anyone have any other suggestions? Preferably supporting OpenBSD, I might as well ditch Debian at the same time. #DigitalOcean

This is doing the rounds…

I wrote about music, and how I used to find it, and cult bands, and a Bandcamp Friday suggestion.

https://www.midwist.com/posts/2026/09/a-new-old-cult-band/ #BandcampFriday