![\"\"](\"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/1000x/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.bsky.app%2Fimg%2Ffeed_fullsize%2Fplain%2Fdid%3Aplc%3Ar5shvvsyaq3kfatc3novwud6%2Fbafkreiaiekaub3sabnh3dlrl36w32bxn3hmn3l7pqqkj76x5si5rhj2s5i\")
\"We've reserved your LinkedIn handle on our new site that you've never heard of before we sent you this email\" would've been another way to phrase this. :-/
๐ Hyperpolitics explores how we got to the current state of politics: everything feels intensely political, yet very little changes.
It was fascinating to read his analysis, but I wish it had been written in more accessible language.
3/5 โญ
Full review: puf.io/books/hyperpo...
Published in 1998, Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Talents was set in a near-future post-apocalyptic world. By now its story begins just a few years into the future and is eerily recognizable.
A hard book to read, for all the right reasons.
โ
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puf.io/books/parable...
โEvil begins when you begin to treat people as things.โ
- Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight
When you just started getting used to Gemini 4 Argon...
Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve in San Francisco has a dense forest area, with eucalyptus trees (up to 200 feet tall), and lots of underbrush (lots of ferns, blackberries, and ivy) rolling over the hills.
It's a great area for intermediate-level hiking on a hot day.
More ๐
1/2
![\"\"](\"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/1000x/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.bsky.app%2Fimg%2Ffeed_fullsize%2Fplain%2Fdid%3Aplc%3Ar5shvvsyaq3kfatc3novwud6%2Fbafkreichlz2uilyn73jwnvfrutlo4u3ejqxjyeqlfsf6f4tijal4ell444\")
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\n๐๐ฃ Based on Vonnegut's experience as a POW during the bombing of Dresden, Slaughterhouse-Five mixes war memoir, science fiction, and dark comedy in one very unusual book.
I found it an interesting read.
Rating: โ
โ
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โ
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Full review: puf.io/books/slaught...
๐๐ช I enjoyed the Veronica Mars TV show, movie, and audiobooks this year, so Neptune Noir seemed like a no-brainer.
However, the essays in this book are not written by the Veronica Mars creator, and I found them mostly uninteresting. โญโญโโโ
Review: puf.io/books/neptune...
","summary":"","url":"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:r5shvvsyaq3kfatc3novwud6/post/3my6iduepxb27","date_published":"2026-10-18T20:52:34+00:00","author":{"name":"Frank van Puffelen","url":"http://puf.io","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2F4df6cf8a2fa4219b0990c579e3f5cffd%3Fs%3D96%26d%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fmicro.blog%252Fimages%252Fblank_avatar.png","_microblog":{"username":"puf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-18 20:52","date_timestamp":1792356754,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99456893","content_html":"When I hiked in Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve recently, I noticed these \"dollhouse\" structures on a few tree trunks. A very cute distraction on an intermediate hike in one of the many beautiful parks in San Francisco.
More: puf.io/socials/2026-...
![\"\"](\"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/1000x/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.bsky.app%2Fimg%2Ffeed_fullsize%2Fplain%2Fdid%3Aplc%3Ar5shvvsyaq3kfatc3novwud6%2Fbafkreidecxprruvncztck6wa3ke4sjtycwgbdpjkwwzlwcxce372e7x4um\")
\n๐ The Amber Spyglass seems to be the most divisive book in Pullmanโs oft-praised trilogy. Given how explicitly it deals with religion, I get how it may be hard to stomach for certain folks.
For me, though, it was a fascinating exploration of these ideas
๐๐ณ๏ธ While Terry Pratchett is best known for his Discworld series, he also wrote a decent number of books outside of the Discworld universe. Dodger came out in 2012, after The Long Earth and before Raising Steam.
Book details and my review ๐ in ๐งต
1/3
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\n๐๐ Great setup and writing in John Scalziโs 3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years, especially how the different travelers and their goals let the story explore several time-travel scenarios.
I found the ending less satisfying than Iโd hoped for, though.
โ
โ
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โโ
๐๐ฅ I loved Lords and Ladies. Beautiful but cruel elves, Granny Weatherwax at her kind-but-not-nice best, and Magrat growing from a \"wet hen\" (Granny's words, not mine) into a confident warrior queen. ๐ธ๐ก๏ธ
Rating: โ
โ
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Full review: puf.io/books/lords-a...
The first personal computer I owned was an Atari 600XL, which we then upgraded to 48KB memory.
Now, I know I'm probably not gonna do a lot with this device, but still... it's an awesome retro kit.
Google makes it easier to launch your vibe-coded apps | The Verge
www.theverge.com/tec...
The future of apps for hands full of users is bright ๐
๐ Octavia Butler's Parable of the Talents started showing up in my book recommendations regularly in recent years. First published in 1998, its recent resurgence likely has to do with its narrative of a social and economic collapse of the US.
โ โ โ โ โ
The Reddit filters/bots can appear pretty aggressive at times.
For example, when I read that first removed comment in the screenshot, it looked OK at first glance.
Then I saw the second one, and... OK, now it seems like ๐ค๐ง indeed.
Kudos for keeping up with it, Reddit ๐
1/2
Oooh... look, there is a new icon on my book reviews on puf.io now. ๐
It linked to GoodReads already, but if a review is also posted to BookHive (which should be happening automatically), it now also has a link to bookhive.buzz.
Details โฌ๏ธ
1/3
๐๐ธ I first heard of Slaughterhouse-Five back in my teens, when it was on the allowed-reading list for English classes in my Dutch high school. It took me four decades, but I finally read this Vonnegut classic. ๐
Rating: โ โ โ โ โ
Full review: puf.io/books/slaught...
๐๐ 3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years by John Scalzi has a fun time-travel premise, with travelers returning after one of said internals while changes in the past create new timelines.
Most of the story executes that premise well. The ending less so.
โ
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๐๐ฅฎ At Florecita Panaderia on 23rd and Bartlett in San Francisco, each perfectly sized concha is baked right on site where you can see them. And smell themโฆ oh my gosh, can you smell them!
More pics: puf.io/socials/2026-...
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\n๐ The Amber Spyglass is much more philosophical than the previous two books, exploring free will, divine authority, and how love can take many forms.
For me, it was a fascinating exploration of these ideas and a good ending to an interesting trilogy.
The free edition of the Pragmatic Engineer Newsletter dives deep into the problems in Firebase SDKs that affected many iOS apps last week.
TL;DR: a back-end change caused the iOS SDKs to crash. The fix was to roll back the back-end change.
The Pulse: Firebaseโs global outage & poor...
bsky.app","summary":"","url":"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:r5shvvsyaq3kfatc3novwud6/post/3mxhiskx3b22w","date_published":"2026-10-09T17:29:33+00:00","author":{"name":"Frank van Puffelen","url":"http://puf.io","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2F4df6cf8a2fa4219b0990c579e3f5cffd%3Fs%3D96%26d%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fmicro.blog%252Fimages%252Fblank_avatar.png","_microblog":{"username":"puf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-09 17:29","date_timestamp":1791566973,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98949463","content_html":"I agree with you, Google, that looks like some seriously scary JSON data there. ๐ซฃ
Firestore's count API gets expensive fast.
Here's a neat trick:
* estimate the document count from just 100-200 IDs
* at a fixed cost, no matter how large the collection
Full explanation: puf.io/posts/firesto...
","summary":"","url":"https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:r5shvvsyaq3kfatc3novwud6/post/3mxfrgrqwox2b","date_published":"2026-10-09T00:58:41+00:00","author":{"name":"Frank van Puffelen","url":"http://puf.io","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2F4df6cf8a2fa4219b0990c579e3f5cffd%3Fs%3D96%26d%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fmicro.blog%252Fimages%252Fblank_avatar.png","_microblog":{"username":"puf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-09 00:58","date_timestamp":1791507521,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"56442168","content_html":"\n\n\n. val.town is an amazing service and has the concept of inbound email โvalsโ. Vals are small chunks of TypeScript/JS attached to an email address that when emailed will run.
\n
How the heck is this part not in the main feature list, while outbound email is?!?
\nEmail is the original queueing system, and it still scales very well.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/puf/56442168","date_published":"2025-01-31T18:31:44+00:00","author":{"name":"Frank van Puffelen","url":"http://puf.io","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2F4df6cf8a2fa4219b0990c579e3f5cffd%3Fs%3D96%26d%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fmicro.blog%252Fimages%252Fblank_avatar.png","_microblog":{"username":"puf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2025-01-31 18:31","date_timestamp":1738348304,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"14927025","content_html":"@paul.kinlan.me ๐๐๐
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/puf/14927025","date_published":"2022-12-14T05:01:12+00:00","author":{"name":"Frank van Puffelen","url":"http://puf.io","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2F4df6cf8a2fa4219b0990c579e3f5cffd%3Fs%3D96%26d%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fmicro.blog%252Fimages%252Fblank_avatar.png","_microblog":{"username":"puf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2022-12-14 05:01","date_timestamp":1670994072,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}}]}![\"\"](\"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/1000x/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.bsky.app%2Fimg%2Ffeed_fullsize%2Fplain%2Fdid%3Aplc%3Ar5shvvsyaq3kfatc3novwud6%2Fbafkreihpfgfgwaagry2sjtmf5imtasqh6f23qk4dqyeqemoa4p7b5o3gh4\")
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