Ben Pfaff

@benpfaff.bsky.social

345 Followers 422 Following

Co-founder and developer at feldera.com. GNU and former Debian developer. RenFaire enthusiast. He/him.

Dear Ben, Thank you for contacting WM. I appreciate your patience with your request to set up the service. I apologize for the back and forth of the emails. As per the area guideline, service are setup in the property owner's name. To very this please reply to this email which attached copy of the Sale Deed showing you as the owner, so we can setup the new service in your name.
Take, for example, American Tower Corporation’s edge data center in Raleigh, North Carolina, which I’ll mention a little later. This is a 1MW facility — or one-hundredth the size of a gigawatt facility — occupying 4000 sq ft of real estate at first and expanding to 16,000 if ATC actually gets it up to 4MW. That’s about two-and-a-bit times larger than the typical American home. And, from ground-breaking to ribbon-cutting, it took eleven months to complete. And that’s not including all the other necessary time-consuming bits, like finding land, securing permits, and so on.
A webpage titled "Google partner ad settings" that is otherwise a blank skeleton.
Three mini bottles of Scotch whiskey.
Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement were deployed at airports across the United States on Monday, but their presence did not initially appear to ease the pain of many travelers. Between 100 and 150 ICE officers were sent to the airports to assist Transportation Security Administration agents, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because that person was not authorized to discuss the matter.
My thumb lifts a small section of leather shoe upper away from the sole, where it has separated.
A screenshot of a Mastodon post: Ben Pfaff @blp@framapiaf.org A Scot told me the other day that only people who grew up in America like peanut butter. 38% Grew up in US, like peanut butter. 3% Grew up in US, don't like peanut butter. 42% Didn't grow up in US, like peanut butter. 16% Didn't grow up in US, don't like peanut butter. · 1,378 people · Closed
Title page of Computers and Typesetting, Volume E, by Donald Knuth, signed by the author.
Title page of Mostly Harmless, signed by Douglas Adams.
Techdirt commemorative coin, along with a paper label that says "Our 2026 Commemorative Coin celebrates 30 years of Section 230. Thank you for contributing to Techdirt's fundraiser. Your support helps keep independent media alive at a time when it's needed more than ever."
In https://docs.rs/openssl/latest/openssl/x509/index.html?search=brand: module openssl::rand Utilities for secure random number generation. method openssl::bn::BigNumRef::rand Generates a cryptographically strong pseudo-random BigNum, … assoc const openssl::nid::Nid::SET_BRAND assoc const openssl::nid::Nid::SET_BRAND_AMERICANEXPRESS assoc const openssl::nid::Nid::SET_BRAND_DINERS assoc const openssl::nid::Nid::SET_BRAND_IATA_ATA assoc const openssl::nid::Nid::SET_BRAND_JCB assoc const openssl::nid::Nid::SET_BRAND_MASTERCARD assoc const openssl::nid::Nid::SET_BRAND_NOVUS assoc const openssl::nid::Nid::SET_BRAND_VISA
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Selfie gazing into the camera in front of a mural of a woman doing the same thing
:sparkle: CI Memes and Warnings @lalith warns about posting CI memes, as the CI system does not take kindly to these insults.
Mapo tofu
Small screenshot showing the text "0 viruseses/problems found"
Hi Ben, Thank you so much for your warm reply—it really means a lot to me. Even though it has been nine years, your 2016 talk at Tsinghua continues to inspire our work today.
Hi Ben, I wanted to follow up on my recent note about your containerized solutions. If Feldera is exploring ways to improve mobility or streamline deployment, our container wheels could be a great fit. Here’s what our solutions offer: Increased flexibility Reduced operating costs Safe and practical mobility A more sustainable option With logistics hubs in both the US and EU, our casters are already helping teams in container rental, storage, and logistics cut down on equipment costs, labor, and time.
Google search for "how many bs in blueberry". The AI Overview says: "The word "blueberry" has three "b"s."
Zoomed in version of previous image, showing a "hand pointing" cursor pointing to a particular line number in the patch fragment.
A comment on a change in the GitHub conversation viewing, showing a patch fragment and a comment on it.
Black-and-white photo of a man in profile, wearing a shirt with a distinctive white-on-black polka dot pattern, hand poised at chin, looking forward, apparently deep in thought.
Three-quarter profile of me, sitting, in royal Renaissance garb.
In back, Queen Anne and King James I of England and Scotland (Erin and Spencer), and King Christian IV and Queen Ana of Denmark and Norway (Ben and Jayme); in front, Princess Augusta of Denmark and Norway (Vanessa).
Promotional photo for the KVMR Celtic Festival, May 2-4.
VMware sign with the letters removed leaving only a faint rusty shadow.
Window depicting a Cybertruck with Bitcoin logos, at Draper University in San Mateo.
Take the idea that "in software, hacks are forever." My favorite example of this comes from a different profession. The Dewey Decimal System hierarchically categorizes books by discipline. For example, Covered Bridges of Pennsylvania has Dewey number 624.37. 6-- is the technology discipline, 62- is engineering, 624 is civil engineering, and 624.3 is "special types of bridges". I have no idea what the last 0.07 means, but you get the picture. Now if you look at the 6-- "technology" breakdown, you'll see that there's no "software" subdiscipline. This is because when Dewey preallocated the whole technology block in 1876. New topics were instead to be added to the 00- "general-knowledge" catch-all. Eventually 005 was assigned to "software development", meaning The C Programming Language lives at 005.133. Incidentally, another late addition to the general knowledge block is 001.9: "controversial knowledge". And that's why my hometown library shelved the C++ books right next to The Mothman Prophecies.
MSU’s responses I’ve said it before: While we will follow the law, Michigan State will never abandon our core values. As a proudly public institution, that means extending opportunity to people of all backgrounds and opening our understanding to their lived experiences. We remain confident that Michigan State operates within all state and federal laws prohibiting race-based discrimination and preferences in educational and hiring settings. This university is fully engaged in supporting our students, faculty and staff in this moment of uncertainty and anxiety. Considering program disruptions, potential travel bans and high-profile deportations around the country, we are offering guidance and other resources to our international community through our Office of International Students and Scholars. As a leading global research university, we thrive on the contributions of our international scholars as we proudly serve the people of our state, nation and world. As I reported to our faculty and staff in a recent email, we are working across our administrative units and colleges to assess the financial impacts and respond to disruptions to our educational, research and outreach programs. No decisions have been made, but please know we remain committed to our land-grant mission of activating workforce-ready talent. Our Office of Government Relations coordinates advocacy for our work as we consult with lawmakers, agencies and partners while working through the courts and peer associations. Those who wish to add their voices can learn how on the Spartan Advocate website. Our 2025 Federal Transition website provides additional information and updates.
LinkedIn email excerpt suggesting that I should get an internship as a software engineer.
A pickup truck with "I IDENTIFY AS PRIUS" on the tailgate
DEC Rainbow 100, dual floppy, in a tower configuration.
Certificate for subscribing to The Onion.
(screenshot of Firefox bookmark manager) Name: docs.rs shortcut URL: http://docs.rs/%s Tags: Keyword: d
I started a lot more than 26 books this year. Long ago, I figured life was too short for books I wasn't enjoying, and I'm pretty ruthless about putting books down partway through if I think they're not going to reward finishing them. I probably start 10 books for every one I finish. However, I do review more than 90% of the books I get through. It's rare for me to keep reading a book all the way to the end if I'm not enjoying it enough to unconditionally recommend it. I rarely review books I don't like – there's not really any point in cataloging the list of books I think you won't enjoy reading, and most books I don't like very much are broken in ways that are too banal to comment upon.
A leather belt painted silver and gold with an elaborate pattern of (plastic) pearls.
🌟 Congratulations, Dr. Ben Pfaff! 🌟 The Guild of St. Margaret of Scotland is proud to announce that Dr. Ben Pfaff, a Charter Member and our very first Treasurer, has been overwhelmingly chosen by our members to receive the Order of St. Margaret of Scotland, the Guild's highest honour. This prestigious award is voted on annually by the membership and recognizes one individual who exemplifies extraordinary dedication, service, and impact on the Guild. Ben received over 65% of the vote in the first round, and after ranked-choice voting, an astounding 95% of the total votes—a testament to his immense contributions and the high regard in which he is held. The award will be formally presented at our new Year Party and Feast, where Ben will receive a special badge/favor to commemorate this honor. Please join us in celebrating @Robert Cecil (aka Ben) and his well-deserved recognition. No one is more deserving of this distinction. Thank you, Ben, for your unwavering commitment and exemplary leadership! 👏👏