Brett Terpstra

He/him. Developer, Blogger, Podcaster. Day job at Oracle.

#adhd, #bipolar, #cptsd with a wonderful #autistic partner

Working to deal with #pots #mcas #hsd #tos

Public Key

npub1kexpfg832ewp9xcjs6f2gc5f2nv9qw8w8uf0680s9hhrcptj2ntshjue6k

NIP-05 Address

ttscoff@hachyderm-io.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqstvnq55rc4vhqjnvfgdy4yv2y4fkzs8rhr7yharhczmm3uq4e9f4c3vtmgd

Author Public Key

npub1kexpfg832ewp9xcjs6f2gc5f2nv9qw8w8uf0680s9hhrcptj2ntshjue6k

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Last Notes

2025-06-11 14:55:40

Check it out. Open a DOCX file in Marked, edit in Word with live update of the preview with instant Markdown export. I'm aiming to release in no more than 8 weeks.
(Still have to update website and marketing, finish documentation, and figure out the subscription handling across multiple vendor platforms, which I think is going to take a bit of time/effort.)
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/114/665/307/134/396/970/original/1bab254b771f4f1c.mp4

2025-06-05 13:19:54

How my day is going.
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/114/630/956/797/804/955/original/6ca20a642e84243f.png

2025-06-02 17:11:16

Oh cool I have bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome that requires surgery. I mean, it would be nice to feel my fingers again, but I'm currently on Medical Assistance and have no idea if it will cover it. Add it to my list of things that have gone wrong in the last 2 years.

2025-05-22 17:45:17

Watch an ethics professor explain why Luigi is Luke Skywalker.
https://youtu.be/Zzi3xKBRpT4?si=qbyFMvecRcLcap5O

2025-05-04 14:24:33

I really don’t think people understand that negative reviews affect a developers bottom line. I just got one that said they were upset Marked isn’t an editor. It never claimed to be, and specifically says it isn’t. So you’re leaving a negative review about that? That’s like leaving a negative Yelp review of a Mexican restaurant because you were in the mood for Thai.

2025-04-30 18:12:31

A HUGE thank you to everyone for their support and encouragement. I can't say I love losing my job, but I’m excited about new opportunities. A bunch of people have signed up to offer me monthly support, and that's a huge relief for me and my family.
If you want to support my work now that I don't have a day job to supplement my passions, please consider joining!
https://brettterpstra.com/support/
(I think I really want to work at Apple — I have a couple of recommendations from the inside, but if you or anyone you know wants to offer one, let me know!)

2025-04-24 01:44:41

Funniest thing I saw today.
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/114/390/406/116/111/187/original/67b5e79c7d0be6e3.jpeg

2025-04-18 17:33:27

Whew. That giveaway series lasted over a year and a half. That might be the longest I've stuck with anything in a while. Took lots of coordinating, coding, and automation, and 82 giveaways later we're down to the last one: CleanShot X (2nd round), a worthy app to finish the series on. Final giveaway starts Monday, with the whole series ending next Friday.
https://brettterpstra.com/giveaways/upcoming/

2025-04-16 16:08:04

I have a new respect for COBOL, a language I really don't know that much about.
https://hackaday.com/2025/04/16/porting-cobol-code-and-the-trouble-with-ditching-domain-specific-languages/?__readwiseLocation=
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/114/348/502/597/302/055/original/2aa0479bc4d5ed5a.png

2025-04-08 20:45:43

- reply

@nprofile…upxh they are using a grand total of zero % of what I'm actually good at. I'm banging my head trying to learn new things when I could easily be doing what I'm good at, and then I'm chastised for taking too long to learn an entirely new skill or understand unfamiliar offerings well enough to do things like technical edits on articles about that service. It's been 3 weeks, and I'm told that a person at my level should have had it — and 10 other skill — figured out by now.
I'm too old for this shit.

2025-04-08 20:11:58

I am not a fan of behind the scenes machinations and covert politicking. Never cared for “mean girls.” (The concept, not the movie. The movie was great.)
My manager (whom I've known for all of 3 weeks) is almost certainly trying to get me fired. Create a hostile work environment, check. Apply arbitrary deadlines to unreasonable requests, then hold me accountable for missing them, check. Never interact as a human with human empathy, and format every email as evidence for HR, check. And PIP in progress, even though she won't say that's what it is.
If I survive the next month, I might have found a new team. Either way, this situation is short lived. I transfer teams, or I’m unemployed (well, “independent”). I don't see any other way this plays out.
Thanks to everyone who's reached out to say supportive things. I do appreciate it :).

2025-04-06 23:27:37

How do you think the unthinkable?
With an itheberg.

2025-03-31 13:08:51

Lately on the blog: Keyboard Maestro giveaway!
https://brettterpstra.com/2025/03/31/keyboard-maestro-giveaway/?utm_campaign=blog_post&utm_source=mastodon

2025-03-19 21:00:56

I want a documentary consisting of just clips of that 5-10 seconds after you say “ok, see ya" but before one of the participants ends the zoom call. Call it “In search of the button” and make it at least an hour long. It would be so relatable to so many people, I imagine an Oscar in its future.

2025-03-17 19:37:57

I'm so close to quitting and going back to “Indie Developer.” I would love to put more time into my apps, and I think this go round I could make better decisions — build a new app or three, leverage subscriptions, pay the rent and keep some savings.
Work for myself. Work on things I give a shit about. Do it for love, not out of fear of losing my livelihood and my health insurance.

2025-03-16 15:03:58

I'm old enough to remember thinking a $6 beer at a bar was crazy expensive. Now I get a bill and the beer is $6.50 with a .50 daily special discount and I'm like "SCORE!”

2025-03-15 18:36:37

What would you call the utensil on the right (table knife for size comparison). It’s not a spatula or turner, more like a flat spoon.
It’s the perfect tool for stirring things like chopped onions in a pan. I use it almost exclusively when sautéing anything. I want to know how to find another one but I don’t know what to search for …
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/114/167/892/614/868/570/original/8bd48055a74d3989.jpeg

2025-03-06 14:07:05

I gotta get better at Shortcuts. Macs seem like they aren't as much fun as they used to be, but maybe I just need to get with the times. Time to dig into all the stuff @nprofile…37ld does so well. She's lapped me many times on this stuff :).

2025-02-26 13:48:32

This still works as of today, but will probably be gone tomorrow: Download all your Kindle books and break DRM with a few tools…
https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/02/how-to-bulk-download-kindle-files-while-you-can/

2025-02-22 23:43:05

Nine for a lost god…

2025-02-11 18:02:19

42
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/113/986/563/917/010/273/original/6a39678940637dab.jpeg

2025-02-09 17:17:11

The US government is not a startup.
https://www.wired.com/story/the-us-government-is-not-a-startup/?__readwiseLocation=
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/113/975/061/821/793/779/original/aca406a1fe5ea7b0.png