Continuing to explore #nixos microvms for ephemeral environments tonight.
I wanted an old Perl script (a git wrapper) that I haven't touched in 14 years to run in a throw-away declarative VM. A few minutes to throw together a flake.nix that installs the script, bundles a suitable version of Perl, and... that's it. Include it in the VM definition and I'm all done.
Really seems like these tools are the perfect for the times.
(Also, props to #perl that this old script still Just Runs.)
Signal Boost: If you are willing to fix any of the #Wayland related issues I describe in https://michael.stapelberg.ch/posts/2026-01-04-wayland-sway-in-2026/, I am willing to sponsor the hardware you need for it, e.g. high-res monitor, GPU, PC, etc. and/or pay a bounty for the fix itself.
See https://lobste.rs/s/5pkjai/wayland_set_linux_desktop_back_by_10_years#c_4cpf8q for details and reach out; thanks in advance.
My goal is that #Linux works better, but I can’t do it alone. Let’s improve it together!
New blog post published: Coding Agent VMs on #NixOS with microvm.nix 🥳
I have come to appreciate coding agents to be valuable tools for working with computer program code in any capacity, such as learning about any program’s architecture, diagnosing bugs or developing proofs of concept. […] To safely run a coding agent without review, I wanted a Virtual Machine (VM) solution where the agent has no access to my personal files…
→ Read more at https://michael.stapelberg.ch/posts/2026-02-01-coding-agent-microvm-nix/
Inspired by yesterday's `units` discussion on @lobsters, I'm playing around with this in my zshrc:
```
function ___numbat { numbat -e "$*" }
aliases[=]='noglob ___numbat'
```
With that I can run most simple numbat expressions without escaping:
```
$ = 24 * 10
$ = 25mm to ft
$ = from_fahrenheit(212) to celsius
```
Expressions containing the pipe operator or function calls without arguments do need quoting, but it's still pretty cool.
📢 We are hiring ! #fediHire
My group is looking for 2️⃣ #research scientists in the field of #satellite 🛰️ remote sensing and data processing, to work in #Norway
One position (Tromsø or Oslo) will mostly be about #climate #SeaIce remote sensing from passive microwave sensors:
https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/294200/researcher
The other position (Bergen or Oslo) is mostly about #Ocean remote sensing from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) missions:
https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/294199/researcher-scientific-programmer
Both are 2-year positions, in the context of several projects we have with the #EuropeanSpaceAgency.
Please help and boost 🙌 .
📣 Available for new contracts 📣
I'm available for new contracts as senior developer, tech
lead, or head of engineering.
Technically, I build scalable, reliable APIs, back-end, and systems software with #python / #elixir / #rustlang / #clojure or similar.
As a lead, I build high-ownership, high-impact technical teams.
Recent focus has been on regtech, especially in the legal and health fields.
Please do get in touch for a discussion if you have anything that might be a fit!
I _love_ the ability to manual configure domain weightings in @kagihq. Just tweaked my results to lower stackoverflow and stackexchange to oblivion, and... wow.
What a breath of fresh air!
Paul Evans
Michael Stapelberg 🐧🐹😺
Thomas Lavergne