Normally, Gruntwork sets you up with high-performance infrastructure, but at Google Cloud Next, we're going to set you up with high-performance supercars.
ποΈ Choose from Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, Lambo
5οΈβ£ Drive 5 laps
π― Go 100+ mph
Spots are limited. Sign up here: www.gruntwork.io/lp/gruntwork...
I recently did a bunch of research to find the best cloud backup option for my computers (e.g., iCloud, Arq, BackBlaze, iDrive), and I captured my learnings in this blog post. It includes a comparison table you can use to find the one that meets your needs. www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/02...
The 1st release candidate for Terragrunt 1.0 is here!
π₯ Stacks: manage infrastructure as stacks
οΌ CLI Redesign: powerful query syntax
π Runner Pool: better throughput
π Logging: better visibility
1οΈβ£ Stability: 1.0 guarantees
Try it out and share your feedback!
www.gruntwork.io/blog/the-roa...
Several days ago, I shared my tier list for science fiction book series. Today, I'm sharing my tier list for standalone science fiction books. 1984, The Road, World War Z, and Hail Mary all made it into my S tier. Agree? Disagree?
www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/01...
Both are in the tier list (B tier) if you click the link!
I've put together a Sci Fi Book Series Tier List, where I arrange the science fiction book series Iβve read from most enjoyable (S tier) to least enjoyable (D tier). The Expanse, Murderbot, and Red Rising series made my S tier. Agree? Disagree? #books
www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/01...
Lively discussion of this blog post on Hacker News: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4670...
Almost every commenter disagrees with me in some way... That usually means I said something interesting π
I propose a pay-per-use model where GenAI tools offer referrals and revenue sharing to content creators. LLMs get more & better content to train on, users can check the quality of responses, and content creators get attribution and payment. This seems more sustainable.
LLMs extract value from human-created content at an unprecedented scale, but all that value is captured by the GenAI company and its users. If youβre a content creator, you get nothing: no attribution, no referral traffic, no revenue share. Not even a thank-you.
[NEW BLOG POST] GenAI, The Snake Eating Its Own Tail: How tools like ChatGPT and Claude are destroying the ecosystems they rely on, and what to do about it.
I use ChatGPT and Claude daily. GenAI is amazing... But it also feels completely unsustainable.
www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/01...
I've read all 4 books in the Tactical Barbell (TB) series. Highly recommended! Learn how to balance the following in your training:
- TB1: maximal strength.
- TB2: conditioning.
- TB3: hypertrophy.
- TB4: longevity.
My detailed notes on each book: www.ybrikman.com/book-series/...
"Super Powereds" and "Villain's Code" by Drew Hayes. These are two book series, the first focused on super heroes, and the second on super villains. Great characters, creative superpowers, fun action, and terrific world-building.
www.ybrikman.com/book-series/...
www.ybrikman.com/book-series/...
"We Solve Murders" by Richard Osman. I loved Osman's Thursday Murder Club series. I found this one even funnier. www.ybrikman.com/blog/2025/04...
"Replay" by Ken Grimwood. A highly entertaining story built around a time-loop premise. Strong characters, great writing, compelling ideas, and a solid conclusion. www.ybrikman.com/blog/2025/07...
"Other Minds" by Peter Godfrey-Smith. Fascinating read about cephalopods (octopuses, cuttlefish) and what they can teach us about consciousness, intelligence, and evolution. "This is probably the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien." www.ybrikman.com/blog/2025/01...
"The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories" by Ken Liu. A terrific collection of thought-provoking short stories. Some are better than others, but most are memorable, moving, and will plant ideas in your head that you just have to discuss with others. www.ybrikman.com/blog/2025/09...
"The Fault in our Stars" by John Green. This is a book about teenagers with cancer. This somber topic made me avoid it for years, but I finally picked it up, and Iβm so glad that I did. Thatβs because itβs not a book about cancer, but about people. www.ybrikman.com/blog/2025/12...
I read 136 books in 2025. Here are the highlights:
#GOTOpodcast: @brikis98.bsky.social and @kief.com cover:β¨
* What DevOps actually means (beyond the buzzword)
* Where infrastructure as code helps and where it does not
* Why frameworks usually age better than clever custom scriptsβ¨
π§ Listen to the episode β gotopia.tech/podcast
Iβve read many business books. Some profoundly shaped how I think; others were a waste of time. Many people ask me for recommendations, so I created a tier list for business books, arranging the books from most to least useful in building my own business. www.ybrikman.com/blog/2025/12...
Read my full review and detailed notes here: www.ybrikman.com/blog/2025/12...
3οΈβ£ Less is more. Do just a small number (2-4) of main compound barbell lifts, and NOTHING else.
π Summary: do 2-4 compound barbell lifts 3x per week, 3 sets of 5, with 2 min between sets, using a weight that is heavy but avoids failure.
β³ Longer rest times. Short rest is good for hypertrophy, but bad for strength. Rest *at least* 2 min between sets.
ποΈββοΈ Use compound lifts with barbells. Allows you to go heavy, precisely increment weight over a long time, and build strength that carries over to the real world.
π§π¬ Eastern bloc approach. Train frequently (ideally 3x per week), with loads that that trigger maximal strength adaptations (sets of 1-5 reps). "Practice strength."
π₯ Avoid muscle failure. Failure is good for hypertrophy, but bad for strength. Do sets of 5, but NOT a true 5RM.
I just read "Tactical Barbell." It's a way to develop strength that works even if you:
π Focus other aspects of fitness (endurance)
π΄ Can't always get great recovery (sleep & diet)
π€ Canβt be sore for days after a workout
πͺ Want to avoid increasing bodyweight
Key takeaways:
And now we are offering a Terragrunt Scale Free Tier, which makes it free for personal and small commercial use-cases.
Sign up for the waiting list here: form.typeform.com/to/c8xJ0vdx
A few key Terragrunt Scale benefits:
1οΈβ£ Runs in your existing CI/CD tool (GitHub Actions or GitLab), so instead of a black-box SaaS, you have full control.
2οΈβ£ Detects drift automatically, so you can fix it before it causes an outage.
3οΈβ£ Updates module versions automatically.
Terragrunt Scale lets you standardize and automate your Terraform and OpenTofu operations, including running 'plan' on PRs and 'apply' on merge, with support for cross-module dependencies.
terragrunt.gruntwork.io/terragrunt-s...
Wow, Terraform Cloud is ending its free tier. You have 4 months to switch to a paid plan, and with per-resource pricing, I'm hearing stories of bills going from $0 to $15K/month.
Looking for an alternative?
Introducing Terragrunt Scale Free Tier. More info in this thread:
π Just in time for the holidays, we're doing a DevOps giveaway! π
Share your DevOps wishlist with us for a chance to win:
π DevOps swag (hoodie, t-shirt)
𧱠Lego set
π Signed copy of "Fundamentals of DevOps & Software Delivery"
Enter the giveaway here: www.gruntwork.io/lp/devops-wi...
