The Old Tech Writer
@greenmtndocs.bsky.social
Technical writer and editor since 1984. Boxer dog lover. Liberal, Humanist, and cancer survivor. Quite gay. I am a Vermonter. I am myself. | Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine/People live in one another's shadows.| he/him/sé/é 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️ 🇺🇦 Be polite.
apnews.com/article/mili... Exclusive: Trump's immigration crackdown has detained more than 50 military spouses and parents
AP Exclusive: Trump's immigration crackdown has detained more than 50 military spouses and parents
An Associated Press investigation reveals that President Donald Trump’s administration has detained dozens of parents and spouses of active-duty U.S. troops.
apnews.com
Most documentation teams write a lot and structure almost nothing. Metadata and taxonomy are the infrastructure that makes content findable and usable by both humans and AI systems. stevearrants.substack.com/p/metadata-and-taxonomy
Metadata and Taxonomy
Tag content so both humans and machines can retrieve it.
stevearrants.substack.com
At Microsoft in the late 1980s and early 1990s, my team in the Applications division hired writers in a single day. Resume to offer, start to finish, usually inside two to three weeks. Nobody thought this was remarkable. Here's how we did it. www.linkedin.com/pulse/we-hir...
We Hired Technical Writers in a Day
I worked as a technical writer in the Microsoft Applications User Education group (later the Office group). Every writer was closely involved in recruiting and hiring in cooperation with Microsoft HR.
linkedin.com
In the interests of free expression, (a/k/a thoughts of our kind of people), The Gray Lady sticks its snout up Ellison's butt. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...
Opinion | David Ellison: In Defense of the Paramount-Warner Deal
The issue is whether I can be trusted as a steward of CNN
nytimes.com
Documentation sprawl is what happens when a documentation site grows without a plan. Pages accumulate, and the navigation adds a new category every few months. After a few years, you’ve got a documentation garden that’s overgrown and dying from neglect. stevearrants.substack.com/p/stop-the-s...
Stop the Sprawl: Information Architecture
Structure documentation so users can find what they need.
stevearrants.substack.com
#Vermont keeps a list of where large crowds gather. The feds get a copy. vtdigger.org/2026/08/02/v...
Vermont keeps a list of where large crowds gather. The feds get a copy. - VTDigger
For nearly a decade, the state has quietly compiled the list of large public gatherings. Town clerks are just now finding out about it.
vtdigger.org
Sure, Lucy. You hold the ball (again) and we'll kick it. How many times does this guy need to lie about this war before the media and the people call him out for his lies? www.cnn.com/2026/08/02/w...
Live updates: Trump calls off Iran strikes subject to deal being ‘rapidly’ reached | CNN
Iran has shown no signs of changing its stance on the Strait of Hormuz and has yet to acknowledge talks. Follow for live updates.
cnn.com
In the current climate, the government supports children until they're born. www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/07/31/c...
Wonder why the birthrate is falling? Look how we treat mothers
If I were deciding today whether to become a mother, I would say no. That is something that I, as a mother, am not supposed to admit. My children are not the problem; our country is.
pressdemocrat.com
“Sandwich guy case” “Harvard clawed frog embryo smuggling case” “Olympic canoeist reflecting pool vandalism case” “James Comey seashells Instagram post case” New rule: If the case sounds like a Mad Libs story, it’s probably about to implode.
🔥 “I’m so sick and tired of you old people not giving a shit about what we’re telling you. We don’t have a future. We’re telling you what we need and you don’t give a damn.”
"WE THE FUCKING JUDGE SON" New York, I love you. I love you so fucking much. Via wali_talks on IG
Most documentation has a structural problem that exists before any individual piece of writing: nobody has decided what kind of content belongs in the documentation and what each content type is supposed to do. #diataxis #technicalwriting stevearrants.substack.com/p/documentat...
Documentation Frameworks: A Field Guide
Diátaxis is the one to start with, but DITA, minimalism, and others fill the gaps it leaves open.
stevearrants.substack.com
The Trump administration is ending key Medicare Part D subsidies at year-end. This will likely raise prescription costs and increase monthly premiums for about half of recipients. One thing is clear. Trump, nor his minions, care about we, the people.
Perhaps, then, it is a good thing the GOP is reviving the memories of this so close to the midterms. Makes the argument against keeping them in the majority, doesn't it?
Bill Grueskin@bgrueskin.bsky.social · 7d agoRunning out of body bags, using forklifts to transfer corpses into makeshift morgues, a mortician conducting 200 funerals in a month when he usually does 30, crematories running at double capacity… And these senators just want to memory-hole it all www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/n...
A pharmacy chain in #Vermont implemented AI for efficiency. It's led to delays, incorrect information and privacy concerns. #AI vtdigger.org/2026/07/29/a...
A pharmacy chain in Vermont implemented AI for efficiency. It's led to delays, incorrect information and privacy concerns. - VTDigger
As AI pops up in healthcare systems across the country, several lawyers told VTDigger that the technology is outpacing regulation, leaving consumers vulnerable.
vtdigger.org
