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Random tiny thoughts that don't merit their own full-sized posts.
author: @siiky@siiky.srht.site
license: CC BY-SA 4.0
Some years ago I started writing a shitty implementation of (integer) BigNums (i.e. "infinite" precision integer arithmetic) in C, as part of my c-utils set of tools. At the time I was stuck with what seemed to be a bug in the addition of digits to a bignum AND/OR a bug in the conversion to/from strings in base 16.
But it turns out it was neither! Addition of digits to a number is working just fine; and so is conversion to/from strings!
The bug was instead in the example program itself, in the usage of sbn_add_digit_u() (the non-destructive (i.e., functional) counterpart of sbn_add_digit_ud()). The likely root problem is in sbn_clone().
For now I haven't advanced the library any further (just moved some configs around), but this is really good news for me and the library.
https://git.sr.ht/~siiky/c-utils/tree/sbn/item/include/utils/sbn.h
What does it mean to like someone or something?
Yesterday night I learned of Disjoint Sets from a friend. The data structure and algorithm are so simple that I just couldn't resist, I compulsively implemented my own in Scheme.
Scheme (programming language) § disjoint-set
Unfortunately it's an imperative implementation :( I would much prefer a purely functional implementation but I didn't find a functional vector library that I liked. I guess I'll have to implement Okasaki's functional vectors some day!
Anyone has a ThinkPad X201 keyboard they'd like to sell? My S key is broken for some time, but lately it's starting to pop out more and more frequently... :(
Imma just leave this here:
https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/filipino-american-punk-list
Welp, it's been almost half a year since I mentioned the SourceHut IRC bouncer (§2022-09-19 11:23)... That didn't work out so well. Apparently irssi doesn't have the necessary features to be able to fetch past history.
During FOSDEM 2023 I got to try Matrix a bit more (I already had an account) and, well, it's not all that bad. The "default" web client (Element) kinda sucks (because, web). But I got to try FluffyChat (desktop & Android), Nheko, Syphon, and Element (on Android), and here's the verdict:
So on the desktop I'm probably settled on Nheko for now. On Android I'm still given both FluffyChat and Element a try, but I'm tending to FluffyChat.
In the future I'm thinking of having a couple of separate accounts so FluffyChat is so far the winner there -- it's the only client of those I tried that has (beta) support for several accounts. So unless Nheko changes that eventually, I'mma move...
https://nheko-reborn.github.io
https://f-droid.org/packages/im.vector.app
Just created and published my first Lua library! It's just a port (of sorts) of my gmi.scm library.
https://luarocks.org/modules/siiky/gmi
The "wiki"-like thing is kinda live! I still don't link to it from the main capsule's index, but it's been there for a few days. I've added almost all of the talks I watched at FOSDEM 2023 plus a few more pages.
The wiki has no search functionality -- it's all statically server after all. So the only way to discover something through Gemini is to browse the lists. There are lists of all pages (ordered by title/create/update), and there are lists of pages by tag (ordered by update).
Have a look!
I saw this project, Task.
It describes itself thus:
Task is a task runner / build tool that aims to be simpler and easier to use than, for example, GNU Make.
Ok, good, it starts well!
Once installed, you just need to describe your build tasks using a simple YAML schema in a file called Taskfile.yml:
Noped right there and then.
When you send an email, and get a reply back starting with "Hi <your name>," why is it that they NEVER just copy&paste your name from your signature, even though your name is RIGHT FUCKING THERE because they just fucking top-posted? It really grinds my gears.
If they start the email with "Hi, <this or that>", that is, without mentioning your name, all good! But they go through the work of typing out your name as they saw it in your signature, but fucking mistype it?
HURGH!
2023-02-02: A thought I just had
It’s often quite easy to register one’s displeasure with someone else’s idea, but oftentimes orders of magnitude more difficult to craft something that might help him see the error of his ways.
Indeed! Coincidentally, today I was reading "The Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow" where Jerome dedicates a few pages about this.
I'm right now thinking about making a read-only "wiki"-like thing where I dump all the info (such as notes, &c) that may be made public.
Started adapting the build system support it, most likely under /wiki/
I'm watching the Vikings series. Yesterday I watched S03E03 and there was this bit:
Ragnar:
Is she still alive?
Bjorn:
Yes. But her face...
Ragnar:
[funny face: stop being stupid and don't say that so close that she can hear you]
Bjorn:
[sigh]
It is my fault. I didn't protect her.
Ragnar:
That is what her shield is for. We fight. That is how we win and that is how we die. Do you understand?
Bjorn:
But she is with child!
Ragnar:
[look and walk away in disbelief]
And you let her come? Huh?
[bitch slap Bjorn]
She will probably die, with your child in her belly, and it will be your fault, because you have the strength of a man, but the will of a little girl. I can't believe you are my son.
[push Bjorn's face away with one hand, almost shouting] I can't even look at you!
Rollo:
I do not think she will die.
She wants to live. She has a lot to live for. But if she hears you weeping and lamenting, she will choose to die. Be strong. Be a man. Coax her back from Valhalla. But make it worth her while, for she is already at the gates.
They're talking about Porunn, who was slashed in the face with a sword.
I didn't really understand Ragnar's reaction. Some women fight alongside the men, it seems they are, at least somewhat, equals. So was his reaction due to her being a woman? I think not. I think it was because she's pregnant. But then what's with "the strength of a man but will of a little girl" and Rollo's manly talk?
Maybe only women who fight (so-called shield-maidens) go through fighting training, or endure more of it, and because others don't they're "unequals".
Or maybe I'm just overthinking it. Or maybe it's just good ol' westernization!
Took another bit before this into the quotes yesterday.
Today I'm sick. Probably (hopefully) just a cold, though a bit aggressive.
Yesterday went to my grandmother's house and brought out an old slot car & track set. The cars didn't work because of the track contacts. My cousin and me decided to try and bring them back to life. Unearthed some copperwire, hacked together new contacts (surprisingly more difficult than it seemed at first), and got the motors running again, just like that! Sadly, after a few laps the cars intermittently worked and didn't, because the teeth of the motor gears weren't in great shape (and our contact work wasn't the best either tbh).
In all, we spent much more time trying to get the things working than racing, but it was good fun.
A friend the other day sent me this video about Roman concrete. I hadn't ever thought about the subject but, in fact, it's remarkable that Roman structures are still standing to this day (being human-made and all).
We FINALLY Figured Out The Secret of Roman Concrete
This specific video suggested that how/why it worked was something we discovered only recently. However...
How to Make Roman Concrete (4 Different Materials, 4 Different Strengths)
Not so much? I couldn't quite understand what's up with that. But I learned of Roman concrete, interesting!
FRIENDLY REMINDER: Given that there's so much wrong with it, it's a grave mistake to confine our quests for knowledge within the very limited box that is our society.