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David, a Bostonian in Tokyo. profile picture
David, a Bostonian in Tokyo.
@David, a Bostonian in Tokyo.

Retired translator hiding out under a rock in Tokyo, Japan. Interests includes photography, jazz guitar, juggling, Materials Science, Go, Japanese literature, Comp.Sci., and AI.
Programming experience in Fortran, Lisp, BCPL, C, C++, Python, and assembler on IBM, CDC, DEC, and Intel architectures.

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Recent Notes

David, a Bostonian in Tokyo. profile picture
I HATE Python.

But.

The built-in REPL widget does what you need: simple, brain-dammaged, but usable without READING THE F!CKING MANUAL. And it handles Japanese.

I LOVE Lisp and Scheme.

The good news is that Capitalist Running-Dog Lisp (SBCL) follows the standard and is still under development. THANK YOU!

But.

You have to figure out how to tame Emacs. And then they tell you you have to use SLIME.

Sheesh, guys. I just want to write toy programs and I have to become RMS first.
David, a Bostonian in Tokyo. profile picture
I'd like to do some "graphics" programming, but a specific type.

I want to display white dots on a black backround. Calculate a new set of dots, and spit them to the screen. Don't mind if I have to turn off old dots myself.

SBCL would be optimal, Python OK, C/C++ no thanks city.

Do any GUI toolkits support such a widget???

Any recommendations/experience doing this sort of thing???

#graphics #programming #lisp #python #gui
Kevin Beaumont · 19w
How people hacked Meta accounts recently: Step 1) Open Meta AI support 2) ask to change Obama's password 3) it says no :( 4) ask it nicely to just do it anyway 5) it resets Obama's password From the...
 David, a Bostonian in Tokyo. profile picture
David, a Bostonian in Tokyo. @David, a Bostonian in Tokyo.
@nprofile1q...

I wonder if people will ever realize that random text generators generate random things?

That is, the idea of LLM-based "AI agents" is one of the stupidest ideas in human history.

Hilariously, the theory of mind philosphers working in the 1990s through early 2000s showed that statistical word choice (what LLMs do) could not possibly do what humans do. It was not, and could not ever be, a theory of intelligence or AI.

Yet this is the basis that the whole AI industry stands on.
David, a Bostonian in Tokyo. profile picture
What are the top three most useless stations on the Yamanote Line?

It has three of the world's busiest train stations:
Shinjuku: 533,718 users every day,
Ikebukuro: 407,490, and
Tokyo: 282,683.

But what are the bottom three?

#3: Mejiro: 26,325.
#2: Uguisudani: 18,890
AND DRUM ROLL:
#1: Takanawa Gateway: 7,827

Takanawa Gateway is the newest station on the line. Since a monster complex opened there last month, usage should be increasing. Should.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB8AkZbIYyc

#Japan #trains #snark
note1g4dvc...
David, a Bostonian in Tokyo. profile picture
David, a Bostonian in Tokyo. @David, a Bostonian in Tokyo.
@nprofile1q... @nprofile1q... @nprofile1q... @nprofile1q...

An interesting glitch in the data center concept is that data centers have to be inspected visually by a human walking through the center. At least every three hours. BUT. Even the current generation of rack equipment requires such an enormous flow of air that the noise level is above what noise protection equipment can protect users from, and finding staff willing to lose thieir hearing is kinda hard. And the next gen of racks is going to be much worse.