samir, very scary, run away

https://mastodon.functional.computer/@samir

Trying very hard to avoid computers, and failing miserably.

A 30-something British-born coconut Indian living in Zürich, Switzerland. I speak English, and enough Hochdeutsch to order a pizza.

Admin and sole user of this self-hosted instance.

pronouns: he/him; they/them
location: Zürich, Switzerland
blog: https://functional.computer

Public Key

npub18hfqe22wht0kxkpzp69m0pfaetn3ft2v6v63y0zzdd2v9xjq9nrq49txcv

NIP-05 Address

samir_at_mastodon.functional.computer@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsrm5sv498t4hmrtq3qazahs57u4ec544xdxdgj83pxk4xznfqze3sprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntqyvhwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddakk7um5wgh8q6twdvhshhs4qw

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

relay.noswhere.com

Author Public Key

npub18hfqe22wht0kxkpzp69m0pfaetn3ft2v6v63y0zzdd2v9xjq9nrq49txcv

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Last Notes

2024-11-05 12:13:05

It’s pronounced

2024-10-26 14:52:27

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It was really good, thank you!
I tried light-dark a couple of weeks ago but sadly, it doesn’t seem to work (at least on Firefox) when you plug the value into a relative colour. That said, otherwise, it’s really cool!
And the rest of your article was very informative too, and clarified some things for me. Much appreciated.

2024-10-16 16:05:40

I really would love it if browsers would provide UI that allows the user to configure the colour scheme (light/dark/auto) and contrast (less/more/auto) globally *and* per site.
Feels like an obvious win, now that there are CSS media queries for these (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/@media/prefers-color-scheme and https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/@media/prefers-contrast).
Why does every site have to write JS and reinvent configuration storage when the browser is right there, reading this stuff? Could we do it in one place?

2024-10-14 21:59:09

I wrote a post about why I haven't been writing long-form lately.
It's the first one on the new site, with the new design.
https://functional.computer/blog/a-new-look

2024-10-14 07:49:53

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You’re more than welcome to it. 😊

2024-10-13 22:45:01

I enjoyed writing the “About this site” section on https://functional.computer/.
Also, new header font! Let me know if you like it or if it doesn’t suit you.
https://cats.functional.computer/media_attachments/files/113/302/536/067/463/275/original/3a8881e6938592b9.png

2024-10-12 15:39:54

My blog should have

2024-10-10 06:58:56

Did you know that cats walk in “direct register”, which means that the back paws always land exactly where the front paws were? This is apparently extremely useful for stealthy hunting.
So, when you feel a cat stab its paw with extreme force into your genitals at 4:00 in the morning, remember to brace yourself: there’s another one coming.
Now, I’m off to find some ice. For no reason.

2024-10-08 19:11:06

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You didn’t! I just wanted to make sure that we agree. 🙂

2024-10-08 18:26:44

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Same, except I’d bet on Microsoft.
I know there’s very little chance that a bunch of nerds could outbid one of the BigCorps, but I think it’d be really cool to try.

2024-10-08 17:39:31

Wouldn’t it be cool if we could crowd-source buying the .io TLD and put it in the hands of a non-profit?
I have no idea how feasible this is. I just think it’d be sweet.
I always wanted a .io domain but I didn’t want to buy one while the money was going into the hands of the British government and not the Chagos Islanders.
https://social.mkj.earth/@mkj/113272852256498997

2024-09-21 10:56:52

Perhaps we can give all the cryptocurrency to the LLMs, and then they can write books, pay for them, summarise them, and repeat. We could then wash our hands of the whole affair. https://mastodon.social/@matthewskelton/113174977111283175

2024-09-18 14:18:07

Perhaps we should take a leaf out of the watchmaker's book and start calling them "complications" instead of "features”.

2024-09-15 09:18:59

I’m not sure if Luna’s lightning talks have just appeared on her blog, or if they were up earlier but just arrived on the RSS feed, but either way, I highly recommend them. I just watched “Cursed Regular Expressions” (https://moonbase.lgbt/blog/cursed-regular-expressions/) and it was very funny. 😄 https://pony.social/@luna/113125898949063901

2024-09-12 07:05:06

Ah yes, a link to Twitter to tell me more information about your downtime.
There's just one problem with that.
Twitter is no longer a way to disseminate news. You cannot view posts without signing in.
Stop it.
https://cats.functional.computer/media_attachments/files/113/123/308/251/703/354/original/dea3cc525eca84a5.png
https://cats.functional.computer/media_attachments/files/113/123/308/529/416/578/original/33e49d9fd25a8b53.png

2024-09-11 06:57:47

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I hope you managed to sleep!
I have found that ranting about not sleeping on fedi really helps me calm down and get to sleep. 😛

2024-09-10 23:12:52

What’s that? I need to be up at 6:30 tomorrow? Of course, I forgot: tonight is the “nope, can’t sleep” night!
Never fails.

2024-09-10 21:15:16

The actually useful AI-based tech isn’t labelled “AI”, because useful technology provides solutions to problems, so we talk about those. The tech is incidental and boring to the consumer.
There’s lots of useful AI-based tech (I prefer “ML”, but let’s go with it for now). I’m not convinced that sticking a chatbot in everything falls into that category.
https://cosocial.ca/@timbray/113115292653436167

2024-09-09 14:21:36

So, friends, as of a couple of weeks ago, I am without a job.
If you are looking for someone who will make your software dev team a lot faster, I can probably help you out. I mostly do Rust and Haskell nowadays but let's be honest, I'll probably be fixing your build system no matter what you hire me for.
There's a few more details here: https://functional.computer/
I'm in Zürich, and happy to be remote. Contract or permanent, whatever. CV's available on request. Give me a shout if you're looking!

2024-09-08 21:51:43

In case you're wondering how the Raspberry Pi 5 is handling this Mastodon instance: made a reasonably popular toot today (~300 boosts and likes), and it didn't sweat.
There's the occasional spike when someone popular boosts it (I think the last one was @npub1fqg…7yvt, who is good at taking down servers).
This Pi is also running a few other services, including Syncthing and Jellyfin.
If I were to try again, I'd probably get something which has NVMe built-in, but I'm fairly happy.
https://cats.functional.computer/media_attachments/files/113/104/145/599/687/477/original/19fef4f8c4017b06.png

2024-09-08 12:26:34

Mozilla: What do you want?
Us: Tabs in the sidebar!
Moz: Got it, chatbots in the sidebar!
Us: OH FOR F—

2024-09-02 09:38:40

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Yup, some people buy a big car for status, others are scared of the big cars and buy one for safety, people don’t walk as much because of all the big cars, and the spiral keeps spiralling.

2024-09-02 09:04:37

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I remember visiting my aunt in Texas in the early 2000s. My dad asked her why her car was so big.
She said, “I like to look down on people when I drive.”
I think it explains a lot.

2024-08-29 09:51:16

Just remembered this message from the other day and I’m so proud of myself that I have to share it.
Yes, I am a muppet. You knew that already.
https://cats.functional.computer/media_attachments/files/113/044/689/534/571/628/original/a14bde1d96c5189d.jpeg

2024-08-27 21:21:21

German exam in 14 hours.
I should sleep, right?

2024-08-27 11:37:41

Fight LLMs by being horny on main.
Put innuendo all over your blog posts.
Be sarcastic to the fucking max.
Write code your way, not the “right” way.
Quote Taylor Swift and Metallica liberally.
They’re your words. Let them out.

2024-08-21 20:31:50

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Really hoping that they’ll not release it in Europe because of actual data privacy laws.

2024-08-21 20:28:49

Called it.
Nothing will be different, they’ll just do it quieter.
https://mastodon.social/@arstechnica/113001822455882505

2024-08-17 19:35:59

Remember, friends, never refer to a Large Language Model as “AI”.
An LLM is not intelligent, any more than a cash register is.
LLMs can be a useful tool, but that does not make them more important than any other useful tool.
Just because someone is pummelling you with bullshit does not mean you have to turn around and pass it on.

2024-08-12 22:51:02

I am once again calling for a Fedi alternative to Patreon.
In other words, a server where you pay to subscribe, which takes the money on the 1st of the month and amortises the fees across everyone you’re subscribing too.
And then you get a private feed full of goodies. Bonus, you can use your RSS reader!
I would gladly work on such a project, but I am a techie, and tech is a small part of the challenge. If anyone else is planning something and understands the problem space well, let me know.

2024-06-28 12:47:54

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Which is this series, and would you recommend it?

2024-06-28 12:26:30

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Oh, also, the author is really into the whole “men don’t understand women” thing, which was popular in the 90s but is mostly annoying now. It leads to good dramatisation because communication is bad, but it’s kind of trite.

2024-06-28 09:04:40

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I think I’d recommend it to anyone who is into high fantasy and happy with long slogs to get to the good bits. There are some really good bits, it just gets lost for a while.
If you read The Two Towers and kept going, then you’ll probably be fine. It’s like that. But longer.
It’s also one of the most noteworthy high fantasy series, so perhaps also completionists who consider it important to have read all the well-known stuff.

2024-06-27 19:59:54

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Now I’ve finished the series, I wonder about what happens next. I imagine people living peaceful lives, free of world-threatening horror, and how they go about making breakfast in the morning. I think about those characters because they’re my friends and I miss them.
I wouldn’t recommend The Wheel of Time to most people, but I’m glad I saw it through.