DougMerritt (log😅 = 💧log😄)

I'm a philomath (many interests; call it polymath-wanna-be) professional computer programmer in Silicon Valley. I have particularly strong interests in Computer Science (esp. language design & implementation, Operating Systems, and Artificial Intelligence), Mathematics, Physics, Cognitive Science, and Linguistics.

Public Key

npub1cqpvfl54huyxkvdgff08u69qkj60tzhwgd3jxwfq8qs83qxzwzdq7aus7x

NIP-05 Address

dougmerritt_at_mathstodon.xyz@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsvqqkyl62m7zrtxx5y5hn7dzstfd843thyxcer8ysrsgrcsrp8pxspzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzv9hxgqg3waehxw309ahx7um5wgerztnrdakswvc5hg

Publishing to

relay.nostr.band

nostr21.com

Author Public Key

npub1cqpvfl54huyxkvdgff08u69qkj60tzhwgd3jxwfq8qs83qxzwzdq7aus7x

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Last Notes

2024-11-09 19:15:02

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@npub1gfd…7gg6
Machines are the reason sysadmins have jobs. Users are just parasites plaguing machines. 😆

2024-11-09 17:51:49

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@npub12jq…0xvr
Excellent, thanks. And now I see you have a few other fun things there on github as well.

2024-11-09 17:15:12

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@npub12jq…0xvr
Thanks. 🙂

2024-11-09 00:07:51

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@npub12s6…v20q
Thank you so much. 🖤 But I was ambiguous: it is my friend facing the issue. I appreciate your warmth.

2024-11-09 00:00:21

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@npub12s6…v20q
A friend called me 25 times yesterday (with my permission) over that issue; it sucks.
(I wasn't counting, but they were)

2024-11-08 02:20:36

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@npub1wfd…68tj
"The Weapon Shop" by A. E. van Vogt is a very famous classic. It was expanded to full novel length, "The Weapons Shops of Isher", 1951.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weapon_Shops_of_Isher

2024-11-08 01:32:51

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@npub1ch8…3ckt
Thank you for that. No, these are not normal times.
And I wouldn't worry about being pretentious; your name recognition means that your introspection will inspire others to do likewise, which will be of benefit to the wider community.

2024-11-01 14:42:41

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@npub12s6…v20q
Hey! I apologized for that!
I'll make up for it by writing a bit of blank verse about you, under my usual penname of "William Shakespeare":
Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale
Her infinite variety: other women cloy
The appetites they feed: but she makes hungry
Where most she satisfies
I call it "Antony and Cleopatra".

2024-10-31 17:40:16

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@npub1knz…c73p
So, it is a way of dealing with flooding, and it increases carbon capture. At the end of the article, they give specifics, that it won't make a significant dent in CO2 but it might in other geographic areas, where e.g. mangroves might be a thousand-fold better at capturing carbon.

2024-10-25 23:13:56

@npub1knz…c73p
Yes, that was clearly a loss to our world.

2024-10-25 19:07:34

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@npub1knz…c73p
> A super-genius could write a program where the user could choose 11 points that define a valid polygon, and then the program would show what happens when you fold up the yellow shape
Hmm, well a number of people have written programs to do folding for origami. Conceivably that might make it much easier, starting from one of those.

2024-10-16 07:56:32

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@npub12s6…v20q
I am more than my tsks.
If I had tusks I'd be more than those, too.
Ok now you're just being silly. Or is that me.

2024-10-15 02:42:14

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@npub12s6…v20q
Oooh, ooooooh, do it again, do it again!
I swear, it feels like 80,000 years since the last time I saw that.

2024-10-13 21:56:08

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@npub12s6…v20q
Fortune favors the bold.
They've always said that only 1% of people ever post to any kind of forum (I wonder if that's changed), so that makes us the bold loud mouths of the world. 🙂

2024-10-09 00:16:48

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@npub12s6…v20q
Still. I must endeavor to do better.

2024-10-08 23:36:42

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@npub12s6…v20q
Surely I am always nice to you!

2024-10-08 23:24:37

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@npub12s6…v20q
Welcome to the human condition?

2024-10-08 23:23:08

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@npub12s6…v20q
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?!
oh never mind i guess it's ok

2024-10-08 23:21:39

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@npub12s6…v20q
Usually you seem unique, but in this, you are joined by countless millions.

2024-10-03 19:01:32

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@npub12s6…v20q
That's one *damn* fine cup of coffee.

2024-10-02 17:45:42

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@npub1knz…c73p
That's great! I'm glad it's working out for you both.
I'll have to read her book, I'm interested in things that touch on that. Also your gloss is reminiscent of, but importantly different from, ancient Egyptian beliefs circa 400BCE (but recorded originating circa 2700 BCE)
And there's some evidence of cultural transmission between China and the West around 500-300 BCE.
(Possibly significantly earlier, too, but there's no actual evidence, yet.)

2024-09-29 06:15:49

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@npub12s6…v20q
Yes. Wielding ASCII has done a lot of damage to the world.
But in past times it was the fountain pen.
And I like to think that nice things have been made out of zeroes and ones, as well.
And with fountain pens.

2024-09-27 21:54:46

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@npub12s6…v20q
Too late, already happened. 👍

2024-09-27 21:53:01

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@npub12s6…v20q
Yes, in fact it's possible to make each other worse and better at the same time! They're not mutually exclusive. 🤔

2024-09-27 21:50:15

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@npub12s6…v20q
OMG that would give *me* an anxiety attack.
I used to be better at dealing with the public, honest. Long ago.

2024-09-24 23:17:27

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@npub19y8…wxgj @npub1pfy…j55w @npub1grk…a6g4
I'm alive
Well of course we're all glad of that; thanks for the toot.

2024-09-20 19:03:28

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@npub1knz…c73p
Oops! Ok.

2024-09-20 19:01:47

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@npub1knz…c73p
The paper. I kept expecting a pithy summary, but it seemed more distributed than pithy (so much for speed reading).

2024-09-20 18:52:14

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@npub1knz…c73p
So Gibbs triumphs over Boltzmann, and wait, red giants and star clusters and Chandrasekhar -- I skimmed too fast to catch the punch line. 🙄

2024-09-20 09:33:00

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@npub12s6…v20q
Once there was a little girl who dreamed of happiness in all the best ways. She grew up. But she still felt exactly like the same little girl as before.
The end? To be continued.

2024-09-18 01:41:34

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@npub12s6…v20q
I always did like the Rider deck. But circular? You rebel, you!

2024-09-09 19:20:36

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@npub1cec…u8re
That's stack overflow for ya. You're the one millionth person to have such a problem there.

2024-09-03 22:24:07

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@npub14fs…qegk
And yet in your example, clearly it is the parents who should be banned from restaurants (and/or life). 🙄

2024-08-25 01:21:36

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@npub14fs…qegk
Yes he is.
I would go so far as to say that he's a jerk!

2024-08-25 01:04:58

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@npub14fs…qegk
Some are a danger. Others are nice people who got the hell out of Russia because it's nasty there.
And sleeper agents are not reliably known to be Russian, for that matter.

2024-08-24 16:35:57

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@npub14fs…qegk
This is no doubt some kind of followup to the part of the DNC where the little kids explained that her name was "comma" + "lalala"

2024-08-15 01:34:48

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@npub12s6…v20q
We were of course in no doubt that the goddess in question was Venus.

2024-08-11 17:25:32

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@npub1c9m…9xjd 🙂

2024-08-11 17:05:41

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@npub1c9m…9xjd
Roku does that in the U.S. when I have captions turned on.

2024-08-11 17:05:41

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@npub1c9m…9xjd
Roku does that in the U.S. when I have captions turned on.

2024-08-03 19:56:08

@npub1nm7…8a3f
"#Knitting picks of the day" is today's FediFollows selection of topics
https://mathstodon.xyz/@FediFollows@social.growyourown.services/112899248247817568

2024-08-02 13:30:15

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@npub1knz…c73p
The original Æon Flux was awesome (albeit confusing -- or was it just me?).
This is very cool.

2024-08-01 21:43:43

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@npub17nm…dm57
I'm not trying to give you a hard time, it's just, isn't the point of a CV to get employed?

2024-08-01 21:43:43

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@npub17nm…dm57
I'm not trying to give you a hard time, it's just, isn't the point of a CV to get employed?

2024-08-01 17:11:12

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@npub17nm…dm57
Surely you mean "...report that this applicant is worth twice what they're asking so we should give them an enormous signing bonus to get them before someone else does"

2024-07-13 21:53:58

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@npub1c9m…9xjd
Our redwoods are fog rainforests.
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/the-strange-forests-that-drinkand-eatfog

2024-07-03 15:27:16

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@npub1knz…c73p
Back to work, oh no! Just kidding. ;)
Wherever you are and whatever you do, I hope you continue to find inspiration. You're an amazing guy.

2024-07-03 14:33:37

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@npub1knz…c73p
Please add my congratulations to the huge pile. :)

2024-06-28 14:52:04

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@npub1knz…c73p I misread, sorry for being unhelpful.

2024-06-28 14:44:16

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@npub1knz…c73p Should be standard temperature and pressure, 20 C 1 bar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_temperature_and_pressure

2024-06-26 11:56:55

@npub14dx…vjys
FYI Rise and Fall of NeXT Computer
https://mathstodon.xyz/@amoroso@fosstodon.org/112682783753089086

2024-06-25 14:18:47

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@npub1knz…c73p
There should be a revised list of the laws, of physics, something like:
1. Things that don't interact, do.
2. Things that do interact, don't.
3. Temperature matters.
Plus more of course.

2024-06-23 03:13:04

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@npub1wfd…68tj
Murray Leinster -- now that's a name you don't see anymore.

2024-06-22 18:46:48

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@npub1knz…c73p
Led Zeppelin. 👏

2024-06-17 17:54:29

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@npub1knz…c73p
Thanks, I will. My current impression is that your writing is very clear, but the subject itself is surprising, so I'm going to need to re-read the series.

2024-06-17 11:54:13

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@npub1knz…c73p
Just use appeal to authority; I always say "Well, *John Baez* says..." and they are always duly impressed and subdued and made to believe.
That's sure to work for you; try it!

2024-06-15 03:08:20

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@npub1wfd…68tj
If "Minions of the Tiger" actually includes kitty kitty then we are all minions.

2024-06-11 05:07:16

Over on the bird site where they're quoting the sky site (convoluted):
" Apparently some tech bros are having to learn the hard way that the creator of Linux is a leftist, today."
https://x.com/DrawsMiguel/status/1800219204706255209

2024-06-10 17:11:42

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@npub1c9m…9xjd Fair.

2024-06-10 16:54:42

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@npub1c9m…9xjd Your steps weren't create_random_password() ?

2024-06-07 18:29:53

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@npub1knz…c73p
?

2024-06-07 18:25:43

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@npub1knz…c73p I'm not qualified to judge it, of course, but I'm aware that it has been pointed out to be just too general -- many things fit inside it.

2024-06-07 18:12:26

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@npub1knz…c73p
The sarcasm is real.
But hey, you've never liked String Theory.

2024-06-06 04:07:24

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@npub1wfd…68tj
Wow, that's quite the all-star list of authors!
And 1965 was very early for Mac Apps.

2024-06-04 12:33:16

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@npub1knz…c73p
OMG; the scale of the proofs is beyond words.

2024-06-03 20:47:36

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@npub17nm…dm57
Uber Boson? Super Mega Boson?

2024-06-01 22:18:07

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@npub1knz…c73p
Now I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop: a mathematical analysis.
Anticommutative spin 1/2 windows? Holographic windows that exist from one angle of view but not another?

2024-05-29 00:06:41

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@npub12s6…v20q
This is just me, but, a lot of your poetry is dark because it's about the night sky, also a lot is emotionally dark.

2024-04-28 18:09:11

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@npub1c9m…9xjd The algorithms are used by big companies prospecting for oil and what not; it's not like we're talking about academic exercises.

2024-04-28 17:59:53

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@npub1c9m…9xjd BTW seismology works remarkably well on real world noisy and difficult data based on clever algorithms (just based on one text I read)

2024-04-28 17:58:13

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@npub1c9m…9xjd
In the general case it can't possibly be exactly the same. But your post shows that it typically won't matter.
I never get that lucky; you lead a charmed life. 🙂

2024-04-28 17:53:49

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@npub1c9m…9xjd
And here I was, mentally worried about rounding errors 🙄

2024-04-26 18:57:41

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@npub1c9m…9xjd
In my code that sort of thing signals to me that my logic could be simplified somehow, but of course your mileage may vary.

2024-04-17 01:00:52

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@npub12s6…v20q
Wow, back then you looked just like a toy horse. Who's the kid?
😉

2024-04-10 18:12:23

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@npub1knz…c73p You could probably do some contract gigs for them for an astronomical hourly rate. Simple discussions, lectures, whatever you like.
In any case, it'll be interesting to see where they go with this.

2024-04-03 17:26:55

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@npub1q37…k2ta
Around the time of System 3 and System V and BSD 4.1 etc.
Version 7 was late 1970s -- It was released 1977 or thereabouts.

2024-03-24 19:04:43

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@npub1q37…k2ta @npub1qtz…4cf3 "Can't tell if they appeared earlier", not "can't tell if they were modal", I take it?
Anyway keep up the good work! :)

2023-12-18 20:32:42

@npub197l…rmtn
"People are surprised when they find out I am anti-vax, but I'm sorry the Sun3 was just a better machine."
#dadjokes
https://mathstodon.xyz/@etchedpixels@mastodon.social/111586280744815839

2023-12-16 04:53:19

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@npub1ykd…6j2y Right, but that's what automatically goes through the mind -- that's not to say it should automatically go through the mouth.

2023-12-13 20:04:13

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@npub167e…kmlu @npub1t7d…pqpp Finally listened to the Italian jazz that started this (had to argue with Youtube about my new ad blocker :(
Very fun, since it immediately launches into a highly recognizable pop tune and then does the standard jazz thing.
Very different than that greek jazz, but likeable in a different way.
(And I could read a little of the album cover with my vocabulary of ~100 Italian words, and that's always an exciting discovery :)

2023-12-13 19:33:55

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@npub1t7d…pqpp @npub167e…kmlu I have no background with this at all, but it's beautiful.

2023-10-18 18:16:47

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@npub1t7d…pqpp I could've sworn there used to be an amusing anecdote or satire or something about "Unix hooligans" roaming the city rioting (a takeoff on "football/soccer hooligans")...but I can no longer find it online.
(Come to think of it, no doubt it was just part of a print magazine column, probably Unix Review, by the late great British expat tech writer/humorist Stan Kelly-Bootle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Kelly-Bootle )
Anyway good for you. You escaped death while potentially converting an entire crowd to the side of goodness and light. ;)

2023-10-18 17:17:46

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@npub10fm…x0qg USGS representative said that the automatic 5.7 estimate was sent out as an alert within eight seconds, which is impressively rapid -- but it took a figurative minute to get the better estimate of 4.1. Epicenter near Rio Vista, not that far east of Concord ("Sacramento County" sounded like it was further away than that)
4.1 might wake you up if it were a 4.1 as measured where you are...just not when it's far away.
BTW Some percentage of the time a small quake presages a larger quake coming up within minutes to days, but that is still beyond the state of the art to predict.
Usually it seems to me that multiple quakes around the Ring of Fire is a decent indication of still more quakes along the Ring coming up, but that's just me eyeballing it, apparently not good enough for the algorithms.

2023-09-25 19:50:15

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@npub1knz…c73p
There are also strong immediate connections between Farey sequences & modular groups with Möbius transformations and Möbius groups

2023-09-12 16:45:31

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@npub1z2q…3yuf
I have no doubt but that Gauss was aware, not just of Moebius strips, but of this result as well. 🙂
I mean, Gauss was aware of seemingly all of 19th century maths before other mathematicians.
Probably some 20th century too, short of the answers to Hilbert's problems / Goedel / Church / Turing. I think. I'm pretty sure he didn't...well, who knows. He was as seemingly impossible as Fermat and Ramanujan, but broader in topics.

2023-08-28 01:41:38

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@npub1z2q…3yuf @npub1dkc…8yll I think the certainty must lie in their definition of infinity, and it's a definition that seems to me to be shared by a lot of professional physicists:
"infinity is the size of all possibilities". Are there alternate realities? An infinite number you say? Obviously they must contain every conceivable variation of me, and of Earth, etc.
That's not true, of course; every reality could be the same, for instance. "But then you don't need infinity, that's only one." There may be a kind of conceptual size optimization there that brains do automatically. Perhaps.
But physicists talking about infinite realities, and/or infinite spatial universes, seem to make this conceptual error quite often.
They may make caveats about the obvious exceptions, like the above one where all are identical, but the *real* "infinite universes" tends to be assumed to be "all possible universes".
P.S. I have tried to wrap my mind around what new possibilties are possible (or required) if the number of (ergodic) realities / universes is ℵ 1 rather than ℵ 0 . It can definitely be a confusing topic.

2023-08-17 23:47:49

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@npub1z2q…3yuf @npub164y…cvs5 Chartodon is missing this and a number of other comments in this thread.
My first impulse is to say "hmm, surely that means it's time to get its refresh button working", but then it occurs to me that someone else pressing that button doesn't help you see the messages that you've overlooked so far -- in fact it would actively interfere with that.
Ergonomic design is always so much harder than I think it will be.

2023-08-16 23:12:35

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@npub1z2q…3yuf @npub164y…cvs5 I know nothing about Mastodon admin, but if time permits I might be able to help with future needs for Ruby and many other languages, wget and other shell utils/programming on Linux, some kinds of web programming, etc.
I've never had occasion to do any hands-on with Rails (unusual, since that seems to be the main motivator for Ruby for many), so that part is an open question.

2023-08-16 21:46:03

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@npub1z2q…3yuf @npub164y…cvs5 I'm thinking perhaps your "CLI" is on Windows, and I wouldn't know about that, so I'm glad you have a working solution now.
I do have wget working from Ruby (to scrape from my Steam account), and that worked by setting auth cookies from a file.
Note that it is bad security practice to put passwords on command lines, where they are then visible to other processes looking at tasks running on the system. Your particular system may be secure, but it's considered to be a bad habit to get into at best.
Nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat, eh?