<whitequark>
it's a new blog in a new (for me) format; "document everything that seems interesting, and just everything in general, in order to eventually have a set of processes you can repeat near-perfectly"
<whitequark>
all existing guides annoy me in that they leave waaay too much undocumented
<whitequark>
similar to cooking recipes based on "tablespoons", whatever the hell that is
<whitequark>
what do you think?
<whitequark>
silentbicycle: ^
<silentbicycle>
I think it's a good idea. one I never seem to follow through on. trying to work on a blog post right now for work.
<whitequark>
wish you luck there :)
<whitequark>
I can imagine this being hard to follow, but: right now it's very easy for me, because I don't have a filter.
<whitequark>
whatever I do, I just post there. it severely simplifies the writing.
<whitequark>
it worked? awesome. it failed? awesome too.
<whitequark>
that reminds me, I need to describe in detail why I really hate printers
<silentbicycle>
printers are the worst
<whitequark>
seriously. I'm selecting "transparecies", thinking there will be *less* distortion, and it goes on and screws up my picture.
<silentbicycle>
whitequark my problem with writing is that I'm really inclined to start new things
<whitequark>
silentbicycle: oh I understand that way too well. in the format above, I write an entry for 1-2 days max--while specifically working on some one thing. after that it goes through the pipe.
<whitequark>
it also serves as a way to remind (and help) you to continue it!
<whitequark>
I mean, not the forceful "dammit you should have written this a year ago" reminder, but gentle "won't it be cool to continue it tomorrow" one.
<whitequark>
and even if you never finish that, it's still useful
<silentbicycle>
I have a lot of things I want to write about, and many I have, but I haven't edited enough things into what I feel is a publishable state yet.
<silentbicycle>
Just like probably 95+% of my personal projects never get posted online
<silentbicycle>
I like the "lab notebook" format, though!
<silentbicycle>
I think mine is more like "shit I don't want to forget and can grep later"
<whitequark>
\o/
<silentbicycle>
:P
<whitequark>
yeah it used to be that way.
<whitequark>
then I thought "what the hell, this is useless"
<silentbicycle>
but ~/docs/notes/ isn't really set up for public browsing
<whitequark>
and I since converted pretty much all my recording to publicly browsable .md.
<silentbicycle>
oh, I use the hell out of my document trash heap
<whitequark>
yeah, ~/Work/journal.md :)
<whitequark>
well... useless in a more general sense
<silentbicycle>
I'm still not entirely happy with it, I wrote it ~3 years ago and I've learned a bunch since then that would improve it, but it works quite well for my purposes
<whitequark>
I write lab.wq.org 'as if' I was talking to myself, or someone similarly qualified and with similar goals. so I don't need to, say, explain context, or prove that something is useful
<whitequark>
(hence also the lack of comments section. by the way, quite a few people do write me emails.)
<whitequark>
silentbicycle: (glean) I have this feeling that my private notes are something transient. perhaps it's related to the fact that I did lose personal data several time.
<silentbicycle>
I have a lot of small text files that are all in vc
<whitequark>
it's kind of irrational
<silentbicycle>
whitequark I have a small script (it's called `n`) that reads the rest of the command line and, if there is none, appends to ~/docs/notes/notes, otherwise to ~/docs/notes/$* with spaces replaced with _, adding a timestamp where it edits, and then checks it into git
<silentbicycle>
so like
<silentbicycle>
I'll say $ n twitter bot idea
<whitequark>
oh, nice
<silentbicycle>
type "muahaha_bot: tweet "muahahahahahahahahaaaaa" at random intervals (> 1 day)"
<silentbicycle>
hit C-c C-c in emacs, and it saves and thunks it into my home directory repo-
<silentbicycle>
which is backed up, sync'd, and easily searchable
<silentbicycle>
[this is another thing I've been meaning to blog about, and a lot of half-baked blog entries are sitting in there]
<silentbicycle>
whitequark I feel like my notes are pretty transient, too, but I still want to be able to find stuff in them. I also use glean for searching code
<whitequark>
*nod*
<joelteon>
devyn: you were right, canada post lost the package
<silentbicycle>
I've got essentially the same ones, just sparkfun branded
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
anytime I incidentally did what whitequark does, I feel smart.
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
I've gotta leave soon. Ugh.
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
SO NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THIS SHIT
<whitequark>
ELLIOTTCABLE: I just selected them randomly from a listing
<whitequark>
searched for "tweezers"
<whitequark>
:p
<silentbicycle>
whitequark I looked at a jewelry craft store, too
<silentbicycle>
I got some good tools from a bookbinding store in Ann Arbor
<silentbicycle>
it turns out other hobbyist people also use lots of fiddly little tools
<whitequark>
*nod*
<silentbicycle>
they aren't necessarily ESD safe though
<silentbicycle>
:)
<whitequark>
jeweller's vise for example
<whitequark>
very useful for CNC
<silentbicycle>
yeah
<silentbicycle>
and loupes!
<whitequark>
hm I don't like them
<whitequark>
I'm near-sighted and I can see tiny details really well, though
<whitequark>
like I haven't encountered a loupe yet that would *enhance* my vision
<silentbicycle>
oh hey ELLIOTTCABLE have you been to American Science & Surplus? http://www.sciplus.com/
<whitequark>
stuff appears bigger, but it's not as convenient to work with => net negative
<silentbicycle>
ELLIOTTCABLE: they have a storefront on the north end of Chicago, they have a lot of misc electronics stuff and also just fun junk like rubber sharks
<whitequark>
silentbicycle: out of curiosity, what caliper do you use?
<silentbicycle>
I don't have a caliper yet
<silentbicycle>
O_O
<silentbicycle>
any recommendations?
<silentbicycle>
I have ... rulers and stuff
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
silentbicycle: wassat
<whitequark>
I've been using a vernier one since my father taught me how to properly use one
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
silentbicycle: oh, I forgot you live near me
<whitequark>
however I've been thinking of switching to a dial caliper recently, it seems... quicker and more precise
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
come to Chicago sometime. (=
<whitequark>
I really can't understand digital calipers though. batteries. ugh. :/
<whitequark>
vernier calipers are just really damn elegant
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
actually, when whitequark comes to the U.S., we should have a meetup.
<silentbicycle>
whitequark yeah, I've figured I should grab a decent caliper at some point, but I haven't had a pressing need for one yet.
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
I bet I could get devyn and glowcoil to come, although then we couldn't go to bars …
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
actually, aren't you only like 19 or something, whitequark?
<silentbicycle>
ELLIOTTCABLE I'll be in Chicago in mid April, if not sooner
<whitequark>
ELLIOTTCABLE: will be 21 in april
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
silentbicycle: to visit, or moving?
<silentbicycle>
to visit
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
whitequark: :O see, in America, that'd be exciting.
<silentbicycle>
weekend trip with my wife
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
silentbicycle: keep in touch, yea?
<silentbicycle>
seeing the Mountain Goats again
<silentbicycle>
sure thing
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
what is a Mountain Goats.
<silentbicycle>
a band
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
I have to go walk my dogs, and put on nicer clothes. tty'alll.
<silentbicycle>
ta
<whitequark>
ELLIOTTCABLE: 'exciting' ?
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
hm?
<whitequark>
not sure what you mean
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
21 birthay
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
would be exciting
<whitequark>
oh, since I could be able to drink
<whitequark>
meh
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
it's the drinking age here, and everybody makes a big deal out of it
<ELLIOTTCABLE>
yep. meh.
<whitequark>
alcohol is so hugely overrated
<glowcoil>
silentbicycle: ooh mountain goats
<glowcoil>
ELLIOTTCABLE: ooh meetups
<whitequark>
ELLIOTTCABLE: do you really need to be 21 to drink?
<whitequark>
I mean, what about not giving a fuck about rules
<whitequark>
we have a proverb here: "strictness of russian laws is compensated by optional following of them". it is both handy and very sad.
<glowcoil>
whitequark: well, going to bars is a different thing than just drinking
<glowcoil>
whitequark: harder to sneak underage people into bars than to just drink alcohol at a house :p
<silentbicycle>
glowcoil yeah, it'll be my fourth time seeing them
<yorickpeterse>
not hard to tell either that he doesn't speak much Dutch around the time of the interview
<yorickpeterse>
It's correct, but not as fluent anymore as it probably used to be
<whitequark>
he's so vicious, you could collect venom in a glass under your screen
<whitequark>
<3 dijkstra
<purr>
Let it be known that whitequark hearts dijkstra.
<yorickpeterse>
Well yeah, he does come off as a bit arrogant at times
<yorickpeterse>
but if you look at his history one should be able to see why that is
<whitequark>
"a bit arrogant" ?
<whitequark>
there's even a saying, "in computing science, arrogance is measured in nanodijkstras"
<yorickpeterse>
haha
<whitequark>
sure, a bit arrogant
<whitequark>
USSR was slightly communist
<whitequark>
light is slightly fast
<whitequark>
and universe is a tad large
<yorickpeterse>
These days we just have people like Ledorf, dhh and Dahl
<yorickpeterse>
BACK IN THE OLD DAYS
<whitequark>
Lerdorf? Rasmus?
<yorickpeterse>
yes
<whitequark>
I don't think he's arrogant, on the contrary
<yorickpeterse>
No, but he created PHP
<whitequark>
I mean, he publicly admits PHP is shit
<yorickpeterse>
Same goes for Dahl
<yorickpeterse>
I wonder what I'll be like in 50 years, besides old and grumpy and owning 10 cats
<whitequark>
well, for one, you definitely won't have a turing award
<yorickpeterse>
:<
<yorickpeterse>
that's very motivating
<yorickpeterse>
Though I have to agree that it is rather unlikely, unless I somehow invent Plan 12 and take over the world
<whitequark>
you'll still be doing rails
<whitequark>
except it will be 50-year legacy by that point
<whitequark>
like COBOL
<whitequark>
and all the cool kids will have moved to nodejs
<whitequark>
think about it, your daughter will code for nodejs
<yorickpeterse>
implying I have kids
<whitequark>
as if that wasn't depressing enough, yes.
<yorickpeterse>
I have no interest in diapers everywhere
<whitequark>
newsflash: most parents don't have any interest in diapers
<whitequark>
if they do, it's called "fetish"
<yorickpeterse>
hue hue
<yorickpeterse>
also fuck you for that tweet :P
<yorickpeterse>
Shockingly enough it seems I actually have to help write a scientific paper in the coming few months
<yorickpeterse>
at least from what I've been told
<yorickpeterse>
"Yorick, don't get scared but we'll have to collaborate on writing a scientific paper for $TOP_SECRET_PROJECT with $ANOTHER_COWORKER" - CTO
<yorickpeterse>
I will have to refrain from making fun of things
* whitequark
is still giggling over "a bit arrogant"
<yorickpeterse>
maybe I should practise by writing a 200 page paper on why Mongo is fucking terrible
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<whitequark>
that thing when your CTO says a good ruby mascot would be, quote, "repainted Haruhi"
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<glowcoil>
whitequark: a lot of people use that and Max/MSP for the purposes of music
<glowcoil>
whitequark: it seems like it'd get a little frustrating to do anything complicated but people do really cool things in the real world with it