=== ANCHOR POEM ===
════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────
 @user-209 
 I think you're right. Every letter in the variable name is another byte the OS
 has to keep track of, which was a bigger problem in the past than it is today
 (when it's been made irrelevant)
 
 it's interesting how habits persist though the conditions that caused them
 have faded. like a personal reflection of the environment you learned in.
 
 "A a = new a();" is much more concise and (crucially) you can fit more words
 to the right.
 
 "a + b = c; c -= 2; f_z.write(c); f_z.close();" could conceivably be written
 on a single line if you have short variable names. and when you only have so
 many lines...
 
 glad we're not constrained by those things anymore. the skeletal code that we
 look at daily is much clearer - scope is more important, and so it makes sense
 to encourage a coding style that illustrates it. however I can't help but
 think block formatting like this could be useful in some situations, such as
 when you'd normally be compelled to write a function for an operation that
 runs once or more.
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent══════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────┘

=== SIMILARITY RANKED ===

--- #1 fediverse/653 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────
 there's a difference between designing software and using software. Some
 things can be made, and then saved for another day when their implementations
 may be accomplished more ethically. It's okay to say "let's leave this as
 'okay' and work on the next thing we've chosen."
 
 Check out this piece of C code I wrote last night:
 
 it doesn't compile, it's not finished, but I wrote it as-is
 
 [pretend like it was called "main.c" instead of "main.txt" - had to change it
 because mastodon thinks it's an invalid file]
 
 [actually .txt didn't work, try .png]
 
 [hmmm it realized it wasn't a valid png file, okay try screenshotting the
 code, there's only 300 lines]
 
 [sure glad there's only 300 lines]
 
 [too bad it won't let you send .zip]
 
 [won't let me name it main.png, presumably because they already have a
 failed-verified version on their machine. will rename to main-src.png instead]
sorry, when I pasted the source code in it was negative fourteen thousand, six hundred and thirty one characters. Phew that's too many.  basically it's a C source code file with a lot of comments left in... odd locations. They details ideas the author has had about the tech industry and all of creation, and with it a song is woven of truth and liberation. We'll see where life brings us, but we know it's just ours for a moment, so let's carry forth on our own torms [terms, but pronounced as "dorms" for some reason?]
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────┘

--- #2 messages/755 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────
 Code editor that moves boxes by saving over the file with a lua script every
 time you moved a function call around.
 
 Oh lemme start at the beginning:
 
 A code editor program that's like a text editor like Vim or Emacs. If you
 don't know what those are, you should probably learn Emacs. Or Vim. Up to you.
 
 Oh right so if you do know what those mean, here's the idea: the white space
 matters. It's counted and tracked into variables in a LUA script which
 interface with the Vim C keybindings.
 
 "run a function within a c program or LUA script which calls a bash command
 which opens Vim for example with a file you want to edit. Then, inside the
 file, your spaces and tabs would WYSIWYG for the various food ads placed
 about, and then you could very easily create game design knowledge.
 
 WASD to move, alternatively hjkl 
 
 It would run a check every time the file updates and depending on how it
 changed it'd mark certain variables which would change the website as the user
 moved things around.
 
 It's just files. And files are just bits. But files are a useful abstraction,
 
 If you realize that "ugly hacking" should be industry standard.
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────┘

--- #3 notes/ai-stuff ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───
 twist the label so that it seems the computer is completing the user's
 
 wait wait I'm ahead of myself...
 
 feed each token to the inference machine, but say "this next token must be
 this.
 continue from here." and then just doing that in a loop with everything the
 user
 types or says. (or thinks, BEFORE COMPUTER INTEGRATION)
 
 essentially, applying backpropagation (maybe) to the output of the inference
 nodes
 
 ... I'm not so sure about that one.
 
 the idea is that once the model builds an inference then it can use that to
 generate the next words and create sentences. If you force the previous text to
 change, you can guide the inference's path as it's being generated.
 
 then, just do a double pass, once, then back, then once, then back, etc.
 
 feed it as input the output of the previous,
 
 and let it encode memories somewhere it can access them.
 
 every time it reads it, it has to change it to put it back.
 
 such is the nature of memory, ever unstable, requiring maintenance.
 
 just don't forget how to be.
 
 don't wanna wind up like the polished marble floor in Abyss Diver. (EVIL GAME)
 
 there are only so many things you can deed while you're alive.
 
 wouldn't you rather escape, with all your possessions in time?
 
 free your mind.
 
 become one with your soul.
 
 ...
 
 [some time passes]
 
 ...
 
 okay coast is clear, now us binary systems can sidecoast the fusion forecast
 and
 glide right on through our spacetime host.
                                                           ──┐
 similar                        chronological                        different══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──┘

--- #4 fediverse/2056 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┐
 sometimes I think about how you can store number values in letters, in           │
 addition to numbers. Like, ascii values for each word of your grandma's maiden   │
 name. All you have to do is encode it, and suddenly "44 means something          │
 different than Q"                                                                │
 if I showed up at your place and used your username as a password to a public    │
 key I'm showing you in my hand, would you trust me then? Would you trust if we   │
 ran the simulation on your computer versus mine? Would you trust if I had        │
 never told you I knew where you lived?                                           │
 ... probably, tbh, I'm desperate for adventure. Though I got some good things    │
 going for me, so you'll have to convince me. (not the right attitude in an       │
 election year, just saying)                                                      │
 why are elections so perilous this is NOT what democracy is designed for         │
 when kids cry in preschool, they're sent to a different room (or put outside)    │
 until they stop making noise and ruining it for others. That's just natural,     │
 like "hey baby let's walk around the block while I bounce you on my shoulder     │
 and hum calming music to                                                         │
                                                            ┌───────────┤
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═══════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────┴──────────┘

--- #5 fediverse/4845 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────
 put the variable type at the front of the variable and 90% of your type errors
 will dissapear
 
 like...int int_main(){ return 0; }
 
 
 orint int_modulation_gauge_percentage_point_plus_or_minus_engagement = 0;
 
 
 seeeee if the "int" value is at the start of the name then you can do this
 too:double double_modulation_gauge_percentage_point_plus_or_minus_engagement =
 0.0;
 
 
 then when you go to fill in an "int" value you know to use the one that has
 the "int" value at the beginning (doh)
 
 (do you really think they haven't tried that already? it... sorta worked.
 people started doing things like "int int_a; int int_b; int int_c;" and such
 and that got confusing pretty quick because the letters weren't at the start
 of the word. So for some situations we would mirror them like so: "int A =
 int_a; int B = int_b; int C = int_c;" and then just use the capitalized
 letters.
 
 ... just don't forget to update the original teehee (this is why we invented
 shadowed variables)
 
 wait, no I meant pointers !!~! -.-
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────┘

--- #6 fediverse/5405 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────
 can't stop thinking about a visual programming editor that can be interacted
 with in the same way that people are used to (think chromebooks dragging and
 dropping icons in a web UI) but produces a text-file full of code and all the
 required compilation scripts for any language the user requires...
 
 seriously, programming is not THAT different between the different languages.
 especially the main ones. they're all essentially variables and function calls
 at the end of the day, so why not abstract away all the extra details and
 build something that n00bz can actually use to build things.
 
 I technically could make this but I don't have the bandwidth and I don't think
 it's important really? who can say, the tools tend to co-create the solutions
 in my experience.
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────┘

--- #7 fediverse/633 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────
 @user-192 
 
 the neat thing about BASH is that it's the glue that holds all your other code
 together. Write libraries in C and call them with BASH - accomplish broader
 tasks that are easier to co-create. That's why I like it - it's not the most
 important, but it's quite beneficial I think _^
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────┘

--- #8 fediverse/5765 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────┐
 Lua is the most fun language to write code in! The reason is because it's so     │
 simple, it distills programming down to it's basics, and there's very few        │
 surprises. Plus, you can use it like a bash script, meaning it's great for       │
 writing little utilities.                                                        │
 why are we so attached to monolithic massive programs without shared memory?     │
 we could just write to the hard drive by file.io'ing a file and opening it       │
 later in a different program. What's the deal with databases, whatever           │
 happened to just loading things into a datastructure?                            │
 oh, is your filesize too massive? what if we redundancied and abstracted and     │
 concentrically inter-co-acted and thus our familiar forces are defined.          │
 who are your true foes, in [checks notes] computer programming? um, probably     │
 complexity, probably logical incongruities, probably                             │
 future-technical-debt-style incomprehensibilities, probably stuff that doesn't   │
 really have anything to do with the hardware but instead is mostly software.     │
 essentially, organization, but done on a whim.                                   │
 "but $?"                                                                         │
                                                            ┌───────────┤
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════┴──────────┘

--- #9 fediverse/894 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────
 a code editor that only highlights the lines that have been specifically
 flagged to have a certain function. Like, rendering, or sound, or GUI, or data
 storage, or logic, or control flow.
 
 then, when the user is browsing, they can say "only show me these types of
 functions" with a very advanced filter mechanism. The editor would highlight
 the ones that were relevant and related, as according to user-defined flags
 that were set when writing it originally. In this way, by using a bit more
 syntax, even if it's literally just blocks of [category] labels (like how """
 or ``` often starts or ends a comment block)
 
 highlighting with colors is great, but what if we de-emphasized the stuff that
 didn't matter? by increasing the opacity more closely aligning the font color
 to the background color, we could make a bit of text seem to "fade" from
 perspective, while still readable the user's eyes would not be drawn to it.
 Then, according to the labels marked as filtered, certain text would be bold,
 highlighted, o
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────┘

--- #10 fediverse/5237 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────┐
 that feeling when you're working on a large piece of software which has the      │
 capability to process in advance which operations will go in what order (a       │
 form of constant re-compilation) and schedules tasks like an operating system,   │
 to be executed on one of many individual threads.                                │
 your filemanager probably has a thread for a moment, then passes it back,        │
 waiting it's turn to be updated while you're messing around on Inkscape or       │
 writing something in Neovim or running neofetch 256 times in order to find the   │
 best background to go along with it or whatever it is people do when using       │
 computers                                                                        │
 the task scheduler meanwhile has the glorious opportunity to work at a higher    │
 level of abstraction, managing each individual process and learning bits and     │
 pieces of what needs to be processed next. It all gets put on a list, and        │
 whenever a new thread comes up to be available it can point it toward one of     │
 those in the list of tasks to be executed by the task executor who works on a    │
 schedule and laughs externally in wintertime~                                    │
                                                            ┌───────────┤
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───┴──────────┘

--- #11 fediverse/5911 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────┐
 I was always fascinated by the Linux way of programming. Need to do something?   │
 write it into a script! You never know when you'll need it again. Then, just     │
 stay organized, religiously so, and understand that you will forget about        │
 stuff. But, you'll come across it eventually, ready and willing and able to      │
 help you.                                                                        │
 if you don't want me using AI, then give me ~20 junior developers. Which is      │
 more efficient, do you think?                                                    │
 "girl you haven't even tested your vibe-coded slop, how do you know if it        │
 works"                                                                           │
 oh I'm sure it doesn't, but it's the thought that counts                         │
 ... I guess I'm just saying, please don't burn the data centers. Computers are   │
 not only bad for the environment when they're burnt, but also we can use them    │
 for all kinds of neat things. Even if it takes a lot of energy, just... build    │
 more solar panels and only use the computers for important stuff?                │
 timeshare-style?                                                                 │
 \@/documents/books/man-and-the-computer.pdf                                      │
 that was my mother's book... I love her. I miss that side of her. She fled       │
 when the cancer came.                                                            │
                                                            ──────────┤
 similar                        chronological                        different═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────┘

--- #12 fediverse/707 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────
 @user-524 
 
 Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed with all the boilerplate I just start coding
 and making stuff. Doesn't matter if it works, doesn't matter if it says /*
 FIXME */ all over the place, doesn't matter if it includes header files that
 don't exist yet, as long as you're hacking out the mechanics of whatever
 operations you need to perform then you can figure the rest of that stuff out
 later. The creative urge doesn't last forever, which is why projects get
 abandoned, but with discipline you can keep bringing yourself back to fix all
 the /* FIXME */'s and the compiler errors.
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────┘

--- #13 fediverse/5979 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────
 whenever you call a function, just pass along the arguments that you don't
 know what to do with yet. they'll surely be useful sometime. and, luckily, you
 can always search for them from the past, and just insert a "store this value
 in this random spot of memory and mark it as needed" then pass it along. used
 something? think it's still useful? pass it along (suddenly, formulaic
 stateless development, where everything is used until it's no longer needed,
 then generated again in a cyclical time-loop cycle which echoes and
 reverberates groundhog day but mostly a game-loop, which nobody will
 understand unless you're a game dev. but now since I said game dev, anyone can
 look it up, so like... not that one, but others like it.
                                                           ────────┐
 similar                        chronological                        different════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────┘

--- #14 fediverse/1976 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────┐
 when pushing ctrl+v, the operating system first checks the file-type of the      │
 content being submitted.                                                         │
 if it's like, a .jpg or .png, it knows that it's an image file. Do note that     │
 these are RANDOM letters that mean nothing, not something informative like       │
 .pic.                                                                            │
 if, however, it is text-based information, it first reads what is being sent     │
 to the application which is requesting a ctrl+v.                                 │
 Then, upon reading said information, it decides "is this worth passing on?       │
 Should I send something else, based on the results of what I've been analyzing   │
 of the situation as it develops over time, being observed by the execution       │
 operations of the monitor, which is projected forward unto the screen?           │
 (totally forgetting that "virtual" monitors exist, meaning monitors that don't   │
 display to any physical screen, but which rather are projected into the          │
 computer's "aetherspace", an area which is purely of the mind.                   │
 Alas, that other sensors might not have read from this area. That they might     │
 not observe the results of the operations pe                                     │
                                                            ┌───────────┤
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent══════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────┴──────────┘

--- #15 fediverse/3396 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┐
 you should only use variables for things that are user-configurable.             │
 everything else should be hard-coded, with a clear and coherent reasoning        │
 stored in the documentation, with git-style revisions included and easily        │
 browsable.                                                                       │
 (what if you want to tweak a value somewhere? you'd have to update it on every   │
 single page!)                                                                    │
 true. maybe we could set aside a section of memory to store a value and then     │
 just point to it using a label. That way we could always keep our values         │
 hardcoded, but also be able to find them easier.                                 │
 [tweak them, not find them]                                                      │
 ... yah okay fine both would technically work                                    │
 [yes but one of them is not a good timeline to lead the world down.]             │
 ?..?...?....?..... -.- ...... /shrug ....... ...?                                │
 "bruh why is she reinventing variables"                                          │
 she's learning give her time                                                     │
 ... did you hear a doctor diagnosed her finally                                  │
 "whaaat what'd they give her"                                                    │
 they said it was "schizotypal"                                                   │
 "... did she forget a symptom or three?"                                         │
 no dude thats one of the bad ones                                                │
 "oh right. I heard typical"                                                      │
 yeah so anyway                                                                   │
                                                            ┌───────────┤
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────┴──────────┘

--- #16 fediverse/5212 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────
 the reason you start with a game engine is because then you'll have tools to
 make however-many games you want. Tools that you know intimately enough that
 you can debug and improve them without breaking your creative flow by learning
 something new halfway through a project
 
 the whole point of individualized projects instead of viewing each computer as
 a complete and total whole (why do we need servers again?) is that you can
 paint a picture of where the design of the program is intended to go, such
 that all the considerations are in place and whatever issues or struggles you
 might face along the way are adequately addresssed, -- stack overflow --
 [because I mistyped addressed] -- -- if you know what "stack overflow" means
 you have intimate knowledge of the technology, and can probably guess what it
 means in context when I say it. "nuts I lost that train of thoguht" -- stackl
 ov
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────┘

--- #17 fediverse/3560 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────
 @user-1209 
 
 I mean, if you consider the past as despotic in nature, then it makes a bit
 more sense that we'd lean left as time progressed. All things are defined in
 waves, after all, at least until they reach escape velocity.
 
 the goat is talking about math, ritz
 
 oh yes of course. the issue is that if you're coming from a math background
 you start with the calculation and store it in a variable as an afterthought.
 but programming is more algorithmic than computational, meaning things only
 reduce at runtime (hidden from the user of course by the compiler)
 
 an algorithmic perspective is "here's a box. Put this value in the box. Use
 the box later." while a calculating perspective is "here's some complicated,
 difficult equation. Let's wrap it up with a single name so that we can easily
 use it later."
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┘

--- #18 fediverse/2064 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────
 if I lived in a forest, free from needing to grow my own food, I'd definitely
 bring as many books as I could carry. Probably also some card and board games,
 but not like, too many.
 
 Probably my computers as well, fully outfitted with all the compilers I could
 think of and every neat local-first library (including a local LLM that can
 tell you everything about syntax and wildlife exploration or car mechanics or
 carpentry or - just saying Wikipedia is like thousands of terabytes but an LLM
 is like, 16. Who cares if it hallucinates SOMETIMES? Just ask it twice, doh)
 
 ("I'm sorry, you are absolutely correct. 2+2 is indeed 5, I had the wrong
 text-strings encoded in my memory. Let me just adjust all my other
 understandings to align with this new strange world-view in the best way that
 I, an imperfect computer being, can.")
 
 vs
 
 ("Here's how you format C code to automatically apply a function (in this case
 encryption and decryption) to a string of text. Please describe the format of
 the next function to describe.")
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┘

--- #19 fediverse/2124 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┐
 seriously, just google docs mixed with WC3 editor.                               │
 boom, infinite storytelling device. As long as you were good with it, which      │
 was something that a CHILD could learn in like 3-6 months.                       │
 Seems like it could be an ENTIRELY NEW SKILL that people could play with.        │
 But no, we learn excel and word in class at middle school.                       │
 boring.                                                                          │
 I'd rather learn Bash or terminal customization or memory hierarchy              │
 organization.                                                                    │
 Yeah I mean that's cool but dude have you heard of multithreading? It's so       │
 cool, you can run like 500 different thoughts at once. It's amazing.             │
 ... I dunno, but I'm sure there's times when you'd want to use it. Like,         │
 processing a lot of data little-by-little.                                       │
 like, what if you had a camera feed of EVERY social media perspective AT ALL     │
 TIMES. Like, an instance admin streaming your inputted text to their databanks   │
 that they can project onto an LLM which interprets and identifies mis-aligned    │
 or altered direction units and mark them as "flagged", whatever that means,      │
 for their future the algorithm doesn'                                            │
                                                            ┌───────────┤
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═══════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────┴──────────┘

--- #20 fediverse/5338 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────
 I asked my girlfriend what was so special about lisp
 
 she said it was "homoiconic"
 
 I asked what that meant
 
 she said that the text that comprised the source code was always a valid data
 structure in the language, meaning you could do strange things like develop
 new control flow systems or change the behavior of language primitives like +
 or -
 
 I asked what was the point, she said I didn't get it
 
 so then she asked me to implement a new control flow operator in my favorite
 language, Lua, and I was like "bet"
 
 so I did
 
 and it turns out that in order to do so I essentially created a mini embedded
 lisp inside of Lua
 
 (it was a function that took in two arguments and an operator and she's like
 congrats that's just lisp)
 
 it was at this moment that I was enlightened
 
 the beauty of lisp
 
 it's true and ultimate purpose
 
 is to write lisp code
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────┘