delphi's recent activity
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Comment on Timasomo 2025: Final Updates in ~creative.timasomo
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Comment on Timasomo 2025: Week 3 Updates in ~creative.timasomo
delphi LinkThe calculator's software is done. All that remains is to finalise the case and then put it into practice. But I promised a more in depth walkthrough last week, so here it is. PIGS is a NextJS...The calculator's software is done. All that remains is to finalise the case and then put it into practice. But I promised a more in depth walkthrough last week, so here it is.
PIGS is a NextJS application that wants specific keypresses from my custom keypad. Yes, I understand that pulling up a whole ass computer and a whole ass browser just for basic calculations is stupid and way too much work, but I am making this for myself, and I won't write myself angry emails about this fact.
Anyways, it's an RPN calculator. You enter your numbers sequentially, and they pile up in what's called the Stack. Every entry in the Stack is called a Register, and the most important one is X. You enter numbers and instead of pressing plus or minus you press PUSH, and the X register gets moved up one and you get an empty one for your next number.
If you now have your numbers in your Stack, you can press any of the operations - plus, minus and so on - and they get applied to the last two numbers in the Stack, on my implementation that's X and R1. Plus executes R1 + X, minus executes R1 - X and so on. The last operation is displayed at the top in the status bar.
If you press the Menu button however you enter the main menu, obviously, where the more in depth features live. These are why I wanted to make this calculator, and they're pretty bespoke to my own needs. They're Conversion Mode, Paper Sizes, Aspect Ratio, Percentage, Constants, Deeper Math, Clock, Little Bitch Mode and About.
Conversion Mode is exactly that. You get a list of categories and then units, and you can convert between them. Press SWAP to switch which one you're editing, press PUSH to move them to the X register.
Paper Sizes contains all paper sizes and their dimensions that I could find, together with a visual representation of their aspect ratio. The important ones are at the front, but I also have some deep cuts in there.
https://ibb.co/YF0G3965
https://ibb.co/RG8V1FtjAspect Ratio lets you pick any of the common - or less common - ratios and calculate their dimensions for that. Same idea as the Conversion Mode.
https://ibb.co/1YZZKvV8
https://ibb.co/R4dFYPvbThe Percentage calculator is different to the ones I've seen before, and ruinously simple. Actually kind of proud of this, and it's weird I've never seen it implemented like that. You type in a number, and you turn the dial to change the percentage. If you turn the dial before typing in your root number, you can start from that percentage instead.
https://ibb.co/YTqc7k9H
https://ibb.co/PZYTMBP1The Constants Library contains constants. Sometimes you need Pi, what do you want me to say?
Same with Deeper Math. I don't use the loragithm or whatever much in my daily life, but I'd rather it be there if I ever need it.
The About screen has the logo I made for the thing and a quick credits. This stuff is all on my github and anyone could use/implement/fork it in their own thing, so I'd better get my name on there.
And finally, Little Bitch Mode was added after my friend whom I love dearly but never uses RPN ever didn't understand how it worked. It's a regular four function calculator, and it doesn't do anything other than plus, minus, times and divide, and that's by design.
Timasomo is over soon, and so's my project! Next time I hopefully got everything complete and I can post a video with the entire thing and a few more insights. Happy making!
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Comment on Timasomo 2025: Week 2 Updates in ~creative.timasomo
delphi Link ParentDamn, if you want a second pair of eyes to look over it and give you feedback, I'd be excited to read itDamn, if you want a second pair of eyes to look over it and give you feedback, I'd be excited to read it
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Comment on Timasomo 2025: Week 2 Updates in ~creative.timasomo
delphi LinkShort calculator update! I’ve finished most of the software, although I’m not quite ready to share it just yet, maybe next week. But I’ve done some test fitting with the components I got online,...Short calculator update! I’ve finished most of the software, although I’m not quite ready to share it just yet, maybe next week. But I’ve done some test fitting with the components I got online, and my custom key caps are also here!
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Comment on Timasomo 2025: Week 1 Updates in ~creative.timasomo
delphi LinkBeen waiting for this! Turns out working on a project is a lot of fun if you know you can share updates with people who at least tangentially care. So, calculator update one! I've found a name for...Been waiting for this! Turns out working on a project is a lot of fun if you know you can share updates with people who at least tangentially care.
So, calculator update one! I've found a name for the project, I've designed the keypad and the UI for it.
I've decided to call the calculator PIGS. Back in the day, I had a TI-84, and one of the few games I used to waste my maths class away on was called DRUGWARS. It was a management simulator, and you had to buy and sell drugs while moving from place to place to avoid the cops. Sometimes, random events would happen, and one of the random events (and the one that stuck with me the most) was "PIGS MADE A BIG COKE BUST! PRICES ARE OUTRAGEOUS!!!!". That would just always really tickle me in a strange way and I've always associated it with the vague notion of calculators.
For design, I am thinking black, white and orange. Dunno why, just seems right. Made some sketches on paper and reused an old numpad I had lying around from my mechanical keyboard obsession days, sketched out the keypad and i think i'm happy with this layout. Also made a custom set of keycaps and I'm having them custom printed on some website I hadn't heard of before, but their online keycap designer tool is surprisingly robust.
In terms of UI, if at all possible, I want the screen to be square. Just kinda seems cool, but if I can't find a screen that fits my specifications, I'm happy to settle for a portrait 16:9 screen. For now, I'm designing for the square screen. My screen design poison of choice is Sketch, not that it matters for white text on black rectangle, and I've made some screens for things I'd like it to have. Since it's all just math, and I'm pretty comfortable at web design, this should be easy enough to implement.
Oh yeah, I'll also probably just use a Raspberry Pi (I'm thinking Zero W, but I do have a 4B lying around too if it really is too slow) for this, running a web server and browser. I know that's not efficient, or particularly suited for the task, but I know I can make that work, so this is the army we go to war with. Making this thing for myself, after all.
Next steps will be actually writing the software and getting my hands on a screen to work with! Having a lot of fun with this project so far. Happy Timasomo!
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Comment on Timasomo 2025: Roll Call in ~creative.timasomo
delphi Link ParentThanks! I might get back to you on that one, since my current game plan is just a raspberry pi running a custom JavaScript app in a browser (I’m comfortable in web and don’t mind the boot up...Thanks! I might get back to you on that one, since my current game plan is just a raspberry pi running a custom JavaScript app in a browser (I’m comfortable in web and don’t mind the boot up times) but I bet with a custom chip or something like an ESP32 I could get it much faster if I had the knowledge.
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Comment on Introducing Kagi News in ~tech
delphi LinkI'm a long time Kagi subscriber and love their stuff, especially Kagi Translate is excellent and so far ahead of anything else it's not even funny - but this isn't it for me. I tried it on iOS,...I'm a long time Kagi subscriber and love their stuff, especially Kagi Translate is excellent and so far ahead of anything else it's not even funny - but this isn't it for me. I tried it on iOS, the app's not native, and it's an almost screen-for-screen recreation of Mina Labs' Particle News, without any of the charm and also without the crosswords. I can only hope it gets better, since the daily brief thing is a neat idea in concept, but Particle does it better.
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Comment on Timasomo 2025: Roll Call in ~creative.timasomo
delphi (edited )LinkI'm going to build a calculator! You see, the modern calculator is essentially a solved problem. If you're a scientist, specifically a mathematician, an engineer, a physicist or anyone who fights...I'm going to build a calculator!
You see, the modern calculator is essentially a solved problem. If you're a scientist, specifically a mathematician, an engineer, a physicist or anyone who fights numbers for a living, you'll have a favourite calculator - not because it's any good, but because it's what you've always used. Your TI-84. Your Casio Classpad. Your HP 35. These work, and they can be pretty damn good, but very few people "choose" a calculator. They get told which to use by their school, because their teacher used it, and this is how we got to the biggest improvement in graphical calculating being the fact that you can now sometimes have graphs with multiple colours, but no anti-aliasing.
For accountants, the matter isn't much better. Most use Excel or their specific brand of CPA armour to crunch their numbers, and if you do need (or prefer) a physical device, the HP 12C exists, and that's the end of that.
If you're anyone else, use your phone, or pop to the Poundland (or Five Below in 120V countries) and grab a plastic calculator with a seven-segment display and a sometimes fraudulent solar cell that you'll use exactly once and then forget in the junk drawer. And those things suck, let me tell you.
It's strange because by all accounts it should be very easy to build a good calculator. Everything already has the things you need built in. Thermostats should have these - there are no dependencies. Still, nobody (except Numworks, I guess, but they only cater to the education market) has made a good, pleasant, and high quality calculator. I aim to fix this.
And as a side note: The offerings from SwissMicros don't count to me since they're not very original designs. They cater to the people that did use the HP 32 or the 12C forever but now want something that's not flimsy. It's a reinterpretation, and while they're very good calculators, it's not what I'm looking for. They're also really expensive.
My requirements for the calculator are as follows:
- Needs to look nice. This one's non-negotiable, if I see one more piece of injection moulded landfill with poorly printed on buttons where some labels are sideways, I will forget myself.
- Needs to feel nice. I want tactile, pleasant keys with travel and the sensation that you did something today.
- Needs to be genuinely useful to me personally. I'm a designer, and I do a lot of print work. That means calculating bleed, cut points, element sizes and so on.
- Needs to use RPN. Reverse Polish notation just is how I calculate (you enter the numbers first, then what you do with them) because that's just how I think and it eliminates the need for parentheses and PEMDAS.
- Needs to be a self-contained unit with a rechargeable battery and ideally readily available components.
I've never designed an embedded device like this, but I'm looking forward to figuring this out! I'll see y'all at the monthly checkins and the presentation round at the end.
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Comment on Announcing the seventh annual Tildes' Make Something Month (Timasomo)! in ~tildes
delphi LinkAbsolutely I'm in this year. I recently realised that there is no perfect calculator for my needs, and I intend to fix this. First time participating!Absolutely I'm in this year. I recently realised that there is no perfect calculator for my needs, and I intend to fix this. First time participating!
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Comment on I could take over a business, and I really want to, but I have no idea what I'm doing in ~life
delphi Link ParentThat sounds like a great idea. I have a four-day work week currently, so I could definitely have one day where I shadow and take notes, and eventually take over some of the processes to learn....That sounds like a great idea. I have a four-day work week currently, so I could definitely have one day where I shadow and take notes, and eventually take over some of the processes to learn. I'll ask them about that next time I see them. Thanks.
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Comment on I could take over a business, and I really want to, but I have no idea what I'm doing in ~life
delphi Link ParentCourse, I'll only know that once I see the earnings statements and all that due diligence. But I trust them, they wouldn't lie to me about that and it does pass the sniff test, considering my...Course, I'll only know that once I see the earnings statements and all that due diligence. But I trust them, they wouldn't lie to me about that and it does pass the sniff test, considering my friend's around 60.
Thanks on the tax advice. I'll definitely have to hire an accountant, I barely know how my own taxes work.
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I could take over a business, and I really want to, but I have no idea what I'm doing
I went to a friend's print shop today. We've been friends for a while now, business associates even longer, and it's a small mom-and-pop print shop with two presses that I go to for all my small...
I went to a friend's print shop today. We've been friends for a while now, business associates even longer, and it's a small mom-and-pop print shop with two presses that I go to for all my small to mid-format printing needs. I'm a graphic designer, and sometimes I need a brochure, business cards or some smaller posters done. The business is well regarded, is cashflow-positive and has a strong local presence within my city.
However, said friend - the owner and sole employee - is getting tired of the work. They want to retire, in around two or three years, and that would mean closing down the shop. They're running it as the third owner now, and previous owners have been running it since 1970. So, I joked about maybe taking it over one day - and my friend was immediately interested. They said that that would take a load off their mind, and that it would be nice to have someone like me continue the legacy of this established store.
And, well, I gotta be honest with you, I really want to do it. The work is something I've done before (digital print, prepress, cut and finish printed products, printer maintenance and first and foremost graphic design), and my actual education was in graphic design. I'd be able to do both the craft of print production and offer more services like brand and web design to my prospective clients (which would be a value add to existing and new customers).
The thing is, I've never run a business. I'm not a business person, and I don't know the first thing about it. I know about how to deal with customers, how to budget my time and money, and how to work in an organised and precise manner, but I've never been a manager or a boss.
So, I guess, this is my question to the Tildesian hive mind: Is it doable? Is owning a business really that difficult if you know how to do the actual day-to-day operations well? Should I leave the safety of wage labour and try to make something of my own? Has any of you taken over a business or founded one, and if so, what are things I should know?
PS: I'm 25 years old and am from Central Europe.
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Comment on Spotify is adding direct messaging to their music streaming app in ~tech
delphi LinkI can't imagine anyone wants this. Sharing music using links already works fine, and I don't really fancy having another conversation in another app to keep track of. And, seriously, what even is...I can't imagine anyone wants this. Sharing music using links already works fine, and I don't really fancy having another conversation in another app to keep track of. And, seriously, what even is Spotify anymore? Is it music streaming? Podcasts? Audiobooks? A social network? A messaging app? They must've completely lost the plot.
I don't even like their focus on playlists, myself. Switched to Apple Music years ago, and am much happier with how that service puts the music front and centre, not itself.
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Spotify is adding direct messaging to their music streaming app
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Comment on Question about Marginalia Search in ~tech
delphi (edited )Link ParentWhile that may be true, and I can't deny a certain honesty and authenticity in the mascot idea, the issue I have with it isn't that it exists at all, but that it is shown before a usually...While that may be true, and I can't deny a certain honesty and authenticity in the mascot idea, the issue I have with it isn't that it exists at all, but that it is shown before a usually completely unrelated page is loaded. If it was just their mascot and on their project website, I wouldn't care the slightest bit, and considering the many horrible mascots the open source community usually gets I'd even welcome the change. But it's not. It's shown to everyone, which also includes those that don't even know what it is, and it usually de-loads fast enough for you to not even be able to read the whole "Checking if you're a bot, powered by Anubis" text. If I was looking for an anti-crawling solution (which I'm not, I don't even think Anubis is very good at this, delenda est and so on) I'd pick one that doesn't... impose its own style on my website before anything else, so to speak.
Additional thought: Maybe I'd mind less if the character weren't making eye contact.
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Comment on Question about Marginalia Search in ~tech
delphi LinkThe whiplash from seeing the anime girl making sure I'm not a bot on websites with Anubis installed is something I'll never get over. Way to make sure your project's not gonna be taken seriously...The whiplash from seeing the anime girl making sure I'm not a bot on websites with Anubis installed is something I'll never get over. Way to make sure your project's not gonna be taken seriously
As for Marginalia, I can't say I've ever used it, but I did have a lot of fun with Kagi's Small Web, which is a similar idea in concept.
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Comment on Make new friends here! in ~life
delphi LinkI've always had a few online friends - since I used to be quite active as an artist on instagram, that used too be my crowd, but now that I'm 25 the crowd there just skews too young for me. So...I've always had a few online friends - since I used to be quite active as an artist on instagram, that used too be my crowd, but now that I'm 25 the crowd there just skews too young for me. So here's my introduction:
I'm Ruby (they/them), as mentioned before I'm 25 years old, and I'm a graphic designer by trade. Looking for any means of conversation, if you're local to the Central Europe Tri-State we could even hang out (Grand Est / Baden-Württemberg / Northwestern CH)
General interests
Writing, design and the abstract notion of computers. I've written four novels (and published none), love to world build and do concept art. I'm a big believer in the IndieWeb and am part of the XXIIVV webring, and am looking for likeminded people to build a little circle of other IndieWeb accomplices. If that's not you though, we can still be friends! I'd just like to know more people in that area.
Media I'm currently on
- The Sopranos (finally getting around to it)
- Cyberpunk 2077 (replaying it with the DLC)
- Indie / Dad Rock
- The Vergecast (every Friday)
Other things to know
I use and love my Mac every day, and I'm almost treating it like a deck builder rogue like - I collect apps, the more specific the better - and I love managing my tasks and personal knowledge (I set up a Linear.app instance for my apartment) and I love gadgets probably a little too much (I'm one of the few people that bought the Even G1 smart glasses, even though I definitely don't need them).
You can contact me any way you see fit - Tildes, Bluesky, Email, and you can look at my website here: https://rmv.fyi/ (desktop preferred, mobile works but is still WIP)
Thanks for making this thread!
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Comment on What's a question you could ask to determine if someone is an expert in your line of work? in ~talk
delphi Link"Why are the pieces in a game of Go not the same size, and how does this relate to the Google logo not being a perfect circle?" Answer A white stone in Go will always appear slightly larger than a..."Why are the pieces in a game of Go not the same size, and how does this relate to the Google logo not being a perfect circle?"
Answer
A white stone in Go will always appear slightly larger than a black one, so to compensate for this visual instability - that doesn't actually exist when measured - black stones are made just a tiny bit larger. This is in service of visual balance, a concept in graphic design that underpins most of typography.
You see, perfect circles rarely appear in nature. The earth isn't actually a sphere - it's a spheroid, slightly squashed at the top and bottom. So, perfect circles - especially when in a pattern with other non-circle shapes - often distract the eye and kind of unnerve the viewer without them realising why. Plain and simple, it looks bad.
This also applies to type. For example, the "o" in the word "Foxtrot" is slightly taller than the top of the "x". If it wasn't, the eye would see that as unbalanced, so we make it slightly taller to compensate for this illusion. It's called Overshoot, and it's a fundamental concept in graphic design that every designer needs to know about. So, to answer the question concisely:
Black stones look smaller than white stones despite being the same size, so you make them a bit larger to compensate. Similarly, the G in Google doesn't fit in a perfect square because it would throw off the visual balance of the entire logo.
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Comment on Understanding what a VPN can do for you and how to pick the right one in ~tech
delphi Link ParentYou might wanna look into Tailscale's Mullvad integration. I'm not professional or knowledgeable enough to use it to its fullest extent, but Tailscale has a quite frankly overwhelming amount of...You might wanna look into Tailscale's Mullvad integration. I'm not professional or knowledgeable enough to use it to its fullest extent, but Tailscale has a quite frankly overwhelming amount of options when it comes to forwarding and exposing client services, and integrates flawlessly with Mullvad through a partnership integration. Could work for you.
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Comment on Understanding what a VPN can do for you and how to pick the right one in ~tech
delphi Link ParentHonestly, there's no specific reason and maybe I'm a bit too mean to PIA, but I always felt like the consensus was that those services don't pass the "vibe check", whatever that means. Just felt...Honestly, there's no specific reason and maybe I'm a bit too mean to PIA, but I always felt like the consensus was that those services don't pass the "vibe check", whatever that means. Just felt that if you needed a VPN to hide what you're doing because it's mission critical, you're probably rolling your own, for the same reason that you don't want the risk of knowing someone could listen in. These services just didn't feel like they were "for us", as high power nerds.
Ah blimey, not been doing much work on the Calculator, but since it's just fit and finish now - and printing the case in nice colours - I think I'll get it done before the showcase.